What's Cooking?!

I don't know about you, but I love to look at, read, peruse and drool over new cookbooks!  I prefer the ones with lots of pictures. I can't really understand why someone would create a cookbook with text only.  I suppose it costs less to print, but...I like the pictures.  I want to see what my creation will (hopefully) look like once I prepare it.  If it looks appetizing I want to cook it.  If it looks astounding and mouthwatering I want to bake it.  Yes, I love baking and cooking.
Baking brings back memories of being in the kitchen with my grandma, mom and actually truth be told my grandfather. He was an excellent cook. He made the best fried chicken and for dessert his chocolate chip cookies were (sigh) absolutely delightful. I miss him. When we cooked or baked the kitchen would have all these delicious aromas and then the piece de resistance was when the food came out of the oven or off the stove, we'd sit down to eat.
These are the memories I hope to pass on to my children and eventually my grandchildren.  So looking through cookbooks brings me great pleasure--I'm sure it does for some of you too.  I especially love to bake.  However, when time runs short I simply enjoy flipping through the pages of a cookbook and getting ideas or dreaming of what I could create had I a few more hours in the day.  If this sounds like you, check out our new e-newsletter, Simply Cookbooks! Here are a few titles that may whet your appetite for more cooking.

4 ingredients: more than 400 quick, easy, and delicious recipes using 4 or fewer ingredients by Kim McCosker Do you want quick to fix, inexpensive meals that taste great? If you said yes, this is the book for you.

100 recipes every woman should know: engagement chicken and 99 other fabulous dishes to get everything you want out of life by Cindy Lieve this cookbook's recipes are excellent, even if your man does not propose to you after you make engagement chicken.

The Lord of Illusions

One day back in 1986, Stephen King wrote, “Never in my life have I been so completely shaken by a collection of stories. Never have I actually put a book aside because I was alone and knew I must soon turn off the lights…or at least turn in. I have never experienced such a combination of revulsion, delight and amazement.” He was referring to The Inhuman Condition, by Clive Barker.

Now anyone who knows me at all should at least know this: Clive Barker is by far my favorite author and has been for many years. I first discovered him, as many good discoveries go, by accident. Home from college during spring break, my dad handed me a cheap drugstore paperback he’d bought and told me to give it a try, that it was a little too weird for him. That book was Weaveworld. I took it back to school with me, started reading it and put it away shortly afterwards. It was beyond me, beyond the scope of the things I’d been reading up to that point, and frankly, I didn’t get it. Several weeks later, during finals, I picked it up again from the beginning and was immediately hooked. A magic carpet that contains an entire kingdom hidden within its intricately woven threads? A malicious exile who wishes to possess it and enslave its inhabitants? A vengeful creature that may or may not be an angel? Sold. This was my first exposure to an author with the ability to weave together two separate genres—horror and fantasy—so seamlessly as to make it seem as though they’d belonged together all along. Dark fantasy—the Fantastique, as Barker called it—became my new literary love.

I went back and read Barker’s first novel, the Faustian Damnation Game, then devoured his Books of Blood short story collection, which, if I’m being honest here, contain some of the most twisted stories you’ll ever read anywhere. A word of warning for those who read them: Barker doesn’t pull punches, nor does he flinch when the you-know-what hits the fan. Next up, The Great and Secret Show, in which a miserable mail clerk working in the Dead Letter Room of a Nebraska post office stumbles across unclaimed correspondence that leads him to an alternate reality and the promise of great power, and eventually, a war between good and evil of cosmic proportions. Good stuff. But even this book (and its sequel, Everville) pales in comparison to my favorite Barker tome: Imajica. I suppose if I had to make a top-10 list of my favorite books of all time, Imajica would be, if not no. 1, at least in the top 5. And while Weaveworld and The Great and Secret Show spun my head around, Imajica blew it completely off my shoulders. In it, Earth is one of five Dominions called the Imajica and is exiled from the other four. Attempts have been made every 200 years by great masters of magic (including Christ, among others) to reconcile it to its sister dominions but the results have always been catastrophic. Thus, the use of magic (considered to be the world’s first religion) has been banned by a secret society that enforces its edicts with abduction and murder. But the time for the next Reconciliation is fast approaching, and the most unlikely candidate to bring it about has been discovered: lowly art forger John Furie Zacharias. That's just the tip of the iceberg, folks, and trust me on this: I don’t believe anything I’ve read since from any author has quite measured up to Imajica, and in my estimation, Barker has never managed to surpass it with the books he wrote afterwards. That said, he’s always maintained that he never sets out to write the same book twice, and frankly, he has a rather low opinion of writers who do (you all know who you are, so I won’t name names...this time).

In recent years, Barker has been hard at work on his bestselling young-adult fantasy series, The Abarat Quartet, but in the pantheon of horror and dark fantasy writers, his position is cemented. He truly is literature's reigning Lord of Illusions, and I am very glad to have met him all those years ago in the pages of a borrowed paperback. My reading life has never been the same since.


Note: After a trip to the dentist in January, Clive suffered from toxic shock and wound up in a coma for almost two weeks. Thankfully, he's home from the hospital and recuperating from the ordeal, and we'd like to wish him a full and speedy recovery! (You can read more about it in this interview.)

Southern Asian Authors--Iran

Iran known to the Western world as Persia before 1935, is a country in Southern and Western Asia.  It is considered part of the Middle East and Persian is its official language.  "Persia" and "Iran" are used interchangeably in cultural contexts. Try one of the following talented Persian authors.

Kader Abdolah--Persian/Dutch--My Father's Notebook--The author fled to the Netherlands as a political refugee in 1988. His pen name, a pseudonym, is composed of the names of two of his executed friends.

Elizabeth Eslami--Iranian/American--Her novel Bone Worship follows the life of a female Iranian/American college student.

Laleh Khadivi--Iranian/American--The author is a documentary filmmaker and her novel Age of Orphans is about the life of a Kurdish boy.

Shahriyar Mandanipour--Censoring an Iranian Love Story--he is a multiple award-winning Persian author.

Gina B. Nahai--Caspian Rain and Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith--the author is a Jewish/Iranian woman and she writes about the Jewish people of Iran.

Shahrnush Parsipur--Persian--Touba and the Meaning of Night--this novel was written after she was released after 4 years and 7 months in a political prison.

Mahbod Seraji--Iranian/American--his coming-of-age novel Rooftops of Tehran examines the human cost of political repression.

Dalia Sofer--Iranian/American--Septembers of Shiraz--she was raised in a Jewish family during the revolution in Iran and came to New York when she was eleven.

For more on the Middle East try our lecture series.

Whatever You Love

Books that pose the question "What would you be capable of doing if everything was taken from you?" are very intriguing to me. The emotional output is often overwhelming and it's hard not to put yourself in the main character's position. That's why I picked up Whatever You Love by Louise Doughty, due out later this month.

The book begins with Laura's daughter, Betty, being killed in a hit-and-run. The case is handled in a way Laura finds unacceptable and decides to take matters into her own hands and seeks out the man who killed her daughter.  Her son is too young to understand what happened and she struggles to deal with her ex-husband and his former mistress, who is now his wife.  Laura is left as a shadow of her former self and as a person with very little to lose.

This book was a very pleasant surprise. It sounded like a typical revenge thriller, but it's more about Laura's struggle to find herself after losing her husband and her daughter. Her emotional struggle is difficult to read about due to all the circumstances causing it.  The ways in which she and David deal with Betty's death made this a page turner for me. I loved the way Doughty used flashbacks to fill in the blanks of their past relationship.  There are some of the typical elements of a revenge thriller, but the main purpose of this title is to show how a shattered family deals with grief.

Are You Reading Another Book?

This is the question I am constantly asked by my husband.  I am a quick reader and I enjoy reading. Truthfully I could read night and day and be quite a happy camper. I read a variety of books and I read quickly so I have finished quite a few this past week. Here are a few titles that you may enjoy.


Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google? by William Poundstone (Yes, this is the real title) is a wonderful and insightful take on what today's companies are looking for in job applicants.  This book is filled with wonderful brain teasers and savvy interview advice. Google interviewers are asking creative open-ended questions that are brain teasers. For example,  "You are shrunk to the size of a nickel and placed in a blender. You have 60 seconds before it is turned on, what do you do?" 

The Winter Palace: A Novel of Catherine the Great by  Eva Stachniak is an excellent historical fiction novel. It is filled with immense detail about how Catherine the Great came to power. It is the story of her spy or rather "tongue",  who believed she was Catherine's only true friend. A story of intrigue, mystery and politics.


White Lies by Jayne Anne Krentz This is a parnormal romance/suspense fiction novel.  Clare Lancaster is a Level Ten "human lie detector". She saves her half-sister and then is summoned by her father.  As soon as she arrives she realizes things are not as they seem--including business consultant Jake Salter.


Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George is the 17th installment of the Inspector Lynlely Novels. This is a very long book and not my favorite in the series. Lynley is asked to secretly investigate the death of Ian Cresswell.  The author reveals dark secrets that lie at the heart of his family and continues to explore the characters her readers have come to know and love. Keep in mind that this is not a cozy mystery, but rather a psychological study of human nature.

Having fun with The Family Fang's dysfunction

I occasionally joke that my parenting style is to keep my children out of trouble by embarrassing them just enough that they'll never have to look for things to talk about in therapy someday. For the record, of course any existential angst or unresolved conflicts that I actually have created in them was purely unintentional. Caleb and Camille Fang, the parents of Kevin Wilson's The Family Fang couldn't necessarily say the same thing about their parenting choices for Annie and Buster. Caleb and Camille are performance artists dedicated to the idea that art is not about passive viewing or action itself but emotion and reaction brought about through action. They involve the unwitting audience in their shock and awe performances and, determined to prove that children are not the death of art, they involve their children as actors. As children, their lives revolve around a series of artistic endeavors that range from awkward to humiliating and, at times, painful. 

The repercussions for Annie and Buster, known to their parents as Child A and Child B, are profound. As adults, they are both adrift. Annie has become an Oscar-nominated actress as an escape from the anonymity required to participate in her parents' performances. However, her career is suffering from some publicity misfires. Buster is an unsuccessful novelist who is seriously injured in a spud gun incident. Their misfortunes cause them to go to the one place neither wants to be -- their parents' home. It's a bad time for all the Fangs; Caleb and Camille are facing irrelevance and ineffectiveness. 

The amazing thing about this is that Wilson imbues this tragic, messed-up story with a truly touching approach to the Fangs. They are never the caricatures they make themselves out to be in their performance pieces. It's wacky and witty, but it's also warm and human. We'll be discussing The Family Fang at Monday's Uncorked meeting.  Join us at Rumbleseat Wine at 7 p.m., Monday March 19 to talk about this unique book.

The Good Father

Noah Hawley's latest novel, The Good Father, is a very intriguing and disturbing story of what a father is willing to go through for his son.  Dr. Paul Allen is enjoying a peaceful evening at home with his wife and two young boys when his life suddenly changes forever.  A news report comes on that a popular presidential candidate has been assassinated.  The person in custody is Paul's son from his previous marriage, Daniel Allen, now known as Carter Allen Cash.
The title obviously comes from the fact that Dr. Allen is willing to do anything to prove that his son is innocent.  Despite all evidence linking his son to the murder and Daniel (Carter) not willing to say whether he did it or not, Paul puts his new life on hold and pours all his energy into helping his son.  The obvious question that arises is: How far would you be willing to go? 
The story itself is interesting in its presentation.  We get snippets of Daniel's life on the road after he drops out of college.  He works his way from the East Coast all the way to Los Angeles, never stopping in one place for very long.  Hawley also includes history on different famous assassinations that Paul finds during his research.  And, of course, we get Paul's struggle with family, friends and his own son.

I found this to be quite a page turner.  Paul is what you would expect from a father trying to protect his son, but I really found Daniel to be the most intriguing character.  Whether or not he actually committed the crime almost becomes secondary to the fact that I found myself not being able to wait to hear what he has to say.  It's a unique story and one that I simply could not put down.  The Good Father is scheduled to come out later this month.

A modern retelling of a book I've never read

I really want to write about The Flight of Gemma Hardy, the new book by Margot Livesay, but I'm a bit afraid to. It's a very engaging modern retelling of Jane Eyre...and therein lies the problem. Yes, Jane Eyre is a classic. There have been several movie versions (including, I just discovered, a 1944 version co-written by Aldous Huxley). There have been many retellings written, and an entire series that I love (The Eyre Affair) was originally based on the importance of the plot of Jane Eyre. And yet, I've never read it. Yes, I do feel a little shame. So, how can I compare a modern retelling?
The answer, of course, is that I can't. So, if you're wondering how Gemma Hardy stacks up to Jane Eyre, I'm of no help to you. I can really only be useful if you're wondering how it is as a stand-alone book. If you're curious, The Flight of Gemma Hardy is an engaging book that reads more quickly than its 450 pages would suggest. It follows orphan Gemma from the age of 10, in the year following her beloved uncle's death. Her childhood is tragic, and while her aunt is cartoonishly wicked and unloving enough to give the wicked Disney stepmothers a run for their money, Gemma's plight doesn't stray too far away from believability. Her time as a "working girl" in a boarding school similarly skates the fine line between caricatured school masters and a truly tragic situation and manages to fall on the right side. The book continues through the time Gemma is 19 and eager to find Icelandic roots, along with herself.

The focus of this book is Gemma. Other characters are not particularly well-developed, but Gemma is such a strong presence and her story is compelling enough to make the other characters' shallowness something that can be overlooked. I'm not sure whether having previous knowledge of Jane Eyre would have changed the way I read or enjoyed this book but on its own merits, it's worth a read. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think it's time I go read Jane Eyre.

The Castaway Dog

If you love stories about animals, you have to read Sophie the Incredible True Story of the Castaway Dog by Emma Pearse. This is a true story of Sophie a blue Australian cattle dog, who fell off her family's boat while going island hopping. She was 6 miles from shore when she fell overboard.  This is Sophie and her family's story. It is a story of loyalty, love, devotion and survival.

Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin is another wonderful animal story that tells us about how we can understand and give animals what they need. This is an enlightening and thought-provoking novel.  I think everyone who owns a pet ought to read this book.

Another heart-warming story is The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.The dog, Enzo, tells this story. Unlike Sophie this story is about Enzo's owner and their life together. It is a sad, yet funny laugh out loud story.  If you have ever had a dog in your life. Give this remarkable story a try.  

This last story is one that grabbed me as soon as I saw the title.   Some we love, some we hate, some we eat : why it's so hard to think straight about animals by Hal Herzog.  Hal Herzog blends his scientific research with wit and amazing insight and leads us to question our ethical position with regards to animals.  If you are looking for an insightful, funny,  scientifically sound and wonderful read give this one a try.

In the Queue

The Gilly Salt Sisters by Tiffany Baker

The Gilly sisters are very different and some of their neighbors think they are witches.  However, that doesn't stop Whit Turner from forcing his way into their lives.

The Good Father: A Novel by Noah Hawley

Dr. Paul Allen's quiet life is thrown into chaos when TV news reports the assassination of a Democratic candidate for President and names his son as the accused murderer.

American Icon: Alan Mulally & the Fight To Save the Ford Motor Company by Bryce G. Hoffman

The Ford Motor Company was near collapse in 2008, but CEO Alan Mulally was determined that would not happen on his watch.  Within two years, Ford was the most profitable car company in the world.