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Books and Bites
JCPL librarians bring you book recommendations and discuss the bites and beverages to pair with them.
Dec. 23 B&B
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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: Hello.
Carrie: So we're wrapping up the 2023 Books and Bites Bingo Reading Challenge this month and how did the challenge go for you all this year?
Michael: Really good. I really enjoyed it.
Jacqueline: Yeah. I, I really explored a lot of genres that I may not have explored doing this, so I'm, I really did enjoy doing it.
Carrie: Excellent. And this was your first full bingo challenge.
Jacqueline: This is my first full year. Yeah. Being a co host, I guess.
Carrie: Uh huh. Yeah. And do you have any favorite books that you read or any surprises from any of the books that you read?
Jacqueline: Illuminae. Was really good. I think I read that one outside and Five Survive. I really liked that. That was kind of a very different twist plot [00:01:00] ending, but it was a mystery. I do like mysteries.
Michael: I really enjoyed the one we did in January for the books about books, prompt Dark Archives : A Librarian's Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin.
That was super interesting seeing the, the kind of history and how they test for those and how there's probably more out there than you really think. I think there's only been like 12 or 13 confirmed and two of them were actually Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Public Library.
Carrie: Yeah, I remember you saying that.
And that's a short drive away if you want to see one.
Michael: If you wanna go check one out.
Jacqueline: I've seen that in movies before, too, where they had books made out of skin, human skin. Of course, leather is also.
Michael: Yeah, I know if they got a test. Is it animal or human? That is a trope in a lot of horror movies.
Jacqueline: [00:02:00] Ah, yeah.
Michael: The spell book that's bound in human skin. Yeah.
Carrie: Yeah. Okay.
Michael: To segue to magic.
Carrie: Yes. Yeah, we are talking about magic this episode. But I guess before we get to that, just a few reminders. Be sure to turn in your 2023 bingo cards by December 30th for a chance to win the quarterly drawing for a 25 dollar gift card, and the blackout drawing for either a Kindle or a $125 Joseph Beth gift card.
And participants who complete their blackout will also receive a Books and Bites enamel pin. And the pins have come in, and we are all wearing ours. And I think they're pretty cool.
Michael: They are super cool.
Jacqueline: Yeah , they're really nice, too. They're like, really nice enamel
Carrie: pins. Yes, these are not just the button maker kind of [00:03:00] pins.
These are You'll want to proudly display this on your tote bag or your jean jacket, wherever you display your pins.
Michael: Everybody's gonna want one.
Jacqueline: Yeah. They have to read though.
Carrie: And then we do have some changes coming with our 2024 Books and Bites bingo. And these were partially initiated from a Facebook survey that we did on our Books and Bites Facebook group.
Michael, would you like to tell us a little bit about that?
Michael: So, instead of doing one bingo card for the whole year, for next year, we're going to split up the two separate bingo cards. So, we're going to do one that runs from January to June 30th, and then one from July to the end of the year. So once you complete your bingo, you get all the blackouts, you can turn that in, and you can get a chance to win a $100 Joseph Beth
gift card or an Amazon Kindle. And then also, you can [00:04:00] get a cool enamel pen.
Carrie: Yes.
Michael: And we'll have a couple of designs you can choose from.
Carrie: That's right. Your choice of enamel pen. Today we're discussing Books with magic and what do you all think of when you think of books with magic?
Michael: You know, typically you think of the the wizards and dragons and fantasy. The first thing that comes to my mind, but then if I'm thinking about the genres I read specifically horror, you know, you do have more witches and witchcraft and, summoning of demons and, you know, maybe love crafts, could have some magical elements with a Necronomicon, magical spell book that can unleash elder gods and drive you crazy and mad.
But then it, kind of magic kind of transcends throughout all the genres.
Jacqueline: Yeah. Like the fantasy, actually the one I'm reading today, there's fairies [00:05:00] and trolls and I guess you could think about also Tolkien and you can think about romance is magical and a lot of the YA books. I also think like childhood and which they kind of, a lot of these are coming of age and the magic of just
you know, growing up and summertime and stuff like that.
Michael: Yeah, there's some magic I can see there in those coming of age stories.
Jacqueline: Yeah, there's one that's like Serious Moonlight and that's all about magic and this magical romance where they just met, you know, like, soulmates or stuff like that.
You know, that's the magic of it.
Michael: Yeah, and you can, like, include, I guess, magical realism.
Carrie: Mm hmm. Yep. I like magical realism. I like magic that's in kind of folklore stories. I think a couple of the books that I read this year that I really enjoyed would, would qualify as that.
Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield is [00:06:00] one that had some magical elements, to it. And as well as the Afro fantasy that I read. Which, unfortunately, I can't remember the title of that one.
Jacqueline: Mine was Raybearer, and it had a lot of magic in it, by, , Jordan, I forget, I think that's how you say their name.
Carrie: So anyway, as always, this is open to interpretation, and we look forward to seeing what you read.
Michael: This month, I read Hex Life: Wicked New Tales of Witchery, edited by Christopher Golden and Rachel Autumn Deering. This anthology contains 18 stories, from authors like Sherilyn Kenyon, Sarah Langdon, Nanareev Do, Alma Katsu, and Kelly Armstrong. These stories of witchery range from cozy and humorous, to fantastical, to spooky, and downright scary.
[00:07:00] Kelly Armstrong, Rachel Caine, and Sherilyn Kenyon include stories that take place in an already established magical universe. One thing I love about anthologies is sampling new authors without committing to a full length novel and finding new authors you never considered reading before. In this collection, I discovered that I really enjoyed Kelly Armstrong's Black Magic Mamba in the Otherworld universe she writes in, a series that's usually considered paranormal romance.
Here are a few others that really stood out to me. Theodore Goss's How to Become a Witch Queen, an empowering sequel of sorts to the original Grim fairy tale that picks up decades later after Snow White's son has ascended to the throne. Is Snow White wanting to finally embrace her magical abilities?
Hilary Monaghan's Bless Your Heart is about a southern witch who has had enough of her gay son being bullied by the PTA's president's son and decides to bake her famous seven layer bars with a little something extra for the next PTA meeting. Amber Benson's This Skin is probably the creepiest of the bunch.
A young girl who might be an [00:08:00] unreliable narrator tells us about playing cat and mouse with a detective after her sister and friends are found murdered in the gym of their school. I didn't find any real clunkers or fillers in this collection. I've read a few anthologies in the past where some stories were added just to take up space, or even a real stretch for the anthology theme.
Since there's a wide range of stories, there's plenty much something for everyone in this collection. We have this available as a book in our fantasy collection or digitally through the Libby app as an e book or an e audiobook through Hoopla Digital. Since Audrey's famous seven layer bars from the story, Bless Your Heart, sounded so delicious, I decided to pair this anthology with With a recipe I found for 7 layer magic bars from the website bellofthekitchen.
com, minus the curse of course. It calls for graham cracker crumbs, butter, chocolate chips, coconut, walnuts, and milk. This would be a magical dish for any holiday gathering.
Carrie: Yeah, that sounds really good. [00:09:00] And it's nice to have an anthology, like you said, where you get to try out different authors.
Michael: I never thought I would enjoy paranormal romance.
Jacqueline: Well, you never know.
Carrie: Yeah, so it's not an anthology based on genre, which I think a lot of times they are. So that's cool too.
Jacqueline: Not read a lot of anthologies.
Michael: I really enjoy them. A lot of new authors I found that way.
Jacqueline: Yeah. I wonder if you could do that in one setting, read an
Michael: anthology. Depending on the sizes.
Some of them can be pretty big.
Jacqueline: That's true.
Carrie: Yeah, I, I would think that would be tough for a lot of them. Maybe a poetry collection that includes different authors. You might be able to do that while I'm sitting.
Jacqueline: Oh yeah, that's a good idea.
Michael: There is, well, there's a horror one of like what do you, it's a anthology, but it's Really short fiction, I can't, I don't know if there's, what's the [00:10:00] word for that?
Carrie: Like flash fiction?
Michael: There's a whole, there's, it's called Tiny Nightmares that we have, and that can easily be read in one sitting, if you, if anybody was inclined to do that.
Carrie: That's a good title.
My book is Sourdough by Robin Sloan, who is the author of Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore. If you've ever stopped to consider the magic of cultured foods, in the case of sourdough starter, all those wild yeasts and good bacteria working together to create the perfect flavors, then you know that the magic in the novel Sourdough is grounded in both science and reality.
There are no elves or wizards in this book, but there are a singing, possibly sinister starter, robot arms, and a club just for people named Lois. [00:11:00] Another thing that's grounded in reality, by the way. As someone whose middle name is Lois, I was excited to learn that Lois Clubs really exist! The main character is herself a Lois.
She's a young programmer who works at General Dexterity, a San Francisco tech company that programs robotic arms. Lois works so much, she sometimes sleeps at the office and drinks meal replacements instead of eating. Then she discovers a takeout place that serves the best spicy soup and sourdough bread she's ever eaten.
It's run by two brothers who are members of the Mazg community, a fictional European ethnic group with their own language and music, a tendency to move around a lot, and a love of food. When the brothers have to move suddenly because of visa problems, They stop by Lois's house to say goodbye to the person they call their number one eater and give her their sourdough starter so she can make her own bread.
Lois has never baked [00:12:00] or even really cooked before, but this bread almost seems to bake itself. What's more, the loaves have what looks like human faces imprinted on the top. And sometimes, she thinks she hears the starter singing when she plays the Mazg music for it, like the brothers instructed. Soon the chef at General Dexterity is buying Lois's bread and encouraging her to try out for the San Francisco Farmer's Market.
Lois isn't accepted in any of the major markets, but she does get an offer from a woman representing the Marlowe Fair, a new market in Alameda that hasn't officially opened. It's in an old munitions depot that may still be a little radioactive, but inside she finds things and people as magical as her bread:
cricket flower, honey from Chernobyl, a lemon grove, a librarian with an archive of menus and other food related books, and a scientist who is creating a food replacement entirely [00:13:00] from microbes. Lois is welcome to join them, but only if she brings a robot arm with her. Which of course she does, scraping together the money to purchase a used arm from General Dexterity.
Interspersed with Lois's story are emails to Lois from Beo, one of the Mazg Brothers, who tells her more about the Mazg people and the history of the starter. You only get Beo's side of the conversation, but it's easy to see that a relationship is developing, even if Lois needs the other Lois Club members to point it out to her.
I don't want to say much more about the plot for fear of spoiling it, but it does get wilder as the novel progresses. Some reviewers I read seemed to find the plot too outrageous, but I thought it contributed to the humor. For me, the book got funnier as it progressed, satirizing both startup and foodie culture.
Although it is a bit heavy handed at times, the juxtaposition of the robot [00:14:00] technology with the ancient technology of food cultures allows you to notice the similarities and differences between them and to marvel even more at the possibilities in a crock of sourdough starter. Overall, this was an amusing and uplifting read that is perfect for when you want something thought provoking but not too heavy.
My pairing is kind of a no brainer. Obviously, you have to pair the book Sourdough with some sourdough bread. I've never made it myself, but we have a couple of books that can help you get started. Pun intended. Adam, were you listening there? If you're interested, Sourdough Recipes for Rustic Fermented Breads, Sweets, Savories, and More by Sarah Owens and Super Sourdough by former Great British Bake Off contestant James Morton.
Both books have lots of interesting background information on the science and magic behind starters, but with its straightforward advice and chapters on [00:15:00] relaxed recipes and troubleshooting, I suspect Super Sourdough would be the best choice for beginners. It also has the recipe that seems most appropriate to pair with this book, San Francisco Sourdough, which Morton claims is, " what people think of when they think of sourdough, ".
Michael: There's nothing better than a freshly baked sourdough bread.
Carrie: I know. It is really good.
Jacqueline: Fresh baked bread in general.
Michael: Making a sandwich on fresh cut sourdough bread.
Jacqueline: I know.. Getting hungry.
Carrie: Yeah. It is time for a sourdough sandwich, isn't it? Yeah. I know a lot of people started sourdough starters during lockdown and everything for the pandemic, but I didn't take that up, did either of you?
I
Jacqueline: did years ago. I used to have starter bread, but I don't know what happened to it, but. I kind of gave [00:16:00] it up after a while, but it does make really good bread, I will say that.
Carrie: Yeah, I, I mean, reading this, even though the starter is, has some issues, I, I don't want to, I don't want to say too much other than it is
it's, you know, a little sinister, like, like I said, reading about it did kind of pique my curiosity, make me think about trying it, but I know it does take a little commitment at least to get it started.
Jacqueline: The faces thing made me think of maybe a horror book, Sourdough Horror Stories.
Carrie: Yeah, the faces kind of change as the book progresses, so, you know, early in the book they're kind of happy faces, and the narrator feels like, you know, a little weird about slicing into the bread with these faces on it, and then the faces kind of change a little.
Jacqueline: Oh, they get mad?. [00:17:00] Sounds like, all right, Michael, that sounds like your type of book.
Michael: That could be, there is, there is a sub genre of food horror that's starting to take off, so.
Carrie: Oh yeah.
Jacqueline: Really?
Carrie: It kind of seems to fit with like the, you know, we, we had some fungus.
Michael: Yes.
Carrie: Elements in our gothic novels.
Michael: Yeah.
Jacqueline: Yeah.
It seems like there almost always is some food in every book that we read, pretty much.
Carrie: Yeah, a lot of books do have food in them. I mean, this, you know, the food is kind of almost a character. The starter is, anyway. So some obviously have more. But yeah, I think it's just such a part of being, being a human, is we have to eat.
Jacqueline: That's true. That's true.
Carrie: So, yeah.
Jacqueline: My choice for this month's prompt, a book that [00:18:00] contains magic, is by one of my favorite authors, Holly Black. The Darkest Part of the Forest is an enchanting YA tale set in contemporary times. In this novel, Black returns to her dangerous, alluring world of fairy tales. This fantasy novel's complex world building is full of romance, terror, and adventure.
The main characters, Hazel and Ben, are siblings. They grew up in a magical town of Fairfold with their artist parents. Their family, like many people who live in Fairfold, believe that fairies and monsters are real. They are aware that the folk of the air can be tricky and dangerous, so they sprinkle salt outside their doors and wear berries for protection.
They like living alongside the folk and do their best to understand the rules and take precautions to live safely among the fairies. But the town of Fairfold Woods has a glass coffin with a sleeping boy with horns on his head and ears [00:19:00] as pointed as knives. For generations, Fairfold's Horned Boy drew tourists.
Tourists want a piece of the magic of Fairfold. They buy fake magics, get their fortunes told, and take selfies on the prince's casket. The less careful tourists can fall victim to cruel bargains made by the fairies, or be lured into the shadows. Many of the wildfolk play harmless tricks like making them disappear for a month and reappear in the town.
But sometimes people disappear completely. Or they are killed by the crueler fairies. Hazel loved listening to Ben create stories of knights and princes, and pretending the Horned Boy is different from the other fairies. They pretended he was their prince, and would not make cruel bargains, or run them down like tourists at twilight, by horses with ringing bells tied to their manes.
Even though they're growing up, Hazel still loves pretending to be [00:20:00] the prince's valiant knight, hunting real danger. When the hag monster almost killed Hazel, they stopped hunting. Years passed and the children are in high school thinking about adult things like dating and college. Until one day, the boy awakes and everything changes.
That same night, Hazel wakes up with the glass pieces and mud all over her feet. A monster begins to terrorize a town, putting people into a coma like sleep. Hazel cannot remember what happened that night, but she knows that she is involved in some way. But to put pieces together what happened, she must stop lying to Ben and come clean about the past and the bargain she made with the Alder King.
The Horned Boy, Severin, claims that he is not the monster. But he needs Ben and Hazel's help to fight the real monster. Can Hazel remember how to be a knight again and discover who is the real monster? I would recommend The Darkest Part of the Forest to older teens looking for a dark fantasy with intricate [00:21:00] plots and romance.
Holly's description of the endless afternoons roaming the countryside and running through the forest with blackberry juice faces reminded me of my summers as a child the magic that is childhood playing all day picking flowers and spending hours in the sun picking wild blackberries. I found a recipe that resembled one my grandmother used to make at a website called Grits and Pine Cones If you cook it up in the summer, you might want to serve it with homemade vanilla ice cream
Michael: Yeah, that sounds really good.
And what I really like about I guess this food with it in this incorporated into the story is that it connects us with these characters to like, you know, you have your blackberries that might make you remind you of your childhood.
Jacqueline: Yeah, pies
Michael: and pies. So yeah,
Carrie: yeah. It's, [00:22:00] blackberries are another thing. I mean, I don't think it's necessarily evocative for everyone, but, certainly for many of us, we can relate to picking some kind of berry when we were kids.
Jacqueline: Yeah, I guess it depends on where you're from, too. You might have different berries.
Carrie: Yeah. Sounds like a good book.
Jacqueline: It's really good. I liked it a lot.
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