How did we get to the end of 2023 so quickly??? I like to take this time to say thank you to all my readers. I post several times a month and sometimes it feels like I’m sending my thoughts out into the void – I don’t really know who is reading or if anyone really is. But I am too opinionated to keep thoughts about books to myself. Especially when I love a book, then I want everyone to read it!
Thank you to everyone who reads my thoughts, gets notified every time I post, and subscribes to my woefully neglected newsletter. Thank you for your comments, your emails, for reaching out in whatever way works best for you. I love hearing from you all!
Whatever you celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season filled with laughter, love, and of course, good books! See you in 2024!
Best Books of the Year!
I’m working on my list and hope to have it posted by mid-month. I think there may be some surprises – well, I’m surprised at some of the books I enjoyed most this year, so maybe you will be too. I’d love to hear about your favorites, so please feel free to leave a comment! Meanwhile, here are a few lists to get you started:
Regular readers will recognize the name Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen fame. I am a long time fan, and have introduced her to many of my friends, relatives, and readers. My friend Nora was one, and she became as big a fan as I am! When my daughter-in-law was pregnant a few years ago, I mentioned her blog to my son, specifically her recipe for Broccoli Slaw (which I’ve mentioned here before) because I remember reading her blog post about it in which she mentions how she was eating it every day while she was pregnant. He made it for his wife, she loved it, and they’ve both been fans ever since.
A couple of months ago, my son sent me a link to vote on which South Florida city Deb Perelman would visit on her upcoming book tour. The choices were Boca Raton (where I live) or Palm Beach Gardens, about an hour north of me. PBG was way ahead in the poll, and it stayed that way. Then I forgot about it. I do subscribe to Deb’s newsletter, but I don’t always read it the second it appears. Luckily for me, my friend Nora does. She texted and asked if I wanted to go to see her in PBG for a book signing and a Thanksgiving cooking class. We signed up immediately. It was $50 per person for the cooking class and that included a copy of her latest book, Smitten Kitchen Keepers.
I already had a copy of the cookbook, courtesy of her publisher, but I checked with my son to see if he thought my daughter-in-law would like a signed copy. He thought she’d be into it, so I was happy to do that for her (one Hanukkah gift down!) A day or two later, we found out that the cooking class was sold out – actually, all the cooking classes on this leg of her tour were sold out! Nora had already purchased several copies of the cookbook for herself and some family members, but none had been signed, so she was delighted to get a signed copy.
Deb partnered with Williams Sonoma for this Thanksgiving tour. Williams Sonoma served us some sort of pomegranate drink and a piece of pie while we waited for Deb, both of which I assume were made from the cookbook, and both were appreciated! I didn’t know Williams Sonoma did cooking classes, and it turns out they do not. It was more of a demo than a cooking class, as Deb was the only one cooking. She demoed turkey gravy and her pie crust, and best of all, she was as chatty and friendly as I always imagined she would be. She is just like she is in her videos. She encouraged questions and was kind and super friendly to everyone.
Nora and I had a blast until we were told we needed to get to the back of the line for the book signing. All the people who didn’t sign up for the cooking demo were already in line for the book signing by the time we were ready for that. Williams Sonoma is not a bookstore, but still, I would think they would have been savvy enough to know that the people who paid extra for the cooking demo should have been able to get their books signed without going to the end of the line. But we did it anyway – actually, Nora waited in line while I rested my knee (I’ve been having some knee issues since walking up a steep hill in NY a few weeks ago), and standing on it for more than an hour was about my limit. I rested for fifteen minutes or so and got back in line.
Deb signed the book for my daughter-in-law, and when I mentioned the broccoli slaw story and that she was pregnant again and having a lot of morning sickness, she recommended freshly made lemonade with seltzer. I think she was on to something – my daughter-in-law had mentioned that sour gummies were helpful, and she loves seltzer, so that lemonade sounded like a win to me. And Williams Sonoma was kind enough to mail the book for me! It was a really fun time and made this Thanksgiving special.
Other News
I spent a few days in New York last month visiting my kids. My daughter came with me, and we left my husband at home to take care of the cat. My beautiful Loki is 15 years old and is having some serious health issues. My daughter and I headed up north for her first autumn! We saw some gorgeous trees but surprisingly, a lot of the trees were still green. It was colder than I expected – it went down to 38 our last morning there.
I love spending time with my grandson. I don’t get to see him often enough – if it was up to me, I’d move next door to them! But that is an impossibility, so I do the best I can (a lot of tears are involved.) Even though airfare is manageable, NYC has recently banned all Airbnb, VRBO, etc.; shockingly, hotel prices have skyrocketed. We usually stay at the Sheraton in downtown Brooklyn, as it is a half-mile walk to my son’s apartment, so very convenient. Their rates have gone from the ridiculous, averaging about $350/night, to completely unaffordable at over $500/night. I don’t know how I’m going to manage that. If anyone has a spare bedroom or couch in the NYC or Brooklyn area and wouldn’t mind a couple of people crashing there, I’d be eternally grateful!
Fort Greene Park
As always, thanks for reading, and stay safe.
Thanks to The New York Times and The Washington Post for allowing me to “gift” my readers with free access to these articles, a lovely perk for subscribers.
Comments Off on BookBitch Diary: December 1, 2023 | Ramblings | Permalink Posted by Stacy Alesi
Patton Oswalt posted this on Twitter, and it really resonated with me.
I feel like I’ve watched Israel under siege for most of my life. I was a child during the Six-Day War in 1967. I was a young teen during the Yom Kippur War in 1973, when, inconceivably, Israel was attacked on the most sacred holiday of the year. I’ve lived through many, many Arab-Israeli peace talks. There has been a sort of armed truce in the area for many years, with terrorist martyrs blowing themselves up fairly regularly. But this latest attack from Hamas has me reeling, as does the Israeli response.
I am sickened by how the Israelis treat the Palestinians, but we have to differentiate between those Palestinians trying to live their lives peaceably under the most horrific conditions, with Hamas, a terrorist group with only two goals: destroy the country of Israel and kill all the Jews, with little to no regard for the repercussions that will affect the majority of Palestinians who are not part of Hamas. It’s an untenable situation with no discernible way out. It is heartbreaking for everyone involved and everyone watching from afar.
The Digital Public Library of America and public libraries in New York, Brooklyn, Boston, Los Angeles and Seattle have launched programs to ensure that young people can get online access to frequently banned books no matter what political hellscape they’re currently stuck in. Raise the alarm and spread the word.
The due date tucked inside the book of fiction was Oct. 11, 1933
Joanie Wheeler Morgan found “Youth and Other Stories” by Joseph Conrad among her stepfather’s belongings and realized it was an overdue library book from Larchmont Public Library in Westchester County, N.Y. (Larchmont Public Library)
Seafood is prone to fast spoilage and carries special food safety concerns, especially when eaten raw. Our advice will help you get the health benefits of fish and shellfish while reducing the risks. (From Consumer Reports, courtesy of The Washington Post.)
A writer spends eight days exploring the world of British farmhouse cheeses, from London to the West Country, where a good Cheddar rules the day.
A member of the herd at Manor Farm in North Cadbury, England, where cheesemaker Jamie Montgomery makes his Cheddar.Credit…Jeremie Souteyrat for The New York Times
Other News
My grandson is bilingual; he speaks both English and Spanish and also speaks a bit of Hebrew. I did not realize how well he understands and speaks Spanish. He’s 2 1/2 now, and while I don’t speak Spanish, I was blown away by this video of him conversing with his nanny, Maria (who is such a gift!)
My husband loves carving pumpkins, but he stopped doing it once my kids were adults. This year, he decided to surprise my grandson long distance – he found a Daniel Tiger drawing on PBS Kids, and printed it out. Then he did his magic. We FaceTimed while he was working on it; here are the results!
BONUS: a free, 30 day guest pass to The Athletic to the first five readers who claim it! If you are into sports (or know someone who is,) I hope you’ll check it out!
As always, thanks for reading, and stay safe.
Thanks to The New York Times and The Washington Post for allowing me to “gift” my readers with free access to these articles, a lovely perk for subscribers.
I grew up on Long Island, New York. This is what fall looked like. It was often too cold, but always beautiful. Autumn in South Florida may be a few degrees cooler than summer – 88 instead of 95. The leaves don’t change. The palm trees keep their palm fronds and coconuts.
Autumn in Miami
For most of the country, fall promises cooler weather. For us in South Florida, fall promises the worst of hurricane season, followed by slightly cooler, more temperate weather. But it’s the hurricanes that have always been the problem.
When you are sitting smack dab in the middle of most hurricane routes, you tend to spend quite a bit of time keeping an eye on things. The past few years, the storms seem to be hitting the Gulf coast rather than the Atlantic coast. Or if they are hitting the Atlantic coast, they have been problems for the states north of Florida. Maine was in the eye of Hurricane Lee just a few weeks ago! One of my good friends moved to Maine from Florida almost 20 years ago. Trust me, she never once thought about a hurricane following her there. But that is the weather we live with now. Everything we once knew? Not so much anymore.
Even more disturbing are the water shortages worldwide. There are countries shooting at each other over water rights. Iran and Afghanistan. Haiti and Santo Domingo. And then there is America, and the fight over the Colorado River. There may not have been shots fired here, but there is fighting.
I love the New York Times Cooking App. They have great recipes, lots of videos, people like you and me post comments, most of which are incredibly helpful, and best of all, you can ask questions of the staff and they will get back to you pretty quickly.
Freebie P.S.A. coming your way! New York Times Cooking is offering a free trial right now. Previously, the Cooking app was available to subscribers only, but for a limited time, you can access any recipe via the app at no cost. (I cannot emphasize enough how big a deal this is!) Just download the NYT Cooking app to start your free trial: iOS users can download the app here, while Android users can use this link.
Last month, I wrote about the beautiful tinned fish stores in Portugal. Now, the New York Times is writing about the beautiful tinned fish store in Times Square in New York City!
Eating an early meal in the new time zone and avoiding a meal late the night before could mean two fewer days of jet lag, a mathematical model showed
Other News
A few weeks ago, we had a pretty bad scare with my cat, Loki. We’ve noticed over the past several months that he occasionally gets tremors. They only last a few seconds, and he is pretty old – he’ll be 15 on Nov. 1 (that’s 76 in human years!) But then, a few weeks ago, it got more serious. He let out this really loud, low-pitched meow, one that we rarely hear from him, but when we do, he’s usually in pain. My husband and I ran and found him lying on the floor near the litter box. He was lying in a pool of urine and couldn’t move. We crouched there with him, he looked into my eyes, and I petted his head. It felt like hours, but probably just a few minutes later, he stood up. I cleaned him up as best as I could – I didn’t want to give him additional trauma by bathing him, and he spent the next little while cleaning himself. He seemed perfectly fine after that, but it scared me badly.
waiting for his turkey dinner
Our vet was out of town (this happened over the Labor Day weekend,) but I was able to bring him in that Tuesday. He did a pretty thorough examination and didn’t find anything wrong. Heart and lungs were clear, no protrusions or growths anywhere. No weight loss. He wanted to know if he was able to see me, to focus, or if his eyes were shifting around or closed while it was happening. He said to keep an eye on him for the next month, and if it happened again to try and video it, especially his eyes, and to get a urine sample. It’s been a month, and I’ve seen a few seconds of tremors one time, and that’s it.
The vet thinks it may be a brain tumor. He said he could x-ray him, but an MRI is the best. There are two machines in South Florida, and it would cost $2000. So I asked what would happen if he did have a brain tumor – could it be surgically removed? How would that affect his quality of life? He said if it was him, he wouldn’t do it. He wouldn’t do the x-ray, and he wouldn’t do the MRI. He wouldn’t put an old cat through the trauma of it all, especially surgery that may or may not extend his life or even help in any way. It was discouraging, but I appreciated his candor.
nap time
I love my vet; he has been practicing medicine for decades, and he really cares about his patients. He caused quite an uproar around here about twenty years ago or so. The local newspaper, The Sun-Sentinel, did a feature story on him. He said that animals, especially those that stay indoors like our cat, do not need annual exams. Then he really poured fuel on the fire; he said they don’t need annual rabies vaccines, either. He started giving his patients rabies vaccines in their tails instead of their thighs. Why? There were way too many incidents of cancer at the injection site. He didn’t want to amputate another animal’s leg. It wouldn’t be as big a loss if they got cancer in their tail.
watching the football game
Around that same time, the pharmaceutical companies had come out with two, three, and five-year rabies vaccines at two, three, and five times the price. Except each of those vials contained the exact same dose of the vaccine. He was furious, and he called them out. He called out every vet in town that was selling them. He said that vets insist on annual visits and vaccines for one reason only: to make money. As you can imagine, he was none too popular among his peers. He had that article blown up, and it hangs on the wall in his waiting room.
Loki is the first purebred cat we’ve ever had. I wrote the breeder and asked for his medical history. I was delighted to find out that he has real longevity in his gene pool. His dad lived to be 21, and died of pancreatitis. His mom had recently passed at 18, of old age. The breeder said she got slower and slower, slept more, and ate less. Never seemed to be in any pain, though. She also said there was no history of brain tumors in any of her cats. She shared a lot about his family, and it was all reassuring, so we are hoping for the best.
Loki is a very special cat. He is just as beautiful on the inside as on the outside. He has brought me and my family so much joy in his years with us. Most days, when I get home from work, he is sitting in the sidelight window, waiting for me. He sleeps between my husband and me during most of the night. He naps on my bed all day, hiding under it if we make too much noise and disturb him. Sometimes he lies under there with his head in my husband’s sneaker. When he’s had enough napping, he hangs out with us. He lays on the hassock with his head on my ankle, or on the arm of the oversized chair my husband prefers, cuddled up with him.
He is the world’s pickiest eater – he turns his nose up some days at the food he previously devoured. When I make a turkey, he becomes my shadow, not leaving my side until he gets his. The only times he ever seems inclined to jump on the counter is when I make a turkey or sponge cake. Yep, something about that cake just makes his nose quiver.
When my grandson comes to visit, Loki hides. Not because Jonah is rough with him; he’s actually been incredibly gentle. But as Loki has gotten older, he doesn’t want to be bothered by anyone; he just wants to get his 18-20 hours of sleep in and be left alone. That said, he occasionally would wander by, and Jonah would be so happy! When we Facetime with him, he always asks for Loki. If he’s not around, we say Jonah, where’s Loki? And he says, he’s hiding. That little boy understands.
As always, thanks for reading, and stay safe.
Thanks to The New York Times and The Washington Post for allowing me to “gift” my readers with free access to these articles, a lovely perk for subscribers.
Comments Off on BookBitch Diary: October 1, 2023 | Ramblings | Permalink Posted by Stacy Alesi
My daughter got me watching Gilmore Girls when she was in middle school. We missed the first couple of seasons, which I didn’t realize at the time, and watched it sporadically. Several years ago, as streaming became a thing, I found them on Netflix and started watching from the beginning. The show had been rather abruptly canceled, so the creators of the show, the Paladinos, never got the ending they wanted. Then came the reboot, which I also watched – my friend Caitlin had a viewing party, which was so much fun! I even made homemade pop-tarts for the event.
Since I’m letting that secret out, here’s the other: I have two shows that are my guilty pleasure – I watch the entire run of Gilmore Girls, then watch the entire run of The West Wing, another show I didn’t watch when it aired the first time around. A co-worker pestered me into watching – she had the whole series on DVD, and I fell in love with Aaron Sorkin. I’ve watched everything the man has written, and I’ve watched Sports Night and The Newsroom several times, and The American President, the forerunner to The West Wing, more times than I can count. But The West Wing & Gilmore Girls remain in constant rotation.
I’ve watched all the Palladinos’ shows that I know about, too: Bunheads was terrific but short lived, and I loved The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, too. One of the things I like about rewatching shows is that I don’t have to pay as close attention; I can read while I watch, always a bonus for me. I’ve been rewatching shows that I love for as long as I can remember – I watched I Love Lucy over and over throughout my childhood and even some years into adulthood. And I still watch an episode now and then, especially when I want to cheer myself up. I’ve always credited that amazing cast with getting me through my parents’ divorce.
Are there any shows you watch over and over?
The thing that I don’t understand is how emotionally invested I am with these shows. You would think after watching the President get shot over and over on TWW I’d be immune to it, but no, I still cry at that episode and several others. I’ve tried watching other shows that the stars of these shows moved on to with limited success; I loved a few, gave up on the rest.
I totally bought into this little Gilmore Girls gift from Wirecutter at the New York Times, and agree with their reasoning. If you are a fan of the show, let me know what you think!
Using ChatGPT’s guidance, the Mason City Community School District removed 19 titles—including Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Toni Morrison’s Beloved—from its library shelves. But there is another truth: Educators who must comply with vague laws about “age-appropriate” books with “descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act” have only so many options.
Food News
Stop Trying to Convince Me Tinned Fish Is the Height of Luxury
Can we all admit that tinned fish is just okay?
This article made me laugh! When my husband and I were in Portugal in April, we noticed a lot of tinned fish. Entire aisles of supermarkets were filled with the little tins. And my personal favorite, a chain of touristy tinned fish stores that were incredibly beautiful; their design was based on the world’s most beautiful library at the University of Coimbra. Can you tell which is which??
Hint: In the center photo, those gold brick-looking things are actually cans of tuna packed in olive oil with gold leaf! Those were the most expensive in the store, around € 20. The fish in the supermarket was much less expensive; that’s how I knew this was a tourist trap. The cheapest cans in this fancy store were about €4, which was about the same price as the most expensive cans in the supermarket! Then again, I didn’t see any cans with gold leaf there, but I didn’t look very hard.
In the photo on the right, you can see books wrapping around the wall into the ceiling. Those were trompe l’oeil, painted to look like a library. It was an interesting store for sure. And thanks to Eater, I guess my trip to Portugal was on trend.
LibraryTinned Fish StoreTinned Fish StoreThe view of the University of Coimbra from our hotel; the library is at the top
Apparently, the library was used as inspiration for some of the scenes in the Harry Potter movies. The students at the university wear a uniform of – wait for it – long black robes! They are not mandatory, but it seems most students wear them.
Other News
My kids came to visit a few weeks ago. My grandson, Jonah, is almost 2 1/2 years old and loves to help in the kitchen. We made chocolate chip cookies, and he truly did help! I had everything measured out and ready to go for him. He cracked the eggs and helped me put them in the mixing bowl. He dumped the sugars, flour, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips in next (and blew my mind when he told me we need flour and baking soda to make cookies!) Then, he helped scoop out the cookie dough. He got a few chocolate chips as a “chef snack” for helping.
A few days later, he helped make the frosting for my daughter’s birthday cake and carefully placed confetti on top. But the funniest thing was he found this giant “dinosaur egg” in with the toys I keep for him. He immediately ran to the counter to crack the egg! Then he surprised himself by putting it back together without any help. We had so much fun together!
As always, thanks for reading, and stay safe.
Thanks to The New York Times and The Washington Post for allowing me to “gift” my readers with free access to these articles, a lovely perk for subscribers.
Comments Off on BookBitch Diary: September 1, 2023 | Ramblings | Permalink Posted by Stacy Alesi
Welcome to the sweltering summer. Where I live, in South Florida, the temperatures have been staying in the 90’s, with a “feels like” hovering in the low 100s. But we have it better than most of the country where people are suffering from the hottest summer on record; everything here is air-conditioned. I go from my air-conditioned house to my air-conditioned car to my air-conditioned job to the air-conditioned supermarket, etc. You get the idea. (Just keeping my fingers crossed that we don’t get hit by any hurricanes this year and lose power and that precious A/C!) Arizona is probably similarly air-conditioned as well as parts of Texas, but most of the country is not.
Deaths from heat are becoming more common, and personally, I am still reeling from Governor Abbot (Texas) signing a new law that says employers no longer have to schedule water breaks for their employees who work outdoors. It’s even hotter in Texas than in Florida, and depriving workers of scheduled water breaks will surely lead to more deaths. Turns out Texas is not alone — from The Washington Post:
A worker in Houston digs fence post holes in late June during a historic heat wave in Texas. (David J. Phillip/AP)
“As the planet records some of its highest average temperatures, workers have barely any legal protections from extreme heat.”
And let’s not forget about the flooding in the northeast, the fires burning through Canada that are polluting the air along our northern borders, the landslides in California, and who knows what’s next.
Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins in the 1964 film “My Fair Lady.” “As a working-class kid I daydreamed about owning Henry Higgins’s library,” Michael Dirda writes. “While I’ll never have that wonderful room, I now have the books.” (Mary Evans/Ronald Grant Archive/Everett Collection)
Michael Dirda shares 29 of his rules for reading. They are not hard and fast.
This one spoke to me:
“Typeface troubles: My heart sinks when I see a desirable book printed in eye-strainingly small type. Publishers must imagine that only eagles will read it.”
A few months earlier, a handful of residents had begun demanding the removal of certain books in the children’s section of Warren County’s only public library. Most of the titles involved LGBTQ+ themes. Powered by support from conservative media, the group persuaded the county’s Board of Supervisors in June to withhold 75 percent of the library’s funding until something was done to address the complaints…moving books around will have to be enough. Banning them — removing books that the library’s trained professionals have determined to be in the interest of even a small number of people in the community — that can’t happen.
Schneider, G. S. (2023, July 23). Public libraries are the latest front in culture war battle over books. The Washington Post. https://wapo.st/46Y88Yu
By Nicole A. Cooke, 24 Jul 2023 (This time it’s personal!)
They now need to learn how to plan for safety and legally protect themselves.
Despite misconceptions and stereotypes – ranging from what librarians Gretchen Keer and Andrew Carlos have described as the “middle-aged, bun-wearing, comfortably shod, shushing librarian” to the “sexy librarian … and the hipster or tattooed librarian” – library professionals are more than book jockeys, and they do more than read at story time.
They are experts in classification, pedagogy, data science, social media, disinformation, [I’m adding misinformation,] health sciences, music, art, media literacy and, yes, storytelling.
And right now, librarians are taking on an old role. They are defending the rights of readers and writers in the battles raging across the U.S. over censorship, book challenges and book bans. Continue reading…
Food News
I hadn’t heard of this type of “fruit ice cream” until I read this article about it. From what I can tell, it is not being sold in South Florida, where I live. There is a machine that mixes frozen fruit into vanilla ice cream, then dipsenses it in a swirl. I love ice cream, and this sounds intriguing. If you’ve tried it, please let me know in the comments!
We are getting ready for a visit from my son and his family – I can’t wait! We usually go up to NY to see them in the summer, and while airfare between South Florida & NYC is still pretty decent, the rates at hotels in the area have gone through the roof! We usually stay at the Brooklyn Sheraton, as it’s only a half a mile from their apartment. We paid about $900 for a week two summers ago, $500 for three nights last summer, but this summer, they want $800+ for three nights. It’s a nice hotel, but there’s nothing special or fancy about it to warrant those kinds of rates. They are not alone though; travel expenses this summer have risen dramatically. I kept seeing articles like this one but was hoping for the best – I am the eternal optimist! Sadly, my optimism here has crashed and burned.
My grandson turned two-years-old in March and can no longer be called a baby – he is a little boy, through and through. He loves playing outside on the playground, reading books, helping whoever is cooking, and palling around with his best friend, Ollie.
Jonah & Ollie
Cooling off!
Jonah loves his books!
A personal note: I moved from working in a public library (for almost 18 years!) to an academic one four years ago, and I’ve never regretted it. There are things (and people) I miss from my old job, but my new one has been fulfilling and brings me happiness most days. August 4 is looming, however – that is my current library director’s last day at Lynn University. Amy Filiatreau is moving to the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA, to start leading their library with the fall semester, and they are incredibly lucky to get her.
I understand why she is leaving, but nonetheless, I am so sad about it. I have had a few good bosses in my life, but only two I can say who became good friends (looking at you, Ron Block!) and Amy. Amy is brilliant, empathetic, and kind, and it is such a rarity to work for someone that I respect and admire so much. With that comes fear for the future. Change is always difficult, but Amy and her amazing staff made my transition to Lynn easy. I wish that for her in her new position. Meanwhile, there will be a search for a new library director here at Lynn, and I am hoping for the best – Amy set the standard, and, it is, frankly, impossibly high.
As always, thanks for reading, and stay safe.
Thanks to The New York Times and The Washington Post for allowing me to “gift” my readers with free access to these articles, a lovely perk for subscribers.
If you are a reader, and I’m guessing that’s how you got here, then you are probably aware that the book banning that is going on in this country has reached epidemic proportions, much worse than the McCarthy era of the 1950s and the Reagan resurgence in the 1980s. As a librarian, watching what is happening all over this country, especially in my state of Florida, taking award-winning books away from children and threatening teachers and librarians with prison, is just sickening.
If you believe that everyone should have access to books that interest them and that parents should make the decisions about what is appropriate reading material for their own children and not for everyone else’s children, then I hope you’ll read this Freedom to Read statement and sign on. Thank you.
The Freedom to Read Statement
Seventy years ago, leaders from across the literary world joined together in writing to condemn attacks on free expression. The statement at the heart of that endeavor, the Freedom to Read Statement, was authored by the American Library Association and Association of American Publishers over a period of several days. It begins with this timeless observation:
The freedom to read is essential to our democracy. It is continuously under attack.
A resurgence of attacks on the freedom to read again threatens our democracy. Calls for book bans, the adoption of unconstitutional legislation, and campaigns to criminalize the work of librarians, teachers, booksellers and other individuals for distributing materials protected by the First Amendment threaten our fundamental liberties.
Recognizing that the battle to preserve our freedoms is as old as the freedoms themselves, the American Library Association and the Association of American Publishers have reconvened on this 70th Anniversary of the Freedom to Read statement to reaffirm its timeless message, joined by the Authors Guild and American Booksellers Association. Together, we recommit to the proposition that the freedom to read is essential to our democracy and the birthright of all persons regardless of their beliefs or political persuasion.
Prime Day is coming! Lots of great bargains heading our way. Reminder: Customers can only participate in Prime Day if they are Prime members! So try it free for 30 days…
Grab a Kindle! I followed Wirecutter‘s advice and got the “Kindle Paperwhite Kids” last year on Prime Day – it’s the same Kindle as the adults, but it comes with a nice black case/cover, a longer warranty, and no ads! And it’s 44% off; the price is down from $159.99 to $89.99! The storage of 8 GB is probably more than enough for anyone. I have over 6000 books on mine and have never had a problem adding more. (I have recently made it a habit to remove the download of the book as I finish reading it, just in case!)
I still have the World Book set my mom bought when I was in elementary school. My kids occasionally used it for homework. Most of the information is still good; how much has the information on the polio vaccine or the Revolutionary War changed? I’m sure quite a bit is outdated or ignores contributions by women or people of color – one can only hope this latest edition is more diverse and inclusive.
At this point, I keep it more for its sentimental value than anything else, plus no one wants it. You can find ads for free encyclopedias on NextDoor, Facebook Marketplace, etc., but no one really wants them, even for free. When I worked at the public library, people often donated encyclopedias and other old, moldy, mildewed books that went straight into the dumpster.
My personal favorite was in a phone call I took from a woman who had recently lost her husband. He had been a physician, and she wanted to donate his medical books, most from the 1930s. We respectfully declined.
The public library in my area does purchase a new set of print encyclopedias every year or two and houses them in the children’s section. They keep the previous edition on hand – the older set could be checked out, but the latest edition could only be used in the library. All of this is leading up to this article:
I just bought the only physical encyclopedia still in print, and I regret nothing: The still-updated World Book Encyclopedia is my antidote to the information apocalypse.
The Saga Over Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Russian Novel” Has an Uncomfortable Lesson—and It’s Not for Her
By Imogen West-Knights, Slate
Gilbert, or her publishers, or both, has decided not to go ahead with publication after all. When the book went up on Goodreads, it was flooded with one-star reviews from people who could not have read it yet. “While Ukrainians are dying from russian terrorists, famous authors are writing books about them and romanticizing these bastards,” one commenter wrote. There are 532 such reviews as of this writing.
Need a recipe in a snap to make your summer produce shine? From June 21 – August 15, text a fruit or vegetable emoji to 361-COOK-NYT (361-266-5698) and receive free recipes from New York Times Cooking! This summer, New York Times Cooking is bringing home cooks inspiration around beloved summer produce and more, with a Recipe Emoji Line. From June 21– August 15, text any fruit or vegetable emoji to 361-COOK-NYT. In return, texters will receive a delicious free recipe, and will be guided to continue texting emojis for more free recipes. My only caveat is I haven’t found an emoji for the odd fruits or vegetables that show up in farm shares or co-ops, like dragonfruit, daikon, or kohlrabi!
Fun fact: As a New York Times Cooking subscriber, I’m entitled to gift two free recipes to friends and family (or my readers) each month. Please let me know if you are not a subscriber and would love a specific recipe from the NYT. I’m happy to share! For this month, I’ll share two of my favorites:
Serendipity is a funny thing. Did you watch the TV series “Modern Family?” You still can on Hulu. I recently ran across one of my favorite quotes from the show, which led me to think about it more than I have in years. I loved that show for most of the years it was on, starting with what I affectionately think of as the Lion King episode. (“Pilot,” Season 1, Episode 1):
ABC. (2009, September 24). Lion King Moment 9-23 – Modern Family. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/1aSzTVrP5FQ
Another memorable episode is also from Season 1, “Phil Gets an iPad,” (episode 19.) Watching it at the time felt like watching a commercial for the newly released Apple iPad, but in hindsight, it was almost prescient – Phil says, “oh, who’s ready for the first day of the rest of their lives!” Yep, I’m pretty sure a lot of lives were changed by the iPad. I know mine was. And in a weird coincidence, I now work at a university that is an Apple/iPad school. So maybe not a commercial but more a glimpse of things to come?
Modern Family Clips. (2020, September 7). Modern Family 1×19 – Phil gets an iPad [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/rkbgDtNGv3o
What started me on this topic was the quote I mentioned earlier. It’s from a conversation between Haley, the not-quite-bright daughter, and Alex, her much brighter sister:
Alex: Can you drop me off at the library?
Haley: Sorry. I’m meeting some friends at that coffee shop on Lake.
Alex: You mean the one next to the library?
Haley: That’s a library? I thought it was a church for a religion that didn’t allow makeup.
Corrigan, P., Walsh, B., & Wrubel, B. (Writers). Case, R. (Director). (2014, April 30.) Sleeper. (Season 5, Episode 21.) [TV series episode]. In Levitan, S. & Lloyd, C. (Executive Producers) Modern Family. 20th Century Fox
Now I know a lot of librarians took offense at that. I’m not sure why, to be perfectly honest. Maybe it hit a little too close to home? Since I’m one of the minority librarians who does wear makeup but have rarely worked with or seen many other librarians who do, I knew it to be mostly true and, therefore, funny. Even the younger generation of librarians coming up in the profession are not prone to wearing makeup. I have to add that the librarians I currently work with are pretty evenly divided, some wear makeup, some don’t, but all look professional. That has not always been my experience.
I hate to generalize, but I’ve been to several major librarian conferences over the years, like the American Library Association Annual Conferences, Public Library Annual Conferences, and local ones, like those sponsored by the Florida Library Association and the Southeast Florida Library Information Network (SEFLIN.) I’ve also done presentations at these and for library systems like the Palm Beach County Library System, the New York Library Association, the Kansas Library Association, and other groups. In other words, I have witnessed thousands of librarians – sans makeup.
It’s hard to see, but that is a tattoo of a piece of hard candy behind the ear of this young librarian in a bun!
Added bonus: there is always a booth or two at these conferences selling book/library-themed clothing or cat-themed clothing and accessories, and they usually have lines of librarians waiting to buy them. Buns and bobs are seen throughout the conference. Cardigans galore (I love them!) Glasses! Lots and lots of librarians in buns, cardigans, and glasses. All I’m saying is that stereotypes become stereotypes for a reason.
Does wearing makeup have any impact on a librarian’s work? Absolutely not. Most librarians love to help people find good information, which is more important now than ever, especially with the advent of generative AI and the misinformation and disinformation that is so easily spread. As Neil Gaiman said,
“Google can bring you back 100,000 answers; a librarian can bring you back the right one.”
Did you know that archivists are generally also librarians? They are a subspecialty of the Masters in Library and Information Science or Masters in Information Science degrees. There are also certificate and degree programs in archiving. I mention this because the National Archive has been in the news lately. When Trump was indicted in Miami in the Classified Documents Inquiry, a colleague said, “This is what happens when you fuck with archivists!”
Well said.
As always, thanks for reading, and stay safe.
Thanks to The New York Times for allowing me to “gift” my readers with free access to these articles, a lovely perk for subscribers.
June first is the official start of hurricane season. I live in southeast Florida, and we have been very, very lucky the past several years – but other areas haven’t been as lucky. Storms have landed on the west coast of Florida or up the coast to South Carolina, North Carolina, and even up to New Jersey and New York. That being said, I’m so sorry that anyone has to deal with these massive storms. And even though we haven’t taken a direct hit these last few years, we always take precautions.
Several years ago, a new product came out – windows that are strong enough to withstand hurricane-strength winds and rain. But they are very expensive; a friend told me it cost her $70,000 to update her 6 sliding glass doors (I have 7!) plus windows last year. I’m a librarian, and my husband is an engineer; we do not have that kind of money lying around! My husband is looking into doing it himself, it brings the cost down considerably, and Home Depot and Lowes both sell the windows and sliding glass doors we need.
Meanwhile, at least for this season, it looks like we will use the hurricane shutters we’ve used for years, if necessary. The good thing about hurricanes, if there can be a good thing, is that we always get advance notice that one is coming. It may or may not hit us, but we usually have enough time to store extra water, and canned goods, charge up the phones and portable phone chargers, gas up the grill and the cars and the generator, and, of course, clear the yard of everything and put up the shutters. It’s a big pain in the butt and worth it, even if the storm passes us by. Hell, some years, it’s the only way I can get my husband to clean out the backyard!
We were spared when Hurricane Andrew hit in 1992, but a week later, a small tropical storm blew through my neighborhood, and we were without power for almost a week! (Hurricanes are often followed by tropical storms, they are like the remnants of a hurricane.) My daughter was just a few weeks old, and my next-door neighbor had lent me a baby carriage – the kind the English call prams. It was bigger than the bassinet but on wheels, so I could always keep her with me. I remember the hospital had given me cases of formula & diapers, and one of my neighbors was collecting stuff to take to Miami, which was devastated by the storm. I sent everything I had. I could go to the store and get more; they didn’t have that option for weeks.
We had several hurricanes that came close after that, but we didn’t take a direct hit until 2005. Hurricane Wilma hit us dead on – we lost the roof of our house, the fence around our yard, the screening around the porches, and our power and water for several days. But the house stood, and we were luckier than many others. Hurricane Ian hit the west coast of Florida last year, and they are still trying to recover from it. I’ve lived through many hurricanes over the years, and I am so grateful I am still here to tell you about it. You just never really know what will happen, but at least we can be prepared. Here’s hoping for a mild storm season!
With a lawsuit filed last week, Pen America, Penguin Random House, authors, and parents began fighting book bans. Other publishers should help. (Scholarly Kitchen)
Collaborating on his memoir, “Spare,” meant spending hours together on Zoom, meeting his inner circle, and gaining a new perspective on the tabloids. Work with Prince Harry on the book proceeded steadily—until the press found out about it. In The New Yorker. By J. R. Moehringer
I subscribe to the Washington Post Book Club Newsletter, written by Ron Charles. They recently did an informal survey of their readers, asking them about “the best movie made from the worst novel.” I was happy to see my number one choice made the list: The Devil Wears Prada*. I loved the movie and hated the book. I quibble about The Godfather and Jaws – I loved both of those books and while The Godfather (I & II) are incredible films, I am not a horror movie fan. My husband, who was my boyfriend when the film came out, insisted I would love Jaws, the movie. I went and ended up hiding under a jacket, occasionally peering out through the sleeve, until I finally fell asleep. Not for me! I would never defend either of those books as great literature, but they were exciting, fast-paced reads. I read The Godfather several times, but I’ve seen the films even more – if I’m flipping channels and run across either Godfather movie or TDWP, I will watch it, no matter where in the story it is.
The other books that made the bad book, good movie list: Forrest Gump by Winston Groom, and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. Apparently, someone actually nominated Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, but that was just ridiculous, which Charles acknowledged. There have been many remakes/updates of the book and several films based on the book, and while I may enjoy the more modern-day versions, I also deeply respect the source. As Meg Ryan’s character noted in “You’ve Got Mail,” I, too, love the language. As far as I’m concerned, Austen invented the romance genre, but feel free to disagree!
Food News
The Food of Portugal!
In April, my husband and I visited Portugal. One of the things we were looking at was affordability for our retirement. We spent almost two weeks exploring Portugal from Lisbon north to Braga and east to Coimbra. We drove around the various towns that we had discovered online and in YouTube videos. I fell in love with Braga, about thirty minutes north of Porto. It was important to me that we be near a major city and airport. This is the downtown pedestrian walkway through the main street of Braga and one of the many cafes in the area.
My husband liked Castelo Branco, but it is over two hours from Lisbon and such a small town that when we tried to Uber back to our hotel after dinner, there were no drivers available! The hostess at the restaurant called us a cab, which was quick (and even cheaper than Uber,) but the fact there were no drivers made me uncomfortable. On the bright side, it was our best meal in Portugal, at AKASushi!
Many of the towns and villages we visited have amazing green markets with lots of local produce, fresh fish and meat, and flowers. I loved checking out the supermarkets, too. There are a few different chains there – Lidl, Aldi, and Continente are the biggest, and a new chain from Spain, Mercadona, is starting up in Portugal. I didn’t go to any Aldis because I go to them here, and while their prices are good, what they have in stock is always a crapshoot. I go there occasionally without a list because I cannot count on them to have what I need, like cucumbers or lemons or cornmeal or sugar. Instead, I view Aldi as a serendipitous shopping adventure; I go, wander around, and buy whatever looks good.
We went to one Lidl and weren’t impressed. It didn’t have that great a selection of produce or fish or meat, and didn’t seem quite as clean as some of the other markets we went to. They have opened several stores in the US along the east coast from Georgia through New York, but not in Florida yet. If you have been to a Lidl in the US, I’d love to hear what you think!
Continente was definitely my favorite. They had a beautiful bakery, produce section, and fish and meats. At first, I thought the fish wasn’t priced as low as I had thought it would be. Shrimp were €8-15, depending on size, sea bream was €12, cod was about €8 fresh, less for the famous bacalhau (salt dried cod available everywhere) so maybe a few dollars less than here. But then I realized those prices weren’t per pound but were per kilo – 2.2 pounds, and that made a big difference.
They also love their canned fish there – not just tuna, anchovies. and sardines, but cod, octopus, squid, clams, mackerel, mussels, and more. They are often packed with more than just olive oil, too; some have tomatoes, spices, etc. You can get squid in a sauce based on tomatoes, onions, peppers, and olive oil in a can. The supermarket had an entire row of canned fish. We even saw some canned tuna with gold leaf in it for €20 a can, but that was in a touristy canned fish store.
This is an interesting little video about one of the canning fisheries in Portugal.
Bacalhau
There was a pretty large selection of wine (and hard liquor) and it was very well priced. I don’t think we spent more than $20 on a bottle of wine while we were in Portugal, and those were restaurant prices. The supermarket had lots of bottles for under $5! I fell in love with Vinho Verde, a lightly sparkling white wine that goes great with all the seafood. Other items of interest: the eggs and the milk are mostly shelf stable. They don’t process their eggs the same way we do in the US, so they don’t need refrigeration. They use a different type of pasteurization of the milk, which lets it last longer and doesn’t require refrigeration either. The only things that were comparably priced to the U.S. were paper goods (paper towels, toilet paper) and cleaning supplies, most of which are imported, I guess.
Most Portuguese follow what we think of as a Mediterranean diet – lots of fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, walnuts and almonds, and olive oil is king! It seems like most home gardens have a few olive trees and some fruit trees. It is amazing to me that the same garden can grow almonds, walnuts, oranges, apples, cherries, grapes, and olives, not to mention all the usual salad greens, herbs, and veggies. Oh, and lest you think it is an entirely healthy diet, pretty much every dish we ordered in every restaurant came with fries, and most came with fries and rice! They do love their carbs. They also love their pastries – there are bakeries and cafes everywhere. Their most famous dessert is the Pastel de Nata, which is delicious! Trader Joe’s sells frozen ones they call Portuguese Custard Tarts which come pretty close, especially if you heat them in the air fryer – get them while they last! It is not something they stock year-round.
They have lots of other pastries, too; croissants, brioche croissants, and something called travesseiro. It’s a cigar shaped pastry made from phyllo dough wrapped around a sweet egg filling. Not my favorite – I hate eggs! We didn’t notice many cookies though. Most bakeries also sell these savory stuffed brioche; some have ham & cheese, or just one or the other, or prosciutto, but my husband’s favorite was a “pizza” stuffed brioche. He said it was like the best “hot pocket” ever!
Portugal is also famous, especially in Porto, for the francesinha sandwich. Eater has a great little video about Porto, and included a good description of the francesinha: “the traditional francesinha sandwich manages to stuff two types of homemade sausage, ham, steak, bologna, and cheese between two thick layers of bread; that’s then topped with a fried egg and beer gravy” and served with fries intended for dipping. The sauce is a bit spicy and the sandwich truly requires a fork and knife to eat!
francesinhapastel de natatravesseiro
Other News
*I was assigned The Devil Wears Prada for review in Library Journal back in the day. Here is my review:
Part two, The Devil Wears Prada: I was working for the public library when I reviewed TDWP. Several months later, I was sitting at the checkout desk on a very quiet weeknight. I was reading a galley, an advanced reader copy of a book I would be reviewing. This couple came up to the desk to checkout, and I swiped their library card and proceeded to check out their books.
The woman says to me, “Is that a review copy?”
I said, “Yes, I review for my blog and for Library Journal.”
Then she says, “Oh, are you going to review the new Lauren Weisberger book?”
I replied, “Not if I can help it.”
Then the husband says to the wife, I don’t think she looked at the screen to see our name, so of course I looked. Sure enough, it was Weisberger – they were Lauren’s parents! That was one of my top two most embarrassing “reviewer” moments. If I had noticed the name, I would have been much more diplomatic (I hope!)
As always, thanks for reading, and stay safe.
Thanks to The New York Times for allowing me to “gift” my readers with free access to these articles, a lovely perk for subscribers.
Comments Off on BookBitch Diary: June 1, 2023 | Ramblings | Permalink Posted by Stacy Alesi
The bad news: my husband came down with Covid two days after we got home. Then 5 days later, I tested positive. I’ll be stepping back from this blog until things are controlled and we are on the mend. I hope you understand.
As I mentioned in my last diary entry, my husband and I planned this trip to Portugal because we were thinking about retiring there. After this trip, we are firmly decided. We loved the country and the people and the lifestyle and the food! And the wine – An American in Portugal: I live where wine is cheaper than water.
Now the planning begins in earnest.
I have always been a proud American, until 2016 when this country started straying from its democratic roots into the wannabe autocracy Trump promoted. The death of democracy seems almost inevitable, which I find incredibly sad. I always identified with that opening scene of The Godfather, that first line – “I believe in America.” No more.
My husband’s main reason for wanting to retire to Portugal is that the cost of living is so much lower than it is here. Honestly, we could not afford to retire in this country. at least not if we want to have any sort of fun in retirement. We could probably survive, but that would be it, and frankly, surviving is not how I want to spend my remaining years.
I am also inclined to move for the cost of living, but for so much more. I am sick of the politics in this country. I cannot stomach all the mass shootings and the complete takeover by the NRA in regard to our gun laws – or lack thereof. I am sick of Republicans’ “thoughts and prayers” while the governor of the state I live in just signed a truly reprehensible gun law. It goes into effect on July 1 and means anyone who can legally own a gun in Florida can carry a concealed gun in public without any training or background check.
Portugal is ranked as the 6th safest country in the world, according to the Global Peace Index. There were 35 homicides in Portugal in 2021. Yes, you read that correctly. And that includes all kinds of homicide, not just guns. This is a great piece about retiring to Portugal: In my new home, Portugal, gun violence is not a constant worry. If you didn’t know, I live only a few miles away from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, home to one of the worst mass shootings in American history.
Portugal ranks 22nd worldwide in health care, with a hybrid public-private health insurance system, according to the Legatum Centre for National Prosperity and clearly illustrated in this data chart from Statista. The U.S. excels in research rather than actual health care.
The weather is fairly temperate all year round, especially in the south but even in the north, the winters are quite mild which works for me. Most people speak English, especially in the bigger cities, but I will learn Portuguese. It only seems right. Americans are welcome there, and there are about 10,000 already living there – retirees and digital nomads. There are beautiful beaches along the entire west coast of the country, plus river beaches more inland, with lots of beautiful parks and all sorts of terrain for hiking. Plus thousands of years of history! It is about a six hour flight to New York, and with the lower cost of living, I am hopeful that we will be able to travel more than we can afford to here. Not to mention all of Europe is easily traversed!
These are just some of my reasons for wanting to retire to Portugal – and U.S. News & World Report ranks Portugal as the 4th best country for Americans to retire to: Best Countries for a Comfortable Retirement
“Salt has been essential to cooking — and the human existence — for thousands of years. Our bodies can’t function without it. Our food is often tastier with it.”
Interesting article that may allay some fears people have about salt, while also explaining why it is so important in the various ways we use it in cooking.
I made this Chocolate Hazelnut Macaroon Torte for Passover, a recipe from Smitten Kitchen. It was so good I took half of it to work so I wouldn’t be tempted to eat it all!
Other News
A really smart friend of mine started a new business called Rise & Hedge, a twice-monthly financial literacy email newsletter. I think it is perfect for the young adults in your life, high school and college students, even middle-schoolers, not to mention anyone else who struggles with what to do with their money, how to grow it, and how to protect it. This is from their “About Us” page:
Rise & Hedge was created for one simple purpose:
To provide FREE financial literacy and investment education, with actionable ideas, to those who need it the most.
Financial literacy education is mandated in fewer than half of America’s states, and innumerable people either don’t have an online brokerage account or don’t know what to do with it if they do. We’re here to change that.
Our team is comprised of educators, instructional designers, investment publishing professionals and digital marketing experts who aim to create best-in-class content and get it in front of your eyes, so you can make informed investment decisions that benefit the wellbeing of your personal finances.
Learn more about how we achieve this by signing up for our FREE newsletters, which deliver how-to lessons and investment ideas to your inbox twice a month.
One of my favorite April Fools Day jokes happened several years ago when the library where I worked was closed for renovation. I posted on early social media that the library was getting rid of all the books and using the space for additional computers. Well, people lost their minds over that! Today, I figured it would be met with a shrug. But then this happened…
A merged institution born out of financial strain seeks to balance cost with quality, while also reaching more rural residents. But its botched announcement led to an outcry, an apology and a no-confidence vote.
I’ve always loved books. I like how they feel in my hand. I like how they smell. I love the dust jackets, the covers. Since I was a young child, and at that time, at least in my neighborhood, hardly anyone owned books. My mom had a few antique editions of Shakespeare that the decorator placed in the corner of an antique writing desk with a turquoise glass obelisk sitting on top of them, in the living room where I was not allowed to step foot. We had an old edition of The Canterbury Tales, not an antique but maybe from my father’s brief foray into higher education, that I struggled to read through first and second grade. One of my mother’s friends gave her a copy of The Female Eunuch, by Germaine Greer, which she struggled with and gave up on but I devoured.
Eventually, we got a World Book Encyclopedia set, which I constantly browsed, and in 6th grade, I won my own copy of Roget’s Thesaurus in an oral reading challenge. I bought books from Scholastic when I was in elementary school, one or two at a time as that was all we could afford. For every birthday or Hannukah, I asked for books, eventually accumulating almost all the Nancy Drews, a few Cherry Ames, a couple of the Hardy Boys (stolen from my brother who had learning challenges and hated reading,) and a few childhood favorites – Dr. Suess, The Phantom Tollbooth, Harriet the Spy, which I read over and over again. My mom gave away all my books to a friend of hers from high school who didn’t have much but had two kids, the oldest a year or so younger than me. I was pissed, but tried to be magnanimous. When I went to live with my father and his wife, I was in high school and my stepmother was a voracious reader. She gave me her first edition of Gone With the Wind that her high school boyfriend/first husband had given her. Then I found Marjorie Morningstar, Valley of the Dolls, The Godfather, and fell in love with horror – Jaws, The Exorcist, Stephen King; then thrillers, The Boys from Brazil, The Bourne Identity, The Day of the Jackal. I was always a fast reader, usually reading a book a day, and read many of these favorites repeatedly. Between reading the book and watching the Godfather movies (first 2) so many times, I can quote most of it from memory and point out the digressions from book to film.
After I was married, my husband and I moved to Dallas, Texas. We spent our weekends haunting this small chain of used bookstores, Half Price Books, I think there were maybe 10 stores or so – now well over 100 – and hitting area thrift stores. There were several that we visited regularly, and six years later when we moved back to Florida, we moved with 80 cartons of books. A collection was born.
When my children were born, the collection expanded exponentially to include children’s books. When I started working at Borders Books, we got a book allowance each month, I think about $40 to spend on books in addition to a staff discount. We also got in boxes of galleys, paperback editions of books that would be coming out, usually a few months off. Staff could take what they wanted, and surprisingly, many of the staff didn’t really care. I was happy to take any that were left over at the end of the month. Borders was also where I discovered remainders, new books that were marked down tremendously. I was in book heaven.
That was then, this is now. Twenty-some-odd years later, I have given away at least half of my books, probably more. I pretty much saved all my signed books, books in series that I love (Diana Gabaldon, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Janet Evanovich, Stephen King, David Rosenfelt,) classics, a small nonfiction collection of about 300 books, and I still have a serious cookbook collection of about 250 books (that was pared down significantly.)
To be honest, I read almost exclusively on my iPad or Kindle now. I have some severe eye issues, and that is the most comfortable and easiest way for me to read. When the Kindle first came out, my husband bought me one, and I thought, what am I going to do with this? It was pretty much a paperweight for a long time. Well, I’m on my fourth Kindle now, and my husband just gave me an “I told you so.”
The first person I knew who was reading on a Kindle back when they first came out was a friend of my mom’s who had macular degeneration. He subscribed to the New York Times and was only able to read it on his Kindle. That was my first inkling that this e-reader was going to be a success, but I never dreamed I’d be someone who would need that technology. At least not until I was much older!
At first, I started using it for travel and even doctor visits. I was that weirdo who if I only had a chapter or two left of a book, would take two books to the doctor. Heaven forbid I ran out of reading material and be forced to read old People magazines! I took three books with me to jury duty, and read them all. I’ll say one thing about readers; we never mind waiting for anything – at least I don’t. I read during traffic jams, while waiting in line anywhere, at any appointments where I have to wait, while I’m cooking & waiting for the water to boil, the oven to preheat, and, well, you get the idea. I am a reader, and damn proud of it. Welcome to my world!
We flew to New York a few weeks ago for my grandson’s second birthday. No more baby – he is a toddler for sure. We had such a great time – and his oh-so-talented mama made him a Very Hungry Caterpillar birthday cake! His language skills are incredible; he repeats everything he hears and retains it, be it in English or Spanish, and now a bit of Hebrew, too! He tells us Shabbat Shalom, asked for hamentaschen on Purim, and read us his book on Passover; he sang the beginning of Dayenu and the four questions. I am so sorry I won’t get to spend the holiday with them, but maybe next year.
We usually go up during the summer to see them, but we have a big trip planned to Portugal* later this month, so not sure how much vacation time I’ll have left after that. It’s hard when family is so far away; we are in Florida, his other grandparents are in Chicago, and he lives in Brooklyn. Now I know how my mom felt when my son was born in Texas; I would say she’s sitting up in heaven saying I told you so, but that was never her way.
Food News
I celebrated Mardi Gras this year by baking a King Cake, with a little help from King Arthur Baking. If you are not familiar with their website, they are not just about selling the best ingredients and bakeware, they have tons of recipes – and those are all free! They have a blog, which is awesome. Recent posts include 20 spring celebration bakes for Easter, Passover, Ramadan, and beyond; A guide to different types of sugars, how to use them, and when to substitute; and Ask the Bread Coach: My dough isn’t rising — what now? If you like to bake, or want to learn (!) this is your best bet for foolproof recipes and tips and tricks. This recent post was a real eye opener to me – if you’ve ever struggled with folding beaten egg whites into a batter using a large spatula, as I have always seen it done, be it into pancake batter or, in my most recent case, tiramisu, there is a better way! It’s tricky folding enough to not have any more white streaks but also not deflating the batter. The solution was so simple I was just gobsmacked: Things bakers know: Why a whisk (not a spatula!) is the best tool for folding. (I don’t make a dime from KA, in case you were wondering why I keep bringing them up – it’s purely my need to share good stuff!)
My husband 3D printed me a baby Yoda to hide in the cake!
Book News
First there was this, which made me so angry! I posted it on Facebook (because I’m old!)
Again I ask, why does one parent get to decide what every child reads??? If you don’t want your child to read this book, that is your choice and your responsibility. It is not your choice or responsibility to force my child to abide by your decisions. Fuck off.
Lapeer County Prosecutor John Miller says he may file criminal charges against employees or officials of the Lapeer District Library if an LGBTQ-themed graphic novel isn’t removed from the shelves.
The librarians’ partial victory shows how pro-worker, anti-censorship organizing can work even in a conservative state. Missouri lawmakers on March 23, 2023, moved to strip state funding from public libraries in retaliation for a lawsuit challenging a new state law that bans certain materials in school libraries.
Over the 30-day comment period, Missouri residents registered more than 18,000 comments, comprising a stack of more than 20,000 pages, that forced Ashcroft to withdraw and revise the rule. It was a win for Missouri librarians and for intellectual freedom.
My husband and I are planning a trip to Portugal this spring. This is more than a tourist visit; we are thinking about retiring there in a few years. (Well, he wants to retire – I want to find some kind of part-time remote work. The thought of not doing anything at all just freaks me out!) I’d love to hear from anyone who has visited or lived there. Thanks!
As always, thanks for reading, and stay safe.
Comments Off on BookBitch Diary: April 1, 2023 | Ramblings | Permalink Posted by Stacy Alesi
Welcome! This year is moving fast, I feel like I just stopped saying Happy New Year and here we are in March.
My grandson turns 2 on March 3, and I can’t wait to see him! He had his first haircut recently, is learning his letters and counting, knows his colors and so many animals. He knows a bit of sign language, understands Spanish and English, and is learning to speak both. It’s completely exhilarating seeing how fast he absorbs everything. I love Facetiming with him, although his new favorite thing is to say “Jonah hold it” and when he grabs the phone or the Macbook, he invariably ends the call. Hopefully, he’ll figure that out soon enough. He also demands to see Papa, Auntie, and Loki when he calls. We’ve had to squish together so he can see us all at once. Yes, we do anything he asks! That is the joy of being a grandparent.
Debut Spotlight: Rachel Koller Croft, via the International Thriller Writers “Big Thrill” newsletter. (I loved her book, Stone Cold Fox!) Plus, it’s being adapted for TV, so read the book first.
“Conning and scheming and extorting and doing down-right dastardly business is not for the faint of heart… Most people are trusting. Their first mistake.”
Dictionaries lined not only the shelves she had specially built for them but every surface in her sizable two-bedroom apartment. Drawers were pulled out to make more surfaces on which to stack books, which also lay atop the refrigerator and on her bed. Books stood in towers along the floor, with narrow passageways to ease through. “It’s the biggest collection of dictionaries, period,” said the lexicographer Jesse Sheidlower, author of The F-Word, a history of that verb. Sheidlower is one of a cohort of lexicographers who knew Kripke and used her books, and her knowledge, to inspire their own work. Of her collection, “it’s better than what’s in the Bodleian and the NYPL combined,” he said, referring to libraries at the University of Oxford and in New York City.
Note: You have to sign up for a free account at The Chronicle of Higher Education to read.
I love meringue, especially meringue cookies. I used to make lemon meringue pie, my favorite pie, but the last two times I made it, the meringue “weeped,” a problem, I’m told, due to Florida’s humidity. Reading these articles has prompted me to try it again – maybe for Pi Day (3/14).
Here’s an interesting tip for bakers: when you have to fold egg whites into a batter, I’ve always used a large rubber or silicone spatula. Turns out I should have been using a whisk! Courtesy of the King Arthur Baking Company.
My husband and I are planning a trip to Portugal this spring. This is more than a tourist visit; we are thinking about retiring there in a few years. (Well, he wants to retire – I want to find some kind of part time remote work. The thought of not doing anything at all just freaks me out!) I’d love to hear from anyone who has visited or lived there. Thanks!
As always, thanks for reading, and stay safe.
Thanks to The New York Times for allowing me to “gift” my readers with free access to these articles, a lovely perk for subscribers.
Comments Off on BookBitch Diary: March 1, 2023 | Ramblings | Permalink Posted by Stacy Alesi
Posted by Stacy Alesi 
Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™ 