Posts published during January, 2010

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January 29, 2010

January’s Why-I-Love-Books Roundup

This January I discovered 8 new reasons to fall in love with books, all over again.

1. Cooked Books. I have read books about famous cooks. I have referenced books while cooking. I saw Julie & Julia. This is different. Well Done is a book that appears empty…until you BAKE IT IN THE OVEN. I know. For book nerds by book nerds. Check it out.

2. Fan Fiction. Speaking of book nerds, this site, called The Ultra-Condensed Classic Books, breaks down the plots of all those arduous classics into something more manageable for us common people.

For example, The Great Gatsby:

Gatsby: Daisy, I made all this money for you, because I love you.

Daisy: I cannot reciprocate, because I represent the American Dream.

Gatsby: Now I must die, because I also represent the American Dream. (Gatsby DIES.)

Nick: I hate New Yorkers.

THE END

3. The Personal Shopper. I hate that feeling you get after finishing a truly amazing book. You mope and eat peanut butter and stare out the window like it’s raining (even though it’s not). But now those days are over! Just tell The Book Seer what you finished reading and he will divine what your next read should be. Brilliant! And so scientific, too!

4. Book Care. It’s important to respect your books. That said, check out this website that teaches you to hollow books so you can hide things in them! Your kids will never figure out where you put your chocolate stash…or your Will.

5. Hidden Treasure. Even if you choose not to deface your books, you can still hide things between the pages. The owners of Unnameable Books, in Brooklyn, have found a lot of crazy things over the years, stashed in used books. Read the article here.

6. Bomb Bookcases. Run out of room for all your books? So did this guy. Building a bookcase into your stairs is a stylish way of saying, “No. I won’t donate the books I don’t really need to The Salvation Army.” We book addicts need to stick together.

7. Book Exchange. When you do run out of room for new books, there’s this neat site called BookMooch where you can trade books you’ve read for books you’d like to read. I mean, I love the smell of a new book as much as the next guy, but this is a good way to read a lot of books on the cheap (also see: LIBRARY).

8. LIBRARIES! Libraries are magic. You get that free little piece of plastic and then a huge building full of books is suddenly at your disposal.  Check out these beautiful libraries and then go visit your own. It misses you.

Hope you had a happy and book-filled January!

-Susannah

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January 26, 2010

Edward + Harvey Milk + Elle Woods. Now THAT’S a movie!

Excellent news! Sara Gruen‘s Water For Elephants , which shortly after publication was picked up by Fox 2000 for development as a major motion picture, has taken another major step toward reaching the big screen. Richard LaGravenese, who also adapted The Horse Whisperer and Beloved, has delivered the screenplay, and Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) will direct, reportedly with filming in both Hollywood and on location in Tennessee slated to start in June of this year.

But the real excitement centers on the all-star cast Fox is assembling. Academy Award winner (Walk the Line) Reese Witherspoon has already signed on to play the role of Marlena, the beautiful, horse-loving circus performer. Then it was reported last week that Sean Penn, another Academy Award winner (Milk), will co-star as Marlena’s obsessively jealous husband, August. But the news that has everybody buzzing is that the protagonist, Jacob Jankowski, is going to be played by none other than the Twilight series heartthrob Edward Cullen…errr…Robert Pattinson–who will presumably get some sort of spray tan and fang-ecotmy.

So here’s a big Huzzah! to Sara Gruen, Rosie the elephant, and our newest cinematic obsession!

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January 25, 2010

Bill Gates on Work Hard, Be Nice.

Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, now focuses all of his time on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He has started a website, www.TheGatesNotes.com, to talk about what his foundation has been up to, and also to put down his thoughts. Recently, he mentioned the Algonquin title Work Hard, Be Nice in a post about KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) which he calls “one of the most promising examples of innovative thinking in American education.” (Read his whole article here.)

This isn’t the first time Bill Gates has talked about KIPP and Mathews’ book. He also talked about them at length during his 2009 TED speech – even giving everyone in the audience a copy of the book.  (Watch his speech here.)

In the book, Jay Mathews writes about KIPP founders Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin–the two twenty-somethings who created the extremely successful fifth-grade experience which grew into KIPP. Today there are 66 KIPP schools in 19 states and the District of Columbia.  KIPP schools incorporate what Feinberg and Levin learned from America’s best, most charismatic teachers: lessons need to be lively; school days need to be longer (the KIPP day is nine and a half hours); the completion of homework has to be sacrosanct. Chants, songs, and slogans such as “Work hard, be nice” energize the program.

Bill Gates wrote on his blog: “KIPP clearly has a huge affect on kids. Some people say they get the kids who are better to start with in terms of knowledge, motivation, or parents but this has been examined quite closely and if it is true it is a very modest difference relative to the surrounding schools. The KIPP kids are well below average coming in compared to the state averages almost everywhere. One example of KIPP’s success: while only 20 percent of low-income students in the U.S. attend college, the rate for former KIPP students is 80 percent.”

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January 22, 2010

Emyl Jenkins’ Algonquin Appraisals

Welcome to January’s Algonquin Appraisals! Author and former Sotheby’s appraiser Emyl Jenkins takes a gander at staffers and  readers’ prized possessions.

Doing some cleaning for the New Year and want help separating potential treasures from junk? Shoot me an email at brittany [at] algonquin [dot] com for submission guidelines!

–Brittany

The first two questions answered below lead me to remind everyone that the first clue appraisers look for when examining any object is a mark.  Marks can be in many forms–a label, an impressed stamp or etched symbol, a signature, a hallmark, etc.–and can be found almost anyplace on the piece, so look hard.  Think of marks as shortcuts that can help you quickly know an object’s country of origin, age, quality, and eventually, its value.  But if no mark is visible, or at least obvious, don’t give up.  Just dig a little deeper.

Algonquin:  This unusual cat was picked up at a local thrift shop. It’s about five inches in length and is made of hollow ceramic. What can you tell me about this item’s worth. . . besides its obvious value as a conversation piece?

Emyl: Though there’s no identifying mark on your cat, its big dark eyes and stylized light brown flower decoration, plus its speckle-glazed round body quickly identify its origin as Mexican.  Chances are its paper label noting its country of origin has peeled off over time.

The absence of any mark might lead some people to think that the piece is an antique.  Note, however, that’s there isn’t any sign of wear on the bottom.  This leads me to conclude that though your cat could possibly be 30 or 40 years old, it could be of a more recent vintage.

You’re right, until it gets some more age on it, because so many of these fun, decorative doodads or whimsies were made, your cat’s greatest value is that of a conversation piece.

Algonquin: Given to me by my grandmother, this gold bracelet is at least 80 years old. It is one half of a set of twin bracelets (the other bracelet is not pictured) that can be attached by the gold chain. The surface is covered in a floral design and there is some denting along the side.

Emyl: To know the value of your lovely set of bracelets, its gold content must first be determined.  Marks on jewelry can be so small a magnifying glass is often needed to see them.  It is also possible, since you note there is some denting, the markings on your bracelets can be concealed by a crease.  In any case, a jeweler can quickly test then for their gold content.

However, based on many years of experience, my best judgment says that chances are your bracelets are 12k (karat) gold-filled, in which case, depending on the extent of the denting, their value is probably in the $200-300 range.  If, on the other hand, they should be gold, rather than gold-filled, their value will be substantially more.

Algonquin: What can you tell me about this washstand? It is about 5 feet tall, including the upper portion and is in excellent condition, aside from some scratches on the mirror. I believe it dates back to the early 1900s.

Emyl: Yes, your washstand dates from the 1910s, and is a classic example of the quarter-sawn oak furniture, and was all the fashion with the burgeoning middle classes of that day.

Though the furniture was sold at Sears and other furniture stores, this style furniture is often generically called “Larkin oak.”  In the early 1900s the Larkin Soap Company came up with the marketing idea of redeeming coupons included in its soap products for inexpensively made furniture produced by a factory which was also run by the Larkin Company.  To ensure that its products were affordable, Larkin also cut out “middle man” expenses by selling its products directly to the customer.  Thus dressers with mirrors like yours usually “cost” about $30 worth of coupons.  Today such pieces generally retail anywhere from $150 to $ 350.

Algonquin: Souvenir book from the Thirty-third National Open Golf Championship at the Winged Foot Golf Club, June 27-29, 1929. Book is soft bound and size is 8 1/2″ x 11″, 112 pgs, not counting front & back covers. Outside Front and back cover of book have come unglued from rest of stapled booklet and there are two folds on spine of cover, but otherwise, book is in good condition with minimal folds, and no major tears or stains. This book was found in a used bookshop on Topsail Island, NC about 5 years ago. Inside the booklet there was also a 6″ x 3 1/2″ scorecard dated June 30, 1929, and the scorer line is signed as Bill Simpson, as best I can read (in pencil) and a 3″ round gallery pass good for Sunday, June 30, 1929.  Here is a link to a bit of history about this particular National Open year: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1128322/1/index.htm

Emyl: Wow! Finds like this make an appraiser’s day.  I’ll admit, I’m not an expert in sports memorabilia, but wanting to learn more, I started digging around for additional information.  Of course these days that means exploring the Internet.

My investigation led me to a copy of a souvenir book like yours that sold in 2007 (item number 182032) by the PBA Galleries in San Francisco.   You might want to sit down when I tell you that it sold for was $7,474.00.

Now, what the Internet does not tell us is how the condition of the your book compares to the one they sold, or what today’s market for such items is.  My advice is that you check out the PBA Galleries “contact us” page, give them a call, and learn more from the real experts.

Emyl Jenkins is a longtime antiques appraiser. She has worked at two auction houses and has written numerous books and articles on antiques and is the author of the Sterling Glass mysteries The Big Steal and Stealing with Style. She lives in Richmond, Virginia.

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January 21, 2010

From Bill Smith’s Kitchen – Eastern North Carolina Corned Ham

For the last few years the Carrboro Farmers’ Market has been open year round. It’s much smaller of course, but still worth visiting. This winter for a change we have had a real drawn-out cold spell.  This will have set back some of the things that ordinarily do well here at this time of year. One crop that won’t be bothered is collards. My great grandmother always said that you shouldn’t even eat them until after the first frost. If she got any before this, she would put them in the freezer for a while before they were cooked.

Meats and cheeses are not affected by the season and we now have lots of both there. In fact, I always wait until after the holidays to bring back corned hams, a favorite recipe from Eastern North Carolina. Every Wednesday between now and Easter, I have Eliza MacLean bring one fresh ham from her Cane Creek Farm. I salt it the way Gwen at the Pak’a’Sak in New Bern showed me years ago and put it in the back of the fridge to cure for eleven days. I used to cook it plain, but a few years ago, I was doing a fundraiser with the Kitchen Sisters for our local NPR affiliate. In their book Hidden Kitchens, they make reference to a Maryland-style corned ham that is stuffed with winter greens. I had never seen a reference to corned hams anywhere so I decided to try this version. I had always viewed my recipe as beyond improvement, but this new version is unbelievably good. It has now become part of our repertoire at Crook’s Corner.

Eastern North Carolina Corned Ham
(The plain version and the fancy version)
Serves a crowd

15-20 pound fresh ham
Kosher salt

2 green cabbages, finely chopped
4 pounds fresh kale, finely chopped
6 bunches scallions, finely chopped
1 bunch of celery, finely chopped
And if you are stuffing it:
2 pounds other greens (collards, turnip or spinach etc.), finely chopped
2 Tablespoons celery seed
3 Tablespoons whole mustard seed
3 Tablespoons ground red pepper flakes
1 Tablespoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon salt

Rinse and dry the ham. Use a sharp boning knife to make a three or four inch incision at each place that the bone protrudes from the meat. This is usually in three places: one at each end and one place on the side. Pack as much salt as possible into each of these incisions, and then cover the outside of the ham with a thin layer of salt. Place in a non-reactive pan and cover. Keep in the refrigerator for 11 days. Turn the ham and resalt the outside if you think about it. One the night of the 11th day wash the ham and flush the salt out of the pockets that you cut. Soak overnight in cool water.

The ham is ready to cook at this point, and in fact this is the ham that I grew up eating. Just cook covered at 325 degrees for 20 minutes a pound.  Put a little water in the roasting pan. Uncover for the last hour of cooking so the ham will brown. Ham should be beginning to fall off of the bone. Let rest a little before serving.

To stuff the ham:
This next part comes from Phyllis Richman (formerly of the Washington Post) by way of The Kitchen Sisters:
Wilt all the vegetables in a little water or oil, then stir in the seasonings. Allow to cool enough to be handled. With the boning knife, cut 2 to 3 inch slits all over the ham, wherever there is room. Stuff as much of the vegetable mixture into these slashes as possible. Pack any leftover stuffing on top of the ham, then cook the same as explained above.

Bill Smith, the author of Seasoned in the South: Recipes from Crook’s Corner and from Home, has served as chef at Crook’s Corner for more than a decade. His essays have been featured in newspapers and on radio and television, and his recipes have been selected for 150 Best American Recipes and Food & Wine Magazine’s Best of the Best.

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January 20, 2010

Welcome, Julianne!

As Courtney and Christina move away from Algonquin to start on fresh new adventures, we’re excited to welcome new staff members to take over their roles. A warm welcome to Julianne Lowell, former Algonquin Publicity Intern and a new face in our publicity department! Julianne wrote today’s post about how it feels to be back in North Carolina after a couple of years in New York.

The strange thing about Algonquin’s office is that it’s practically located in the neighborhood where my parents live, and where I grew up. In college, I strictly avoided that end of town on principle. Going “away” to college in my hometown was difficult enough: making sure that I didn’t become that kid who went home every weekend, lugging a sack of laundry and eager for a hot meal courtesy of Mom, but at the same time, wanting to show off my knowledge of Chapel Hill to all my new friends. I vowed to pretend that the UNC campus, a mere 10 minutes away from my parents’ home, was located in another state completely. So, riding the bus across town, from one end to the other, to get to my college internship—it felt like traveling back in time.

Now, in Chapel Hill again after a few years in New York City, everything looks and feels utterly different. Still without a car, I take the same bus that carried me to my internship, except now it takes me to a job in Algonquin’s Publicity department. It’s a good feeling. And instead of a self-conscious fear of being seen as a “townie,” I’m pretty stoked to be back in Chapel Hill. I can really appreciate the close-knit family that makes Algonquin so successful at producing great books and making sure that each one gets the attention it deserves. Being able to slow down and enjoy what I’m working on and cultivate relationships with each author is pretty awesome. Of course, the ultimate sign of importance and indication of my changed status—I now have my own office! No longer do I reside at the intern’s table right by the front door, a spot that feels removed from the exotic and faraway land that is the rest of the office.

Here, there’s no scanner in the lobby. No ID card to rummage around for in my purse every morning, just my own copy of the building key for those mornings when I’m the first to arrive at work. And—get this—people bring their dogs in to work, on a regular basis. The difference between Algonquin then and Algonquin now? The same great people, great books, and great work environment—what’s to change?

-Julianne

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3-Book Giveaway Winner!

Algonquin would like to congratulate Amy K. from Oakland, California for winning our nature-centric Book Booty giveaway! Amy took home three titles by Diana Wells to celebrate today’s release of Lives of Trees: An Uncommon History.

Amy’s answers were:

1. Which tree is also known as the upside-down tree (because the sparse branches resemble roots)? Answer:  the baobab
2. The leaves and bark of this tree contain tannin and caffeine, used in both North and South America to make tea. It’s also popular for hedging. Answer: yerba mate
3. This tree–also known as a harem tree–doesn’t bear fruit till it’s a decade old. The fruit is edible (and sometimes made into preserves), but it can also cause hallucinogenic sensations and, if ingested in quantity, can even cause death! Answer: nutmeg
4. Coffee (which helped keep monks awake during night vigils) became known as the “beverage of the friends of God.” But how much is too much? Name the French writer said to drink sixty cups of coffee every night — and let’s just hope most authors don’t practice this method of madness!  Answer: Balzac

Thanks to all who entered–and keep reading, there will be more swag to be won!

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January 15, 2010

Ask Dr. Bleedingheart

Bleeding Heart BlossomsDear Dr. Bleedingheart,

Should I worry that crickets have decided to move into my basement this winter? Thankfully, they are rather polite tenants and respectful of quiet hours. Although generally nondestructive, they are eating the cat food, which shows some poor judgment on their part – without an ample supply of Friskies, the cats very well might turn to crickets for their morning snack. Is the cat food just the start? Will they soon terrorize my basement like a 7-year locust, or are they simply harmless crickets looking for a place to stay when it gets chilly?

Dr. Bleedinghart, should I let them stay through the winter months, or would I be better off kicking them out on the cold, hard curb?

Signed,
Chirping Worried

Dear Chirping,

Never fear.  Some people love the sound of crickets chirping.  Some people believe crickets bring good luck.  Some people feel that the natural sounds of the world—the crickets, the foxes, the wind and the rain—are the most peaceful and soothing sounds one could hear while falling asleep.  I don’t suppose you’d be one of those people, would you?

If you’re not, that’s okay.  It’s your house; you should get to decide who lives there.  Just be glad we’re dealing with crickets, not unemployed in-laws looking for a place to stay until they get back on their feet.  As uninvited guests go, crickets are both harmless and easy to get rid of.

Start by sealing up any cracks or gaps in windows, walls, doorways, and so forth.  Then walk around the house and see if you have any cricket condos right up against the walls.  Stacks of firewood, piles of bricks or stones, and weeds and grass around the foundation might be inviting crickets inside.

And if you still hear chirping after you’ve tried those changes?  Get simple, non-toxic glue traps at the hardware store or garden center.  Put them down near the source of the chirping, and pile a little cornmeal in the center of each trap. Within a couple days, the crickets should be glued helplessly down.  What happens next is up to you.

And seriously, about the in-laws:  unemployment’s on the rise, and everybody’s broke after the holidays.  This is a good time to make it known that your guest room is infested with black mold and both your bathrooms are under renovation.  As with pest control, prevention is the best cure.  Good luck.

Amy StewartAmy Stewart is the author of From the Ground Up: The Story of a First Garden, The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms, and the New York Times bestsellers Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers and Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities. Find more from her at Garden Rant.

Submit your own horticultural question to Dr. Bleedingheart by emailing it to: katie [at] algonquin [dot] com

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January 14, 2010

Sure-Footed

Please welcome our new intern, Susannah Long, who is writing today about Jill McCorkle’s Going Away Shoes.

Jill McCorkle has me thinking about shoes. Not styles and prices and the long-term benefits of arch-support, but more along the lines of, What are our shoes telling us? And what are they telling other people about us?

I just finished reading Going Away Shoes, a collection of eleven short stories about family dysfunction and the pitfalls of human relationships, all of which, in one way or another, reference footwear. McCorkle suggests that our shoes are more important than we give them credit for. And she might be right. They allow us to go out and do. Nine times out of ten, when someone asks, “You ready to go?” your answer is going to be, “Just gotta put my shoes on.” But they also define our limits. Wearing sneakers? Can’t eat at certain restaurants. Wearing sandals? Better hope it doesn’t rain. Wearing high heels? Don’t get chased.

Right now I’m sitting in a coffee shop, eyeing everyone else’s choice in shoes. That lady’s boots are out of style, but she’s sensible and warm and dry. Whereas, this other chick is wearing some sparkling sort of dress shoe and is probably getting a mild case of frostbite, running around in this weather. Oh, and there’s that guy, with the two-tone leather lace-ups that say, “I’m not a professor yet, but someday I’ll delight in talking over three-hundred heads at once.” Not to judge or anything, because I think, a lot of times, we wear the shoes of the person we want to be. I certainly do.

I remember being twelve and discovering the magic of punk rock. I was about as hardcore as a homeschooler, but I had my mom take me to the mall and I put down my $40 for a pair of black Converse. They were the first shoes I ever bought with my own money and they were too stiff and too clean to wear to school, so I just wore them around the house for the first few months—trying to make them look like they belonged on me. Or maybe, like I belonged in them.

The last story in the collection is called “Me and Bigfoot.” It’s about a single woman who comes to care for a stranger’s pair of work boots. Though she’s never even seen the boot owner, she thinks up the perfect man to fill those empty shoes and goes along as if the figment of her imagination were a real person; a real relationship. Normally, this would come across as pathetic or delusional, but in light of the previous ten stories (divorce, adultery, addiction, abuse) I think McCorkle is making a point about the true value in all relationships: Other people are only who you make them. Every day, we have to look at the piles of shoes by our front doors and decide how we’re going to love the people who wear them. We have to look at the shoes on our own feet and decide that we’re worth loving.

That may be a whole lot of meaning to assign to a silly pair of shoes, but from where I sit, snug in some black Converse, it seems like as good a way as any to examine life—and justify shoe shopping.

-Susannah

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Dance those winter blues away!

Maria Finn’s new memoir Hold Me Tight and Tango Me Home will be in stores on February 9. Watch this wonderful video for her book, and find out more at her new website! Listen to the playlist that Maria put together to accompany her book, and share your story in Heartbreak: A Competition.

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