Canada-Palooza with Mark Lefebvre
My favorite Canadian presents his favorite Canadians
On the Pod This Week:
My friend Mark Lefebvre is back this week to educate me on all things Canadian, eh? It’s a country I love dearly, even though I know very little about their art.
Show Notes:
The Handmaid’s Tale and Others by Margaret Atwood
The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis
World of Wonders by Robertson Davies
Fifth Business by Robertson Davies
Generals Die in Bed by Charles Yale Harrison
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice
A Matter of Will by Rod Carley
Lives of Girls and Women and Others by Alice Munroe
The Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot
The Embroidered Book by Kate Hartfield
The Hollow Boys by Douglas Smith
The Jade Setter of Janloon by Fonda Lee
Changing Vision by Julie E. Czerneda
Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson
All Those Explosions Were Someone Else’s Fault by James Alan Gardner
Death Drives a Semi by Edo Van Belkom
The Demonologist by Andrew Pyper
The Long Way Back by Nicole Baart
The Line Painter by Claire Cameron
The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron
The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan
The Day The Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan
The Color of Heaven by Julianne McClain
Chasing the Wind by C.C. Humphries
Someday I’ll Find You by C.C. Humphries
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill
Lover’s Moon by Mark Lefebvre and Julie Strauss
Hex and the City by Mark Lefebvre and Julie Strauss
Julie’s Current Read:
Plant Based India by Sheil Shula
I used to collect cookbooks somewhat obsessively. As generally happens to people with no self control and few serious consequences, I ran out of space and energy to dust them. At the same time, I realized that I tend to read a cookbook through once, like a novel, then fixate on one or maybe two recipes that I make on repeat, ignoring the rest of the book forever. Not an efficient system unless you own a Beast-style library. (Sadly, I do not. One of the great tragedies of my life.)
I saw the folly of my ways many years ago and donated most of them, and now every time I go to the library, I swing through the cookbook section and pick out one or two that look new or interesting to me. It’s a great way to try out a few new recipes before committing actual money or bookshelf real estate to a whole book.
I grabbed “Plant Based India” because my two daughters have been vegan for five years, and we are currently, as a family, going through a fixation with Indian food. This one seemed promising because it’s the kind of vegan food I actually like - real food, no fake meats, and nothing pretending to be something it’s not. (If another vegan cookbook tries to convince me that their vegan hot dog tastes just like Costco Dogs you can’t even tell the difference it’s made with lawn clippings and peanut shells it’s so delicious! I am going to throw it across the room.) We’ve tried several of the recipes in this book, and have several more coming this week, and I can already tell it’s going to earn a spot on the permanent cookbook shelf.
Julie’s Current Listen:
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Story by James McBride
In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. When the state came looking for a deaf boy to institutionalize him, it was Chona and Nate Timblin, the Black janitor at Moshe's theater and the unofficial leader of the Black community on Chicken Hill, who worked together to keep the boy safe.
This is possibly the best audiobook experience I’ve ever had, and y’all know that is saying something. It’s narrated by actor Dominic Hoffman, and his skill is absolutely unmatched. His voice is just slightly gravelly, and he deftly manages the incredible array of accents and personalities with genuine warmth. I didn’t think I would like a James McBride book on audio, because I want to underline his words and linger over his sentences like fine wine. But I was delighted to find a new favorite audiobook narrator and look forward to hearing even more of his work.
Julie’s Current Obsession:
Do I care about fitness? Not in the slightest. I work out only because my doctor will yell at me if I don’t, and she scares me a little bit. But lately I have noticed that I’m losing flexibility in my Middle Ages, and that is irritating for a former gymnast. I very much need to remain bendy so I can climb the twisty ladders in dusty old bookstores.
My older daughter is a yoga instructor who will not give me yoga classes for free inside my home (how RUDE is she??) but she pointed me toward this YouTube yoga instructor named Kassandra. I started with her 30-day Evening Yoga Challenge, which are only about 10 minutes long. They are easy enough that I can do them in my pajamas right before I slip into bed, and short enough that I don’t really have a good excuse not to do them. (Though I try.)
Once that habit was established, I added the 30-Day Morning Yoga Challenge to my day. Right when I wake up I just get on the mat, still in jammies, for a 10-minute stretch. Again, when it’s so short it’s really hard for me to make excuses not to do it. (Though I try.)
Kassandra is the only yoga teacher who I don’t have to watch to follow - her cues are so simple that I can just stay focused on what I’m doing without craning my neck toward the TV. She has a ton of content, from basic to quite advanced, on her channel, but the short morning and evening stretches are exactly right for me right now. In the seven months or so since I started these habits, I have indeed noticed that I am getting more flexible and sleeping a little better.
Am I now a New Age Fit-fluencer now?1
I am not. If you are looking for fitness inspiration, this is not the place for you. Want a piece of cake?