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June 2014 Staff Reviews, I Didn't Buy It on Amazon, Cooking & More
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Greetings!
"I
Didn't Buy It on Amazon" stickers are here! Plus, we've got three new
staff reviews for you. Also, see who's reading here soon and check out
the latest in Cooking.
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"I Didn't Buy It on Amazon"
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Staff Reviews
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Our staff brings you three new
favorites. Click on a title or cover image to link to our website, where
you can read more about the book or purchase it from our secure
webstore.
Citizen Canine
by David Grimm
reviewed by Sandy
I've never been one to read much non-fiction, but lately I find myself
drawn to a wide variety of subjects. My latest find was a book about
cats and dogs. These animals have become more than pets. They are
family. The author traces the origins of these animals from ancient
times to the present and discusses how they have evolved from being
accepted because they were earning their keep as watchdogs or herders or
rat-catchers to their present day privileged status as household
members. Various animal rights activist groups throughout history are
mentioned, and the author brings the subject up to date by discussing
how pets now have lawyers to defend their rights. Grimm raises the
question as to whether cats and dogs are filling a void by becoming
substitutes in our lives, keeping us from seeking out human
companionship instead. This is a book written in a readable style and
filled with fascinating tidbits and factual information about our
four-legged family members and friends.
All the Light We Cannot See
by Anthony Doerr
reviewed by Michael
In this beautiful and bittersweet novel set during World War II, Anthony Doerr
tells the parallel tales of Marie Laure, a blind girl living in
occupied France, and Werner, a young German radio enthusiast in the
Hitler Youth program. Doerr's portrayal of Marie Laure's
relationship with her father, the locksmith at Paris's Museum of Natural
History, is tender and true. Werner's journey across Europe, where he
helps ferret out resistors, is unflinching and richly detailed. Through
these characters, Doerr encapsulates the great horrors of war. Moreover, he weaves a deeply compelling story of lives torn asunder and united.
reviewed by Jeff

This month marks the 70th anniversary of D-Day and the Allied advance
into Nazi-occupied Europe. By the time of the invasion, U.S. factories
were producing massive numbers of weapons for the war effort. In The Arsenal of Democracy,
Baime
takes a close look at how the Ford Motor Company took on the task of
producing B-24 bombers and created a production system on a scale that
had never been attempted before. The enormous Willow Run factory was
built on farmland outside Detroit and brought thousands of new workers
to the area. When you watch old films of D-Day and other combat footage
from WWII and see all the tanks, trucks, planes and other equipment
it's normal to wonder, "How did they MAKE all of that stuff?" The Arsenal Of Democracy gives you an answer.
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Readings
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Check out our author readings in July. Mark your calendars today!
Jack Hart
Skookum Summer
Thursday, June 19, 7pm

As Skookum Summer
begins, the year is 1981, and reporter Tom Dawson slinks back to his
tiny Puget Sound hometown after making a disastrous mistake at the LA
Times. Working reluctantly at the local weekly, the Big Skookum Echo,
Tom is drawn into investigating a powerful logger's murder. As
the mystery deepens, the murder exposes the strains on the community as
pollution, development, and global change threaten traditional
Northwest livelihoods. It also forces Tom to confront his own past and
discover what home really means to him. Hart weaves together a
gripping and suspenseful plot with richly observed Pacific Northwest
history and a vivid picture of a community on the brink of change.
Kate Payne
The Hip Girl's Guide to the Kitchen
Wednesday, June 25, 7pm

Payne
shows you how to master basic cooking techniques--boiling, baking,
and sauteing--and simplifies the process of fancy ones, like jamming
and preserving, dehydrating, braising, roasting, infusing, and
pickling. With this straightforward and fun guide, you can stock up
your kitchen with the ingredients, tools, and appliances you'll
actually use. You'll also learn how to decode recipes and alter them
to make them gluten-free, dairy-free, or vegan.
Janet Fisher
A Place of Her Own
Thursday, June 26, 7pm

When
Martha Maupin's husband died in 1866, leaving her alone on the
frontier with their many children, she was torn between grief and
relief after a difficult marriage. Lone mothers had few options in her
day, but she took charge of her own dream and bought her own place,
which is now one of the few Century Farms in Oregon named for a woman.
This is the story of the author's great-great-grandmother's daring
decision to buy that farm on the Oregon frontier after the death of her
husband--and story of the author's own decision to keep that farm in
the family.
Warren Easley
Dead Float
Wednesday, July 16, 7pm

Cal
Claxton--a small town lawyer who works to fish--has to pinch himself
when his best friend and fishing guide asks him to help guide an
upcoming trip with a group of executives from a high-tech firm in
Portland. But the trip through the remote Deschutes River Canyon turns
ugly when a member of the fishing party is murdered. Everyone in the
party is a suspect, including Cal himself. Does the fact that the
company's value is about to explode play into the crime? And what about
the freight line running along the river? All Cal knows is that he
better come up with answers because he's suspect number one.
Liz Prato, Wendy Willis & Bonnie ZoBell
Short Stories & Poetry
Thursday, July 24, 7pm
 
Join us for this excellent trio of authors from independent publishing house Press 53. Multnomah Village writer Liz Prato
is thrilled to announce that her short story collection will be
published by Press 53 in May 2015. Liz is the editor of the recently
published The Night, and the Rain, and the River, a collection of short stories by Oregon authors. Blood Sisters of the Republic is Portland poet Wendy Willis's first collection. Bonnie ZoBell's linked novella and story collection, What Happened Here,
delivers a wildly different cast of characters living on the same block
in North Park, San Diego, site of the PSA Flight 182 crash in 1978.
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New in Cooking
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Here
are some of the latest titles from our Cooking section. As always,
click on the title or cover image to link to our website, where you can
read more or purchase the book.
A Mouthful of Stars
by Kim Sunee
This is a collection of Kim's interpretation of cherished recipes and
cooking discoveries from across the globe. From Tuscan crostini di
fegatini and Louisiana dirty rice to the flavors of her birth country,
South Korea, and favorites from the ten years she spent eating and
cooking in Provence and Paris, you'll find A Mouthful of Stars
in the cookbook section. However, this book's breadth also extends to
travel and food writing. The author's time in many lands and cooking in
many kitchens has inspired this beautiful, unique, exotic, and
delicious culinary journey.
The VB6 Cookbook
by Mark Bittman
In VB6,
Bittman created an easy-to-follow diet plan for vegan meals for
breakfast and lunch, and healthy, vegetable-forward meals for everyday.
Now in this tie-in cookbook, Bittman expands on the VB6 diet with a
collection of 320 new recipes to keep the diet going and to keep eating
better. When you eat lots of fruits and veggies while cutting back on
meat and dairy, you can live healthier. Bittman's reliably simple,
straightforward approach to cooking, and thoughtful approach to a
partially vegan lifestyle, will make this a must-cook book for both VB6
diet converts and for anyone looking to lose weight and cook, eat, and
live healthier.
Brassicas
by Laura Russell
The eighty inventive, flavorful recipes presented in Brassicas
play to each vegetable's strengths, favoring techniques that celebrate
their intrinsic flavors instead of masking them by blanketing under
layers of cheese or boiling. The beauty of these "superfoods" is on full
display in Brassicas; exquisite photographs of brassica
varieties in their raw forms--roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and
buds--can be found throughout, helping you identify Lacinato kale from
curly kale or mustard greens from collard greens at the farmers' market
or grocery store. Equipped with complete selection, storage, washing,
and prepping instructions, you can enjoy more of these nutritional
powerhouses--from the commonplace kale to the more adventurous bok choy
or mizuna--in your everyday meals.
Man Made Meals
by Steven Raichlen
Like a Joy of Cooking for guys, Man Made Meals is everything a man needs to achieve confidence and competence in the kitchen. Man Made Meals
is about the tools and techniques (guess what, grillers, you still get
to play with knives and fire). It's about adopting secrets from the
pros how to multitask, prep before you start cooking, clean as you go.
It's about understanding flavor and flavor boosters, like anchovies and
miso, and it's about essentials: how to shuck an oyster, truss a
chicken, cook a steak to the desired doneness. It's about having a
repertoire of great recipes (there are 300 to choose from), breakfast
to dessert, to dazzle a date, or be a hero to your family, or simply
feed yourself with real pleasure. |
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