Curled Up With a Good Book and a Cup of Tea

When I think about the term "Southern," lots of things come to mind - etiquette, comfort food, funny accents, big hair…and a few things I can't quite wrap my head around like Nascar. So when I heard about the book Sue Ellen's Girl Ain't Fat, She Just Weighs Heavy by Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, I knew I had to pick it up and see if I could understand Southerners a bit better. Using principles from the "Belle Doctrine" Tomlinson covers a wide range of topics such as fitness, men, time management, manners, politics, holidays and regional differences. Included amongst the observations and advice are Southern recipes and anecdotes from readers about growing up Southern. Right from the start this book screams "go-to book on all things Southern." This is a follow-up to Tomlinson's best-selling book Suck Your Stomach In & Put Some Color On! but the book does stand alone so you don't have to have read the first one. Though I'm ...

For those of you who live in Toronto or the surrounding areas, you'll probably already know about this. For those of you who don't live near Toronto but love books, you'll want to hear about this. Our new mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, rode into office on a thrilling platform that promised to "cut the gravy" at City Hall without cutting services. Here we are only a few months after the election and up on the chopping block are our public libraries. Apparently Rob Ford sees them as more of a financial burden than an essential community service. His brother, Councillor Doug Ford, also seems to think public libraries aren't very important. He stated that in his area of the city, there are more public libraries than Tim Hortons. Anyone who lives in Toronto can point you to an area in the city where there is a Tim Hortons across the street from a Tim Hortons and knows this statement is obviously false. Some options at City Hall right now are to either privatize t...

How would five million dollars change your life? Would it solve all of your problems? If your answer is yes, don't be so sure. Thirty-eight-year-old Lenora Stone is a successful photographer for the glossy magazine Baltimore Scene . But Lenora wishes that she could be socializing with Baltimore's A-list rather than photographing them. But with overdue bills, car trouble, a demanding boss and a boyfriend of three years who doesn't seem to want to propose, her life is far from glamorous. When Lenora wins the jackpot Maryland lottery it seems that all her dreams may be finally be in reach. She has traded in her brokedown Honda for a brand new BMW and she has upgraded from a tiny condo to a million-dollar mansion. Her boyfriend has proposed, she has quit her job and the city's most exclusive women's group has offered her a membership. But soon Lenora finds that money doesn't always bring happiness. Her old friends are concerned about her sudden changes...