Bracking Up the Possiblities

If Fracking can be a word, so can bracking.
I'm using it as a verb to describe how one sets up a bracket, March-Madness style. Because The Morning News has outdone itself with the design of this year's Tournament of Books bracket.
Designed by Liz Meyer, the new look twists the old school bracket into an attractive maze, pitting the 16 finalists  against each other. Feast your eyes on the lovely bracket to the right. You can download a high-res version on the TMN website.
The showdown begins on Monday, with the pre-game event where judge Nathan Bradley selects his favorite from these three books: The Yellow Birds, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, and Fobbit. I've been waiting a while for this contest to determine the 16th book (mainly because I'll need to read it).
Tune in tomorrow as I begin bracking, a.k.a. the point where I tell you which books I would select in each of the first round's contests. I've already given a few hints on Twitter, so follow me at @ReadEatThink if you want some off-the-cuff commentary.

You're My Type

I know I'm geeky about a lot of things, but one of my favorite nerd obsessions happens to be typefaces. There is a true, often subliminal, art to a perfect typeface. For general reading purposes, you want a font that will be clean and clear, almost beyond notice. Like my faves: Sabon, Garamond, Calibri, Century, and maybe even GillSans if you're feeling funky.
For attention-seeking items like signs and book covers, I love left-field thinking, like Franklin Gothic, Broadway, Magneto, and Kaiti. Don't you even mention Comic Sans or Papyrus to me, though. Those are fonts that haven't grown up yet.
I'm not alone in my font fetish: Perpetual clean-copy winner Helvetica even has a movie dedicated to it.
So you can imagine my joy when I hit the back of a book and find the little gem below. My favorite part is when it says "the well-known German typographer." Umm....
well known to whom?
(slowly raises her hand sheepishly)
However, I do admit that I had never heard of the "famous Lyons punch cutter" that gave his name to one of my favorite typefaces. You learn something new every day.

From the book Going Clear, by Lawrence Wright. Click here for review.

Review + Recipe: It's All Clear Now

Review: Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood,
& the Prison of Belief

by Lawrence Wright
After spending a (very) long night watching the Oscars, I thought it would be appropriate to review a book about Hollywood-centric religion, namely Scientology. I actually had to think about whether and how I would review it, though, because the book's non-stop litany of how Scientology's leaders attack anyone who speaks against them is chilling, and makes one quite paranoid.
Oh well. According to the author, there are only 25,000 of them left, so here goes.
First, let's get the credentials out of the way. Lawrence Wright is a Pulitzer Prize winner, the author of many other books, and a meticulous reporter for The New Yorker who had this book vetted by a veritable army of lawyers. He even tries, where called for, to be very fair and to present both sides. But the facts aren't pretty, and should give anyone pause.
Let's be clear (pardon the pun), this is country that celebrates its craziness and righteously defends its right to whatever religion one wants to join. And many of those religions have started out in odd, and in some cases unbelievable, ways.
But Scientology's founding and early days are beyond the pale. Consider that L. Ron Hubbard (L. is for Lafayette) began as an "explorer," a man who wanted to find fame and glory, or to invent it if need be. His first "glorious adventure" was prescient: a strange expedition that was underfunded and over-promised by Hubbard, with the participants calling it "the worst and most unpleasant" trip they had ever been on.
And then consider that Hubbard started his writing career in pulp fiction, churning out lurid and amazing stories full of aliens, zombies, and overlords. Sound familiar?
By the middle of Going Clear, a not-very-flattering portrait of Hubbard is in place. He is a bully, a misogynist, a dreamer, and a man full of hubris. He has obsessions – with women, with drugs, with reaching a "higher plane," and he begins to believe in his own omnipotence.
He could have been just another overblown and under-accomplished man if he had appeared at any other time in history. But the post-war generation of the '50s and '60s was in search of meaning and many weren't finding it in the usual religions. Hubbard's ideas and beliefs sounded just "out there" enough to be true. After all, it was all supposed to be based on science, with a dash of psychotherapy thrown in for good measure.
The shock for me is how big the Church of Scientology once was, since its initial extensive reach occurred before or during my early childhood. For example, in 1963 the FDA seized all E-Meters, instruments critical to "reading" subjects and helping them on their path to unblocking their minds and becoming "Clear" (hence the title).
In 1967, the IRS removed the Church's tax exemption, and many countries banned the religion and refused entry to Hubbard and his followers.
But the most shocking (and well-cataloged) point in the book for me was the revelation of Operation Snow White, which saw as many as 5,000 Scientologists placed in governmental agencies in countries around the world in the '70s. That includes the IRS, the Justice, Labor and Treasury Departments, the DEA, and more in the United States. The idea was to affect any decisions that would adversely impact the Church, and to also try to "take over" a country that the Church, and Hubbard, could run. And then there are the many documented cases of the Church suing anyone and everyone who tried to thwart their goals.
In its earliest days, Hubbard wanted to target Hollywood, where he saw the richest and most vulnerable pickings. By using his network's influence, and the lack of confidence in many of Hollywood's citizens, the Church was able to manipulate many to believe that its teachings could change their careers and their lives. The Church's leaders would go to extreme lengths to keep its stars happy, and under the Church's control.
It's telling to me that more attention was paid by the general public to the Church and its oddities after Hollywood's big names became involved than when all of the thousands of other nameless people became so wrapped up in it – often suffering loss, pain, and degradation in the process. Thus is the way of our Paris Hilton world, I suppose, but it's galling.
Before this review gets too long, because I could talk about the book all day, let me just say that it is well-written, well-researched, and endlessly fascinating. It's really the last part of Wright's title that had me so enthralled: "The Prison of Belief." As we all search for meaning in the world, it can be far too easy to be trapped by what we seek, rather than to be happy with what we find.

Recipe: A Clear Winner

I don't know about you, but all of this talk of existentialism has me jonesing for a drink. One of my favorite drinks is a fabulous punch full of crazy ingredients. Hmmm, a not-so-subtle complement to a crazy group that packs a punch, no? Sip slowly, or it will go to your head.
1 10-oz package of frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed
1 cup fresh lime juice
bunch of mint
1 cup water
1/2 cup vodka
1/4 cup Pernod
3/4 cup sugar
10 ounces of ginger ale
Drain raspberries and mash gently through a sieve or colander to get 1/2 cup juice. Stir all liquids together with sugar until the sugar dissolves and then chill. Add ginger ale before serving in tall glasses with raspberries added. Use mint as desired.

They Call Me the Book Whisperer

Or they will after April 23. Because I just found out that I've been selected as an official World Book Night volunteer! Which means that I will be handing out free books to people who don't normally read at all, or who read sparingly.
This amazing annual event is designed to introduce a love of books to those who haven't been bitten by the bug yet. Last year, I unofficially handed out a few books, but as an official WBN volunteer, I will have 20 books for lucky recipients. Not sure yet which book I'll be assigned, but you can see the full list by clicking here.  You can also learn more about how you can be involved.
I have the perfect venue on April 23, a business event where I know there will be a lot of people who don't think they have time to read, as well as some people who work in the service aspect of the venue and may not have regular access to books.
I'm very honored to be a part of this amazing endeavor, and I'll tell you more about it in the coming days. Meanwhile, I think to celebrate I will go ... read.

Record-Selling Books

Art by Christophe Gowan, ceegworld.com
There are some super-creative people out there, and I'm trying not to be jealous.
File this under "Why didn't I think of that": Brit-based Christophe Gowan is an amazing art director and designer who wondered what some of the best-known albums would look like if they were redesigned as books. You can see all of the fabulous results here.
I do have some favorites. Bob Dylan's "Blood on the Tracks" was crying out to be re-thought as a pulp fiction novel. The super-genius touch was to use Dylan's real name as the author name.
Prince's "Purple Rain" is reimagined as an L. Ron Hubbard-esque story, George Michael's "Faith" is just a tawdry memoir, and Jimi Hendrix gets a business guide upgrade for "Are You Experienced?" Boggles the mind, right?
But the Beach Boys "Pet Sounds" as Japanese manga? Well, let's just say I almost spit my coffee out.

Book Return

It's bad enough when someone borrows your book and has written in the margins or turned down the pages. But have you ever had someone return a book to you with food stains or smelling like an ashtray? Yeah, I've had that happen. I also had someone give back a borrowed book after they dropped it in the bathtub.
But the most horrific book return I've heard of is the story I just saw in Kalamazoo, MI. The library there had to shut down after someone returned books with bedbugs in the bindings. As one of my friends says, that's a hot mess. Click here for the inside story.
I treat books with a lot – okay some may say too much – respect. And if I damage one of your books, you can be assured that I'm going to buy you a new one before I'll hand a gross one back to you.
Most importantly, let's remember that those library books are supposed to belong to all of us, and there is a reason they have a plastic covering.
So to the person in my hometown who seems to like all of the same books I like, please stop marking them up with yellow highlighter. You're giving me a headache.

Downtown Downer

Are you suffering from a lack of sleep this morning? Do you have a bad case of Downton-itis? And just think, the cure (which would be another season of Downton Abbey) is months and months away. Sigh.
So here are some book suggestions to keep you from suffering too much withdrawal from the Crawleys and their staff:

Life Below Stairs: True Lives of Edwardian Servants

by Alison Maloney
This quick read is not a novel, be forewarned. This is more a primer about how exactly those below-stairs characters lived. Each chapter details daily life, like the way households were structured, what exactly each post paid, techniques used in cleaning and caring for the family, how holidays were handled, and how one could be hired or fired. Quick fact: You really could make more money as a footman if you were taller than the others.


Rose: My Life in Service to Lady Astor

by Rosina Harris
Beginning in 1928 and for 35 years after, Rosina Harris served as the personal lady's maid for Lady Nancy Astor. She was by her side through huge political and historical events, through quiet personal moments, through joy and tragedy. On call to the Lady at every moment, seven days a week, Rose became closer to Lady Astor than anyone, particularly since that Lady was not exactly an easy person to know (think Lady Violet on steroids). Rose tells her story with pluck and pride, with enough detail to keep the biggest Downton fan happy.


Up and Down Stairs: The History of
the Country House Servant

by Jeremy Musson
Believe it or not, Downton Abbey (and Highclere Castle, which is Downton's true location) were meant to be country houses. But they required armies of servants to run whenever families were in residence. Musson tells the story of these grand homes from their earliest days through Downton days and beyond, by using letters, newspaper articles, and stories of the servants who worked in them. The duties and rules for servants changed dramatically over the years, including the "not seen, not heard" rule that we often think of.

Servants' Hall

By Margaret Powell
Margaret Powell served as a kitchen maid right after World War I in Redlands, a Downton-worthy home owned by the Wardham family. She chronicles her life in the house in Below Stairs. In this short volume, she tells a very Lady Sybil-like (and true) story of what happened when parlourmaid Rose eloped with the family's only son Mr. Gerald. While the servants thought it sounded like a "fairy tale," let's just say it didn't turn out quite the way Tom's experience did on Downton.

Snobs

by Julian Fellowes
If you don't know who Julian Fellowes is, shame on you. He's only the writer of the amazing series you've been enjoying for three years. And he is quite prolific at his craft. To enjoy more of his fly-on-the-wall eye at the way the English live, be sure to watch the movie Gosford Park, or curl up with this delicious novel. The only fiction book I've listed here, it's a terrific take on what happens when a social-climbing girl marries an aristocratic boy and their two very different lives collide.

Of Love and Books

I'm not normally a Valentine's Day sentimentalist, but last night I went to an event celebrating my friend Lee Woodruff's new book. More on that in another post, but she said something in her presentation that truly struck a chord with me. She was talking about her family: "Storytelling brings us together."
As she spoke, I thought of how storytelling has made our little triangle even tighter over the years. We've read many books together, but there is one series that will always make me sentimental, and that's Harry Potter.
My daughter was almost exactly the same age as Harry when the first book came out, and we decided to read it together as a family. Every night I would read a chapter, or two, or three ... until we realized how late we were staying up.
The second book came out and we again read it aloud together, and by the third in the series we had ourselves a fun family habit, and some serious bonding time. We laughed, we cried, and I even tried to do all of the voices. I must say I am quite a good Dobby.
By this time, we knew we could have gotten the books on CD (or cassette as it was then, sigh). But all three of us were having way too much fun. The books were a very good excuse to sit together and just ... enjoy.
The fourth book broke us, but in a good way. We bought the book just before a trip to Florida, and spent the nine-hour drive down, and the nine hours back, with my husband driving, my daughter leaning forward in the back seat to catch every word, and with me hissing my way through some Parseltongue (look it up).
We drove into the driveway of our home and sat there for the last 10 pages, not wanting to move until I croaked out the very last word ... the book literally killed my voice. I will always remember the three of us looking at each other as I closed the book, still bound together by Harry's spell, and thinking "I love this."
We grew too old to read them together by the fifth book, but the magic didn't stop. We stayed up late to be in the bookstore at midnight for the release of those last three books, and we saw every single movie together.
I confess that we were too impatient to wait for each other to finish reading, so I always had to buy three copies of each release, one for each of us. When we finished, we would keep one and donate the others.
There are so many memories tied up in Harry Potter for me, many that have nothing to do with the plotlines. So on this day of love, I will confess that I love a boy named Harry Potter, a storyteller name Rowling who wove a wonderful web around my family, and I love the two people who share their stories with me every day.

Guest Review: Brokeass Gourmet Cookbook

Today I'm featuring a guest column by my daughter. She recently acquired a cookbook that I wanted. In a fit of jealousy, I told her that she would just have to review it for this blog. And in a fit of stubbornness, she agreed. Who knows where she gets that?

The Brokeass Gourmet Cookbook

by Gabi Moskowitz
Review by Aana
I don’t usually buy cookbooks. As horrible as it is to say, the Internet is full of more free recipes than I could ever find in a cookbook, and I am generally too “brokeass” to buy things I could get for free.
However, this is the exception to the rule: Gabi Moskowitz’s The Brokeass Gourmet Cookbook.
The recipes in this book are so creative, yet so simple, with prices listed for each ingredient. There are some recipes, like Sriracha-glazed carrots or cranberry-zinfandel brownie bites, whose ingredients you’d never think to combine. But they always turn out to be delicious! There are others (white corn and spring onion soup… mmm) that are just downright feel-good staples. The variety is intense! There’s Mexican, Italian, Thai, Chinese, Indian, barbecue, homemade mayonnaise, cocktails, desserts… the list goes on. And if you’re as clueless as I am about what goes best together, there’s even a page at the end with suggestions on meals for different situations, from Superbowl parties to romantic nights in.
It’s pretty much everything I could hope for in a cookbook – range, simplicity, and, as the icing on the proverbial cake, wit.
Gabi Moskowitz is seriously funny. I turned to page seven to find a recipe for monkeyspanker, a basic mixed drink. There’s also a recipe for hipster dogs, at a total cost of $6.75 per dog. Ms. Moskowitz says “When I think of hipsters, I think of skinny black jeans, pretentiousness, bad haircuts, and sausages. Yes, sausages. Think about it – sausages are just unclassy enough to seem ironic (hipsters like doing anything ironically), yet overpriced gourmet sausages abound…” I think I have found my ideal cooking partner.

The Books with Staying Power

By now you've probably heard of the doctor that researched exactly why Mary Ingalls went blind, as detailed in the Litttle House on the Prairie series of books written by her sister, Laura Ingalls Wilder.
It's fascinating enough that Dr. Beth Tarini found evidence that either meningitis or encephalitis caused Mary's blindness, rather than scarlet fever, as the books detail.
But what I liked most about the story is that a series of books were so influential to a little girl that she grew up to not only remember the details, but to want to research more about a critical plot point.
I read like a fiend when I was a child, and there are so many books that mean a lot to me even today. So I thought I'd make a list of the books that were the most influential to me (in no particular order):

Little Women

by Louisa May Alcott
I read this book maybe dozens of times as a pre-teen, and of course I identified most with Jo. Her zest for life, her spirited defense of friends and family, and her creative spark really appealed to me. I credit Jo for influencing me to write.

Charlotte's Web

by E.B. White
I hate to admit it, but to this day I believe that my pets can understand me, thanks to this book. I also apologize to my sister, because when we were children I convinced her that a bunny lived in our walls and could talk to me, again all due to reading this story.

The Secret Garden

by Frances Hodgson Burnett
This book, along with Burnett's A Little Princess, gave me hope that anyone could find a better life and that being headstrong and determined wasn't such a bad thing for a girl. Blame these two if you find me to be too stubborn.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

by E.L. Konigsburg
Two interesting points in my life can find their roots in this book. First, there was the time I tried to hide in the bookmobile with the goal of living among the books. And then, later in my adult life, this book inspired me to design a blogger sleepover in the Showtime House while I worked at Metropolitan Home magazine. The second event was much more successful than the first.

The Borrowers

by Mary Norton
Maybe it's my Scots-Irish heritage, but I still want to believe in fairies, sprites, and all manner of little magical people. The Borrowers were my first "evidence" that the stories could be true. As far as influence, though, this book made me look a little differently at the common, everyday things around me.

The Incredible Journey

by Sheila Bunford
Courage, strength, and the idea that you should never, ever give up. Not a bad recipe for a book that taught me a lot.

Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes

by Edith Hamilton
This was an old book that I found at a library sale for $1 when I was about 10. And I still have it. Full of swashbuckling tales of heroes and monsters, Mythology was also an interesting primer on the faults and failings of men, and of the gods they idolize.

Other books I devoured included several series: Little House, Trixie Belden, Bobbsey Twins (leftovers from my mom), Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and more.
What books from your childhood influenced you the most?

Writing Out of the Box

On my way home today, I listened to an interview on NPR with Michael Pietsch, the newly named CEO for Hachette Books, who said that he truly believes "we're in a golden age for books." I tend to agree.
Sure there are too many poorly written self-published books out there, e-readers are crowding out print, and bookstores are closing faster than you can spell a-m-a-z-o-n.
But...
Then I arrived home to find a box on the front porch that changed the way I think about books. When was the last time you could say that?
Rewind a bit: I have made it clear that I'm going to read all of the novels on the Tournament of Books starting bracket before March 1. One book was proving elusive, however. I couldn't find it in the library and it wasn't in my local bookstore. And it was expensive. But a goal is a goal.
Now feast your eyes on what arrived (I put the remote there for scale):


Can I just say WOW?!?
It's an amazing (and big) box. And look what it's filled with:


It's Building Stories by Chris Ware.
I don't want to give too much away – I'll do that in my review during the Tournament. Let me just say that telling a story in a brand new way is a tall order. Telling a story in an engaging, inventive, engrossing, and thoroughly entertaining way...that's a whole other thing.
This is what thinking out of the box can do for you. Welcome to the golden age.

A Grand Celebration

As we move forward and modernize, history can be forgotten. Or demolished. Nowhere has that been more evident than in New York, where gorgeous landmarks have been razed to the ground for more "progressive" and modern buildings. The old Penn Station, Madison Square Garden, and the Manhattan Theatre are just memories, supplemented by grainy photos that only hint at their former grandeur.
Today, the most famous building to have narrowly avoided that same fate is celebrating its 100th birthday, and a new book by Sam Roberts details its history and an unprecedented fight to save it in the '60s and '70s.
In 1913, the Vanderbilt family financed the 48-acre train Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, fashioned in over-the-top Beaux Arts style. The keys were handed to the station manager on this exact date, and trains began to roll out across the country.
The building was meant to reflect the grandeur and wealth of the city (and of the Vanderbilts, of course), and includes a fabulous signature clock with its faces made of opals, the largest piece of Tiffany glass in existence, and a ceiling painted sky blue and featuring one of the most discussed errors in history – constellations that are reversed from their actual position in the night sky.
Among the most famous of its lines was the 20th Century Limited, a super-luxury train that ran between New York and Chicago, offering an ultra-premium service that was unparalleled for its time. Today, its 63 tracks offer local-only trains that travel throughout New York and its environs. And, oddly, Grand Central is also one of the biggest shopping destinations in the city.
According to the book Grand Central, though, today's 700,000 daily visitors (yes, I said daily) almost missed out on a trip to this top landmark. In the late '60s, Grand Central Terminal was destined for the dustbin, with a decrepit interior and its permanent cast of homeless people and drug addicts. You can almost imagine the real estate barons standing off to the side and twisting their mustaches in anticipation of getting their hands on the prized lot.
Thanks to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the site was saved with a ruling by the Supreme Court that cities had the right to preserve historic buildings.
After several renovations and restorations, Grand Central Terminal is back to its former glory (despite a small mark on the ceiling where a 1957 rocket installation miscalculated the fit).
The book Grand Central is not only a fun read of the history and little-known facts of this most-famous station, but it also offers stunning and intimate photos that are worth the price alone.
Here are a few photos from my recent trip to Grand Central, just to whet your appetite.