Collection of Cookbooks

My love of 1970s cookbooks likely began with my mother's well-loved copy of  Laurel's Kitchen, the Bible of vegetarian cookery. Love those vintage aprons and the cast-iron skillet display (collections to discuss on another day...no Teflon for me, thanks).  My adventures in bargain hunting have also blessed me with favorites like:

 

Check out the author and her dear

chicken friend on the back cover:

Another classic find:

Who is this Joseph you might ask?
Well, he strikes quite the figure on the back cover: 

I sort of agree, Joseph.

I find these wacky illustrations and free hand text pretty charming. 

I see his workshop (30+ years ago) was appropriately
held in good ole Portland, Oregon.

I came across a 15 year old copy of The Martha Stewart Cookbook on the bargain shelf at the library.  While I am fond of Martha, I am even fonder of the previous owner of this cookbook, whose inscriptions and sentiments are found throughout this tome.

Love this book--she is very "special." 

the print is small for me. However this is

a tremendously generous amount of all her recipes.

Long ago I did a lot of entertaining 

always liked it, and loved to cook

We had some wonderful picnics.

 

No wonder she's so successful. She is VERY

particular and discerning, has special "good taste,"

and interesting style. She goes the "extra mile."

She has a secret she adds an unexpected 

SENSIBLE "twist" to foods.  She ups the ante 

so to speak--Like Emeril.

She uses her mind and thoroughly 

investigates  all possibilities--is more often correct.

There is a certain excitement in being the first to crack open a brand new book. Still, though second-hand-finds might mostly be a necessity at this stage in my life, I really do appreciate things with a history. They are often quirky and interesting, not simply mass-marketed for today's audience. Rather than an owner, I become a caretaker for my objects--they were someone's before me and might be someone's after me.

The Center of Everything: A Novel

The Center of Everything: A Novel
by Laura Moriarty

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was surprised by how much I liked this book. I am still thinking about it. The cover made it look like it was going to be fluffy, but it was poignant and well-written.

I tend to like books about smart, under-appreciated poor kids from dysfunctional families (Matilda, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, anyone?). It's a coming of age book, set in the 80's, and I related to the main character. For me, it was a realistic portrait of adolescence. I loved her religious phase and her holier-than-thou attitude toward the people around her who make bad choices, the tense mother-daughter relationship, the mom who is problematic but loving, her stunning but less-than-bright best friend, her unrequited crush, her frenemies, and how she manages to separate herself from the mess around her, yet comes to terms with.

The school dynamic and the religious pulse in her community were true-to-life. I liked that the story is set in Kansas, which on map looks like "The Center of Everything" rather than the middle of nowhere.

I recognized the cover from a review I read years ago in O magazine (which usually has good recommendations) and am really happy that I noticed it on the honor-back shelf at my local library.

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Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants
by Sara Gruen

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars


I was disappointed with this book. Perhaps because I had been looking forward to reading it for some time. I like elephants, I liked the title and the cover, and I saw people I admire reading it. Well, the first half didn't disappoint me, it was well set up. But the romance that takes over the second-half wasn't very convincing. Other than her apparent good looks, I couldn't understand the appeal of the protagonist's love interest. I also had a hard time rooting for them because she was already married.

Both the circus history and the Great Depression historical fiction spliced throughout the novel were fascinating. I liked certain characters, especially his dwarf roommate. I think she did a good job creating the very elderly character the narrator becomes. But I didn't think he seemed like he was the same character as the young protagonist. His voice, opinions, interests didn't matched the version of him as a young man. When he is young he is passive and quiet and as an old person he is demanding, crude, and humorous. People change, but I figured these two versions of the same person would reflect one another more.

The elephant's antics were entertaining and the intelligence of the exotic animals in this story made their abuse even less tolerable. It reminded me of an event that happened when I was a kid growing up in Hawaii. An elephant killed her trainer, broke free from the circus, and went on a rampage, running down the streets of Honolulu. They killed the poor thing of course, and then there was talk of a statewide ban for visiting elephants. The circus hasn't been back since. Ten years later government authorities took away a whole mess of mistreated elephants--from that same owner!

I remember the news coverage was live while it was happening. Here is a video I found, if you're interested. Warning: it's pretty graphic.




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