I can't handle it...there are just too many books!

I cannot remember a time when books were not an essential part of my life.  From my mother reading aloud to my sister and me every night to the first chapter book I ever read on my own to my current favorite mystery series, reading is a part of my being, like breathing or eating--I have to do it!  It wasn't until my freshman year of college that I realized that someone would pay me to work around books and that's when I decided to become a librarian.  I read on my breaks and during my spare time, and sometimes even listen to books in the car!  My goal in writing this blog is to share some of those books (and that joy of reading) with you.

More First Novels...posted August 16, 2:38 p.m.

I love first novels and debut writers.  There is just something inspiring somehow about the fact that even though there are so many established and bestselling authors out there, that someone how works hard and is determined and maybe has more than just a little luck can break into the world of publishing.  I feel like these first time writers need all the support they can get in hopes that they will be around long enough to get a second book published, so I try to make sure the library purchases the books and I read quite a few of them to write about here.

I have recently read several such books:

The Dressmaker by Elizabeth Oberbeck was a quiet yet achingly beautiful story.  This tale of heart-wrenching romance tells of a French dressmaker who still makes all his creations by hand who is renowned for his beautiful wedding gowns.  He falls in love with one of his clients, a relationship that is doomed, as she is engaged to marry her childhood friend.  So the story is about the romance, but it is so much more.  It is really about how Claude, well into his middle age, grows and changes and learns about himself and the world around him.  I especially enjoyed all the details of the fashion and art world, as well as the wonderful descriptons of contemporary France.

The Highly Effective Detective by Richard Yancey is a quirky mystery with an even quirkier detective in Teddy Ruzak.  (This is not Yancey's first book, but it is his first novel for adults.)  When Teddy Ruzak's mother passes away and leaves him a small inheritance, he decides to follow his dream of becoming a private detective, quits his job as a night security guard, rents an office, and hires his favorite waitress at the local diner to be his secretary.  His first case is to solve the hit and run murder of a gaggle of goslings.  He seems to have reached a dead end in the case, when he is contacted by someone who believes there may be a connection between the dead goslings and her stepmother's disappearence.  Teddy is much smarter and more observant than he lets on, and quite funny and even witty without trying too hard.  I am looking forward to more in this series.

The Rabbit Factory by Marshall Karp is another mystery that stands out from the rest of the mystery crowd.  First of all, it is 632 pages long, but rest assured, its fast pace reads a lot shorter than that.  The book introduces us to LAPD detectives Mike Lomax and Terry Biggs, homicide detectives who are called to the scene of a murder at Familyland, a Disneyesque theme park, who so concerned about their image and reputation, try to hide the murder from not only the general public, but employees as well.  Who was murdered?  Rambunctious Rabbit, one of their most popular characters.  Okay, actually it was the man inside the character costume, but still, as one of the characters comments, it was a character assasination.  (The book is full of funny quirky characters and situations and perhaps a few more bad puns.)  Karp manages to keep the story moving along at a fast clip while working in character development and back stories along the way.  And there is a great twist of an ending.  Karp is a friend of James Patterson, whom he says gave him quite of advice on the story.  I wish him the success that Patterson has had and hope that he has many more books to share.

I know it's hot, but I just can't stay out of the kitchen...posted August 3, 5:41 p.m.

Lots of great writing about food has been published recently.  I wish I had time to read it all, but here are a few things that I have really enjoyed.
Food Network Favorites:  Recipes from Our All-Star Chefs was a fun glimpse into some of the most well known chefs and some of their recipes.  There are sections on Alton Brown, Bobby Flay, Dave Lieberman, Emeril Lagasse, Giada De Laurentiis, Mario Batali, Michael Chiarello, Paula Deen, Rachael Ray, Tyler Florence, and Wolfgang Puck.  Each section includes recipes from that chef, as well interviews, questions and answers, and more that give sort of behind the scenes information.  Not that anyone is going to be surprised to know that one ingredient that Paula Deen can't live without is mayonnaise!

Mario Batali, and his restaurant, make an appearence in Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as a Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford.   This fascinating story tells of how Bill became obsessed with cooking Italian food--so much so that he quit his job as an editor to go work for Mario Batali in his restaurant kitchen for free.  When that wasn't enough, he then took multiple trips to Italy to live and learn from the masters of pata making and meat butchering.  Interspersed with bits of food history, this was as much a page turner for me as any suspense or mystery book--it was THAT good.

Of course, there would be no Mario or any of the other All-Star chefs on the Food Network if someone hadn't figured out how to show cooking on television.  While listening to Julia Child's My Life in France, I learned that she had the first truly successful and popular cooking showon television but I learned so much more.  About how she worked for United States Intelligence during WWII.  About how she was never a cook until she and her husband Paul were posted to France and she was exposed to such wonderful food and markets and restaurants and cooks.  About her experiences at the Cordon Bleu and writing the classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  But mostly about her love for France, its people, culture, and food.

Finally, one more cookbook:  Dishes From the Wild Horse Desert: Norteño Cooking of South Texas.  I picked this up because of the Texas connection, but really enjoyed the author's descriptions of the different kinds of foods and ingredients and traditions that she remembers from growing up.  Also, I made one of the recipes, Shorty's Camp Biscuits, and it was delicious.  I think the difference from other biscuits I had made in the past was in letting the biscuits rest 20 minutes after you make them before baking them.  (Believe it or not, as much as I love reading them, I rarely make recipes from the cookbooks I check out!)