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Pitch
Black
by
Arthur Black (Harbour Publishing)
Winner of the
Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour in 1997 and then in 2000, Arthur Black
once again makes an appearance on the short list of books nominated for
the award in 2006. His latest book, Pitch
Black, is another collection of his amusing insights into the
mundane, the off-beat and the profound. His observations on life are
viewed through the prism of assorted weirdos and eccentrics whose
misadventures can teach us about honesty, generosity and other
all-too-human qualities. Those familiar with Black’s radio personna
and his previous books will enjoy his take on such diverse topics as the
evolution of profanity, the fleeting nature of celebrity or the
medicinal use of duct tape. Those unfortunates who are not familiar with
Mr. Black and his previous works will enjoy these essays too!
Take
Me Out of the Ball Game
by
Joe Campbell (Thistledown Press)
Joe Campbell
is a Saskatchewan based writer who has had his work published in such
diverse places as the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, the Calgary
Herald and in Stitches, the Journal of Medical Humour. This collection
of his writings covers a wide variety of topics: the Canadian military,
birdwatching, Canada Post, unions and the Irish. That list alone is
enough to make many people laugh! Campbell’s
life experiences as a musician, athlete, husband, father and perpetually
bemused observer have resulted in these extremely funny essays on all
walks of life and the human condition. He is able to find humour, it
seems, in anything he encounters. That is the mark of a true humorist.
When
My Mind Wanders It Brings Back Souvenirs
by
Gordon Kirkland (AuthorHouse)
British
Columbia newspaper columnist Gordon Kirkland is nominated once again for
his book When My Mind Wanders It
Brings Back Souvenirs. Gordon was also nominated in 2000 and in
2005. As with his previous books, he uses his own life experiences –
his weight, his broken spine, his heart attack, his colonoscopy – and
turns them into hilarious material that has anyone who picks up his book
howling with laughter. His
family is fodder for much of his observational humour and he writes in a
way that is both comedic and touching. Possessor of an inquisitive and
creative mind, Kirkland makes you laugh at his speculations on the
origins of escargots, playing “Spot the Terrorist” on airplanes or
his brilliant take on how you can say anything about anyone in Georgia,
so long as you end the comment with a polite “bless her heart.”
Kirkland has a very “Leacockian” view of the world and it
comes through loud and clear in this book.
Wingfield’s
Hope – More Letters from Wingfield Farm
by
Dan Needles (Key Porter
Books)
Dan
Needles’ newest installment in the Wingfield saga comes not as a play
or a television special but as a book of letters from transplanted Bay
Street C.E.O. Walt Wingfield describing the less than pastoral existence
on his farm in PersephoneTownship. The editor of the local newspaper
gets to hear first hand how Walt struggles to make ends meet and be
accepted in a farming area that suspiciously eyes the part-time broker
and part-time farmer. Walt
should be happy now that he has married
Maggie, the girl next door, but he senses the voices of the rural
community slipping away, possibly lost forever. Needles has created a
fictional rural community populated by an assortment of characters, both
human and animal. The former includes the Squire, who is losing his
memory. The latter includes Walt’s horses Feedbin, Mortgage and King
and his haunted Oxford ram named Pink Floyd. Stephen Leacock himself
would recognize these fictional but quintessential Canadians.
Crazy
About Lili
by
William Weintraub (Douglas
Gibson Books)
Montreal
writer William Weintraub’s most recent novel Crazy
About Lili takes the reader back to a supposedly more innocent
place and time – Montreal, 1948 – and brings to life a protagonist
whose adventures are not quite what one would expect of a naive first
year McGill student. Richard Lippman spends his days at university
studying Latin, Ovid, the Crimean War and writing poetry. By night he
has become enthralled with Lili L’Amour , the “star” stripper
whose strip-tease routines always tell a story. Soon, thanks to his
earthy Uncle Morty’s connections, Richard is writing poetry to
accompany Lili’s routines. His infatuation with Lili is the basis of
his farcical life that he keeps secret from his refined Westmount
parents. Does it sound like
Catcher in the Rye crossed with
Guys and Dolls or is it Mordecai Richler crossed with Evelyn Waugh?
Either way, it is a thoroughly enjoyable read.
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