STACKED

books

Double Take, Part VII

|

Here’s another double take! No comments on either one, since the similarities should be fairly obvious.

Published first:

Deb Caletti’s The Secret Life of Prince Charming was published April 7, 2009 by Simon Pulse.

And a mere three weeks later?

HarperTeen published Hailey Abbott’s Flirting with Boys on April 28, 2009.

Same couple, same pants, same posture. The only difference is the yellow topper that is the style of all of Caletti’s books. I’m not a huge fan of either cover, but I also have an issue with the butt shot (and have you noticed the billions of books that have this style?).

The fast and furious

|

I have read quite a few books in the last couple of weeks, but I have had a hard time sitting down to write a full out review of anything just yet. But here’s a treat: Twitter-style book reviews. A quick selection of recent reads reviewed in 140 characters or less.

Rumors by Anna Godbersen

Book two of “Luxe” series reunites us with a character we grew to love in book 1, introduces new romances, and ends with an unexpected twist.

The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman

Disappointingly underdeveloped dystopian novel reminiscent of 1984. Themes of freewill and government power but plot/character holes abound.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Memoir gracefully and tactfully depicts a dysfunctional family life of children living with an emotionally-absent mom and alcoholic dad.

Serving Patrons of a Digital Generation

|

While browsing through my daily stack of blogs, I found mention of George Lucas’ latest educational project, Digital Generation. I quickly navigated over there, and I was impressed with the array of content, especially the youth portraits. A lot of older librarians don’t always see how young people are using the richness of media around them. These portraits profile some very tech-savvy “born digital” kids – and I think they’re representative of many young library users.

The website describes itself in the following terms:

Today’s kids are born digital — born into a media-rich, networked world of infinite possibilities. But their digital lifestyle is about more than just cool gadgets; it’s about engagement, self-directed learning, creativity, and empowerment. The Digital Generation Project tells their stories so that educators and parents can understand how kids learn, communicate, and socialize in very different ways than any previous generation.

I haven’t had the chance to browse through all of the content of the site, but it’s bookmarked for further exploration. I see a lot of potential for incorporating some of the content into library educational programs, especially for those who focus on YA or “tweens.” Video editing, social networking, digital modeling, and the like can make for interesting (and fun) activities for patrons. Plus, there are good curriculum tie-ins located on the site, ready for educators (and librarians) to use. Not too shabby.

Note: I learned about this website from Henry Jenkins’ blog. I highly recommend reading his breakdown of the Digital Generation website – and his blog is fascinating for those interested in digital media, cultural exchange, and gaming. His book, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, is at the top of my “academic” reading list.

The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever by Beatrice Ojakangas

|


As a cookbook lover, I’ve been overwhelmed by the sheer selection in my local branch. However, when the 2009 James Beard Award nominees for cookbooks were announced, I braved the catalog to order Beatrice Ojakangas’ latest venture, appropriately called The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever: With More Than 500 Recipes! The tagline contains all that you really need to know about this massive book – it’s huge. Utterly teaming with delectable recipes. And really, they all sound good.

Ojakangas is known for her Scandanavian cookery. A native of Duluth, Minnesota, her ancestry is entirely Finnish. Her first writing venture, The Finnish Cookbook, is still in print – a marvel for a cookbook published in 1964. The Best Casserole Cookbook is her 27th published cookbook. In a recent interview with the Toledo Blade, Ojakangas says the publication of this book is “”very timely,” offering “economical meals that are simply made with ingredients that you won’t spend a fortune to buy, or that you already have on hand. It’s comfort food.”

The day I received this tome, I sat down and started reading it like a book. Normally, I like cookbooks with full-color pictures for each recipe; I’ve been spoiled by the gorgeous cookbooks published by Clarkson Potter. The Best Casserole Cookbook lacks the excessive photography of my favorite volumes, but it does have a few lovely inserts with some mouth-watering photographs. Ojakangas divides the book into several categories, starting with the basics. I loved this section, especially seeing that my early casserole attempts centered around cream of mushroom soup that always seems too salty. One Christmas, I made cream of mushroom soup purely for use in the green bean casserole. Ojakangas shares my disdain for the sodium-packed, overly processed stuff, so she explains how to make different sauces that can act as healthier substitutes for Campbell’s. In the following chapters, she details appetizers, meats, vegetarian, grains, desserts, and even breads that one can make in a casserole dish. I especially enjoyed the “Casseroles for Two” chapter – as a single person, it’s sometimes difficult to justify making a casserole intended for 12 people, but Ojakangas’ smaller portion sizes are spot-on.

Of course, I had to try a number of these recipes. My favorite? I made the Broccoli and Chicken Casserole for Two for a friend of mine one weekday night. The recipe was insanely simple, made with sour cream and parmesan instead of a heavy cheese sauce. I assembled it in less than 20 minutes, popped in the fridge, then put it in the oven when I came home from work the next day. My friend had never eaten a casserole before, so he was surprised to find that he liked it so much!

Next week, I’m making a Southwestern Breakfast Casserole with chorizo, queso fresco, and eggs for a work meeting. We have another potluck the following week – I know that Moussaka with Lots of Vegetables will be my contribution. And I’m sure I can find an audience for Spicy Cheese and Green Chile Dip. When I (reluctantly) returned the book to the library, I forced my co-workers to browse… and I saw several people making copies of the pages to try for dinner later. I may have to buy myself a copy of this book; it will look beautiful next to my worn copy of Mark Bittman’s How To Cook Everything.

Destroy All Cars by Blake Nelson

|

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve read two books that were very guy-friendly and one thing that both of them had in common was how darn funny they were. First, I read Steven Goldman’s Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film about the Grapes of Wrath, which had me laughing out loud at a couple of places. Then, I got to a book that made me laugh way more than a few times out loud: Blake Nelson’s Destroy All Cars.

When I began Nelson’s book, I was a little worried. I’d read a number of reviews that claimed it was nothing but a “liberal agenda set forth in teen fiction.” While I don’t mind a book with a political bent in any direction, this particular one had me a bit worried. Fortunately, Destroy All Cars was so not just an agenda.

James Hoff is a very angry teen, but not in the manner you’d suspect. Hoff spends his time railing against the factors that are destroying our planet, and more specifically, he spends significant time pointing out how much cars are ruining the planet with their emissions and their gas consumption. At 17, he is acutely aware of how important it is to cherish the environment and make strides against seeing it destroyed. How fitting, too, he lives in suburban Portland, Oregon, which allows this entire aspect of the plot to manifest quite well.

But James’s story is not just about his anger at environmental destruction. Rather, this is a story about losing the first girl he ever had real feelings for: Sadie. She was his first real girlfriend for him he had real feelings, and the break up was hard for him. James spends a lot of time in his junior year thinking about other girls and who he can potentially have relationships with post-Sadie. Although we’re briefly introduced to a few girls, it is quite clear he’s not interested in anyone but Sadie. And why Sadie, you ask? Well, she, too, is quite concerned about the world and rallies for any number of causes.

The story chronicles James’s interest in lambasting consumerist America and his interest in getting back together with Sadie.

Although the story itself sounds like something that’s been done again and again, Nelson does something very unique with the structure of the book itself. It’s told through James’s point of view, but it’s done so through a number of lenses. First, James shares his essay assignments for Mr. Cogweiller’s English class and subsequent remarks from Cogweiller; throughout the book, we’ll see that some essays are more successful than others and we’ll see that some don’t even get turned in. In addition to these very funny essays are James’s journal entries, which in some cases include the dialog between himself and other characters. Splitting the story into different mediums of writing like this is very successful in this book, and it does a fantastic job of building James’s character. We are also able to watch James develop in his writing and thinking, and we develop our own relationship with Cogweiller.

Perhaps what I liked most about Destroy All Cars was that the messages were valuable, but they were put in such a way that they were very, very funny. James and Sadie are both fighting for something valuable and important and understand how necessary it is to be aware of our environment. But, in James’s case, his awareness manifests in anger and outrage that are so spot-on for his character. While I don’t believe all 17-year-olds operate with his mindset, I think that a lot of how he acts and thinks is on par with that age group. He’s not ridiculous nor is he stupid. He’s passionate and inexperienced at the same time. James would be an easy character to dislike but as a reader, I really liked him and wanted to see him succeed. Nelson did a fantastic job of delineating him.

I think this is a book that guys would definitely like. It’s not overly emotional, and the format makes it a very quick and easy read. It helps that James is relatable and very funny. Admittedly, I can see people being turned off by what they might see as an agenda in the book, but I don’t think that’s Nelson’s point at all. In fact, I think that Destroy All Cars conveys the message that people in this age group are already aware of and concerned about, making it more appealing. Most of the book is clean, with little foul language, though about 3/4 through the book, things get a little sexual. It’s not risque nor unexpected and it fits with the story.

One of the other reasons I liked this book so much was because it allowed me to think about myself and my own development. This book captures a 17-year-old so well, and it allowed me to think about who I was at that age and who I am now.