11_24 BB 2 edit1 === 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: Today, we're discussing books about Chosen Family, one of the prompts on the Books and Bites Bingo Summer Fall Reading Challenge. And this is also sometimes called Found Family, and I think people use the term kind of interchangeably. And it seems like a fitting prompt, given that it's November and a lot of people are celebrating Friendsgiving now. Jacqueline: That's true. Carrie: So Jacqueline, what do you think of when you think of chosen or found families? Jacqueline: I feel like in the LGBTQ plus community, often they're not, sometimes their parents aren't accepting of them. And so [00:01:00] sometimes they seem to make their own form their own families. Mm hmm, and I think that happens quite often with that community Carrie: Yeah, and I think that is a popular theme in LGBTQ plus books as well. Hopefully I said that right. Jacqueline: You did. Carrie: What about you, Michael? Michael: So I kind of think of it as you know Folks who maybe aren't related by blood or, or law that kind of form a bond maybe over circumstance or something and become emotionally, close and kind of support each other. You kind of see it like, like Harry Potter is a famous example. We see it in literature. Jacqueline: Like and when people are in war together too, like soldiers, they become like brothers would be another. Michael: Very true. Carrie: Mm hmm. Yeah, that's a good example. Some other examples of books that that have this theme that people might know, The Long Way to a Small Angry [00:02:00] Planet by Becky Chambers, which we've talked about before on this podcast, A Man Called Ove by Frederick Backman. That's another one that has this theme. I actually, I, you know, I kind of realized when we were making, when I was making the list that we have, on our webpage that a lot of books that I read have this theme, that Western Outlawed by Anna North that I did a while ago. And then I think you pointed out the one that I did kind of recently Upright Women Wanted. Michael: Yep. Carrie: That, that one had a chosen family theme. Are there other books that you all can think of? Michael: Yeah. One I read years ago, Six of Crows by, Lee Bardugo Carrie: Uhhuh. Michael: has that and one I read. At the beginning of this year, , was it 10, the 10, 000 or the thousand crimes of Ming Tzu? Definitely, chosen found family in that. [00:03:00] Carrie: Yeah. Interesting. Cause it does seem like a Western kind of theme, which is interesting because you, when you think of the West, you think of like the individual and Western expansion and, you know, but, but still the literature of those places still has that theme. Jacqueline: I think it's pretty huge in young adult literature too. Because I was thinking about like Divine Rivals. I've just read that recently and they basically form their own family. Which is more of a horror book. They also formed a family. And so, I think it's a huge trope in YA. Michael: Yeah. Oh, for sure. Carrie: And, I mean, I could even see how, you know, in horror novels, like, you have to band together against something. Michael: The Stand, by Stephen King, or Swansong by McCammon. Oh, yeah. Carrie: Yeah. So, there's lots of options for this prompt in addition to the ones that we're [00:04:00] giving you today. We've got the list that I just mentioned that you can just find on our website. We can also help you search on Novelist if you're not finding the kind of thing you want to read. I think the possibilities are endless. Jacqueline: Yeah. Yeah, I think so, too. My book choice for this month's prompt is The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan. In this novel, Riordan weaves Norse mythology into a mythical fantasy novel for modern day readers. Riordan's story's main character is 16 year old Magnus, the son of Frey, the Norse Vanir God of Summer and the ruler of Alfheim, and Natalie Chase, a mortal. On his 14th birthday, Magnus' mother is murdered in their Boston apartment by wolves with glowing blue eyes. He becomes homeless. Struggling to survive being homeless, Magnus keeps [00:05:00] ahead of the truant officers and the wolves who killed his mother with the help of two other homeless teens. The three teens become close and look out for each other on the streets of Boston. Magnus and Blitz even learn sign language so they can communicate with their friend, Hearth. On his 16th birthday, Magnus is tracked down by his uncle, Randolph, who tells him that he is the son of a Norse god. Frey and the Viking mists are real, and the gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Ragnarok, that will end the nine worlds. Giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for Sumarbrander, a magical sword that can talk and once belonged to Frey until he gave it up and lost its allegiance. The sword has been missing for thousands of years. As Frey's son, he's the only one that can retrieve the weapon that can save the world from doomsday, Ragnarok. Nalli has warned Magnus to stay away from his uncles, but he [00:06:00] goes against his mother's advice and goes with his uncle Randolph to find the sword. When they are attacked by fire giants, Magnus is forced to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocent people. Will Magnus's decision be fatal? Riordan rears Norse mythology in today's culture. His rendering of modern day heroes into Norse mythology leaves the readers wanting more. His books continue to be favorite with the teens who come to JCPL. Teens consistently ask for books like Percy Jackson and the Olympian series. His characters have authentic voices. Magnus talks like a 15 year old would in today's culture. He incorporates representations of American teens from Arab Americans, to of teens with a single parent household, enabling teens to find themselves in his book. Since this month's prompt is the trope found family, I want to mention that Magnus and his friend form unique bonds and become families. This evidence of their willingness to learn sign language and [00:07:00] protect each other, even if it means endangering themselves. For my bite, I chose falafel recipe from Inspired Taste. This recipe calls for dried chickpeas to soak overnight. So one would need to plan ahead. Michael: I read that book when it first came out. I can't remember when it came out, but it's really good. Jacqueline: It's been out a while. Yeah. His books are really popular here. People just, they're always, he's just made Norse mythology just really popular, I think, for today's teens. Michael: I love how he, he made it very diverse, too, because the, who, I can't remember the name, the Valkyrie character? Jacqueline: Yeah, Sam. Michael: Yeah, she's probably my favorite. Jacqueline: Yeah, yeah, she's really good. And I think that's, I think he really does have the characters find themselves, because he's got this one guy that wants to work in fashion, you know, and his parents are like, well, you can't work in fashion. You know, you need to go fight and stuff like that Michael: because they're fun, but not, [00:08:00] not, not too dark or anything or greedy. So, cause they're mostly, they're younger teens, right? Is that they're mostly? Jacqueline: Supposedly 16, but they they do seem a little bit more like middle schoolers and they do it's funny because he talks like middle schoolers his characters do so and they make like silly jokes about you know like passing gas or something, and they just think that's funny, which, you know, most adults are kind of over that by the time they're done. Michael: Yeah, that's what I think. When I read it, I was like, this is fun, but it's definitely, for the middle school crowd. Jacqueline: Yeah, I think so, too. Carrie: Well, yeah, don't kids tend to read up, so it would make sense that the characters would be 16, but not actually acting like they're 16 because like a 13 or 12 year old is actually going to be reading it. Jacqueline: Definitely. There's a lot of humor in his books. I mean, I can't think of anything right now [00:09:00] just off the top of my head, but it's pretty funny if you're reading it and you're like, okay, you know, you do laugh and, but it's, but it's very for that age group. Michael: Yeah. Jacqueline: As far as the humor goes. Carrie: And where, you may have said this but why falafel? Jacqueline: Sam is actually, she's Arab American. And her boyfriend, actually, or fiancé, she's, she has arranged marriage. But she wants an arranged marriage. She's like, she talks about how her family, that some people actually can, some families actually consider what the the children want they just don't marry him off to someone, you know, and he actually runs the falafel place and they Magnus knew them before he would go in like they would give him food because he was homeless. So it was kind of like so they kind of both knew the falafel guy and there's cute falafel stickers that are out there for people. Yeah. [00:10:00] Michael: Isn't one of the characters related to a character from Percy Jackson? Jacqueline: Annabelle, his cousin. Michael: Okay. Jacqueline: Yes. Michael: Yeah. This month I read River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey. This alternate history tale introduces us to a late 19th century U. S. where hippos have been introduced into the Mississippi River that runs through Louisiana. This was closer to happening than you might think when such a bill was put before Congress in 1910 to ranch hippos as a new source of meat. But, of course, that bill ultimately failed. In this world, a section of the Mississippi has been dammed up and gated for the purpose of hippo ranching that turned into a bust. Now, feral hippos roam this dammed up part of the Mississippi called the Harriet. And while owned by the U. S. government, it is more or less ruled by the ruthless and much feared riverboat casino [00:11:00] magnate, Travers, who feeds troubled patrons to the hippos. Yeesh. And if you don't know about hippos, they are very, they are like one of the deadliest animals in the world. Carrie: Yeah. Michael: So. Carrie: And yet. There's Fiona, the baby hippo, at the Cincinnati Zoo, who is like the superstar of social media. Michael: And the new one, Mu Deng, who's been all over social media recently, is like baby pygmy hippo that everybody's been falling in love with, like, she's precious and cute now, but she will kill you. Carrie: Have you seen them, like, they sometimes they show them with, pumpkins, like, and they just snap the pumpkins. Michael: Yeah. Mm mm. Don't be, you don't want to be near that mouth. Carrie: No. Jacqueline: Mm mm. Michael: So, this story opens with the federal government hiring Winslow Houndstooth, a former hippo rancher and British expatriate, to assemble a crew to take care of the [00:12:00] feral hippo problem before the crumbling dam fails. He recruits his close ally and friend, Regina "Archie" Archambault, a French thief from New Orleans, a non binary demolitions expert named Hero Shackelby, his former ranch hand Cal Hotchkiss, and the very pregnant Adelia Reyes, one of the most feared killers in the country. This ragtag group forms a highly dysfunctional chosen family, with everyone having at least one relationship with someone else in the group. Archie and Winslow are quite close and have a history that goes way back. Winslow and Hero have a budding romance. Cal and Winslow are former employee and employer with a lot of animosity toward each other. And Adelia and Cal are former lovers. As you can see, there's a lot going on with this bunch. As they make their way to the gates of the Harriet astride their hippos, as hippos are the preferred method of transportation in this area of the country, Winslow, with the help of his crew, devises his plans, not just for getting rid of the feral hippos, but to [00:13:00] finally have his revenge. This hippo caper, or operation as Winslow would say, is action packed with hippo mayhem and full of colorful, interesting characters. While we only scratched the surface with this crew, I'm excited to see what the follow up novella, Taste of Marrow, brings after the wild and raucous ending in River of Teeth. This is also a very versatile book that fits a few other bingo prompts, too. It blends genres of alternate history and westerns, it's a novella, and it's a book in a series. Pair this 19th century hippo romp with a 19th century New Orleans cocktail, the La Louisiane, a recipe from Imbibemagazine.com. It calls for rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, benedictine, which is an herbal French liqueur, Bitters and a dash of absinthe. Carrie: I was waiting for the absinthe. Jacqueline: Have you made one of those? Michael: No, I gotta, I gotta find the absinthe. [00:14:00] Carrie: That's a lot of ingredients, too, for a cocktail. Michael: Oh yeah, they said it's very boozy. Carrie: Yeah. Jacqueline: Only one. Carrie: Yeah, so I started listening to that as an audiobook one time, and I just, it was a lot to take in, I guess, the way that she set the scene, you know, the world building was a little bit too much for me to listen to, but I, I was very intrigued with the concept and she wrote that book, was it Upright, Upright Women Wanted? Yeah. So, so that, I guess that's our second, Sarah Gailey book for the, for the year. I don't know about Bingo Card, but. Michael: It was really short, so I'm excited to see, I haven't read it yet, but I'm excited to see what the second one brings or how they expand on those characters, cause it's just like, just a little bit. Carrie: Uh huh. Michael: I can't say too much, you know, because it's so short, but it is very fun. Carrie: Yeah. [00:15:00] As, as the book that I read was fun too, but yeah, boy, it's really good that, that didn't actually happen, isn't it? Michael: They wanted to, I think they wanted the hippos to take care of the hyacinth plant, which was an invasive plant, and then we would farm them for meat. I mean, that would have been a nightmare. Carrie: Yeah. Michael: Can you imagine hippos running around a Mississippi River? Carrie: Oh my gosh. Michael: All around. Oh my gosh. Jacqueline: Oh. Carrie: Yeah. Yeah, we do not need to be bringing in, I mean, like, think about the python in Florida or, you know, we have, Like, yeah. Michael: Dodged a bullet with that. Killer bees. Jacqueline: Yeah. Michael: Is that what it is? Killer wasp? Whatever we got up in the northwest. Jacqueline: Yeah, the invasive species is not good for, for the environment.[00:16:00] Carrie: The book I read is Still Life by Sarah Winman. Still Life is a witty, sprawling historical novel about art, love, and friendship. It opens in World War II era Florence, Italy, where 24 year old British soldier Ulysses Temper is stationed. While there, Temps, as his friends call him, meets 60 something art historian Evelyn Skinner when she asks for help finding the Monuments Men, a group of Allied forces who work to recover art looted by Nazis. Temps's captain, Darnley, promises to help, but he first takes them to a villa the Nazis recently abandoned. Not only does the villa contain some important religious art, it also contains a wine cellar, [00:17:00] and the three take a brief reprieve from wartime life to enjoy some wine, cheese, and the kind of conversation that happens between people destined to become friends. Their time together in Florence is brief, with Temps's and Evelyn's lives diverging into parallel narratives. After the war, Temps returns home to his working class neighborhood in London, where he works at the Stoat and Parot Pub. There we meet a quirky cast of characters, pub owner Col and his daughter; Cressy, a senior citizen and knitter who can often be found talking to the cherry tree outside his house; piano player Pete; and parrot Claude, who recites Shakespeare and has some of the best jokes in the novel. We also meet Peg, a pub worker and singer who was Temps's first love. She's had a child with an American soldier who's [00:18:00] since disappeared. She raises their daughter, Alys, with the help of Temps and their friends. When Temps inherits a house in Florence, he moves there with Alys, Cressy, and Claude. They open a pensione, a small hotel, and eventually form new, lifelong friendships with both Italians and guests. Meanwhile, Evelyn teaches art history, falls in and out of love with various women, and often visits Florence, where she keeps narrowly missing Temps. Near the end of her life, she shares details of her first trip to Italy as a young woman on her own, where she befriended real life author E. M. Forster, and fell in love for the first time with the maid at their pensione. Still Life spans the years 1901 to 1979, and plenty of things happen during that time. [00:19:00] But relationships are the focus of this character driven, leisurely paced novel. It celebrates love in all its forms: romantic love, queer love, the love between parents and children, and of course, the love between friends. And with its likable characters and witty banter, it's the kind of book you want to live inside for a while, that you don't want to end. The novel's lyricism, humor, and focus on art remind me of Ali Smith, one of my favorite writers. And if you're as much of a fan of Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter as I am, you'll also want to read this one. Its small Italian hotel setting, intertwined narratives, and close friendships have a similar feel. Still Life is also filled with mouth watering descriptions of Italian meals, so I don't [00:20:00] recommend reading it while you're hungry. When Temps and Cressy first decide to open the hotel, they realize they'll need to serve some food. Massimo, their first Italian friend, teaches them to make pasta with olive oil and chili. "If I teach you nothing else in your lifetime, it must be this," he says, "Learning the correct ratio of boiling water to salt to pasta. When to add the salt. Lots of it. When to take the pasta off the heat. Get it right, and you'll always eat like a king." If you'd like to learn how to make this dish with homemade pasta, I found two different versions on the YouTube channel, Pasta Grannies, which we'll link to on our blog. And we'll also link to a recipe from the blog Saturdays in Rome that uses dried pasta. Michael: I'm gonna have to check out the Pasta Grannies.[00:21:00] Carrie: Oh my gosh! Ha I love the Pasta Grannies. It's so, it's, have you guys not seen the Pasta Grannies before? So it's this woman, I think she's British, but she goes around to, I mean, they're like little old Italian ladies and films them making pasta. Like it's trying to kind of capture these dishes that, you know, people maybe don't know how to make anymore, or just trying to pass on that knowledge. And it's, it is awesome because, I mean, you know, they're YouTube, so they're really short. They're like 10 to 15 minutes, but it's just, you're watching a granny make homemade pasta, you know, rolling out the dough and, you know, all of that stuff. And of course, They're not really measuring. They're just, you know, doing it because they've done it for so long. And so, yeah, it's, it's like, it's definitely comfort. My comfort TV is Pasta Grannies. Jacqueline: Yeah. I think [00:22:00] that in Europe and stuff, a lot, a lot of people make their own pasta and it's not, it's not necessarily all that hard. Carrie: No. Jacqueline: But, you know, Carrie: But it does take time. Jacqueline: It does take, yeah, but like, it's not like just grabbing a box like we do. But they probably, a lot of people would be like, Oh no, not a box. Carrie: Yeah. Well, I mean, it does taste so much better. I mean, even if you've been to the Lexington Pasta Company. Yeah, it's really good. Jacqueline: Is it? I haven't been. That sounds good. Carrie: Oh, yeah. And you can buy it, like, in the store, too. Michael: We sold it at Whole Foods back when I was in that department. And yeah, that stuff, it was legit. It was Jacqueline: when, during, during the pandemic, I had the teens talk with a chef from Italy and he showed them how to make homemade pasta and sauce and stuff like that. Yeah. And it was really cool. So I, I. That's why how I learned it wasn't necessarily all that hard, but it does take time like you were [00:23:00] saying so But his recipe was I actually did it and it was really good. I didn't make the pasta though. I have to admit I didn't But I think it was interesting what you said about the characters how you didn't you didn't want to let go of them and I mm hmm and I, I was never really was that way and until I started reading YA and especially Holly Black. And like, I never, I didn't want to let go of these characters and I'm just like, and so I could always wonder like, why are these people obsessed and all this fan fiction, but now I know, I know why. Evidently you have some of that too. Carrie: Oh yeah, for sure. Some, some, yeah, I'm not. I'm not the kind of person that reads a lot of series fiction. I feel like a lot of times series fiction, the characters don't really change that much, you know, and so I kind of get bored with [00:24:00] them. But like, I do like to reread books that I really love. And so this would, it's one of those books you can finish it and then you're like, I want to read that again. Jacqueline: Oh, yeah. Teens do that a lot. They'll come up, I read this book two years ago and I want to read it again and I'm like, and then sometimes I can't find it and I'm like, well, we have these, we have all these other books that are really good. But sometimes they just have their hearts set on it. Carrie: I, I can understand that. It's just like television, you know, sometimes you don't want to look for something new. So you watch the Golden Girls, which is another example of chosen family. Jacqueline: Oh yeah, that's a perfect example. That's a great example. Yeah. Yeah. Carrie: Or Friends, that's another one that people re watch a lot. Thanks for listening to the Books and Bites podcast. To learn more about Books and Bites Bingo, visit us at [00:25:00] 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 adoorforadesk.com.