Heather Swanson

A different kind of "divorce", April 16 2010

I bought this book for my best friend of nearly 20 years, having read it myself while she & I were going through a tough time in our lives and in our friendship. Unfortunately, I never had a chance to find out what she got out of the book - we severed ties permanently not long after - but for my part I can say that Offill and Schappell have put together a great collection. Each essay outlines a different woman's story, and lets us look into what led to the demise of their most cherished friendship; the reasons and circumstances are many and differing, often as complex as the relationship between best friends, and the stories chosen to be part of this book are varied enough that any of us… Read more

A classic that's still funny every year., Dec 28 2008

If you're a fan of SCTV, or of any of the great actors who got their start there, this is an absolute must-have. Our family has watched the episodes contained on these discs every Christmas for years, so when it was put out all together on one jam-packed DVD, we were thrilled. It's a collection of the funniest holiday-themed sketches done by some of Canada's most hilarious comedy exports.

Particular classic bits include Martin Short's "The Fella Who Couldn't Wait For Christmas"; a sketch featuring much of the regular cast (Short, Joe Flaherty, Andrea Martin, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, and the late great John Candy) called "Pre-Teen World" (truly the most terrible - and… Read more

Stories that will stay with you., Nov 29 2006

I was actually given this book in 1985, by my 5th-grade boyfriend, as a Christmas gift (which, in retrospect, is kinda creepy!). I was just barely 10 years old at the time, and I read the whole book cover to cover... It scared the living daylights out of me. Now, one might argue that it was because I was ten, but years later, I've re-read the book, and while not all of the stories held up altogether well, there are a couple that would still frighten any adult.

Even though Isaac Asimov does not in fact have any of his own writing in the collection, he's helped introduce and put together a fairly impressive bunch of creepy Christmas-themed horror stories. The first one, Ramsey… Read more