A co-worker of mine at Tucows, Adam, & I had a discussion about Google.  Adam writes the secret snowboarding blog, so secret that I shall link to it here.

Adam knows alot about SEO and recommended that if I was interested in it, he really recommended John Batelle's book 'The Search'  and I just finished it.

Batelle's book is excellent and I highly recommend it as well.  It was interesting to read the history of web page search, especially the chapters on DEC and AltaVista.  Batelle is careful to stress that his book is not about 'Google' though it would be hard to tell that since the publisher decided to use Google brand colours on the book jacket (and I assume added the de-facto business book marketing '[...] changed the rules of business'.  The book is not too business-y and not too technical so anyone interested in Google would enjoy it.

Batelle believes that the concept of 'search' and the fact that more and more content is becoming digital is the key factor that is changing our society.  And Google is central to that. 

What struck me as I read the book was that I realized that in all the blogs and articles I had read about Google over the past year, Google is really taking on many faces.  To some Google is becoming a 'software' company ready to displace Microsoft.  To others Google is a centre of innovation and 'super smart' (Phd.) people who will change our world for the better.  While to others Google provides the most successful Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising model which has made domain names hot property again. 

That PPC model is what allows Google to be so many things to so many people.  PPC has brought in incredible amounts of cash.  And cash is time.  This week Eric Schmidt made a couple of statements publicly about Google.  He said that more competition will result in higher prices and that Google appears to be benefitting from a 'limitless growth model'.  Both of these statements can be argued to be true.  In theory, Google does have 'limitless growth model' but how will that work out in practice?  Well, you need alot of people searching, you need more and more people searching.  You need people searching more often. 

But when I think about this and all that I read about Google, I feel like its become almost a symbol or hope for the way we want the web to go.  Fortunately, in software a great vision can be shaped into reality.  This is both the advantage and downfall of many a CEO in software.  Is Google going to become the Google of our dreams?

Onezan recommend the novel Somecomes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow.  This science fiction novel is nicely set agains the backdrop of Toronto's Kensington Market.  I really appreciate Doctorow's use of this neighbourhood in the novel, its the perfect place for this story to take place.  And true to Toronto life, the characters barely leave the 15 city blocks of their 'hood.

The story is engaging and interesting.  Its great to read a story that considers the political and social potential of Wifi and Internet access without coming across as cheesey (as have most books about the 'Net).

I will be reading more books by Doctorow!

I decided to try to seek out more books set in Toronto.  The TPL has a list of them here
The first one that came in was Gently Down the Stream by Ray Robertson.

I have to say that this was a well written book.  After Working Class Zero, I was a little gun shy to read a book about Toronto male urban angst, I have to say.  But Robertson's novel was not cliched, it was a fairly good story.  I would have left out the whole 'The Duke' aspect of the story.  'The Duke' being an old tavern filled with old guys who nurse a beer all day.  These places are certainly disappearing fast from Toronto's landscape but this part of the story didn't add much. 

I would have liked Robertson to focus more on the relationship between the main character, Hank and, his old university and far more successful friend, Phil.  This relationship showed how there are many Torontos including one the hipsters (like Phil) inhabit.  Still this book nicely captures the Roncesvalles neighbourhood of Toronto without relying on over-sentimentality.

Most novels set in present day Toronto tend to over rely on the city as a part of the story without doing alot of research.  The 'interesting' tidbits about Toronto tend to be urban legends while the city's more interesting facts are often buried. 

One example of this is the often mentioned Robarts Library in Toronto novels.  I have read three books that mention Robarts and that (1) it is shaped like a peacock (2) it has no windows (3) it is sinking because the architect/ building engineer didn't take into account the weight of the books.

(3) is an urban legend and they say the same thing at U of Waterloo about their library.  The urban legend was created and perpetuated by Arts students intended to imply that engineers / architects are unaware that books go in libraries.  Okay, its old.  Don't include it in your fiction.  Thank you.

All this month, the Toronto Public Library is celebrating 'Keep Toronto Reading'.  The Toronto Public Library (TPL) is one of the most used library systems in the world. 

There are 99 public library branches in Toronto and the collection has over 10 million items.  Here are the best things about the library (items which I regularly recite when I talk to someone who says 'Really, you use the library'?)

1. Every TPL branch reflects its community in some way, as best it can.  Interested in Chinese books / music / newspapers then head over to the Lillian H. Smith on College St.  You can see in the branch profile that this is included in their collection.

If you are like me and interested in World Music, the TPL has one of the best collections. 

2. You get to borrow a book for 3 weeks.  Slow reader; three weeks is probably enough.  But if it isn't enough.....

3. You can renew a loan.  On-line. 
That's right.  You can see in the screen cap, the books I have borrowed and the renew button.  As long as your book is not on request by someone else, you can renew a book up to two times.  So you could actually borrow it for 9 weeks.





4. You can search the entire collection on-line.  Once you find the book you want, you can request it and it will be delivered to your local library.

Everytime someone recommends a book to me, I search for it at the TPL.  Onezan recommended 'Someone comes to town, someone leaves town'.  I requested it right away and it is now sitting on the 'Hold' shelf at my local library.

5. If you can't get a book immediately, the TPL system automatically puts you in a queue for it.  This is your 'Hold' list.  When a book on your Hold list is available, it gets delivered to your library.  You can see where you are in the Hold queue, ie. 4 out of 10.  This gives you a sense of how long it will take.  Naturally if a book is popular, it takes longer, if a book is a bit older you will probably get a copy right away.





6. But do they have the books I read?  They have 10 million books.  What do you read? They have all types of books.  I have searched for CDs and Artists that were not in the collection.  But I have never found a literature, biography or non-fiction book that you would find in Indigo not in the collection.  In fact, the library has books that Indigo would not have.  I have frequently found Business course books in the library when I was in school.

7. If you return a book a day late its 60 cents.  60 cents!  Steep eh.  Oh but the book would have cost $29.99.  And even if your book is overdue, you can still renew your loan on-line.

8. Go to your library. Check it out.  Its not www.amazon.ca.  The Library may deliver a book you request in 2 days or it may take 2 months.  But either way, its free. 

The library is one of the best public services we have in the city of Toronto.  For many people in this city, the library is their only option for getting access to reading material.  Everyone should use it and support it. 

I thought I would post on some good books about Toronto's past that I have read.

The Stubborn Season by Lauren B. Davis is a very good novel about Depression-era Toronto.  I found this novel very enjoyable to read.  The novel has great descriptions of the Depression era layout of Toronto including St. John's Ward, the slums that used to stand where Nathan Phillips Square is today.  It also accurately portrays the struggle that occurred in society over what to do about the extreme poverty that the Depression caused.  Portraying this issue from different perspectives, this novel brings to life a part of the history of Toronto that we often take for granted.

Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood.  This novel, more than any other Atwood novel, captures the Toronto of Atwood's youth - 1950's and 1960's.  In this book, you can get a sense of the wooded ravines of Toronto's largest city, one of its most romantic features.  I find that these ravines play a large role in the life of anyone who grew up here.
I read Cat's Eye long before I lived in Toronto, I may give it another read soon.

In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje.  Some people I know have said they didn't like this book, it was boring and nothing happened.  Perhaps that could be said of the plot but this book has the most beautiful descriptions of Toronto's past, making the city one of the main characters.  Particularly interesting is the story around the building of the Bloor St. viaduct, the bridge that crosses the Don Valley connecting East and West Toronto.  In the Skin of a Lion also describes the neighbourhoods that used to exist around Eastern Avenue.  This area was an area where working class immigrants used to live and is now going through a slow revitalization as the industrial areas are re-claimed again for residential use.

On the TTC the other day I saw a woman reading a thick novel called, "Coronation Street: The Complete Saga".  Can you believe that they put Coronation Street into a book format?  She sat down next to me and the section that I read over her shoulder had Ken getting caught talking to a woman by Elsie.  He begged Elsie not to tell Val.  Oh Ken, when will you learn.