I Am Not Making This Up

Now on my book review desk: Al Strachan's I Am Not Making This Up, an excellent bathroom reader of NHL and sports journalist quickie tales by the former Toronto Sun, Montreal Gazette and Globe & Mail scribe. Also, the Brian Kilrea-James Duthie book The Call Me Killer, an assisted autobiography by the legendary Ontario Hockey League coach.
Do kids today read hockey books? I hope so, because very skilled writers keep cranking them out every fall for the Christmas gift market. I bet it's grandparents who buy them as gifts for hockey-playing kids. Do the books actually get read?

I Am Not Making This Up: My Favourite Hockey Stories

Of the handful of hockey books I've seen this fall, the Strachan book is the best bet for teen and adult hockey fans. Strachan's tales - from the cheapness of Ken Dryden to the swagger of Brett Hull - are funny. The book doubles as a sportswriter's history. Love his descriptions of story filing and equipment once used, some of which I pecked at as well. And who knew a former GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs was once a fax boy in the press box of Maple Leaf Gardens?
I'll be reviewing various hockey books for the London Free Press as we draw closer to the Christmas buying frenzy.

They Call Me Killer: Tales from Junior Hockey's Legendary Hall-of-Fame Coach