Teaser Tuesday: Another Way the River Has

While he maneuvered to pass a towline to the disabled trawler, a breaker caught the lifeboat broadside.  The boat did what it was designed to do in overpowering conditions [-- it] began a 360-degree roll.

-- from "Surf Savvy" in Another Way the River Has: Taut True Tales from the Northwest by Robin Cody (published by OSU Press).

This is a terrific collection of essays by the author of Ricochet River.  Set in Oregon and Washington, but definitely stories with universal appeal.

For those in the area, Robin Cody will be reading from this book tomorrow night at the Press Club.  Details here.


Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday and Giveaway Winner

Thanks to a book chain letter I sent out a couple of months ago, at least one book came into my mailbox last week.

Thanks go to Avis of She Reads and Reads for hosting Mailbox Monday in October.

But first:

GIVEAWAY WINNER

Congratulations to Tea at I Love to Read who won my copy of The Art of Disappearing by Ivy Pochoda. I used random.org to pick the winning number (it was 2), but Tea did a good job of increasing her odds by entering in all five of the possible ways. Thanks Tea!

And thanks to everyone else who entered. I've seen several giveaways for this book, so I wish you luck getting a copy elsewhere.

MAILBOX

44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith (this is the first of his newer series)



Canola Gourmet by Sheilah Kaufman and Sheri L. Coleman.  At first, I thought this was a chain letter book, because it came with no cover letter or note or anything. But I now realize from the return address that it came from the author.

The Jazz Cats Are Here!

I've ignored the blog this weekend to celebrate the arrival of Billie and Ella, The Jazz Cats. We picked them up yesterday from the Oregon Humane Society. Both are eight or nine weeks old and still very little.

Unlike an earlier joke, these kittens are real. And they are adorable. I promise that I won't devote this blog to pictures of cute kittens, but, really, they are cute.

BILLIE

So far, Billie is oddly docile. We can pick her up, hold her, or put her anywhere and she just sits there. She finally wandered around to get something to eat and drink, but she doesn't play or talk. She hisses at Ella, but doesn't run away or swat. She's healthy, so maybe she is just getting used to her new home. Or she is just odd.

ELLA

Ella is a bundle of kitten love. If she is awake, she is purring. She already knows her name and follows us around everywhere. She wants to be right next to one of us at all times. In fact, right now, she is sitting on the back of my neck while I hunch over like a crone. If I try to put her on my lap so I can sit up, she climbs on the laptop and types.

Friday Hop and Giveaway Reminder

I'll be hopping around today while I pretend that I do not have a stack of neglected work to attend to.

Also, please don't forget that I am giving away a copy of The Art of Disappearing by Ivy Pochoda.  See the main giveaway post for details.  Please sign up on the giveaway post, not here. Thanks!

The question for this week's Book Blog Hop comes from The Paperback Princess, who asks:

"When you read a book that you just can't get into, do you stick it out and keep reading or move to your next title?"

Since I very rarely abandon a book, it would be an understatement to say I "stick it out."  In general, I have a funny, personal rule that I won't even look to see how many pages a book has until after I get past page 100. By then, I'm either interested, or have so much time and effort invested in the book that I finish it.

However (with lawyers, there's always a "however"), since I started blogging and sometimes get books I didn't ask for and am not particularly interested in to start with, I have gotten better about abandoning a book if it too much of a slog to get to page 100.  I can think of a particularly dry economic history of India and a biblical history textbook that I jettisoned early on. It was freeing.

Review: Food Lover's Guide to Portland

 

Liz Crain tapped into Portland’s do-it-yourself ethic and agricultural abundance to write her Food Lover's Guide to Portland, an informative and inspiring handbook on the bustling food scene in this corner of the Pacific Northwest.

Because several print and on-line sources cover Portland’s restaurants and bars, Crain focused, for the most part, on the many producers and purveyors who supply the food and beverages so enjoyed by Rose City’s food lovers. She covers food, drinks, and general resources, providing the inside scoop on bakeries, cheese makers and mongers, chocolatiers, ethnic markets, brewers, coffee roasters, distillers, cooking classes, farmers markets, and much, much more.

While not concentrating on restaurants and bars, Crain does follow some of her favorite ingredients to the tables where they are served, providing lists of recommended “Go To Spots” for certain categories, such as cheese service, noodles, food carts, spicy food, vegetarian, brewpubs, and cocktails.

She also includes several “sidebar” pieces focusing on the people and products that make Portland unique. She introduces bartenders who infuse their own flavored spirits, chefs who butcher their own meat, pickle fanatics, miso makers, and others who she describes as having “a passion for food made the hard way.”

There is a lot packed into this small volume. If you live in Portland, are planning a visit, or just like foodie books, this is the one for you.

NOTES

My review of Liz Crain is here.

OTHER REVIEWS

(If you would like your review of this book listed here, please leave a comment with a link to your review and I will add it.)