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Come to the Hoboken Library Festival in Church Square Park on Oct 15 and meet Charles Salzberg and Other Local Authors and Poets!

12 Oct

Come join us on October 15, 2022 from 11 am-4 pm, in Church Square Park across from the library’s main branch at 500 Park Ave in Hoboken.  Local authors will be giving book talks and readings throughout the day.  Plus you can stop by the local author tent to meet them and have them sign copies of their books.  There will also be music and fun events for children and teens.

Our local authors include Charles Salzberg, who was born and raised across the river in New York City. He began his career as a journalist and book reviewer before becoming a novelist himself.

His first novel, Swann’s Last Song, was nominated for a Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel. Salzberg continued the Henry Swann series with Swann Dives In, Swann’s Lake of Despair, Swann’s Way Out, and Swann’s Down.

Salzberg has also written three stand-alone novels, Devil in the Hole (named one of the best crime novels of 2013 by Suspense magazine) and Second Story Man (nominated for a Shamus Award and a David Award and winner of the Beverly Hills Book Award), and his latest Canary in a Coal Mine.

Canary in a Coal Mine stars PI Pete Fortunato, a former cop, who is hired to find a missing husband, but when the husband turns up dead, Fortunato finds himself solving an even bigger mystery, his client disappears and he finds himself accused of theft by the Albanian mob. Can he find the money and clear his name?

Other local authors participating in the festival include Raakhee Mirchandanie, Mally Becker, Miriam Allenson, McKevin Shaughnessy, James Hockenberry, Patricia Carragon, Dr. John Muciaccia, Carol Van Den Hende, Robin Rosen ChangPatricia Keeler, Dawn Barclay (D.M. Barr), Maiya Katherine, Stacey Wilk, and Erica Obey

The Final Culinary Frontier: The Star Trek Cook Book by Chelsea Monroe-Cassel

28 Sep


I have at times been disappointed by some cookbooks based on popular TV shows, books, or movies due to not having food that actually feels like it comes from that world, but instead just having food items with cleverly titled names, but no connection to the franchise itself.  The Star Trek Cook Book by Chelsea Monroe-Cassel, however, truly feels immersive.  Dishes are listed by the alien species whose planet originated the dish and it is explained that the earth ingredients are substitutions for hard to find off planet ones.  Dishes included resemble those from a variety of earth cuisines and have a sprinkling of molecular gastronomy type techniques that give the dishes a futuristic feel like the Porakan Cloud Eggs which have you separating chicken eggs, beating the whites, and then combining them again when baked for a dish that “replicates the unique properties” of the Porakan variety.  Large full color illustrations are included with each dish. 

I’m planning to have a cocktail party with some of my Star Trek loving friends featuring Ferengi Tube Grub Skewers (don’t worry gnocchi stand in for grubs), Denobulan Sausages, and Klingon Krada Leg Skewers with libations including Klingon Bloodwine, Romulan Ale, and Risan Mai-Tais.  My son is particularly looking forward to helping me with the Starfleet Food Rations, which are suspiciously similar to mochi candy. 

Difficulty is cleverly measured in pips and the reader is given tips on what the recipe pairs well with as well as “diplomatic plating” suggestions.  Definitely recommended for Star Trek fans, even those who aren’t usually fans of cooking will smile over recipes like Spatchcocked Tribble.  Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for access to an early copy. Fantasy Foodies can check out a previous post featuring cookbooks based on Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and True Blood.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager