Poor Choices

Humboldt Reads! is the name of the book club we started a few years ago at the library. The library purchases several copies of the chosen book. Library patrons check them in and out for a month or two and then we meet for dinner at a local restaurant to discuss the book.
My book choices started off on shaky ground, but the group hung in there with me and I developed a better eye for what would make for good book talk. Recently, however, I have hit a real slump. The last two choices haven’t been very good at all.
The December book was This House of Sky by Ivan Doig. It was a memoir and it moved like molasses flowing uphill. I read about 25 pages and gave up. When it came time for the book discussion, it was the night of that awful, blowing blizzard in early December. It was cold and miserable outside. Not a good night to leave the house, but I did, anyway. Just one other person showed up. I’m not sure if it was the weather or the boring book that kept them away. The person who came was very enthusiastic about the book, so maybe I didn’t get it enough of a chance.
Tonight is our discussion of Say You’re One of Them. It was an Oprah book club selection, so I expected it to be good. Most of the books she chooses have mass appeal. Even I usually like them. This one is a group of small novellas together in one book. I’ve read about one and a half of the stories. A library patron who teaches high school English told me she started the book and said to herself “What’s the point of this?” It might be power of suggestion, but that is exactly the way I’m feeling about it, too.
So, before all the other Humboldt Reads! members abandon me and my very poor book club selections, I’m going to try something new. I’ve ordered a dozen or so books that were highlighted in Reading Group Choices 2009: Selections for Lively Book Discussions. We already owned several other books that were recommended. All of the books that are in the running will have a bright yellow band that says Humboldt Reads! Inside each will be a short questionnaire. Anyone is welcome to read one of these and fill in the questions concerning the book. The ones that are the most highly recommended will be used for book club.
Some of the choices are:
The 7th Victim by Alan Jacobson …….”a terrifying and memorable work of psychological suspense.” I’ve read this one. I’m not sure January days are long enough for it. You sure wouldn’t want to read it after dark.
Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo…..”a novel of great warmth, charm and intimacy.” This is one of my favorite books from the last few years.
Church of the Dog by Kaya McLaren.....”a lovely, uplifting book.”
Escape by Carolyn Jessop…. She was the third wife of the FLDS ringleader who was 32 years older than Carolyn. She eventually chose freedom.
Hannah’s Dream by Diane Hammond. …For 41 years Samson Brown has been the zoo’s elephant keeper. He won’t retire until someone equally devoted is hired to take his place.
Heart in the Right Place by Carolyn Jourdan….. This one is the memoir of Capitol Hill attorney Jourdan who returns to Tennessee to help in her father’s medical practice when her mother suffers a heart attack.
Ok; I admit I messed up badly with my last few choices. Be a good sport. Check one of these out and give me some help in starting off 2010 on a better foot.
You will find them all @ your library.

A couple of months ago, a library patron was in looking for candy recipes for the holidays. She seemed to feel that her candy repertoire could use some spice, so to speak. A couple of the books we own were checked out at the moment. I put them “on hold” for her, but then I got to thinking that we could use a few more. Anyone brave enough to try candy making shouldn’t have to wait on a library book being returned.
I ordered several. Candy Making for Dummies has been checked out continually since it arrived in early November. Who Wants Candy? By Jane Sharrock has come and gone several times since we bought it.
Thinking about candy making put me in the mood to dig out my family recipes. My kids will all be home this year. I don’t think they will all be here at the same time, thank Goodness. My house and my kitchen table are awfully small and my four babies have grown to adult size and acquired spouses. We would be a tight fit. Between them, they own my six grandpuppies, including the newest. Casey is some sort of Mastiff. She’s a year old and 100 pounds. The dogs always add to the festivities.
I pulled out my recipe box. Right away I found my favorite microwave fudge recipe. It almost always worked perfectly until the mixing bowl I used for that recipe disappeared. I have no idea what tragedy befell it, but it no longer resides on my topmost kitchen shelf. After a little searching, I found an older crock bowl that seems to work just as well.
I also made a batch of peanut brittle. The recipe was given to me by my aunt Mae Finney. She’s a treasure and so is this recipe. I’ve never know it to fail. Even tastier with cashews.
The candy I really wanted to make this year is Aunt Bill’s Brown Candy. I have my mother’s recipe and my sister tells me it isn’t all that difficult. I’ve always been afraid to try it. I remember that Mother was the envy of the neighborhood because her Aunt Bill’s turned out perfectly while most everyone else’s failed to set.
I’d always wondered about Aunt Bill. I was fairly sure she wasn’t a “real” relative, but had no idea who she was or where the recipe came from. A little “googling” produced some information. The recipe first appeared in a cooking column in the Daily Oklahoman newspaper in 1932. There was no mention of Bill’s true identity. Due to popular demand, the recipe has been printed each November for the past 77 years. The magazine Bon Appétit ran an article last year with the history of this original Oklahoma candy and a new version of the recipe. For those unfortunate ones of you who do not have roots in Oklahoma’s red clay, Aunt Bill’s is fudge-like in texture and consistency, but has a caramelized sugar color and flavor.
I tried it. I cooked and stirred and stirred for two hours. My stirring hand and arm still ache two days later. It worked! It’s perfect--truly just like Mother used to make. When I paged through Who Wants Candy? I discovered that the cookbook was compiled by a northern Oklahoman and, of course, includes the Aunt Bill’s recipe. It’s located under the heading Heirloom Recipes. The skill level rating for this recipe is EXPERT.
Wow! I’m an expert at something, at last! Copies of recipes mentioned in this article are available @your library.

I Goofed!

I know that you will be shocked to read this, but every once in awhile, I goof. My daughter Anne and I have argued about this for years. She is of the opinion that I never admit that I am wrong. Well, she’s in error, of course. I much prefer the word mistaken. It’s more genteel. Men are wrong. A lady is only, very occasionally, mistaken.
My most recent transgression involved an incidence of mistaken author identity. I read a very complimentary book review in Library Journal. I ordered the book. It arrived, Demi cataloged it, Kathy checked it out to an unsuspecting patron. It was the ninth book in a series by Charlaine Harris. We don’t own books one through eight. I was thinking of another author…Carolyn Hart. We already have lots of her books.
Can you guess what happened next? That library patron and all her friends asked to have the first eight books borrowed via interlibrary loan. We haven’t found a satisfactory method of keeping track of just how many times we have borrowed a particular book from another library. We process 50 or more of these loans each month. When we do notice that we have borrowed something more than once, we usually decide to buy a copy for our own library. These eight little books are paperbacks. With our library discount, they set us back about $4.39 apiece. If we borrow one via interlibrary loan from Eagle Grove or Fort Dodge, for example, it costs the lending library a couple of books and a trip to the post office to send it. When our Humboldt reader is through with the book, we ship it back spending another couple of dollars.
Thus, is actually less expensive for us to buy the darn book. So, we did. These books are of the Susie Stackhouse series by Ms. Harris. Sookie and her boyfiend, Quinn are among the missing after an explosion at the vampire summit meeting. Not exactly my cup of tea, but apparently captivating reads.
This series (and the ones by Carolyn Hart, too) are cozy mysteries. I read this very clever definition of cozy mysteries on www.cozymystery.com :
“The crime-solver in a cozy mystery is usually a woman who is an amateur sleuth. Almost always, she has a college degree, whether she is using it or not. Her education and life’s experiences have provided her with certain skills that she will utilize in order to solve all the crimes that are “thrown her way.” The cozy mystery heroine is usually a very intuitive, bright woman. The occupations of the amateur sleuths are very diverse: caterer, bed and breakfast owner, quilter, cat fancier/owner, nun, gardener, librarian, book store owner, herbalist, florist, dog trainer, homemaker, teacher, needlepoint store owner, etc. These are just a few examples of what the amateur sleuth does…. When she’s not solving crimes, that is!
The cozy mystery usually takes place in a small town or village. The small size of the setting makes it believable that all the suspects know each other. The amateur sleuth is usually a very likeable person who is able to get the community members to talk freely (i.e. gossip) about each other. There is usually at least one very knowledgeable and nosy (and of course, very reliable!) character in the book who is able to fill in all of the blanks, thus enabling the amateur sleuth to solve the case.
Although the cozy mystery sleuth is usually not a medical examiner, detective, or police officer, a lot of times her best friend, husband, or significant other is. This makes a very convenient way for her to find out things that she would otherwise not have access to… Do you know any caterers or dog trainers who have access to autopsy reports? I don’t! (Unless you count some of my favorite cozy characters…)
At the same time, it is probably safe to say that the local police force doesn’t take the amateur sleuth very seriously. They dismiss her presence, almost as if she doesn’t exist. This of course, makes it convenient for her to “casually overhear” things at the scene of a crime. “
If a “cozy” is just what you are looking for, you’ll find these and many others @ your library.

Holiday Time, Again

It’s holiday time again. The beautiful magazine covers line our shelves. It’s holiday time again. Time for me to feel inadequate again. Most of the year I feel quite fortunate and accomplished. I have a job I love, four great kids who have made good choices (so far), a roof over my head and a dachshund to keep my toes warm at night. My life doesn’t lack for any of the really important things.
But, when the holiday magazines arrive, I begin to realize what my life doesn’t have. Michelle Obama graces the cover of Glamour this month. I accept the facts. I don’t have her toned, handsome biceps or her glittering jewelry or the elegant red satin dress. The part that really bothers me is that even if I did, I have no place to wear them. Winter holidays in Iowa don’t offer many opportunities to sport sleeveless apparel.
The cover of Good Housekeeping shows artfully decorated Christmas cookies. I’ve never been very good at sugar cookies. When my children were young they could eat them faster than I could mix, roll, cut, bake and decorate, so what’s the point? Good Housekeeping’s white frosted, blue bedazzled snowflake cookies are works of art. The magazine also offers six cookie recipes that are promised to be foolproof and fabulous. When I read through them, I decided my family wouldn’t thrill to a plate of whole-grain gingersnaps or figgy bars. The brownie bites do look yummy, but require 15 ingredients to produce 24 cookies.
The cover of Midwest Living features a Christmas tree bedecked with tons of ribbons. Not the package-wrapping kind, but prize-heifer-at-the-county-fair-type ribbons, a burning fireplace and a basket of blonde and black Labrador puppies. Charming.
Family Circle depicts face-less gingerbread cookies. That’s the kind I always serve, too. There is also an article, several pages in length, of how-to holiday hair-dos. It must apply to someone. Probably the same ladies who wear a red ball gown like Michelle’s.
Country Woman magazine has a photo of several elaborately decorated gingerbread houses and their smiley builder, Johanna. My self-esteem couldn’t handle it. I didn’t even open that one. Cooking Light magazine has an elegant cake plate filled with holiday yummies. The linzer cookie looks a whole lot like the one in Good Housekeeping. How would they take the calories out to make it qualify as “light?”
Country Living usually is more my style. Anything in this magazine, from recipes to decorating is usually a little less perfect, a little more homespun. Country Living uses lots of pinecones and bark and berries, a little less glamour and glitz. Some of their recipes even sound like something my family would eat.
Martha Stewart Living has a glowing Martha holding a lap-full of happily wrapped presents. Why is it that even a prison term didn’t wipe the smile from her smug face? I rarely open her magazine. I know that the wrappings on her presents cost more than the gifts I give, but they are charmingly well done.
Better Homes and Gardens, Taste of Home Simple and Delicious and Woman’s Day are all filled with more recipes and stocking stuffers and decorating ideas. But, if you have time on your hands, McCall’s Quilting magazine has a list of gift ideas for quilters and patterns for several holiday quilts.
Whatever inspiration you need to put you in a holiday mood, you can find it @your library.