Do Celebrities Really Know How to Cook?

            Decide for yourself when you browse through these cookbooks, written by celebrities and selected by librarian Janine.

            It’s All Good: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great is written by Gwyneth Paltrow, the Academy Award-winning actress and bestselling cookbook author. Here she returns with recipes for the foods she eats when she wants to lose weight, look good, and feel more energetic.

            Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood is written by the popular country singer. She has found another way to reach her audience – with this follow-up to her successful Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen. In Home Cooking, Trisha serves up more homey, Southern-inflected fare from her country music kitchen.

            Eva’s Kitchen is authored by actress Eva Longoria. Although she may be most recognized for her role as Desperate Housewives saucy Gabrielle Solis, Eva’s favorite pastime is to be in the kitchen cooking the food she loves for her family and friends. Here are the recipes for her favorite dishes, accompanied by her life story.

            The Chew: What’s for Dinner? captures the show’s trademark wit and practical advice while highlighting ways to make dinner fun. Formatted like 2012’s standout bestseller, The Chew, this all-new book features more than 100 delectable recipes, perfect for each day of the week, from Manic Monday (fast and easy) to Friday Fun day (delicious treats), as well as the weekend.  

            The Tucci Cookbook, written by actor Stanley Tucci, features nearly 200 irresistible recipes, perfectly paired with delicious wines. The book is brimming with robust flavors, beloved Italian traditions, mouth-watering photographs, and engaging, previously untold stories from the family’s kitchen.

            Kate Gosselin’s Love is in the Mix is the work of Kate Gosselin, the well-known mom to eight growing – and hungry – kids. She knows her way around the kitchen, bestowing her passion for cooking onto her brood of budding chefs and sharing the family’s favorite recipes for both entertaining and everyday.

            Double Delicious! Good, Simple Food for Busy, Complicated Lives is written by Jessica Seinfeld. Here are more of her easy, imaginative recipes that use the power of purees to make everything healthier, from a hearty turkey meatloaf to an irresistible tiramisu. Again, she’s raised the bar nutritionally and eliminated unnecessary sugar and fat, boosted fiber and nutrients, and cut way back on sodium to bring us more healthful food with fantastic flavor.

            Skinny Italian is written by Teresa Giudice, the star of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Teresa shows how anyone can master the cornerstones of Italian cuisine. Learn how to make six different tomato sauces from scratch, how to choose and use the right olive oil, and how to prepare over sixty Giudice family recipes straight from Salerno. Discover how easy and economical wholesome, homemade cooking can be.

 

Transatlantic

            This novel is written by Colum McCann, a critically acclaimed author who was born in Ireland and now resides in New York City. The story includes elements of historical fiction and family saga. The reader travels back and forth through the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries (not in chronological order), and from Ireland, the United States, and Canada, to explore the thoughts and actions of both historical and fictional individuals.

            The historical figures are: Frederick Douglass, the nineteenth century American abolitionist and former slave; John Alcock and Teddy Brown, two British airmen who in 1919 won the contest to be the first to fly from North America to Great Britain or Ireland within 72 hours; and Senator George Mitchell, who was an integral contributor to the peace settlement in Northern Ireland during the late 1990s. These four men are seen to interact with four fictional characters, all women from the same family – great-grandmother, grandmother, mother, and daughter – during five different time periods. By the end of the novel, we are impressed by the inner strength of all of the characters as they cope with their own troubles, as well as with the historical “Troubles” of Northern Ireland.

Pride and Prejudice Revisited

            The classic eighteenth-century novel Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen, has inspired many other books; some of which update the storyline and others which continue the adventures of its well-known characters. Here are some of these titles, for Jane Austen aficionados and neophytes alike.

            The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet, written by Bernie Su, explores the life of the twenty-four-year-old graduate student who still lives at home with her two sisters and is posting her views on YouTube for her thesis project, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Then she meets the arrogant William Darcy.

            Longbourn: a Novel, is written by Jo Baker. It presents the story of Pride and Prejudice, but as seen through the eyes of the Bennet servants, fleshing out their characters and focusing on their life events.

            The Pursuit of Mary Bennet, written by Pamela Mingle, tells the story of the socially awkward Bennet sister and her chance at love. To escape another one of Lydia’s scandals, sisters Mary and Kitty are bundled off to Jane and Bingley’s house where Mary meets Henry Walsh, an eligible bachelor who seems genuinely interested in her.

           
           Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: the Classic Regency Romance – Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem is written by Seth Grahame-Smith. In this altered tale, Elizabeth Bennet battles zombies who rise up from the plague-stricken dead. Joining forces with Elizabeth, a highly skilled warrior, is the equally talented-in-combat Mr. Darcy.   

            Death Comes to Pemberley is written by P.D. James, a well-known mystery writer. Who should unexpectedly arrive at the Darcy’s ball but Elizabeth’s disgraced sister Lydia, who claims that her husband Wickham has been murdered. Mayhem is the result until the situation is masterfully handled by Mr. Darcy.

          
          The Darcys Give a Ball: a Gentle Joke, Jane Austen Style is written by Elizabeth Newark. Here the children of the original characters – Elizabeth, Jane, Georgianna Darcy, Charlotte Collins, and others – come into their own as they find romance.

            The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet is written by Colleen McCullough, author of The Thorn Birds. After the death of Mrs. Bennet, Mary sets off to pursue adventure and romance. Meanwhile, the other family members have some brushes with scandal before all is resolved.

Losing Our Way: An Intimate Portrait of a Troubled America

 

            Author Bob Herbert was formerly an opinion columnist for the New York Times and is now a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Demos, a public policy think tank. He presents his argument for the need to rebuild the economic structure of America. Herbert’s suggestions on alleviating the financial woes of the middle class and poor that have escalated during the past forty years are decidedly influenced by his liberal views.

            Herbert’s examination of what he sees as problems are divided into chapters focusing on various social ills, including: a shortage of well-paying jobs, insufficient training for the jobs of the future, perpetual wars and their financial and human tolls on us, public vs. charter schools in education, and our country’s infrastructure (transportation, communication, etc.) and how it has worsened due to neglect and natural disasters. Herbert accompanies the description of each problem with anecdotal reports about its victims, and offers recommendations on improving these situations.

March is Women's History Month

            This is the month to celebrate contributions made by women in all walks of life, whether  their accomplishments are great or conventional. Here are some books written by and/or        
about political leaders and activists.

            Bella Abzug was a lawyer, U.S. Representative (1971-1978), social activist and a leader of the Women’s Movement. Bella Abzug: How One Tough Broad from the Bronx Fought Jim Crow and Joe McCarthy, Pissed off Jimmy Carter, Battled for the Rights of Women and Workers, Rallied Against War and for the Planet, and Shook up Politics along the Way: an Oral History, is written by Suzanne Levine.

            Betty Friedan was an American writer, activist, and feminist. She wrote The Feminine Mystique, considered an important book of the American Feminist Movement of the 1960s. Friedan also was the first president of the National Organization for Women. Friedan’s autobiography is entitled Life so Far.

            Kirsten Gillibrand currently is a United States senator from New York State (since 2009). Her book Off the Sidelines: Raise Your Voice, Change the World is both a biography detailing her youth and her political career, and an appeal for more women to become politically active.

            Condoleezza Rice is the former Secretary of State (2005 – 2009) and currently is a faculty member of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She has written the book Condoleezza Rice: a Memoir of My Extraordinary, Ordinary Family and Me, which details her childhood in segregated Birmingham, Alabama and her road to politics.

            Margaret Sanger was a nurse who became a sex educator and birth control advocate during the early and middle twentieth century. She established organizations that eventually became the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. You can read The Autobiography of Margaret Sanger, written by her. Also, The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution, written by Jonathan Eig describes Sanger’s contributions along with those of three other individuals in developing what was the first birth control pill.

            Sonia Sotomayor is currently an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (2009 - ). Her book My Beloved World describes her journey as a Hispanic-American lawyer who progressed through the ranks as a district attorney to an appointment as a judge in the U.S. District Court to the U.S. Court of Appeals and finally the Supreme Court.

New Ideas in Gardening

            Each year brings new book selections on gardens and gardening. This year is no different – ideas on plant selection, layout, care and garden building projects can be yours with these titles.

            Plant this Instead!: Better Plant choices – Prettier – Hardier – Blooms Longer – New Colors – Less Work – Drought-Tolerant – Native is written by Troy B. Marden. Here, the reader is introduced to the recently developed plants and cultivars that will add excitement to your garden. Each selection is accompanied by planting requirements, product trademarks, and color photos

            Cultivating Garden Style: Inspired Ideas and Practical Advice to Unleash Your Garden Personality is written by Rochelle Greayer. Your garden can be a decorating statement! Just leaf through this book to see the many gardens dreamed up and developed by artists, designers, and homeowners the world over.  Craft projects and outdoor accessory ideas are included. Color photos abound.

            Gardens in Detail: 100 Contemporary Designs is written by Emma Reuss. Visit the gardens of the wealthy from around the world, all lovingly described through text and color photos. Designer, year completed and location are given for each garden.

            The Backyard Homestead Book of Building Projects is written by Spike Carlsen. It features 76 projects, arranged in chapters with such themes as garden tools, harvesting and food prep items, storage and workspaces, and more. Each project is presented with a list of required materials, detailed instructions and drawings

            Backyard Building: Treehouses, Sheds, Arbors, Gates and other Garden Projects is written by Jeanie and David Stiles. From the basic (picnic table, gates), to the playful (treehouses and playhouses), to the advanced (artist’s studio) – each project is accompanied by color photos, detailed drawings, and comprehensive instructions.

Gone Girl

     A seemingly perfect love story at the start, the relationship between Nick and Amy Dunne has taken a wrong turn by their fifth wedding anniversary. Author Gillian Flynn presents their stories, in alternating first-person narrative chapters, from their first meeting to Amy’s disappearance on their anniversary day.

    Nick dutifully reports Amy’s disappearance to the police but within a few days he is the chief suspect in the case. He finds himself ostracized by the townspeople, officials, the media and the world; all suspecting him of murder. Nick’s only support comes from his twin sister Go and even she isn’t entirely sure of his innocence.
   
    All is not as it seems as we learn of lies told by both Nick and Amy. Twists and turns abound as the mystery progresses and the ending is unexpected yet unsurprising.
   
    All of Flynn’s characters, major to minor, are well-drawn and the dialog is realistic. Sarcastic barbs are aimed at several subjects, from Amy’s lovey-dovey perfect parents, to the media, and others; giving a humorous touch to this mystery/thriller.