Justine's Bookends Review

Long weekend Grilling: Check out Ted Reader's new cookbook

Justine Lewkowicz — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:23:00 GMT

The long weekend is here and I bet I know what's on your mind: cottages, patios and BBQs.

I myself am planning to pull out the BBQ this weekend for the first time this season. Can't wait!

And you can be sure that one of the cookbooks at my side will be Gastro Grilling because you can't go wrong with Ted Reader.

This new cookbook from the BBQ king isn't about grilling steaks the boring way. It's about grilling food of the highest quality with "fun and passion," as Ted puts it.

In his intro, he says, "I'm a fat kid in a candy shop, only the candy shop is a circle of hot smoking and crackling grills." And with Gastro Grilling he's bringing that candy shop to you.

If "Fire-Roasted Oysters with Crawfish Bacon BBQ Butter" and "Grilled Squid with Grilled Prosciutto-Wrapped Radichio & Caper Balsamic Sauce" sound deliciously appealing to you, give this cookbook a try this long weekend.

And if you love beer along with your BBQ (who doesn't), make sure to check out Ted's cookbook from last year, Beerlicious -- for more info and to check out a video of Ted and I in his BBQ mecca, click here.

INTERVIEW: Amanda Leduc on faith, doubt & her new book

Justine Lewkowicz — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:56:00 GMT

The Miracles of Ordinary Men
Amanda Leduc
Fiction

INTERVIEW: Listen to my chat with Amanda Leduc about her debut novel, her own beliefs and her thoughts on the necessity of doubt. You can listen to the interview here.

SYNOPSIS: Sam, an English teacher, wakes up one morning with wings growing out of his back. Only several people can see the wings, including his childhood priest. Sam turns to him for help – what do the wings mean? Why did this happen to him when he doesn’t even believe in God?

Lilah, meanwhile, struggles with figuring out her life. When she finally comes back home after spending months adrift in Europe and Asia, she wastes her days away working as a secretary and trying to save a brother who has turned to homelessness as a way of life. She ends up in a sadomasochistic relationship with her boss because, at least, it makes her feel something.

All the characters begin to question God, His message, their destinies. Not even the priest has any answers.

MY THOUGHTS: Amanda Leduc brings up fascinating questions about faith and destiny. And she doesn’t provide answers because the point is, she says, that there will and should always be doubt.

She says doubt is a vital part of your lifelong journey because it pushes you to become a better version of yourself.

It’s that necessity for doubt that leads the priest to say that you can’t wholly believe in God, but you also can’t not believe at all.

“One makes you an idiot, and the other brings you nothing but despair,” the priest says.

When Sam asks which one, the priest answers, “It changes. All the time.”

What I like about this book is that it’s left so open to interpretation. What you take from it will very much depend on what you yourself believe.

MY RATING: 3.5 out of 5

Contact me: jlewkowicz@astral.com

Follow me: @JustineLewkowic

INTERVIEW: Jowita Bydlowska on Alcoholism & Motherhood

Justine Lewkowicz — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:00:00 GMT

Drunk Mom
Jowita Bydlowska
Memoir

INTERVIEW: Listen to my chat with Jowita about her memoir and her battle with alcoholism. She talks about how she felt the day her revealing book was released, and how she hopes her son will take it when he’s older. You can listen to the podcast here.

THE BOOK: When Jowita Bydlowska’s son was born, she celebrated by throwing back a glass of champagne. That moment marked her relapse into alcoholism, three years after she had given up drinking.

Drunk Mom is Jowita’s account of the months following her son’s birth and her relapse, as she tried to quit, failed, and tried again.

During those first months as a new mom, Jowita became an expert in math (at least, she hoped she was getting the numbers right). Every other day, she would calculate when she could breastfeed her newborn son, based on how much she had to drink and when. For the 14 or so hours the alcohol was still in her system, she would turn to baby formula to feed her son.

She knew that she had become a “drunk mom,” endangering her child every time she passed out with her son in the other room. To deal with it, she drank some more.

But Jowita tried everything to quit – from AA meetings to rehab.

Then one day, she had not a moment, but an “invisible, non-existent pause” when she told herself she didn’t want to be “lost” anymore and everything changed.

MY THOUGHTS: I don’t think I could be as brutally honest about my life, my weaknesses, my failures.

Jowita lays it all out on the page. And it must have been so much more difficult to publicize her addiction, given that she had turned to drink when a newborn son was in her care. She has gone beyond admitting she had a problem.

She gives a grim look into the mind of an addict: “I love to drink. Sometime I think: No, I am drink. It’s like my blood. Even before I get it, I can feel it in my veins.”

And even though there are many questions Jowita can’t answer, like why she became an alcoholic, she makes it easier to comprehend addiction.

Jowita told me she hopes by the time her son gets to read her memoir, there will be less stigma surrounding alcoholism. I think she’s already chipped away at some of the negativity by being so candid about her struggle.

MY RATING: 5 out of 5

INTERVIEW: Jeff Blair on 40 years of Blue Jays

Justine Lewkowicz — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Full Count: Four Decades of Blue Jays Baseball
Jeff Blair
Non-fiction

INTERVIEW: Listen to my chat with Jeff Blair about his book and about those Jays.

THE BOOK: Forty years ago, a new sports franchise was born in the city that bleeds blue and white – the Toronto Blue Jays.

Back in the ‘80s, the Jays were a dream team with a “dream owner,” Peter Hardy. Jeff Blair, a columnist with The Globe & Mail, explains that Toronto executives at the time knew how to do things differently and how to make this city a destination for players.

Then came two years in Jays’ history that every fans remembers – the ’92 and ’93 World Series wins.

Twenty years later, the Blue Jays have inspired excitement among fans again. (Or at least they had before the 2013 season started.)

In the meantime, the team had gone through lean times, shifting from the “the Cadillac of franchises” to one hanging out on the sidelines.

Blair goes through 40 years of Blue Jays history with a focus on the Rogers years.

He talks about what the team did right when it was on top, and how it all went wrong until the big, surprise announcement after the 2012 season – the 12-player trade deal.

Full Count doesn’t have the same romance of a book like Bushville Wins!, but it’s full of facts that can be great conversation ammo for die-hard fans.

MY RATING: 2.5 out of 5

BOOKENDS REVIEW: The Blind Man's Garden

Justine Lewkowicz — Fri, 03 May 2013 14:00:00 GMT

The Blind Man’s Garden
Nadeem Aslam
Fiction

SYNOPSIS: When young Jeo is frightened by a story being told to him, his father Rohan asks, “But have you ever heard a story in which the evil person triumphs at the end?” He thinks and responds, “No… but before they lose, they harm the good people. That is what I am afraid of.”

That fear becomes reality when Jeo is older.

It’s post 9/11. The U.S. attacks Afghanistan, trying to drive out the Taliban.

Jeo decides he can’t sit around in his Pakistani village while the war rages on next door. His foster brother, Mikal, decides he can’ t let Jeo go alone.

So the two best friends head straight for Afghanistan. They don’t want to fight, they want to help care for wounded civilians. But their good intentions are taken advantage of, and they soon find themselves in the middle of the conflict.

This is a story of a family’s losses in a time of war. Not only is the West clashing with Islam, but so are differing beliefs within Islam itself.

MY THOUGHTS: There is such raw emotion in this book.

In the midst of violence and cruelty, Nadeem Aslam shows that humanity is capable of endless beauty and kindness.

The book is not fast paced, but there’s no need for that. You want to slowly take in the words, let the author’s expressive language sink in.

What keeps you reading? Mikal. His strength and courage, and also his imperfect humanness. He makes mistakes, as we all do, but his rare, selfless and fearless convictions lead him to make the most unlikely ally.

Through Mikal’s encounters with American soldiers, Aslam shows that we’re all made of the same components.

The ending is so poignant, I’ll admit that I had to hold back tears in the middle of a coffee shop. That rarely happens to me when I’m reading!

MY RATING: 4 out of 5

Contact me: jlewkowicz@astral.com

Follow me: @JustineLewkowic

INTERVIEW: Sarah Elton on sustainable food

Justine Lewkowicz — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:30:00 GMT

In 2050, the world's population is expected to reach 9 billion. At the same time, the changing climate is affecting the way we produce our food.

In Consumed, Sarah Elton (author of Locavore) lists a series of targets she thinks need to be met to be able to continue to feed a growing population.

She argues that we need to change the status quo, shift away from industrial agriculture to a sustainable food system - localized, organic farming.

She spent two years travelling through Asia, Europe and North America, gathering stories that show how a sustainable system could work.

LISTEN to my interview with Sarah about her book and her research. She talks about what triggered her interest in sustainable food, what the average citizen can do, what the government should do, and how difficult she thinks the fight will be in an industrial world.

Contact me: jlewkowicz@astral.com

Follow me: @JustineLewkowic

BOOKENDS REVIEW: Studio Saint-Ex

Justine Lewkowicz — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:00:00 GMT

Studio Saint-Ex
Ania Szado
Fiction

SYNOPSIS: This book is part historical, but mostly fiction.

It is a fictionalization of the life of famous French writer and war pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupery, set in the 1940s, when he was living in North America and writing his most popular work, Le Petit Prince/The Little Prince.

Antoine, or “Saint-Ex,” was desperately waiting for the U.S. to join the war and to be sent back overseas to defend his Nazi-occupied country. Another main character in Studio Saint-Ex is Antoine’s wife Consuelo, whom Szado turns into an overbearing, obsessive, and lonely woman. It is said that their marriage was a stormy one, full of affairs.

Szado’s addition to history is the third character and the one leading her story, Mignonne Lachapelle, a young designer trying to launch her fashion career.

The author’s imaginary tale ensnares Mignonne, Antoine and Consuelo in a complicated love triangle. Consuelo is ready to do what it takes to hold on to her husband and save her marriage. Antoine is infatuated with Mignonne, but he won’t let go of the strange bond he has with his wife. That leaves Mignonne in the middle of a spiralling plot.

MY THOUGHTS: If one of my girlfriends asked me this weekend which book she should read next, I would tell her Studio Saint Ex.

Like Above All Things from last year, and The Painted Girls earlier this year, this book is a jewel for female readers.

Szado pulls you into her story with an incredibly descriptive writing style, placing you in the middle of the fashion scene in 1940s Manhattan.

She keeps your interest with three strong characters – with Mignonne’s inability to stand up for herself, Antoine’s inability to stand up for others, and Consuelo’s train-wreck persona.

MY RATING: 4 out of 5

Contact me: jlewkowicz@astral.com

Follow me: @JustineLewkowic

INTERVIEW: The Pond Book

Justine Lewkowicz — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 15:25:00 GMT

This is the time of year to start thinking about your backyards and the outdoors.

The Pond Book is, at it sounds, all about constructing ponds. The author, John Stephen Hicks, is a professional landscape architect who spent most of his career in the Provincial Parks of Ontario,

Listen to my interview with John - he talks about growing up near High Park's Grenadier Pond and how difficult it has become to build a pond in southern Ontario.

Contact me: jlewkowicz@astral.com

Follow me: @JustineLewkowic

BOOKENDS REVIEW: The Wolves of St. Peter's

Justine Lewkowicz — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 15:00:00 GMT

The Wolves of St. Peter’s
Gina Buonaguro and Janice Kirk
Murder Mystery

SYNOPSIS: Bodies are pulled from the Tiber river on a regular basis.

But when the body of a beautiful, blonde-haired prostitute is pulled from the water, Francesco is shocked that this time he knows the person’s identity.

The Wolves of St. Peter’s is set in Rome in 1508. Pope Julius II has commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and Raphael to paint part of his papal apartments.

All of these famous characters make appearances in the book. Francesco is Michelangelo’s houseboy and a friend of Raphael.

Francesco makes it his mission to find out who killed Calendula, the prostitute.

And like all murder mysteries, there are several twists and the identity of the killer remains hidden until the very last few pages.

MY THOUGHTS: My favourite part about this book is the setting.

The authors take you on a tour of their version of the filthy, human-excrement-filled alleyways of 16^th century Rome, and introduce you to their version of some of the most famous Renaissance artists. It may not be factual, but it’s an enjoyable journey into the past.

If you’re a fan of murder mysteries, you’ll enjoy this one. There’s a surprise ending that I don’t think I could have predicted. It’s a good book for someone looking for a suspenseful and light read.

MY RATING: 3 out of 5

Contact me: jlewkowicz@astral.com

Follow me: @JustineLewkowic

BOOKENDS REVIEW: Life After Life

Justine Lewkowicz — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 18:46:00 GMT

Life After Life
Kate Atkinson
Fiction

SYNOPSIS: Life After Life asks this question: what if you could redo life, over and over again, until you finally got it right?

That’s what happens to Ursula.

She is born in a little village in England in 1910. The umbilical cord strangles her and she doesn’t live very long at all. But then she’s born again. And this time the family doctor is there to cut the cord before it strangles her.

Her life starts over dozens of times. Either she makes a choice that eventually leads to her death, or she makes a different choice and she survives longer. Or she makes a different choice and her life goes along a very different course. Or she makes a different choice and someone she loves dies. Or someone around her makes a different choice and it changes the course of her life.

All of this happens as Ursula is living through the First and Second World Wars.

MY THOUGHTS: This book is incredibly unique and reflective.

Kate Atkinson underlines the importance of each and every single decision you make, no matter how insignificant it seems to you at the time, and how substantial a chance encounter or pure dumb luck can be.

At the same time, the author points out the obvious – one day you will die. The choices you make, and the chances and luck that come your way, determine when you will die and what kind of life you will live until that day.

Life After Life has been longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and I think it deserves the distinction.

MY RATING: 4.5 out of 5

Contact me: jlewkowicz@astral.com

Follow me: @JustineLewkowic