The Weekend Guy: A Survival Guide

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Vince Grittani is the “weekend guy”—a voice crying from the
wilderness of Muskoka, proclaiming the sanctity of Canada’s two
favorite holidays: Saturday and Sunday. Grittani’s claim to authority
stems from a series of guest appearances on a cable channel television
program, Cottage Life. This book is a compilation of Grittani’s essays
and cartoons about all things weekend oriented. His subjects include
weekend clothes, Friday-night traffic jams, unwanted guests, barbecue
tips, vacation safety, and cottage chores.

Sometimes Grittani offers advice that may be useful for a new cottage
owner such as “before turning on the hydro, make sure the hot water
tank is off to prevent burning out the element.” Unfortunately, a lot
of what he says is fairly obvious, such as “do not trash a rental
cottage if you expect to be renting the same unit next year.” At other
times, he lapses into well-worn sexual stereotypes such as the cartoon
that shows a woman daydreaming about baking bread while her male
counterpart daydreams about building a doghouse with power tools. This
book’s most likely niche is as a last-resort host/hostess gift for the
cottage owner who has everything.