Curled Up With a Good Book and a Cup of Tea

It takes a brave person to fill the shoes of Jon Stewart, one of the (if not THE) most successful satirical news hosts on American television. At the helm of The Daily Show for 16 years, Stewart built the show into a 23 time Emmy-winning show that averaged 2 million viewers each night, becoming the authority on news and politics for the younger generation. It is only natural that his successor would be held to a scrutiny that few could withstand. But Trevor Noah was more than ready for the challenge. Everything in Trevor's life was leading him to The Daily Show . Starting as a young comedian in South Africa, he took all sorts of jobs that would eventually lead to him headlining one of the biggest stand-up shows the country had ever seen. Pretty soon, the rest of the world came calling and Noah was set on the path to taking over one of the most coveted seats on television. But it is the start of Trevor’s story that is most compelling. Born in apartheid South Africa to a ...

As creator of The Mindy Project and author of the New York Times bestseller Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? , Mindy Kaling has quickly become everyone’s celebrity best friend.  Her humour and easy-going nature has everyone wanting to have her in their lives.    In her new book Why Not Me? Mindy once again proves why we all want her in our girl squad.  She opens up about her life with an attitude of “we should all be able to laugh at ourselves.”  She writes about university life, falling in love, moving to Hollywood, starting new friendships, and celebrity style.  But most importantly, she shows women that no matter who they are or where they are, they should take on life asking the question “why not me?” I’m a Mindy fan-girl.  I never watched The Office so my first introduction to her was in The Mindy Project and I fell in love with her.  I’ve never really been one to consider a celebrity a “role model” but you can’t help but admir...

Who Should Read This:   Anyone who grew up with immigrant parents, or anyone just looking for a book that will make them laugh out loud. Born in England and raised in Canada by Pakistani parents, Zarqa Nawaz has always lived in two very different cultures at the same time.  Navigating a more liberal culture while staying true to her parents conservative culture made for some very interesting experiences to say the least.  It seems that the best way to remain sane in this sort of situation is to look at it all with humour. And that is exactly what Zarqa has done. In 2007, Zarqa brought to Canadian television a hilarious, momentous television show called Little Mosque on the Prairie .  Set in Saskatchewan, the show was a comical look at the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims in a small town.  And it was hilarious.  Now, the hilarity continues in her fabulous memoir Laughing All the Way to the Mosque . From being a young girl tryin...

Famed child actor, star of two hit television shows, Tony winner, popular award show host, husband, father…Neil Patrick Harris has lived a full life and now you can live that life too.  When NPH writes his autobiography, he doesn’t do it in the regular way.  Instead he writes, Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography . It’s pretty safe to say that most fans of Harris’ already know much of his story.  Born and raised in New Mexico, he came into our homes as the boy-genius doctor on television’s Doogie Howser, M.D .  But when the show finished, he was unable to escape the Doogie image.  It wasn’t until he appeared in the 2004 film, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle that he was able to shed that image and get on the path to becoming the NPH we all know today.  Read this book and see if you will follow the same path he did. When I first heard about this book I pretty much thought the same thing everyone else did - “a Choose Your Own Au...

When I was in university (all those years ago) I discovered what would become one of my all-time favourite television shows.  It had everything I looked for in a show - wild characters, tons of laughs, and British accents.  That show was Absolutely Fabulous .  This led me to discover the fabulous French and Saunders and from there my love of British comedy television just exploded.   A few years ago I read Dawn French’s autobiography Dear Fatty so I was thrilled when I heard that Jennifer Saunders would be publishing her own as well.  These are two of the funniest women I have ever seen on television so I knew that their books would be as well. Bonkers: My Life in Laughs is the story of Jennifer’s life.  From her childhood on Royal Air Force bases to worldwide fame as an incredible comedienne she covers it all.  From her early school days when she met Dawn French, through her time with the Comic Strip and on to television and film success...

67% of Canadians own summer snow pants. 79% of Canadian teens don’t want to wear their winter coat, it’s not even that cold out. 65% of Canadian Instagram accounts include an artsy photo of a Tim Hortons cup. Canadians are an interesting, unique bunch.  One thing that makes us so loveable is our ability to laugh at every one of our quirks.  And @stats_canada has proven that.  Since July 2012, Stats Canada (not affiliated with the official Statistics Canada) has been providing daily doses of Canadian humour on everything from our history and culture to sports, entertainment, politics, and weather to over 235,000 followers.  Now, their successful Twitter feed has been put into one great book, Stats Canada: Satire on a National Scale .  It comes complete with graphs, maps, and illustrations and is organized by topic.  While it’s most likely supposed to be enjoyed bit by bit, tweet by tweet, you’ll find yourself breezing through it, laug...

Jay Onrait doesn’t know it, but he holds a special place in my heart.  It was February 2010 and the Olympics were taking place in Vancouver.  On the other side of the country, my 6 month old son had decided that 5 am was an appropriate time to wake up and I, being the night owl that I am, wasn’t too happy about it.  So after getting him settled, I would make coffee and find my spot on the couch, blurry eyed and not impressed. But at 5 am, the only thing on television for people who don’t have cable was Olympic coverage from a city where it was hours earlier.  So basically it was a bunch of highlights of stuff I had already watched and some second-rate newscaster trying to fill the time.  And that second-rate newscaster was Jay Onrait.  For two weeks, he kept me entertained and had me laughing and took my mind off the fact that the sun wasn’t going to rise for another few hours.   In other words, he kept me sane. I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure if ...

Following his college graduation, armed with a philosophy degree, Jacob Tomsky found himself with a lack of career direction and a lack of incoming funds.  And so he took a job as a valet parking attendant for a brand new, large, luxury hotel in New Orleans.  He never planned to make a career of it, but he quickly learned that once the hospitality business lures you in, it doesn't let you out. Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality is Tomsky's memoir of over a decade of his life spent in the hotel industry.  He has done it all from parking cars to managing the housekeeping department, but most of his time has been spent at the front desk where he's on the front lines and knows the deep, dark secrets of everyone who checks in. This is a fun, fantastic book that anyone who has ever stayed in a hotel will want to read.  At first I thought it was going to be one of those "bring your own black light and/or sheets" ty...

Canadian comic Gerry Dee is having quite the year.  His stand-up specials are huge hits (my husband I saw Life After Teaching live and the man had us in tears through the whole thing), his television show, Mr. D , is a funny success and he travels the country interviewing athletes as Gerry Dee, Sports Reporter for sports station The Score.  But before his comedy success he spent ten years as a teacher in Toronto and, as he argues, not always a good one.  Those ten years are the subject of his new book Teaching: It's Harder Than It Looks , a hilarious collection of anecdotes about teaching, students and parents. As the child of teachers I occasionally heard some of the "inside stories" from the staff room growing up.  And as the wife of a teacher, I hear them all the time.  You wouldn't think it, but schools are comedy gold, especially when you have teachers like Gerry Dee.  He started out as someone who fell into teaching (after failing to get into ...

David Turner has left his job in Ottawa on Parliament Hill for the fast paced world of international public relations.  But as soon as he realizes it's a world he's not quite prepared for, he's thrown in head first with no life preserver in sight. David's first major project is to come up with a way to revitalize public interest in NASA's space program - it turns out most people would rather go out for lunch with their friends than watch a shuttle launch. Thinking they wouldn't expect much from him on his first day he throws out the most out of this world idea he can think of - a Citizen Astronaut lottery that would send one Canadian and one American into space on the next launch. Baffled by the fact that they actually go for the idea, David finds himself thrown into the sea of politics behind the scenes at a PR agency as well as Canadian-American relations.  And when he's sent into a remote area of British Columbia to find Canada's citizen a...

Canadian politics may not get as much attention as American politics but we sure have our fair share of drama.  In fact in the last eight years, we had four federal elections, something that is supposed to occur every four years.  You can imagine that things haven't exactly been business as usual when it comes to our government.  And the citizens haven't exactly been thrilled with this either. If you want to find out exactly what's going on in Canadian politics and how everyone feels about it, you have to look no further than Rick Mercer.  The easiest way to explain his television show, The Rick Mercer Report , is to say he's Canada's Jon Stewart.  A fine comparison, but Rick's show isn't just about the humorous side of politics, it's about discovering what is great about Canada and showcasing our best and brightest…while taking a glimpse at the humorous side of politics. And a unique part of the show is Mercer's rant - a short, on the mo...

You most likely know Mindy Kaling from The Office , where she stars as Kelly Kapoor and writes several of the show's episodes. Even if you're not a fan of the show, you probably still recognize her from her film roles. If you don't know who she is, you must go find out. A good place to start? Her new book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) . In essays, Kaling documents her life as the chubby child of immigrant professionals growing up in America, a university comedy actress portraying Ben Affleck in an Off-Broadway play and finally, having achieved her dream of becoming a comedy writer and actress. A quick read of this book will show you why she is so deserving of all the success she has had. In the book she takes on topics such as karaoke etiquette, the rights and responsibilities of a best friend, romantic comedies, Irish exits, chest hair and comedy roasts among many, many other hilarious topics. I could totally relate to her reveng...

It's been pretty hard to miss Ellen DeGeneres these past few years. Whether it's dancing on her hit television show, judging on American Idol, or striking a pose in a Cover Girl commercial, Ellen is everywhere. And now she's back on bookshelves. In Seriously….I'm Kidding , Ellen takes on everything from the best way to fall asleep to the difficulty of being royalty with her trademark humour. The book is comprised of short essays filled with witty observations on celebrity culture and life in general. It seems that Ellen can find the lighter side of almost anything as well as the absurdity of almost anything. Some of the essays give the reader some great and important thoughts on life (for example her chapter about courtesy) and some of them are meant for nothing but laughs. I must say though, for as funny as Ellen is on her talk show it didn't completely translate on to the page for me. Some of the essays had me laughing out loud, but for the most pa...

We've all been there. You're at a movie theatre and someone talking loudly on their cell phone is ruining the movie. You've just been cut off in traffic by someone who didn't say thank you because they were too busy texting. You're at your child's soccer game and a parent is bullying their child, the coach and the ref. And you find yourself wondering "whatever happened to manners?" Whoopi Goldberg is right there with you. In Is It Just Me?: Or Is It Nuts Out There? Whoopi calls out all those people who are ruining our days. She takes on drunk drivers, texting drivers, bad parents, bullies and many others and lets them know exactly what she thinks of them. If you've ever wondered what happened to a little bit of courtesy, you'll find yourself agreeing with Whoopi at every turn of the page. If you are a fan of Whoopi's from The View , then you will really enjoy this book. In fact, you'll have heard a lot of this before,...

Life on the D-List is anything but boring. In Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin the comedian holds nothing back and gives readers an intimate look at life in Hollywood from the perspective of a D-lister. I must admit, I was a little worried going into the book that I would be offended by the content or language. And of course, her language does get a little colourful at times. But using her trademark wit, Kathy gives readers a hilarious look at her childhood, her attempt to break into the comedy circuit, her plastic surgeries and what happened when fame finally came. No one is spared from Kathy, and some juicy Hollywood gossip is spilled (even if some of it is speculation.) Reading this book will give you an understanding of who and what has shaped Kathy and her brand of comedy. Think of this book as your guilty pleasure reading. You'll laugh, you'll shake your head, and you may even be offended at times, but you will also find Kat...

On her second day as co-host of The View Sherri Shepherd gave the answer she will forever be remembered for (thanks mostly in part to YouTube.) When asked if she thought the world was round or flat she responded "Is the world flat? I never thought about it." Of course she knows the world is round, and if you watch the video you see a woman who was nervous, excited and unsure of what was going on around her in that moment. Most people would have just got up and left the stage. But Sherri continues to come back to that table everyday. Why? Because she wrote herself a permission slip to say the dumbest thing in the world, then move on. Permission Slips is a funny look at Sherri's life, the mistakes she has made and the lessons she has learned. She takes on her childhood as a Jehovah's Witness, her time spent in jail for unpaid parking tickets, her jump into stand-up comedy, diabetes and her time now as a mother and comedy star. She shows women that rather...