Searching for Paradise in Parker, PA by Kris Radish

Published by Random House Large Print an Imprint of Random House Canada

Meet the Liptons. Lucky Lipton is a man who loves to spend time with his friends, collect random items from all over the neighbourhood, and build bowling ball sculptures. Addy Lipton is a woman who wants more from life. She can't remember the last time she felt happy in her marriage and she hates that her husband's hobbies mean that she can't park her car in the garage. She has many hobbies of her own but her most recent is daydreaming about ramming the family car through the garage door and destroying both it, and the chaos contained behind.

One day as she finds herself seated behind the wheel of her car, in the driveway, finally about to give in and hurtle into the garage, her husband rushes over with great news. He has won a trip to Costa Rica! Addy feels a tinge of excitement for the first time in forever and allows herself to feel hope that this is their chance to discover paradise and turn their marriage around. Fate is a cruel mistress though and on the morning of their departure, Lucky fractures his back. Now Addy finds herself feeling trapped and uncertain about everything, except for the fact that she knows, as sure as the sun will rise in the morning, she doesn't know her husband - or herself - anymore.

What follows is a tale of drastic decisions, self-discovery, heartache, friendship, love, suspense and humour as Addy decides to follow her heart - wherever it may lead, and takes a whole community along for the ride!

I loved the cover on this book. After many, many, many months of looking at nothing but snow around me, this book was a welcome change. Warm colours along with an image of someone basking in the rays from the sun reminded me that summer is not that far away. Yay! As for the book itself, I was a little daunted at first glimpse but once I realised it was a Large Print edition, I knew it wouldn't take me long to inhale this novel.

I will admit that I struggled with the first 2 or 3 chapters of this book. It just didn't grab my attention the way so many of my latest reads have and I found myself caught between wanting to give up on reading it, and forcing myself to continue so that I could do a fair review. I am so glad I stuck with it! It wasn't long before I realised that not only had I stopped having a debate with myself on whether I wanted to finish the book or not, but I was actually caught up in the story and hesitant to put the book down.

The characters really draw the reader in. I am not sure which of them had more of an impact on me. Addy is the main character, in that she fills most of the chapters with her life, her hopes and dreams, her regrets and so much more. The reader can't help but feel for this woman who is going through so much and feeling things that if we are honest, most women have felt about their marriage or relationships at least once! Sprinkled throughout are chapters in which her husband Lucky speaks. What caught me by surprise about Lucky was that in each of his chapters he only actually has about a very small amount of things to say to the reader and yet I found myself feeling more attached to him because of his frankness, his heartfelt emotion, the hope, regret, and so much more that he manages to express in such a small time.

This was a wonderful read for me once I got past my initial frustration with the novel. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I know I didn't anticipate that I would find it to be such an engaging read. I love that the author managed to include tragedy, heartache, laughter and fun in perfect harmony. I found it to be really surprising also. I had no idea where the characters would lead me next and as much as I tried to guess ahead, I was never even close.

Another thing I liked was that I found myself feeling the turmoil that the characters were facing. As much as they were struggling to discover what they wanted from life, I found myself constantly changing my hopes for each of them. I can't remember the last time a novel caused that type of reaction in me and it really added a little something to the experience. What I liked too is that none of the chapters are all that long which makes it a really easy read because if you want to read it continuously, you feel like you are reading at an incredible rate as the chapters pass you by but if you find yourself having to deal with real life and have a couple of minutes here and there to pick the book up again, you can easily squeeze a chapter in. There is a downside to that also. I found myself crawling into bed some nights and feeling far too tired to read but knowing I could squeeze a chapter in before falling asleep, often led to me actually reading much more.

I love when a book surprises me. When I look at my original reaction to this book, and how I felt upon finishing it, it was a real turnaround. I am glad I stuck with it.

Author's website: http://www.krisradish.com/

How to be a Canadian by Will Ferguson & Ian Ferguson

Published by Douglas & McIntyre

Canadian brothers Will and Ian Ferguson provide an entertaining and hilariously funny glimpse into what it means to be Canadian. The content is divided into 17 chapters covering subjects such as: Canada: A Rich Tapestry (Who to Hate and Why), Learning the Language, Canadian Cuisine (and How to Avoid It), Mating Rituals, Beer, Social Values, Twelve Ways to Say "I'm Sorry", and one my favourites - A Cross-Canada Tour or How to Get Lost.

The final chapter is a simple test to see just how Canadian you are and cracked me up in the worst way. I would have enjoyed exams in high school so much better had the Ferguson brothers been responsible for putting them together!

This book was hilarious from the first page. Be advised that it's not a great idea to begin reading it late at night, in bed, when your partner is trying to sleep. (Sorry Honey!). I had to give up after waking him up four times due to me laughing out loud. It's one of those books where you just have to share the contents with friends and what I loved about this one is, when I usually share snippets that seem funny to me, I often get a strange or bored look in return as the humour is not easy to understand without reading more of the book. You can easily share any random piece of info from this book and it will always cause a smile - or more likely, chuckling and laughter - from the one you share it with. My husband found lots of it to be highly funny and I won't be surprised if he reads it next.

It's not easy to be offended by this book, though I found myself wondering if I should have been. I could only personally associate with two of the provinces involved (Ontario and Quebec) but greatly enjoyed reading about the others too. The parts of the book referring to Ontario and Quebec were right on the money and I especially liked the Quebec's guide to evaluating ballots. I found it great that the authors could take a topic like politics which is usually tedious to read, and made it just as funny (if not funnier) than the other subjects covered.

Another section I loved was the food section. I greatly enjoyed learning about some of the foods that are enjoyed across the provinces. Here in Quebec for example, the authors speak of poutine (my own personal thoughts on this food is that it is simply delicious but ought to be made illegal because of calories included), sweet things like sucre à la crème and tarte au sucre aka sugar pie (which are both so sweet that I swear they can cause a sugar coma), and of course the snails. I also had to laugh when the writers commented on the strange use of the word "ketchup" to mean first class here in Quebec. I am so glad it isn't just me who doesn't understand that one. The first time I heard it used was by my Father-in-law and I just couldn't work out where ketchup came into the conversation we were having.

The writers commented that no one eats the snails and similar stuff but I have to admit that when I first moved to Quebec I visited the Red Lobster here and finally tried snails - which my dear husband likes to eat from time to time (EW, never again!) and frog's legs (which are not like chicken but not that offensive either). The writers also comment on the fact that Quebecois folk like their hot dogs and I have to agree with that one. There is a restaurant in Chicoutimi in fact, that gives away a free hot dog each time you use their cash machine. Also discussed were Beaver Tails (a pastry) and Prairie Osyters among others. Beaver Tails are something I wanted to try for the longest time and even have a recipe for, but never created them. I will include the recipe in the comments. Prairie Oysters are something I think I will avoid, at any cost.

All in all. A great read that really made me look at all things Canadian in a refreshing way. I can hardly wait to dive into Will Ferguson's title "Why I Hate Canadians" which I will be reviewing soon. Highly recommended for a fun gift or something to read when you need a pick me up. It can't fail!

Author's website: http://www.willferguson.ca/