97 Orchard : An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement by Jane Ziegelman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jane Ziegelman takes an interesting perspective on immigration history when she places food as the primary focus of each family’s story. Over the years, German, Italian, Irish and Eastern European Jews immigrated to New York and set about solving the problem of how to obtain what they wanted to eat. The small businesses they create to solve their problems influence the way the larger community eats and in time we have our beloved American staples such as lager beer, spaghetti, pizza, corned beef, and potato latkes. Each still has links to the food tradition that brought it here, but each has become a part of the wider American culture as well.

The road was often bumpy; the descriptions of what the immigrants faced when trying to provide for their families in the cramped and often squalid tenements when living on subsistence wages is often one of stretching poor food supply to the limit. Yet the variety of foods available to the immigrant is often surprising — fresh fruit and vegetables may have been more abundant then than they are in the slums of today.

The immigrants didn’t arrive in discrete units, and there was much overlap in the tenement (now a museum, one I want to visit when I next go to New York) over the years, but occasionally the book seems to jump between points in history and the flow seems erratic. That’s a minor quibble, however, as the book is overall well thought out and presented, and includes recipes — some modern some not — which give a taste for what the immigrant families ate in the land of plenty. If you’re interested in recipes from your immigrant ancestors, do some research at the library, but be sure to check out [b:The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors: Recipes You Should Have Gotten from Your Grandmother|773171|The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors Recipes You Should Have Gotten from Your Grandmother|Jeff Smith|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1205855475s/773171.jpg|156565] which covers many many of the groups to arrive in America over the last two hundred years or so.

View all my reviews

Just in Case by Kathy Harrison

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Kathy Harrison presents a compelling look at why we are more at risk from systemic failures in the power, food, transportation and communication networks than ever before and offers ways for families to prepare to meet those challenges. This isn’t a “survivalists” manual. It won’t tell you how to live in a fortified bunker so you can be ready for the apocalypse. But it will tell you how to assess your family’s exposure to risk, prioritize your planning and prepare for disasters of different degrees and duration. There’s a lot of good information here, more than can be easily absorbed in one reading.

The e-pub version leaves much to be desired, however. When the book is in plain text, it manages to be very legible, but the chapters with recipes are poorly formatted, with measurements failing to be properly converted. You’re left wondering if “v cups” is a quarter cup, half cup, three quarter cup, or something else; not the best way to read a recipe. In addition, what are presented as sidebars or notes in the print book are dropped haphazardly into the text in the e-pub version, suddenly breaking into the middle of a sentence with an unrelated paragraph, leaving the reader wondering what the hell just happened. It’s a pity the publisher couldn’t have taken a bit of extra time to properly prepare the text for the electronic version.

View all my reviews

The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Mercedes Lackey’s Five Hundred Kingdoms is a fun place to play. There are always threads of fairy and folk tales from so many traditions around the world that it’s enjoyable just to try to pick apart the different tales that are woven into the story. The stories themselves are a fun read. This isn’t “serious” literature — it’s fun, lightly romantic fantasy. PG rated, romantic — not a bodice ripper, as my husband thought (much to his surprise, as I don’t read romance novels like that at all).

This story was as enjoyable as some of her earlier ones. I still love her original, “The Fairy Godmother” the best. While this isn’t as catching as the first ones, it was still a fun read, great for some purely pleasurable reading for a quirky story with fun characters.

View all my reviews

WHILE…: Born During WWII by Margaret Hanna

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the contrasting memoirs in While…: Born During WWI. I found many similarities between Peg Hanna’s upbringing in Pennsylvania to my mother’s upbringing in New Jersey. My mother was born in 1938 and I’ve always enjoyed her memories of what growing up during WWII was like. Her first American Girl doll gift to my daughter was Molly, the girl growing up in the war years; she found so much in Molly’s story that she remembered and wanted to share with her granddaughter.

I also connected to Hilde. My maternal grandmother was the daughter of German immigrants to Canada and I found a number of similarities between my grandmother and Hilde in their outlook and attitudes toward life that might be very much about being German. Hilde’s disgust with things that were dirty and unclean certainly rang a bell — my grandmother kept a very clean, neat house and expected everyone else to do the same!

The contrast between the two women’s histories was striking. Hilde’s traumatic upbringing, her abusive relationships, were a stark contrast to Peg’s warm, supportive environment. Every time Hilde had another obstacle thrown in her way, I felt so sad for her; struggle after struggle seemed to leave her exactly where she started, occasionally even further behind. I admired her perseverance and commitment to doing the best job she knew how for her children.

I know Peg (Mrs. Hanna, in my mind!) personally: her adult son Lee is my neighbor. I have admired her wit and humor at the birthday celebrations where I have met her — and I laughed out loud when she described herself at a formal wives tea party when she dropped the lid of the pot and swore. That didn’t fit my experience of her at all!

What a treasure Mrs. Hanna and Mrs. Barron have given us: a first person record of a dramatic time in American and German history.

View all my reviews

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ransom Riggs spins a dark fairy tale in this book, where a modern sixteen year old boy who spends his life struggling with the impossible stories told by his Polish grandfather. When tragedy strikes, he has to figure out what the truth is and when the truth is, because his life depends on it.

A fun read; Riggs includes fascinating vintage photographs. The photographs deserve more than just bylines at the end of the book; where did these images come from? What is the story behind pictures like this? Peculiar children in a normal world; what happens when that’s document with photography?

I love the premise of this book, but it didn’t get five stars because it needs more. More depth, more story, more everything. It’s a little too short and quick. On the other hand, there’s lots of space for imagination to develop in the spaces left open.

View all my reviews