BOOK LOVERS BALL

Okay, so this post is way late. But anyway, every year the Toronto Public Library has a swanky do to raise money. People and companies spend a fair chunk of change to go to a ballroom in the Royal York Hotel, see a fashion show based on popular novels, and eat fabulous food with a writer at their table. The writers are basically court jesters, there to amuse the guests.

This year I was asked to be one of the writers. It's a great honor and I had a fab time, although I must say cocktail parties aren't really my thing since I stopped drinking. I'm great in small groups or addressing a crowd, but put me in a cocktail party and I get lockjaw. I mean I grin like the Joker -- and not the Heath Ledger kind, more like the one on TV -- and my temples get so tight I swear I'm going to have a stroke.

For this event, I also had to wear a tux, which for me was a life first. I like to slouch around in jeans or a ratty bathrobe. But -- whoah -- here I am in a tux!



This is how I feel in a tux:



As I mentioned, the event was great and came with a silent auction and everything. Here's my place setting.



And here's the runway for the fashion show.





There were eight novels showcased. The best fashions were in a Bollywood number for Slumdog Millionaire. Great dancing. Also great dancing for the Outlander piece, although the dancers moved so fast I couldn't really get pix.

There were two other standout numbers:

Fashions for Breakfast at Tiffany's:



Fashions for Spartacus:



Quess which one got the most applause. :)

(Out of curiosity, how many of you who grew up in the 50s and 60s loved gladiator movies ? I'll never forget Rory Calhoun in The Colossus of Rhodes -- Rory's best friend gets a huge bell lowered over his head, and it gets gonged and blood comes out of his ears. Jason and the Argonauts with those sword-fighting skeletons was also pretty cool. )

Oh, BTW, only two people worked for the company that bought my table. But they had terrific family and friends -- originally from Peru, Pakistan, Switzerland, and Winnipeg. The kind of fun mix that makes Toronto such a fantastic city to live in!) A really fun time for a great cause.