If you’re a visual person who finds written instructions frustrating, you might like Show Me How: 500 Things You Should Know. This how-to manual provides image-based instructions for just about anything you can imagine, from the practical (how to prune a rosebush, fix a flat tire, or massage a colicky baby) to the well, let’s just say interesting (how to fire-roast a tarantula, prepare a tea-leaf reading, or mount a camel). It’s a great reference book to have handy for those times when you want to know how to choose the best airplane seat… or just want to know how to do the moonwalk in style.
July 29th, 2011
Staff Pick: Show Me How
July 18th, 2011
Novel Destinations: Vive le France!
Yesterday marked the 222nd anniversary of the beginning of the French Revolution, known commonly as Bastille Day. In celebration of France’s national holiday, check out these très chic items from our collection.
Les Misérables
By Victor Hugo
One of the pillars of French literature, Les Misérables is a daunting book. In written form, it is usually over 1200 pages. And although it focuses mainly on the plight of the protagonist, Jean Valjean, it also spends significant time covering such topics as religious orders, the sewers of Paris, homeless children, and the Battle of Waterloo. As this was not something I wanted to lug around all summer, I chose instead to listen to Hugo’s masterpiece as an audiobook. Available as a free download through Kentucky Libraries Unbound, and always available for check out, this audio version is read by award-winning reader Frederick Davidson. Davidson does a stellar job of bringing each character to life, and his French is excellent. A book of this magnitude is far less daunting when one merely has to sit back and listen. And while folks may rave about the well-known Broadway musical of the same name, there is no way that so much human experience could be contained in one evening. And after almost 58 hours of listening, I should know.
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July 11th, 2011
Novel Destinations: Staff Picks
My reading over the last couple of weeks has indeed taken me to some destinations that, while not exactly exotic, are novel to me.
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A small village not far from Montreal is the scene of Still Life, the first Three Pines mystery by Louise Penny. In addition to thoughtful, kind Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec, the book introduces a variety of multi-dimensional characters, and offers insight into life in bicultural, bilingual Quebec. Deeper and more nuanced than the average cozy mystery, Still Life explores deep friendship, tragedy, the complexities of the mentor/mentee relationship, and an intriguing mystery. |
March 16th, 2011
Staff Picks for Women’s History Month
I used to teach college English, and when my classes read The Awakening, many of my students could hardly contain their anger at the main character. I think that’s a sign of how vivid Kate Chopin’s writing is–and of how relevant and controversial her novel is even today.
Published in 1899, The Awakening takes place in New Orleans and Grand Isle, Louisiana, a small island where wealthy New Orleanians summered. The main character, Edna Pontellier, is a woman with artistic leanings who feels trapped in an unhappy marriage. The book chronicles what happens when she steps outside the bounds of established social conventions to find her own happiness.
And speaking of happiness…
Bluebird: Women and the New Psychology of Happiness by Ariel Gore
I don’t normally read books on psychology, but I couldn’t put the thought-provoking Bluebird down. According to author Ariel Gore, ” This is a book about shaping our own realities [as women]–about better understanding our emotional lives so we might become more active players in their creation…”
The book examines the relatively new field of positive psychology as it relates to women. The author intersperses entries from women’s happiness journals with stories about her own life, information from scholarly studies, and historical background. Gore’s writing is lyrical and inspiring–I found myself copying out passages to read again later.
Laura Schenone’s book explores the relationship of American women and food from prehistory to current times. It celebrates women’s creativity and resourcefulness in the kitchen while also acknowledging the drudgery of cooking daily. As Schenone notes: “Throughout history, cooking reveals itself as a source of power and magic, and, at the same time, a source of oppression in women’s lives.”
The book features recipes–stewed celery, anyone?–stories, and cultural history. Photographs and illustrations provide visual context.
March 8th, 2011
Staff Pick: Downton Abbey
The Masterpiece television series Downton Abbey is set in England in the early 20th century. This was a time of great change in practically every area of life and in every social class. The poorer classes were challenging the aristocracy, and the whole idea of social classes was changing; political upheavals in Europe and elsewhere were causing international tensions; the telephone and electric lighting were becoming all-important; and motor vehicles were the emerging trend.
In honor of Women’s History Month, I recommend Downton Abbey primarily for its dramatic examination of the struggles experienced by women of every class. If you were a woman at this time, then money did not grant you more legal rights than your lower class sisters. Perhaps the ways you coped with your lack of freedoms was different; but at day’s end, whether rich or poor, you did not have the same rights as enjoyed by men. As women, you experienced the same lack of control over your career, your money, and ultimately your life.
The story of Downton Abbey begins with one such struggle as a wealthy young woman finds herself and her future at the hands of everyone except herself. She must struggle to find herself in a world where she has grown up not even realizing she has a voice. Her youngest sister, however, has a more revolutionary idea of the role that women should be afforded in society. A third middle sister plays a role that the viewer can determine, but it seems to be one which mimics her placement in the sibling group: the middle.
But Downton Abbey is not only the story of the aristocratic family at the center of the show’s plot. It is just as much about the working class who live with them, but not among them. Through their interactions amongst each other and among the family they serve, you learn of the similarities and differences experienced by the women in their class as well.
The show is visually stunning in its depiction of dress and lifestyle. But more than merely a feast for the eyes, it serves as a contrast to define the two classes and the two genders. Also, Downton Abbey is so much more than a focus on women at the time. The storyline is well-written and the plots are intricate and interconnected, further showing how the decision of one affects many. It almost seems as if every characters has their own lessons to learn as they go through their own particular niche in history, a period which must have been as unsettling as it was exciting.
January 19th, 2011
Staff Pick: A World of Cake
I confess. I did not bake any of the tempting and beautiful cakes in Krystina Castella’s A World of Cake. If you want to know how accurate the recipes are in this book, you will have to read another review. But if you’re an armchair baker like me who enjoys reading cookbooks that contain lots of interesting tidbits of information and mouthwatering photographs, then you might like this book.
Castella was inspired to write this book after participating in a fundraising bake sale at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, where she is a professor. She was amazed by the variety of the students’ cakes. Not only did they bring traditional American cakes such as “German chocolate cake, Texas sheet cake, mud cake,” etc., the international students brought “cakes that did not always look like what Westerners usually envisioned….” As Castella states in her introduction, “We had steamed rice cakes, mooncakes,… fried cakes,… green tea cakes,… baklava, sweet empanadas and tamales, dumplings,… and tortes” among others.
Castella includes many of these cakes in her book, providing recipes, photographs, and brief stories for each. My favorite story is about the Marta Rocha Torte, which was named for Miss Brazil. She lost to Miss America in the 1954 Miss Universe pageant because the judges said her hips were too big. Brazilian women bakers disagreed and baked this cake in her honor.
Castella also explores the history of cake, tracing its origins from the earliest cakes in 5000 BCE to the cakes of contemporary times. The “cake family trees” that illustrate the book show how certain cakes, such as sponge and cheesecakes, have evolved from culture to culture. Other sections, like “The World Tour of Christmas Cakes” and “The World Tour of Cakes for the Dead,” highlight similar traditions in different countries.
The colorful design and bright photographs help convey all this information without overloading you. Photographs of people and places provide cultural context for the recipes.
If you try any of the recipes, please let me know–or better yet, bring your finished cake by the Information Desk!
November 18th, 2010
Barbara’s Staff Picks
Books:
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The Ghost Map is perfect for the general reader with an interest, but not a great deal of background, in science, medicine, and history. It tells the story of London’s cholera epidemic of 1864 – the conditions that created it, how it started and expanded, how it affected ordinary people, and how a few very smart people figured out what was causing it. It’s a fascinating and very moving story. For more information, including an animated introduction to the book, and interviews with the author, visit http://theghostmap.com. |
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Like The Ghost Map, this book sheds light on the lives of ordinary people facing an environmental disaster. Thousands of families fled the Dust Bowl, but this book describes the day to day lives of those who stayed. It is a gripping and heart-wrenching story. |
November 16th, 2010
Stella’s Staff Picks
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“It was a fun children’s book with an interesting story and lots of little random tidbits thrown in.” |
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“Full of awkward silliness from a young girl who is trying to find her way as she grows up.” |
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“The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the most popular, complicated, and long stories of all time. I liked being able to listen to it on Playaway and hear the different characters.” |
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“History, sci-fi, and mystery all in one.” |
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“It is full of geeky spying goodness!” |
November 11th, 2010
