The Right Book at the Right Time

Title: Baked/Baked Explorations

Author: Matt Lewis

Publisher: Abrams, Harry N., Inc. October 2008/October 2010

Summary: This winter has really been no fun.   I’m not a real fan of winter sports so having fun out in the snow is not something I look forward to.  Lurching spastically down a ski slope or falling on my butt on a frozen pond doesn’t leave me feeling invigorated and full of the joy of life.  I prefer to pull the shades, draw the curtains, put on some music and bake, so two of my favorite books have been getting a real work out lately.

Baked (2008) and Baked Explorations (2010) by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

I knew I was going to love the Baked cookbook when I read Lewis and Poliafito’s philosophy of breakfast:

 “As the first meal of the day, we think it should not be squandered on tasteless bran thingamajigs, dreary wheatgrass shakes and not-so-healthful nutrition bars…A glorious baked good is a wonderful thing to wake up to…Our breakfast philosophy comes down to this: We want you to go to bed with visions of lemon loaves and marble bundts dancing in your head.”

While you can feel virtuous and glowing with health digging into the oatmeal or bran flakes in the morning, give me a slice of lemon, lemon loaf, some double chocolate loaf with peanut butter cream cheese spread or some monkey bubble bread before I have to leave the house and spend a happy twenty minutes chipping ice off my car.

But it’s not just about breakfast.  The Baked brownie recipe has been praised by the The Today Show, America’s Test Kitchen, AND Oprah.  Lewis suggests serving them with ice cream – a most excellent suggestion.  The maple cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting are another winner, and they contain nuts – an excellent source of protein.

The books are beautifully illustrated by Tina Rupp, a New York based photographer who specializes in photographing “everything that has to do with food.”  Though it can be slightly depressing to compare your finished product to the photos.

My most recent experience with one of the baked recipes was the lemon, lemon loaf and it is a wonderful way to forget that the outside world is grey and cold and covered in really gross looking snow.  After juicing the lemons your whole kitchen smells like citrus.  Put on some Gloria Estefan, close the curtains and you’re in Florida.

Recommended by: Sue D’Num

Look yummy? To put a hold on Baked visit our catalog here or Baked Explorations by visiting here

The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America’s Deadliest Avalanche

Author: Gary Krist

Publisher: Henry Holt, 2008

Summary: It never occurred to me to read this fascinating book until I met the author. In 1910, in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, two Great Northern Railway trains, one carrying mail and one carrying passengers, became trapped in a blizzard never before seen in these mountains. Parked precariously between a mountainside and a steep ravine and under constant threat of avalanches, the terrified passengers watched as 30 feet of snow fell burying the trains in drifts. Despite desperate attempts to clear the tracks of snow slides, no help arrived in time. After nearly a week, on March 1 at 1am, while most passengers and railroad employees slept, an avalanche swept nearly 100 of them to their deaths. Gary Krist, a historian, meticulously researched the tragedy through telegrams, journals, letters, and court records. He intersperses the personal stories with details of snow clearing capabilities in those days and railroad history. Even though, we know the outcome from the beginning, the personal stories and the monumental attempts at rescue held my interest throughout.

 If you like this, try this: Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson 

Recommended by: Paula, Reference Librarian

Title: Stolen Innocence

Author: Elissa Wall

Publisher: William Morrow, May 2008

Summary: Elissa Wall’s heartbreaking memoir chronicles her life in- and eventual abandonment of- the FLDS church, a polygamist sect of Mormons living in Utah under Warren Jeffs. Elissa’s entire life she has been taught that the only way to get into Heaven is to obey Warren Jeffs (and any other man) without question, get rid of anything the Lord does not approve of (including classical music, friends, and books), and most of all, by “keeping sweet”. As Elissa grows older her family is torn apart by a series of shocking events, including a number of brothers and sisters abandoning their faith.

Elissa Wall’s story will not only shock readers, but keep them in awe throughout the entire book. As frustrating as it can be, the reader feels deep compassion for a young woman caught up in a life of systematic bullying and brainwashing. The book also mentions another prominent family in the FLDS, the Jessops- Carolyn later went on to write her own memoir.

Who will like this book?: People who enjoy memoirs or biographies. Those who are interested in other religions or who would like to know more about the FLDS.

If you like this, read this: Triumph or Escape by Carolyn Jessop, The Lonely Polygamist by Udall

Recommended by: LB, Circulation Assistant