So, this happened.

It came up in a conversation with my boss at work (remember I work at a university bookstore) that I have self published a few times on Amazon for a lark. He thought it would be fun to get a few of my books for the store.  I advised him to only get the 27 and 1/2 plays about William Shakespeare, as the Ruminations and Conversations have sections that talk (not flatteringly) about the store.  Also, I couldn't give away the Brief History, so there was no point in trying to sell it here. He ended up purchasing the whole lot for the store.

I then told him that two of the books have descriptions of working here. He asked "How bad could that be?" so I sent him the relevant passages. In his own words he laughed and cringed at the same time, and also couldn't put them down, but he ultimately agreed with me that maybe these should not be on the shelf, though they are already coming. So he and I will buy the extra copies and keep them safe.

He also told me I had a real talent for satire. The thing is, the sections dealing with the store weren't satire. Everything in there actually happened. This place transcends mere satire. It's the great problem of the 20th and 21st Century: How do you write satire when reality itself is so twisted?

I am still in the process of editing the history of the Jubilee Riots.  I would like to include some pictures of the major players- Archbishop Lynch, Mayor Medcalfe, perhaps a few of the newspaper editors, although George Brown is the only one I can find easily, and perhaps Col Ogle R. Gowan, though he is only briefly in the story, a picture of two of the Orange Lodge marching, the Toronto Constabulary, and a picture of Guibord and perhaps Bishop Bourget as well, as their struggle was a major factor in stirring up the trouble in Toronto.  With the pictures I could include some biographical details that never really fit into the narrative.  I could include some photos of places where it happened- that is about the only part I could do include, as I could take the photos myself, although most of the places have changed beyond any recognition by now, and the original churches for St Paul's and St Mary's have long since been replaced.  There was an engraving of the riots that was published in a Montreal paper, which would be great to include in the book, even on the cover.  

Unfortunately, I don't believe these images are public domain, and permission must be obtained in order to use them.  This is one of the huge downsides of self publishing.  A publishing house would have a department of people dedicated to taking care of this very problem.  On my own, I have no idea where to begin.  If anyone has any suggestions of any kind, please let me know in the comments.