The Cookbook Collector

Novel by Allegra Goodman

Any overeating on my part this week cannot be blamed on this book.  The cookbooks in the title are rare antiques and contain "receipts" for peacocks, crayfish tarts, pickled watermelon, turtle soup... you get the picture. Ick.

But the thing is, it's not really a story about cookbooks. It's a story about so many many different things: the dot com boom, ancestry, philosophy, book dealing and collecting, the environmental movement, changing technology, 9/11, Bialystok Judaism (look that one up), relationships, more relationships... it's complicated. That's not to say it's not a good book. The story is based around two very different sisters in their 20's in California at the turn of the millenium. From 1999 to 2002, they are finding their way through business, school, relationships with men and parents and each other. Some of the other characters get a lot of attention, too, with lots of back story and multiple perspectives. It's almost too much. Like I said, it's complicated. But I like how it ends and that goes a long way for me in how I feel about a book.

One part I'm not so sure about...the treatment of 9/11. I mean, I know it's unavoidable that a story set in that period of years would include the tragedy. And it actually fits very well in the focus on the changing economy and social strata (yeah, it's kind of a deep book). And I know, it's my generation's Pearl Harbor and we need to deal with it in story and song. But, as un-PC as this may sound, I don't like reading about it. It's too much reality, too fresh in many ways. And I really don't like when it sneaks up on me in a story. Another book, The Emperor's Children, did the same thing. At one point I put that book down and said, "Oh. This is about 9/11." And I hated that book (for other reasons as well). I don't hate this one, but it was off-putting for me. So obviously, I won't be reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, despite rave reviews. I know my limits as a reader.

The School of Essential Ingredients

Novel by Erica Bauermeister

Warning: Do not read this book if you are on a liquid diet, allergic to multiple types of food, out of groceries or grocery money, stranded on a desert island, or in any other way incapable of eating. Because oh. my. goodness. This book's descriptions of pumpkin ravioli, baked crab with butter, tiramisu, and other rich goodness will send you straight to the freezer for your emergency stash of Reese's miniatures if you're not careful. Thankfully for me, I read this book while spending the weekend at my family's cabin, eating my mother's cooking and drinking lots of wine. My laptop is now resting on the gentle hill of my stomach while I write.

This yummy book was a recommendation from my aunt Barb when I was in need of a light read. It's a different kind of light for me--not fun-beach-reading-light but heart-warming-and-poignant light. It reminds me of a Maeve Binchy book; a group of strangers who all have their own issues meet at a monthly cooking class and find their lives intersecting in more and more intimate ways. Many start out sad or disenfranchised but everyone ends up happy. It's a classic plot but with delicious menus and lots of food-is-love-metaphor.

I also like that the author is a Seattle-ite. I didn't realize it was set in the Pacific Northwest at first, but reading the description of the restaurant where the cooking class takes place, it all felt so...familiar. The front garden, cozy and elegant 10-top restaurant, and locally grown food seem like a place I've been on San Juan Island and other places I've seen around the Seattle area. Do you know the type I mean? My husband loves them. He thinks atmosphere is as important as food at a restaurant.

It must be a foodie kind of weekend, because at the cabin my mom was reading a book called The Cookbook Collector. We both finished and swapped books, so I guess I'm in for some more overeating this week.

Smokin' Seventeen

A Stephanie Plum Book

Novel by Janet Evanovich

Umm, I'm a little embarrassed here. This is DEFINITELY not my usual book selection. If you haven't heard of Stephanie Plum, maybe you've heard of the recent Katherine Heigl movie "One for the Money." The movie is based on the first in this series of books, only I didn't know it at first. Then it dawned on me as I watched...I've bought these books for my mother-in-law before. It's one of several series that she reads. And, well, I really liked the movie. Stephanie Plum is sort of an accidental kick-ass. I like her. So I got one of the books from the library, and it turned out to be the SEVENTEENTH book. But, like any good semi-trashy series, there is a quick catch up in the beginning and bam, I felt like I didn't miss a thing in the fifteen books in between.

Here's the back story: Stephanie is an Italian-Hungarian-American Jersey girl, working as a bounty hunter for her cousin's jail bond business, always eating, somehow also always skinny, always in danger, and always rescued by one of two hot men she alternately, ahem, "dates." In this particular book (#17, remember), Stephanie is hunting for a 70-something wannabe vampire and a giant toeless thug, while dead bodies keep showing up at her place of business and her mom is trying to set her up with an old high school acquaintance. It all ties together. Somehow. And it's pretty damn funny.

At first I found myself thinking, wow, this must be what bounty hunting and New Jersey are really like, just cruising around town all day, getting take out, stumbling into the guys you're supposed to be taking to jail. Then I looked at the rest of the story line and characterization, which is just a tad unbelievable (the guys? the diet?), and thought, hmm, maybe that's not what it's really like. Who knows. I don't plan to be a bounty hunter anytime soon, so I don't really need a realistic day-in-the-life. Or if I do, I can just watch "Dog: Bounty Hunter" on TV.

Oh, and if we were sitting around talking about this book, let me tell you what the real discussion would be: who should Stephanie get together with, her cop-boyfriend Joe Morelli or her guy on the side, Ranger? I don't have an opinion at this point, but the cliffhanger at the end of #17 puts her on the verge of deciding between them... I might just have to read #18 to find out. Or maybe I'll wait until #19 comes out. Surely she'll have decided by then. 

So, I'm going to finish the Percy Jackson series next, but not blog about it, since I've already done the first two. I have a big fat stack of mail order library books and a few more from my mom to read next. I also have a recommendation from a reader to check out. (Yes, I have readers. Ok, it's my college roommate, but still). Then I'm debating: what's the deal with 50 Shades of Gray? If you love it or hate it, let me know.

The Lightning Thief AND The Sea of Monsters

Percy Jackson and the Olympian Series
Books 1 & 2
Young Adult Fiction
By Rick Riordan

Ah, summer reading! I've been looking forward to falling into a good book now that I have a LITTLE more time in my days (staying home with a six- and one-year-old only barely affords me more time to read than when I'm teaching full time). Also, I finally figured out how to borrow books from the public library on my Kindle. I know, I'm a little behind the times. And the same goes for reading this delightful series. The first one came out in 2005, and some of my students (and cousins) have been after me to read these books for years. Now I see why.

You probably already know all about these books, being much more up on things than I am. But just in case, here's the premise: sixth grader Percy Jackson finds out in the beginning of the first book that he's the son of an ancient Greek god, only they're not Greek anymore. It's modern day New York. And he's being chased by monsters. For the whole book. It's basically just a very fun, young-adult fantasy romp across the country, with super-cleverly integrated Greek mythology references. I'm learning more about Greek mythology than I ever have from middle school, high school, college, or even teaching the stuff. It's great.

One thing that I can't decide if I love or if it bugs me: it's A LOT like the Harry Potter books. Percy finds out as an adolescent why he's always been so different from everyone else, then goes on a quest with two buddies (a smart girl and a goofy guy), solving one mystery per book but leading up to the major conflict, which is that an evil but previously defeated lord is trying to come back and destroy life as we know it. They go to Camp Half Blood once a year and then return to their regular homes annually. Also, there are frequent interactions with the mortal world and explanations of how mortals don't know about the gods. I kept expecting to hear the word "muggles." So I don't know if it bothers me that Riordan is capitalizing on this successful formula, or makes me glad that there's another chance to experience something like Harry Potter anew.  I guess a little of both. But it doesn't bug me enough to keep me from reading the next three books. I placed holds on the e-reader versions on the library website.  If I get all three at once, I may have to hire a babysitter to take my kids to the park so I can read.

Heaven is for Real

Memoir by Todd Burpo

Well, book club friends, I think this post will be the test of whether you really want to be in this club with me. I debated even writing about this book experience because I would normally only share this with very dear friends. But my husband says I need to be more personal on this blog, that it's what people like and how I'll get made into a movie like Julie Powell (he's only partly joking). So I guess I'll just dive right in and get REALLY personal.

It all started with the last bad book I read, and with me forgetting that I own a Kindle. First,  The River Wife so completely traumatized me with a baby's violent death that I couldn't finish it, nor read the other really heavy emotional books on my shelf. Then, being too busy to go to the library and failing to remember that I can just order books on my Kindle, tiring of reading People Magazine and old Real Simples, I turned to this book. I've had it for a year or so and not been real drawn to it--everything about it made me think "cheesy" (I mean, the color?) But, being desperate for a book, and knowing that at least the child LIVES in this one, I deemed it good enough.

So, it IS a little cheesy, but simply and sweetly told. The author's son has a near death experience at three years old and soon starts telling his family about visiting heaven. The dad (pastor of a small church, like my dad) tells the story with a wonderfully humble, down to earth, real voice, while making lots of references to Bible verses that match his son's descriptions of heaven. It's not life changing but interesting and really quick and easy to read (I read most of it while my one year old took a marathon nap). 

But here's the personal part: at  one point, the little boy tells his mom that he knows she had a baby that died in her tummy because his sister hugged him in heaven. He says she has brown hair like their mom (not blond like everyone else in the family) and that Jesus is taking care of her, but she can't wait to meet her parents. Oh, wow. That is MY story. I have two precious kids, who look just like their dad and not one bit like me. Between them, I had a molar pregnancy, which is when the baby doesn't develop right but becomes a mass of cancerous cells instead. For almost three years I have been carrying doubt and grief about whether that baby I started to love really lived long enough to be a baby and have a soul and be in heaven. And while I know that this little boy's story isn't verifiable fact, it's enough for me to have hope and faith that I have a baby waiting to meet me in heaven. And maybe letting go of that doubt will be a gateway to letting go of the anxiety that haunts me regarding my other two children.

So welcome to my crazy. I guess now that I've told you all that, there isn't much need to hold back anything else. I hope it doesn't scare you away, but that we can connect a little more now. Maybe it will help make sense of why I can't, just can't, read stories where terrible things happen to children.

By the way, I just ordered a free Kindle book (who knows? could be good), a Kindle preview of a Jennifer Weiner I haven't read (hello, light reading), and a mail order library book recommended by my aunt. And, it's four days until summer vacation for me. That's a pile of goodness I am happy to dive into!

Fail: Two bad books in a row

I am traumatized. First of all, I don't think I've ever quit on TWO books in a row. What a fail. But second, and worse, the most recent of the two quits made me SOB.

Let me back up. After I read Charlotte Bronte's fictional diary, I was inspired to re-read her sister Emily's book Wuthering Heights. I read it the first time either in high school or college and hated it, but I thought maybe the wisdom of years would teach me to enjoy it more. Uh, no. Still hate it. It amazes me that Charlotte can romanticize the moors and harsh men so much in Jane Eyre and yet Emily's landscapes and lovers make me want to throw the book across the room. It's dark, disturbing, not one bit romantic, and frankly, boring. When I found myself watching re-runs of "Friends" rather than reading, I knew it was time to call it quits. So I looked up the rest of the plot on Sparknotes.com and called it even.

Then I picked up one of those "wife" titled books I was talking about before, The River Wife by Jonis Agee. It's historical fiction, set in both pioneer days and the 1930's, as one new wife discovers and reads the journal of her husband's grandfather's first wife. The story was intriguing, the writing both clear and descriptive, and the characters multi-faceted. There was a certain sense of foreboding that kept me thinking about the book. All good things. Then I read a scene, probably the one that was being foreboded, that made me want to do more than to throw it across the room. I wanted to burn it. Really. I couldn't get it out of my sight fast enough...but it's not mine, so I just...put it by the front door. The scene is the horrific, violent death of a sixth month old baby. I don't want to go into more detail because it will just make me sick again, but I WILL tell you what happens if you ask, just so you won't have to read this book. Maybe you'll read it anyway, and maybe the rest of it IS good, but I don't want to risk reading another horrible scene. Some things just shouldn't be written about, I think.

So... I'm going to spend a few days watching happy movies and maybe reading some celebrity gossip magazines. Then I need a light, airy, beachy read to take my mind off the trauma. I'm going to let the World War II book sit on my night stand a while longer. Any good suggestions for light reading? Message me on facebook, or better yet, bring it straight to my house (and maybe bring some chocolate ice cream, too).