Neil Pasricha at the Appel Salon! | Event Recap

Yesterday I attended an event at the Toronto Public Library's Appel Salon featuring Neil Pasricha, author of The Book of Awesome and most recently, The Happiness Equation.

Rachel Giese interviews Neil Pasricha

He talked about what it means to be happy and discussed several different ways we can try to improve our happiness, including the formula he presents in his newest book:

"Want nothing + Do anything = Have everything"

Neil is such a great speaker and it was absolutely fascinating to listen to this discussion on happiness! I've been to quite a few of these events and this was definitely one of my favourite talks. I highly recommend watching the interview on the Toronto Public Library's YouTube channel once it's uploaded!

Me and Neil Pasricha

After the event, Neil did a signing and he was so friendly, taking the time to talk to everyone - and check out the awesome signed book!

My signed copy of The Book of Awesome

I haven't read The Happiness Equation yet, although I'll certainly be picking it up soon. In the meantime, I recommend checking out Michelle's review over at Musings of a Writer!

If you live in the Toronto area or are interested in attending, you can check out a list of upcoming events at the Appel Salon here.

#DigitalDetox | Event Recap

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to attend an event called #DigitalDetox, hosted by Penguin Random House Canada. In case you missed it, during the month of January they encouraged everyone to get away from screens and electronics for an hour a day, in favour of doing something more productive - like reading!

Colouring some beautiful aquatic scenery from Lost Ocean

The office is so modern and airy, with huge sliding doors that form a wall that can be opened to create one big room for a gathering like this. The first thing I saw was a table full of colouring books and an area where we could actually colour in a long page! I was pretty drawn to that table (no pun intended), and spent some time colouring in a pretty fish.

Counter-clockwise from top: Olive and Rosemary Chickpea Flatbreads (p. 155), Millet-Sesame Croquettes with Tamari Dipping Sauce (p. 262), Salmon Balls with Crunchy White Sauce (p. 198); Mini Carrot Cakes (p. 175); Amelia Freer introducing her cookbook

There were some dishes to sample from Amelia Freer's new cookbook, Cook. Nourish. Glow. I particularly liked the Salmon Balls with Crunchy White Sauce!

Displays from Greenhouse Juice Co. (top left), Butter Me Body (top right), and The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up featuring floorplaysocks

There were lots of samples and demonstrations, including hand scrubs by Butter Me Body (I love the smell of their Pomegranate & Mango Shea Scrub, despite mango scents usually giving me headaches) and clothes-folding demos to help optimize drawer space.

How do you motivate yourself when you're in a rut?

We were also able to submit questions for Cheryl Strayed's #IndigoBookClub Twitter chat.

At the end of the night, everyone got a bag full of goodies, including books, snacks, and socks - it was a lovely night and I'm so grateful to have been able to go!

The Word on the Street Toronto 2015 | Event Recap

This was my first year attending The Word on the Street, the festival whose tagline is "Celebrating reading. Advocating Literacy." This festival brings together thousands of people across Canada, all of whom share a love for reading.

If you live in Canada and have never been, I highly recommend you check out their website (which I've linked above), so you can find the one closest to you. It's a great place to meet awesome people and find interesting books - at great prices, I'd like to add!

Some of the things I got from the festival!

This year, the festival was held at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto. It was such a beautiful day and I think the venue was perfect. There was plenty of space for the vendors, and there was a lovely breeze from the lake. It was a very short walk from the booths to the waterfront, if you wanted to have lunch by the water, or even just take a break from the crowds!

My signed copy!

I had the opportunity to participate in The Word on the Street Book Club, and I chose to read The Deadbeat Club by Dietrich Kalteis (You can check out my review here!). The club for this book was hosted by Christine over at Padfoot's Library, who came up with some great, thought-provoking questions for us. We got to meet Dietrich after an interesting panel on crime novels, and he was so nice! When Christine and I told him our names, he seemed excited and immediately thanked us for doing the Book Club. He even remembered that I stuck with the club til the end!

I'm so glad I went to The Word on the Street this year. It was a great day full of books, contests (I even won a 1-year subscription to Legion Magazine!), fun, and friends. I'm already looking forward to next year's event!

The Fourth Annual Ontario Book Blogger Meet-Up | Event Recap

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the fourth annual Ontario Book Blogger Meet-Up! It was my first time attending so I wasn't sure exactly what the event was going to be like; what I knew for sure was that it was going to give me a chance to get to know some fellow bloggers who are as obsessed with books as I am.

All the books and swag I collected at the event!

It was truly an awesome event. We met in downtown Toronto at a restaurant called The Ballroom, where we were greeted by the ladies of Book Blog Ontario and promptly given a tote bag FULL of books. As they say, start as you mean to go on; it was a great start to a great event!

 

As we mingled with fellow book-lovers, the friendly staff brought around delicious appetizers - they had poutine, mac and cheese, sliders, fish and chips, and - my favourite - risotto balls.

Thank you to Michelle at Musings of a Writer for taking these!

There were several authors in attendance, which was so cool! I got the chance to get my books signed and have a chat with K.A. Tucker (above, left) and Sally Christie (above, right).

Author group shot!

Before the Meet-Up, we had a Google Doc where we could list books we wanted to give away, and also claim books we'd like to take off other people's hands. Thank you to Michele, Christine, Jaclyn, and Léonicka for giving me books that I can't wait to read!

I had such a fun time meeting and getting to know like-minded people and I'm so glad I attended! It was so well-organized and I'm blown away by how generous everyone there was.

If you'd like a closer look at all the titles I received at the event, you can check them out in my July Book Haul!

All photos by Nikki unless otherwise stated.

Paula McLain & Elizabeth Hay Blogger Reception | Event Recap

Elizabeth Hay's His Whole Life and Paula McLain's Circling the Sun

Hi everyone! A couple of days ago I had the opportunity to meet two wonderful authors, Paula McLain and Elizabeth Hay.

Some wonderful bloggers and I attended the Blogger Reception at Oliver & Bonacini's, where we chatted over pizza and wine (which I was quite busy eating, and so forgot to take a picture, whoops!).

Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife, talked about how she loves to delve into the personal lives of different historical figures - in her upcoming book Circling the Sun (review coming soon!), she tells Beryl Markham's story.

Seating in Oliver & Bonacini's

Elizabeth Hay, author of A Student of Weather, discussed how she first began to think of His Whole Life (review also coming soon), a story about relationships, friendships, people and how these things sometimes fall apart - with the image of the boy, Jim, in the back seat of a car.

Both ladies were so kind and interesting to listen to. It was a fun night (we even ended up talking about lipstick at one point) and I'm so grateful I got to spend time talking to two wonderful authors, the awesome Random House ladies and other great bloggers.

You can read my review of Circling the Sun here!

Colin Campbell's "Free Days With George" Book Launch at Ben McNally Books | Event Recap

Hi everyone! Today I want to share with you about the book launch for Colin Campbell's Free Days With George.

From the moment George walked into the store, he was so comfortable walking around and greeting everyone as he investigated his surroundings. Eventually, he settled on his favourite spot: the food table.

George hangin' around his favourite spot

Christine and I spent most of the night following George around because we're huge animal lovers and George is a beautiful, sweet, fluffy big dog.

Colin giving a moving speech 

At one point during the night, Colin gave a very heartfelt speech about what this book means to him. He also thanked a few people who mean a lot to him and have helped him throughout the creation of this book. I definitely teared up.

The beautiful cake

When we met Colin, he greeted us by saying "the bloggers!" and he seemed genuinely excited to meet us, which was definitely a really cool moment for me!

Colin cutting the cake

There was a moment during Colin's speech when he called George; George ran over and smothered Colin in kisses. It was so sweet, and was probably my favourite moment of the night because it's a testament to the bond they share. Seeing them interact, it's so clear that they've had a wonderful effect on each other.

I'm genuinely happy for Colin and George, and I wish both of them the best of luck with Free Days With George!

You can read my review of Free Days With George & enter the giveaway here, and read my Q&A with Colin Campbell here.

Neil Smith's "Boo" Book Launch at Type Books | Event Recap

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the book launch for Neil Smith's wonderful new book, Boo.

Type Books' storefront

It was hosted by Type Books, which is a lovely book shop in downtown Toronto.

The crowd

 The event drew a large crowd and everyone got very well acquainted with each other.

"Liquefied Ghost"

We had Boo-inspired drinks, lovingly named Liquefied Ghost, which was a cool touch (no pun intended)!

Neil Smith reads from "Boo"

Neil Smith did a great dramatic reading of the first chapter of Boo, which he followed with a signing!

Sam Maggs' "The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy" Book Launch at The Pilot Tavern | Event Recap

See my review of The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy here!

Fangirl's Guide posters

I had so much fun at this launch! As expected, this book attracts a lot of geeks and fangirls, and that's exactly who showed up at The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy launch.

From left: Me, Michelle, and Christine

I was so pumped for this event that I got my geeky self dressed in fandom things, including my Jayne hat, Doctor Who purse, and Samulet from Supernatural.

Sam Maggs says a few words

Sam and her partner both spoke at the event, and it was really great to hear all the things they had to say. Sam is so nice and I'm glad I got to talk to her not only about my cunning hat, but also about my favourite parts of the book!

Tara O'Brady's "Seven Spoons" Book Launch at Ben McNally Books | Event Recap

Hi friends! I was very lucky tonight - I got to attend the book launch for Tara O'Brady's Seven Spoons cookbook!

The Ben McNally Books storefront

Tara started off as a blogger and with the publication of this book, she has come so far. As a blogger myself, it's inspirational to see the possibilities that can come from such a thing.

The beautiful bookstore

The event was held in Ben McNally Books, a beautiful little shop on Bay St. I'd never been there before, so it was really cool to see the ceiling-high bookshelves - they're basically my (and every other book lover's) dream come true.

The snack table - mmm...cookies

There was a really nice array of cheese, crackers, wine...oh, and cookies!! The recipe for these beauties is in the cookbook. I ate the big ole one on the left and enjoyed every moment.

Tara O'Brady says a few heartfelt words

During the launch, Tara gave a lovely speech, thanking many of the people who've helped her along the way in getting Seven Spoons published - she seemed so humbled by all the support she has been and is getting!

My signed copy of Seven Spoons!

What was also really cool for me is that Tara actually recognized Christine and I from Instagram! She even remembered my name and which sauce I preferred with my Salad Rolls (more to come on that tomorrow!). Tara took the time to chat with everyone and was just so sweet - I'm glad I got to show my support for her and her book.

Seven Spoons will be available in stores and online tomorrow.

To read my review, click here!

Photos by nikkitheknack