Mount Pleasant by Don Gillmor comes in very timely and relevant. It is set in Toronto under Financial Tsunami and the Occupy Movement. Harry Salter, a previous journalist who is now the part-time non-tenure politics professor, is obviously going through his mid-life crisis or even beyond – he needs to deal with his ballooning debt, his crumbling marriage, an unexpected/no emotion involved affair, his challenging son and his aging mother … how many troubles can someone endure all at once, and I haven’t even mentioned his father’s death yet – apparently his father’s death was his hope to get rid of his debt, but his supposedly millions of dollars inheritance turns out to be just a few thousands of dollars …

But problems will always be solved, yes … the black humour of the book does help your reading, too.

I mentioned the book was relevant – I hope you don’t think I am old enough to experience my mid-life crisis yet or whether I have one :), but the book’s comic style with many vivid vignettes of a Torontonian’s life does bring relevance to our lives here in Vaughan – our expanding house sizes, our aging population, our growing next generation, we as ourselves and as citizens …

For more Adult Summer Shortlist titles, please check out http://www.vaughanpl.info/src2014/adults.php.