Secrets of Bored Booksellers

So, as much as we are usually busy helping customers (as well as shelving, sorting, ordering books, returning books, recommending books, dusting the shelves, etc.), there are the very occasional times (mostly during blizzards and major sporting events) when we may have a moment to wonder what we should do with ourselves. I have a bookseller friend who takes those moments to construct the funniest damn Venn diagrams you've ever seen.

I can't wait to show him Jessica Hagy's new book Indexed. It's a HILARIOUS little compilation of graphs and diagrams that have been amusing me for days (and has me checking out Ms. Hagy's blog for more!). Some of my favorites:

The intersection of organ, monkey, and scared little kid? Medical miracle or street performance.
Big jewelry, cane, and fur coat? Rich old woman or pimp.

And finally...
Father, son, and ghost? The worst camping trip ever.

No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and HBO

Just a quick bit of news from Shelf Awareness that I found pretty cool--According to Variety (click for full article), HBO will be doing a series based on Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books. And it would seem they're doing it with serious class--Anthony Minghella (who co-wrote and directed adaptations of The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley AND Cold Mountain) and Richard Curtis will be doing the writing and directing.

I'll definitely have to hit up a friend with HBO to have a viewing party.

Picks for Kids--Anatole

So, before I drive away all the adults, I just wanted to blog about my final pick for our staff recommendations wall. It's a wonderful classic picture book by Eve Titus titled Anatole (originally published in the 1950s and just as great today). If you know anyone who loved the movie Ratatouille (not just kids!)--they absolutely MUST meet Anatole, a Parisian mouse whose taste buds help the Duvall Cheese Factory become the most successful cheese producer in all of France. But all the while he must keep his identity a secret (he is a mouse, after all!)

By the way, Paul Galdone, the illustrator of Anatole, won Caldecott Honors for both that and its sequel, Anatole and the Cat, also written by Ms. Titus and also worth checking out. And by the way times two, Ms. Titus had a way with mice--her other best known character is Basil of Baker Street, a.k.a. the Sherlock Holmes of the Mouse World (who inspired a Disney movie of his own, The Great Mouse Detective).

Picks for Kids--A Great and Terrible Beauty

I mentioned earlier my recommendation of The Mysterious Benedict Society. I also recommended the Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray, the first book of which is A Great and Terrible Beauty. Set in Victorian England and a parallel world of the realms, the story of Gemma and her friends is really magnificent in how it balances history, fantasy, romance, and suspense! I also appreciate how the melodrama is tempered by a nice thread of humor. I really think that all those Stephenie Meyer fans should give Libba Bray a read--I have a feeling if you like Ms. Meyer than you'll love Ms. Bray as well.

PS--This is another series with a lovely web presence; click here to sample.

Picks for Kids--The Mysterious Benedict Society

Brookline Booksmith will soon be setting up a special wall in the kids' section devoted to staff recommendations. Yay!

My first recommendation is The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. My blurb: Four very clever children—Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance—come together under the tutelage of the curious Mr. Benedict to form the Mysterious Benedict Society. I loved trying to solve the puzzles and challenges presented to the children as they took their qualifying exams and then moved on to their mission—saving the world from the evil Mr. Curtain! This is a true treat of a novel that is equally fun for both kids and adults.

By the way, this is a really cool website that tells you more about the book and lets you test yourself with the types of puzzles and challenges that the Mysterious Benedict Society faced (and, if you're like me, find out you're not nearly as clever as Reynie, Kate, Sticky or Constance!).

I was thrilled to find out that a sequel will be coming out in May--The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey. My Hachette rep got me an advance copy and I couldn't put it down! Just as good as the first. Yippee!

Alie's Pick Makes the Big Time

Alie was featured in Sunday's Boston Globe book reviews for her recommendation of Vendela Vida's Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name! Cool!

As Alie says "The writing is as sparse as the locale - Lapland - but you are drawn in immediately. A unique and intense read about a woman whose mother deserted her. When her father dies, she finds out he is not her biological father. Her journey of discovery is harrowing but affirming." (Click here and scroll to the bottom to read her review in its original context.)

Pick of the Week--The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8 Lee

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles is another one of those great book that I read a bit ago and have been impatiently waiting for its release--and now it's here! Here's a review written by Debra Ginsberg for Shelf Awareness (my favorite daily on the book trade) that's much better written than anything I can do:

"Every so often, an obsession can lead to a big payoff. This is certainly true of debut author Jennifer 8. Lee, a New York Times reporter and an "ABC" (American-born Chinese), whose fascination with fortune cookies led her to write this engaging and informative cultural history of Chinese restaurant food in the U.S. Lee (whose middle initial signifies "prosperity" in Chinese) began her research in 2005, when an unusually large group of Powerball winners were revealed to have gotten their lucky numbers from fortune cookies that they'd received in Chinese restaurants across the country. Finding a quirky appeal in the phenomenon, Lee decided to trace fortune cookies back to their origin and soon found herself on a quest that encompassed Chinese restaurants in 42 states and several countries.

Although the food itself is central, Lee trains her focus on the unusual blend of culture, history and custom that make up American Chinese restaurants, individually owned eateries that outnumber McDonald's, Burger King and KFC combined in the U.S. Unfolding her journey much like a Chinese menu, Lee takes several lively and enlightening sidetracks as she follows the fortune cookie trail. For example, she credits the introduction of chop suey, a dish that did not exist in China, as the beginning of American enthusiasm for this "exotic" cuisine and researches the evolution of Chinese take-out. In a similar vein, she offers a short biography of General Tso whose eponymous chicken dish is unknown in his native land and deconstructs the elements of soy sauce at the world's largest producer. In a chapter titled "Why Chow Mein is the Chosen Food of the Chosen People," Lee examines the close relationship between Jews and Chinese food, including a quick review of Jewish dietary laws and a very funny anecdote involving kosher ducks. In more serious but no less spirited sections, Lee examines questions of national identity and the immigrant experience as seen through the eyes of several Chinese restaurant workers and journeys across six continents looking for the best Chinese restaurant in the world.

Ultimately she arrives again at the fortune cookie (not, as it turns out, a Chinese invention) and realizes that her search for the meaning within it has led to a greater understanding of her own culturally mixed identity. Both witty and charming, Lee's book is also surprisingly wise--every bit the treat one finds at the bottom of those familiar take-out containers."

As for me, I really enjoyed how Ms. Lee moved between humor and serious reporting. I love when I learn about the complexities of those things around me of which I never take more than cursory notice and am entertained at the same time. My favorites were the chapters on how Chinese restaurants are bought and sold through a cross-country network run from the small Chinatown of New York City and, of course, the previously mentioned look at the close relationship between Jews and Chinese food (I can't imagine a Christmas without egg rolls!)

One final note and warning: I read this book about a month ago and have had consistent cravings for Chinese food ever since. Honestly, it's starting to annoy my friends who would prefer Thai or Indian. Sorry guys.