Mini Book Expo For Bloggers

Delusion: The True Story of Victorian Superspy Henri Le Caron [Jmnlman's Review]

Jmnlman's review of Delusion over on Strategist's Personal Library is razor sharp and to the point:

He's done quite a bit of research and it shows in an extensive notes and a bibliography section. For anyone who's interested in an early terrorist groups, Irish, British, Canadian or American history.

Highly recommended!

Keep reading Jmnlman's review... 

---

More information 

• Key Porter Books | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com

• Hardcover: 344 pages 
• Publisher: Key Porter Books (April 28, 2008 )
• ISBN-10: 1552639673 
• ISBN-13: 978-1552639672 

Drumblair: Memories of a Jamaican Childhood [Kathy's review]

 

Kathy invites us all to read this tribute by a loving granddaughter to her not-so-typical grandparents in Drumblair:

Rachel Manley was born in England to a European mother and a Jamaican father. When she was two and a half years old, her mother was ill, so she was sent to Jamaica to live with grandparents she had never met.

Keep reading Kathy's review... 

---

More information

• Author Site: Literature Alive profile of Rachel Manley
• Book Site: www.keyporter.com | Chapters.ca | Amazon
• ISBN-10: 1554700507 
• ISBN-13: 978-1554700509

Lost [Erin's review]

Erin is a fan of Lost :

What began as a collection of poems has spiraled into a full-fledged lyrical journey describing the grief of losing a sibling... Lost invites readers along to witness Ostlere’s heartbreaking memories of her brother’s upbringing, unique personality, and beloved place within numerous families...

Keep reading Erin's review...

---

More information

• Author Site: Cathy Ostlere
• Read an excerpt
• Key Porter Books |Chapters.ca | Amazon.com
• ISBN-10: 1554700434 
• ISBN-13: 978-1554700431

 

Quintet [posthumouse's review]

posthumouse positions Quintet as an enjoyable, character driven read about triplets:

The story of their lives for the past twenty years is told in the form of a journal that each triplet keeps for four months then mails to one of the others. This form works very well, no sudden time shifts or confusion about which of them is telling their story in each chapter. I appreciated that aspect. Written in simple, not flowery language, as one brother opens up a little so do the others in what they tell about their loves, losses and triumphs.

Keep reading posthumouse's review...

---

More information

• Author Site: Douglas Arthur Brown   
• Key Porter | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com
• ISBN-10: 1552639975 
• ISBN-13: 978-1552639979

Ex-Cottagers in Love [posthumouse's review]

posthumouse thinks this book is a worthwhile read:

Darkly humorous, the story follows both the lighter moments and the sadder ones for Dave, and in a somewhat parallell story, young George and his grandfather back home. The story is more serious than the title first suggested to me and I'm glad of it. I liked these characters and hope that Kearns writes more fiction because he does it well.

Four stars out of five

Keep reading posthumouse's review...

---

More information

• Author Site:  J.M. Kearns Home Page
• Key Porter Books | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com
• ISBN-10: 1554700000 
• ISBN-13: 978-1554700004

Drumblair: Memories of a Jamaican Childhood [Lynda's Review]

Lynda (review on LibraryThing) received a copy of Drumblair to review and while she wasn't overly excited by the book, she did find respect within it's pages:

It is interesting to read of the impact her family and her home had on the author and of the influence of the family on Jamaica. The book lacks the power and focus of other books in the same genre of family memoir. However, it is to be respected as the author’s heartfelt memoir of her distinguished  family and her beloved home, Drumblair.

Keep reading Lynda's review...

---

More information

• Author Site: Literature Alive profile of Rachel Manley
• Book Site: www.keyporter.com | Chapters.ca | Amazon

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages 
• Publisher: Key Porter Books (May 30, 2008) 
• ISBN-10: 1554700507 
• ISBN-13: 978-1554700509

Lost: A Memoir [Nicole's Review]

Nicole, over on the groovy-named blog Linus's Blanket, gives her first impression on Lost: A Memoir. Here's a snip:

(I) am enjoying the read. Well, as much as one can enjoy a memoir about woman whose family is undergoing a crisis. Ostlere's brother and his girlfriend have set out to sail a twenty seven foot boat around the Azores on the Atlantic Ocean and have not been heard from in over four weeks. Ostlere goes looking to find out what happened to them, and I am hooked.

Her writing is haunting and exquisite.

Keep reading Nicole's review...

---

More information

• Author Site: Cathy Ostlere
• Read an excerpt
• Key Porter Books |Chapters.ca | Amazon.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages 
• Publisher: Key Porter Books (May 23 2008) 
• ISBN-10: 1554700434 
• ISBN-13: 978-1554700431

The Codfathers [Gordon Pitts]

Lessons from the Atlantic Business Elite

Courtesy of Key Porter

Around the globe, Canadian business leaders are known for their effective management style: patient, polite, often undemonstrative, they are great networkers and deeply committed to operations.

What are the roots of this management style, and how did it become the gold standard for Canadian business leaders?   

Acclaimed business writer Gordon Pitts argues that the source lies Down East, in the business traditions of the Atlantic provinces. The defining traits of fierce company loyalty, excellent operations, and casual-yet-aggressive negotiating style grew out of the entrepreneurial and family businesses for which the region is famous. The exodus of many talented members of the Maritime business class into Central and Western Canada, New England and New York has taken this brand of management into the global power centres of international commerce. 

Based on in-depth interviews with Maritime business leaders, The Atlantic Connection provides a window on the notoriously secretive world of the Irvings, the McCains, the Sobeys, and other business tycoons. It examines the power networks built around former New Brunswick premier, Frank McKenna, who is now bringing the Maritime Mafia into the corridors of power in Washington, D.C. This export of entrepreneurial talent from the Maritimes is one of corporate Canada’s best-kept secrets.

About the Author 

Gordon Pitts is a bestselling author, journalist and features writer for The Globe and Mail ’s Report on Business . In 1989 he was a press fellow at Wolfson College, Cambridge University, during which time he wrote his first book, Storming the Fortress , a finalist for the National Business Book Award in 1990. In the Blood was a finalist for the National Business Book Award in 2000. His third book, Kings of Convergence, was also a finalist, in 2003. Gordon Pitts and his wife live in Toronto, Ontario.

---

More information 

• Author Site:   
• Key Porter | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com

Product Details

• 2 copies available This book is CLAIMED   
• Paperback: 344 pages   
• Publisher: Key Porter Books (Sep 13 2008)   
• ISBN-10: 1554700892   
• ISBN-13: 978-1554700899                                                                        

Shipping within Canada & US sponsored by Key Porter

---

Interested in this book? Then go claim it over at the Mini Book Expo: Business Edition, hosted by One Degree.

Lessons from the Atlantic Business Elite

Courtesy of Key Porter

Around the globe, Canadian business leaders are known for their effective management style: patient, polite, often undemonstrative, they are great networkers and deeply committed to operations.

What are the roots of this management style, and how did it become the gold standard for Canadian business leaders?   

Acclaimed business writer Gordon Pitts argues that the source lies Down East, in the business traditions of the Atlantic provinces. The defining traits of fierce company loyalty, excellent operations, and casual-yet-aggressive negotiating style grew out of the entrepreneurial and family businesses for which the region is famous. The exodus of many talented members of the Maritime business class into Central and Western Canada, New England and New York has taken this brand of management into the global power centres of international commerce. 

Based on in-depth interviews with Maritime business leaders, The Atlantic Connection provides a window on the notoriously secretive world of the Irvings, the McCains, the Sobeys, and other business tycoons. It examines the power networks built around former New Brunswick premier, Frank McKenna, who is now bringing the Maritime Mafia into the corridors of power in Washington, D.C. This export of entrepreneurial talent from the Maritimes is one of corporate Canada’s best-kept secrets.

About the Author 

Gordon Pitts is a bestselling author, journalist and features writer for The Globe and Mail ’s Report on Business . In 1989 he was a press fellow at Wolfson College, Cambridge University, during which time he wrote his first book, Storming the Fortress , a finalist for the National Business Book Award in 1990. In the Blood was a finalist for the National Business Book Award in 2000. His third book, Kings of Convergence, was also a finalist, in 2003. Gordon Pitts and his wife live in Toronto, Ontario.

---

More information 

• Author Site:   
• Key Porter | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com

Product Details

• 2 copies available This book is CLAIMED   
• Paperback: 344 pages   
• Publisher: Key Porter Books (Sep 13 2008)   
• ISBN-10: 1554700892   
• ISBN-13: 978-1554700899                                                                        

Shipping within Canada & US sponsored by Key Porter

---

Interested in this book? Then go claim it over at the Mini Book Expo: Business Edition, hosted by One Degree.

Delusion: The True Story of Victorian Superspy Henri Le Caron [Ann's Review]

Irish Nationals were to invade Canada? To trade it to the British for Ireland? I'm utterly flabbergasted! Preposterous, what! Harumf! Okay that's the extent of my turn of the century British minister. But who doesn't love their Victorian history lesson served up with a nice chunk of alcoholic Prime Ministers? Ann, from Booklorn, uncovers the evidence and brings us her findings on Delusion:

Peter Edwards does an excellent job of both research and translating that research into an interesting read. Edwards chose not to create dialogue for the book so as not to invent what any of these people would say. This choice works very well because the snippets of writing from newspaper reports and personal papers that he uses to give each of the people a voice better than imagined dialogue. The research into the times as well as the individuals helps solidify the world in which Henri Le Caron was operating.

Continue reading Ann's review...

---

More information 

• Key Porter Books | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com

Product Details

• Publisher: Key Porter Books (April 28, 2008 )
• ISBN-10: 1552639673 
• ISBN-13: 978-1552639672 

The Other Side of the Coin [David Orrell]

The Emerging Vision of Economics and Our Place in The World

Courtesy of Key Porter 

Something is askew in the global economic system. In the 1960s, there was hope that the world’s problems could be solved through technology, science, and economics. But human ingenuity has yet to reconcile economic growth with environmental protection and social responsibility. The global economy powers ahead, but we have little idea where it is going or how to correct its excesses. 

According to author David Orrell, economics is in the middle of a revolution. The current theory — based on a tradition of reductionist, mechanical thought that dates back to the time of Pythagoras — has resulted in social injustice, huge disparities between the rich and the poor, and the degradation of the world’s ecology and environment. 

An alternative economic theory is now being fashioned, inspired by new sciences such as complexity and network theory, science-related movements like environmentalism, and social movements like feminism. The first heroes of this revolution include astronauts, student protestors, environmentalists, rock musicians, feminists, maverick mathematicians, and dissident scientists. All have had a hand in forging what is ultimately a new science of money. 

Part economic theory, part science, part popular history, and part manifesto, The Other Side of the Coin promises to change the way readers think about money forever. 

About the Author 

David Orrell, PH.D. is the author of the national bestseller Apollo’s Arrow (US title: The Future of Everything), a book on prediction in climate, genetics, and economics. Born in Edmonton, Alberta, he studied mathematics at the University of Alberta, and received his doctorate in mathematics from the University of Oxford. He currently works for a biotechnology company. 

---

 

More information 

• Author Site: David Orrel   
• Key Porter | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com

Product Details 

• 2 copies available This book is CLAIMED
  
• Hardcover: 376 pages 
• Publisher: Key Porter Books (May 28, 2008) 
• ISBN-10: 1552639819 
• ISBN-13: 978-1552639818                                                                         

Shipping within Canada & US sponsored by Key Porter

Slipstream [Rachel Manley]

A Daughter Remembers

Courtesy of Key Porter

In the wake of her beloved father’s death, Rachel Manley turned inward to try to understand him and to explore the impact of those final moments. Michael Manley—the charismatic, controversial prime minister of Jamaica—had stood at the heart of a decade of radical social reform in the 1970s. From the vantage of her father’s bedside during his last six months of life, his daughter searches the shadows that he cast on her as a child and as a woman—the shadows that familiarly touch daughters and fathers but are inevitably thrown more fiercely by famous parents over their children.

With honesty and deep feeling Manley shares her love and pain, and explores how the enduring bonds that held them were tested time and again, not only by the ordinary conflicts of family life, but by the heavy demands of the political arena and by a succession of five marriages. Slipstream is a shining portrait of one man’s enormous heart and undying spirit, and a testament to the ways in which courage and love can inspire us all to soar.

About the Author

Rachel Manley is the author of the memoir Drumblair: Memories of a Jamaican Childhood , which won the Governor General's Award for Non-fiction in 1997, and Slipstream: A Daughter Remembers . She has also published three books of poetry and edited Edna Manley: The Diaries , a collection of her grandmother's journals. Manley is a New York Public Library Fellow, a Pierre Berton Fellow, a Rockefeller Fellow (Bellagio), and a former Bunting Fellow for Literature at Radcliffe College. She serves on the creative writing faculty at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and has won Jamaica's prestigious Centennial Medal for Poetry. Manley divides her time between Toronto and Jamaica. She has two sons, Drum and Luke.

---

More information

• Key Porter | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com

Product Details

• 2 copies available  This book is CLAIMED
• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Key Porter Books (May 30, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 1554700515
• ISBN-13: 978-1554700516

Shipping within Canada & US sponsored by Key Porter

Lost: A Memoir [Cathy Ostlere]

Courtesy of Key Porter Books

In September 1995, Cathy Ostlere, her husband, and their three children were visiting with the family in Calgary to celebrate her younger brother David's birthday. 

David had been sailing his 28' sailboat 1200 miles from Ireland to the tropical island of Madeira off the coast of Spain with his girlfriend Sarah. 

After months pass with no word from him, a grieving Cathy begins her journey in search of closure and emotional redemption.  From Madeira - where her search for David and Sarah begins - to the British Isles, Cathy finds herself stirred by snapshot memories of David, of their life growing up together. Lost is a meditation on the meaning of family, and what it is to live an authentic life. 

About the Author

Cathy Ostlere is a graduate of the University of Manitoba. Her creative non-fiction essays have appeared in Event and Prairie Fire literary magazines. She has been a finalist for the National Magazine Awards, Western Magazine Awards, CBC Literary Awards, Prism International Literary Nonfiction Contest, and a winner in the Event Creative Non-Fiction Contest. She lives in Calgary, Alberta. 

---

More information

• Author Site: Cathy Ostlere
• Read an excerpt
• Key Porter Books |Chapters.ca | Amazon.com

Product Details

• 3 copies available This book is CLAIMED
• Paperback: 256 pages 
• Publisher: Key Porter Books (May 23 2008) 
• ISBN-10: 1554700434 
• ISBN-13: 978-1554700431

Shipping within Canada & the US sponsored by Key Porter Books

Quintet [Douglas Arthur Brown]

Courtesy of Key Porter

Adrian, Rory, and Cameron. Three brothers, identical triplets, are summoned home by the death of their parents in a freak accident.
From Copenhagen, Toronto, and Halifax, they return to Cape Breton andstand in line as the mourners shake three duplicate hands and offer condolences, in turn, to three identical faces.

Chef, artist, and carpenter, they wonder why they drifted apart. There was no fight, no falling out, just a slow and steady movement, step-by-step, away from each other. When the time comes to return to their separate lives, they agree to keep in touch. They create a journal in which each recounts the counterpoint of his life, the steps that led him away from the other two.

And at every critical step, the triplets find themselves in the shadow of another brother—Talbot, the older brother, Tally, the Big B—and the family secrets he has hoarded for a generation.

About the Author

Douglas Arthur Brown's short fiction and translations have been published in literary journals, magazines, and anthologies, in Canada and Denmark. He has published a novel, A Deadly Harvest; a collection of short fiction, The Komodo Dragon and Other Stories; and two children’s books. His one-act play It’s Better This Way was produced as part of the Danish New Festival of Plays in Copenhagen.

---

More information

• Author Site: Douglas Arthur Brown   
• Key Porter | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com

Product Details

• 3 copies available This book is CLAIMED
  
• Paperback: 314 pages 
• Publisher: Key Porter Books (February 28, 2008) 
• ISBN-10: 1552639975 
• ISBN-13: 978-1552639979

Shipping within Canada & US sponsored by Key Porter

Stuck in Downward Dog [Evelyn's Review]

Evelyn has pointed us to her write up for Stuck in Downward Dog by Chantel Simmons.  I don't think Evelyn enjoyed the book as much as Sandy did. 

Read all her thoughts on and you miss, are no lady. Here's a little taste of what she thought: 

There's nothing glaringly wrong about the book - It moves along alright, though it seems to take forever to get started. The characters (flat and obvious) are clearly developed (although the boss is hardly a tyrant), and there are no loose ends at the conclusion. 

... keep reading Evelyn's review on And You Miss, Are No Lady

---

 

More information on Stuck in Downward Dog 

• Author's Site: Chantel Simmons 
• Key Porter | Chapters.ca  |  Amazon.com

Ex-Cottagers In Love [J. m. Kearns]

Courtesy of Key Porter Books

Dave Moore, 41, is an expat Canadian who is doing just great at all the things he never wanted to do, like living in L.A. and slaving at a giant law firm, while his creative dream nears its expiration date. That's when he falls hard for a beautiful co-worker named Maggie, an impish, edgy goddess who sees right into his soul. So he takes her to the beloved summer cottage of his Canadian youth. 

Well, not quite. 

That cottage was sold . . . but hey, you can see it from the rental place. Which wont stop Dave from trying to summon the past; but will city girl Maggie, beleaguered by her fear of chamber pots and the natural world, desert him in his quest? 

As the story returns to L.A., events close in on Dave. Besieged by his increasingly unbearable day-job and by unresolved issues with his ailing father, he is forced to make a momentous choice: is Maggie the destroyer of his dreams, or is she his only hope? 

A brilliant, darkly comic novel about a middle-aged man at a crossroads, ex-Cottagers in Love takes the reader on an unforgettable journey from the playful and romantic to deeper, sadder but ultimately more luminous places. 

About the Author

J.M. Kearns grew up in Ontario, Canada, where he developed a passion for lakes and literature. He is a best-selling author of non-fiction and an indie music maven in Nashville, Tennessee, where he resides.
Ex-Cottagers in Love is his first novel. 

---

More information

• Author Site:  J.M. Kearns Home Page
• Key Porter Books | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com

Product Details

• 3 copies available  This book is CLAIMED
• Paperback: 380 pages 
• Publisher: Key Porter Books (May 30, 2008) 
• ISBN-10: 1554700000 
• ISBN-13: 978-1554700004

Shipping within Canada sponsored by Key Porter Books

Drumblair: Memories of a Jamaican Childhood [Rachel Manley]

Courtesy of Key Porter Books

Rachel Manley, granddaughter and daughter of two of Jamaica’s national leaders, tells the story of the brilliant, artistic Manleys— Jamaica’s most prominent and glamorous political family — and the house that nurtured them: Drumblair. 

This is a world vividly recreated for us, and an intimate, captivating memoir of the people who changed Jamaica’s intellectual, social, and cultural landscape for all time.

About the Author

Rachel Manley is the author of the memoir Drumblair: Memories of a Jamaican Childhood, which won the Governor General’s Award for Non-fiction in 1997, and Slipstream: A Daughter Remembers. She has also published three books of poetry and edited Edna Manley: The Diaries, a collection of her grandmother’s journals. Manley is a New York Public Library Fellow, a Pierre Berton Fellow, a Rockefeller Fellow (Bellagio), and a former Bunting Fellow for Literature at Radcliffe College. She serves on the creative writing faculty at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and has won Jamaica’s prestigious Centennial Medal for Poetry. Manley divides her time between Toronto and Jamaica. She has two sons, Drum and Luke. 

---

More information

• Author Site: Literature Alive profile of Rachel Manley
• Book Site: www.keyporter.com | Chapters.ca | Amazon

Product Details

• 2 Copies available This book is CLAIMED
• Paperback: 408 pages 
• Publisher: Key Porter Books (May 30, 2008) 
• ISBN-10: 1554700507 
• ISBN-13: 978-1554700509

Shipping within Canada and US sponsored by Key Porter Press

Out of Character [Squidgeaboo's Review]

Squidgeaboo read  Out of Character by Vanessa Craft as her first Mini Book Expo title, and has given me her full write-up to post here on Mini Book Expo.

Out of Character by Vanessa Craft [Key Porter Books]
Reviewed by Squidgeaboo 

The Calgary Herald promises "[A]n exciting look into the naughty world of British gentlemen’s clubs…Perfect summer reading." And I would have to say; this capsule comment sums things up perfectly. 

In this novel, Emma, a shy, retiring, bookish sort is plodding along in her career as a journalist at a women’s magazine. She is living her life through her literary icons, inserting lines from Shakespeare, Jane Eyre, and Alice in Wonderland, as she goes about her daily life. Although this affectation is meant to give the appearance of being very isolated and lonely, sheltered from the world by her books, but it really makes her sound quite insane, more than anything. Emma finds herself offered a plum assignment reporting on the underground world of the gentlemen’s clubs in London. Initially struggling, she finds her groove and becomes drawn into the game of money, power and ambition.

Stuck in Downward Dog [Sandy's Review]

Our first review for Mini Book Expo 2008 is in!  Sandy read Stuck in Downward Dog by Chantel Simmons.

Read her full review on Off Topic. Here's a little taste of what she thought:

My first book to review from MiniBookExpo, and I picked a light “chick-lit” read to complement the summer weather: Stuck in Downward Dog. Chantel Simmons’ debut novel is a pleasant, humourous read about Mara Brennan, a mid-20’s woman who hits a rough patch — job, boyfriend, apartment, friends — and gets through it while learning something about herself and her friends.

There were a lot of things that I liked about this book. First of all the Toronto setting was used well, and there were great insider references, such as when Mara’s friend tried to pass off her new Mississauga location as “Port Credit”

... keep reading Sandy's review on Off Topic

---

 

More information on Stuck in Downward Dog

• Author's Site: Chantel Simmons 
• Key Porter | Chapters.ca  |  Amazon.com

Delusion: The True Story of Victorian Superspy Henri Le Caron [Peter Edwards]

Delusion: The True Story of Victorian Superspy Henri Le Caron by Peter Edwards

Courtesy of Key Porter

As the Dominion of Canada was still a part of the British Empire in 1866, it was a target for Irish rebels living in the United States seeking Ireland’s liberation from British occupation. Using many aliases, Henri Le Caron turned from restless adventurer to cloak-and-dagger operative risking everything-his career, his family, and his life-for Queen and country.   In Delusion: The True Story of Victorian Superspy Henri Le Caron , journalist Peter Edwards reveals the early history of Canadian, British, and American intelligence gathering. Weaving the story of intrigue with Le Caron''s further exploits as a grave robber, Edwards shows that what is called "freedom fighting" by some and "terrorism" by others is as old as the hills. Individuals and motivations clash in this story of nationhood at the crossroads.

Stuck in Downward Dog: A Novel [Chantel Simmons]

 Stuck in Downward Dog: A Novel by Chantel Simmons

Courtesy of Key Porter

In this charming first novel, the duelling worlds of yoga and cosmetic enhancement, gourmet dinners and Frankenberry cereal, self-help books and too-helpful loved ones all conspire to nearly unravel 25-year-old Mara Brennan.

Dumped by her boyfriend, stuck in a job she hates, and living in a basement apartment, Mara realizes it's time for an identity makeover. She devises the "OM List," a personal pathway to perfection that will guarantee her finding the perfect job, creating the perfect home, cooking the perfect meal, and being the perfect friend. Mara hilariously tries and fails at all the things she thinks will make her the sophisticated grown-up she wants to be. Rounding out all of this are delicious details about boob jobs, cooking with garlic, liposuction, eyebrow transplants, and gym memberships. Stuck in Downward Dog is a strong debut from a promising new writer.