If you have read this “Oh, for a Book” column for any time at all, you know that some months it is really focused - one theme, one author, one book. Other months it’s all over the place. Welcome to one of those months ...
Several columns ago I wrote about some of my methods for choosing books. One way that tends to work well is that I seldom pass up a book about books (with bookshops, readers, libraries - any such word - in the title). That, and the fact that the author’s name is Carsten Henn, assured me that “The Door-to-Door Bookshop” was meant for me. Translated from its original German, it’s a charming story about Carl, who knows the reading preferences of his clients so well, but really longs to know the people better. They, in turn, would be happy to share with Carl, but all of them have become so self-isolated that they have no idea how to go about it. Until a 9-year-old girl shows them how.
Visiting independent booksellers - especially the really intimate sort that I love - is the third leg of the trifecta that brought this book to me. In a book shop the size of my living room, a title like this can more easily catch my eye. Shout-out to places like The Strand in NYC and Powell’s City of Books in Portland, Ore. They are wonderful, impressive, awe-inspiring - and a little overwhelming. My heart belongs to the small neighborhood bookshops. Be sure to shop local.
I’m sure you’ve noticed that every so often sourdough baking has a resurgence in popularity. During the pandemic, a lot of sourdough was made. Now, with the emphasis on gut-health, a lot of sourdough is being made. I have had my share of sourdough starters throughout the years. My friend and I went to a sourdough starter-making class at the library a couple of months ago, and I have really made a go of it with this starter. My sourdough sandwich loaf isn’t exactly where I want it yet, but I make pretty good sourdough scones. I make killer sourdough pancakes and waffles, and sourdough brownies that are honestly some of the best brownies I have ever eaten. The funny part of this story is that when we told my friend’s mother that we had taken this class, she literally said, “Don’t do it! It will take over your life!” Clearly, she had had an experience. Well, that’s sort of what happens to Lois, a not-very-social software engineer who is entrusted with the care of sourdough starter. Who would have thought that a “needy colony of microorganisms” could change her life? Don’t be fooled by the simple title. In “Sourdough,” Robin Sloan has crafted a complex tale that’s a bit dystopian, a bit Faustian, a bit cloak and dagger, and even a bit romantic. Who knows! It may have you cuddling up with your own sourdough starter. It could be life-changing!
Speaking of dystopian, I read George Orwell’s classic, “1984.” You may be aware that a retelling entitled “Julia” by Sandra Newman was published last year. I thought I needed a refresher before reading it.The classic “1984” is just as dark and dismal and as Orwellian as ever. There is nothing redemptive. If anything, recognizing some of the technological advances that we have made and some of the societal digressions that have occurred since the publication of this book actually made it worse. I’m not sure I will actually read “Julia” at this point. I’m going to need a little distance. If anyone has read it, I’d like to know what you think.
Happy Reading, whatever you’re reading!
Several columns ago I wrote about some of my methods for choosing books. One way that tends to work well is that I seldom pass up a book about books (with bookshops, readers, libraries - any such word - in the title). That, and the fact that the author’s name is Carsten Henn, assured me that “The Door-to-Door Bookshop” was meant for me. Translated from its original German, it’s a charming story about Carl, who knows the reading preferences of his clients so well, but really longs to know the people better. They, in turn, would be happy to share with Carl, but all of them have become so self-isolated that they have no idea how to go about it. Until a 9-year-old girl shows them how.
Visiting independent booksellers - especially the really intimate sort that I love - is the third leg of the trifecta that brought this book to me. In a book shop the size of my living room, a title like this can more easily catch my eye. Shout-out to places like The Strand in NYC and Powell’s City of Books in Portland, Ore. They are wonderful, impressive, awe-inspiring - and a little overwhelming. My heart belongs to the small neighborhood bookshops. Be sure to shop local.
I’m sure you’ve noticed that every so often sourdough baking has a resurgence in popularity. During the pandemic, a lot of sourdough was made. Now, with the emphasis on gut-health, a lot of sourdough is being made. I have had my share of sourdough starters throughout the years. My friend and I went to a sourdough starter-making class at the library a couple of months ago, and I have really made a go of it with this starter. My sourdough sandwich loaf isn’t exactly where I want it yet, but I make pretty good sourdough scones. I make killer sourdough pancakes and waffles, and sourdough brownies that are honestly some of the best brownies I have ever eaten. The funny part of this story is that when we told my friend’s mother that we had taken this class, she literally said, “Don’t do it! It will take over your life!” Clearly, she had had an experience. Well, that’s sort of what happens to Lois, a not-very-social software engineer who is entrusted with the care of sourdough starter. Who would have thought that a “needy colony of microorganisms” could change her life? Don’t be fooled by the simple title. In “Sourdough,” Robin Sloan has crafted a complex tale that’s a bit dystopian, a bit Faustian, a bit cloak and dagger, and even a bit romantic. Who knows! It may have you cuddling up with your own sourdough starter. It could be life-changing!
Speaking of dystopian, I read George Orwell’s classic, “1984.” You may be aware that a retelling entitled “Julia” by Sandra Newman was published last year. I thought I needed a refresher before reading it.The classic “1984” is just as dark and dismal and as Orwellian as ever. There is nothing redemptive. If anything, recognizing some of the technological advances that we have made and some of the societal digressions that have occurred since the publication of this book actually made it worse. I’m not sure I will actually read “Julia” at this point. I’m going to need a little distance. If anyone has read it, I’d like to know what you think.
Happy Reading, whatever you’re reading!