Making love to a lobster—that is, buying, cooking and eating lobster—is a lot easier than you might think. And if you've ever thought that you'd like to get close enough to a lobster (or any kind of shellfish) to tame it into submission, but didn't really know how to start, then How to Make Love to a Lobster is the book for you.

This book is a primer on 13 different kinds of seafood, covering crustacean favourites such as lobster, scampi, prawns, shrimp and crab, and mollusc favourites such as clams, mussels, scallops and oysters, as well as more-unusual edibles such as abalone, conch, squid and octopus.

For each type of seafood, the authors provide guidance on how to clean it, store it, cook it and eat it. Also included are charming folklores and histories, written in a lively and engaging style ("Consider the Crab," "The Strange Abalone," "Mussels Galore") and recommendations for North American and European wines that pair well with the seafood.

How to Make Love to a Lobster also features 40 fabulous recipes for shellfish, many from beloved seafood restaurants and internationally renowned chefs. Try your newly-acquired seafoodcooking skills on:

• Lobster Rolls from chef Rebecca Charles of Pearl Oyster Bar in New York
• Shrimp Steamed in Beer from chef Kee Lee of Filet of Sole Restaurant in Toronto
• Cioppino (seafood stew) from chef John Canepa of Tadich Grill in San Francisco
• Oyster Pan Roast from Grand Central Oyster Bar in New York
• Kelp Greenling and Squid from chef Michael Stadtlander of Sooke Harbour House on Vancouver Island

Also, for those who prefer to have their shellfish served up to them, there is a comprehensive list of "Good Places to Eat Shellfish" in Canada and the United States. This list of 185 restaurants—in provinces and states on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts and bordering the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico.

How to Make Love to a Lobster is a book that will satisfy all your shellfish cravings.

Marjorie Harris is one of CanadaÕs best-known garden writers. Since her first garden book, The Canadian Gardener, was published in 1990, she has written 15 garden books, including the highly regarded Botanica North America.After Marjorie moved from full-time journalism to full-time garden writing, she co-founded Toronto Life Gardens in 1996. This magazine was then folded into Gardening Life, with Harris as editor-in-chief, and continued to publish under that name until 2008. Since her magazine years, Marjorie has written a regular garden column for and made garden videos with The Globe and Mail newspaper. Her garden design business, Marjorie Harris Gardens (marjorieharris.com), features a blog and an extensive archive of articles on a wide variety of gardening topics. Marjorie lives in her own garden, which she started in 1967, with her husband, writer Jack Batten.

Marjorie Harris' profile page

Peter Taylor has written nine books, including Three Bricks Shy of a Load: A Collection of Stories about Ordinary People Doing Really Dumb Stuff and the novel, Watcha Gonna Do Boy . . . Watcha Gonna Be?, which was produced as a CBC television movie and a radio drama.

Peter Peter's profile page