“Gratitude turns what we have
into enough.” ~ Aesop
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In our family, Thanksgiving is my reminder to point out what we are thankful for each night at dinner. As the year goes on, somehow it slips my mind, and we only do it when we remember. Every day is so much better when we consciously seek things to be thankful for. And we don't have to look far.
As I visit my fellow downtown merchants on Lake Street, we literally look one another in the eye, give a smile and a shrug, and throw our fates to the wind. We couldn't run our businesses if we didn't have our community's support, and now that the busiest season of our year is days away, we are thankful. You have shopped with us all year long, and we are thankful to still be here. We are thankful that we can continue to be a part of a thriving downtown where people still smile at one another on the street. But most of all, we are thankful for little things like taking our dog for a walk and knowing that the people who recognize him along the way care: We are thankful for our community.
A community that wouldn't be doing so well without our healthcare workers who are what I am most thankful for this year. The individuals quietly caring for our community behind-the-scenes and seeing the things the rest of us frankly, don't have to see. I'm thankful that they have thick skins and big hearts. I'm thankful for their gift of leaving their personal losses and tragedies at the door to come to work, and help those of us in need. I'm thankful that they show up to work at all under the immense shortages and pressures that are happening during this particular holiday season. If you haven't told an E.R. nurse thank you, now is the time. If you've thought about writing a note, or buying a gift card for a healthcare worker this year, now is the time. Before the winter season brings the dangers of winter to our community, say something nice, or surprise one of these incredible people with a gift, and hope you don't need them later. Someone will. Small gestures go so far, and it's better than being thankful behind closed doors.
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From the STARRED Kirkus review: A Colombian journey downriver, into the soul of a country.
In 2018, Salama, then an undergraduate at Princeton, determined to travel as much as possible of the 950-mile length of the Magdalena River, from its source in the Andean highlands to the Caribbean coast. The river was an epicenter of the Colombian armed conflict among Marxist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries, and outlaw groups that claimed 260,000 lives and displaced countless others over the course of 60 years. It is also the nation’s heartbeat, albeit scarred by decades of continuing environmental degradation, and it is central to the history of Colombia and much of South America. It is a privilege to savor, if vicariously, this harvest of a promising writer’s vivid journeys. Click for full book info.
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From the PW review: A well-crafted thriller.
When dancer Delphine returns to Paris after 13 years in Saint Petersburg to choreograph Tsarina for the Paris Opera Ballet, she desperately wants to reconnect with Margaux and Lindsay, her best friends from their ballet academy. Delphine has a secret, something she and Margaux did that ruined Lindsay’s life 14 years earlier. Delphine casts soloist Lindsay in Tsarina’s title role in an effort to make things right, but no matter how hard Delphine works, Tsarina falls apart.
Kapelke-Dale nicely explores the power of female friendship, a woman’s relationship with her body, and what it truly means to be seen. This one’s for fans of Megan Abbott’s The Turnout. Click for full book info.
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From the STARRED PW review: MacLeod pulls off a magnificent nonlinear spin on Lady Chatterley’s Lover and the censorship of literature during D.H. Lawrence’s life and beyond. In 1959, Jackie Kennedy, an admirer of the book and, like Constance Chatterley, a lonely wife, surreptitiously attends a hearing convened by the General Post Office of New York City to determine the legality of a new, unexpurgated edition. Soon thereafter, the British Crown decides to prosecute Penguin for its own uncut edition of the novel, and Rosalind watches from the balcony, while Jackie, back in the U.S., contemplates her future as the election unfolds. MacLeod covers an astonishingly broad range of incidents, eras, and themes in vivid prose, and depicts Lawrence’s supporters and opponents with equal insight and sympathy.This places MacLeod among the best of contemporary novelists. Click for full book info.
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From the STARRED Kirkus review: A pair of lovers make an unsettling pact.
Pietro and Teresa keep breaking up and getting back together until one day, finally, Teresa suggests a way to bind themselves together: They’ll each confess their worst secret. They do, but, a few days later, they break up again—this time for good. Time passes; Pietro meets Nadia, marries her, begins to have children, sees his career taking off. Teresa moves from Italy to the United States. And yet she still holds an enigmatic but intense power over Pietro. Richly nuanced while also understated, Starnone’s latest appearance in English is a novel to be savored. Click for full info.
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From the PW review: The opening spread shows a crowd of people with varying skin tones and hair colors. “A refugee is a person, just like you and me,” Gravel writes. Gravel lists reasons refugees may have had to leave their countries (“because they were in danger,” “because powerful people didn’t like what they thought”) and outlines the process by which they find new homes (“refugees had to find another country to live in, and that’s not easy”). She avoids scary images while making the gravity of circumstances clear. An engaging spread at the book’s conclusion, titled “Refugee Kids Speak,” offers short quotes and drawings of interviewed refugee kids; another shares short biographies of famous refugees. Click for full info. and inside images.
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From the STARRED Kirkus review: A 16-year-old Lipan Apache girl from Texas and a cottonmouth person from the spirit world connect when both need help.
When Nina was 9, her Great-Great-Grandmother Rosita told her a story in Spanish and Lipan Apache. Using dictionaries to painstakingly make sense of the garbled transcription app results, Nina uncovers a mysterious story about Rosita’s sighting of a fish girl in her well, long after the joined era when animal people still lived on Earth. A coming-of-age story that beautifully combines tradition and technology for modern audiences. Click for full book info.
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From the STARRED Kirkus review: An epic novel brings complex 20th-century Korean history to life.
In this extraordinary historical novel, debut author Kim weaves together the story of friends and rivals trying to survive and thrive from the era of the Japanese occupation of Korea to the political purges of the mid-20th century. Kim shows clearly how patriarchy harms resourceful women in one of the novel's major themes. Late in the book a Japanese general will remark, "How such enormous beasts have flourished in this little land is incomprehensible." He is referring to tigers, but he might as well be talking about the humans who fight here, too.
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From the Kirkus review:
After the death of his beloved guardian and grandfather, high school student Rintaro Natsuki drifts into running his grandfather's rare bookshop. Rintaro's quiet, solitary life is disrupted when, in a bolt of magical realism, a talking tabby cat named Tiger enlists his help in rescuing "books that have been imprisoned." Some of the victimized books are locked away from readers by collectors, others are mutilated by abridgment and summarization, and more are treated as commodities by publishing conglomerates. Rintaro undertakes the challenges assisted by the saucy cat few humans can see, and his quests resemble the tests posed to heroes in myth, legend, and video game. Lovers of traditional literature and books themselves will find validation in the lessons Rintaro learns (and teaches), while the story’s structure and fanciful nature may hold appeal for a young adult audience more familiar with the conventions of gaming. Tiger gets the best lines of dialogue but…why not?
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From the STARRED PW review: Emphasizing the importance of conservation and tradition in Native culture, married authors Greenlaw and Frey expertly craft a sweet story that centers a Wabanaki grandmother and granddaughter. At a salt marsh, dark-haired Musqon’s grandmother teaches her how to harvest purple-stemmed sweetgrass, as her own grandmother once taught her. Baker’s earth-toned illustrations feature soft edges, subtle colors, and braided sweetgrass borders, while lyrical text renders experience in evocative sensory prose (“the thin whine of mosquitos grew distant”). The result is a deeply personal, thoughtfully detailed account. Back matter includes an authors’ note with information on basket-making and a glossary of Passamaquoddy-Maliseet words. Click for full book info. and inside images.
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Click the Adult or the Kids/YA links in the images and get the jump on tomorrow's releases today!
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When it comes to the dilemma of "what to read next" don't you love having a list? Two lists? ...Three? There are between 350,000 and 500,000 books published every year (excluding self-published numbers), so it's wonderful to have reputable sources and awards for the best of the best. Here are some from 2021 so far: |
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Sometimes, you just need something that makes you feel "nice." Soothe the stress away with these two that have both been described by the buzzwords: life-affirming, deeply moving, heartfelt, and tender. Kind of like a bubble bath for your mind. |
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Yotam Ottolenghi is a world-class restrounter and chef who has redifened Mediterranean cuisine. His recipes are elaborate, exotic and frankly, intimidating. That is why I found his latest book, Ottolenghi Test Kitchen such a refreshing change of pace. It is still filled with vibrant and exciting plates, but for once, they seem achievable by us mere mortals. From "Humus and Home Made Naan" to "Roasted Potatoes with Pine Nuts," the recipes feel more like comfort food than high-end cuisine. The authors have also taken time to include little touches that make huge differences like including a plethora of substitution ideas, a breakdown of essential ingredients on the first couple pages, and a fantastic index in the back that breaks up the recipes into groups like: "Under and Hour," "Kid-Friendly," and "One-Pot." Even the cloth page marker is a welcome extra. Did I mention it isn't a 40 pound hardcover this time either? It feels like a great deal of attention was given not just to the contents but also the form of the book. Most importantly, the majority of the meals are something my 5-year-old would be willing to give a try, and these days that is pretty much essential. Click for inside images!
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Why is a two Michelin-star chef trying to convince me to use the microwave?! This cookbook is disturbing, troubling, and has me questioning so much of what I thought I knew about the culinary world. It is also probably the first cookbook I’ll read cover to cover. David Chang is, of course, the celebrity chef/owner of Momofuko and he has written a fantastic new cookbook... that has practically no recipes in it. You read that right, Cooking At Home is not about planning the perfect meal but about learning to cook using what is on hand and what is in your head. Chang and his co-author, Priya Krishna, distill years of culinary adventures and exploration into a form of culinary philosophy that will have you wanting to create meals rather than follow instructions step-by-step. This is the perfect cookbook for those who have cooked for years and for those who are terrified to cook. It is truly the most unique cookbook I’ve ever used and the first I ever took to bed. It belongs in every kitchen… just like a microwave. Click for inside images!
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The title says it all, and the pictures say even more. With densely colored illustrations, and wonderful compact descriptions, this is a great children's reference, or a pick-it-up, put-it-down book for anyone!
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Shop with us any time of day at:
Visit us:
10am-7pm Monday-Saturday
10am-6pm on Sundays
307 East Lake Street
Petoskey, MI 49770
or email us at:
background image credit: Patrick Tomasso @impatrickt
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