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New Arrivals at HPL: New Books about New Moms–The Book of Life, On the Whole, and Shiver of Light!

13 Aug

Here are three new works, one memoir and two fantasy novels, which deal with the trials and triumphs of being new moms.

On the Whole: A Story of Mothering and Disability, by Ona Gritz

Ona Gritz until recently worked at the Hoboken Public Library as the Young Adult Librarian.  She is a talented poet, children’s book author, and memoirist.  Although we will all miss her here at the library, we can’t wait to see what new stories she will have for us now that she will be writing full time.  Gritz wrote an online column for Literary Mama and this work builds on some of the shorter pieces she had written for the online magazine.  On the Whole is part of a collection of short novella length fiction and nonfiction written by women.  If you’re a mom you may find it is hard to find enough time to read a long novel or memoir, but the length to me was perfect, long enough to feel substantial and worth my time, but not requiring more time commitment than I currently have. I know when I first had my son, I often felt overwhelmed at first; Gritz captures this feeling, but also adds her own unique perspective as a mother with a disability (cerebral palsy). I enjoyed how even in this short piece she captures effectively the relationships that define motherhood, not only between the mother and child, but also between her and her husband, and between her and her own mother. On the Whole is a great quick read for those looking for an engaging, well-written, inspiring look at motherhood.

The Book of Life, by  Deborah Harkness

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The Book of Life is the final novel in Deborah Harkness’s All Souls Trilogy following A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night.  The series revolves around the relationship between reluctant witch/historian, Diana, and geneticist/vampire, Matthew.  Fans of the previous two novels will also enjoy this one, but those new to the series will want to start with the first novel, A Discovery of Witches.  It is difficult to discuss The Book of Life without revealing some spoilers for the previous two books so for those new to the series you may want to jump ahead to my next review.  In order to blend in better with humans, “creatures”, including vampires, witches, and daemons are not supposed to interact so Matthew and Diana’s love is forbidden.  For those that like romance there is plenty especially in the latter two books, but other readers may be drawn to the unique description of genetics as it applies to the supernatural as they try to unravel the mystery of how Diana and Matthew are able to conceive children even though it is supposedly impossible.  The All Souls Trilogy also contain a nice influx of history as well; Harkness is an academic specializing in accounts of science and magic from 1500-1700.   Although The Book of Life and A Discovery of Witches are set in the present, the Shadow of Night is set during that time period.  The Book of Life begins a bit slowly and it takes a bit to remember who all of the many characters are (Harkness helpfully includes a character list for each of her books on her website). The Book of Life chronicles Diana’s pregnancy and the first few months of the babies’ lives.  The life in the title reflects not only this experience but a significant book, Ashmole 782, which she has been searching for throughout the All Souls series.  The Book of Life deals with issues of prejudice, nature vs. nurture, and the complex relationship between parents and children.  The Book of Life will resonate with many readers including those not commonly drawn to fantasy works.

A Shiver of Light, by Laurell K. Hamilton

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I had written about Laurell K. Hamilton’s Merry Gentry series previously in my blog post about adult series about fairies.  In her latest novel Merry had given birth to triplets.  Since A Shiver of Light is a fantasy novel, the triplets can each have multiple fathers and are already manifesting some magical powers.  But despite this conceit that may seem a bit farfetched, I found Hamilton’s dealing with Merry’s concerns and experience as a new mom to be very moving and relatable.  The emotions and protectiveness she feels for her new children will be familiar to many mothers and fathers.  There are still some sexy romantic elements in A Shiver of Light that fan’s of Hamilton’s work have come to expect, but they are not as prominent as in many of her other works.  To me this allowed the stories of her relationship with the men in her life to become more complex than sometimes they had felt previously.  It also showed another side of Merry’s Aunt, who had mainly been depicted as a sadistic, uncaring queen of the dark Sidhe, but now is shown to be more than simply a twisted Disney Villain like caricature.  A surprising loss occurs at the end of A Shiver of Light, which seems like it will lead in to the next book in the series and add to the political intrigue Merry faces.

-Written by Aimee Harris, Head of Reference

Favorite Fantasy’s Food: The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook, The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook, and True Blood: Eats, Drinks, and Bites from Bon Temps

14 May

Have you ever wondered what the pumpkin juice served on the Hogswart Express would taste like or maybe wanted to savor the exquisite hot chocolate served in the Capital in the Hunger Games?  Or perhaps you are curious about the cocktails that would be served at Fangtasia?  There are plenty of mystery series that include at the end a few recipes from their crime solving chefs, but despite the intriguing dishes found in many fantasy novels, those treats are mostly left to our imagination.  In these three cookbooks, however, the authors have transmuted dishes that previously only existed in our minds to something that we can make and taste for ourselves. These dishes would be great for a fan’s themed birthday party or a special book club meeting.  Some recipes even sound good enough to make a permanent part of your cooking repertoire.

As well as being available in print, all three of these books are available to Hoboken Library Card Holders as eBooks through eLibraryNJ.  Library card holders can borrow the books that inspired the recipes as eBooks too!

The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook, by Dinah Bucholz

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J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is filled with mouthwatering food so I was curious to take a peek at Dinah Bucholz’s Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook to see how she recreated the dishes from the novels.  This cookbook will be enjoyable to nonfans of the series, who are anglophiles, since many of the foods included are classic English dishes recreated.  I loved the peppermint humbugs I tried when I was visiting London, and will be curious to try to recreate them from Bucholz’s recipe next Christmas. I was actually surprised to learn how many things were not purely from Rowling’s imagination, but had basis in commonly eaten English treats such as the Fizzy Sherbert Pouches–the ones you can make at home unfortunately (or fortunately) won’t lift you off the ground like in Rowling’s books.  Recipes include food from Harry’s time living with the Dursleys, at Hogwarts, on the Hogwart’s Express, in Hogsmeade, and in Diagon Alley.  The recipes are organized by these locations rather than by types of dishes.  Accompanying text for recipes includes not only where the mention of the food the recipe is based on can be found in a particular chapter, but also some historical background such as the origin of foods including hamburgers, ice cream sundaes, and pasties.  Older children will enjoy reading more about the dishes and helping their parents in the kitchen recreating some of the treats.

The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook: From Lamb Stew to “Groosling”—More Than 150 Recipes Inspired by the Hunger Games Trilogy, by Emily Ansara Baines

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Emily Anasara Baines is a former professional baker and caterer who is also a huge Hunger Games fan.  Suzanne Collins’s trilogy sets up an interesting contrast with food that highlights the disparity between those living in the capital with those in the districts.  Baines describes the symbolic role that the food takes on in the series and her book gives a helping of literary interpretation with each recipe leading the reader to come away with not only some delicious recipes, but also a richer understanding of the novels.  Be warned though the author is very fond of puns, perhaps even more than I am.  Some of the foraging and hunting based recipes such as those using katniss roots and raccoon meat were less than appealing to me, but if I had the time I would love to try all the different bread recipes she featured which include the breads that represent each of the districts in the book.  One clever addition to each recipe are the “tips from your sponsor” that have useful hints such as using crescent rolls for a pie crust if you don’t have time to make your own, a substitution for when you don’t have buttermilk on hand, and using dental floss to more easily cut cinnamon buns.  I found Baines’ baking advice particularly helpful.  These clever and resourceful hints would make Katniss proud.

True Blood: Eats, Drinks, and Bites from Bon Temps by Gianna Sobol, Alan Ball, Alex Farnum with recipes from Marcelle Beinvenu

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This cookbook is based on the television series more than Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse novels, however, fans of the novels who didn’t necessarily watch the show will still enjoy trying these recipes inspired by Fangtasia, Merlotte’s and the Southern Style cooking practiced by many of the book’s characters.  The book is written as if it is a collection of recipes from the True Blood characters and everyone from Sookie to Debbie Pelt introduces different recipes all of which have quirky pun filled names.  Since I love Cajun food, this cookbook had a variety of recipes I’d like to try especially those featuring my favorite crayfish such as crayfish fritters and crayfish dip.  Since this book unlike the previous two, is an “official” work it includes a variety of color photographs from the TV series, which will be a delight to fans of True Blood’s eye candy.  For those budding mixologists there is a sizable cocktail section (including a Bon Temps spin on the bloody mary) reflecting that this is a very adult series.  My husband once tried to create “True Blood” for a viewing party we held by combining everything from Chambord to Jägermeister.  It very surprisingly tasted pretty good considering his goal was looks not flavor, but I think we might try recipes from this book this summer when the final season of True Blood airs.  You can catch up on the previous seasons with the DVDs available at BCCLS libraries.  You may also want to check out The Sookie Stackhouse Companion by Charlaine Harris, which includes recipes inspired by the books series.

-Written by Aimee Harris, Head of Reference

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