The End of Craving and Food IQ

THE END OF CRAVING by Mark Schatzker is subtitled “Recovering the Lost Wisdom of Eating Well” and, like Schatzker’s other works (e.g., The Dorito Effect), has been of interest to our students and faculty. In his latest offering, Schatzker once again draws on his science and writing background to explore our increasingly dysfunctional relationship with food in an engaging and informative manner. Schatzker travels the world – sharing stories from Italy, India, the United States and elsewhere – in order to highlight the value of healthy, joyful eating and nutrition. He points to contrasts in government efforts to require additives like vitamins versus taking steps to promote lifestyle changes. A significant portion of the book is devoted to notes and references which will be a huge help to our student researchers interested in eating disorders, obesity, and mind-body connections.

FOOD IQ by Daniel Holzman and Matt Rodbard is a forthcoming text that takes a new spin on cookbooks which have been more apt of late to include personal stories.  The authors do that here, too, but they really focus on some unusual “food facts” by exploring “100 Questions, Answers, and Recipes to Raise Your Cooking Smarts.” There are sections on ingredients, tools, and favorite dishes, for example. Each chapter contains multiple questions (Which onion – red, white, or yellow – should I use? OR Should I feel guilty for loving my microwave?), plus personal connections and/or interviews with experts, pictures, and relatively simple recipes (e.g., Braised Chicken Thighs with apricots and spices or Quick and Creamy Guacamole). I think this would have been a very fun book to write (brainstorming the questions must have been quite a creative endeavor). It’s difficult, though, to predict whether this entertaining work will have more appeal to the novice or experienced cook. Our Applied Arts (Gourmet and Foods classes) teachers might like to share vignettes, techniques, or recipes with their students. 

Love & Saffron by Kim Fay

LOVE & SAFFRON by Kim Fay is a unique novel that explores a deepening friendship through letters.  The correspondents are Joan Bergstrom, an unmarried, kind-hearted 27-year-old from Los Angeles and Imogen Fortier, an older, married woman who lives in Washington state. They initially bond over food; Mrs. Fortier crafts a column which Joan reads and then sends a gift of saffron spice to convey her gratefulness. Over time, the two become close confidantes (Joan and Immy) who encourage each other and share stories, hopes, and fears about illness and life’s many unexpected changes. I especially liked the philosophical musings (“To think we are made up of so many different layers, and we may never meet all of them before the big sleep” or “The less we cement ourselves to our certainties, the fuller our lives can be”). Plus, the novel is set in the early 1960s and the casual historical references (e.g., Warren Magnuson, Scoop Jackson, author Phyllis Whitney) were so much added fun. Kirkus summarizes reader reaction well: “The story leaves the reader wanting more—more recipes, more letters, more time in the gentle, unfolding friendship of these two women.”

WITH LOVE FROM LONDON by New York Times best-selling author Sarah Jio is described by the publisher as “a story about healing and loss, revealing the emotional, relatable truths about love, family, and forgiveness.” Recently divorced Val is the main character and she heads to London to take over the flat and bookshop which she just inherited from Eloise, her estranged mother. Mystery, romance, London and books … sounds great, but I struggled to keep the characters and time frames (2013 and 1968) straight. Do consider this title if you have patience and are looking for a lighter, escapist read. After Jio references Maeve Binchy (“her cozy stories were a much-needed life raft”), she speaks to readers about her own work “wherever you are, and wherever life may take you, I hope you find reading this story to be as comforting as it has been for me to write.”  WITH LOVE FROM LONDON received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. 

Black History Month

It is Black History Month so please stop by the library to see the displays and to check out a book. Here are a just a couple of relevant titles:

BLACK BIRDS IN THE SKY by Brandy Colbert is an award-winning work of non-fiction designed for young adult readers. Its focus is on events surrounding the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre when a white mob razed thirty-five square city blocks, leaving hundreds dead. Colbert combines personal accounts from survivors with historical context and period photos to convey the horrific events of that day. Often described as “essential reading,” BLACK BIRDS IN THE SKY received multiple starred reviews, including from Booklist, Kirkus, School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. Colbert writes, “This history is painful. It angers me. … I am grateful for educators who continue to do the difficult work of teaching their students the complicated, sometimes brutal history of this country’s past.” Other recent books about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre include The Ground Breaking and The Burning; the latter is available in versions for both adults and younger readers.

JUST HEALTH by Dayna Bowen Matthew is to be published later this month by New York University Press and therefore takes a more sophisticated and academic look at “Treating Structural Racism to Heal America.” Matthew, a Dean and Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School, argues that poverty, prejudice and poor health are “afflictions of structural inequality” which she defines as "the deliberately and unintentionally constructed disruptions that a society uses to systematically displace humans from standing on equal footing in life.” She draws on extensive research (more than ten percent of the book is devoted to notes and references) to explore geographic and demographic differences in chapters related to legal issues, housing, education, and healthcare. A final chapter outlines proposals for solutions and policy reform. Inequitable healthcare, both for women and people of color, is a topic of high interest for this year’s Junior Themers, many of whom are reading related texts such as Doing Harm and Seeing Patients. 

Making Numbers Count

MAKING NUMBERS COUNT by Chip Heath and Karla Starr is all about “The Art and Science of Communicating Numbers.” Kirkus sums up this text as follows: “Astute advice for business people and educators.” The authors note that their book “is based on a simple observation: we lose information when we don’t translate numbers into instinctive human experience.” They offer over 30 possible translation techniques (e.g., use calendar time – like every day for almost 4 months instead of saying 112). Heath and Starr explain the value of visual comparisons – like a pack of cards instead of a 4 ounce portion or thinking of all the world’s water as filling a gallon container (saltwater from the oceans) and three ice cubes (fresh water) with humans only able to drink the few drops melting off the cubes. Memorable, right? Other sections of the book suggest using emotional numbers and translating to a human scale. The examples go on and on, including the New York Times effort to convey the loss of human life to Covid-19 by posting the names and a small fact about just 1000 people -- still filling over 5 pages. Our Library collection has included numerous other texts by the Heath brothers (e.g., Switch; Decisive; Made to Stick; and The Power of Moments) and we will be adding MAKING NUMBERS COUNT soon.

The Magnolia Palace and more ...

After having praised the deserving January 2022 Library Reads selection titled The Maid, here are a couple of other selections from this month – with female protagonists – that may well appeal:

THE MAGNOLIA PALACE by Fiona Davis is a wonderful work of historical fiction from this very popular author. Like her other novels (The Masterpiece, The Lions of Fifth Avenue, etc.), this story features an iconic New York City location (Henry Clay Frick’s mansion in this case) and two time periods (1919 and the mid-1960’s).  Based on a real-life model, Audrey Munson, the character of Lillian Carter (or Angelica) has been a sculptor’s muse in New York – her position changes dramatically after the deaths of her mother and of her landlady. Through some fortunate coincidences, she ends up becoming the social secretary for Helen Clay Frick, the businessman’s daughter. It is fascinating to read about the family dramas and that Gilded Age time as well as the art collection with which a subsequent model, Veronica Weber, poses decades later. Locked in the mansion, Veronica and a young intern discover clues to a mystery that lead to a murderer from the earlier time. History and mystery – especially appealing to fans of the new HBO series. THE MAGNOLIA PALACE received starred reviews from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly (describing this title as “Davis’s best work to date”).

THE DEPARTMENT OF RARE BOOKS AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS by Eva Jurczyk is a debut work which seemed to move a bit slowly for me, but which was yet another a LibraryReads Selection for January. Professional reviewers tended to enjoy it as well, with Kirkus describing this mystery story as “The perfect gift for librarians and those who love them—and doesn’t that include just about every reader?”

As the story begins, Liesl Weiss has assumed responsibilities as acting as head of the Department and soon discovers that a recent rare book acquisition has gone missing. Was it somehow mis-shelved or stolen? The university President actively discourages police involvement while requiring a reluctant Liesl to “schmooze” with the donors. Soon a fellow librarian goes missing and theft looks more likely as the donors apply increasing pressure. Poor Liesl struggles to gain respect and find the valuable text. Book groups might well enjoy debating her predicament in the face of ageism and male chauvinism.