JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

This weekend, I had to buy a new computer. The old one had performed well given how heavily I use, but either old age or an inability to get along with recent Windows Updates meant increasing wildcat strikes by my mouse and keyboard. Setting up the new system was easy, and has provided an excuse to sort files. Among the folders I found was one filled with snapshots from late 1970s editions of Books in Canada , taken while working on other projects during some long-ago trip to Toronto Reference Library.  The first image jumped out at me. Books in Canada, August-September 1977. NIGHTMARE FUEL!!!  Kind of reminds me of that part of the opening sequence for the old Elwy Yost series Magic Shadows where the fighter pilot turns into a tiger man. Or the dude who physically modified himself into a catman . Or something Dr. Moreau genetically whipped up.  Shedding some colour on this doesn't make this cover any less creepy. Let's take a closer look at the ad...   Books...

Saturday Night , November 1977. Sometimes, while looking for material around the home office for upcoming articles, I stumble upon items I forgot I had which would have been useful at a particular time. Such was the case last night as I was prepping for this week’s installment of my " Vintage Toronto Ads " column for Torontoist . Flipping through a stack of 1970s Saturday Night magazines next to my desk, I discovered the cover shown above.

A small sampling of the tombstones listing the fates of famous writers in the window of Type, across the street from Trinity-Bellwoods Park. Of the authors selected, I almost saw Kerouac's final resting spot in Lowell, Massachusetts on a roadtrip a couple of years ago. Almost, but not quite . Why am I picturing Berryman's demise as a Warner Brothers cartoon? Photo taken October 28, 2007 - JB

Whenever I glance at the 50 cent/$1 bin outside of any used book store, there are always one or two titles good for a laugh. In Ann Arbor, this dose of comedy relief is provided by the rolling cases outside Dawn Treader Book Store on Liberty St. Love that title. Alas, a late 80s teen novel about a bunch of misfits calling themselves "obnoxious jerks" was not enough to make Amy or I part with 50 cents US, despite the teasers on the back. Further research reveals that the writer is currently a columnist for Forbes and PC World magazines. Reviews from Amazon . But wait, what is that book The Obnoxious Jerks proudly stands on top of? Since neither of us wants to know about fish tanks exploding or marine lust, we passed on this one. Turns out this was a Canadian book ! Another case that proves my theory that Ann Arbor is the graveyard for Canadian publishers (I've lost count of how many Canadian remainders I've seen over the years - Dad used to buy monst...