The Sunday Question

Which lost independent bookshop do you most long for?

As we all know, many independent bookstores have fallen by the wayside in the past few years. Thankfully, our wonderful Odyssey Bookshop remains, but so many are lost to us. I thought I'd ask this week, which do you most miss? A kind of homage to bookshops of our past.

Since I've been on a kind of vacation, albeit one that has chiefly involved sorting and packing for my move, I haven't had the opportunity to ask my compatriots this question, so I don't have as much material to work with. However, what prompted the question was my perusal of the Irish Times last week, and coming across the startling news that one of my favorite bookshops in the world, the great Winding Stair in Dublin, had morphed into a frou frou restaurant.

Now, when I first came upon the Winding Stair, in the Dublin of the mid-nineties, it was a slightly raffish, lovely pink behemoth, three floors of books and a cheap vegetarian cafe. Something like Northampton's Haymarket in its first incarnation, but with a long literary pedigree, and a view from its dirty Palladian windows of the River Liffley meandering its silver way through the heart of Dublin. It boasted a huge collection of books by Irish writers (remember, you can't throw a stone in Ireland without hitting a Nobel Laureate, or at least a statue of one).

It became my favorite Dublin hangout, and much of the time I spent in Ireland -- in 1995, then again in 1997 -- was spent ogling books there, buying books, and gazing out at the spectacular view while writing very bad poetry (this was before I realized I was a novelist, NOT a poet).

So I was crushed to find it had been bought up and swankified. Thankfully, I've since discovered that the bookshop still exists, but in a diminished (and probably also swankified) form. And it remains to be seen if the frou frou restaurant encourages grubby writers to sit for hours writing poetry, whether very bad or Nobel quality.

I guess this impresses on me even more strongly the need for the bookshops in our lives, and the need to mourn those we've lost.

Let us know which you have loved and lost.

~ Chrysler

Anthony Bourdain at Symphony Hall

Anthony Bourdain will appear at Symphony Hall in Springfield on Friday, September 24 at 8:00 p.m. To get tickets, please visit the Symphony Hall website, www.symphonyhall.com. (The Odyssey Bookshop is not a ticket vendor for this appearance).

Selected tickets will be $10 off from September 2 through September 6.

Books by Bourdain will be provided by the Odyssey Bookshop that evening.

Hope to see you there!

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

The "it" in this instance being the conclusion in the Hunger Games Trilogy! That's right Katniss fans, Mockingjay is coming! Mockingjay is coming! It is less than 24 hours before the third book, and the final installment of Susan Collin's excellent series is ready to be picked up!

We have had plenty of pre-ordered Mockingjays. If you don't want to be left out of the loop pre-order or reserve you copy while you still can! Give us a call (413)534-7307, or reserve your copy by ordering here.

Paz,

~Nieves

The Sunday Question

Which cookbook is your favorite?

Brought my mom to Sherry Brooks Vinton’s event promoting her new canning and preserving book, Put ‘Em Up! last week. Mom, having grown up during the Depression, learned nothing much new, but I was inspired. As I am by any new cookbook. I’ve gone and made two kinds of salsa from the book, and am planning more forays into jam and pickle making before the end of the harvest. This is my favorite time of year, with all abundance before us, and I inevitably begin hunkering down with my (many) cookbooks, planning for fall and winter cooking extravaganzas. And this year, I’m moving as well, but unlike Emily Russo, I’m finally able to bring all my books and range them round me again, after storing most of them for a few years. I find myself gravitating first to the cookbooks, going through boxes and greeting them like the old friends they are.

I actually cried over my cracked, stained and spattered old Moosewood Cookbook, which I thought I’d lost.

I’ve been distressed lately about the strange trend of looking up recipes on the Internet. I actually know people who’ve ditched all their cookbooks because they can find anything they might need online! But cookbooks are sacred to me, a source of comfort and entertainment like no other. So I thought I’d ask everyone else who is passionate about their cookbooks this week which are their favorites.

It turns out we have a passel of vegetarians at the Odyssey. John’s favorite cookbook is Simple Vegetarian Pleasures, an oldie but goodie by Jeanne Lemlin.

He also favors The Winter Vegetarian by Darra Goldstein.

Joan likes Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone by Deborah Madison.

And Marika’s fave is Crescent Dragonwagon’s The Passionate Vegetarian, which I own but haven’t used because the cover scares me. I’ll have to give it up and get over myself, I guess. And you have to love her name.

Trust Nieves to shake things up. She is enamored (as I am) with Amy Sedaris’s quirky, funky I Like You: Hospitality Under The Influence.Entertaining etiquette, rabbit care tips, craft projects and recipes are all rolled up in one hilarious package. I’ve tried the recipes, too, (mostly Greek) and they’re really good. Nieves also likes I Know How To Cook, by Ginette Mathiot, the bible of French home cooking.

I am having a hard time choosing. Like all cooks, I have many favorites. I own so many cherished vegetarian cookbooks I can’t possibly choose one of them over another. I adore Jane and Michael Stern’s Square Meals, a compendium of American comfort food, with a fantastic teatime section, and the best recipe for Cincinnati Five-Way Chili ever. I have quite a few collections from theBon Appetit, Gourmet, and Cook’s folks. But I think the best magazine cookbook is Saveur Cooks Authentic American.Saveur has won a gazillion James Beard Awards, and no wonder. When I use any of their recipes, whatever it happens to be always unfailingly not only comes out tasting amazing, but also looks just like the picture!!!! I never have that kind of luck with any other recipes.

If I had to choose a desert island cookbook, it would have to be Joy of Cooking, though. I don’t think I could live without "American Fruit Desserts." Make that dessert island!

The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook would be a close second, for the entertainment factor rather than the Hashish Fudge. I don’t care who knows it, I think Alice was a finer writer than Gertrude ever thought of being. Clear and precise and funny. Her cookbook combines really fantastic food writing (and anecdotes about everyone from Picasso to Hemingway) with funky, fancy recipes. Violet souffle. Mmmm.

Speaking of food lit, look for our table at the Anthony Bourdain event on September 24th at Symphony Hall in Springfield, part of the Springfield Public Forum Lectures. I asked to work this event because I was blown away by Mr. Bourdain's exploits in Kitchen Confidential, and have been a big fan ever since. His new book is Medium Raw, which I assume he'll be reading from (although you never know). In any case, a fine time should be had by all foodies.

And let us know about your favorite cookbooks!

~Chrysler

Younger Voices, Older Eyes and Ears

So in following with my obsession previous blog post about young adult books and adult readers, this post talks about some amazing books that I have read that are marketed towards adults, but feature a young protagonist, and arguably could be read by a younger audience.

I just finished Helen Grant's debut novel, The Vanishing of Katharina Linden.
Set in a small German town where local gossip mingles with legend, for 10-year-old Pia that means parsing out fact from fiction. No easy feat for a girl whose grandmother explodes on Christmas eve. While this occurrence puts the town into a tizzy, it is soon forgotten when young girls Pia's age begin to disappear, some in broad day light. Pia, along with fellow outcast StinkStefan, take it upon themselves to find the monster that is spiriting away children.

While the story is told from the first person perspective of a young girl who still believes in fairy tales, the reader must beware as there is no honeyed ending. But rather like an old Charles Perrault, or Brothers Grimm story, ends with an unfortunate and ghastly resounding finality.

There have been several other authors who have expertly manipulated children's voices for the benefit of a well told story. In fact some of the best story telling I have read in the past couple of years are from books of this tenor.

The Selected works of T.S. Spivet by, Reif Larsen, which I can't stop talking about, features talented pre-teen, T.S. Spivet, who draws maps and diagrams in his spare time. This beautifully written, and drawn book takes you on a sweeping adventure. This is a book that both adults and teens can really enjoy. To read more about it check out this here blog post.

One of my favorite introductions to a sweeping New England yarn was Hannah Tinti's The Good Thief.

This very Dickensian novel takes place in 19th century New England. twelve-year-old Ren is an orphan who has a penchant for sleight of hand. One day he is whisked away from the orphanage he calls home by the mysterious con-man Benjamin. Tinti deftly tells their story in a way that is both charming and spooky.

I really recommend reading this book on chilly fall days, with a mug of cider, and a throw blanket on top.



Last but not least, one of my recent favorite publications is Alan Bradley's The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Bradley, an older Canadian Gentleman writes in the voice of almost eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce. A precocious, intelligent English school girl. Whose penchant for getting into things leads not only to her passion for chemistry, but into a lot of trouble as well. Her life, in a decrepit English country mansion, with her two older sisters and widowed father, is turned upside down when a stranger is found dead on their lawn. Bradley writes not only convincingly as Flavia, but wonderfully, richly. This is the first book in an at least three book series. To read more about the sequel click here.



While most of these books are intended for adults, I would definitely recommend most to older teens as well.

Hope y'all are having a great weekend!

Paz,

~Nieves

Am I Too Picky?

When a large group of galleys come into the store, the staff members at the Odyssey Bookshop all take turns in the kitchen flipping through the books, reading jacket copy, and ultimately, selecting titles he/she wants to read. I'm sure we all have different methods of sorting through the stacks, but I tend to first look at the spines of all the books to see who the publisher is. As it turns out, I'm much more likely to take a chance on a novel if it's published by one of my favorite houses than if it's from a publisher that has a less than stellar track record with my reading tastes.

Yesterday, however, when I was looking through the latest batch, I found myself wondering if I was being too picky. I had picked up a title (admittedly because it has a beautiful cover), but I immediately put it down again when I saw who the publisher was. Not only did I put it down, I made an audible "ugh" sound. Then I thought to myself, wait a second, am I punishing a potentially brilliant writer simply because I don't often read/like the works his publisher puts forth?

There are many, many books out there in the world, so I know I have to have some system of deciding what gets moved father up my to-be-read pile, but I'm not sure if my preferred method is always a good way to do it. So, I'm putting aside any preconceived notions and I'm taking it home to see what it brings me.

Emily Russo Murtagh

YA? Y Not?

Sorry for the bad pun... but I couldn't help myself! Well I'm not really all that sorry to be completely honest; and it is a particularly apt title for this here blog post. So, moving right along.

I recently read an essay in the New York times, entitled "The Kids Books are All Right." (An okay title, which can not stand alone without the recent movie release The Kids are All Right, but that is in fact another blog post entirely).


I loved reading this essay because it hit upon many of the arguments I have had for reading Children's and YA literature. (Plus I love the excellent illustration by Ross MacDonald).

The article probes the recent popularity of children's and young adult fiction with adult readers. A phenomenon that I think predates Harry Potter, i.e. C.S. Lewis, Roald Dahl, Lewis Carroll, L.M. Montgomery, plus the multitudes of other classic children's literature! When one re-reads these books as an adult, they still resonate however you are usually able to appreciate them on a whole new level!

Although one should never dismiss the fabulous J.K. Rowling and the contribution of Harry to popularizing Children's literature. The recent publications of Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and yes Twilight, sorry non-Twi-hards*, have not only made it okay to peruse and read books on the Young Adult shelf, they have made it quite popular.


You can, and I suggest should, read the entire article by clicking on this or the above links! To order your copy of any of the mentioned YA titles you can click here. Chances are they are in stock so stop on by, give us a call. We love to talk books, YA and otherwise.

Paz,

~Nieves

*Die hard Twilight fans.