From the Publishers Weekly review of The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie, by Wendy McClure:
“Discovering that butter she churned herself was ‘just butter,’ McClure admits she ‘felt like a genius and a complete idiot at the same time.'”
The book comes out in April. I can’t wait.
An Object of Beauty, Martin. Yes. Martin’s writing is mechanically nearly flawless, and while it started out a bit writerly for my taste, either he settled down or I became more tolerant. This rather lengthy excerpt (edited somewhat to remove plot-related irrelevancies), I believe, will tell you all you need to know to make a decision about reading the book:
“How can an artist have no effect on you for years and then one day it has an effect on you?”
“I call that the perverse effect. Those things that you hate for so long are insidiously working on you, until one day you can’t resist them anymore. They turn into favorites. It just takes a while to sort out the complications in them. Those artworks that come all ready to love empty out pretty quickly. It’s why outsiders hate the art we love; they haven’t spent time with it.”
The writing and story were easily good enough that I finished and enjoyed the book, and I greatly appreciated the photographs in the book of many of the art works that Martin discusses, but it never completely pulled me in the way I prefer a book to do.
These are all listed in the category “Girl’s Toy.”
Hand-cranked mochi machine (do watch the video- so perky!)
Somen slide! Includes a sack to carry it in!
Perhaps a toffee maker?
Child’s doughnut maker!
Cotton candy?
To all appearances, a hand-crank bread machine.
Put the kids to work makin’ sushi (they even have competition)
I love those bean-filled fish pastries!
Oooh, soft serve!
I didn’t know you could get novelty popcorn other than at the beach.
Perhaps a candy mold kit?
Chocolate banana pop maker
Small-dog based sushi roll maker
This is either a pasta maker or a pasta vending machine
Ooh! Make your own Pocky!
Whipped cream anointing gun
Ice cream? Yakitori?
Another Pocky kit
Sanrio chocolate fountain (there is a Disney one, too)
Adorable tiny sandwich shaper
This one is definitely a pasta maker
Make your own candy bars
The Loving Dead, Beamer. No. This was a Book Club selection, and I didn’t hate it. Unfortunately, that’s the most I can say for it. I do give Beamer credit for constructing an adequately consistent background and thinking through some implications, but I really need more than that if a writer is going to take me into such a well-traveled region of speculation.
Jar City, Indriðason. No. The cover bills this as “A Reykjavík Thriller”, but it’s really quite far from thrilling. It’s hard to tell how much to blame (or credit) the translation when the words I read are not the words the author wrote, but my failure to find much redeeming in Jar City extends beyond nuances of language. Characters, story, what passed for suspense: all of them failed to pull me in.
Remember that movie (based on a story), The Sweater? Do you know how ingrained it is in Canadian culture?
An excerpt from the story is now featured in both official languages of Canada on the reverse of the Canadian five-dollar bill.
Can you even imagine a story that could be featured on US currency? You can watch the film here. Also quite interesting: the Richard Riot.
From The Book of Menus, 1876, an Epicurian Calendar:
January: Marronglaçaire
February: Harengsauridor
March: Œufalacoquidor
April: Petitpoisidor
May: Aspergial
June: Concombrial
July: Melonial
August: Raisinose
September: Huîtrose
October: Bécassinose
November: Pommedetaire
December: Boudinaire
The Art of Racing in the Rain, Stein. Yes. Not far into the book, Stein’s narrator says
For me, a good story is all about setting up expectations and delivering on them in an exciting and surprising way.
And that is just what Racing in the Rain does: you learn certain things very early, and you get the rest of the book to watch the inevitable unfold, with occasional surprise and excitement. There are a number of features that I might usually find more irritating, but right now, it worked for me.