Yes, I love Toronto.
I now have a new hotel standard. If your hotel sells me ice cream in waffle cones right as I walk in the door, five stars, no notes, better than the Ritz. If it does not, I do not wish to know you, sir. Good Behavior on Queen West, for all your Dragon Poop needs!
Separate but related: the UK gets on its knees and prays every night for a train service that’s half as good as Canada’s. Oddly, being a comedy club nut, I heard a lot of complaints from the comedians about this same service. You people are spoilt. Spoilt! Trains that leave on time! Clean trains! Announcements that can be understood! Enough staff to keep the service running smoothly! No squabbling with other passengers about the assigned seating! Subways that aren’t packed like sardines in a tin and smell just exactly like sardines in a tin! LUXURIES. God alone knows how Canada manages it when the UK, not even a fifth the size, falls on its face every ten seconds and then complains that its face hurts. One of the great mysteries of the universe.
In other news, Toronto sells books! Boy howdy, does it ever. SO MANY.
Special shout out to Little Ghost Books out on Dundas. If you love horror and you are in Toronto, make this your first stop. Possibly your only stop. Don’t wait till you’re dead to enjoy this indie store! The living are welcome! Plus, they publish their own stuff. Who does that, in this day and age? When monsters beyond reckoning roam the wastelands, seeking prey? Truly, a bookstore to be relished, supported, loved!
Now …
Technically this one's not Toronto so I'll deal with it first. I saw friends of mine in Kingston (hi Max! hi Tasch!) and we spent some time at Nexus. I dunno how often any of you are going down to Kingston, but when you do, drop in to Nexus. Well worth a gamer's time. This one's a 5E reprint of a lot of scenarios I already have (Barrier Peaks. Tsojcanth, Star Falls, Pharaoh) and some I didn't have. Plus, the central conceit of the Staircase is a lot of fun!
Toronto from here on out.
Fearful Passages is one of the few holes in my CoC collection. Filled! Plus, WoD Tokyo added to my Wraith collection. Both bought at Sword and Board up on Bloor. A lot of places lurk on Bloor. Like trolls under a bridge. Scheming.
OK, if you’ve been paying any kind of attention you know by now that Lafcadio Hearn is my weak spot and I couldn’t resist these two. You may be wondering about the Ghost Stories For Christmas. I didn’t know about this, but apparently there’s a Canadian company that puts one of these out every year and the store had a stack of ‘em. Disappearance and Reappearance is one of my all-time favorite James stories, and I picked up the Blackwood on a whim because, well, Blackwood. Bought at David Mason Books, which I highly recommend to antiquarian bookstore lovers but! Be Warned! They don’t open on the weekend. Also, they have a cat. Big fat floof, friendly. Answers to Henry, unless my memory fails me.
Another haul from Bloor Street, this time Monkey’s Paw. Not as big or as fun-filled as David Mason, but it does have one spectacular gimmick: the Random Book Machine, aka BiblioMat. For one small token you too can get a random book on any topic. In my case this was the My Language Is Me, which may or may not last long on my bookshelf, but I’m not sorry I got it.
Video sourced from Dezi
The G-String Murders is a lot of fun to read. Gypsy Rose Lee, for those not familiar, was a burlesque artist of great fame, way back in the day, and the reason for picking up books like this is, she knows what she’s talking about when it comes to burlesque theatre. Plotting murders, not so much, but then I didn’t care about the murders. I cared about the way theatres were run, about the showbusiness angle, and that I got, in spades. Great for those of you working on 1930s period pieces.
You know who you are …
Randalls Round! Highly recommended Jamesian collection of short horror, from the British Library’s capacious vaults. Bought at Indigo in the Mall on Queen.
Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, an impulse purchase from AnimeXtreme, which I only know exists because I wanted pork buns from Mother’s Dumplings. The buns were great! As is the book. If you’re ever in the area, Kensington Market is also worth a look.
A Real Emergency, another impulse purchase, this time from Peter Pan which is five seconds’ walk from my hotel. [Ordinarily I'd link but I'm honestly not sure which link to use and one of them seems to be hors de combat.] I dunno that I’d recommend Peter Pan, honestly. It felt a bit gimmicky, the kind of place you take a date but not the kind of place you go to every week. But the book is fun. If you want to know about a thing, ask the person who’s been there and done it. Not a million miles away from the G-String Murders, honestly. The subject matter’s miles apart, but the idea was to find out about a subject from someone who knows it inside and out. Mission accomplished.
Finally, the haul from Little Ghost! Some of these were bought for nieces, but Alley, Julie Chan Is Dead, Birthday and Your Flight Has Been Cancelled are all mine, mine! Shopping here was a great experience. I even went back for a second run! Either I’m insane or they are. Highly recommended stop for book lovers of all ages. The coffee’s not bad either!
Now, I mentioned Storm Crow last post, and a certain Cthulhu Tiki. Yes, I did go to the Crow. What I did not realize, because not Canadian nor from Toronto, is that the Pride celebrations were kicking off right next door. Literally. As in the street was shut and there was a vendor’s market. On account of this, Storm Crow cut down on its menu options, to ensure that the crowd rush didn’t cause a problem. One of the casualties was the Cthulhu Tiki. Weeping, lamentations, rending of garments.
No Tiki for me. [In hindsight, I ought to have asked if I could buy the Tiki mug, which I see you can do for $10.] No random dice roll for meals either. That said, I’d highly recommend the Crow to visitors. Not just because of the theme – though the theme is fun – but because the food and drink are actually good. You go round Toronto for a while, and you notice the pub grub menu options are broadly the same across the board. There is always Mac and Cheese. It’s a Toronto Law. But there’s a difference between Mac & Cheese done right and served with style, and Mac & Cheese plopped on a plate for consumption. The Crow does it right.
In short: yes, fun, would do again, probably will do again, not sure when.
That’s it for this week! Enjoy.
EXCEPT NOT QUITE!!!
OK, I'm doing a thing. A charity thing. I help out Big Brothers Big Sisters Bermuda - it's a kid's charity, if you're not familiar. I'm their secretary.
This coming Sunday I shall be doing a challenge for charity, How Much Will You Pay To See Me Do ... and the goal is to raise at least $1500.
Pics and videos will be posted here when available!
So, if you're feeling generous, please donate via the link below. How much would you pay to see me ...
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