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| December
2002 Daily Picks |
| Monday
through Friday, daily book recommendations to fill up your reading life.
At BookSense.com no book shall remain unconsidered for your reading pleasure. |
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The
Magic of Fire: Hearth Cooking
By William
Rubel, Illustrated by Ian
Everard
Imagine this: It’s Christmas Eve. Snow is drifting down outside, and everything’s
quiet and peaceful. Piles of neatly wrapped gifts lie underneath a glittering,
aromatic tree. You and your loved ones are nestled on the couch in front
of a roaring fireplace…cooking dinner! Delicate watercolor illustrations
and clear instructions highlight Rubel and Everard’s fireplace cookbook,
which -- with its recipes for straightforward fare such as roast duck, ember-baked
potatoes, and porridge -- has an irresistibly quaint, old-world allure.
Detailed information on fireplaces, tools, and supplies is also included.
Possible holiday recipes: Roasted Chestnuts, Winter Bean Soup, Roasted Leg
of Lamb, Mushroom Stew, and Baked Apples. |
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A
Kwanzaa Keepsake: Celebrating the Holiday with New Traditions and Feasts
By Jessica
B. Harris
Begun in the 1960s, Kwanzaa is an African-American celebration of heritage,
community, and pride. Centered around the seven days and virtues of Kwanzaa
Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work
and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba
(Creativity), and Imani (Faith) -- Harris’ festive and entertaining book
engagingly details everything one might need for an enjoyable and fulfilling
Kwanzaa: ceremonies, proverbs, symbols, blessings, crafts, and best of
all, food! Some of the seasonal recipes offered: Senegalese Chicken Yassa,
Pecan Pie, Creole Court Bouillon, Spicy Three-Cheese Macaroni (mmmm),
and Benne Cakes.
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Rose’s
Christmas Cookies
By Rose
Levy Beranbaum
It’s unclear how cookies became such a widespread Christmas tradition, but
hey, you won’t catch us complaining! From the basic (Sugar Cookies, Scottish
Shortbread) to the incredibly elaborate (Mini-Cheesecakes with Lemon Curd,
Mahogany Butter Crunch Toffee), Beranbaum assembles more than 60 scrumdiddlyumptious
cookie recipes, including some of her and her friends’ own delicious creations.
Energetically written with earthy advice on ingredients and equipment, Rose’s
Christmas Cookies is the perfect holiday gift for sweet-toothed folks
throughout the land. |
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it!
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Semi-Homemade
Cooking
by Sandra
Lee, with an Introduction by Wolfgang
Puck
An essential cookbook for those running out of time to plan those extravagant
holiday meals! If you want to learn an innovative, time-saving approach
to cooking...and like sexy photos of glistening, fresh, succulent-looking
food, look no further. Semi-Homemade Cooking explains how to combine
fresh and prepackaged ingredients to create meals that taste completely
homemade. Lee offers smart suggestions for streamlining the meal-prep process
(plan your menu a week in advance; use disposable products for quicker cleanup)
and offers recipes that cover the expected meals -- breakfast, dinner, soups,
etc. -- as well as pet foods! Rover will be so pleased. Another unusual
aspect of this book are the suggestions for music to cook and/or eat by;
If you're going to make the Black Bean Quesadilla, she says, you might want
to pop Sting's "Brand New Day" into the CD player. Other recipes include:
Kahlua Tiramisu, Feta-Stuffed Artichoke Bottoms, Lemon Turkey Cutlets, and
Morning Glory Fondue. Yum. |
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Mollie
Katzen's Sunlight Cafe
by Mollie
Katzen
Do you habitually skip breakfast? Well, if this cookbook can't get you to
start eating a morning meal again, nothing can. Katzen -- author of the
popular Moosewood
Cookbook -- once again presents a host of wonderful recipes for
everything from Chai-Spiced Milk to Chocolate Ricotta Muffins to Cinnamon-Spiced
Fried Tomatoes to Winter Frittata With Red Onions. In true Katzen fashion,
each recipe is healthful and every page informative. For example, she offers
Thoughts About Toast, reveals how to Cheat at Homemade Jam,and gives Practical
Cheese Pointers. Plenty of ideas for a perfect holiday breakfast! For more
on Katzen, go to her website.
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The
Wedding
By Imraan
Coovadia
Even though he only catches a brief glimpse of her from the window of his
train, Bombay Registered Clerk Ismet Nassin instantly falls in love with
the beautiful Khateja. Once he finds her village, Ismet bribes Khateja’s
parents into arranging a marriage, not knowing that they cannot wait to
get rid of their stubborn and lazy daughter. Ismet’s dreams are fulfilled
when Khateja becomes his wife. Unfortunately, his life takes a sour turn
when it becomes clear that Khateja has only one thing on her mind: making
Ismet’s every waking moment miserable. Enthusiastically told from the point
of view of the couple’s grandson, The Wedding is a charming and comic
story of love and fate. |
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it!
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Meditations
on Middle-Earth
Edited by Karen
Haber, Illustrated by John
Howe
This week, the hotly anticipated big-screen version of The
Two Towers will take the nation’s multiplexes by storm and cause
yet another surge of interest in J.R.R.
Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Meditations on Middle-Earth
contains essays by 16 of today’s best-known science-fiction and fantasy
authors discussing how Tolkien’s masterwork affected their writing and lives.
Insightful, candid, and unsentimental, these essays by the likes of Ursula
K. Le Guin, Terry
Pratchett, Orson
Scott Card, George
R. R. Martin, Charles
de Lint, and Poul
Anderson form the perfect afterward to one of the 20th century’s most
influential pieces of literature. Also included are magnificent black-and-white
sketches from John Howe, one of the conceptual artists on the "Lord
of the Rings" films. |
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it!
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Zathura
by Chris
Van Allsburg
"Open this book and you'll immediately realize you're in for a strange
and imaginative adventure. Van Allsburg strikes the perfect balance between
the everyday world of sibling rivalry and a world where anything can happen.
I loved this as much as his Jumanji!"
-- Harvada Elisberg, Children's Bookshop, Appleton, WI
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Meditations
from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga
By Rolf
Gates and Katrina
Kenison
The gentle body/mind discipline known as yoga has surged in popularity over
the past couple of years. In Meditations from the Mat, acclaimed
yoga instructor Gates and accomplished editor Kenison provide a daily guide
to peaceful living through yoga using an approach that combines honest autobiography
and humble, encouraging philosophy. An intriguing quote starts each day,
then a small parcel of yoga ideology is discussed and how it relates to
real-world situations. Inspiring and thought-provoking, Meditations from
the Mat proves yoga doesn't have to be just a mannered series of stretches
and contortions -- it can be a rewarding way of life. |
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it!
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Odd
Jobs: Portraits of Unusual Occupations
By Nancy
Rica Schiff
Fortunately or unfortunately, most Americans feel that they are defined
by what they do for a living -- even the folks featured in the splendid
and devilish Odd Jobs. Talented photographer Schiff crisscrossed
the United States looking for the most unusual jobs imaginable, and she
seems to have found them: LEGO model maker, earthworm farmer, pooper scooper,
tampon tester, horse anesthetist, knife thrower's assistant, odor judge,
Porta-Potty serviceman, and many, many more. Brief text is provided on each
vocation, but as expected, the real pleasure here are the photos: Varied
and hypnotic, Schiff's work captures her subjects with wit and respect.
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The
Hard SF Renaissance
Edited by David
G. Hartwell and Kathryn
Cramer
Conceived as a companion volume to the 1994 anthology The
Ascent of Wonder -- which documented the history and development
of the “hard science-fiction” sub-genre -- The Hard SF Renaissance
brings together 1,000 pages of the best hard sci-fi from the late 1980s
to 2000. The authors define hard sci-fi as science fiction “that has something
centrally to do with science,” and their book features engaging stories
that are as equally concerned with plot and character. Hartwell and Cramer’s
immense compendium contains stories from such sci-fi luminaries as Poul
Anderson, Kim
Stanley Robinson, Arthur
C. Clarke, Nancy
Kress, Frederik
Pohl, and James
Patrick Kelley.
- Read an
interview with Hard SF Renaissance contributor Ted
Chiang!
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Beg
the Question
By Bob
Fingerman
The only steady work 20-something cartoonist Rob Hoffman can get is for
low-budget porn magazines and Mad knock-offs. His arty, energetic girlfriend
Sylvia manages a beauty salon. Together, they manage to eke out a relatively
happy -- if a bit unsettled -- life together in the colorful Bay Ridge neighborhood
of Brooklyn, but are they ready for marriage? Full of eccentric, likeable
characters, authentic relationships, and honest emotion, Fingerman's hysterical
and superbly drawn Beg the Question is that rarest of graphic novels:
a genuinely romantic comedy. A monumentally talented cartoonist in his own
right, Fingerman takes enough time out of the character-driven drama to
include painfully realistic depictions of geek culture and the New York
City subway. |
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it!
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Parvana's
Journey
by Deborah
Ellis
"Parvana is separated from her family in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan,
so she heads to Kabul to find them. This is a must-read for the many fans
of the bestselling prequel, The
Breadwinner." -- Carol Stoltz, Concord Bookshop, Concord, MA
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Geisha,
A Life
By Mineko
Iwasaki
Iwasaki was only a (very precocious) young girl when she chose to enter
the demanding world of the geisha, or as she calls it: geiko. Blessed with
classic beauty, an innate talent for traditional Japanese dance, and fierce
ambition, Iwasaki became the most celebrated and successful geisha of her
time when she was only in her twenties. Light on psychological revelation,
but long on detailed insight into an exquisite and vanishing culture, Geisha,
A Life is at its best when describing unpredictable moments of humor
and emotional turmoil, and at its worst when mechanically listing accomplishments,
celebrities, and expensive material goods. Iwasaki retired from the profession
when she was in her late 20s, and was one of Arthur Golden's main consultants
on the mega-selling Memoirs
of a Geisha. |
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it!
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Understanding
Nanotechnology
By Scientific
American
Fans of Michael
Crichton’s new thriller Prey
will want to read this short but educational book that clearly explains
everything about the scientific phenomenon known as nanotechnology. Perhaps
best described as molecular-sized robots that work in tandem towards a common
goal, the uses of nanotechnology appear to be limitless -- especially in
the areas of medicine, science, and manufacturing. Many experts grandly
claim that it will profoundly shape our future, and Understanding Nanotechnology
makes a convincing case for that theory. Other new books in Scientific
American’s welcome Science Made Accessible series include Understanding
Supercomputing, Understanding
the New Solar System, and Understanding
Germ Warfare (yikes). |
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it!
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Trouble
at Timpetill
By Henry
Winterfeld
The children of the small village of Timpetill are so misbehaved and mean
that one day, their parents decide to desert the town. But not all the kids
are devilish: Left alone to fend for themselves, Thomas, Michael, Marianne,
and the other responsible children have to use their own ingenuity and smarts
to keep Timpetill from being overrun by the Pirates, an aggresive gang of
the town’s nastiest kids. First written in the 1930s, Winterfeld’s fairy
tale-esque adventure is dated in many respects, but the vigorous pacing
and cunning characters will keep most readers involved. Recommended for
ages 8 and up. |
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it!
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My
First Movie: 20 Celebrated Directors Talk about Their First Film
Edited by Stephen
Lowenstein
Back in print thanks to Penguin Books, My First Movie should be required
reading for every student and fan of cinema. Lowenstein's candid interviews
with an international cross-section of talented and acclaimed directors
insightfully reveal all the frustration, passion, luck, talent, grit, and
tenacity that encompasses the complex process of filmmaking. The Coen Brothers
talk about their neo-noir classic "Blood Simple"…Mira Nair discusses "Salaam
Bombay!"…Kevin Smith gives the lowdown on the making of the cult smash "Clerks"…the
celebrated Ang Lee describes the filming of his first movie "Pushing Hands."
The experiences of all 20 directors are remarkably different, but like the
majority of their careers, consistently entertaining. |
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it!
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The
Dark Bride
by Laura
Restrepo
"One of the best novels out of Latin America in decades. This is the story
of a nameless Indian girl with almond eyes who becomes the Japanese goddess
of La Catunga, the small district in a Colombian town where, at the end
of each month, the workers of an oil camp come to squander their paychecks
on the illusion of happiness. Praised by both Marquez
and Allende,
this novel celebrates the triumphs and tragedies of outcasts, lowlifes,
and small-town lovers. It is wise and beautiful, funny and true." - Nick
DiMartino, University Bookstore, Seattle, WA
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As
Above, So Below: A Novel of Peter Bruegel
By Rudy
Rucker
Better known as an acclaimed popular science and science-fiction author,
Rucker decided to turn his life-long obsession with the 16th century Flemish
painter Peter Bruegel into this free-spirited and loving fictional biography.
Separated into 16 different chapters based on 16 classic Bruegel masterpieces,
the meticulously researched As Above, So Below skillfully follows
the artist’s life from his first tumultuous apprenticeship through the creation
of his last work of art. Bruegel is known both for apocalyptic, Bosch-ian
landscapes and warm, captivating depictions of peasant life. Rucker captures
all of the artist's sides -- and the gritty world he lived in -- with ease.
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Everyone
in Silico
By Jim
Munroe
In the year 2036, paradise is just a pixel away. For a price, the all-powerful,
multi-billion dollar Self corporation will download your consciousness and
send it to the computer-simulated city of Frisco. Prosperous, sunny, clean:
In Frisco, anything and everything is possible and all your fantasies will
be realized. But not everyone wants to live out their life existing in an
artificial utopia. A group of artists and free thinkers are concocting an
elaborate, two-fold plan that will change the city of Vancouver from withering
urban wasteland back into rainforest, and blow the lid off of one of Self’s
dirty little secrets. Inspired and clever, Munroe’s William
Burroughs, Neal
Stephenson, and Philip
K. Dick-inspired novel proposes a faintly plausible, non-dystopic future
that is both attractive and frightening. |
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