Rebekah’s picks

When French Women Cook: a Gastronomic Memoir by Madeleine Kamman—The culinary memoir is one of my favorite kinds of writing and this book (which might best be described as culinary anthropology) is in my top five in the category.  Madeleine Kamman, author and cooking instructor extraordinaire, reminisces about the eight women who had a great influence on her during her formative years in France, with regards to food, cooking and life in general. In addition to the author’s obvious gift with language, the book is full of such interesting regional recipes as wine soup (which includes a whole bottle of red wine) as well as the standards.

The Moon Spinners by Mary Stewart--When I want an enjoyable read that doesn’t take too much effort but immediately transports me to a foreign locale and has intelligent writing, I pick up a Mary Stewart novel and this is a favorite. Set in the wild Cretan countryside, the young and adventurous Nicola Ferris, an English vacationer, stumbles upon a terrifying scene of vengeance and finds herself caught up in a situation from which she may not be able to escape. A romantic, suspenseful story that is hard to put down.

Smilla’s Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg —In this engrossing literary mystery, half Danish, half Greenlander Smilla Jaspersen, an authority on the properties and classification of ice, attempts to unravel the suspicious death of a young Greenlander boy who appeared to have fallen from a snow-covered roof in snowy Copenhagen. The gripping plot, the interesting setting and complex but likeable protagonist make for a truly unforgettable read.  

Wally’s Picks:

The Space Between Us by Unrugar Thrity—Imagine a life where age, poverty, caste, gender, sexism, marital status and illiteracy are constant barriers to a more fulfilling life. Imagine a life where all those things affect you and your family daily, keeping you and yours in an endless downward spiral of poverty that constantly quashes your spirit and all dreams of getting ahead. And then imagine, in the midst of all that, a life suddenly filled with hope. If you're looking for a story of a life redeemed, then read this tale of Bhima, an aged slum dweller in modern day India who does her best to provide a quality life for her orphaned granddaughter, who, in the end, finds hope and a renewed sense of self worth in the form of a balloon man from her distant past.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson—Perennial road trip favorite written by one of America's most acerbic and witty commenters of our modern mores! Raoul Duke and his lawyer go to Las Vegas in order to cover the Mint 500, a casino sponsored road race that takes Hunter's alter ego into the heart of 1960s darkness. In turns hilarious, titillating and downright frightening, this semi-autobiographical work of fiction blazed the trail for gonzo journalism. A good balance for those who are seeking a Baby Boomer version of On the Road but a less cautionary tale than Leaving Las Vegas.

My Mexico by Diana Kennedy—If you are looking to break out of the rut of Tex Mex border style Mexican food, then this is the title for you. Diana Kennedy has been one of Ameica's foremost authorities on regional Mexican cooking since the nineteen-sixties. This title is a grand overview not only of the various types and styles of Mexican foods found throughout the country, but also serves as a dandy travelogue, personal memoir and literary insight into the lives of everyday people who taught and inspired her to share the wonders and glories of one of the world's most misunderstood and underappreciated cuisines. 

Shirlee’s Picks:

Dirt Music by Tim Winton—Tim Winton, Australian novelist, has been one of my favorite writers since I read one of his first novels, Cloudstreet.  He has written 20 books for adults and children, and has won the Miles Franklin Award three times; he has twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Dirt Music, a complex love story with its share of desperation, is so immersed in the Australian landscape that the country itself is a protagonist in the story.  The characters are original and products of the Australian frontier, revealing themselves more through their actions than their words.  The three main characters are all struggling to right past damages done to them or that they have done to others, and form an intriguing triangle.  Other characters—and they are, indeed, characters—pepper the book with colorful language and histories.  I am looking forward to reading this book a second time; it is that wonderful.

Executive Privilege by Phillip Margolin—Phillip Margolin lives in Portland, Oregon, and writes criminal novels that have ties to the Northwest.  He has twelve New York Times bestsellers to his credit, including some real thrillers such as After Darkand Gone, But Not Forgotten. A thriller involving the President seems appropriate in a presidential election year; if we haven’t had our fill of governmental intrigue, here is another hit!  The story involves an Oregon governor elected Vice President and promoted to President upon the death of the President.  A young Oregon attorney, a serial killer anxious to not let another killer take credit for his crimes, and a D.C. female P.I. find a connection between a murder in the Oregon governor’s mansion and a killing in D.C.   The investigator and the attorney face extreme danger and risk from powerful enemies in solving these crimes.

Gardens of Water by Alan Drew—Alan Drew’s first novel takes place in Istanbul.  A Kurdish family and an American family live in the same apartment complex which is destroyed by a massive earthquake.  The two families are linked when the earthquake throws the Kurdish son and the American mother into the same rubble, where they are not found for many hours.  Their teenage siblings, the Kurdish daughter and the American son, fall in love, and the resultant culture clash as the families become further involved is reminiscent of House of Sand and Fog.  Cultural issues complicate the love story and—as in Sand and Fog—the American reader is faced with an outcome he might find unsettling.

Kathleen’s Picks:

The Pink Institution by Selah Saterstrom—Not for those who like things on the gentle side, Saterstrom exposes the dark underbelly of the American South. This first novel, almost a novella, contains imagery so graphic in parts I wanted to physically turn away, yet at the same time the haunting, poetic beauty found in both Saterstrom’s stylings and the compelling, semi-autobiographical stories of the four generations of women she tells, are not easy to forget.  I find myself coming back to this, turning the characters over in my head weeks later – a haunting first novel by one of America’s most promising poetic voices.

Zarafa: A Giraffe’s True Story, From Deep in Africa to the Heart of Paris by Michael Allin—Imagine walking all the way from Marseille to Paris – 550 miles.  Now imagine this journey alongside the very first giraffe to ever set foot on the European continent.   Zarafa’s is a  story so remarkable, there was no need for any of the fictionalization Allin had first intended when he set out to tell the story of this magnificent, and yet wholly captive, creature. This little gem of a book follows Zarafa from Africa to her heralded entrance into Paris in the spring of 1827, exposing little know aspects of French history and culture from this era along the way.

Full Frame: Documentary Shorts Vol. 2 (DVD) —The collection of documentary films at KRL keeps growing, and many are fascinating compilations of short documentary films like this one.  Particularly notable on this disk are Nutria – an entertaining look at the effects an invasive rodent is having on the Louisiana Wetlands while showing off  the bayou subculture as well as weaving in some interesting facts about Tabasco sauce and Have You Seen This Man?  which nearly defies explanation, but could perhaps be categorized as comedic experimental documentary. 

Shannon’s Picks:

Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan—I think I should first admit that this title took me a good month to get through. In a librarian's world, that's slightly more heretical than reading everything on a Kindle. I select it here though, because as difficult as it was to get through, Tender Morsels is one of those books that creeps into your sub-conscious imagination with the perseverance of an invasive ivy tendril. Lanagan's fairytale worlds carry the darkness and confusion of the best Grimm collections, but with a modern exploration of gender politics and sexuality that was lacking in the former. There's definitely no assured "Happily Ever After" here but rest assured, the thorny journey is worth the effort.

The Bill Martin Jr Big Book of Poetry, edited by Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson—As a youth services librarian my friends and family might have learned to expect it by now, but this book is high on this year's list of "I don't care how old you are, I got this for your birthday" present options. Not only does The Big Book provide a wonderful introduction to poetry by the likes of Jack Prelutsky, Robert Louis Stevenson, Emily Dickinson and others, but it also features illustrations by the best in modern children's book illustration. Pairing Chris Raschka with Langston Hughes? I'm smitten.

I Will Never Forget You: Frida Kahlo and Nikolas Muray by Salomon Grimberg—Nikolas Muray, an Olympic fencer and Hungarian immigrant, was at the forefront of photography in the first half of the last century. His experimentation and fearlessness led to the explosion of color photography in the United States. Beyond cigarette and automobile ads, he photographed some of the most high profile artists, dancers, and thinkers of his day, including Frida Kahlo. Though this title glosses over the bulk of Kahlo's biographical history, it provides fascinatingly intimate details and insight through the letters of the romantically intertwined Muray and Kahlo. Reading the mid-century sailor slang of Kahlo trashing French surrealists next to a beautiful collection of her most iconic images is a strange and delightful thing.