Wolf Hall

In Bookforum, Wendy Lesser claims that Hilary Mantel is the finest underappreciated writer working in Britain. Having just won the Booker Prize for her novel Wolf Hall, maybe she'll start getting some of that well-deserved appreciation. I can certainly say that she is underappreciated in the U.S. I was not familiar with Mantel until her recent Booker win, but am looking forward to reading her other novels. Wolf Hall is not for the faint of heart. At 532 pages, it is not a quick or easy read. And although it tells the story of Thomas Cromwell's rise to Henry VIII's counsel and his assistance in his marriage to Anne Boleyn, this is not a novel in the vein of Philippa Gregory. Those looking for a court drama should look elsewhere. Those looking for well-written, historical fiction with artful language and subtle wit should definitely give this a shot.

Author Visit!

Friday, December 11th at 6:30 pm. Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife, will be at the Bookstall in Winnetka for a reading and signing of her latest book Her Fearful Symmetry, a ghost story set in and around Highgate Cemetery in London.

Ford County

John Grisham's new collection of short stories was surprisingly good. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Grisham's legal thrillers. But his stand-alone novels, like Playing for Pizza, have been pretty weak. So I was not expecting much when I picked up this collection. I intended to read just one or two of the stories to get a feel for them, but ended up reading the entire book. Grisham returns to Clanton and Ford County, Mississippi, the setting of several of his legal thrillers. I've always enjoyed Grisham's depiction of this small southern town and its flawed, but interesting characters. There is no lack of interesting and flawed characters in this collection--from drunken rednecks attempting to donate blood to a retirement home aide ingratiating himself with the residents, the characters in these stories may not be pillars of the community, but they do have very compelling stories. Although I'm not a big fan of short stories, I found these to be very satisfying.

November Failures

I've talked before about books you are "supposed" to read and books you given up on, so I thought it might make for an interesting monthly discussion. In November I picked up two books that I would put in the category "books you should read" and inevitably didn't finish them.

Brief Interviews With Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace
The Office is one of my favorite TV shows and Jim (John Krasinski), who I love, recently adapted and directed the movie version of Brief Interviews. He is also one of the narrators for the audiobook version, so I decided to give it a listen. Yes, sometimes this is how I decide what books I read/listen to. Anyway, I didn't even get to Jim's portion of the narration. I found it a little weird. Random short stories about men of various ages, talking about various things (although sex seemed to be a frequent topic). I didn't get it and it seemed a little pervy. What was the point?

The Land of Green Plums by Herta Muller
Muller is a Romanian-born German novelist and just won the Nobel Prize for literature, so I thought I should read one of her books. People in other countries have complained that Americans are so isolated when it comes to literature, so I thought it would be nice to broaden my selections. This did not go well. I didn't get very far. The language is very poetic, but there doesn't seem to be much happening. And what was all the talk about barbers and nail-clippers? I'm sure it was significant and meant something, but it was completely beyond me. I seem to remember trying to read one of French novelist J.M.G. Le Clezio's novels last year (he won last year's Nobel Prize) and not getting very far with it either.

Author Events

There aren't many author events in the area this month, but there are a few big ones.

Anthony Bourdain will be speaking this Friday, November 6th at 8pm at the Genesee Theater in Waukegan. Here's the rub: tickets range from $39.50 to $75. The $75 VIP tickets will get you a meet and greet and autograph from Bourdain. Now, I swoon for Anthony Bourdain. Love his books, love his show. But I'm not sure I love him $75 worth. That's a bit obnoxious. Besides, if I met him I would probably just embarrass myself.

Kate Jacobs, author of The Friday Night Knitting Club, will be speaking at the Warren Newport Public Library in Gurnee, this Saturday, November 7th at 2pm. She is supporting Warming Families' effort to collect 25,000 hats for the homeless in 2009.

The Chicago Public Library will be hosting 2 major authors this month at the Harold Washington center. Jonathan Safran Foer will be discussing his new nonfiction book, Eating Animals, on November 18th at 6pm. Audrey Niffenegger will be discussing her new novel, Her Fearful Symmetry, on November 19th at 6pm.

How to become a kitchen pimp

My immediate response when I first heard about Cookin' With Coolio: 5 Star Meals at a 1 Star Price, due out next month, was to cringe in horror. Seriously, Coolio? Rollin' with my homies Coolio? Writing a cookbook? What can he possibly have to teach anyone about cooking? According to the synopsis, Coolio has been cooking since he was 10 years old and has developed a style of cooking that is built around solid comfort foods with a healthy twist that don't break the bank, which he calls Ghetto Gourmet. At this point, I'm actually groaning out load. But then I remind myself that "ghetto fiction" or "street lit" is a very popular genre, so perhaps there is an audience for ghetto gourmet. So I took a look at the sneak peek. I gotta say, it's pretty entertaining. Here's what Coolio has to say about setting up your mise en place:

"Pimpin' ain't easy, but it's necessary, especially if you wanna fully utilize the power of your kitchen....Having the right utensils is a good start, but then you gotta show them who's the boss up in this bitch....To begin your culinary battle, make sure you have these handy: A set of sharp-ass knives...An aluminum roasting pan big enough to fit my nephew in."

And his terminology:
"Peench: This is when you put a little bit of a spice between your fingers and throw it on your food. It's a lot like a pinch, except for the motherf[ing] fact that gangstas don't pinch. They peench.
Dime Bag: This is a little bag that some people put some things into. I just use them to hold onto my spices."

Mastering the Art of French Cooking it is not, but I think it would be fun to read.

My Special Powers now extend to book awards.

Apparently the finalists for the National Book Award were announced last week. I could have sworn they were announced weeks ago. When I saw the list posted on a website recently, I thought, "This person is really behind. This is old news." I guess I'm the one that's behind. But I distinctly remember seeing Let the Great World Spin and Lark & Termite on what I thought was the list of the National Book Award finalists. So, either I'm remembering another award list, or my Special Powers were at work and I "saw" these two books on the list beforehand. It's true, I have Special Powers. The problem is, they are inconsistent and unreliable, so they are pretty much useless and just freak me out. If only I could channel these powers more effectively so I could predict the winners. Do bookies take bets on book awards?