Here is the bookcase before:

and after its digital enhancement:

You’re welcome to use/share the image; proper credit is appreciated!

Yes, readers will once again spend time with Lillian, getting [...]]]> Today’s Spotlight on Bookstores post is written by Erica Bauermeister, author of The School of Essential Ingredients, Joy for Beginners (my review is here), and the forthcoming The Lost Art of Mixing (January 2013) … which is a wonderful sequel to The School of Essential Ingredients!

Yes, readers will once again spend time with Lillian, getting to know the people who come in and out of her restaurant, and in and out of her life. The Lost Art of Mixing has been called “a captivating meditation on the power of love, food, and companionship.” yum!

You can learn more about the author and her books by visiting Erica Bauermeister’s website – which has “extras” such as discussion guides and recipes; and “liking” Erica Bauermeister on Facebook.

And read below for a “taste” of Erica’s writing. This lovely guest post pays homage to a very special independent bookstore and the atmosphere created for Erica’s author event. Enticing atmosphere, home-cooked food, creativity, a little bit of ‘magic,’ and a very big heart; Rakestraw Books reflected the qualities shown through Lillian in  Erica’s first novel — I’m sure their booksellers and customers are anxious for the ‘second course’ in The Lost Art of Mixing!

(note from Dawn: the photo of Rakestraw Books is their former location – they moved just a few doors down the street this past week; we’ll update the photo when a new one is available).

My first novel, The School of Essential Ingredients told the story of eight students and their teacher in a cooking school set in a restaurant kitchen.  Lillian’s restaurant is a magical place, and over the years many readers have asked where they can find it.  I tell them that Lillian’s is not one place – Lillian’s exists in that dinner when everything works, sunlight fading into candlelight, your first bite stopping time as you marvel at the flavors, the conversation around the table relaxing into pure enjoyment and friendship.  I have experienced those dinners in restaurants, at a picnic in Griffith Park, and even in my own dining room.

But the best one ever was in a bookstore.

Rakestraw Books in Danville, California is set on a quiet little street of picture-perfect stores.  It’s the kind of street you want to walk down rather than drive, because you might miss the moments of individuality that happen in small, locally-owned stores, where the merchandise isn’t always what you expect.  And Rakestraw fits right in – filled with warm light and big wooden tables piled with books carefully selected by booksellers who read, read, read and then excitedly put those books in the hands of the readers who will love them.

What I didn’t expect was magic.  Michael, the owner, had told me he wanted to do a dinner as part of my reading, but I didn’t honestly know what that meant.  I arrived at the bookstore and encountered what felt like the set change in a theatrical production.  Books were disappearing from the tables, which were then rapidly covered with white cloths and surrounded by chairs.  Michael was bustling in and out, carrying foil-covered trays of food – a full, three-course gourmet meal for 70 people that he had cooked in a friend’s kitchen a few doors down. A musical trio played in the background and the notes of a flute reached out to welcome the customers who arrived, sparkling in anticipation, bringing bottles of wine, glasses, plates and silverware, and staking their claims on seats.

In my memory there are candles, although it’s hard to imagine that in a store filled with paper.  Perhaps it only felt that way, as the evening softened and one course gave way to another, flavors playing off each other with assurance and whimsy.  Strangers met each other across the tables and stories were shared along with wine bottles.  At one point everyone sang happy 40^th birthday to a woman whose blushing face taught us all something about beauty.

I read that night, and Lillian and her students came out of the book and met new readers – but the heart of the book was already there in the generosity and creativity of Michael and his staff at Rakestraw.  Because that, dear reader, is how you find Lillian’s restaurant.

Thanks for sharing this, Erica! What a magical evening, indeed (and, I do hope the candles were only in your imagination!).

Readers, to learn more about The Lost Art of Mixing, follow Erica on her TLC Book Tour. In December, there will be giveaways of this forthcoming novel – stay tuned!

In the meantime, if your or your book group haven’t already read The School of Essential Ingredients, pick it up and meet Lillian and her friends; you’ll be ready for The Lost Art of Mixing come January.

• Friday, November 2nd:  Life in the Thumb
• Monday, November 5th:  Savvy Verse and Wit
• Tuesday, November 6th:  Stephanie’s Written World
• Wednesday, November 7th:  Book Chatter
• Thursday, November 8th:  Books and Movies
• Friday, November 9th:  Book Club Classics!
• Monday, November 12th:  Peeking Between the Pages
• Tuesday, November 13th:  girlichef
• Wednesday, November 14th:  Library of Clean Reads
• Thursday, November 15th:  2 Kids and Tired
• Friday, November 16th:  Adventures of an Intrepid Reader
• Monday, November 19th:  WV Stitcher
• Tuesday, November 20th:  Joyfully Retired
• Wednesday, November 21st:  Silver and Grace
• Friday, November 23rd:  A Chick Who Reads
• Monday, November 26th:  Diary of an Eccentric
• Tuesday, November 27th:  Mom in Love with Fiction
• Wednesday, November 28th:  Book Dilettante
• Thursday, November 29th:  Southern Girl Reads
• Friday, November 30th:  Peppermint Ph.D.
• Monday, December 3rd:  Just Joanna
• Tuesday, December 4th:  No More Grumpy Bookseller
• Wednesday, December 5th:  HopefulLeigh
• Thursday, December 6th:  Sidewalk Shoes
• Friday, December 7th:  Book Addiction

Winn Van Meter is heading for his family’s [...]]]>

Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead

Who and what is the book about (back-of-the-book blurb): An irresistible social satire, set on an exclusive New England island over a wedding weekend in June, Seating Arrangements provides a deliciously biting glimpse into the lives of the well-bred and ill-behaved.

Winn Van Meter is heading for his family’s retreat on the pristine New England island of Waskeke. Normally a haven of calm, for the next three days this sanctuary will be overrun by tipsy revelers as Winn prepares for the marriage of his daughter Daphne to the affable young scion Greyson Duff.  Winn’s wife, Biddy, has planned the wedding with military precision, but arrangements are sideswept by a storm of salacious misbehavior and intractable lust; the bride and groom find themselves presiding over a spectacle of misplaced desire, marital infidelity, and monumental loss of faith in the rituals of American life. 

Where and when does it take place:  Seating Arrangements is set in the early 2000s on a resort island off the coast of Massachusetts. I don’t know if “Waskeke” is modeled on Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard (or a hybrid of the two); in either case, Shipstead takes the stereotypical and hones it to a sharp and stinging perfection.

What would I say to a friend who asked me about it: The first 40 pages or so of Seating Arrangements had me thinking “this is over the top – this is truly a farce, exaggerating every weakness and show of poor behavior.”

And then, it clicked. I got it. By focusing on these oversimplified characters – caricatures, really – Shipstead allows us to laugh at their foibles while we observe their hidden motives, their weaknesses and insecurities.

The protagonist, Winn Van Meter, is a social climber — yes, he comes from “old money,” but not as much of it as he would like. He doesn’t fit in with the true Blue Bloods, despite his attempts to look and act “entitled.” Van Meter’s silver spoon may be a bit tarnished, or it may simply be silver plate. The other WASPy characters – with in-character names like Biddy, Greyson, and Sterling – have their own demons to fight.

A friend of the bride’s is a refreshing change of pace. Because the boarding school she attended with Daphne was far from her home, Dominique was taken under the Van Meter wing as a child. Ditching the Pappagallos and matching headbands shortly after graduation, Dominique’s sense of self and authenticity is a grounding feature of the novel.

Why did I read it: We highlighted this novel in a bookshop newsletter when it was published mid-June, but I’ve only now had the chance to read it, during our vacation on Cape Cod (which included a day trip to Nantucket; I spotted a lot of Winn Van Meter’s acquaintances — whale pants, seersucker, and Lily Pulitzer abound!). It was the perfect setting in which to read Seating Arrangements, but Shipstead’s detailed descriptions of character and place will take you away to Waskeke whether you read it on the beach, in the city, or during a snowstorm.

A favorite passage: This excerpt, beginning on page 78, Dominique (who is both an observer of the Van Meter mishaps and the type of friend who would hold your hair back when you’re getting sick instead of saying “I told you so”), muses about her relationship with the Van Meters. It’s like she’s the only one who can see that the emperor has no clothes:

The Van Meters were so charming at first. … Years had to pass before Dominique could see the strain they placed on themselves or, rather, what their grand goal was. They wanted to be aristocrats in a country that was not supposed to have an aristocracy … Lots of the kids Dominique knew at Deerfield came from families dedicated to perpetuating some moldy, half-understood code of conduct passed along by generations of impostors. But, she supposed, people who believe themselves to be well bred wouldn’t want to give up their invented castes because then they might be left with nothing, no one to appreciate their special clubs, their family trees, their tricky manners, their threadbare wealth.

What else can I add: The theme of “public persona vs. personal truth” is popping up in several books I’m reading lately. Is it a trend? Is it just one theme of many in the book, but I’m somehow more receptive to it? Hmm, Dr. Freud, let me lie hear on the couch and you can analyze it ….

On a warm [...]]]>

I turned to my go-to source for recipes, the Cook’s Illustrated member website. Some of the content is available to all who visit the site, but many of the resources – including recipes, tests of kitchen equipment [...]]]> We held a baby shower for my nephew’s wife (my niece-in-law?) last weekend; chocolate-dipped strawberries were on the menu!

I turned to my go-to source for recipes, the Cook’s Illustrated member website. Some of the content is available to all who visit the site, but many of the resources – including recipes, tests of kitchen equipment and ingredients, and how-to tutorials – are password-protected and available only to those who’ve purchased an online membership. The cost of an annual membership is currently $34.95; I feel it’s well worth it, as this is about the cost of a nice hardcover cookbook.

Back to the strawberries … they were so easy to make! I used the ingredients suggested by Cook’s Illustrated (did you know – white chocolate chips don’t melt properly, they get “chalky” … use baking chocolate instead); melted the chocolate CAREFULLY in the microwave (15 seconds at a time, stir, then return for another zap); and dipped. After the dark chocolate layer had cooled, I melted the white chocolate and drizzled it on top.

Have I mentioned —> Yum!

And, don’t they look elegant!?

Back in this post, I wrote about signing up for the Cook’s Illustrated Cooking School, and promised I’d report back on my progress. I have to say, it’s a great program – intense, step-by-step instructions for techniques, recipes, and general information that will help the home cook as he or she progresses. However, I found the cost of $19.95 per month put too much pressure on me to make the most of the service – I was watching videos, taking notes, cooking as fast as I could. I discontinued the program after 3 months; it simply wasn’t a good fit for my lifestyle.

Any questions about the strawberries? the Cook’s Illustrated programs? the cute baby gear the mother-to-be opened at the shower? Let’s chat!

For more Weekend Cooking, visit Beth Fish Reads; you’ll find links to cookbook reviews, recipes from novels, kitchen tips and tricks, maybe even a food-centric movie review.

The novel is a bittersweet tale of a woman who, when she inherits a trunk of a dear friend’s journals, charges herself with the task of uncovering who her friend really was – [...]]]> We had the pleasure of hosting Nichole Bernier for a reading, Q&A, and signing of her novel, The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D.

The novel is a bittersweet tale of a woman who, when she inherits a trunk of a dear friend’s journals, charges herself with the task of uncovering who her friend really was – the true self that lay beneath the polished veneer she showed to the world.

Here’s how I introduced Nichole:

In this novel, Kate Spenser inherits a trunk of journals written by her friend Elizabeth Martin. When Elizabeth dies unexpectedly in an accident, she leaves behind a husband, three children, and these journals that span decades. But, what of her legacy? Kate tries to piece together a full portrait of her friend, by learning of her life from childhood forward.

Of The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D., New York Times best-selling novelist J. Courtney Sullivan says it “manages to be both a compelling mystery and a wise meditation on friendship, marriage and motherhood in an age of great anxiety.”

A little “inside publishing” for you: bookstore staff are often given the opportunity to read preview editions of books before they’re available for sale. This gives us the chance to make decisions about which books will be a good fit for our customers, and to share our thoughts with other booksellers. This is my preview copy of The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D., where I’ve marked many pages and passages that struck me. [I wish I hadn't yet pulled all those Post-Its and corners torn from the newspaper ... the book was jam-packed with place-holders, and would have made a telling photo!]. And here’s the recommendation I made to other booksellers, I wrote:

“With characters as sharp as photographs, Nichole Bernier zooms in on the truth: that there are secrets that many women hold to themselves, reluctant to reveal them to even their spouses or closest friends. As Kate delves into Elizabeth’s journals in an attempt to understand that which her friend held close, we also discover Kate’s hidden self, and perhaps our own. Whether these hidden things are ambition (one one end), fear and insecurity (on the other), or something else on that spectrum, The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D. shows the delicate balance of fierceness and fragility many women carry.”

If I can take that metaphor a step further, in the novel, Nichole Bernier reveals not only those sharp images of personality, but the way in which Kate, Elizabeth, and perhaps even the reader “Instagram” themselves – cropping here, adding an effect there, highlighting or distorting that which they want to emphasize or detract from. This is not necessarily of mal-intent … it’s simply survival.

Nichole is not only a talented novelist, she’s an advocate for indie bookstores and other authors, spreading the word about hidden gems and the craft of writing on “Beyond the Margins” a literary blog she co-founded.

Before turning to fiction, she wrote for several magazines, and was a 14-year contributing editor to Conde Nast Traveler. Nichole was given an award for literary journalism when she received her master’s degree from Columbia University. She lives west of Boston with her husband and five children, and I hope that during the Q&A period today she’ll share some of her multi-tasking secrets with us!

And, yes, she did answer questions – quite a range – about the novel itself (Kate’s personality vs. Elizabeth’s), her writing process (she started by writing all the journal entries in order; then she had to pull it all apart), the question of how she wrote with such a busy household (her answer credited her husband and a list of writers who’ve offered feedback and encouragement), and how she moved from journalism to writing fiction (it was a natural move, as much of her previous work was narrative journalism).

I was so taken by this novel (I finished it on a weekend morning, and sent out a tweet that I couldn’t finish my coffee because I was crying; they were wholly satisfying tears!), and by the author’s poise at the event. Nichole was only five days post-publication at this point, and I imagine it had been a whirlwind five days! She’s not slowing down, and has a full event schedule listed on her web page. Do check it out, as it includes readings from Vermont to Virginia, California to Cape Cod … if you get the opportunity to attend one of Nichole Bernier’s events, you’ll be glad you did (and, a bonus if any of her cute kids are in the audience, too).