Several years ago I made a leather bound, plain paper journal as a gift. While not the exact same binding method I used, this article on Dwell one is a nice modern update and worth doing if you have the time. Many of these supplies can be purchased at the Japanese Paper Place on Queen St.

Also note that the Canadian Bookbinding and Book Artists host workshops if you want to learn methods of book binding. They have workshops scheduled all year.

Russell Peters is coming to Indigo at Festival Hall for a book signing. His new book, Call Me Russell, debuts the day before, on the 26th. They have an excerpt of the book on his site.

I spotted this book at Indigo and received it for Christmas with some gentle hinting. It’s not a common book, barely available in the USA and only available through select stores due to it’s UK publishing house. It’s got loads of pictures, in full color, and has recipes which are pretty simple to make. The description below is from Amazon:

This book offers advice on how to make the world’s best zuppa inglese; how to coat meat with flour and not get your hands dirty; how to keep your friands light and stop your souffles sinking; how to chiffonade a handful of fresh basil in 10 seconds; how to make a perfect beer batter for fish, and perfect chips to go with it; how to buy a fresh crab and get rid of the ‘funny’ bits; how to whip egg whites. This book provides advice on how to cook…everything. This book include a timeless collection of essential recipes that will save you trawling through old books to find Apple Charlotte, Bearnaise Sauce or pizza dough. All recipes have been triple-tested in the Murdoch Books Test Kitchen for guaranteed results.