Tag Archives: Anna R.

Ways to Have a Better Conversation

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We live in a very polarized society.  It seems like everyone has an opinion, and very strong ones at that about the social and political topics that have been in the news.  I found a great resource for how to engage with others, especially those that have differing opinions. Celeste Headlee, a journalist and author, gives a very short TED Talk, 10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation. It is from a few years ago but it is just as relevant today as it was in 2015.  Good conversation is key to all aspects of our lives, be it social, political or just every day relational.

Click here to view this video on the Ted Talk webpage.

If you’d like to learn more, check out Celeste Headlee’s book We Need to Talk : How to Have Conversations That Matter which we have here at GPL.

Review: Oona Out of Order

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Oona Out of Order
by Margarita Montimore
5 stars

As a cataloger at GPL I don’t have a lot of patron interaction, but I do have a lot of one-on-one time with the books.  In fact, the best part of my job is opening all of the boxes that come into the library and seeing every new title that will be added to the collection. I get to see the books again, at least everything in the teen and adult collection, when I enter all of the information into the computer to make finding what you are looking for easier.  Many books come across my desk but only a few catch my interest.  Here I must confess that I judge books based on covers and titles all the time.  One of the books that recently caught my attention was Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore.  This one had a fun cover plus the title had me asking “Why and how is this lady out of order?’

Have you ever thought “What if I could fast forward to a few years from now?” Or conversely, have you ever wanted to go back to a time when you were younger to relive past mistakes or choose to live a more daring life?  For some reason this is what life is like for Oona Lockhart. At the New Yea’rs Eve party celebrating the end of 1982, and the last day Oona is 18, she passes out at midnight and ends up ringing in a new year, just not the one she thought she would. Oona is now celebrating her 19th birthday in 2015 in a 51 year old body.  No longer is she at a party in a basement adorned with fairy lights and loud music but rather in a quiet, posh Brooklyn residence that the stranger sitting next to her explains belongs to her. The stranger is her personal assistant, Kenzie.  He has known her for years, though she is meeting him for the first time. Kenzie hands Oona a letter that her future past self (this gets less confusing the further you are immersed within the books) wrote her explaining her unique condition and hands her a  binder of key stock market tips that Oona gave to herself that make it possible for her never to have to worry about money again. Her mother, Madeleine, knows that since the age of 19, Oona has been an unwilling time traveler. Madeleine helps Oona learn to navigate her new life because as the ball drops in Times Square at the end of the year it will all happen again.

Montimore wrote such an inventive and unique book that plays so deliciously with the time continuum that once I started it did not take long to be immersed fully into Oona’s life and her crazy order of living it. I loved every second of the book after I stopped trying to wrap my head around the logistics of the time travel. The book makes you look at family and relationships, even temporary ones, as something not to be taken for granted.  Montimore also explores the idea of time and relishing moments that most would consider insignificant.  She also helps the reader see that happiness and heartache are two sides of the same coin. It has been a while since I read a five star book, and while I know tastes vary drastically, Oona Out of Order was the book that propelled me out of my reading slump.

Read-alikes

The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

Review: The Coincidence of Coconut Cake

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The Coincidence of Coconut Cake
by Amy E. Reichert
4 stars

This book made my epicurean heart drool while also prompting me to scour Airbnb for fun finds in Milwaukee for a weekend getaway.  The Coincidence of Coconut Cake was exactly the book that I needed to read when I picked it up.  I needed a light, happy book; a book that makes you want to curl up with your favorite pint of ice cream and devour all in one sitting.  Fair warning: the pint of ice cream may not satisfy because Amy Reichert, a self-described amateur chef, described the food with so much love it had me salivating throughout the book.

The Milwaukee born and raised Elizabeth, or “Lou” to her friends, has nothing but love for the city and its food culture.  Lou is the owner and chef of Louella’s, a French restaurant that is just starting to get noticed.  She breaks up with her boyfriend on the day that a food critic from the local paper chooses to patronize the restaurant.  Understandably distracted, she does not prepare the food up to par and thus receives a scathing review. On the same day a handsome English journalist, Al, sees a girl on the street carrying a coconut cake. He gets one whiff of the tantalizing smell of vanilla and coconut and thinks about the cake and the girl carrying it for days.  They run into each other again and since work isn’t going well for Lou after the horrible review and Al writes under a pseudonym to keep his work identity separate, they choose to keep the conversation light and away from work.  They continue to see each other, her showing the Englishman the best of Milwaukee culture and food while falling in love over cheese curds.  And then it happens, they find out that each other is known by a different name and things look like they may be beyond redemption for Lou and Al.

The Coincidence of Coconut Cake reads like it belongs on the Hallmark Channel.  It is a classic rom-com and perfect for those who just want a book as light as Lou’s frosting of her famed coconut cake.

Read-alikes

Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave

The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller

Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal

Review: Relish: My Life in the Kitchen

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Relish: My Life in the Kitchen
by Lucy Knisley
4 stars

Take one part memoir, and one part cookbook and put it into a graphic novel and you get this book by Lucy Knisely.  Lucy has always grown up around food, with chef for a mother and a gourmet for a father, she was born into an appreciation for food.  While smells or photos can evoke strong memories in some, Lucy’s memories were formed alongside her palate.  The crack of the burnt sugar on a crème brulee brings back memories of serving alongside her mom in her catering business. Shucking oysters brings back memories of working with her uncle.  Pixy stix are correlated with the travel to Mexico with her friend. McDonald’s fries eaten in Italy much to her parent’s dismay are her reminder that the world needs a bit of comfort grease sometimes.  The entire book is about food, yes, but also about the relationships built around eating together.  With excellent illustrations and delightful humor and a few self-deprecating stories, Lucy Knisley is able boil the book down to the truth that while eating is a solitary act it is truly enjoyed and memorable when food is shared with others.

Read-alikes

French Milk by Lucy Knisley

Julie and Julia by Julie Powell