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A wonderful book about nothing!
London, Ontario native Paul Lefebvre's latest book is not a plot-centered story as such,
but a chronological collection of letters written to his friend Emily while he is back
living at home with his parents in a small Northern Ontario town. Although a
relatively long book, it is rich with hapless characters involved in hapless events,
all revolving around the author's daily travels during his hometown sojourn, and
all highly readable. Descriptions of illicit goings-on, boneheaded boondoggles
by the city fathers, and ill-fated excursions and vacations are told with witty
delight. Even though there is no plot, the underlying thread is provided by the
author, a former student who escaped his life and complicated relationships in
the city by returning to the safety of his childhood home. Nevertheless, his
contact and involvement with those friends left behind continue to a great extent
in the form of letters to his dear friend Emily, to whom he relates their current
adventures.
The writing style is entirely conversational, not unlike listening in on
someone's telephone call. The author uses his wry, often sardonic wit to full
advantage in describing the activities of his neighbors and other characters who
populate his hometown. Some of the novel is certainly no more than blow-by-blow
descriptions of the activities he has embarked upon, such as his fortnight trip
to Jamaica with his sister, although even therein the wit he uses to recount
sometimes wholly impossible situations makes it very difficult to put the book
down. And this is the case throughout the entire book. Moreover, the reader
is not bogged down in a morass of overly-researched words some authors use not only
to impress reviewers but to make you cringe and send you running to a dictionary lest
you feel yourself falling into a pit of ineptitude and illiteracy.
This book is really about nothing at all, but it's FUN, fraught with unlikely yet everyday
adventures, recounted with panache
and a certain evil exuberance which could almost be interpreted as devilish glee.
One long, rainy weekend I read the book and loved it. I then set out to make Private Mail
a gift to closer friends, to whom I wished to impart joy and hilarity for whichever occasion
I can give the book. So often one is disappointed when one receives a book as a present
and is forced to read it if only not to upset the giver at the next chance meeting. Not
this time. Read Private Mail. Give it to the special people on your gift list. Give them
a book about nothing. Give them a book to enjoy.
They won't be disappointed. And I can hardly wait for the sequel.
Title: Private Mail: Letters to Emily
Author: Paul Lefebvre
Genre : Humor / Anecdotes
Length: 422 pages
Binding: Perfect
Publisher: Lulu Press
ISBN: 1-4116-3838-7
Available at Chapters, Amazon.com, your favorite book store, or online.
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Private Mail: Letters from the Beach
Coming July 2006
Author Paul Lefebve is currently completing the sequel to his first
novel, Private Mail: Letters to Emily. Without giving anything away for those who haven't read
the first book, it ends with the main character expressing a desire to open a shop on the boardwalk at the
beach.
In the sequel, Private Mail: Letters from the Beach, this is just what happens,
although in a roundabout manner, opening the way for a parade of everyday yet oddball characters to interact
with the author and with each other, and each involved with unlikely and bizarre occurrences reminiscent
of the situations the author found himself surrounded by in his first novel. All this takes place against
the backdrop of the sun-drenched and carefree atmosphere of the beach. Many of the characters introduced in
the first novel naturally make appearances since they populate the town, so it would be to the
reader's advantage to read the first book in order to better enjoy the sequel.
However, Letters from the Beach can definitely be considered a stand-alone novel,
and not simply a so-called futher-adventures-of type novel. By itself it will be as readable and
enjoyable as the first in its chronicle of the events unfolding around the author as reported to his
faithful correspondent back in the city, Emily.
Private Mail: Letters from the Beach should be published mid-Summer 2006, so watch for it
in your book store.
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Private Mail: Letters from Afar
Coming Early 2007
Still in its early planning stages, in Private Mail: Letters from Afar the author
decides to leave the safety of his childhood home for a more challenging locale when he finds himself
becoming much too settled into the same routine and personal situations he ran away from several years
ago, although now these are all in his hometown. His life situation, it seems, has almost come full circle
despite his best efforts. Before his life returns to how it was when he ran away from the city,
he decides to run again, elsewhere.
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Movies for the Moron
50 movies to own, watch, and learn about
so people don't think
you're a movie moron
Available September 2006
Movies for the Moron: 50 movies to own, watch, and learn about so people don't think
you're a movie moron has been a project author and cinephile Paul Lefebvre has been working on
for quite some time.
Rather than allow a large portion of the viewing public, whom the author terms movie morons, to
remain ignorant of movies created by some of the world's most cinematically gifted directors, he has
decided to write a how-to book for these deprived people so at the very least they'll know
when a good movie really is good. It's an invaluable guide for all those people who have no clue whatsoever about good cinema, and who are considered cinematically inept boors and movie morons by their friends. This is the book they need to learn about the right movies to watch and own, with 50 movies from different genres of cinema listed and explained, complete with easy instructions for watching and buying. (148 pages, 6"x9", perfect binding, full-color exterior)
This quotation from the introduction will illustrate the book's target audience.
"After reading this book and watching all -- or most -- of the 50 movies listed, your friends,
family, and associates will no longer think you're a cinematic boor who fell off the back of
a turnip truck.
"You'll soon dispel the notions they have of you being a beer-chugging movie moron,
one who can't sit through a movie unless it has explosions every few minutes (especially if what's
exploding doesn't usually explode), has lots and lots of uncalled-for foul and filthy language,
has a bunch of senseless knock-down drag-'em-out fights accompanied by rapid-fire machine-gun
blasts aimed at no one in particular, frequent destructive car chases, tons of gratuitous nudity,
and its screenplay doesn't have anything that would even come close to being called a plot, nor
contain any words with more than 2 syllables.
"If any of that sounds familiar, or if any of that is what makes you really really like a
movie, or if you've ever found yourself falling asleep during a movie when there's more than
thirty seconds of dialogue (which you call "a slow part"), this is the book for you."
While the author has his tongue firmly planted in his cheek during the introductory section, this is
simply to put the movie moron at ease so he doesn't give up as he would if confronted with a lot of
cinematic babble on the first page, perhaps making him realize there's no hope for him seeing as he can't
even understand the introduction. What follows is a step-by-step guide which will turn the movie moron into a
sophisticated movie maven.
Although aimed at movie morons, this book will supplement any movie fan's bookshelf.
Movies for the Moron was featured on CBS-TV's popular crime drama NCIS in Season 5, Episode 11, entitled, "Tribes."
Movies for the Moron - 50 movies to own, watch, and learn about so people don't think you're a Movie Moron is now available from Amazon.com
or you may buy it at your favorite bookstore by quoting this ISBN: 1847288197.
STORES or BULK PURCHASES may be made directly from the publisher here or from your regular supplier.
To visit the Movies for the Moron blog, click here.
For a complete list of all the movies recommended and discussed, with clickable links to their purchase, click here.
To check availability at other online
book stores, click here.
Title: Movies for the Moron - 50 Movies to own, watch, and learn about so people don't think you're a movie moron
Author: Paul Lefebvre
Category: Entertainment
Description: A guide to 50 movies you should watch, learn about, and own so people don't think you're a movie moron.
Length: 148 pages
Binding: Perfect
Publisher: Lulu Press
Copyright Year: �2006
Copyright Notice: by Paul Lefebvre
ISBN: 1-84728-819-7
Language: English
Available at Chapters, Amazon.com, your favorite book store, or online.
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About Author Paul Lefebvre
Canadian author Paul Lefebvre was born and raised in a small Northern Ontario town. He earned his
Bachelor's Degree in History at The University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario.
London has been his home ever since. He is an avid beach and volleyball enthusiast, and divides his time
between the city and the nearby beaches. Private Mail: Letters to Emily, published in
November 2005, is his first novel.
He is currently completing a sequel, Private Mail: Letters from the Beach.
Being a great movie fan, a book in the form of a movie guide for the cinematically
challenged, Movies for the Moron: 50 movies to own, watch and learn about so people don't think
you're a movie moron, is now available online and in stores.
Contact the author by clicking here.
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