readers' choice

I’m pleased to report that last month, the Books & Beyond discussion group celebrated its 14th anniversary here at O’Neal!  Thanks for keeping the conversation alive!

The next BAB meeting is Tuesday, August 30th. Since August is Women in Translation month, that is our topic!  This will include books WRITTEN by women that are translated into English and books translated into English BY women.  If you’re looking for inspiration, there is a display at the 2nd floor service desk and the BAB column (7th row down) on the library’s Shelf Care webpage has a great selection too. 

BAB met last night for one of our biannual Salon Discussions, where there is no assigned topic and we share anything we’ve been enjoying lately!

Enthralled by Katie MacAlister (not available in the JCLC system, find in WorldCat) 

Keeley Moore was happy when he found his Beloved, the one woman fated to be the love of his immortal life. And then she left him at the altar without so much as a single word of explanation. One hundred and thirty years later, he’s still trying NOT to think about her. Jenna Boyle has no idea who this tortured, tormented, and sexy-as-sin man is who claims she betrayed him a century ago, but she’s not overly worried about their past. It’s the present that concerns her, mostly in getting Keeley free from the monsters who have turned him from a peaceful vampire into a Thrall, the dreaded ancestor of all Dark Ones…one who is about to go into a murderous, unstoppable killing spree. One Thrall and his Beloved, a bestie with a male harem, and a group of intrepid tourists tackling an international organization bent on the destruction of the mortal world…it’s just another day in the world of Katie MacAlister’s Dark Ones.

The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson

Amateur sleuth Stevie Bell needs a good murder. After catching a killer at her high school, she’s back at home for a normal (that means boring) summer. But then she gets a message from the owner of Sunny Pines, formerly known as Camp Wonder Falls—the site of the notorious unsolved case, the Box in the Woods Murders. Back in 1978, four camp counselors were killed in the woods outside of the town of Barlow Corners, their bodies left in a gruesome display. The new owner offers Stevie an invitation: Come to the camp and help him work on a true crime podcast about the case.

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

It's 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl's display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again. This fresh take on a classic story will make readers question the tales they've been told, and root for girls to break down the constructs of the world around them.

Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon

You’d think being abducted by aliens would be the worst thing that could happen to me. And you’d be wrong. Because now the aliens are having ship trouble, and they’ve left their cargo of human women—including me—on an ice planet. Fall in love with the out-of-this-world romance between Georgie Carruthers, a human woman, and Vektal, an alien from another planet.

Slayer Slang: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lexicon by Michael Adams (not available in the JCLC system, find in WorldCat) 

In its seven years on television, Buffy the Vampire Slayer earned critical acclaim and a massive cult following among teen viewers. One of the most distinguishing features of the show is the innovative way its writers play with language--fabricating new words, morphing existing ones, and throwing usage on its head. The result has been a strikingly resonant lexicon that reflects the power of both youth culture and television in the evolution of American slang. Using the show to illustrate how new slang is formed, transformed, and transmitted, Slayer Slang is one of those rare books that combines a serious explanation of a pop culture phenomenon with an engrossing read for Buffy fans, language mavens, and pop culture critics.

One for All by Lillie Lainoff

Tania de Batz is most herself with a sword in her hand. Everyone thinks her near-constant dizziness makes her weak, nothing but “a sick girl.” But Tania wants to be strong, independent, a fencer like her father―a former Musketeer and her greatest champion. Then Papa is brutally, mysteriously murdered. His dying wish? For Tania to attend finishing school. But L’Académie des Mariées, Tania realizes, is no finishing school. It’s a secret training ground for new Musketeers: women who are socialites on the surface, but strap daggers under their skirts, seduce men into giving up dangerous secrets, and protect France from downfall. And they don’t shy away from a sword fight.

These Precious Days: Essays by Ann Patchett

From the enchantments of Kate DiCamillo’s children’s books (author of The Beatryce Prophecy) to youthful memories of Paris; the cherished life gifts given by her three fathers to the unexpected influence of Charles Schultz’s Snoopy; the expansive vision of Eudora Welty to the importance of knitting, Patchett connects life and art as she illuminates what matters most. Infused with the author’s grace, wit, and warmth, the pieces in These Precious Days resonate deep in the soul, leaving an indelible mark—and demonstrate why Ann Patchett is one of the most celebrated writers of our time.

Ken Russell’s Gothic (not available in the JCLC system, find streaming)

Lord Byron promises his guests a night of horror only a mad poet can deliver and after partaking in hallucinogens, the guests tell ghost stories while exploring the dark corridors of his home - and of their minds.

Impromptu (available via Hoopla at select libraries)

French novelist George Sand flirts with composer Frederic Chopin and the poet Alfred de Musset.

The Vanishing by Tim Krabbe

When Saskia Ehlvest, a young Dutch girl, disappears from a rest stop along a highway in rural France, her lover, Rex Hofmann, cannot accept her disappearance and embarks on an obsessive search for her that spans years.

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Public Library, award-winning New Yorker reporter and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean delivers a “delightful…reflection on the past, present, and future of libraries in America” (New York magazine) that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before.

The Latinist by Mark Prins

A contemporary reimagining of the Daphne and Apollo myth, The Latinist is a page-turning exploration of power, ambition, and the intertwining of love and obsession.

The Passenger by Lisa Lutz

Forty-eight hours after leaving her husband’s body at the base of the stairs, Tanya Dubois cashes in her credit cards, dyes her hair brown, demands a new name from a shadowy voice over the phone, and flees town. It’s not the first time. It’s almost impossible to live off the grid in the twenty-first century, but Amelia-now-Debra has the courage, the ingenuity, and the desperation, to try. Hopscotching from city to city, Debra especially is chased by a very dark secret. From heart-stopping escapes and devious deceptions, we are left to wonder…can she possibly outrun her past?

The River by Peter Heller

Wynn and Jack have been best friends since college orientation, bonded by their shared love of mountains, books, and fishing. Wynn is a gentle giant while Jack is more rugged. When they decide to canoe the Maskwa River in northern Canada, they anticipate long days of leisurely paddling and nights of stargazing and reading paperback Westerns. But a wildfire making its way across the forest adds unexpected urgency to the journey.From this charged beginning, master storyteller Peter Heller unspools a headlong, heart-pounding story of desperate wilderness survival.

The Guide by Peter Heller

Safe from viruses that have plagued America for years, Kingfisher Lodge offers a respite for wealthy clients. Now it also promises a second chance for Jack, a return to normalcy after a young life filled with loss. When he is assigned to guide a well-known singer, his only job is to rig her line, carry her gear, and steer her to the best trout he can find. But then a human scream pierces the night, and Jack soon realizes that this idyllic fishing lodge may be merely a cover for a far more sinister operation. A novel as gripping as it is lyrical, as frightening as it is moving, The Guide is another masterpiece from Peter Heller.

The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation by Rosemary Sullivan

Using new technology, recently discovered documents and sophisticated investigative techniques, an international team—led by an obsessed retired FBI agent—has finally solved the mystery that has haunted generations since World War II: Who betrayed Anne Frank and her family? And why?

Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History by Richard Thompson Ford

In Dress Codes, law professor and cultural critic Richard Thompson Ford presents a “deeply informative and entertaining” (The New York Times Book Review) history of the laws of fashion from the middle ages to the present day, a walk down history’s red carpet to uncover and examine the canons, mores, and customs of clothing—rules that we often take for granted. After reading Dress Codes, you’ll never think of fashion as superficial again—and getting dressed will never be the same.

Gone: A Girl, a Violin, a Life Unstrung by Min Kym

In this lucid and transfixing memoir, Kym reckons with the space left by her violin’s absence. She sees with new eyes her past as a child prodigy, with its isolation and crushing expectations; her combustible relationships with teachers and with a domineering boyfriend; and her navigation of two very different worlds, her traditional Korean family and her music. And in the stark yet clarifying light of her loss, she rediscovers her voice and herself.

Seven Steeples by Sara Baume

It is the winter following the summer they met. A couple, Bell and Sigh, move into a remote house in the Irish countryside with their dogs. Both solitary with misanthropic tendencies, they leave the conventional lives stretched out before them to build another—one embedded in ritual, and away from the friends and family from whom they’ve drifted. Seven Steeples is a beautiful and profound meditation on the nature of love and the resilience of nature. Through Bell and Sigh, and the life they create for themselves, Sara Baume explores what it means to escape the traditional paths laid out before us—and what it means to evolve in devotion to another person, and to the landscape.

GENERAL DISCUSSION

Truly Devious series by Maureen Johnson
Truly Devious
The Vanishing Stair
The Hand on the Wall
Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place,” he said, “where learning is a game.” Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym “Truly, Devious.” It became one of the great unsolved crimes of American history. True-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case. That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding new school life and her housemates: the inventor, the novelist, the actor, the artist, and the jokester. But something strange is happening. Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham Academy. The past has crawled out of its grave. Someone has gotten away with murder.

Into Every Generation a Slayer is Born: How Buffy Staked OurHearts by Evan Ross Katz

Over the course of its seven-year run, Buffy the Vampire Slayer cultivated a loyal fandom and featured a strong, complex female lead, at a time when such a character was a rarity. Evan Ross Katz explores the show’s cultural relevance through a book that is part oral history, part celebration, and part memoir of a personal fandom that has universal resonance still, decades later.

The Vanishing (Dutch film)

Rex and Saskia, a young couple in love, are on vacation. They stop at a busy service station and Saskia is abducted. After three years and no sign of Saskia, Rex begins receiving letters from the abductor.

The Vanishing (American film)

A vacationing Seattle couple stops at a highway rest area where the woman disappears without a trace in this gut-wrenching remake.

Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon series

Gabriel Allon is a master art restorer and sometime officer of Israeli intelligence.

The Revenant by Michael Punke (film adaptation starring Leonardo DiCaprio)

The year is 1823, and the trappers of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company live a brutal frontier life. Hugh Glass is among the company’s finest men, an experienced frontiersman and an expert tracker. But when a scouting mission puts him face-to-face with a grizzly bear, he is viciously mauled and not expected to survive. Two company men are dispatched to stay behind and tend to Glass before he dies. When the men abandon him instead, Glass is driven to survive by one desire: revenge. 

Anne Frank The Whole Story miniseries (2001) Available on Youtube

The life of Anne Frank and her family from 1939 to 1945: pre-war fears, invasion of Netherlands by German troops, hiding in Amsterdam, deportation to the camps, return of Anne's father.

My Best Friend Anne Frank (Netflix)

Based on the real-life friendship between Anne Frank and Hannah Goslar, from Nazi-occupied Amsterdam to their harrowing reunion in a concentration camp.

Witch, Please podcast

A fortnightly podcast about the Harry Potter world hosted by Hannah McGregor and Marcelle Kosman. “Those who have never read a Potter book can certainly listen to the Witch, Please podcast. Frankly, by just walking the earth with your eyes and ears open you have likely ingested enough Potter information to enjoy this funny and thought-provoking podcast.” - Vancouver Sun, 2020

Victoria Finlay

Victoria studied Social Anthropology at St Andrews University, Scotland and William & Mary College, Virginia, after spending time in Himalayan India, teaching in a Tibetan refugee camp and realizing how amazing it was to learn about different cultures.  A lifelong interest in color led to her first book, Color: A Natural History of the Palette, before branching out into other interests with Jewels: A Secret History and her most recent (June, 2022), Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World.

Game of Thrones: The Costumes by Michele Clapton (not available in the JCLC system, find in WorldCat)

The official guide to the complete costumes of HBO’s landmark television series Game of Thrones. Discover how BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning costume designer Michele Clapton dressed the heroes and villains of Westeros and beyond, including Daenerys Targaryen, Cersei Lannister, Jon Snow, and Arya Stark.

(image: A reading of Molière, Jean François de Troy, about 1728)

small towns, big personalities

Small towns always seem to be full of big personalities, all of whom want to play their own part, leading to hijinks and hilarious disasters.  Find your next read (or audiobook!) among this list of small towns around the world populated with quirky characters in funny, sentimental stories.

TheRoad To Rose Bend by Naima Simone
Sydney Collins left the small Berkshires town of Rose Bend eight years ago, grieving her sister’s death—and heartbroken over her parents’ rejection. But now the rebel is back—newly divorced and pregnant—ready to face her fears and make a home for her child in the caring community she once knew. The last thing she needs is trouble. But trouble just set her body on fire with one hot, hot smile.

ThePatron Saint of Second Chances by Christine Simon
The self-appointed mayor of a tiny Italian village is determined to save his hometown no matter the cost in this charming, hilarious, and heartwarming debut novel.

Britt-MarieWas Here by Fredrik Backman
When Britt-Marie walks out on her cheating husband and has to fend for herself in the miserable backwater town of Borg—of which the kindest thing one can say is that it has a road going through it—the fastidious Britt-Marie soon finds herself being drawn into the daily doings of her fellow citizens, an odd assortment of miscreants, drunkards, layabouts. Most alarming of all, she’s given the impossible task of leading the supremely untalented children’s soccer team to victory. In this small town of misfits, can Britt-Marie find a place where she truly belongs?

SecondChance on Cypress Lane by Reese Ryan
Set in Holly Grove Island, North Carolina, a reporter heads back home to recover from a scandal, only to find herself working with the man who once broke her heart.

DelilahGreen Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake
Delilah Green swore she would never go back to Bright Falls—nothing is there for her but memories of a lonely childhood and a cold and distant stepfamily. When her estranged stepsister pressures her into photographing her wedding, Delilah finds herself back in the godforsaken town she used to call home. Having raised her eleven-year-old daughter mostly on her own while dealing with her unreliable ex and running a bookstore, Claire Sutherland depends upon a life without surprises. And Delilah Green is an unwelcome surprise…at first. When they’re forced together during a gauntlet of wedding preparations—including a plot to save Astrid from her horrible fiancé—Claire isn’t sure she has the strength to resist Delilah’s charms. Even worse, she’s starting to think she doesn’t want to...

TheLast Chance Library by Freya Sampson
June Jones emerges from her shell to fight for her beloved local library, and through the efforts and support of an eclectic group of library patrons, she discovers life-changing friendships along the way.

TheReaders of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald
Katarina Bivald's The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is a sweet, smart, and uplifting story about how books find us, change us, and connect us.

Rise & Shine, Benedict Stone by Phaedra Patrick
Filled with colorful characters and irresistible charm, Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone is a luminous reminder of the unbreakable bonds of family, and shows that having someone to embrace life with is always better than simply getting by on your own.

MyItalian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith
Paul Stuart, a renowned food writer, finds himself at loose ends after his longtime girlfriend leaves him for her personal trainer. To cheer him up, Paul’s editor, Gloria, encourages him to finish his latest cookbook on-site in Tuscany, hoping that a change of scenery (plus the occasional truffled pasta and glass of red wine) will offer a cure for both heartache and writer’s block. But upon Paul’s arrival, things don’t quite go as planned. A mishap with his rental-car reservation leaves him stranded, until a newfound friend leads him to an intriguing alternative: a bulldozer.

SouthPole Station by Ashley Shelby
A warmhearted comedy of errors set in the world’s harshest place, Ashley Shelby's South Pole Station is a wry and witty debut novel about the courage it takes to band together when everything around you falls apart.

BlackberryWine by Joanne Harris
Jay Mackintosh is trapped by memory in the old familiar landscape of his childhood, to which he longs to return. A bottle of home-brewed wine left to him by a long-vanished friend seems to provide the key to an old mystery. As the unusual properties of the strange brew take effect, Jay escapes to a derelict farmhouse in the French village of Lansquenet. There, a ghost from the past waits to confront him.

TheStoried Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. But when a mysterious package appears at the bookstore, its unexpected arrival gives Fikry the chance to make his life over--and see everything anew.

ColdSassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
Olive Ann Burns has given us a timeless, funny, resplendent novel - about a romance that rocks an entire town, about a boy's passage through the momentous but elusive year when childhood melts into adolescence, and about just how people lived and died in a small Southern town at the turn of the century. Inhabited by characters who are wise and loony, unimpeachably pious and deliciously irreverent, Cold Sassy, Georgia, is the perfect setting for the debut of a storyteller of rare brio, exuberance, and style.

TheSecret of Rainy Days by Leslie Hooton
Growing up in Erob, Alabama, Nina "Little Bit" Barnes Enloe lived in the shadow of her imposing and harsh grandmother, Nina "Biggie" Barnes Enloe. Bit believes she can escape her grandmother’s controlling grip once and for all by moving somewhere where she is the only Nina Enloe listed: New York. Yet her world is turned upside down when an unexpected loss forces her to leave her new life in the city and return to Erob, where she must face everything―and everyone―she left behind. In the process, Bit discovers her true identity, learns the hard lessons of acceptance and forgiveness, finds herself falling in love in unexpected places, and finds comfort in the secrets of rainy days.

BigStone Gap by Adriana Trigiani
Self-proclaimed spinster, Ave Maria Mulligan reaches her thirty-fifth year and resigns herself to the single life, filling her days with hard work, fun friends, and good books. Then, one fateful day, Ave Maria’s past opens wide with the revelation of a long-buried secret that will alter the course of her life. Before she knows it, Ave Maria is fielding marriage proposals, trying to claim her rightful inheritance, and planning the trip of a lifetime to Italy—one that will change her view of the world and her own place in it forever.

GardenSpells by Sarah Addison Allen
In a garden surrounded by a tall fence, tucked away behind a small, quiet house in an even smaller town, is an apple tree that is rumored to bear a very special sort of fruit. In this luminous debut novel, Sarah Addison Allen tells the story of that enchanted tree, and the extraordinary people who tend it....

ColdComfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
When a well-educated young socialite in 1930s England is left orphaned and unable to support herself at age twenty-two, she moves in with her eccentric relatives on their farm.

Midnightat the Blackbird Café by Heather Weber
Nestled in the mountain shadows of Alabama lies the little town of Wicklow. It is here that Anna Kate has returned to bury her beloved Granny Zee, owner of the Blackbird Café. It was supposed to be a quick trip to close the café and settle her grandmother’s estate, but despite her best intentions to avoid forming ties or even getting to know her father’s side of the family, Anna Kate finds herself inexplicably drawn to the quirky Southern town her mother ran away from so many years ago, and the mysterious blackbird pie everybody can’t stop talking about.

SweetTea and Sympathy by Molly Harper
Nestled on the shore of Lake Sackett, Georgia is the McCready Family Funeral Home and Bait Shop. (What, you have a problem with one-stop shopping?) Two McCready brothers started two separate businesses in the same building back in 1928, and now it’s become one big family affair. And true to form in small Southern towns, family business becomes everybody’s business.

ItHappened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
Tessa Bailey is back with a Schitt’s Creek-inspired rom-com about a Hollywood “It Girl” who’s cut off from her wealthy family and exiled to a small Pacific Northwest beach town... where she butts heads with a surly, sexy local who thinks she doesn’t belong. 

MajorPettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson
When retired Major Pettigrew strikes up an unlikely friendship with Mrs. Ali, the Pakistani village shopkeeper, he is drawn out of his regimented world and forced to confront the realities of life in the twenty-first century. Brought together by a shared love of literature and the loss of their respective spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship on the cusp of blossoming into something more. 

Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash

comfort reads

I have a few books that I read over and over and never tire of them.  A bad mood, rough day, challenging circumstance…they all drift away when I open the cover on that familiar world.  A few of those for me are Anne McCaffrey’s Harper Hall trilogy beginning with Dragonsong (fantasy), Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell (gritty crime), The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister (contemporary fiction), Claiming Ground by Laura Bell (memoir), Stay by Allie Larkin (humor fiction) and Nobody’s Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (romance). Here are a few other great suggestions from readers online!

The Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux

Jacquie says: “My favorite comfort go-to read is The Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux. It’s a few years old but deals with friendships, loss, a bit of magic, and second chances. Who could want more?”

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Amy says: “It is the one book that I can read over and over, and it puts life into perspective.”

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Karen says: “I have several (or more!) comfort reads, but my most recent is the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. I feel like I am catching up with long-absent friends, and I find out something new about them with each reread.”

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Louise says: “It haunts your heart.”

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Amber says: “I have read it six times, and each time, I have found a new meaning and message. Whenever I have a big change in life or any type of difficulty, this is my go-to book. It is so beautifully written with something for everyone. It reads like a fairy tale but includes wisdom and guidance for those who seek it. Getting ready for my seventh read!”

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

Patty says: “It is the best for comfort and calming and feeling good.”

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Katrina says: “If I had one book to be stranded on an island with, this book would keep me happy. John and Owen just feel like home.”

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Susan says: “Any time I’m feeling really down, it sweeps me away to a different place and time, with complex characters I can really feel, and the story not just of a love affair, but of a marriage to stand the test of time.”

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Marsha says: “It’s a great perspective on how, when losing someone, we are also grieving for the person we used to be, who we used to be when they were here, and how we are different now with them gone. It’s both a sad but comforting read.”

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

Kim says: “I’ve read it 23 times since January 2017, and I don’t plan to stop anytime soon. The characters are like old friends, and my heart is always so full after I finish yet another reread.”

Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand

Emma says: “Such an uplifting and emotional read.”

Still Life by Louise Penny

Jo says: “Any of Louise Penny’s Gamache series because Three Pines and all the characters feel very much like home/family. The writing is wonderful. And no matter how many times I read them, I always find something new in each book.”

Photo by Inside Weather on Unsplash

 https://www.bookbub.com/blog/favorite-comfort-reads

good enough to eat

 

The recent popularity of the Netflix special, High on the Hog, has readers and foodies clamoring for Dr. Jessica B. Harris’s writings, as well as these cookbooks:

Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin

The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks by Toni Tipton-Martin

The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty

Rice: A Savor the South Cookbook by Michael W. Twitty

Bress ‘n’ Nyam: Gullah Geechee Recipes from a Sixth-Generation Farmer by Matthew Riafor and Amy Paige Condon

Black Girl Baking: Wholesome Recipes Inspired by a Soulful Upbringing by Jerrelle Guy

Sallie Ann Robinson’s Kitchen: Food and Family Lore from the Lowcountry by Sallie Ann Robinson

The Twisted Soul Cookbook: Modern Soul Food with Global Flavors by Deborah VanTrece

 

Love food, but not much for cooking?  Serve yourself one of these delicious novels!

 

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

In Talia Hibbert’s newest rom-com, the flightiest Brown sister crashes into the life of an uptight B&B owner and has him falling hard—literally.                              

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

The first book in a new culinary cozy series full of sharp humor and delectable dishes—one that might just be killer....

Lizzie & Dante by Mary Bly

The insightful, audacious, and deeply romantic story of a woman whose life turns upside down after she meets an enigmatic chef on vacation in Italy.

A Phở Love Story by Loan Le

All's fair in love, war and noodles! This delicious debut is perfect for fans of teen romcoms like When Dimple Met Rishi and Jenny Han's To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet by Laekan Zea Kemp

I'm Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter meets Emergency Contact in this stunning story of first love, familial expectations, the power of food, and finding where you belong.

Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown

The year is 1819, and the renowned chef Owen Wedgwood has been kidnapped by a beautiful yet ruthless pirate. He will be spared, Mad Hannah Mabbot tells him, as long as he can conjure an exquisite meal every Sunday from the ship's meager supplies.

The Café by the Sea by Jenny Colgan

Funny and heartfelt, The Café by the Sea is a delightful summertime novel that puts a modern twist on the classic Seven Brides for Seven Brothers story.

The Cookbook Club by Beth Harbison

New York Times bestselling author Beth Harbison whips together a witty and charming--and delicious--story about the secrets we keep, the friends we make, and the food we cook.

The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal

A novel of family, Midwestern values, hard work, fate and the secrets of making a world-class beer, from the bestselling author of Kitchens of the Great Midwest.

Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck & Fortune by Roselle Lim

Lush and visual, chock-full of delicious recipes, Roselle Lim’s magical debut novel is about food, heritage, and finding family in the most unexpected places. 

The Optimist’s Guide to Letting Go by Amy E. Reichert

Three generations. Seven days. One big secret. The author of The Coincidence of Coconut Cake unfolds a mother-daughter story told by three women whose time to reckon with a life-altering secret is running out.

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev

Award-winning author Sonali Dev launches a new series about the Rajes, an immigrant Indian family descended from royalty, who have built their lives in San Francisco...

The Recipe Box by Viola Shipman

In The Recipe Box, beloved author Viola Shipman spins a tale about a lost young woman and the family recipe box that changes her life.

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

From the author of Reese Witherspoon's Book Club pick The Scent Keeper comes a “heartbreakingly delicious” national bestseller about a chef, her students, and the evocative lessons that food teaches about life. 

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

On the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming Rose Edelstein bites into her mother's homemade lemon-chocolate cake and discovers she has a magical gift: she can taste her mother’s emotions in the slice. To her horror, she finds that her cheerful mother tastes of despair. Soon, she’s  privy to the secret knowledge that most families keep hidden

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

In a garden surrounded by a tall fence, tucked away behind a small, quiet house in an even smaller town, is an apple tree that is rumored to bear a very special sort of fruit. In this luminous debut novel, Sarah Addison Allen tells the story of that enchanted tree, and the extraordinary people who tend it....

The Seaside Café by Rochelle Alers

Set on breathtaking Coates Island, off the coast of North Carolina, bestselling author Rochelle Alers’ new series debut brings together three book-loving women whose summer will offer a chance to rewrite their own stories . . .

The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux by Samantha Verant

A disgraced chef rediscovers her passion for food and her roots in this stunning novel rich in culture and full of delectable recipes.

Georgia’s Kitchen by Jenny Nelson

At thirty-three, talented chef Georgia Gray has everything a woman could want until a scathing restaurant review destroys her reputation. Brokenhearted, Georgia escapes to the Italian countryside, where she sharpens her skills at a trattoria run by a world-class chef who seems to have it all—a devoted lover, a magnificent villa, and most important, a kitchen of her own.

Simmer Down by Sarah Smith

Nikki DiMarco knew life wouldn’t be all sunshine and coconuts when she quit her dream job to help her mom serve up mouthwatering Filipino dishes to hungry beach goers, but she didn’t expect the Maui food truck scene to be so eat-or-be-eaten—or the competition to be so smoking hot.

The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman

A trio of second-born daughters sets out on a whirlwind journey through the lush Italian countryside to break the family curse that says they’ll never find love, by New York Times bestseller Lori Nelson Spielman, author of The Life List.

A Taste of Sage by Yaffa S. Santos

From talented new writer, Yaffa S. Santos, comes this unforgettable, heartwarming, and hilarious rom-com about chefs, cooking, love, and self-discovery that is a cross between The Hating Game and Sweetbitter.

Midnight at the Blackbird Café by Heather Webber

THE USA TODAY BESTSELLER Heather Webber's Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe is a captivating blend of magical realism, heartwarming romance, and small-town Southern charm.

The Wedding Thief by Mary Simses

Two sisters in love with the same man -- one engaged to him and the other about to sabotage the wedding -- struggle to reconcile in this delicious novel from the bestselling author of The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Café.

The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark

Luciano, a penniless orphan with a quick wit and an even faster hand, is plucked up by an illustrious chef and hired, for reasons he cannot yet begin to understand, as an apprentice in the palace kitchen. There, in the lavish home of the most powerful man in Venice, he is initiated into the chef's rich and aromatic world, with all its seductive ingredients and secrets.

 

 

reading smorgasbord

 

The next Genre Reading Group meeting will on Zoom on June 29th at 6:3pm and the topic is ancient Egypt!  Register here: https://emmetoneal.libnet.info/event/4597970

For suggestions, have a look at the GRG row on Shelf Care: https://oneallibrary.org/adults---reading-recommendations

Last night, GRG met for one of our biannual Salon Discussion, where there is no assigned topic.  We all read some interesting things!

On the House: A Washington Memoir by John Boehner

Former Speaker of the House John Boehner shares colorful tales from the halls of power, the smoke-filled rooms around the halls of power, and his fabled tour bus.

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

A story of scorned witches, sinister curses, and resurrection, The Bone Witch is the start of a dark fantasy trilogy, perfect for fans of Serpent & Dove and The Cruel Prince.

The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves

On the first snowy night of winter, Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope sets off for her home in the hills. Though the road is familiar, she misses a turning and soon becomes lost and disorientated. A car has skidded off the narrow road in front of her, its door left open, and she stops to help. There is no driver to be seen, so Vera assumes that the owner has gone to find help. But a cry calls her back: a toddler is strapped in the back seat.

The Snakewoman of Little Egypt by Robert Hellenga

On the morning of his fortieth birthday, anthropology professor Jackson Jones contemplates his future: Should he return to Africa, where he did his fieldwork, and live with the Mbuti, or should he marry and settle down in the Midwestern university town where he now teaches? On the morning of her release from prison, Sunny, who grew up in a snake-handling church in the Little Egypt region of Southern Illinois, rents a garage apartment from Jackson. Sunny and Jackson are drawn to each other, but then push comes to shove in this page-turning novel brimming with wit, substance, emotional depth-a fascinating and original story that delivers Robert Hellenga at the top of his form.

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, a gorgeous retelling of the Trojan War from the perspectives of the many women involved in its causes and consequences—for fans of Madeline Miller.

Anna K by Jenny Lee

As her friends struggle with the pitfalls of ordinary teenage life, Anna always seems to be able to sail gracefully above it all. That is…until the night she meets Alexia “Count” Vronsky at Grand Central. A notorious playboy who has bounced around boarding schools and who lives for his own pleasure, Alexia is everything Anna is not. But he has never been in love until he meets Anna, and maybe she hasn’t, either. As Alexia and Anna are pulled irresistibly together, she has to decide how much of her life she is willing to let go for the chance to be with him. And when a shocking revelation threatens to shatter their relationship, she is forced to question if she has ever known herself at all.

You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism by Amber Ruffin

Now a writer and performer on Late Night with Seth Meyers and host of The Amber Ruffin Show, Amber Ruffin lives in New York, where she is no one's First Black Friend and everyone is, as she puts it, "stark raving normal." But Amber's sister Lacey? She's still living in their home state of Nebraska, and trust us, you'll never believe what happened to Lacey.

All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny

The 16th novel by #1 bestselling author Louise Penny finds Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Quebec investigating a sinister plot in Paris, the City of Light.

The Powers That Be by David Halberstam

Recounts the growth in power and influence of the great media institutions and the changes that they have brought about on the American scene, focusing on the people who make up Time Incorporated, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and CBS.

A Feast Day of Fools by James Lee Burke

James Lee Burke returns to the Texas border town of his bestseller Rain Gods, where a serial killer presumed dead is very much alive…and where sheriff Hackberry Holland, now a widower, fights for survival—his own, and of the citizens he’s sworn to protect.

Painting Time by Maylis de Kerangal

An enchanted, atmospheric, and highly aesthetic coming-of-age novel, Painting Time is an intimate and unsparing exploration of craft, inspiration, and the contours of the contemporary art world. As she did in her acclaimed novels The Heart and The Cook, Maylis de Kerangal unravels a tightly wound professional world to reveal the beauty within.

Jim Henson: The Biography by Brian Jay Jones

An up-close look at the charmed life of a legend, Jim Henson gives the full measure to a man whose joyful genius transcended age, language, geography, and culture—and continues to beguile audiences worldwide.

House of Whispers by Laura Purcell

A gothic tale set in a rambling house by the sea in which a maid cares for a mute old woman with a mysterious past, alongside her superstitious staff--from the author of The Silent Companions. A perfect spooky read!

GENERAL DISCUSSION

Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett

War has come to Discworld . . . again. And, to no one's great surprise, the conflict centers around the small, arrogantly fundamentalist duchy of Borogravia, which has long prided itself on its unrelenting aggressiveness. A year ago, Polly Perks's brother marched off to battle, and Polly is willing to resort to drastic measures to find him. So she cuts off her hair, dons masculine garb, and—aided by a well-placed pair of socks—sets out to join the army. Since a nation in such dire need of cannon fodder cannot afford to be too picky, Polly is eagerly welcomed into the fighting fold, along with a vampire, a troll, an Igor, a religious fanatic, and two uncommonly close "friends." It would appear that Polly "Ozzer" Perks isn't the only grunt with a secret. But duty calls, the battlefield beckons, and now is the time for all good, er . . . "men," to come to the aid of their country.

The Beast and the Bethany by Jack Meggitt-Phillips

Lemony Snicket meets Roald Dahl in this riotously funny, deliciously macabre, and highly illustrated tale of a hungry beast, a vain immortal man, and a not-so-charming little girl who doesn’t know she’s about to be eaten.

The World According to Star Wars by Cass Sunstein

There’s Santa Claus, Shakespeare, Mickey Mouse, the Bible, and then there’s Star Wars. Nothing quite compares to sitting down with a young child and hearing the sound of John Williams’s score as those beloved golden letters fill the screen. In this fun, erudite, and often moving book, Cass R. Sunstein explores the lessons of Star Wars as they relate to childhood, fathers, the Dark Side, rebellion, and redemption. As it turns out, Star Wars also has a lot to teach us about constitutional law, economics, and political uprisings.

Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of ‘70s and ‘80s Horror Fiction by Grady Hendrix

A nostalgic and unflinchingly funny celebration of the horror fiction boom of the 1970s and ’80s

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

Steel Magnolias meets Dracula in this '90s-set horror novel about a women's book club that must do battle with a mysterious newcomer to their small Southern town, perfect for murderinos and fans of Stephen King.

The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell

When Elsie married handsome young heir Rupert Bainbridge, she believed she was destined for a life of luxury. But pregnant and widowed just weeks after their wedding, with her new servants resentful and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie has only her late husband’s awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. Inside her new home lies a locked door, beyond which is a painted wooden figure—a silent companion—that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself. The residents of the estate are terrified of the figure, but Elsie tries to shrug this off as simple superstition—that is, until she notices the figure’s eyes following her. A Victorian ghost story that evokes a most unsettling kind of fear, The Silent Companions is a tale that creeps its way through the consciousness in ways you least expect—much like the companions themselves.

A Poison Thread by Laura Purcell

A thrilling Victorian gothic horror story about a young seamstress who claims her needle and thread have the power to kill.

Forthcoming June 1st: The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcell

A struggling silhouette artist in Victorian Bath seeks out a renowned child spirit medium in order to speak to the dead - and to try and identify their killers - in this beguiling new tale from the queen of Gothic fiction, Laura Purcell

Savage Season by Joe R. Lansdale

Hap Collins and Leonard Pine are best friends, yet they couldn't be more different. Hap is an east Texas white-boy with a weakness for Texas women. Leonard is a gay, black Vietnam vet. Together, they steer up more commotion than a fire storm. But that's just the way they like it. So when an ex-flame of Hap's returns promising a huge score. Hap lets Leonard in on the scam, and that's when things get interesting. Chockfull of action and laughs, Savage Season is the masterpiece of dark suspense that introduced Hap and Leonard to the thriller scene. It hasn't been the same since.

 

 

 

 

illness & disease

 

The next Genre Reading Group meeting is Tuesday, April 27th on Zoom at 6:30pm and the topic up for discussion is international authors.  The third row of Shelf Care has some selections to choose from if you don’t know where to start: https://oneallibrary.org/adults---reading-recommendations

Last night, on GRG’s one year Zoomiversary, we met to discuss illness & disease, a timely topic in the age of COVID. Here are the books we read:

The Plague Cycle: The Unending War Between Humanity and Infectious Disease by Charles Kenney

A vivid, sweeping history of mankind’s battles with infectious disease, for readers of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Yuval Harari’s Sapiens and John Barry’s The Great Influenza.

Zombie Makers: True Stories of Natures Undead by Rebecca Johnson

Are zombies real? As far as we know, dead people do not come back to life and start walking around, looking for trouble. But there are things that can take over the bodies and brains of innocent creatures, turning them into senseless slaves. Meet nature's zombie makers―including a fly-enslaving fungus, a suicide worm, and a cockroach-taming wasp―and their victims.

Wuhan Diary: Dispatches from a Quarantined City by Fang Fang and Michael Berry

From one of China’s most acclaimed and decorated writers comes a powerful first-person account of life in Wuhan during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John Barry

The strongest weapon against pandemic is the truth. Read why in the definitive account of the 1918 Flu Epidemic. 

Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus by Bill Wasik

The most fatal virus known to science, rabies-a disease that spreads avidly from animals to humans-kills nearly one hundred percent of its victims once the infection takes root in the brain. In this critically acclaimed exploration, journalist Bill Wasik and veterinarian Monica Murphy chart four thousand years of the history, science, and cultural mythology of rabies.

Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel’s Autism: My Journey as a Vaccine Scientist, Pediatrician, and Autism Dad by Peter Hotez

In 1994, Peter J. Hotez's nineteen-month-old daughter, Rachel, was diagnosed with autism. Dr. Hotez, a pediatrician-scientist who develops vaccines for neglected tropical diseases affecting the world's poorest people, became troubled by the decades-long rise of the influential anti-vaccine community and its inescapable narrative around childhood vaccines and autism.

Vaccine Nation: America’s Changing Relationship with Immunization by Elena Conis

With employers offering free flu shots and pharmacies expanding into one-stop shops to prevent everything from shingles to tetanus, vaccines are ubiquitous in contemporary life. Yet, while vaccination rates have soared and cases of preventable infections have plummeted, an increasingly vocal cross section of Americans have questioned the safety and necessity of vaccines. In Vaccine Nation, Elena Conis explores this complicated history and its consequences for personal and public health.

Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs by Michael Osterholm

A leading epidemiologist shares his "powerful and necessary" (Richard Preston, author of The Hot Zone) stories from the front lines of our war on infectious diseases and explains how to prepare for global epidemics.

The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey

Winner of the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing Winner of the John Burroughs Medal Winner of the National Outdoor Book Award in Natural History Literature

In a work that beautifully demonstrates the rewards of closely observing nature, Elisabeth Tova Bailey shares an inspiring and intimate story of her encounter with a Neohelix albolabris—a common woodland snail. While an illness keeps her bedridden, Bailey watches a wild snail that has taken up residence on her nightstand. As a result, she discovers the solace and sense of wonder that this mysterious creature brings and comes to a greater understanding of her own place in the world.

Together in a Sudden Strangeness: America’s Poet’s Respond to the Pandemic edited by Alice Quinn

In this urgent outpouring of American voices, our poets speak to us as they shelter in place, addressing our collective fear, grief, and hope from eloquent and diverse individual perspectives.

An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System, A Tale in Four Lives by Matt Richtel

Drawing on his groundbreaking reporting for the New York Times and based on extensive new interviews with dozens of world-renowned scientists (including Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases), Matt Richtel has produced a landmark book, equally an investigation into the deepest riddles of survival and a profoundly human tale that is movingly brought to life through the eyes of his four main characters, each of whom illuminates an essential facet of our “elegant defense.”

GENERAL DISCUSSION

Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World by Laura Spinney

In this gripping narrative history, Laura Spinney traces the overlooked pandemic to reveal how the virus travelled across the globe, exposing mankind's vulnerability and putting our ingenuity to the test. As socially significant as both world wars, the Spanish flu dramatically disrupted -- and often permanently altered -- global politics, race relations and family structures, while spurring innovation in medicine, religion and the arts.

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

For Kivrin, preparing an on-site study of one of the deadliest eras in humanity's history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing an alibi for a woman traveling alone. For her instructors in the twenty-first century, it meant painstaking calculations and careful monitoring of the rendezvous location where Kivrin would be received. But a crisis strangely linking past and future strands Kivrin in a bygone age as her fellows try desperately to rescue her. In a time of superstition and fear, Kivrin—barely of age herself—finds she has become an unlikely angel of hope during one of history's darkest hours.

Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story by Douglas Preston

The #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, named one of the best books of the year by The Boston Globe and National Geographic: acclaimed journalist Douglas Preston takes readers on a true adventure deep into the Honduran rainforest in this riveting narrative about the discovery of a lost civilization -- culminating in a stunning medical mystery.

Preventing the Next Pandemic: Vaccine Diplomacy in a Time of Anti-Science by Peter Hotez

The last five years saw a significant return of epidemic infectious disease, culminating in COVID-19. In our new post–COVID-19 world, how do we prevent future illnesses by expanding scientific and vaccine diplomacy and cooperation, especially to combat the problems that humans have brought on ourselves?

Blue Marble Health: An Innovative Plan to Fight Diseases of the Poor Amid Wealth by Peter Hotez

Clear, compassionate, and timely, Blue Marble Health is a must-read for leaders in global health, tropical medicine, and international development, along with anyone committed to helping the millions of people who are caught in the desperate cycle of poverty and disease.

Inside Bill’s Brain: Decoding Bill Gates (requires a Netflix subscription, check your streaming/online rental channels for additional availability)

Take a trip inside the mind of Bill Gates as the billionaire opens up about those who influenced him and the audacious goal’s he’s still pursuing.

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker

The heartrending story of a midcentury American family with twelve children, six of them diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science's great hope in the quest to understand the disease.

The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator by Timothy Winegard

A pioneering and groundbreaking work of narrative nonfiction that offers a dramatic new perspective on the history of humankind, showing how through millennia, the mosquito has been the single most powerful force in determining humanity’s fate.

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande

In his bestselling books, Atul Gawande, a practicing surgeon, has fearlessly revealed the struggles of his profession. Here he examines its ultimate limitations and failures―in his own practices as well as others'―as life draws to a close. Riveting, honest, and humane, Being Mortal shows how the ultimate goal is not a good death but a good life―all the way to the very end.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death by Jean-Dominique Bauby

In 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby was the editor-in-chief of French Elle, the father of two young childen, a 44-year-old man known and loved for his wit, his style, and his impassioned approach to life. By the end of the year he was also the victim of a rare kind of stroke to the brainstem. After 20 days in a coma, Bauby awoke into a body which had all but stopped working: only his left eye functioned, allowing him to see and, by blinking it, to make clear that his mind was unimpaired. Almost miraculously, he was soon able to express himself in the richest detail: dictating a word at a time, blinking to select each letter as the alphabet was recited to him slowly, over and over again. In the same way, he was able eventually to compose this extraordinary book.

Hidden Killers of the English Home (requires an Amazon Prime Video subscription, Check your streaming/online rental channels for additional availability)

We all know that “an Englishman’s home is his castle.” British historian Suzannah Lipscomb beckons us to get off the sofa and look closely at legendary structures from Edwardians, Victorian, Tudor, and even modern times. The myth of the historic English home, with its legendary comforts and warmth, quickly yields to a nightmare of infestations, toxic materials, and unsafe construction practices.

Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore

Written with a sparkling voice and breakneck pace, The Radium Girls fully illuminates the inspiring young women exposed to the “wonder” substance of radium, and their awe-inspiring strength in the face of almost impossible circumstances. Their courage and tenacity led to life-changing regulations, research into nuclear bombing, and ultimately saved hundreds of thousands of lives...

Made into a feature film in late 2020. Requires a Netflix subscription, check your streaming/online rental channels for additional availability.

Suspected origins of the plague doctor mask shape:

https://scienceblogs.com/retrospectacle/2008/01/08/bird-hats-and-wax-pants-antipl