Dear Sad Goat: A Roundup of Truly Canadian Tales and Letters compiled by Bill Richardson
3 stars
Reasons for reading: Love of Bill Richardson; the silly title; Nonfiction for Triple 8 Challenge, Animal title for What's in a Name? Challenge
Summary: A collection of personal stories sent into Richardson's CBC radio show Richardson's Roundup.
My thoughts: Yes, I kinda have a crush on Bill Richardson. I think he's one of the funniest folks around AND he's a librarian. That said, I've never listened to him on the radio, I'm just not much of a radio gal. But I have read his other books and columns and heard him speak at a conference - he's a hoot. And no, he didn't actually write this book but he did do the intros to each chapter and the whole thing is kind of infused with Richardson-iness.
I enjoyed this collection - it's very Canadian, which was cool. I was able to experience many parts of this country that I know nothing about - rural living, the far north, the Atlantic provinces... The stories are very loosely grouped in themes - first apartments, self-surgery, being a naughty kid, travelling teddy bears, grandmothers, farm incidents... They reminded me of those stories people send in to Reader's Digest, but not in a bad way - they're good, personal, real-people stories. Many were funny (the one that sticks with me is one of the very first - about a not-dead ice fisherman), some were touching (the one about a grandmother's fur coat), some were a wee bit maudlin or boring (but not many).
A fun, quick read if you like personal anecdotes. For more Richardson goodness, check out his utterly charming and funny Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast books.
No comments:
Post a Comment