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Books and Bites
JCPL librarians bring you book recommendations and discuss the bites and beverages to pair with them.
7_23 BB
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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 everybody.
Carrie: This year's summer learning theme is Dig In. So we thought we'd dig into some authors we already know with the Books and Bites Bingo prompt, read another book by an author you love. So do you all like to read multiple books by the same author?
Jacqueline: I do. Yeah. Once I find an author I like, I wanna read everything mm-hmm. That this author has, that they've written. So how about you, Michael?
Michael: Yeah, usually if I find an author and their book just like hooks me or grabs me, I usually go back through their catalog and try [00:01:00] to read their past
works.
Carrie: for me it really depends. I mean, there are some authors I feel that way about, and you know, all of their books are good and I wanna read everything they've written. But then there are some where, I don't know, maybe the book description just doesn't really appeal to me. It's completely different than their last book.
And so I'm not as interested in it. But for me, this is also like, I, I do like to read books by the same author,, but we can't always do that because of the prompts that we're, that we're trying to read from. So it's kind of nice this time to just pick an author that you like and read another book by them.
Jacqueline: Yeah. I thought that was really enjoyable. Cause I'm like, oh yeah, I know what I want to read.
Carrie: Yeah. And everybody, I mean everyone for this prompt is gonna have something different, to read. So hopefully, hopefully you'll find a new author that you like [00:02:00] from, from listening to us talk about our favorite authors.
This month I dug into Jane Austen, reading Northanger Abby, the first novel she ever wrote, though it wasn't published until after her death. Northing Abbey is a coming of age story that satirizes gothic novels and their tropes. So if you still haven't read a gothic novel prompt, this one would qualify for it.
I've been on a little bit of a gothic novel kick lately, so, oh, yeah. Um, so I enjoyed reading a novel by an 18th century writer who both appreciated and poked gentle fun at the form. So this novel is not, you know, like a, a Wuthering Heights kind of [00:03:00] gothic novel. It's, it's a little bit, there's some satire here.
17 year old Catherine Morland, a clergy man's daughter visits Bath with family friends, Mr. And Mrs. Allen. None of them know anyone in Bath, so at first, Catherine's stay is quite lonely. But soon Mrs. Allen meets an acquaintance, Mrs. Thorpe, and Catherine becomes friends with her daughter Isabella, with whom she shares a love of reading gothic novels.
The more horrid, as the characters say, the better.
Michael: She says like my kind of person.
Carrie: Yeah, it's really funny. They're like, is it truly horrid?
Jacqueline: That's hilarious.
Carrie: Yes, it is truly horrid.
Coincidentally, Catherine's brother John is friends with Isabella's brother James. When the two Oxford students visit Bath together, they all begin to socialize with one another. Catherine's naivete [00:04:00] about people and society means she doesn't always catch subtle social cues. For example, she misses Isabella's hints that she's interested in James and she doesn't realize that John has designs on her.
The Thorpe siblings mistakenly believe that the Morlands will inherit a large fortune, and they tried to manipulate Catherine and James as well as sabotage Catherine's growing friendship with Curate Henry Tilney and his sister Eleanor. The book becomes even more gothic when General Tilney, Eleanor and Henry's father, invites Catherine to stay at North Aner Abbey, where she expects to find the romance and mystery of her favorite novels.
Her overactive imagination makes her suspicious of General Tilney's role in Mrs. Tilney's death. She prowls around the abbey unlocking cabinets and opening doors looking for answers. Kind of [00:05:00] reminded me of when I was in elementary school and we would go looking for mysteries like Nancy Drew.
Jacqueline: Yeah,
Carrie: through it all, she becomes close friends with Henry and Eleanor. Henry serves as both love, interest, and mentor, eventually helping her to see that real life is different than life in novels. Catherine's enjoyment of Eleanor and Henry's company comes to an abrupt end when General Tilney returns from an engagement and forces her to leave the Abbey early the next morning.
What has she done to offend him? Catherine must make the 70 mile journey home without knowing the answer. This comedy of manners displays Austen's signature wit the banter between Catherine and Henry is particularly delightful. The tension between Catherine's naivete and what the narrator tells us about the characters creates much of the comedy and dramatic tension. Like other Austen novels, this one [00:06:00] focuses on characters who are not supposed to marry outside their social classes, and it ends with not one, but two marriages.
Although the book is not as polished as her later novels and feels a bit disjointed at times, I still appreciated this glimpse into a favorite author's early work. Pair Northanger Abbey with Bath Buns, a sweet enriched yeast dough bun that was reportedly a favorite of Austen's. According to the Spruce Eats, "She often found it necessary to sneak them surreptitiously into her room to augment the rather meager meals given by her well-meaning, but rather stingy aunt."
We'll link to the recipe on our blog.
Jacqueline: I really enjoyed reading that book. I read that in
Carrie: Oh, did you read it?
Jacqueline: Yeah. , I took a class, that we read all of Jane Austen's works just about Uhhuh and that one just seemed like a lighter novel, more lighthearted. Mm-hmm. More like, I didn't [00:07:00] feel like bogged down with all the details and stuff like that.
And I love the gothic aspect of it the most.
Carrie: Yeah. It's also, it's a pretty quick read, I think, for an Austen novel, so if you want to try, you know, if you never read an Austen novel, it might be a good one to start with because it's, moves pretty fast.
Jacqueline: Yeah.
Michael: I don't think I've ever read an Austen novel.
Carrie: No?.
Michael: No, I don't think so. I don't think.
Carrie: It doesn't really sound like it would be in your wheelhouse.
Michael: No,
Carrie: but maybe, maybe Northanger Abbey might.
Michael: That's popped up on some list, like, I don't know, like horror adjacent or some gothic or creepy mm-hmm, lists I've seen. Mm-hmm. So it's been on my radar before.
Carrie: Yeah. I would, I do recommend there's, a movie version of it that we have available on
I think it was. Ooh. I can't remember if it was Hoopla or Kanopy, but one of those, and it, it was really fun. We watched it, Scott and I [00:08:00] watched it after I read the book. They really do a good job of like showing her imagination, like her overactive imagination and you know, kind of some of the scenes from the novels that you don't necessarily get in the book.
They did a good job of dramatizing those and they were pretty funny.
Jacqueline: I don't think I've seen that. I'd like to see that.
Michael: Who was in it? Yeah. Anybody?
Carrie: Yes. Oh, the actress. Um, oh, she was in one of the Star Wars reboots. Um,
Michael: is it Daisy Ridley?
Carrie: Yes. Yeah. What, what's her last name?
Michael: Is it, is it Ridley?
Ridley?
Carrie: Yes, I believe it. I believe that was it. Yeah.
Michael: Okay.
Carrie: Yeah, she played the main character, Catherine, and she did a really good job.
Jacqueline: I definitely wanna to see that.
Michael: I'll have to check that out.[00:09:00]
Jacqueline: The book I chose for this week's Books and Bites prompt is Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, the first book in the Infernal Devices series. Having read the masters in book series by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare, I decided to try reading some of her other works. I began with the Shadow Hunter Chronicles and was immediately a fan.
So of course, I wanted to read the prequel series. The author setting for Clockwork Angel is Victorian London, a period of enormous industrial and technological change. Clare incorporates the dangers many were people suffered during this period in the novel. Many workers were injured by machinery or sickened with illness
from working with chemicals such as phosphorus and other health hazards. There is little or no protection from for the workers, from the machinery. Children, especially orphans, were at risk of being maimed or even killed. [00:10:00] Clare weaves many of the hardships of the Victorian working class, she introduces topics such as the dangers of working with chemicals and machinery.
Her Victorian London setting lends itself to a paranormal meets steampunk novel. The characters not only have to face the supernatural enemies, but they must also battle automatons. The automatons are manufactured creatures made to move and appear like human beings. Like the factory machinery, the robot's maim and kill at their owner's request.
The author draws a clear parallel between the villains and the Victorian factory owners. During the industrial evolution, Victorian factory owners often put profit over the health and wellbeing of their workers. There is no mistaking the parallel between the villains and the factory owners. The main character is Tessa Gray.
Tessa is an orphan race by her aunt. When her aunt dies, Tessa travels across the ocean to reunite with her brother Nathaniel Gray, [00:11:00] her only living relative. Upon her arrival, the mysterious Dark Sisters kidnap Tessa. The Sisters worked for the Magister, the head of a secret organization called the Pandemonium Club.
During her captivity, Tessa learns that she has the power to transform into other people. The Magister wants to marry Tessa and use her ability. The Dark Sisters threatened to hurt her and her brother if she fails to comply with their demands to change into other people and marry the magister. After being held for six weeks and forced to change into other being.
Will Herondale, a young Shadowhunter, rescues Tessa. Shadow Hunters are warriors tasked with controlling and protecting humans from demons. They serve as supernatural police who enforce the treaty that helps protect humans against supernatural beings who may wish to harm them. Controlling and presiding over demons and magical creatures is dangerous work and many shadow [00:12:00] hunters die young leaving their children orphaned.
After discovering Tessa is Friendless and alone, Charlotte, the head of the Shadow Hunters London location offers her refuge. At the residence, Tessa meets other orphans in similar situations to hers. She's befriended by two best friends, Will and Jim. Tessa starts to feel safe with her new friends until a plot by her phone and her captors threatened to destroy all the shadow hunters.
The shadow hunter's face danger daily, and now they must battle the deadliest of enemies, A manufactured weapon. The magistrate and his auto matron soldiers are immune. To the shadow Hunter's weapons, they need Tessa and her newfound power to defeat this new enemy successfully. However, if she helps her new friends, what will happen to her brother. Clare is a master storyteller.
Her characters are interrupted at crucial times. They're interrupted right when a monumental event occurs between the two characters. She keeps us in suspense with [00:13:00] these interruptions. She ends each of her books on just the right note. The reader does get closure at the end of the story. However, we are left wanting to hear more of the character's stories.
This work also does a great job of incorporating travel into the work. When the characters aren't fighting off demons. They take the time to show Tessa London. They visit Fleet Street, Black Friar's Bridge and Hatcher's Bookshop. Claire does an excellent job of using her shadow world to introduce the perils of life for the poor in Victorian England.
She also introduced other books about this period through Tessa and Will who are both AVID readers. Readers interested in learning more about the industrial evolution in Victorian, England might consider reading Oliver Trist or Weathering Heights or Middle March. This book is a good choice for people who like stepping into the fantasy world of the paranormal.
I recommend it to individuals who wanna been a history in their mystical literature. For my pairing, I chose angel food cake recipe from Life, Love [00:14:00] and Sugar. Since shadow hunters are appointed by an angel, This cake only requires six ingredients, and I recommend serving it with a light airy dessert.
Michael: It sounded so that's, it was kind of a, a steampunk novel too?
Jacqueline: Yeah. It was like steampunk meets paranormal.
Michael: Oh, wow. It's a lot going on in there.
Jacqueline: There was a lot going on. Yeah. And, I could see how she was juxtapositioning both the machinery mm-hmm. With the robots. Yeah. And you know, trying to like man fighting machines and, okay.
They're often like some of the people were like, you might like this, Michael, because they were like, some of the people were like, their heads were cut off and machine.
Michael: Oh, that was a pretty violent and bloody. Ok. Yeah, I can get down with that.
Jacqueline: And like one guy and like they were often maimed in the book. They kind of maimed him.
She wasn't too gruesome about it. Yeah. But like one of the characters got maimed and then he's, now he's in a wheelchair for life, but he still has to be part of the shadow hunters and the workers in Victoria, England, even though they were maimed. [00:15:00] They often had to go back and keep working in the factory if they wanted to eat.
Mm-hmm. So
Carrie: what do you like in particular about this author? What made you want to read another book by her?
Jacqueline: She just keeps you going with like, one thing is like, there is like a love triangle too, and I didn't really mention that, but. As much. But, of course both the friends, the, the boyfriends, befriended her.
They're both love interest,
Michael: the old love triangle.
Jacqueline: Yeah. But that doesn't really kind of take. They kind of hint at that and she kind of likes the first guy, but, and then in the second book, then the other guy comes in, you know, he pushes her away. It is that whole level that seems to be a real phenomenon in young adult literature.
Michael: Yeah.
Jacqueline: Like right.
Michael: It really is
Jacqueline: the boy and the girl, and which one will she choose? Yes. Mm-hmm. And, you know, and then you're set up like, rooting for whichever one.
Michael: Hunger Games, twilight.
Jacqueline: Yeah. There's so many that do that. Yeah. Mm-hmm. To all the boys I loved before, the Jenny Han books do that as [00:16:00] well.
So it's not just the paranormal or
Carrie: it's a classic, plot device, I guess.
Michael: Yeah.
Jacqueline: Yeah. They say it's become more and more popular.
Michael: Now for, something truly horrid,
Carrie: is it truly horrid?
Michael: Oh, yeah.
Jacqueline: Oh yeah.
Michael: Oh yeah. so this month I continued my exploration of splatter punk, with Gone to See the River Man by Kristopher Triana. Oh, yes. He's currently one of my favorite horror authors at the moment, and this book absolutely hooked me.
And I immediately started working my way through the rest of his catalog after finishing it. It was even nominated for a spider punk award for best novel in 2021. In fact, the author is so good. He actually had another novel nominated in the same category that year. How about that?
Carrie: Wow.
Michael: Yeah. This book follows Lori a super fan of the notorious serial killer Edmond Cox.
She corresponds with him regularly and [00:17:00] even goes as far as to visit him in prison. During one visit, he gives her a task to prove her devotion that she, of course, eagerly accepts. Go to his a secluded cabin in a small town of kill, retrieve a key and deliver it to the figure known as the river man. Lori brings along her older sister Abby, who she cares for because of a childhood accident that left her mentally and physically disabled.
They drive onto the deep woods as far as they can and hike the rest of the way to the cabin where Lori finds that the key is, Wait for it. Lodged in the decaying corpse on one of Edmund's undiscovered victims. This is splatter punk after all. So after stealing herself and retrieving the key, Lori and her sister Abby, continue hiking through the woods and canoeing down a river looking for the river man's cabin.
During the journey, we begin to learn more about Lori's past and her relationship with Abby and her brother Pete. We also uncover the vile nature of Edmonds and Lori's relationship [00:18:00] through their letters that are interspersed throughout the novel. On their journey, Lori and Abby encounter some horrific things, and Lori has to face her personal demons.
And as the novel moves towards its gut wrenching conclusion, Lori's true nature is revealed. And we learn that she won't let anything come between her and completing Edmond's task of Meeting the River Man. Like my recommendation last month, this is splatter punk and does contain some graphic content that is transgressive and disturbing and may trigger some people, but the acts of depravity included here are not included just for shock value, but are quite integral to the story in the character development showing the unspeakable depths
these characters are capable of. Previously on the podcast, we've talked about how well music and books go together, and this book is no different. While there is allot of depraved horror here, this book is also heavily inspired by blues music. The author recently sent out an email about his love of blues music and its influence on its work.
Even given a crash course of the genre, which is super fascinating by the way. [00:19:00] In his newsletter, he goes on to mention that he created an official Gone to see the River Man play list on Spotify, which after listening is just the cherry on top of a fantastic novel. So in addition to gone to see the River Man, I've also read Full Brutal, Blood Relations and And the Devil Cried.
We currently have Full Brutal, which won the 2019 Splatter Punk Award for best novel and Toxic Love. Both available in our fiction collection. And digitally we have the 13th Coyote and, And the Devil Cried. Currently available on Hoopla Digital. With this novel being heavily influenced by blues music, I decided to pair this with a drink inspired by the birthplace of the Delta Blues, the Mississippi Delta infusion, which I found on the blog India File.
This is a cocktail recipe that includes bourbon, ginger, mint, and pineapple. Basically you cut up pineapple, some ginger and a few sprigs and mint. Put it in a jar that you fill with bourbon and let steep for two to 24 hours in a cool, shaded spot on the [00:20:00] counter or even your refrigerator. After it's finished
steeping, just strain and serve an ice. It is, very refreshing and perfect for the summer weather.
Jacqueline: Mm.
Carrie: Yeah. Sounds good.
Michael: It's very good.
Jacqueline: Mm-hmm. I don't know about drinking it while I'm eating that, reading that horror book.
Michael: You might need it.
Jacqueline: Alright, well that's true. Maybe so.
Michael: Or after. Afterwards.
Carrie: So when you talked about splatterpunk last month, you said they were typically about marginalized groups.
Is this one about a marginalized group
or
Michael: No. A lot of time. Splatter punk can be kind of hard to define a little bit. Mm-hmm. A lot of them typically, especially the classics, will discuss marginalized groups. This not so much is definitely, I guess a critique I would say of fandom or maybe even toxic fandom and mm-hmm.
You know, kind of true crime fandom. Mm-hmm. And even family [00:21:00] relationships. So it's just maybe a, maybe a different offshoot of what you might typically see in the splatter punk genre, especially the classics like Exquisite Corpse. One question I had that I found after reading this book was, when you read a book, does a, the main character have to be likable for you to enjoy that book?
Carrie: I, I mean, I think that's a good question. I feel like for me, yes, it helps if they're likable, but I think the more important thing is are they relatable? Because,
Michael: That's a good point,
Carrie: you know, reading about flawed characters is often more interesting. But you wanna also be able to kind of root for them.
Like I was thinking about Emma, you know, when I was reading Northanger Abbey, the character reminded me a little bit of Emma because she was, you know, kind of naive about some social things. But Emma, if you, I mean, I think more people [00:22:00] are, a little bit more aware of Emma because that character has been in so many movies, like, like the Clueless adaptation with Alicia Silverstone.
Jane Austen said something about how she wrote a character that she didn't think anyone would like except for herself and mm-hmm. But I think Emma, You know, she still has some kind of inherent goodness. So even though she's really ridiculous and Yeah. And clueless, you still, you still kind of like her and, and
find her amusing and, and maybe it's because it's a comedy. Mm-hmm. And so, you know, comedies tend to be about people who are making lots of mistakes.
Jacqueline: That's true. Yeah.
Carrie: Yeah. I don't know. I mean, reading about maybe a sociopath is very different.
Michael: Yeah.
Carrie: I think than, than reading about reading something maybe more realistic.
I don't know. What do you think? Since you asked the question? [00:23:00]
Michael: I mean, for me, I. Not, not for me. You know, I've read a, a couple of his books. This one in particular, Lori is very much a pretty depraved, despicable character. And so, and then the other one that we have digitally in the Devil crime, the main character is, is very much a psychopath.
Mm-hmm. In that one. And I think maybe it's about, I guess for me to enjoy it, are they gonna get their comeuppance in the end?
Carrie: Mm.
Maybe you might read an unlikable character to try and understand where they're coming from, or, you know, maybe you wanna understand people like that character or something.
I don't know. What do you think, Jacqueline?
Jacqueline: I guess, I mean, for me is a lot of times it's just the writing. How, how well was it written? Yeah. I mean, for the most part, I, I do like to like the characters. I wanna like the characters, but like I was, I think we were talking [00:24:00] before, like Wuthering Heights.
I mean, neither one of those characters, Cathy or Heathcliff are very likable if you, to me, they didn't seem to be. Yeah. But it's a very good book and mm-hmm. I would highly recommend reading it to anyone
Michael: that you just, sparks something that I remember is that there's a teen collection of, of books that are like Disney but retold from the villain's point of view.
Jacqueline: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Those books are,
I
Michael: was, yeah. Have you read those?
Jacqueline: I've read some of them. I've actually read the stepsister. Mm-hmm. The stepsisters and those are, are really good. You end up like not liking Cinderella that well really, you know, like, like.
Michael: So they make them more sympathetic?
Jacqueline: Yeah. They made, they maybe make him very sympathetic. Yeah.
Carrie: So I don't know if it's the same author, and I haven't read this book, but Gregory McGuire has that, book about the wicked. Oh, it's called Wicked it. You know, it was a Broadway show about the Wicked Witch of the West, you know?
Jacqueline: Oh, yeah.
Told
Carrie: from her point of view but yeah, [00:25:00] stories, stories that try to humanize the vi, the typical villain,
Jacqueline: Oh, yeah., that reminds me of, um, the latest Hunger Games, novels, songbirds, and ballads, like. They do try to humanize him and you, you really wanna root to him, root for him all the way through.
But this is a spoiler. Like we, yeah. He's just horrid at the end. I mean, yeah. Have you read
it?
Michael: No, I, I've, I've seen the preview for the, film for it that's coming out, I think maybe this year.
Jacqueline: So it's out in September. Uhhuh. Yeah. And that one like, yeah, I guess I'm spoiling it though. If anyone wants to read it.
Maybe I shouldn't, but, snow is, we know he is not likable already because in.
Michael: We're talking about President Snow?
Jacqueline: This is like a prequel. Huh?
Michael: We're talking about the President Snow.
Jacqueline: Yeah. President Snow. It's really his story. Mm-hmm. And it's a good book though.
But is he a likable character? Mm.
Michael: You don't end it that way.
Jacqueline: [00:26:00] Well, we know how he, you know how he ends up in the Hunger Games? If you've read, I mean, I think most people have read the Hunger Games.
Michael: He gets his comeuppance.
Jacqueline: Yeah. Have you all read the Hunger Games?
Carrie: I read, I read the first one. Yeah. I have seen the movies though. Mm-hmm.
Michael: Me too. Yeah.
Jacqueline: Oh, okay. Okay. That is one series
that the, the movie really does do justice to the books. I mean, okay. Like, you know how oftentimes like. The movies don't do justice to the books.
Michael: Oh, yeah.
Jacqueline: But they do a real, they did a really good job with that, with the Hunger Games.
Carrie: Okay. Well, if you would like to tell us what you think about likable or unlikable characters, follow our Books and Bites Facebook group, and you can join the discussion there.
Michael: Yes. I'd love to hear your
input.
Carrie: Thanks for listening to the Books and Bites podcast. To learn more about Books and Bites Bingo, visit us at [00:27:00] 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, a door for a desk.com.