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Quirky True and Fictional Crimes: The Absinthe Forger and Rockin’ Around the Chickadee

16 Oct

The Absinthe Forger: A True Story of Deception, Betrayal, and the World’s Most Dangerous Spirit
by Evan Rail
The Absinthe Forger by Evan Rail is a fun and informative read about a very quirky criminal. Based on a suggestion of a friend and fellow absinthe enthusiast, Rail explores an eccentric London grifter, Christian, who had supposedly faked and sold pre-ban absinthe to collectors which can be worth thousands of dollars. Along the way to exploring the truth Rail discusses the history of absinthe’s creation, popularity with artists like Toulouse-Lautrec and then fall from grace and banning due to the supposed dangers of wormwood before its recent resurgence in popularity and the demand for early pre-ban bottles. I was familiar with many of the current brands of absinthe that are now on the market, but I enjoyed learning about the history of absinthe and Rail’s efforts to uncover the truth behind the accusations of fraud. His travels through Europe include absinthe museums, distilleries, and visits with a variety of expert “absintheurs”. The Absinthe Forger will appeal to those with an interest in European history and true crime. I found it slightly disappointing that we never get the perspective of Christian himself, but I think understandable someone would not want to directly admit to such wrong doings and Evans attempts to engage him form amusing anecdotes for the reader. If you are intrigued by The Absinthe Forger you may also want to stream the wine related documentary Sour Grapes about the fraud committed by “wine savant” Rudy Kurniawan.

Rockin’ Around the Chickadee
by Donna Andrews
Rockin’ Around the Chickadee is Donna Andrews latest holiday mystery and her 36th in her bestselling Meg Langslow Mystery series. In this novel readers who are curious about True Crime, will find an enthrawling mystery revolving around a murder at a conference Meg’s Grandmother organized for those interested in learning more about the process to exonerate those unfairly convicted of crimes. This aspect of the story will be entertaining to those who have never read the series before. Of course there is plenty for long term readers to love including the quirky cast of characters from Meg’s family who help her in her investigation and I was most excited that this novel deals with the pregnancy of Meg’s sister-in-law who is on bed rest through the holiday season. Similar to the last few books this one takes a more social conscious view of the world than some of the earlier entries, but still retains a delightful sense of humor throughout. This would be an enjoyable read now or to be added to your list for books to be read during the holiday season. Those looking to start at the beginning will want to checkout Murder with Peacocks.

Curious about writing your own long running mystery series? Save the Date, on November 11, HPL will have four mystery authors from the Mystery Writers of America New York Chapter scheduled along with moderator Mark McNease talking about how to start writing a series and keep it going.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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Visiting With Some Old Foodie Friends: Brooklyn in Love, Picnic in Provence, Home is Where the Eggs Are, and This Might Be Too Personal

27 Dec

This year marked my 20th year here at the library, which of course got me feeling nostalgic about back when I first started working here in 2003, a newly graduated MLIS student, single and excited about living just across the river from that legendary city, NYC, though Hoboken is not shabby on its own legends either. Although the blog hasn’t been around quite that long it got me to thinking about some of the memoirs, I had reviewed early on and what their authors might have been up to now. Here are a few. Like me they found love and started families, but of course their adventures in their delicious “next chapter,” as Amy Thomas describes her own part two, only continued.

Brooklyn in Love: A Delicious Memoir of Food, Family and Finding Yourself
by Amy Thomas
In 2012, Amy Thomas published Paris My Sweet, a memoir about the years she spent in her dream job getting to write ad copy for Louis Vuitton in the city of lights. When I blogged about it back then, it was clear that as much as Thomas enjoyed and celebrated Paris, it wasn’t where she was going to put down roots. In 2018’s Brooklyn in Love, on the other hand, it definitely has more a feeling of figuring out where her long term home is. As with Paris My Sweet where she includes recommendations for bakeries and Cafes in Paris, In Brooklyn in Love she focuses on the unique and delicious places she encounters in Brooklyn. I think it is notable that I felt of the previous work that, “wonderful descriptions of the sweets is what truly caries this work,” but in this memoir I was more interested in what she had to say about her life, her relationship, and her first experiences of motherhood.

Picnic in Provence: A Memoir with Recipes
by Elizabeth Bard
I had also blogged back in 2012 about another French Memoir along with Thomas’s, Elizabeth Bard’s Lunch in Paris. Unlike Thomas, Bard married a Parisian and became of French citizen. That book as does her more recent memoir (2015) Picnic in Provence include recipes at the ends of chapters. This memoir follows her pregnancy and adventures in motherhood. At first Bard is a bit disconnected from motherhood and feels like she hasn’t fully bonded with her son, but then she uses a shared love of cooking to form a stronger connection with him. The later half of the memoir also focuses on her and her husband starting an artisanal ice cream shop that serves scoops inspired by the local Provencal flavors that they have fallen in love with and her efforts to become officially a French citizen. Francophiles, foodies, and other moms and entrepreneurs will find this book a treat! Bard followed up Picnic in Provence in 2017 with Dinner Chez Moi: 50 French Secrets to Joyful Eating and Entertaining, a book of advice and easy to follow recipes.

Home is Where the Eggs Are: Farmhouse Food for the People You Love
by Molly Yeh
Molly Yeh rose to culinary fame with her award winning food blog, My Name is Yeh. Her memoir Molly on the Range published in 2016, follows her time studying classical music at Julliard and her childhood in a Chicago suburb in addition to her moving to sugar beet farm that her in-laws had been running for generations. Since her first book came out Molly has gone on to being a host of the Food Network show Girl Meets Farm as well as hosting some of their food competition shows. Her cookbook Home is Where the Eggs Are: Farmhouse Food for the People You Love published in 2022, is in a way a reverse of Picnic in Provence which is a memoir with some recipes, in that it is a cookbook with bits of memoir included in each section and recipes including pictures of Molly, her husband, and oldest daughter throughout. Her recipes take inspiration from her own Jewish and Chinese heritage as well as her husband’s family Scandinavian/Midwest background, but I find there is also sort of playfulness often that is uniquely her own. Several recipes in the book caught my eye including goat cheese and dill baked eggs, cheesy kimchi fried rice, and watermelon basil bug juice. We made her marzipan chocolate chunk cookie recipe this year as one of our Christmas bakes and they were DELICIOUS!

This Might Be Too Personal
by Alyssa Shelasky
Alyssa Shelasky chronicled her nervousness about cooking while dating a celebrity chef (Spike Mendelhsohn) in Apron Anxiety which I had found to be a fun read. It was interesting to hear about Shelasky overcoming her cooking fear even if her relationship with “chef” doesn’t last. This Might Be Too Personal contains essays, mainly about Shelasky’s life chronicling her time working for New York Magazine’s Sex Diaries and eventually adapting them to a TV series as well as her choice to become a single mom before finding the love of her life. There is a brief mention of catching up with “chef” who is now happily married. Those looking for a foodie memoir will enjoy her previous work, but for fans of gossipy party girl fun similar to Candace Bushnell’s Sex and the City memoirs balanced with sweet mom moments with Shelasky’s daughter Hazel, this will be an enjoyable read. The audiobook made me feel like I was hearing about the adventures from one of my bffs.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

Tags: , ,

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