EPL Picks - Jan. 2012
Annotation:Allen’s short pieces are still hilarious—you’re in for a treat if you know him only from his movies. He’s unmatched at rendering familiar styles absurd. In “The Scrolls” he mimics a biblical voice: “And soon Job’s pastures dried up and his tongue cleaved to the roof of his mouth so he could not pronounce the word ‘frankincense’ without getting big laughs.” In “The Whore of Mensa” he imagines a tough private-eye narrating a noir story about cracking an offbeat prostitution ring, a ring in which frustrated nerds hire sharp women to discuss high-brow literature. I laughed out loud when the private-eye, posing as a john, upped the ante by asking his date if she’d be open to a party: “Suppose I wanted Noam Chomsky explained to me by two girls?” Very funny stuff. (Jeff B., Reader’s Services)
Annotation:Bourdain, the bad boy of novelle cuisine, is best known for his eye-opening exposé, Kitchen Confidential, a book that caused many to think twice before setting foot in a restaurant again. In this biography of Mary Mallon, he does a pretty thorough job of telling us what is known about this figure from the turn of the 19th century. She was a moderately good cook for upper middle class families in New York, sickening many, killing a few. She was Irish, single, had a live-in boyfriend, and never exhibited any typhoid symptoms. But her gut was teeming with the disease. Her treatment at the hands of authorities is shocking. Her rights were ignored, her character ruined. Bourdain is sympathetic, and waxes philosophical on the status of cooks, the conditions under which they toil, and the often unpleasant aspects of the career. (Barbara L., Reader’s Services)
Annotation:Gail Caldwell and Caroline Knapp are writers, dog lovers and best friends. This is a beautifully written memoir of their friendship that began with their mutual love of dogs and competitive sports. Seven years into their friendship, Caroline was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. The memoir celebrates friendship and reminds the reader of his/her own best friend. It is a touching and uplifting book, but remember to have your tissues handy about two-thirds of the way in. A beautiful testament to a true friendship. (Rika G., Reference)
Annotation:Author Melissa Coleman’s parents were pioneers of the local food movement when, in the 1960s, inspired by the back-to-the-land lifestyle of Helen and Scott Nearing, they purchased 60 acres of farmland in Maine. With no electricity or indoor plumbing, they set about to create a new life for themselves, one free of commercialism and the trappings of modern life. The life, however, turns out to be not as idyllic as they dreamed it would be. Coleman writes beautifully, and without any bitterness, of the tragic death of her younger sister and her parents’ subsequent marital problems. This is a very readable memoir on a non-traditional family as well as interesting background of the origins of organic farming. (Rika G., Reference)
Annotation:In 2003 author Joan Didion lost her husband, John Gregory Dunne, to a sudden heart attack. This is an incredibly personal memoir of the year after his death, the year she kept expecting him to come home, and a portrait of their marriage—good times and bad, ups and downs. Didion also writes of her daughter, Quintana, who at the time of her father’s death was in a coma and spent the next year fighting for her life. Didion writes matter-of-factly, without a lot of emotion, about this difficult year; she tells her story with dignity and grace. Her daughter Quintana did eventually pass which, along with the aging process, is the focus of Didion’s most recent book, Blue Nights. (Rika G., Reference)
Annotation:When author Tom Fields-Meyer was told by a therapist that his son Ezra was showing signs of autism he was told he needed to grieve. “For what?” he asked. The answer: “For the child he didn’t turn out to be.” Fields-Meyer did not grieve; he instead embraced his son for who he was, working tirelessly to find ways to connect to what was important to his child. This book is Fields-Meyer’s gift to his middle child, a narrative of the journey from when Ezra is first diagnosed in preschool until the onset of adolescence. It is a quirky and often humorous story, and packed with a lot of love, just like Ezra himself. (Rika G., Reference)
Annotation:You think about other commodities. You may know the cost of gas, or electricity. Maybe you try to conserve them. Water? You barely think about it at all. It’s like air. But the end of water’s “golden era” is upon us, says Fishman. Our tap water is abundant, clean, and cheap—but soon we will be choosing two out of three: abundant, clean, *or* cheap. Abundant, clean water will cost much more, and abundant, cheap water won’t be clean. Such is the case in much of the world right now. Here near Lake Michigan we may not worry soon about water, but elsewhere, possibly in this century, wars may be fought over it—and Fishman shows us why. (Jeff B., Reader’s Services)
Annotation:Fantastic book for anyone, although typography and design geeks will particularly love it. For the average reader it offers an interesting new perspective on the world of signs, labels, computer screens, etc., we look at everyday but rarely "see." Garfield provides a rich history of many of the fonts we have become familiar with since the advent of personal computing (Times New Roman and Calibri anyone?), but stretches all the way back to Gutenberg at times to illustrate just how durable such a thing as an innocuous collection of letters can be. (Joe C., Readers Services)
Annotation:Yale Professor Priscilla Gilman had always wanted to be a mother, and when she became pregnant with her first child she was elated. From the moment her little boy Benjamin was born he was an extraordinary child; he began reading and memorizing poetry at the age of two. What Gilman and her husband think is brilliance turns out to be a disorder called hyperlexia, which impairs his ability to truly communicate and create social bonds with others. This book explores our hopes for our children and how fate can intervene and create a new set of dreams. It teaches us to embrace the unexpected in life and shows us how situations once seen as difficult can actually enrich our lives. (Rika G., Reference)
Annotation:Joe and Terry Graedon, pharmacologists and creators of the “People’s Pharmacy” syndicated column, present an array of facts on home remedies, prescription drugs, and holistic medicine. Covering the gamut from acne to weight loss, the book is laid out in clearly organized segments including some Q&A sidebars. Even if you’re skeptical of home remedies, many in the book are worth a try if you’re dissatisfied with the traditional medical approach. Most are benign, they may not help, but they won’t hurt. Some seem really off-the-wall: the gin-soaked raisins for arthritis, a bar of soap (preferably Ivory) under the fitted sheet for restless leg syndrome, and to quell a nighttime cough—try Vicks Vapor Rub, but not on your chest...on the soles of your feet! Who knew? (Barbara L., Reader’s Services)
Annotation:If you’re a foodie you’ll enjoy Hamilton’s memoir of her life as a self-taught chef. Starting work in kitchens as a dishwasher at thirteen, Hamilton had always resisted the call to cook. It wasn’t until opening her own New York restaurant, Prune, in her late thirties, that she finally embraced the life of a chef. Throughout the memoir we learn of her setting off on her own by sixteen, working restaurant jobs to get by, earning her MFA from the University of Michigan while working as a caterer, and finally of her life as a wife, mother and restaurant owner. Hamilton is an impassioned chef and writer, with strong and sometimes surprising views on food and culture. (Rika G., Reference)
Annotation:With the rise of the Web, more and more of our words (and other creations) are saved—potentially forever. “In the digital age,” Mayer-Schonberger asserts, “in what is perhaps the most fundamental change for humans since our beginning, the balance of remembering and forgetting has become inverted… remembering has become easier [and in commerce even cheaper] than forgetting.” Four technological developments drive this shift: digitization, cheap storage, easy retrieval, and global reach. The implications for our lifestyles, our relationships, and our careers are enormous. The philosophical implications are even greater. Ultimately Mayer-Schonberger argues for an expiration date for information, to shift the default back from indefinite retention to deletion after a certain amount of time. Ironically, this is a book you won’t soon forget. (Jeff B., Reader’s Services)
Annotation:This terrific book was written by one of the Wes Moores born in Baltimore’s inner city in the early 1980’s. He juxtaposes the events of his young life with those of the other African American boy who shares his name and place of birth. The author graduated from Johns Hopkins University and became a Rhodes Scholar. The other Wes Moore is serving the rest of his life in a Maryland jail. The author, who has interviewed the imprisoned Wes Moore and members of his family, admits “the chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” Great selection for high school students and book groups. (Margaret S., Reference)
Annotation:New Yorker staff writer (and Orchid Thief author) Susan Orlean explores the bond between a World War One-refugee puppy and the lonely U.S. soldier who rescued him and came to see him as immortal, as well as between the dog and generations of moviegoers. “Rinty” did come close to immortality, becoming the top star of his day (and siring others who gained film and TV stardom). Something in his character, a mix of aloofness and vulnerability, touched the individual loneliness of the viewer in a packed movie house. When the original Rinty died in 1932, the entire nation mourned. (Jeff B., Reader’s Services)
Annotation:Author and cultural critic Meghan O'Rourke lost her mother to colorectal cancer on Christmas Day 2008. This book is a memoir but also serves as a well-researched treatise on mourning. In the first part O’Rourke writes elegantly as she takes us through the last months of her mother’s illness and subsequent passing; the second part is just as compelling as she discusses present day society’s handling of grief and how we have abandoned the mourning rituals of the past which helped us accept death and move forward. Poetry, and texts on grief and death and dying, help O’Rourke accept her loss, and her beautifully written book may one day help someone else. (Rika G., Reference)
Annotation:Amidst all of the blogs-turned-into-books floating around out there, Dmitry Samarov’s Hack stands out as one of the best. Samarov, an artist/cabbie, has published a blog based on his experiences as a cabbie. From that blog comes Hack. Samarov takes the reader into the world of the cabbie, and with his true stories and illustrations, paints a portrait of Chicago life in all of its grit and glory. I appreciated the variety of Samarov’s vignettes, ranging from the mundane to the wild. The book’s illustrations further enhance your reading experience. Hack is a great choice for anyone curious about life as a cabbie, and for those who enjoy reading about Chicago. (Karen H., Reference)
Annotation:The author of A Pigeon and A Boy, notable Israeli writer Meir Shalev, has written a warm and amusing memoir about growing up in a pioneering Jewish family in Palestine before it became the state of Israel. Shalev’s grandmother Tonia, battling against the desert dirt and dust, meets head on the scheming of the family “double traitor” to Zionism, an uncle who emigrated to America instead of to the Promised Land and became (such shame!) a successful businessman who sends the titular vacuum cleaner as revenge for the family’s disdain of him. Told with affection, bemusement, and gentle humor, Shalev’s tale continues in his family’s tradition of improving upon stories to make them more “truthful.” (Nancy E., North Branch)
Annotation:Have you been assigned to bring dessert for your holiday gathering? Need some novel ideas for festive cakes and cookies? Jen Yates’s collection of unbelievably misbegotten, mouth-dropping examples of poor taste, and over-the-top decorating disasters should not be your source of inspiration (or, if it is, let me know, and I’ll send my regrets for that party). However, if you want a good laugh at the ridiculous, gross, mildly offensive (without meaning to be, I suppose), creepy, and inscrutable ideas that folks confronted with a blank cake come up with, this is the book for you. I don’t know what’s best—the full-color, garishly presented photos or the snarky commentary by the author. Both are guffaw-producing. (Barbara L., Reader’s Services)
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