Road Trip anyone?

Jane and Michael Stern are very interesting people. She is East coast. He is Midwest. He is lean. She is not. But they got together, got married and have been working together ever since. Their specialty is road food. They literally wrote the book on that. They have also done books such as the Encyclopedia of Pop Culture and one about Elvis. Nowadays they are sticking to the food projects, with a road food column in Gourmet magazine and a new book called Two for the Road: Our Love Affair with American Food. This book is their memoir of how it all started.

What is amazing is that when they first had the concept to taste food at all the little mom and pop places in the Unites States, they did not think it would take that long! This book tells about their first adventures - when they looked like hippies and were going into places that might not appreciate that lifestyle - and how they have refined their "system" of reviewing. Apparently they eat around 5 meals a day! Breakfast being one of the biggest. They usually order a ton of stuff to taste all the different dishes a place has to offer. No wonder some places thought they were a bit strange.

In the midst of their adventures, they made friends, had the usual traveling problems (illness, bad hotels, etc.), found some great food and learned a lot about America on the way. Each chapter ends with a recipe, and leaves the reader wishing to take a food road trip too...

Just when ya think that romance is like everyone else's...

I read a lot of romances. Some have great storylines and characters you want to go out to lunch with. Some have people you do not want to stand in a line with. Some books have a historical theme that opens your eyes to that period of history. Some books could be set anywhere and in anytime. Some are dull as dishwater. Sometimes it is hard to tell when the storyline went blah. But just when you think it is a skimmer - bamm! Something hooks you in.

I am not quite sure how that happened in Suzanne Enoch's An Invitation to Sin. One minute I was just humming along, reading and feeling that I might turn in early. Then the bamm. She has done this to me before. I am becomming convinced that this is her technique.

She is currently writing a series on the Griffin family. Lord Zachary is a charmer, who happens to be a third son, who goes from one idea to the next. He is forced to take his aunt to Bath. They happen to stop on the way at her old friends the Witfelds. The Witfields have seven daughters. In regency times, this is a big YIKES! But just when you think the charmer will just flirt with the daughters and move on...he meets the eldest sister Caroline who has a goal to get into an arts conservatory, and needs him to pose for the assignment to get in. Then there is Mr. Witfeld, a dabbler in many hobbies himself, and the 6 other daughters who are rather anxious to get married. And how did Enoch just sneak in the bit about breeding cows!

Again - you think romances are predictable, and then you get an author who just won't play along. Yes - it is a romance - so how do you think it ends? But the journey and the characters she gives you are worth the trip. Try her - you'll like her.

P.S. Zachary has 2 other unmarried brothers! Can we say series?

Never Judge a Book By Its Cover - HA!

Graphic Design. Post-Modernism. Books. Do you like all three? I have the book for you... By Its Cover: Modern American Book Cover Design by Ned Drew and Paul Sternberger. It covers the growth of book design from the 1960's when the paperback first got started, to post-millennium book covers. I'm not an expert in art or design, but I know what I like and some of these covers are "out there" for their era. And by now, some of the designs look like they are very current aka 2006. It will also show you, how current book design has become much more formulaic. And it is very interesting to see which covers/titles have become iconic. Fun in graphics land.

Think Globally - Act Locally

Wanda Urbanska and her husband, Frank Levering, wrote a book called Simple Living: One Couple's Search for a Better Life, when they moved from L.A. to Virginia. They had a hand in starting the current "simplicity" movement. They now have an orchard in North Carolina and have a show called Simple Living on PBS. Their latest book, Nothing's Too Small to Make a Difference continues their message of keeping thing simple and worrying about their impact on the environment.

This book may be a re-run to others who have previously read other books on simple living, but I felt it was a great reminder and inspiration to those of us who are trying to do what little we can. Wanda points out that - yes - little things do add up - when she talks about taking a travel cup to get her coffee from the local shop versus the plastic cup. She sat down one day and added up all the cups she would have used and it was quite a lot. Sometimes I think that we need the reminder that choosing to make a smaller footprint on the earth, create less garbage, buy less junk, create more beauty IS worth it. This book is a positive introduction to that, it has some first-rate tips, and it is a good update on the couple that helped the "movement" along.

Traveling Solo

A Woman Alone: Travel Tales From Around the Globe edited by Faith Conlon, Ingrid Emerick and Christina Henry de Tessan, is one of those books that make you want to run away from home. Traveling to a country completely different from what you are used to can be difficult. Traveling to that country - alone and being female - can be even more difficult. The 29 different authors from completely unique backgrounds themselves, offer a singular view of their travels. The countries they go to range from Ireland to India, and many are off the beaten path where most of us won't ever go. One of my favorite trips was the one where the author traveled in a train in India - making friends with her fellow female travelers who find her independence as astonishing as she finds them. Not too mention the bathroom facilities on this train are an adventure to themselves.

The authors make friends, discover how tough they really are, and make peace with the world around them. A thoughtful and inspiring read for when you get the traveling bug.

Second Sight

Amanda Quick's Second Sight is another book she has set in Victorian England. This time around she has created the Arcane Society, a organization founded by an alchemist, which consists of dabblers of psychic phenomena. Our heroine Venetia, is a photographer who is invited by the Arcane Society to photograph their collection of artifacts. This is how she meets the mysterious Mr. Gabriel Jones.

After an exciting night with Mr. Jones - she later reads a small notice of his death. She needs a new name for her career and she chooses Jones as a tribute and because it is common. As Mrs. Jones, she starts making a name for herself in the photography world and starts making enough money to support her extended family. Imagine her surprise when her so called "husband" comes back from the "grave".

Psychical events, auras and the death of another photographer allow the Joneses to learn more about each other true selves and each others' secrets. Fun, romance and a bit of mystery keeps this frothy book moving along. One wonders if the author is going to continue with the Arcane Society - there is Gabriel's single cousin after all! A great read!

Inside a Paris Quartier

Diane Johnson's book Inside a Paris Quartier: Reine Margot's Chapel and Other Haunts of St. Germain, is a part of National Geographic's travelogue and memoirs series. This series has various different authors writing about their favorite cities. In this case, Johnson has lived in this part of Paris for many years, and other ex-patriate Americans have too, so she is giving us a tour of her neighborhood.

She tells us that the real Three Musketeers lived here, as well as Gertrude Stein. She gives us the details and the stories of the various nearby buildings (and the people who lived there) from the 1500's to the 2000's. Paris is a old city that is continually changing. The history of this part of town has layers and layers, and this is just one quartier!

This a great introduction to the history of Paris. Johnson makes it sound fabulous and romantic and she convinces you that you must learn more - even if it is just enough to keep the Louie's straight. A must for the francophile.

Egyptian fun for the kids and the adults

Do you like the movie the Mummy and the Mummy Returns? Have you looked at every Egyptian documentary on the History Channel? Been aching to go see King Tut? This book might interest you. Egyptology: Search for the Tomb of Osiris is a book put out by Candlewick Press - the same group that brought you Dragonology. Written by Dugald Steer and illustrated by Ian Andrew, Nick Harris, and Helen Ward, this is the "fictional tale" of Emily Sands and her illfated expedition for the Tomb of Osiris.

Old and young alike can peak at the travel postcards and letters left behind in this interactive scrapbook. It is filled with illustrations of areas and artifacts they have seen along their journey. You can learn Egyptian hieroglyphics, and a game (the pieces are in the book), and read the journals left behind. This would be fun to read before going to see the next Pharoah exhibit.

Australia, Australia, Australia - we love you - Amen!

With a bit of homage to Monty Python's Australian philosophers sketch, I must start by saying that Bill Bryson's book In a Sunburned Country gives one a small glimpse of a very big land. If one is lucky enough to travel there, this book might serve as a good introduction and a bit of a warning to a diverse country. I say warning - because Bryson seems fascinated with the Australian creatures that could kill you - jellyfish, sharks and snakes, as well as the Australian environment - the surf, the riptides, the cliffs, and the temperature which could also kill you. The book abounds with stories of explorers, tourists and near-do-wells who never made it back to their starting point.

As he travels around the country he points out spots of interest, everything from the dullness of the capital of Canberra, the beauty of Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef, the desolate areas around Alice Springs, the majesty of Uluru/Ayers Rock, and the subtleties of the cities of Perth, Melbourne, Darwin and Sydney. He even addresses the issue of the Aboriginal people. After asking questions about them throughout his travels, he comes to the conclusion that Australians have really been - the kindest word might be - stupid , in their dealings with them.

Bryson realizes that Australia is an old land but a young country, and suffers from growing pains. There is more to explore, more things to find, but these things take time. My edition of the book has a extra bit about him going back to Sydney for the Olympics of 2000. He is clearly eager to come back to the land and the people that he fell in love with.

Australia anyone? Long trip, but mighty fine once you get there.

Blame it on Chocolate - Why Not?

Jennifer Greene's book Blame it on Chocolate is a fast fun read. Lucy Fitzhenry works as a biologist/chocolatier for a chocolate bar company. She is working on producing a batch of cacao trees that will produce beans that will beat the best. The fact that she is grafting trees in a greenhouse facility in Minnesota, means that if this works - it will be really huge in the chocolate industry. One night - giddy with a first successful batch tasting, she has a wild night with a guy. He happens to be her boss - Nick. And well - interesting things happen to her and Nick. And then her family seems to becoming unglued too.

If you like learning a bit about chocolate, cacao trees, and like the heroine to have a supportive family and work life, this is a book for you. Warning - it will make you get up out of bed for a midnight fancy chocolate bar snack. Hershey's will just not do!