Noise

Noise is Russell Smith’s follow up to How Insensitive, his debut novel that nailed a Governor General’s nomination, sold well, and made Toronto scenesters proud of being the shallow poseurs that they are. In Noise, ... Read More »

March 2, 2004 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

Margaret Lives in the Basement

By Michelle Berry

The childish title doesn’t really suggest the book: subterranean murkiness there is, but the stories in Michelle Berry’s second collection are rather more flammable, forged in the brilliance of summer heatwaves. These 11 stories stick ... Read More »

March 2, 2004 | Filed under: Fiction: Short

Childhood

By André Alexis

Despair and Other Stories of Ottawa, published in 1994, was André Alexis’s first book, a tight and elegant collection of short stories overlooked for lofty prizes. With his first novel, Childhood, honour will be redeemed. ... Read More »

March 2, 2004 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

★ Strange Heaven

By Lynn Coady

A couple of chapters into this stellar first novel, Alan, an urban Ontarian with a facetious habit of talking like a CBC newscaster, describes his impressions of the small Cape Breton town he’s landed in: ... Read More »

March 2, 2004 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

Be Your Own Home Decorator: Creating the Look You Love Without Spending a Fortune

By Pauline B. Guntlow

It has happened before. A domestic guru becomes a universal arbiter of good taste. In the past it was Laura Ashley and Ralph Lauren. But even these multi-million dollar lifestyle creators don’t measure up to ... Read More »

March 2, 2004 | Filed under: Sports, Health & Self-help

Debbie Travis’ Painted House: Quick and Easy Painted Finishes for Walls, Floors, and Furniture Using Water-Based Paints

By Debbie Travis

March 2, 2004 | Filed under: Sports, Health & Self-help

My Name Isn’t Martha, But I Can Decorate My Home: The Real Person’s Guide to Creating a Beautiful Home Easily and Affordably

By Sharon Hanby-Robie

March 2, 2004 | Filed under: Sports, Health & Self-help

How to Decorate: A Guide to Creating Comfortable, Stylish Living Spaces

By Martha Stewart

March 2, 2004 | Filed under: Sports, Health & Self-help

Pocket Gardening: A Guide to Gardening in Impossible Places

By Marjorie Harris, photographs by Tim Saunders

Four years ago I was a complete gardening ignoramus. I thought hostas were a sort of Latin American mobster (it’s a long story), lupines a terrible skin disease, and city people who grew their own ... Read More »

March 2, 2004 | Filed under: Science, Technology & Environment