@ Your Library
It is the middle of July! What have you read this summer? I love reading books set in either bookstores or libraries and two new titles that I enjoyed were The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan about a bookshop on the shores of Loch Ness (how can anyone not want to manage a book store in Scotland) and The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick about a librarian who discovers a mysterious book with a clue that leads her on a journey of a lifetime.
Mysteries are always fun, but seem to be attached to summer and Auntie Poldi and the Vineyards of Etna by Mario Giordano set in Italy definitely makes me think about summer and lazy days, even if retired Auntie Poldi is hard at work after discovering a body in a vineyard.
Historical fiction can be a great way to learn history even if one has to be aware of what is true and what isn’t. The Song of the Jade Lily by Kristy Manning begins in 1939 Shanghai – the “Paris of the East’ as local Li and Jewish refugee Romy become friends, only to be torn apart by the realities of war. 75 years later, Alexandra, the granddaughter of Romy and Wilhelm, visits them in Australia. Her grandfather is dying and Alexandra’s grandparents reveal family mysteries causing Alexandra to search Shanghai for clues about her mother’s history.
But books about history can also be marvelous and Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II by Robert Matzen is not exception. It relates the five years that Audrey spend in the Netherlands during Nazi occupation. The story, kept a secret during Audrey’s lifetime speaks of courage, tragedy, perseverance and triumph.
I also enjoy scouring new cookbooks for recipes, especially summer recipes and two new books that gave me lots of ideas are Cook Once Eat All Week by Cassy Joy Garcia takes a different approach to meal prep in that she cooks basics once a week then combines those ingredients all week for different meals. She presents 26 weeks of gluten free cooking using ingredients such as shredded chicken, broccoli and rice one week, ground beef, zucchini and mushrooms the next. She lays out the plan for each week with shopping lists and preparation tips. We eat a lot more vegetables and other produce in the summer so Mostly Plants by the Pollan family with what they call ‘flexitarian’ cooking or mostly plant meals that are wholesome and delectable with lots of options to make the dish gluten-free, dairy –free, vegan or vegetarian has great recipes. Both had lots of yum!
Check out our weekly caption contest at the library (and on our Facebook page) this month. We have found five old photos and want you to add words to what is being said or thought by the people in the photo. A new photo is posted each Monday. We then award a gift certificate to one random entry.