Big News for Rose City Reader

My full-length review of Franklin and Lucy has been published in the June edition of the Internet Review of Books. Most exciting. Here is the first paragraph from the review (longer than my blog review): In this age of kiss-and-tattle, when a politician’s every peccadillo is the stuff of instant CNN montage coverage and YouTube parodies, the idea that FDR could carry on a series of extra-marital affairs and intimate relationships without a peep from the press seems not just nostalgically quaint but astounding. But Joseph Persico avoids the temptation of writing a retroactive tell-all, aiming for a broader examination of this incredible President’s personal life.

List of the Day: 20 Best Oregon Books

Living in Oregon, it seems like a worthwhile goal to read books by Oregonians or about life in Oregon. According to Portland Monthly magazine, these are the "20 Greatest Oregon Books Ever."

So far, a couple of these are on my TBR shelf, and I have only read three of them.  Those I have read are in red; those on my TBR shelf are in blue.

Here is the list, from the October 2006 issue, compiled by Brian Doyle, editor of the University of Portland’s PortlandMagazine:

1. Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey

2. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

3. Winter Count by Barry Lopez

4. The River Why by David Duncan

5. Wildmen, Wobblies & Whistle Punks: Stewart Holbrook’s Lowbrow Northwest by Stewart Hall Holbrook

6. The Country Boy by Homer Davenport

7. Ricochet River by Robin Cody

8. Stepping Westward: The Long Search for Home in the Pacific Northwest by Sallie Tisdale

9. Hole in the Sky by William Kittredge

10. True Believer by Virginia Euwer Wolff

11. The Nez Perce Indians and the Opening of the Northwest by Alvin M. Josephy

12. The Journals of Lewis and Clark by Meriwether Lewis

13. Oregon Geographic Names by Lewis A. McArthur

14. Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary

15. Fire at Eden’s Gate: Tom McCall & the Oregon Story by Brent Walth

16. The Jump-Off Creek by Molly Gloss

17. Every War Has Two Losers by William Stafford

18. Nehalem Tillamook Tales

19. To Build a Ship by Don Berry

20. In Search of Ancient Oregon: A Geological and Natural History by Ellen Morris Bishop


NOTES
Last updated on December 30, 2010.
OTHERS READING THESE BOOKS
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Fave Bookstore: The Title Wave

“The Title Wave” is the terrifically named used book store run by the Friends of the Multnomah County Library. Located in a charming former library branch at 201 NE Knott, the shop is a decent resource, but deserves only a mixed review overall. When it comes to library books stores – or any used book store – my criteria are price, quality, and selection. My goal is to find very inexpensive books in clean, “like new” condition. Good selection for me means heavy on literary fiction, especially prize winners and books on my other “must read” lists. The Title Wave earns high points for prices and condition, but loses out on selection. The prices are great – most hardbacks are $2 or $3. The condition of the books is very good considering that they are ex-library books. Most have the mylar covers, with tape, and library markings, but they are clean and still new-ish The big disappointment is the feeble fiction selection. The books are mostly recently published and unknown – duplicate copies of newer books that did not circulate much. Several books looked like they might be entertaining, if you are willing to take a flyer. But there is little chance of finding a particular book, especially anything well known. The mystery section seems more promising than the general fiction, especially for fans of hardbacks. Likewise, the non-fiction selection is good. There are a lot of great cookbooks, as well as books on house stuff, gardening, and hobbies. The biography selection is extensive. Finally, they have quite a few audio books at incredibly low prices (many were $1.25). Most of these are cassettes; a few are cds. With no way to make sure they work and no returns, it is a risk. But for the price, not a big one. All in all, worth stopping in now and again, but it does not warrant a special trip.

Cheers from San Francisco!

Since we are in San Francisco to celebrate my sister's 40th birthday, thoughts have turned to cocktails. In particular, thoughts have turned to Irish Coffees, since the fog is starting to roll in and it is turning typically chilly. While the Buena Vista Cafe is justly famous for its Irish Coffees, we are personally more fond of the version served at Hark! Cocktails on Chestnut (technically, the "Marina Lounge"). A good I.C. is all about ratio, and the glass they use ensures the ideal mix of coffee to sugar to whipped cream to whiskey. Yum!

Along with cocktails themselves, I love books about cocktails. In general, I tend to be a cocktail purist, so I stay away from most modern books about drinks. For example, it makes me bonkers to see weird, frou frou cocktails called "martinis" just because they are served in a martini glass. A "martini" is gin, a drop of vermouth, and an olive. It is only very recently that I have acknowledged the "vodka martini" because I always considered this drink to be a "vodkatini" -- a poor second cousin to a true martini.

I have turned to vintage cocktail books because I like reading the informative sections, especially the advice on how to host parties, and trying out the old drink recipes -- classics and those that have not managed to stand the test of time. These books are generally out of print, but often found in used books atores or eBay. My favorites are:

Trader Vic's Bartender Guide
Esquire's Handbook for Hosts
Patrick Duffy's The Official Mixer's Manual

Bottoms up!

Modern Library v. Radcliffe

I adopted both the Modern Library and Radcliffe Publishing lists of Top 100 novels of the 20th Century. Having finished all the books on the M.L. list, I am still working on the Radcliffe list. Both include very good books and there is a tremendous amount of overlap between the two. That said, if I had to chose which list really represented the "best" 100 novels of the 20th Century, I would pick the M.L. list for a couple of reasons. First, I think the Radcliffe list leans in general to books that are more popular (Gone with the Wind, for example), while the M.L. list includes books that are more literary. For example, the M.L. list includes An American Tragedy, which I thought was heavy sledding, but as it was a groundbreaking work, it should be on the list. Second, but along the same lines, the Radcliffe list includes a number of children's books, such as Charlotte's Wed and Winnie-the-Pooh. They are good children's books, but I would have chosen only from books for adults. Finally, while I understand that the M.L. list is often criticized for not having "enough" books by women, I think the Radcliffe list overcompensates. I really do not think the list needs three books by Tony Morrison or even three by Virginia Wolf, especially at the expense of some of my favorites from the M.L. list like A Dance to the Music of Time and The Alexandria Quartet.