Snack Time, Read Up!

 

Gulp, the latest book by popular science author Mary Roach, tackles the mysteries of the digestive system. If you enjoy learning while you laugh, you should definitely check out Mary Roach's writing. She has an ability to bring humor and insight to topics that would normally make the average person squirm (sex, death, etc.). If you're already on the waiting list for Gulp, or you're not quite sure you want to read about what happens in the small intestine, we've pulled together a list of some other recent titles that explore our relationship with food.

Mark Kurlansky is another popular author of non-fiction known for his engaging style and incredible detail, though his tone is far more serious, and his focus tends toward the historical. If you're looking to learn more about our relationship to food prior to consumption, you should ddefinitely check out Salt: a world history (333.85632 KUR), Cod: a biography of the fish that changed the world (333.956633 KUR), and Birdseye: the adventures of a curious man (LP Biography Birdseye). For other in depth explorations of a single consumable's impact on humanity's history, try:

• Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization by Steven Solomon (553.7 SOL) 
• Sugar: A Bittersweet History by Elizabeth Abbott (633.6 ABB)
• A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage (394.12 STA)

Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss (613.2 MOS)
This recent title has also spent some time on the best seller lists. A through-provoking and passionate look at our relationship with junk food by an award-winning journalist. If you're already on the hold list for this one, check out:

• American Wasteland by Jonathan Bloom (363.7288 BLO)
• In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (613 POL)
• Super Size Me by Morgan Spurlock (DVD 647.95 SUP)

Blood, Bones, and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton (641.5092 HAM)
The stories of the people who devote their lives and careers to food and the restaurant business can provide a different perspective on our relationships with food. Blood, Bones, and Butter is a moving and straightforward autobiography by Gabrielle Hamilton. The book chronicles Hamilton's difficult path from rural New Jersey to the head chef of her own New York restaurant. For more chef, foodie, and restaurant memoirs, try:

• Relish: my life in the kitchen by Lucy Knisley (Graphic Knisley)
• Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford (641.59455 BUF)
• Kitchen Confidential: adventures in the culinary underbelly by Anthony Bourdain (641.5092 BOU)

Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza by Ken Forkish (641.815 FOR)
Perhaps you're more interested in creating the delicious foods you eat yourself? Carnegie-Stout does have an excellent collection of cookbooks, but for today we'll stick to a few on baking bread. Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast is a recent guide to home baking from ken Forkish, a Portland baker. The recipes in this cookbook range from the beginner to rather more advanced. If you're looking for more, check out:

• Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery by Joanne Chang (641.815 CHA)Flour 
• My Bread: the revolutionary no-work, no-knead method by Jim Lahey (641.815 LAH)
• Bread Baker's Apprentice: mastering the art of extraordinary bread by Peter Reinhart (641.815 REI)

Please stop by the Recommendations Desk on the first floor, check out NoveList Plus on the library's website, or visit W. 11th & Bluff next week for more reading suggestions. Or submit a Personal Recommendations request, and we'll create a reading list just for you! 

Recent Popular Fiction with the Word "House" in the Title

OH, the auld house, the auld house!
  What tho' the rooms were wee?
Oh, kind hearts were dwelling there,
  And bairnies fu’ o’ glee!
The wild rose and the jessamine      
  Still hang upon the wa’:
How mony cherished memories
  Do they, sweet flowers, reca’!

From "The Auld House" by Carolina Oliphant (1766–1845)

Book Title Trends

Today I was reading a pamphlet on great books for book discussion groups and I thought for about the 100th time, "Why do so many books have (insert word here) in the title?"  Recently, the title trend that always catches my eye is books with "The Art of" in the title.  Here are just a few books with that title:

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television and by listening closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver. On the night before his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through, hoping, in his next life, to return as a human.

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
At Westish College, baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for the big leagues until a routine throw goes disastrously off-course. In the aftermath of his error, the fates of five people are upended and Henry's self-doubt threatens to ruin his future. College president Guert Affenlight has fallen unexpectedly and helplessly in love. Owen Dunne becomes caught up in a dangerous affair. Mike Schwartz realizes he has guided Henry's career at the expense of his own. And Pella Affenlight returns to Westish after escaping an ill-fated marriage, determined to start a new life. As the season counts down to its climactic final game, these five are forced to confront their deepest hopes, anxieties, and secrets.

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Phillips Sendker
A poignant and inspirational love story set in Burma, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats spans the decades between the 1950s and the present.  When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be - until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father’s past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm the reader’s belief in the power of love to move mountains.

Please do not get me started on all the titles similar to/or parodies of Fifty Shades of Grey. Since the success of E.L. James trilogy there have been a slew of parodies and books with the title of "Fifty Shades of __________".  Beloved classic literature and fairy tale characters have gotten the Fifty Shades treatment (Mr. Darcy and Alice in Wonderland, I'm looking at you).  If you don't believe me, go to Amazon and type in "Fifty Shades of" and see how many results you get.  Many of these are self-published or only available as an e-book.

Are there any book title trends that you have noticed? There are a lot of sound-alike titles out there, check out the library's Sounds the Same board on our Pinterest page.  Please feel free to leave a comment.

Amy, Adult Services

Dear Carnegie-Stout, What Should I Read?

Carnegie-Stout is here to help you find the information you need, including fun reading suggestions! Have you tried our Personal Recommendations program yet?

By filling out a short survey of your reading tastes, we'll be able to come up with a list of books and authors we think you'll enjoy!

Stop by the Recommendations Desk on the first floor to talk with a staff member and pick up a paper form, print a pdf version and bring it in, or submit your request online.

We also offer quick reading suggestions once a month on our Facebook page. Our next session will be on Wednesday, April 18th.

To give you an idea of our skills, we're posting our responses to some recent patron questions. Feel free to leave your own questions in the comments section!









Dear Cat Lover,
This is a problem familiar to every librarian. What to do with all that extra cat hair? Might we suggest Crafting with Cat Hair (745.5 TSU), so much more creative than shaving your furry friend.
-Carnegie-Stout









Dear Help!
If it's been a few years since you've picked up a novel, you might want to check out How to Read a Book by Mortimer Jerome Adler and Charles van Doren (028 ADL). If your new clubs simply selected a deadly dull tome try How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read by Pierre Bayard (809 BAY).
-Carnegie-Stout










Dear Anxious,
Try It Sucked and then I Cried: how I had a baby, a breakdown, and a much needed margarita (306.8743 ARM) by popular blogger Heather Armstrong.
-Carnegie-Stout









Dear Globe Trotter,
We recommend Miracle in the Andes (982.6 PAR), a true story of a terrible plane crash and subsequent cannibalism.
-Carnegie-Stout











Dear April,
A road trip may be just what the doctor ordered! Might we suggest You Can Get Arrested For That: 2 guys, 25 dumb laws, 1 absurd American crime spree (349.73 SMI) for inspiration?
-Carnegie-Stout

Sound Alikes: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

If you enjoyed The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson, you might enjoy these similarly titled books:

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen. "Moving in with the grandfather she never knew after the death of her mother, 17-year-old Emily witnesses bizarre supernatural activities in her new North Carolina community while befriending its remarkable residents."

The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Heidi W. Durrow. "The daughter of a white Danish woman and a black G.I. grapples with her identity and a mysterious family history."

The Girl Who Would Speak For the Dead by Paul Elwork. "After 13-year-old twins Emily and Michael Stewart figure out a way to dupe local children into believing that the spirit world is contacting them, they get more than they bargained for when their secret is found out by the community adults, who are dealing with grief in the aftermath of World War I."

The Girl Who Disappeared Twice by Andrea Kane. "When they are hired by veteran family court judge Hope Willis to find her missing daughter, Forensic Investigators--a team of renegade investigators comprised of a behavorist, a techno-wizard, an intuitive and a former Navy SEAL--must race against time to bring Krissy back alive."

The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson. "Laurel Gray Hawthorne's life seems neatly on track--a passionate marriage, a treasured daughter, and a lovely home in suburban Victorianna--until everything she holds dear is suddenly thrown into question the night she is visited by the ghost of a her 13-year old neighbor Molly Dufresne."

The Girl Who Trod on a Loaf by Kathryn Davis. "Frances Thorn, a young single mother, inherits an unfinished opera based on the Hans Christian Andersen character, 'the girl who trod on a loaf.'"


Please stop by the Recommendations Desk on the first floor, check out NovaList Plus! on the library website or visit the adult services blog next Friday for more reading suggestions. Feel free to leave a comment if you would like a sound-alike list for a specific author.