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Books and Bites
JCPL librarians bring you book recommendations and discuss the bites and beverages to pair with them.
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Carrie: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Books and Bites podcast. Each month we bring you book recommendations and discuss the bites and beverages to pair with them. I'm Carrie Green and I'm here with my co-hosts Michael Cunningham and Jacqueline Cooper.
Michael: Hello.
Jacqueline: Hi.
Carrie: Today we're talking about adventure stories. One of the prompts on the Books and Bites Bingo reading challenge. And adventure stories are a little different than some of the other prompts we've talked about because they can really encompass more than one genre.
What do you all think about adventure stories? What do you think of when you think of an adventure story?
Michael: The first thing that kind of pops in my head is those kind of like Bilbo Baggins or Frodo.
Carrie: Yeah.
Jacqueline: Mm-hmm.
Michael: Anything along those type of lines. Someone like going on like a knight going on a quest.
Or something.
Jacqueline: Yeah, I see that. But I also see like other things like road trips or like,[00:01:00] Neil Schustermans Dry, where they, they go to try to figure out where they can find water. And so, I mean, it ticks some of the boxes. Like there's good and evil
Michael: Yeah, you can also, you know, anything, you know, outdoorsy.
I know there's a couple of horror books that come to mind, like Scott Smith's The Ruins where a bunch of college kids stumbled across the Mayan ruin on vacation, or there's another one, I can't remember the title, but they some kind of supernatural event happens on top of, of a mountain between two mountaineers who are ascending it.
Jacqueline: What do you think the distinction is between survival fiction and adventure fiction. Is there, like, do you think there's anything that distinguishes those apart or,
Carrie: I think maybe, I mean, I haven't, I don't know that I've read a lot of survival fiction. I think for adventure stories, one of the important things [00:02:00] is that
there's usually like a hero who's on a quest, or it could be, you know, a group of people on a quest together. But I think having some sort of quest aspect, a quest is a, and having, you know, a plot that is pretty fast paced and suspenseful. I think in addition to the genres you all have mentioned a lot of Westerns fulfill that category of adventure stories.
Michael: Yeah.
Carrie: One of my favorite books that I've talked about on Books and Bites before, True Grit by Charles Portis. I think that would definitely qualify for an adventure story as well.
Michael: Yeah.
Carrie: Few other books that I have read and talked about for the podcast. One that I also really loved was Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racullia, and it's, it's a kind of a scavenger hunt
in the city of Boston, it's a love letter to the city of Boston. This group of people are trying to solve [00:03:00] this scavenger hunt. And it's great for fans of Edgar Allen Poe or people who like, the novels, the Westing Game or Ready Player one. So that's one I really enjoyed. Another one would be Outlawed by Anna North.
And that is, Kind of an alternative history Western, which features, like a mainly female and non-binary cast of outlaws. So there are gang of outlaws. But you know, they're, even though it does follow some of the Western tropes, their identities are very much outside of what you would think of as the traditional Western tropes.
Mm-hmm. But even things like, there was a book I read by Kazuo Ishiguro, I think it was The Buried Giant, and it was this elderly couple going on a quest. And there was like dragons and, you know, stuff like that. So I [00:04:00] really think this is one where you, you have a lot of options.
Michael: Yeah. Very, very much open to interpretation.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Jacqueline: Yeah. Depending on how you're, what you think. Because there's it's,
Michael: an adventure is, yeah. As opposed to, but yeah, I mean that, I think that quest element,
Jacqueline: yeah, that seems to be important piece. Like for, or Divergent. I mean, a lot of the science fiction also could fall into that category then as well.
Yeah. Mm-hmm. So,
Michael: well ready to go on an adventure?
Jacqueline: Yeah, let's do this.
The book I chose for this month's prompt is Five Survive by New York Times bestselling author Holly Jackson. The main character is 18 year old Redford Kinney, whose nickname is [00:05:00] Red. Red Kinney and her friends Simon, Arthur, and Maddie are driving to Philadelphia to Gulf Shores with Maddie's older brother Oliver and his perfect girlfriend Rena for spring break.
Maddie's mother, assistant DA Catherine LaVoy and Red's mother police captain Grace Kinney have been best friends since college. Naturally, red and Maddie have been friends, best friends all their lives. So when Red's mother was killed five years ago, they became inseparable. Red blames herself for her mother's death and feels guilty.
She believes that if she'd done something differently the night her mother was murdered, she might still be alive. Her father turns to alcohol after her mother's death, leaving Red to fend for herself. Maddie starts looking after red and the rest of the LaVoys mostly treat her like family, but Red misses her family and her life before her mother's death.
Maddie is fiercely loyal and protective of Red. She [00:06:00] often pays for Red's lunch and she doesn't have any money. When Maddie learns that Red can't afford to go with the rest of the senior class, she's upset. She doesn't want Red to miss out on their senior trip to Gulf Shores, Maddie and Simon come up with a perfect solution.
They plan to drive an RV so Red can afford to come on the trip. An RV is "way cheaper, just gas and spending money. " However, Catherine LaVoy doesn't want Maddie to go. Unchaperoned. So Oliver and his girlfriend volunteer to chaperone. The six of them, Maddie, her brother, his girlfriend, a classmate, and his friends go on what they think is going to be a great adventure.
However, on the way to the campgrounds, all their cell phones quit working. None of their cell phones can get a signal. Arthur's phone is the last to lose a signal. They're not sure which turn to take. The road they turn down becomes increasingly narrow, but they aren't too worried. [00:07:00] They only start worrying when the road becomes so narrow that the RV can't get through, and they decide they must have turned down the wrong road. Quickly
they realize there isn't any way to turn around as they start backing the RV out, one of their tires blows out. They come to the realization that the tire does not go flat by accident. When all their tires went flat, they decide to drive out to try to drive out anyway, only just to discover someone has not only shot out all their tires, but put a bullet into their gas tank as well.
Instead of a journey to Gulf Shores, the six find themselves in the middle of nowhere held hostage by a sniper.
Marker
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Jacqueline: The man demands that one of them needs to reveal an important secret. Then the other five can go free. As a night passes, we learn that all of them are keeping secrets. How far will they go to protect their secrets?
Whose secret does the man want? And will one of them not make it out alive? [00:08:00] They have till morning to tell the sniper what he wants to know. Since the story is told through Red's point of view, the reader knows Red's every thought and emotions. We know that red secrets are central to the plot. However, Red is positive that there is no way anyone could know her secrets.
As the story progresses, it becomes clear. That red is not the only one with secrets. As the sick struggle with their guilt and grief over past mistakes, they become increasingly paranoid. Tensions rise as the group tries to discover who has the secret the sniper wants. Relationships are tested and people's true natures become apparent.
As their secrets are revealed, one thing has become clear. Not all of them will survive till dawn. Things I liked about the book was Red's character. I related to her struggle with focus. She often loses focus and tends to jump from topic to topic, and I too have a tough time struggling with focusing sometimes and tend to jump from topic to topic without warning.
[00:09:00] Also, like Red, I worry about past mistakes all the time. I think that Red's rambling thoughts help keep us in suspense. I would recommend this book to any older teens wanting a fast-paced thriller. There is strong language and graphic descriptions of violence. For my pairing, I found I think what would make a good road trip
treat: no baked peanut butter protein cookies. I can't wait to try this recipe out. One of the ingredients I'm curious about is quinoa flakes, and you can find the recipe at thekitchen.com, and kitchen is spelt without an E.
Carrie: Yeah, those, those do sound good. I have, I've never heard of quinoa flakes. I've heard of quinoa,
Michael: but yeah, I didn't know you could flake quinoa.
Carrie: It's already pretty small.
Michael: Yeah.
Jacqueline: I was looking in the grocery store and I, but I didn't spend a ton of time looking for it, but I was like, where are those flakes at? 'cause I wanted to maybe make those cookies.
Carrie: This is kind of the season for road [00:10:00] trips, so it sounds like it's a good book for the summer too.
Jacqueline: That's true. Yeah. I hadn't thought about that. I love a good mystery, so. Mm-hmm. Which maybe I was stretching, stretching the prompt a little bit. I'm not sure. But there was a lot of, it did hit a lot of the things that Novelist mentions.
Carrie: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Novelist, I don't know that we mentioned that earlier, but that's the database where you can go and try to find, book recommendations.
And, sometimes it'll give you guides to different genres like adventure stories. So if you're looking for other recommendations, that would be a good place to, to check.
Jacqueline: It's one of the bingo prompts too, if you're doing the Books and Bites.
Carrie: That's right. Yeah.
Michael: Oh yeah.
This month I took a trip to Mount Everest with John Krakauer's Into Thin Air, a personal [00:11:00] account of the Mount Everest disaster. This is a book that's been languishing on my T B R for years, going back to middle school. I first started reading it right after it's published in 1997. I. I had just joined the Boy Scouts
and was enthralled with the outdoors and mountaineering at the time, but school and other things kind of got in the way. When I finally read crack hours Into the Wild last year, which I absolutely loved, I discovered that this would be a perfect time to pick up Into Thin Air again. I. John Krakauer working for Outside Magazine was given the opportunity of a lifetime to ascend Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world during the 1996 climbing season on Rob Hall's Team. Hall, being one of the most experienced and respected climbers and guides in the world.
Unbeknownst to him or anyone else on the several other expeditions, they were about to be witness to the one of the deadliest days in the mountain's history when a storm rolls in on Summit Day, that ultimately leaves eight people dead. It was the deadliest day until 2014 when an [00:12:00] avalanche killed 16 mountaineering guides,
most of them Sherpas. This is John's personal count of that expedition, relying on interviews with others that were there to corroborate his experiences and provide perspective. He begins with a brief history of Everest and gives us an inside peak at the world of mountaineering. As John makes his way to Nepal
in the base of Everest, he introduces us to his fellow climbers and guys like Rob Hall, Scott Fisher, Beck Weathers, Andy Harris and Doug Hanson and the Sherpas, who literally do all the heavy lifting and make sure everyone gets an opportunity to reach the summit by hauling all the supplies and equipment up the face of the mountain.
He also shows us what exactly an expedition to Mount Everest entails, like the price, which is around $10,000 per person just for their permit. That does not include gear and supplies like oxygen tanks, food, climbing gear, or even their spot on the expedition, and the physical and emotional toll it takes like being away from family for months and navigating an extremely low [00:13:00] oxygen environment with unforgiving terrain.
I really began to understand how truly difficult summoning Everest is. People will spend thousands of dollars on, on attempts to reach the summit and not even make it, like Doug Hanson, who tried a 95 but had to turn back. And even in perfect conditions, the train is extremely te treacherous, and decision making becomes more and more difficult the longer you stay at high altitudes and becomes almost impossible
when you reach 25,000 feet with oxygen, oxygen depletion really taking its toll on the brain. Then when you throw a storm into that mix, even the most experienced climber and guide can succumb to the mountain. John Krakauer's narrative style is taut and gripping and yet very accessible for people unfamiliar with mountaineering.
We have two copies in our collection, one in the teen section, one in the adult collection, plus the book on CD version. It's also available through Libby two. The copy in the teen collection is a new edition that includes a postscript from the author pertaining to [00:14:00] accusations from a guide on another expedition whose actions Krakauer doesn't paint in the best of light.
With Everest stradling Nepal in China and Nepal being the primary site people ascend from. I pair this with a recipe I found for Masala Chai, a drink enjoyed throughout Nepal. It calls for a loose black tea, leaves cardamom, clove, ginger peppercorn, cinnamon milk, and sugar. It's really quite good, but it's quite different from the chai latte you might find in Starbucks.
You can find a link to the recipe on our blog.
Carrie: Hmm, that sounds good.
Jacqueline: Yeah, I like chai tea, so maybe I'd like this. I don't know.
Michael: Yeah, I think there's definitely more spice to it than what you probably get at the, at the Bucks
Jacqueline: yeah, that's true. So true.
Carrie: I know they made a movie out of, what was the other one that you mentioned?
Michael: Into the Wild.
Carrie: Into the Wild. Has this one been made into a movie too?
Michael: Yes, actually it came out. Oh man, we [00:15:00] have it here. It's called Everest and it's based on Krakauer's personal account. . But I don't think it's credited in the movie. And when did it come out? 20 12, 20 14.
Carrie: Mm-hmm.
Michael: But yeah, it's got man Jake Gyllenhall's in it, man. What's that guy's name? Who plays Thanos? Josh Brolin. I mean, there's a bunch of big names in that movie. I've seen part of it and it's pretty good. It's pretty, pretty harrowing stuff. And there was a interesting note is, one of the expeditions was the IMAX team.
And so I want to say back in the late nineties, it came out at IMAX Theater of the that team filming this while this disaster's happening.
Carrie: Oh, wow.
Michael: At the same time.
Jacqueline: I think I remember.
Michael: And so yeah, there was a, I know the, I, the person. Leading the IMAX team up there, went up there and help assisted with some of the [00:16:00] rescues going on, but
Carrie: mm-hmm.
Yeah, I can't imagine doing something like that. I saw the movie Into the Wild and I tried several times to read that book and I just could not get past the first few pages. I don't know why.
Michael: Really.
Carrie: I also think I just felt really annoyed with that dude. Like
Michael: he, he gets a little, I listened to it, and I made a previous attempt to read it years ago, but I finally listened to it on book last year.
But yeah, I think where maybe reminded me of my cousin a lot. This kind of kid just kind of wandering and does his own thing
Carrie: and just is so clueless.
Michael: Kind of venturing doesn't, yeah. Yeah. And he's just like,
Carrie: yeah. But it's interesting how Krakauer kinda has, I don't know, doesn't he have, I know he has other books.
Michael: Oh yeah.
Carrie: I don't know if they're all kind of adventure or true life adventure stories or. [00:17:00]
Michael: He's got an another one called Eager Dreams, which I think is more, almost maybe short stories or more like set like a memoir. Mm-hmm. But he's got some that actually another one was just made to a TV series on Hulu, as a true crime book about the, Mormon church.
Carrie: Yeah, that's the one I was thinking about.
Michael: Yeah. The Banner's of Heaven or something. I think, yeah. And he's got another one called Missoula, which is a kind of a true crime thing about, I think a rape on a college campus.
So
Carrie: interesting.
Michael: Yeah. Yeah.
Carrie: So my book is A Ya Novel, the Ladies' Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Makenzi Lee. In 18th century Edinburgh, Felicity Montague works in a bakery while trying to fulfill [00:18:00] her dream of becoming a doctor. But the hospital boards she applies to for apprenticeship won't even respond to her letters because of her gender.
That's why, after she receives an unwanted marriage proposal from the baker, she works for Felicity travels to her brother and his boyfriend's flat in London. There, she learns that one of her medical idols, Dr. Alexander Platt, may need an assistant on an upcoming expedition. What's more, Dr. Platt is about to marry her childhood best friend Johanna Hoffman.
Although she and Johanna are more like frenemies now, Felicity is determined to travel to Germany and make her appeal to both of them. Since both Felicity and her brother are broke, getting to Stuttgart is a problem, but she meets a mysterious young Muslim woman, Sim, a member of the Crown and Cleaver Pirates who offers to pay Felicity's way
if she can pose as Felicity's maid. [00:19:00] Sim claims that Johanna's family have something that belongs to her. And though Felicity is suspicious of her motive, she agrees to the plan. Just as Felicity and Johanna begin to rekindle their friendship. Felicity catches Sim stealing a letter. Felicity confesses everything to Joanna, whatever is in the letter
so upsets Joanna that she runs away on the morning of her wedding. The adventure really begins when Felicity finds Johanna and later Sim in Zurich. Like Felicity, Joanna and Sim both have ambitions beyond marriage. Joanna wants to become a naturalist like her dead mother, and Sim wants to follow in her father's footsteps and lead the pirates.
They joined together on a quest to uncover Joanna's mother's research-- research that Dr. Platt wants to release to the world as his own, and that SIM's father wants to keep secret. It's an adventure that involves the aforementioned [00:20:00] pirates, a voyage to Algeria and, spoiler alert, sea monsters. The Lady Guide to Petticoats and Piracy is a book about strong, complex female characters trying to find a way to do what they love in a world that won't allow them to. As Sim says, " That's the lie of it all.
You have to be better to prove yourself worthy of being equal." Like many YA characters. Felicity makes lots of mistakes along the way, but throughout the book, she grows and learns. It's especially satisfying to see her successfully treat her friends in several medical emergencies despite her lack of formal training.
If you avoid Y A novels because you don't like the romantic drama that often comes with them, this may be the book for you. Felicity is not interested in romantic relationships or sex of any kind. In fact, she hints at being asexual. The writing is engaging, witty, and well [00:21:00] researched. I especially enjoyed reading the author's end notes where she discusses the pirate queens and women scientists on which these characters are loosely based.
Though a work of fiction, The Ladies Guide to Petticoats and Piracy reminds us that women have long contributed to the world, even if they've been left out of history. Pair the Ladies' Guide to Petticoats and Piracy with shakshuka, an Algerian dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeno onion, and spices according to the library database, A to Z World Food
this dish is popular throughout North Africa and parts of the Middle East and can be eaten at any time of day. I've been wanting to try this dish for a long time and I think it would be perfect with the tomatoes and peppers that are in season right now. We'll link to A to Z World food on our website. And I don't think I mentioned this, but this is actually the second in a [00:22:00] series by Makenzi Lee.
The first one was, about Felicity's brother that I mentioned in this review A Gentleman's Guide to. I can't remember the,
Michael: I've heard of that one.
Carrie: Rest of the title. Yeah. I think, that was a New York Times bestseller. So I didn't read the first one, because they were kind of separate characters.
You know, I didn't really feel like I needed to. So if you wanna jump in, with the second series, you certainly could, but if you're interested in reading the whole thing, I think there are three books in the series. You might wanna start with the first one.
Jacqueline: I think it's interesting that there's no romance, so I have a lot of teens like that will come to me and they're looking for a, that they're want a romance in their books.
That is often hard to find one that doesn't have any romance.
Carrie: Yeah. Well, I mean, and the character is also dealing with something that doesn't get, you know, doesn't get talked about , you know, feeling different because you're [00:23:00] not interested in romance and possibly being asexual and, and not wanting to have a sexual relationship.
You know, people define that differently. So some people consider themselves asexual if they don't wanna have sexual relationships with anyone. So, I think it's important to have those different voices that people can, can read.
Michael: Yeah.
Jacqueline: Yes, definitely.
Michael: Sure.
Carrie: Thanks for listening to the Books and Bites podcast. To learn more about Books and Bites bingo, visit us at jesspublib.org/books-bites. Our theme music is The Breakers from the album In Close Quarters with the Enemy by Scott Whiddon. You can learn more about Scott and his music at his website, adoorforadesk.com.