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February 27, 2007
March is Noodle Month
The ultimate comfort food is honored throughout National Noodle Month in March! Noodle consumption increases in the colder months as well as during Lent when people prepare more meatless meals. We have the cookbooks here to help keep your pasta meals interesting.
The noodle reigns supreme in Joanne Killeen's On Top Of Spaghetti. Publisher's Weekly calls this a "fun but singularly focused collection of recipes. Drawing from decades of experience, the James Beard Award–winning owners of Al Forno in Providence, R.I., and coauthors of Cucina Sympatica explore their favorite recipes at home and in the restaurant, including their favorite after-work treat, Midnight Spaghetti."
Holy pasta water, a fistful of salt, and tender vs. al dente are all things you learn in the first chapter of Wanda Tornabene's 100 Ways to be Pasta. The author weaves memoir, history, and flavor together with simple easy recipes that are sure winners.
There are only forty days of Lent but Marlena Spieler gives us fifty classic recipes for macaroni and cheese in her wonderful cookbook that you'll continue to use throughout the year, whenever the ultimate in comfort food is called for.
Posted by MaryF at 08:09 PM
February 24, 2007
2007 Year of the Pig
In honor of the Chinese New Year - it's the Year of the Pig - here are a few books that seem to fit the occasion.
Swine are gregarious in nature, intelligent and tasty too! The family Suidae is not only the animal of the year but it's also been popular with authors this past year.
The Good Good Pig is ardent nature lover Sy Montgomery’s story of her unique friendship with a pig named Christopher Hogwood who helped her develop a new relationship with her small-town community neighbors.
Peter Kaminsky’s Pig Perfect is subtitled “encounters with remarkable swine and some great ways to cook them.”
Irish playwright Kitty Fitzgerald debut novel Pigtopia is a beautifully written moral fable of a deformed giant who finds solace and refuge with pigs.
And "the sine qua non of books on swine," according to one book review, is popular science writer Lyall Watson's The Whole Hog: Exploring the Extraordinary Potential of Pigs.
Posted by MaryF at 07:56 PM
February 21, 2007
Put down your needles and pick up this book
When it’s cold and dreary outside, a knitter’s thoughts turn to, well, knitting. For those who like to read about their hobbies (hobbies, obsessions—your pick), there are some recent entries into the genre that are worth putting your needles down for. Set in New York City, the Friday Night Knitting Club is the story of Georgia Walker, owner of Walker and Daughter, a small, chic yarn shop. Her eclectic group of family, friends and customers provide the drama, and an unexpected plot twist brings it all back to Georgia. Several readers have actually gone into the City searching for the shop—it’s that believable!
by Sally Ijams
Posted by EmilyW at 07:37 PM
February 15, 2007
All things Chinese
The Chinese New Year, the Year of the Pig, will be ushered in this week so our attention is focused on all things Chinese. Here are some new and recommended books that give insight into China's people and culture.
Richard Nixon, the President that is best associated in this country with the Watergate scandal, is viewed very differently by Chinese and Chinese Americans. In Margaret Macmillan’s Nixon and Mao, President Nixon is profiled for his historic role in opening China to the West.
Peter Hessler’s Oracle Bones is a journey between China’s past and present. Hessler has lived in China for the past nine years and is the Beijing correspondent for the New Yorker. His book is a fascinating account of life in modern China, seen through the eyes of various workers and professionals as they struggle to cope with the tremendous changes and their cultural history
Another new book to look for is John Pomfret’s Chinese Lessons. Pomfret was an exchange student at Nanjing University in 1981 and later an American journalist in China. He stayed in touch with his Chinese classmates and, like Oracle Bones, tells their individual stories to tell the story of modern China’s changing economic, social, and political climate.
Also check out The Eighth Promise by William Poy Lee . It is a rare view of the Asian-American experience from a mother-son perspective. The memoir of growing up in the housing projects of San Francisco's Chinatown in the 1960s and '70s unfolds in two voices—the authors and that of his mother.
Posted by MaryF at 05:02 PM
February 13, 2007
Chocolate, Champagne, and Caviar
Happy St. Valentine's Day!
You've bought the chocolate, champagne, and caviar, now read the backstories.
Joel Glenn Brenner's The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the secret worlds of Hershey's and Mars is a facinating history of chocolate making in America and of a great philanthopist, Milton Hershey.
Nothing goes better with chocolate than Champagne Cocktails. Sip one while reading Serena Sutcliffe's Champagne: The History and Character of the World's Most Celebrated Wine.
And if you feel a need to know more about that ounce of caviar that cost you a paycheck, check out Susie Boeckmann and Natalie Rebeiz-Nielsen's Caviar. The book has fabulous photographs and is a must read for anyone who loves these delectable eggs.
Posted by MaryF at 10:44 AM
February 06, 2007
Digital audiobooks for people on the go
Playaways are the newest, most convenient way to listen to an audiobook. After you check out a Playaway, simply plug in the headphones, press the play button, and listen. Plus, the device is small enough to fit in your pocket.
Visit the Info-Tech blog to learn more about how they work.
We have recent bestsellers and classics for children and adults. Haven't had a chance to read Mayflower or Wild Fire yet? Check out the Playaway. There are lots more titles on the way, including the Pimsleur language series.
Posted by EmilyW at 01:42 PM