The Book Corner

I’m not a prolific reader, but I do like to sit back with a good book once in a while. Since I’m not particularly driven to finish a book right away, I usually have 1 or 2 on the go all the time. When I was a kid, I could be found reading all the time, but usually it was science fiction or fantasy. I would devour about 10 – 15 of those types of books in a year. Unfortunately those books get a little expensive (now over $10.00 per copy) so it was a fairly costly hobby to be in.

The problem with science fiction/fantasy is that it really doesn’t do a whole lot to enrich your life. It is escapism literature and it definitely helped to feed my imagination. I could get lost in a story and put aside my day to day worries and stress with one of these novels. Sometimes you just wanted to be somewhere else and these sorts of novels helped to take you there. It was nice to escape into the fantasy world for a while and not have to deal with life. The problem is that life keeps going and at some point you have to come out of your reverie to sort things out and stay on top of the challenges you were avoiding in the first place. I’ve since learned to put those sort of books aside, and although I read them occasionally now, I don’t burn through them like I did when I was in my teens.

Despite the fact that these books didn’t offer a lot of nutrition for the mind, they did stimulate the imagination and they also helped to increase my vocabulary somewhat. A few years ago I read an interesting statistic that has helped motivate me to change my reading habits. It indicated that those people that were in the elite part of our society (multi-millionaires) did more reading than the average North American. They read, on average, 5 non-fiction books a year whereas their less successful peers read less than 1 non-fiction book a year. The idea is that non-fiction provides a learning opportunity and the implication is that the motivated and successful types are continually learning and this somehow contributes to their overall success in life. Of course you cannot draw a direct line between reading more (specifically non-fiction) and earning more money.

However, I have always felt that any time you want to be good at something; you emulate the activities of those that are already good at what you are striving for. Pick any sport and any athlete. If you want to be as good as the best player, you do what he/she is doing. The same holds true for business and the successful entrepreneurial types. Do what they do, act like them, and you’ll eventually achieve the same things. So I figure that I would pick up one of these habits… and heck… if nothing else, I’ll be a little smarter for having read a few more books. I now choose to read biographies and profiles of people and businesses.

The biographies are not always on successful people, but since I am reading for entertainment too, I pick people with interesting stories to tell. I look for books with Canadian content first, then I tend to swing to successful people, and the last criteria is generally some famous celebrity. Sometimes I get lucky and the book satisfies all three of those aspects. Some of the books I have read are on people like Michael J Fox, Don Norris, Sean Connery, Neil Young and companies like Bombardier, Google, or the Disney Corporation.

Recently I picked up 2 books along that vein. The first one was by Ron Joyce and it is titled – “Always Fresh: The Untold Story Of Tim Hortons By The Man Who Created A Canadian Empire”. The second was called – “Traci Lords – Underneath it All” and written by Traci Lords herself. Both were great books and I finished them within a week of buying them. They were definitely compelling stories that make you want to read more.

Always Fresh is a book about the man behind Tim Hortons. This is the quintessential Canadian Success story. What is more Canadian than Tim Hortons? It is almost a part of the Canadian identity. When other people think of Canada, they immediately think of maple syrup. When Canadians think about Canada, Tim Hortons immediately comes to mind. Many people know that Tim Hortons was started by famous Canadian hockey legend – Tim Horton. What they don’t know is that although Tim lent his name to this franchise, it was really Ron Joyce that made this coffee and donuts chain a Canadian Empire. Ron Joyce grew up poor and struggled for every dime he made. He spent some time in the Navy and later was working as a Hamilton Police Officer before he bought into the Tim Hortons franchise. Ron reveals his struggles to make this operation work, and the challenges he had at the beginning. He also reveals the nasty side of the legal battles he had with Tim’s wife – Lori - in 80’s after the death of Tim Horton. Ron is also not shy when it comes to revealing inner workings of the Wendy’s Empire whom Ron had sold the Tim Horton’s line to in the late 90’s.

You would think this book would be a soft touch but not all of it is roses and candy. There is a seedy underbelly that Ron shows us. Of course Ron and the Tim Hortons Empire have left behind a great legacy too. The Tim Hortons Children’s Foundation will be around for many years to come, helping out underprivileged kids from coast to coast and even in some parts of the States too. This book is a great read – especially if you are Canadian.

Traci Lords – Underneath it All, is the second book I finished this past weekend. Another great read. Traci Lords takes us through her life and all the trauma she has suffered on her way to success and happiness. For those not familiar with Traci Lords, she born as Nora Kuzman, raped at 10 years old, an abortion at 14, a runaway at 15 and a career as a porn star for 3 years while she was on the run. She entered a world of drugs, physical abuse, and sex in an effort to escape her life of tragedy at home. When news of her story broke in the mid 80’s she became the poster child of abused children and child pornography.
While she was a runaway, she changed her name and lived life as Traci Lords and the media dubbed her the 15 year old Porn Queen. The media took every opportunity to sensationalize her plight and sell copies of the Traci Lords saga. Her past still haunts her today and this book takes the reader through the good and the bad.

The most interesting part of the book takes place after her period as a porn actress and her determination and persistence with turning her life around. She plays many roles in mainstream theatre, movies and television spots. She launches a successful music career. She has also started a new phase in her life as a director in the movie industry. She now lives with her second husband in California.

I’m sure it would have been very easy for someone in her position to fall through the cracks and remain at the bottom of society’s lowest rung on the ladder but she manages to turn it all around. In fact I’m sure many women living through her tragedy, would have given up and perhaps died, through a perpetuating cycle of drug abuse and exploitation. The way in which she turns her life around to find happiness and success is truly inspiring, especially when you consider the stigma she will have to live with for the rest of her life. This book is definitely a must read if you are interested in the stories behind popular culture and especially of Traci Lords – accomplished actress, musical performer, and budding director.