A new radio show kicks off the week of November 8th!

The moment you have been waiting for is finally here!! Tonight, the launch of The Strombo Show on CBC Radio 2, from 8 pm to midnight EST. Click here for a preview of what you will hear tonight. Don't forget to check out the radio program's Facebook page. Happy listening...

Coming up on The Hour:

Monday, November 9th

Bestselling author and editor-at-large of Esquire, A. J. Jacobs.

Actress, filmmaker and activist, Isabella Rossellini.

Tuesday, November 10th

British journalist and author of McMafia: Crime Without Frontiers, Misha Glenny.

Making her return visit to The Hour, actress and author Valerie Bertinelli.

Wednesday, November 11th

Remembrance Day...please observe 2 minutes of silence at 11 o'clock. Also, look for a special Remembrance Day post later this week.

The Hour has some terrific repeat interviews today: actors Patricia Clarkson and Clive Owen as well as Canadian music icon Michael Bublé.

Thursday, November 12th

Perhaps in your travels on the internet, you have come across the site boingboing.net. One of the people behind it it Toronto born Cory Doctorow, a science fiction author, blogger and journalist. His new book, Makers, is being released this week.

I have always been a fan of Morgan Freeman. My favourite of his films is a 1997 suspense/thriller, Kiss the Girls. If you've not seen it, check it out...the ending will surprise you! I am eagerly looking forward to his latest project with Canadian filmmaker Paul Saltzman (a previous guest on The Hour). Prom Night in Mississippi is a documentary that follows the events surrounding the first ever integrated prom at Charleston High School. The year of this history making event? 2008.

On November 13, Freeman and Paul Saltzman will be participating in a special opening night benefit screening at the Varsity Cinema in Toronto. The benefit is in support of Saltzman's Moving Beyond Prejudice educational DVD package. Proceeds will be used to donate the DVD packages to Canadian schools who would otherwise be unable to purchase the learning tool. Ticket information can be found here.

Friday, November 13th

[Are you superstitious???]

This week's 'best of' show includes Bill Maher, Hugh Dillon and Vivica Fox.

Hour Books: Losing It

I'll be honest, this book was never really on my list to read. I thought the interview on The Hour was interesting, but not something I wanted to pursue beyond that one segment. However, I was at my local library last week and found "Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound At A Time" by Valerie Bertinelli staring at me from the featured book display. Since I was on Summer Vacation at the time, I was looking for a different kind of read so I picked it up.

I was surprised, it was a good read. It's an interesting journey through Bertinelli's life, from her first encounter with acting to the night her son started touring with her ex-husband as Van Halen's new bassist. I liked that this book didn't glamourize her issues unlike some celebrity biographies I've read in the past. I liked that she was seemingly frank about how her life felt totally different than how it was perceived by the outsiders.

I'm not sure how I feel about using the whole weight loss thing to tie the book together, but it's used as her catalyst to happiness. I did come away from the book with the notion that we all have a story to tell, and on some level everyone's story is similar.

Make sure you check out Valerie Bertinelli's 2008 interview on The Hour.