Category: Books

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

- Ann 1 Comment

The White QueenFull of lusty kings and beautiful ladies, political intrigue and devastating battles, Phillipa Gregory begins her next collection of historical fiction stories with the triumphant The White Queen. Following the generation before the Tudors (which Gregory brought to life in her popular The Other Boleyn Girl and others), The White Queen is the first in a series of three books and delivers exactly what Philippa Gregory fans expect: excellent writing, fast-paced stories, complex characters. As always, Gregory never forgets the human side of the stories; these are great men and women who will alter the course of history yet they are also just people, with very human faults and virtues.

With the bloody War of the Roses – where cousin was set against cousin – as a backdrop, The White Queen follows Elizabeth Woodville, a beautiful widow who catches the eye of Edward of York, the new King of England. Despite her being a commoner and from the rival Lancaster family, they marry and Elizabeth – and her family – rise to power and influence with the young king. There is no fairy tale ending though – men who once supported Edward now seek to overthrow him, more battles are fought and the country, already weary with war, is fighting again.

There are many mysteries and intrigues here including what became of Edward and Elizabeth’s oldest sons, the infamous “Princes in the Tower”, whose fate is still unknown today. Gregory takes us into this world, introduces us to its customs and makes us care. It is historical fiction at it’s best.

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne DuMaurier

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my cousin rachelEvery once in a while I get a hankering for the classics.  Okay, I’ll confess — it’s usually in the wee hours of the morning and the only books on my shelf that I haven’t read are the classics.  So it was with My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier.

I’d loved the author’s Rebecca which I’d read many years ago, but somehow this one had escaped me. For those of you not already familiar with the book, it relates the story of Philip Ashley, whose privileged life on his ancestral Cornwall estate is turned upside-down by a sophisticated and mysterious older woman.  Orphaned at a young age, Philip was raised by his bachelor uncle Ambrose, who falls in love and marries while traveling in Florence.  When Ambrose dies under suspicious circumstances, Philip is determined to hate “his cousin” Rachel forever — that is until she shows up at the estate and Philip, too, falls under her spell.

If you enjoy historical fiction, and a little romance with your mystery, then this is a good fit for your late-night or rainy-day reading.

Home, Paper Scissors by Patricia Zapata

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home paper scissorsIf your idea of paper crafts stops at safety scissors and Elmer’s glue, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. Whimsical, sophisticated, playful and beautiful describe the paper crafts found in Home, Paper, Scissors by Patricia Zapata and will open your eyes to the many possibilities of papercraft.

Take those bright-colored bowls on the cover of the book – they’re quick and easy (and fun!) to create, using colored paper from your paper shredder, a solution of glue and water and a bowl for a mold. You’ll find a variety of projects from a fanciful, fluttery mobile, to placemats to tealight covers. There are also several innovative and attractive boxes to hold everything from favors to stationary to gifts. Decorative and useful, from craft to art, you’ll never look at paper quite the same again.

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

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School of essential ingredientsIn today’s fast food world full of instant puddings and potatoes, it is refreshing to read a book featuring real food. But The School of Essential Ingredients also features real people.  Each chapter focuses on a different student in Lillian’s cooking class, revealing not only their own particular foibles and dilemmas, but also how they each contribute something satisfying and indelible to the mix. There’s Claire, a mother struggling with the demands of her young children; Tom, a young widower still grieving over the loss of his wife to breast cancer, and Isabelle, an elderly woman tentatively dealing with the confusion of memory loss, to name but a few.

The book is satisfying on many levels. First, it just made me want to bake something — at times it seemed I could almost smell what they were cooking, even though my kitchen was very vacant.  Then, I got nostalgic, remembering favorite dishes from my childhood, and relishing how food often brought family together.  Finally, in a very subtle way, I witnessed the characters forming lasting relationships with each other and realized what a difference one person can make in another’s life.

In this first novel (but third book) by Erica Bauermeister, it’s obvious that she has a “love of slow food and slow life instilled by her two years living in northern Italy.” She’s whipped up a delightful, delicious dessert of a book.

Iowa’s unfortunate export

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indexCA3TZVXSIowa.  Midwestern values.  Bridges of Madison County, Postville, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid.

Salt of the earth people in an idyllic pastoral setting.

Juxtapose this with the harrowing, gory details of the crystal meth epidemic and you have Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town.

It’s a problem we somewhat comprehend due to the occasional headline-evoking mental images of skinny wound-up kids.  Enter Oelwein, IA near Waterloo.  Although, with the population of roughly 6000, and a tiny barbershop/greasy spoon Main Street, on the surface it could just as easily be called Eldridge, LeClaire, Wilton, or Maquoketa.  For a time, Iowa was a national power in this citizen stopgap solution to high unemployment and corporate agribusiness.

Methland functions as a primer featuring real people of this cottage industry that operates out of backwoods trailers and gravel-road labs, letting the reader become intimately acquainted with the toothless, burned-up shells of former townspeople and the futile management efforts of local powers.

If you’d like a local nonfiction version of your favorite gruesome primetime CSI fare, here it is.

Style and Elegance

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Coco ChanelToday is the birth anniversary of Coco Chanel, one of the most important and influential designers of the 20th century. The very epitome of effortless French style, Chanel revolutionized the fashion world when she introduced men’s clothing (slacks) for women’s wear. Her signature looks – comfortable and simple yet elegant – included the dramatic use of costume jewelry (notably ropes of pearls), sportswear, collarless jackets paired with simple skirts and the “little black dress”. She was the first designer to put her name on a signature perfume; Chanel No. 5 was created in 1921 and continues to be one of the most popular perfumes on the market.

Chanel’s life story is the stuff of Hollywood – born into poverty, orphaned at age 12, raised by nuns, she rose to wealth and status through talent and hard work. Find out more about this fascinating, controversial (both the Nazi’s and the Allies accused her of being a spy during World War II) woman through these great books:

Chanel: Her Style and Her Life by Janet Wallach

Chanel : the Couturiere at Work by Amy DeLaHaye

Chanel : a Woman of Her Own by Axel Madsen

Coco Chanel : her Life, her Secrets by Marcel Haedrich

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Reminder to our Readers! Don’t forget to leave a comment on last Friday’s blog post about your favorite QC area Staycation destination! Someone’s going to win two tickets to the Putnum Museum and IMAX movie Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa – might as well be you!

Too Many Tomatoes Cookbook by Brian Yarvin

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Too Many Tomatoes CookbookOK, I admit, this might not be the year that you’re worried about too many tomatoes; it may be the year that you’re worried about not enough! Just in case the weather takes a turn and starts to co-operate, we’ve got  all of your excessive tomato harvest problems solved with The Too Many Tomatoes Cookbook by Brian Yarvin.

You’ll find all the things you’d expect in a cookbook about tomatoes – sauces, soups and stews, pizza, lasagna and salads as well as tomato preservation basics – roasting, drying and freezing. There are also more unique entries such as Hawaiian-Style Salmon Salad, Korean-Style Tomatoes Sprinkled with Sugar, and South African Train Smash.  Recipes come from across the world, proving that this uniquely New World vegetable (or is it a fruit?) has been embraced by countries and cultures as diverse as Italy, Thailand, Greece, Albania, Turkey, Hungary and Japan. Scattered throughout are various essays on tomato farmers and vendors and chefs, tomato facts and tomato-centric events. Beautifully produced with lots of goroegous photos and an encouraging and friendly writing style, you’ll find yourself reaching for this book time after time.

Now, all we need is some tomato-growing weather!

Clash of the Titans

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norrisWhat happens when one unstoppable force meets an immovable object? That’s the subtext of this coffee-table style kitsch book, Chuck Norris Vs. Mr. T: 400 Facts About the Baddest Dudes in the History of Ever.   This 176 pages lets the reader ponder brief sarcastic koans about the strength, potency, and astrophysics-bending possibilities of these two demigods in a spin on the American tall tale.
I know Chuck Norris jokes are kind of 2005, but Mr. T is in this as well, and they’re pretty dang funny.

“Chuck Norris can beat a brick wall in tennis.”
“Mr. T sleeps with a pillow under his gun.”
‘The McRib sandwich only comes back when Chuck Norris is in the mood for one.”
“Mr. T doesn’t breathe.  He holds air hostage.”

For fans of Walker: Texas Ranger and A-Team alike.

The Armchair Traveler – Traveling through Time

- Lynn 1 Comment

s WifeAudrey Niffenegger’s Time Traveler’s Wife will be released as a movie starring Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana on August 14th. This combines two excellent genres – novels featuring librarians and time travel. (There can never be enough stories about “hip, handsome” librarians).  Henry works for the Newberry library in Chicago and involuntarily pops up in his own past and future.

Add to this, time travel as an “impossible romantic trap” and you have box office magic. Consider the romantic traps inherent in movies such as Somewhere in Time, The Lake House and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. When your lover is aging at a different rate or is in a different time zone, so to speak, it makes for a relationship complication.

So, here’s your chance to expand your travel choices – really expand them. Outside our time/space continuum.

The Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar

- Ann 1 Comment

weight of heavenAfter their only child, 7-year-old Benny, dies unexpectedly of meningitis, Frank and Ellie Benton find their once perfect life in Ann Arbor empty and unbearable. When Frank is subsequently offered a new job in Girbaug, India, they grasp at the opportunity for a fresh start. Ellie adapts beautifully, volunteering as a counselor in a free clinic, and relishing in the vibrant color and boisterous activity that is India. Frank, on the other hand, struggles, never quite fitting in or understanding the vast cultural differences. He does, however, befriend a young boy, Ramesh, and becomes consumed with offering this child every opportunity, despite the father’s jealous objections. In the meantime, as Frank neglects his business, labor difficulties continue to fester into riot proportions.

As a ready, I could viscerally sense impending disaster, and even partially predict it. Still, I was caught unawares at the ending and left to marvel at this storyteller’s technique. The Weight of Heaven would make an excellent book club choice. As there are several issues with varying viewpoints presented, the book certainly promises to reap a wealth of healthy discussion.