GOOD READS
Beyond Best-Sellers: What B&ECPL Staff Recommend
The following were recently published titles which were read and recommended by members of our staff in the month indicated. The initials or pen name of the contributing staff member are noted after each review. Click here for more current recommendations.
December 2003
Cooking
for Mr. Latte, A Food Lover's Courtship, with Recipes Amanda Hesser
Non-Fiction
Amanda Hesser, a food writer for the New York Times, writes a tantalizing recounting
of her yearlong romance with a man she calls Mr. Latte, intertwined with unforgettable
stories of extravagant meals in exclusive Manhattan restaurants. She add spice
to the story by including delectable recipes.
Reviewed by JSC
Tapping
the Dream Tree Charles de Lint
Fiction
Myth, magic and beauty. Charles de Lint creates a world wherein people commune
with animals, pixies drop in uninvited and love's power is as fantastic as
all of the legends you never believed to be true. Each chapter reads like a
short story, but characters are drawn together through connecting experiences
that make the piece a whole.
Reviewed by au tumn
Land
of the Blind Jess Walter
Fiction
A burnt-out police detective meets up with a familiar looking man who wants
to confess to a crime, but wants to write the confession out in longhand. The
suspense and characterization will hook you, and the way the story is woven
between past and present will keep you guessing right up to the end.
Reviewed by sjc
The
Bondswoman's Narrative Hannah Crafts
Fiction
In 2001, historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. purchased an unpublished manuscript
titled The Bondwoman's Narrative by an author named Hannah Crafts, dating from
the 1850s. He then turned detective to confirm the origins of the manuscript
and the writer's racial identity. If Gates is correct, it is the earliest known
novel by a female African-American slave and probably the earliest known novel
by a black woman anywhere. Beyond the historical significance, Crafts is a
talented storyteller who provides a moving, first-hand account of the horrors
of slavery.
Reviewed by CC
The
Solace of Leaving Early Haven Kimmel
Fiction
A well-written debut novel from the author of the memoir "A Girl named
Zippy". This is the story of two people in opposition who fail to recognize
that they are both on the same side. One is a minister struggling with a crisis
of faith, and the other is a doctoral student who walks out on her dissertation.
A neighborhood tragedy forces a confrontation that forces them both to look
both within and beyond themselves.
Reviewed by sjc
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