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Plus, once Summer Reading gets started, we’ll be using Facebook to post updates and prizes!

 

Y is for Yeast

The smell of freshly baked bread has got to be one of the most wonderful things about being alive. In fact, I think that scent could probably help to solve some of the world’s woes (maybe warring factions should meet in a bakery!). I love the smell of roses, but I think I might be more apt to slow down – and probably stuff myself – if I had to stop to smell the bread.

Before I get too distracted, here are a few titles about bread and breadmaking. Whether you do it all by scratch, or cheat a little and let the bread machine do all the work, I think you’ll find a recipe in one of these books to help fill your house with that wonderful aroma!

 

55 Classic Recipes: Bread from Around the World by Christine Ingram

America’s Best Bread Machine Baking Recipes by Donna Washburn

Amy’s Bread by Amy Scherber

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery that Revolutionizes Home Baking by Jeff Hertzberg

Artisan Breads: At Home with the Culinary Institute of America by Eric Kastel

Best Bread Machine Recipes

The Best Quick Breads: 150 Recipes for Muffins, Scones, Shortcakes, Gingerbreads, Cornbreads, Coffeecakes, and More by Beth Hensperger

The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread by Peter Reinhart

The Bread Bible: Beth Hensperger’s 300 Favorite Recipes by Beth Hensperger

The Bread Book: More than 200 Recipes and Techniques for Baking and Shaping Perfect Breads, Sweet and Savory Muffins, Rolls, Buns, Biscuits, and Pizzas by Betsy Oppenneer

Crust & Crumb: Master Formulas for Serious Bread Bakers by Peter Reinhart

Focaccia: Simple Breads from the Italian Oven by Carol Field

Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-free Ingredients by Jeff Hertzberg

My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method by Jim Lahey

The Taste of Home Baking Book: Timeless Recipes from Trusted Home Cooks

Touch of Green

It’s St. Patrick’s Day! Beyond the kissing and the pinching and the drinking that usually defines this holiday is my favorite part of the day – the wearing of green (it’s my favorite color!). So, in honor of today’s special color, here are a few good books to read – all with “green” in the title. I’m not so sure carrying one of these around will save you from getting pinched – though you can try…

(Annotations are courtesy of NoveList Plus; starred entries are recommended.)

~~~

FICTION:

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

• Anne, a mischievous, red-haired, eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely, middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on everyone around her.

Black Swan Green by David Mitchell

• A meditative novel of a young boy on the cusp of adulthood follows a single year in the life of thirteen-year-old Jason Taylor as he grows up in what is for him the sleepiest village in Worcestershire, England, in 1982.

Deep Green Sea by Robert Olen Butler

• Traces the romance between a Vietnamese woman whose family is killed in the war and an American veteran returning to Vietnam to make peace with the past.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg*

• Mrs. Threadgoode’s tale of two high-spirited women of the 1930s, Idgie and Ruth, helps Evelyn, a 1980s woman in a sad slump of middle age, to begin to rejuvenate her own life.

Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King

• A great human drama is played out from a Blackfoot reservation to Hollywood while the mythical trickster, Coyote, watches from the sidelines, playfully manipulating events.

Green Mansions: A Romance of the Tropical Forest by W. H. Hudson

• Seeking refuge in the jungles of Venezuela following a failed revolutionary coup, Abel, a young European, falls in love with Rima, a lovely and mysterious girl of the jungle, and the two travel through dense South American jungles and arid grasslands to Rima’s distant homeland.

The Green Mile by Stephen King*

• The story of a convicted killer on death row and one of the prison guards assigned there.

Green Rider by Kristen Britain

• After an unexpected confrontation with a dying knight, Karigan G’ladheon becomes the unlikely bearer of a vital message to the king, on a mission during which she faces assassins and other deadly dangers in a world of complex magic.

How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn

• The youngest son of a Welsh coal-mining family recalls the tender and tragic experiences of his youth at the turn of the century with his courageous and loving parents and brothers and sisters.

Hunter’s Green by Phyllis A. Whitney

• After three years of separation, a woman returns to her husband and to a suspenseful game of fear.

Legend in Green Velvet by Elizabeth Peters

• Susan, a young American archaeology student in Edinburgh, finds herself fleeing from mysterious pursuers and links her fortunes with those of a young Scottish laird who is being threatened by the same unidentified figures.

Little Green Men by Christopher Buckley

• The privileged life of John Oliver Banion, a stuffy Washington political commentator, is thrown into upheaval when he is abducted by aliens during a golf outing at his exclusive country club and embarks on a holy crusade, at the behest of the aliens.

Many a Green Isle by Agnes Sligh Turnbull

• A quiet, middle-aged English professor becomes involved in events which threaten his marriage and his career.

Miracle on the 17th Green by James Patterson

• While playing a round of golf on Christmas, Travis McKinley experiences a Zen-like vision that transforms him into a professional player, pits him against his favorite champions, and eventually saves his troubled marriage.

On Green Dolphin Street by Sebastian Faulks

• In 1960, Mary van der Linden, a loyal wife and mother approaching forty, moves with her family from London to Washington, D.C., where she escapes her narrow world for the larger issues of politics and the Cold War with the help of Frank, a New York journalist.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight*

• This Middle English tale depicts the Green Knight, a mysterious and powerful creature, who offers a fateful and deadly challenge that tests the honor and courage of Gawain, King Arthur’s youngest knight.

Thrush Green by Miss Read

• First in a series of novels about village life in the English countryside and the daily adventures of a host of eccentric, affectionate characters.

The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green by Joshua Braff

• A young Jewish boy growing up in 1970s suburban New Jersey struggles to deal with his fear of disappointing and yearning to escape the demands and expectations of his tyrannical and narcissistic father.

~~~

NONFICTION:

The Green Dark: Poems by Marie Ponsot

• A selection of original poems, as well as selections from four previous works, that span the full nature of human experience and age and explore the passage of time in human life.

Green Hills of Africa by Ernest Hemingway

• A 1930s African jungle safari as recorded in the journal of Ernest Hemingway describes the glory of the landscape while bringing to life the story of a land under threat of human incursion.

The Green Road Home: A Caddie’s Journal of Life on the Pro Golf Tour by Michael Bamberger

• A twentieth-anniversary edition of the Sports Illustrated writer’s first book documents his season as a PGA Tour caddie, during which he assisted such players as Al Geiberger, George Archer, and Steve Elkington in tournaments ranging from the Byron Nelson Classic to the British Open.

Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran*

• Presents a revealing look at life in Baghdad’s Green Zone, the headquarters for the American occupation in Iraq, criticizing the follies and foibles of L. Paul Bremer in the invasion and reconstruction of Iraq.

The Only Thing Worth Dying For: How Eleven Green Berets Forged a New Afghanistan by Eric Biehm

• The author exposes the realities of unconventional warfare and nation-building in Afghanistan in this chronicle of one of the most important military mission in the early days of the Global War on Terror.

Prime Green: Remembering the Sixties by Robert Stone

• A memoir of America’s most turbulent, whimsical decade. From the New York City of Kline and De Kooning to the jazz era of New Orleans’s French Quarter to Ken Kesey’s psychedelic California, Prime Green explores the 1960s in all its weird, innocent, fascinating glory.

And of course, how could we go through the day without a nod to the most classic of “green” books,

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess*

• Illustrates the principle that things are not always what they might appear to be.

Jack the Ripper

His name invokes a sense of terror, even though it’s been more than 100 years since the brutal murders of (at least) 5 young women in 19th Century London. Part of what makes the legend so intriguing is the name – “Jack the Ripper” came from a letter supposedly written by the killer (though later believed to be a hoax). The myth of this unidentified serial killer still lives on today – as evidenced by the numerous fictional and nonfictional attempts to explain the mystery.

If you’re one of the many people who are just a little curious, check out one of these resources:

BOOKS:

The Cases That Haunt Us: From Jack the Ripper to JonBenet Ramsey, the FBI’s Legendary Mindhunter Sheds Light on the Mysteries That Won’t Go Away by John E. Douglas

The Complete Jack the Ripper: A to Z by Paul Begg

Death at Whitechapel by Robin Paige (fictional account of the potential involvement of the Churchills)

The Dracula Dossier by James Reese (fictional account of Bram Stoker’s involvement with the case)

Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson by Lyndsay Faye (fictional account of Sherlock Holmes’ investigation into the case)

The Frightened Man by Kenneth Cameron (fictional account of a 20th Century stalking by Jack)

Jack the Ripper by Richard Gordon (fictional account of a doctor who is drawn into the case)

Jack the Ripper: The Complete Casebook by Donald Rumbelow

Murder and Madness: The Secret Life of Jack the Ripper by David Abrahamsen

The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World’s Most Perplexing Cold Cases by Mike Capuzzo

The Night of the Ripper by Robert Bloch (fictional account of the investigation)

Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper – Case Closed by Patricia Cornwell

The Women of Whitechapel and Jack the Ripper by Paul West (fictional account of a prince’s involvement)

Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper by Pamela Elizabeth West (fictional account of the investigation)

 

WEBSITES:

BBC History: Historical Figures – Jack the Ripper

Casebook: Jack the Ripper

London Metropolitan Police: The Enduring Mystery of Jack the Ripper

Time Magazine: Jack the Ripper Revisited

Wikipedia: Jack the Ripper

 

The Way Back Machine – Best Sellers in 1964

Jumping back to 1964 takes us back to a time of interesting firsts. In February, the Beatles hit number #1 in the U.S for the first time with “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, launching the British Invasion. Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor tie the knot for the first time (but not the last!) in March of that year . And 1964 was the year in which the first Ford Mustangs were introduced.

The novels on the New York Times Bestseller List for the first week of March in 1964 were made up of some well-known names (Michener, le Carré, Fleming, Pearl S. Buck), but the nonfiction books focused on JFK, whose assassination the previous November still impacted the nation.

FICTION:

1. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carré

2. The Group by Mary McCarthy

3. The Venetian Affair by Helen Macinnes

4. The Hat on the Bed by John O’Hara

5. The Wapshot Scandal by John Cheever

6. The Shoes of the Fisherman by Morris L. West

7. Caravans by James Michener

8. The Fanatic by Meyer Levin

9. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service by Ian Fleming

10. The Living Reed by Pearl S. Buck

~~

NONFICTION:

1. Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy

2. The White House Years: Mandate for Change 1953-1956 by Dwight D. Eisenhower

3. J.F.K.: The Man and the Myth by Victor Lasky

4. Four Days: The Historical Record of the Death of President Kennedy by U.P.I. And American Heritage Magazine

5. My Years with General Motors by Alfred P. Sloan

6. The Green Felt Jungle by Ed Reid And Ovid Demaris

7. Rascal by Sterling North

8. Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy

9. William Shakespeare: A Biography by A.L. Rowse

10. The American Way of Death by Jessica Mitford