Books & Bites, Ep. 111 === 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: Hello everyone. Carrie: So we just have about a month to go for our winter bingo sheets, which is a little hard to believe. Michael: Where has the time gone? Carrie: But I have to say, I will not be sad to see this winter behind us. Michael: Gosh, I know. I hope it is. I hope we're done with the snow and ice. Jacqueline: I don't, we're supposed to get a little bit of snow, but I think it's gonna warm right back up. So I don't think we'll have any like major ice storms. Michael: And then guess what? It's tornado season. Carrie: Yeah. [Laughter] Michael: Severe weather season. Carrie: So all of that weather is a good segue into our topic for this month, which is books where the weather plays a [00:01:00] major role. Michael: Yeah. Jacqueline: Mm-hmm. Michael: Perfect timing. Carrie: And I feel like we have such rollercoaster weather now, and I'm noticing, like when I was trying to pick a book, I really didn't want to read another book about climate disaster because I've read a couple of those recently. And it seemed like a lot of books about weather were focusing on that, contemporary ones. What did you guys notice about weather books? Michael: My genres that are close to my heart, horror and suspense, blizzards and snowstorms are very big. You know, that claustrophobic kind of locked room. I found a couple of hurricane ones that were interesting too. Carrie: Mm-hmm. Michael: But for you, I got another climate disaster book for you today. [Laughter] All right, what about you, Jackie? Jacqueline: You know, I think so many of mine are related to dystopian literature. So it just becomes [00:02:00] disastrous and kind of, can be a little bit depressing. But with most YA books, not everybody dies like they do in the horror books. Michael: Yeah. Sometimes someone lives. [Laughter] Jacqueline: Oh, they do? Michael: Sometimes. Jacqueline: Oh, that's good. Carrie: Got to have at least one person make it through. Michael: The final girl. Carrie: Yeah. Jacqueline: Only. Yeah. But sometimes they, the newer books seem like they, everyone dies. Michael: Oh, yes. Jacqueline: Yeah. Michael: I feel like they got that from George R. R. Martin. He very, he killed off everybody. Jacqueline: Just go. Yeah. Carrie: He set that precedent? Michael: I think he did. For me he did. I started noticing a lot more after I read those books. Carrie: We do have the Silent Book Club coming up March 24th at 6:30, and that is one of the squares on the winter bingo sheet. So you can either attend that or you can read in the [00:03:00] library for an hour. We always have a good time at the Silent Book Clubs. Michael: Got some snacks, some good discussion usually. Jacqueline: You get to eat in the library. Michael: I know. That doesn't happen very often. So. Carrie: Yeah, so hopefully we'll have good weather for the evening of the Silent Book Club. Michael: So it is about that time to start turning in those bingo sheets. You can start turning in the very first bingo sheet for this year and just turn in at the front desk and you can get your exclusive Books and Bites bookmark. Carrie: Yes. Designed and printed in-house. Michael: Oh, yes. We did that ourselves. Carrie: Michael and I personally printed the bookmarks on the UV printer with some help from our Creative Space Specialists. Michael: Just a little bit. Carrie: Yeah, a lot of help. And our graphic designer, Kelly Little, designed them and they're very cute, I think, nice wooden [00:04:00] bookmarks. So yeah, you won't want to miss getting your bookmark. So you can turn those sheets in at the customer service desk and pick up your bookmark there. You can also turn it in online on our website if you would rather do that. Jacqueline: Yeah, that's pretty exciting. Not everyone's gonna have a Books & Bites bookmark. Michael: Oh, they're really cool. You're missing out if you don't get one. Jacqueline: Get those bingo sheets in. Carrie: So I read Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, a book I first read in college and decided to revisit, this time listening to the audiobook performed by Ruby Dee. I highly recommend the audio format for this 1937 classic. Hurston's work as an anthropologist and folklorist influenced her use of dialect, [00:05:00] but it can be tricky to read on the page. Dee's expert narration allowed me to hear the characters' speech without having to decode the phonetic spellings. Their Eyes Were Watching God is the story of Janie Crawford and her growth from a naive young girl who dreams of an ideal love to an independent 40-year-old woman. The book traces her life in three marriages. At 16, she marries the man her grandmother chooses for her, an older man with 60 acres who can provide for Janie. Janie has reservations about Logan Killicks, but believes she will learn to love him. When that fails to happen, Janie runs off with Joe Starks to Eatonville, Florida, Hurston's hometown. According to the town's website, Eatonville, which is about 30 minutes from where I grew up, was incorporated in 1887 and was "the first town to be organized, governed, and [00:06:00] incorporated by African American citizens." Joe quickly sets down roots there, opening a general store and becoming Eatonville's first mayor. Life with Joe isn't what Janie hoped for either. He expects her to be the perfect mayor's wife, seen and not heard. He's jealous and critical, eventually accusing her of acting and dressing too young for her age. Janie is widowed at 40 when Joe dies after an illness. Soon after Joe's death, Janie's true love finally wanders into her store. Tea Cake is 25 to Janie's 40, and as a musician who likes to gamble, he's flawed and a bit wild. Janie worries that he's after her money, but he persuades her to marry him and move to the Everglades, a place they call "the muck." There, they pick beans and sugarcane in the rich, swampy soil. [00:07:00] When a hurricane threatens the area, most of the laborers, including Tea Cake, decide to ride out the storm because the money is so good. That decision sets into motion the book's ending, which is tragic, but also beautiful as Janie finds "that oldest human longing, self-revelation." Their Eyes Were Watching God is a highly lyrical novel that feels mythic in scope, as these lines from the opening suggest: "So the beginning of this was a woman and she had come back from burying the dead. Not the dead of sick and ailing with friends at the pillow and the feet. She had come back from the sodden and the bloated; the sudden dead, their eyes flung wide open in judgment." But the book is also grounded in folklore. In between the adventure and romance, there is plenty of porch [00:08:00] sitting and small town gossip. These moments often sound like poetry too. Janie's grandmother voices one of my favorite lines, "Put me down easy, Janie, Ah'm a cracked plate." Pair Their Eyes Were Watching God with what is called mulatto rice in the book, but which is often now referred to as red rice. It's the dish Janie's best friend Pheoby brings her when she returns to Eatonville from the Everglades, the perfect meal to "kill hongry," as Pheoby says. Fry up some bacon and onion, then add diced tomatoes, water and rice. We'll link to the recipe on our blog. Michael: That sounds good. Jacqueline: Yeah, it does. Yeah. I've read one of her books and they're really, they're very deep, seems like, and very impactful. Carrie: Yeah. I remember the first [00:09:00] time I read it, I really liked it and I thought that she, you know, especially in the narration parts, she was so lyrical. But, you know, it does take some getting used to reading the dialect the way things are spelled and everything, and so listening to it and listening to such a great actress like Ruby Dee reading it really made it even more powerful. Yeah. Jacqueline: Now that you've mentioned that, I do remember that I had to kind of learn the dialect as I was reading it. It's very good though. Carrie: And she is, she just had such a fascinating life. I think I read her autobiography too in the same class, but I would like to go back and revisit that. You know, growing up at that time, which she, her family moved to Eatonville shortly after she was born and shortly after it was founded. But to grow up at that time in a [00:10:00] town where the town is run by African Americans, you know, in this post reconstruction, even though Florida at the, you know, was very racist and Jim Crow and all of that stuff. But to have this little safe space, I think must have really shaped who she became. Michael: I've never read of one of her books yet. Jacqueline: You should try one. Michael: I mean, I really liked that line you said, put me down gently, I'm a cracked plate. [Laughter] Carrie: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Michael: I mean, Carrie: I mean, I was like, I'm like doing house chores and I'm like, wait, I gotta write that down. Michael: Yeah! Carrie: You know? Because it was so good. There were a lot of moments like that. I mean, there's also a lot of moments where it's like these old guys sitting on the porch and you're like, okay, we could, we could kind of skip some of this, which you can't do as easily when you're listening to it. But [00:11:00] yeah. Jacqueline: There's quite a bit of violence against women in some of her books. Carrie: Mm-hmm. Jacqueline: So you do have to be prepared for that. Carrie: Yeah. Jacqueline: Yeah. Carrie: There is some in this one. Tea Cake kind of gets violent at one point. Well, and the ending is violent, but I don't want to, I don't want to give away too much there. That wasn't entirely his fault. But. Jacqueline: mm-hmm. Carrie: Yeah. It's a really good book if you've never read it. I recommend it. Michael: Yeah. The one I was trying to, that's been on my TBR is Barracoon by her. Carrie: Oh yeah. Yeah. And I think that is also available as an audio book. I think Melissa actually listened to that. Michael: Yes, yes. I, yeah, that's where I got it from. Carrie: So that would probably be a good one to listen to as well. Jacqueline: I [00:12:00] chose Trapped, a young adult survival thriller by Michael Northrop. The novel is narrated by Scottie Weems, a sophomore basketball player. The novel begins on a cold winter school day with snow coming down fast in large flakes. Scottie and his two friends, Jason and Pete, plan to spend the afternoon at school working on their shop projects. The boys have been friends ever since they were little. Although they now have separate interests and hobbies, they are still best friends. However, a blizzard has been forecasted, and it begins snowing earlier than was initially predicted. So when the school principal announced that school and afterschool activities were canceled due to the incoming storm, the boys did not head toward the buses, but toward the shop area. They had been given permission from the shop teacher to work on Jason's go-kart. Jason had spent the entire semester on it and his grade depended on it being successful. The three boys were not going to be deterred by the principal's announcement [00:13:00] that school would be let out early. They decided to keep their plans since Jason's dad was planning to pick them up. But when the vice principal saw them and they were still at school, their plans went awry. They were forced to go to the bus pickup area. When they got there, though, all the buses had already left. The snow was coming down fast. With all the buses gone, they began to realize they might be stranded at school. Seven teens in total had missed the buses, and the coach who was coordinating the pickup was also stranded. In a short amount of time, several more inches had fallen. Although the coach's car was buried by snow, he leaves the school to get help. The snowfall is not letting up. Things deteriorate as the snowstorm continues for days. The teens' cell phones stop working, then the electricity goes out. Then they become desperate when the school's roof starts collapsing and they realize no one's coming to rescue them. They begin some [00:14:00] tragically desperate attempts to survive. This thrilling novel has some funny moments and offers a real glimpse into the boys' friendships and relationships. I think this would appeal to fans of Dry by Neil Schusterman or any realistic thriller fiction. One of the few things they found in the cafeteria was large container of canned peaches. Scottie declares the snow water from the peach can was not half bad. So I found a mocktail recipe for a refreshing drink made with juicy peaches from feastandwest.com, and I made sure that it was non-alcoholic for this time. [Laughter] Carrie: So what's included in the mocktail? Jacqueline: It's got lemon and seltzer water and a little bit of mint. Carrie: Hmm. That sounds very refreshing. Jacqueline: Yeah. If you ever have to drink peach water. [Laughter] And it was made with canned peaches. Carrie: Uhhuh. Jacqueline: So, and that's all they had. So they, [00:15:00] the food was very limited, so all they could find was like canned peaches and chocolate pudding and peanut butter and jelly and some cookies. So that's what they had to eat on for days. Carrie: Uhhuh. Well, at least they had something, right? [Laughter] Jacqueline: Yeah. A little something. At least it wasn't stuck without food. That would've been really bad. Michael: Yeah. Man. So a coach was trapped with all those kids? Jacqueline: Yeah, but he leaves that day. Michael: I don't blame him at all. [Laughter] Was it middle school? High school? Jacqueline: Sophomore. So Michael: Yeah, I'm outta there. Jacqueline: high school. Michael: Sorry. You're on your own. Jacqueline: But I don't know. I don't know if I should give this away, but he starts to leave and then like it, the snow is like, he steps out two steps and it's already here, but he keeps going, and then he just disappears, so. Michael: Oh no. Carrie: Wow. Jacqueline: Yeah. Carrie: And so where did you say that it was set? Jacqueline: It didn't really say that I can remember, [00:16:00] but it Carrie: Okay. Jacqueline: it's set maybe like in Maine or something. Carrie: Okay. Jacqueline: So I forgot. Where it's cold. They usually do get a lot of cold weather there. Carrie: But that was, would still be unusual. That amount would still be unusual. Jacqueline: Yeah. They said it was a nor'easter. I did learn about a nor'easter. I don't know if you all know what that is. Michael: Oh yeah, they just had one up there. Jacqueline: Oh, they did? Michael: They got slammed, but like feet of snow. Jacqueline: Mm-hmm. Yeah. So it just gives you like, and they talked, they did talk about that and I'm like, oh, I learned something. So you'll learn a little bit. But yeah, they did not pay attention to the teachers. So. Michael: That sounds like any teacher's nightmare right there. [Laughter] Jacqueline: Yeah, yeah. He did. He was like, I guess I'm braving the snowstorm or seven teenagers. [Laughter] Michael: I'm taking my chances with a snowstorm every time. Jacqueline: First, I, you know, me, I love working with teens, so I would probably. Carrie: You would stick around? Jacqueline: I'd stick around. Carrie: That's good. Jacqueline: At least for the first few days. I don't know. Carrie: At least till [00:17:00] the peaches ran out. Jacqueline: Yeah. Yeah. So, the shop project becomes really important in the book, but I don't wanna give too much away because they're trying to plan, they realize they have to leave because the roof just literally keeps collapsing in. Michael: Oh, wow. Jacqueline: Yeah. Michael: That's some snowstorm. Carrie: Yeah. Jacqueline: Yeah. Michael: This month I'm recommending The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi. Now, technically this is science fiction, but it doesn't feel all that farfetched. In fact, it feels a little too possible. Imagine a drought hitting the Western United States, not unlike the one the southwest is already experiencing, but so severe that it causes the United States to essentially fracture. In this world, the western states are on their own. Nevada, Arizona and California are fighting over what remains of the [00:18:00] Colorado River, and powerful water authorities roll with an iron fist. Meanwhile, refugees are pouring in from Texas after a devastating hurricane leaves the state in ruins. We first meet Angel Velazquez, a covert operative for the Southern Nevada Water Authority--what's known as a water knife. His job is to secure water by any means necessary. Early on, we see him take over a dam on the Colorado River for Nevada. Soon after he's sent to Phoenix, a city teetering on total collapse, to track down a document detailing old, "senior" water rights. Whoever possesses this document would gain control over the Colorado River and completely shift the balance of power in the Southwest. But Angel isn't the only one hunting for it. Lucy, an investigative journalist, is also searching for the document after another reporter is killed looking into it. And then there's Maria: a teenager just trying to survive, who somehow ends up [00:19:00] in possession of the very water rights everyone is willing to kill for. When their paths cross, the choices they make could determine which cities live and which die. This novel has all the ingredients of a great noir: covert operatives, political maneuvering, desperate journalists, violent gangs, and the classic MacGuffin driving the action. The world-building immediately pulls you in. It honestly gave me strong Chinatown vibes, but set in a dystopian future shaped by climate collapse. I'm still surprised this hasn't been adapted to a movie yet. The desert setting, slowly swallowing Arizona whole, genuinely left me feeling parched. So in the spirit of the book, I pair this one with a nice cold glass of horchata. If you've never had horchata, it's a Mexican drink made with rice, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. It's creamy, refreshing, and just sweet enough, basically the perfect counterbalance to a brutally dried dust-choked dystopia. You can order one at most Mexican restaurants, but if you like to make it at home, we linked [00:20:00] a recipe from tastesbetterfromscratch.com on our blog. And trust me, if you've never had horchata, you are absolutely missing out. Carrie: That really does sound like something that you could easily imagine happening. Michael: Right? Carrie: Because there's so many fights right now about water rights from rivers between states. Michael: You know, I could see like, news articles where like the Lake Mead is just almost a dead pool and it's really kind of dire over there. And if this continued. Carrie: Yeah. Michael: Very. This seems way too plausible. Carrie: Yeah. Yeah. Michael: Another downer. Michael with the downer. [Laughter] Jacqueline: Weather books usually lend themselves to be a little bit sad. I mean, most people don't write books about happy frolicking, springtime or something. Michael: Yeah, let's go frolic in the drought. [Laughter] Carrie: [00:21:00] Yeah, yeah, yeah. They do tend to be, unless you're reading like a beach read, or it's like a summer kind of read. Those, I think tend to be, the weather is more of like a backdrop. Michael: Yes. Jacqueline: Yeah. Yeah. I can see that. Carrie: Not necessarily something that is a catalyst for. Yeah. When you think of weather playing a major role, it's gonna, it almost has to be something catastrophic. Jacqueline: Yeah. That's Michael: what I would think. Something major. Carrie: Mm-hmm. Michael: Not a, not a little rainstorm. Jacqueline: Yeah. Carrie: Yeah. Although there was one book that I put on our list of books called History of the Rain, and it takes place in Ireland and you know, it just rains all the time there. So like the weather, it's not necessarily causing something to happen, but it's just very [00:22:00] like part of the setting and Jacqueline: I guess like books that are set in Seattle and Carrie: Yeah. Jacqueline: Because it rains there a lot. I could see Carrie: Maybe like gothic novels. I kind of think of weather, like I saw Wuthering Heights Michael: Oh yeah. Carrie: on some lists of books where weather plays a major role. Jacqueline: The Lightning or well, people coming to life because they've been hit by lightning or something. [Laughter] There's all kinds of books to be written out there. Michael: Yeah. I remember there's a Darcy Coates, she's the queen of the haunted house. And they all get stranded in this haunted house because of a storm and on an island and they can't escape the island. So they're like, Jacqueline: Oh, I read a book recently that they were stranded on an island because of the weather. And it was a mystery. And it, it didn't end well. Michael: Mystery/suspense. Jacqueline: because Michael: mm-hmm. Never does. [Laughter] Carrie: Well, The Dark Library by Mary Anna Evans. Michael: Yeah. Yep. Carrie: At the end where the storm [00:23:00] comes and like washes everything away. Yeah, that's a major role too. And that was kind of a gothic suspense novel. Michael: So don't forget. March 24th is our (Not So) Silent Book Club from 6:30 to 7:30 in front of our fireplace in the main library. Carrie: Yes, I think I said Silent Book Club earlier. So yes. Thanks for the correction because there is reading and chatting too. Michael: Yeah. Carrie: So it's (Not So) Silent. Michael: We changed the name a little bit. Carrie: Yep. So we hope to see you all there. We are looking forward to seeing your bingo sheets, and hope you like your bookmarks. Thanks for listening to the Books and Bites podcast. Our theme music is The Breakers from the album In Close Quarters with the Enemy by Scott Whiddon. [00:24:00] You can learn more about Scott and his music at his website, adoorforadesk.com.