A Gaggle of Book Reviews

I received an advance reader’s copy of Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter by Phoebe Damrosch from Harper Collins for review at the end of the summer. Unfortunately, it got put in the wrong stack of books, and I just now rediscovered it. I’m very disappointed I didn’t read it earlier. Update! Service Included is on the NYT list of top 100 books for 2007!

I don’t want to pigeon hole Service Included into one category. It is a story about a woman’s experience as a “Captain”, or one of the main waitresses, in a four star restaurant in NYC. However, she isn’t a waitress to support another artistic career - she’s there because she’s in love with the food It’s also the story of a woman falling in love with a man who joins her in her food love affair, and brings the wine. This is a non-fiction book that reads as smoothly as a novel.

If you wanted a recipe for Service Included, I would say that it’s got a splash of Kitchen Confidential, a few pinches of Cooking for Mr. Latte, and a twist of Garlic and Sapphires. There’s a secret ingredient in there, too - Phoebe Damrosch’s perspective and personality, which makes everything “just right”.

Memoirs in general can be very tricky. Food-based memoirs especially so - you can lose readers if you talk over their head, or if you talk down to them. Some readers will roll their eyes at a page-long discussion about salt types, where others with luxuriate in it. Damrosch’s self-deprecating attitude and obvious love of the topic makes Service Included shine. I was reading quotes to my unsuspecting husband only a few pages into the first chapter. I felt an immediate connection to Damrosch from the beginning when she discussed drooling over The French Laundry Cookbook, and feeling guilty about her love of food porn. Given that I take pictures of my dinners and recipes, I could relate - I love good food porn in cookbooks or food magazines!

I have had a dream of working in a restaurant - I always pictured myself as either a line cook or a sous chef. I’ve spent far too time reading food memoirs, watching Food Network, and reading cookbooks. Unfortunately, with Celiac Disease, it’s unlikely I’d ever be able to work in a restaurant, so it’s great to get a peek inside without having to do the work! Damrosch gives us an in-depth description of the training to be a part of the Thomas Keller restaurant Per Se from the orientation (”I drank the Kool-aid”) and opening. She continues with an intriguing look at what it is like to be the almost invisible server at a restaurant that has a two month wait for reservations, and yet has regulars, including some who come for lunch and dinner in the same day.

I was drooling at the idea of a 7 course tasting menu, with no duplicated ingredients, but I was feeling somewhat disappointed that I couldn’t experience this joy, given the anti-allergy opinions of other chefs. I was overjoyed to read that Per Se will make gluten-free bread, and asks if anyone has any allergies at the beginning of the meal experience. It was once I knew that I could eat there (you know, if money starts growing on our bushes), that I fell in love with Service Included even more. Damrosch’s point of view on allergies is refreshing - she dislikes people saying they are “allergic” to foods simply because they dislike them, but she is happy to help the kitchen accommodate any real allergies, as well as personal tastes.

I was fascinated to see that the book started with the Diner’s Bill of Rights - the things to which each diner is entitled. As we read on, we find parts of the rule book from Per Se, and the rationale behind the rules. While Rule #4 seems pretty obvious: “No cologne, scented lotions, scented soaps, aftershave, or perfume are to be worn during service.” We want to smell the food, not the server! Rule #25 seems excessive:

Hair must be cut above the ears.

• A. Women’s hair must be neatly arranged off face
• B. Everyone’s hair must remain as it was when hired (Rule #27 explains that the same goes for facial hair

I was boggled by this apparently obsessive micromanagement until I read Damrosch’s explanation:

Of all the rules, 25(b) was the most fascinating to me. I was beginning to understand what the management meant when they spoke of “image”. They didn’t hire someone with pink hair or a scraggly goatee, so they wanted to make sure they didn’t get stuck with one later.

Damrosch might have drunk the Kool-Aid to become a follower of Thomas Keller, but her attitude remains intact. Her snarkiness is also much appreciated - when describing the dining experience at Per Se, she calls her example couple “Mr. and Mrs. Bichalot”. When discussing a failed relationship, she muses, “He was very sweet and very attractive, but he was also a Republican ex-Marine who watched football on television. That didn’t work for about four reasons.”

Food is always connected to love - starting when our parents and grandparents feed us in childhood. How many people practice a dish before cooking it for a date? Or dither for days about where they want to bring their date. Damrosch discusses her unsuccessful relationships and gently introduces us to, and describes falling in love with, her partner. We can follow their relationship (complete with embarrassing anecdotes of Phoebe reading his email!) from first crush to an ongoing relationship.

After reading Garlic and Sapphires, books by Jeffry Steingarten, reading a Per Se review, and growing up as the daughter of a restaurant reviewer, I was fascinated to see the other side - what does the restaurant do in order to prepare for a review? How much can you coddle a reviewer without him or her knowing? How strained does the tension become waiting for the reviewer to arrive? And yes, they really did post pictures of the New York Times reviewer in the kitchen!

I feel privileged and exultant to have been allowed behind “employees only” door of the restaurant, and invited out to one of the late-night bars after work with the Per Se crew via Service Included. I may never work in a restaurant, but I have a much better understanding of what is going on behind the scenes, and have tips on what to do as a diner and what to absolutely avoid.

I’m so glad that Phoebe Damrosch decided to stop waitressing and write Service Included - its a wonderful love story, a wonderful food story, and simply a wonderful book. If you don’t usually like non-fiction, pick this one up and read it as if it were a novel - it isn’t anything like the dry nonfiction out there - Damrosch has made this food memoir nice and juicy.

This book review is part of a PBN blog tour, and was received from the publisher

I remember the personalized books that some of my friends had when I was younger. They had all the type in a plain text, and then the child’s name was in bold, and a bit out of sync with the other text. The people in the books never quite matched my friends, either - the hair/eye/skin color would be different, and the pronouns never completely matched up.

I had read other Parent Bloggers’ positive reviews of the new personalized books for children, but I quite honestly didn’t quite believe them. The Print-a-Kid website says they have text designed for preschoolers, and some for grade-schoolers, but I figured I was best off getting a preschool version one for LG (4), as she would like it no matter what - her older sisters are a bit fussier about books.

LG’s book arrived very quickly after placing the order, which was a pleasant surprise. I had chosen the Wacky Christmas Journey, and I was very impressed at how well-made and well-designed it is. I also belatedly realized that I should have bought two more in the grade-school version, as BG (9) and MG (7) were both very disappointed that they are only side characters in the story.

The book says it is “A Book for [LG]” on the cover, and has a dedication (”To our Gaggle of Girls, Love Mommy and Daddy”) that are personalized before you even get to the story. I skipped those the first time to make it a surprise, and it took a moment of reading before LG realized the book was about her - and then her grin spread across her face. The story is personalized for LG’s blonde hair and blue eyes, uses pronouns correctly, and uses our family members’ names throughout the story. Having your name in any story is enchanting (even if it has nothing to do with you!), but having a story that is clearly about you and your family means that your parents can’t read anything else at bedtime for weeks. *ahem* Thankfully, because her sisters’ names were in the story, everyone enjoyed having it read to them over and over and over… The storyline was fun, too, with a few unexpected twists - who knew that reindeer could pull you through an ornament and on to the North Pole?

The book itself is well made: a sturdy binding, good quality paper, text that flows nicely, and images that have your child’s eye, hair, and skin tone - and with girls the hair length, too. The side-characters are only visible in such a way that you can’t identify them. BG, MG, and I discussed this, and how much more difficult (and therefore more expensive) it would be to make all the characters have the right hair, eye, and skin color. Suddenly it made sense to them why you only see someone as they are carrying ornaments, or their back going up a ladder.

What was particularly endearing is that the lines given to my children actually fit their personalities! That was a wonderful surprise. While the storyline is not Caldecott Award material, it is infinitely better than the storylines of the personalized books when I was a child, and therefore exceeded my expectations. I’m going to have to buy the older versions for my other two daughters soon, and I’ll see how the story holds up for older kids. We are also very curious about some of the other personalized books, there’s a lot of interest in the space robots book and the princess’ kingdom book especially! My daughters and I spent quite a lot of time on the website researching which other books we could have chosen. Right now, they all look great - er, except that we homeschool, so the school book might not be the best fit for us!

The one thing that was disappointing for my daughters is that you couldn’t include your pets in the story. One of our pets has a human name (Jack), but it wouldn’t quite work to say he was their brother or friend… That’s really a minor complaint, but we suggest that if they add another story to their selection that they choose one that involves kids and their pets. The one other minor complaint is from the “Designated Reader” - now LG tries to say she is any blonde haired/blue-eyed girl in any other story, and it becomes frustrating by the 12th time per book…

We highly recommend the Print-a-Kid personalized children’s books, and think they would make a wonderful holiday, birthday, or “just because” gift. Some kids are lucky enough to have entire series of books with main characters who share their name, while other kids look in vain for characters that share their name. The Print-a-Kid books even the playing field and make all the kids feel special.

I received Channeling Mark Twain: A Novel, by Carol Muske-Dukes from the lovely Felicia over at Writers Revealed for a podcast, but she has switched from podcasts to written interviews for now.

The idea behind Channeling Mark Twain fascinates me - the story of a young woman, fresh out of graduate school in the 1970s, trying to help the female inmates of Riker’s Island off Manhattan. She starts by bringing money collected for bail, then works in the After-Care (trying to help released prisoners get jobs), and she starts to teach a Poetry class. This is a somewhat autobiographical novel about life in the 70s, pimps, prisoners, and corrections officers.

Little did I know that Channeling Mark Twain would challenge me on so many levels. (more…)

I have spent the past few days reading Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume, edited by Jennifer O’Connell. I will likely spend the next several weeks recommending it to everyone I meet. In fact, I brought it to a homeschool coop meeting yesterday to make sure I didn’t forget to recommend it! If you want to give a present to a female friend or to yourself, I would recommend I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron (reviewed with some beach reads) and Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume - the two books encircle the life of a girl, teen, then woman.

This is a book that will speak to anyone who grew up as a girl in the USA in the time since Judy Blume became a published author. There are essays by a wide range of women writers, all discussing the impact of Judy Blume’s work on their lives. I am sure that each person will have essays that speak directly to them, and essays that are less personal. However, all of the essays are thoughtful and well-written. I was amazed at how moved I was while reading the essays - I flew back in time to my childhood, laughed at some of the memories and cried at others. I felt myself nodding over and over as I completely identified with what I was reading.

Judy Blume made a huge impact on me in so many ways. I loved how normal I felt after reading her books. I wasn’t the only one with parents who got divorced (It’s Not the End of the World). I wasn’t the only one who got teased or felt shy (Blubber). I wasn’t the only one who had an annoying little brother (Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing). I wasn’t the only one who had a friend move away (Iggie’s House). I wasn’t the only one worrying about puberty (Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret). I wasn’t the only one who (gasp!) thought about sex! (Forever) Reading Judy Blume’s work made me feel far more normal than I did at school, and it may very well have taught me more than all the Talented And Gifted classes!

The essays are written by a great variety of wonderful Young Adult and Adult novelists, and the book serves as a wonderful jumping-off point for more reading. Take note of the authors whose essays speak to you, then go buy one of their books (or get it from the library). FYI, though, they misspell the name of one author - her name is Kristin Harmel, not Kristin Karmel, and the misspelling made it harder to find her books! After reading this book, my Amazon cart is full, and I may very well have exceeded the maximum allowable InterLibraryLoan requests! I think I’m not the only one doing this, however, as two of the books available in our library were marked “checked in” Monday morning, but when I came to the library in the afternoon, they had been checked out!

If your life was affected by Judy Blume’s work, run out and grab this book. If you somehow managed to grow up without the influence of Judy Blume, run out and get Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume, and then buy all of Judy Blume’s books! Don’t forget to share the books with your children! My girls especially love all the stories about Fudge in Four Fudge Books by Judy Blume!

I read two books one after the other that pulled me towards islands and home - The Land of Mango Sunsets and The Lace Reader. On the surface, they are very, very different - one is about a Manhattan Society woman and the other is about the history of lace and the women who create and “read” it (like fortune telling). However, both books are about women coming home to themselves, rediscovering family, and succumbing to the lure of the island. They are both beautiful stories that will touch your heart. Take a day with a lounge chair and some boat drinks, and read them both - you won’t be able to put either one down.

The Land of Mango Sunsets: A Novel is a beautiful book by Dorothea Benton Frank. Miriam is a Manhattan society woman who has fallen out of favor since her ex-husband left her to marry his mistress and raise their children. At first, Miriam is most concerned about proper behavior and the importance of moving up within the society of wealthy volunteer women. She is somewhat estranged from her children & grandchildren, and has her parrot Harry and her gay third floor tenant Kevin for friends. However, she is so caught up in what she believes she should be doing that she doesn’t see her loneliness.

Things begin to change for Miriam after renting her second floor to a new tenant and taking a trip a visit to her childhood home - an island off the coast of South Carolina. Her mother is there focusing on organic foods, gardening, and living green. Miriam is put off by this “hippie living”, especially when her mother and a friend share a joint during a walk on the beach. After she returns to Manhattan, she begins her metamorphosis - from “prissy” Miriam to a more relaxed “Mellie”. As these changes progress internally, Mellie opens herself up to her family, working past the pain from the divorce years ago.

This story pulls you into Miriam/Mellie’s life, and holds on to you until you are finished reading. If you have been in pain or closed off from the world in any way, her story will inspire you. I was lucky enough recently to see a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis. Just as the butterfly takes time to dry its wings and strengthen them, the characters in The Land of Mango Sunsets emerge from their cocoons, and huddle together before spreading their wings. It’s a beautiful story that I doubt you’ll be able to put down!

The Lace Reader is a novel by Brunonia Barry. Towner Whitney is much younger woman than Miriam, but she is also called back to her childhood home, this time by the disappearance of her great-aunt and mother figure, Eva. The novel starts with a passage from “The Lace Reader’s Guide” - a guide to the reading of fortunes in lace. The quotes continue throughout the book, along with the narrator’s memories of her Aunt reading lace, and reading lace herself. The Lace Reader website does a great job of explaining the world in which Barry has set the story - Salem, MA and the surrounding towns in the 1990s with some poetic license thrown in (the island home, Yellow Dog Island, is not a real island off of Salem, though the Miseries, Children’s Island, and so many other landmarks are).

I’ve got to believe that Barry lives or lived in the area. There is one scene where Towner’s brother Beezer and his friends showing his fiancée Anya the statue of Salem founding father Roger Conant near the Salem Common. At a certain angle, it looks like he is, um, pleasuring himself. Driving past that statue for years as a teenager myself, I thought my friends and I were the first ones to notice it! There are so many little truisms in the story about the area, it calls to me as someone who has grown up on the North Shore, and then moved back.

Barry has created a world within The Lace Reader that is a rollercoaster of emotions and self-discovery. Towner returns to her hometown and home island after years hiding from them. She finds herself needing to face the demons that had her in a psychiatric hospital as a teenager, demons she has hid from for so many years. Just as Towner needs to face reality and the past, the town does as well - there are modern-day Calvinists trying to persecute the witches who have found sanctuary in today’s Salem.

As a reader, one wonders about Towner’s opening paragraph in Chapter 3:

My name is Towner Whitney. No, that’s not exactly true. My real first name is Sophya. Never believe me. I lie all the time

I am a crazy woman, … That last part is true.

At first, one discounts this - sure, she had been in a psychiatric hospital as a teenager, but that was years ago. As the story unravels, however, and Towner’s first person narrative is interspersed with Detective Rafferty’s narrative, it becomes more foggy - what is true? We see how Towner’s mother, May, has dealt with her sister’s physical abuse - she runs a sanctuary on Yellow Dog Island for abused women and children. Towner herself has had electric shock therapy to rid herself of visions, leaving large gaps in her short term and long term memories. What is true memory, and what is made up as protection?

Towner’s family is filled with “Lace Readers” - women who can see a person’s future in the lace. Her Great-Aunt Eva had done so professionally to much success, and Towner is also graced with the gift, though she refuses to use it if at all possible - she sees only destruction and death. It is really only in a town such as Salem (with psychics and witches everywhere) that refusing to use such a talent is seen as a character flaw. It is fascinating that even as Towner tries to avoid the lace, we see her world spread out for us like a piece of lace - which threads lead toward the answers the characters and the readers seek, and which ones are tricksters, leading to a dead end. The Lace Reader keeps us following the patterns until the very last words of the last page - “The End”. There is no way to put it down until you have read it all.

Please do yourselves a favor and pick up The Lace Reader and The Land of Mango Sunsets soon. Transport yourself to an island, and find the world there.

We live on a hill overlooking the beach, so we really, really like books about beaches, boats, and any other marine topic. These are four books (2 on Pirates! arrr!) we really enjoyed about life on and around the ocean.

Beach is simply a book about a day on the beach by Elisha Cooper. The simple, yet lively illustrations bring the beach to life, even when you’re reading the book in your bedroom on a cold, wet day. The book starts with an empty beach at the beginning of the day, then shows people arriving in various ways. The day is explored with glimpses into different people’s eyes - the sisters build a sand sculpture, a girl covers a friend in the sand, and the seagulls watch everything. There are gorgeous collages of people in different positions and participating in different beachy activities while the lifeguard watches over everyone. The day continues in this vein - sort glimpses into a great variety of what happens at the beach. The beach empties out as the day turns to dusk - less than half a dozen people on the beach as the book ends. This is a sweet book that is a quick read for the adults, but there are so many little pictures for the kids to pore over in bed or on the couch after the story is read.

The Serpent Came to Gloucester is a book based on a true story, by M. T. Anderson, illustrated by Bagram Ibatouilline. On a hot day in August, 1817, the people of Gloucester, Massachusetts saw a sea serpent off their shore. At first, they were scared of the monster, but then they went out in their boats to watch the sea serpent frolic. The book tells the story of the townspeople and the serpent in a wonderful rhyming poem, with a haunting refrain “As it swam in the sea, in the lovely sea. As it swam in that ancient, old sea”. As the waters cool, the sea serpent leaves, and in the next summer hunters come with harpoons, and when the sea serpent returns people try to catch him. There is a scary bit where you think he might be caught (as a warning for kids who are anxious), but it turns out OK. The book leaves you wondering what really came to Gloucester that summer, and whether it will ever return. This book was greatly enjoyed by my 6 and 8 year olds (the 3 year old not so much), but there was one scary bit. The paintings are amazingly gorgeous, and the whole feel of the book is old (as if it were from the 1800s), which fascinated all of us. We recommend this for the older readers in your group.

Now for the Pirate Books!

Pirate Bob is a fun yet honest book about pirates by Kathryn Lasky, illustrated by David Clark. This book shows some of the less attractive parts of piracy - the swords, the friends who are only nice to you because they want your treasure, the greed, and the stealing. Most childrens books on pirates focus only on the fun, lightweight stuff. This book is still a fun read-aloud, but it isn’t filled with illusions Pirate Bob’s nose itches, it means gold is near, and when his nose aches, it is reminding him of when his nose was cut by a cutlass. Pirate Bob and his friends & colleagues on the Pirate ship are searching for their dreams of gold as they search for ships to loot. But they are all waiting until they can bury a treasure and leave piracy, because then they think they will be happy. The story is told in such a way that is still an interesting, fun read that kept all three kids (3, 6, 8 ) interested. And as their mom, I was happy to read a book that didn’t make piracy sound like a good occupation

By Geezers and Galoshes! is a completely different pirate and boating book by Lena Arro, illustrated by Catarina Kruusval. In this story, a little boy named Bubble goes to visit his great uncles who live on an island for a week, but the great uncles have no idea how to entertain a little boy for that long. They build a model Bubble has brought with him, and then follow the direction that says, “for full size, please place model in water”. When they awake, the boat has grown into a full size pirate boat! They load it up, and set off for adventure, just the three of them - with Bubble as the captain. They “steal” treasure from sunbathers and other folks so they will have some “pirate booty”. They turn around and go home when the food runs out, and then dry off the boat so it will be saved for another visit. This book is a brightly colored, silly, and fun book which takes a completely different tack on piracy than Pirate Bob. This book was an absolute favorite, which enthralled all three kids (3, 6, 8 ) and several adults who read aloud to them.

We recommend and enjoyed all 4 books, but think that younger kids will be more interested in the first and last books. The middle books are a little darker in tone, and appeal to a slightly older audience (I’d say 6 and up). Happy reading! We hope you get to do some reading near the water, or that you let the books carry you away to the ocean in your imagination.

(Sweet without being insipid, that is)

When we find a sweet little book, we tend to read it several times (or nightly for several months), as it doesn’t “count” in the 3 books-per-bedtime rule if it is short. These are some great books to have laying around when someone small wants a book read, and you only have a few minutes.
A few board books we’ve really liked lately, which have even amused the older children:

Your Personal Penguin, by Sandra Boynton. OK, I have to admit that we are suckers for all the Sandra Boynton books, and the part where this one comes with the URL to download a song? Who could pass it up? We have worn out copies of Barnyard Dance! and a myriad of other Sandra Boynton stories, and this book follows in their footsteps. Your Personal Penguin is a sweet book about a penguin wanting to be friends with a hippo, with adorable Boynton illustrations and sweet rhymes. It’s a simple, quick story that is completely suitable for a baby/toddler, and the Boynton rhymes seem to enthrall the older kiddos here in addition to the younger intended audience.

The sheep books by Nancy Shaw are all short, sweet, and sheepy. Our particular favorite is Sheep in a Shop. In this rhyming story, the sheep go to a shop to buy a present. Some minor chaos ensues, but they set things straight and decide what to purchase. “They dump their bank. Pennies clank. There’s not enough to buy this stuff.” Whatever will the sheep do? “What can they swap to pay the shop?” Of course, the sheep are shorn and pay the bill, then walk off in the spring sunshine to have the birthday picnic for their friend. The rhymes, cute illustrations, and gentle theme make this a book that is fun to read, and the older siblings or friends are fine listening to it as well. Sheep in a Shop can also be a great early-reader book, with the older brother/sister reading to the younger one, as the rhymes and pictures help the new reader know what happens next.

Good Night, Gorilla, by Peggy Rathmann is another sturdy, brightly colored board book. This is one of those classic toddler/preschooler books that everyone should own. It has very few words (so it is also great to hand to kids so they will have a book to “read” as they lay in bed), and follows the story of a gorilla who swipes the keys from the zookeeper’s belt and unlocks each animal from their enclosure. The animals follow the zookeeper back to his home, and (here’s the best part!) when his wife says goodnight, ALL the animals chime in with their goodnights. This is a sweet, simple book that you can add your own story to as well as see what your kids will pick up on - the colored keys? the stuffed animals? how would the animals fit in the house?

What do you do When a Monster says Boo? is slightly longer, but still much shorter than most picture books. What do you do When a Monster says Boo? is written by Hope Vestergaard, illustrated by Maggie Smith. This is a sweet book about a “monster” little sister, who pesters her older brother. Any boy or girl with a brother or sister will like this, as it acknowledges the frustrated feelings of the older sibling, while showing the perspective of the younger sibling. We loved the brightly-colored illustrations and the fun rhymes, as well as the question-answer scheme of the book. Here’s an example that resonated in our house:

What do you do when a monster pulls hair?
Show it your teeth and pretend that you’ll bite?
Forget all your manners and start a big fight?
No, no, NO!
The best thing to do when
a monster pulls hair
Is find its soft tummy
and tickle it there.

This was a fun, short book to read, and the words are set off in blocks away from the illustrations. The movement of the words on the page is another part of the book that was appealing to the reading parent, just as the ideas of the naughty things you could do to the “monster” were really appealing to the kids!