Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: An Eclectic Reading Week

Happy hot Monday. I know I haven't written a review post in two weeks, but I just haven't been reading all that much. First was July 4, then I took another long weekend (off the grid and with friends), and then had to somehow get all my work done in between.

Oh, and in the meantime, I found a tick embedded in my arm and had to take antibiotics (hope we stopped any Lyme in its tracks) and my washing machine suddenly decided it wasn't going to move past the *fill* cycle. Fortunately, I was in the other room, and the ensuing flood (in my kitchen!) wasn't too horrible.

It took us a couple of hours to clean up the mess. Then we had to research a new washer and run around town trying to find someone who could deliver our top-choice machine this week. Success, and the new washer will be here Wednesday. In the meantime, we had tons of soaking wet dirty laundry (the stuff in the washer, plus the stuff on the floor waiting to go into the washer). It's all dry now and will be washed in a few days. Oh and did I mention it was almost 100F and we don't have central A/C?

Enough of that. No major damage (except to our wallet), so all is fine -- more or less.

Age of Legend by Michael J. Sullivan (Grim Oak Press, July 9). This is the fourth book in the Legends of the First Empire series. In three related series, Sullivan has created a complex, believable world with fully realized characters and a consistent history. I absolutely adore his books, his ability to write a compelling plot with a good mix of action, character interactions, descriptive prose, and flowing dialogue. Sad things and rough things happen, but there's always a touch of humor to keep readers buoyed. In this entry, the war between the humans and elves continues. We see a glimmer of hope for resolution, but can we trust that the plan will end in success? One thing I really loved about Age of Legend is that the story revolves around one of the (up to this point) minor characters, so we get a little different perspective on the greater political, magical, and spiritual aspects of the changing world. What didn't I like? The book ended on a cliff-hanger! Argh!!! The good news is that next installment should be out before the year is over. I need to know what happens to some of my favorite characters. I listened to the unabridged audiobook (Recorded Books; 14 hr, 34 min), read by the fantabulous Tim Gerard Reynolds. Reynolds is THE voice of Sullivan's books and his characterizations are not to be missed. I can't say enough about his sense of pacing, his smooth delivery of the dialogue, his comedic timing . . . Reynolds has it all. (print copy and audiobook copy from my personal library)

Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball / Amelia Fang and the Unicorns of Glitteropolis by Laura Ellen Anderson (Delacorte BYR, July 30). I love middle grade fiction, though I'm normally drawn to books written for a tween audience. The Amelia Fang books are geared to somewhat younger readers, but I loved the premise and put them on my review list. Amelia is a young vampire who has a pet pumpkin. Her best friends are Florence Spudwick (a rare breed of Yeti) and Grimaldi Reaperton (a grim reaper in training). In Barbaric Ball Amelia has to be nice to the young prince of Nocturina, but Tangine isn't very nice back. The underlying message of the story is about friendship and how we shouldn't judge others' behavior until we know their background. In Unicorns, the four friends must travel to the terrifying land of light (with its unicorns and fairies) to try to set things right for Tangine and his family. The underlying message here is trying new things, being brave, and learning that different kinds of beings are scary only because we don't know their true nature. It's not all that sappy because there really are some bad guys in Glitteropolis.

Here are some other things that make the Amelia Fang books such fun to read. First and foremost is Anderson's laugh-out-loud sense of humor. For example, in Amelia's dark world of vampires and goblins, insults are terms of endearment. In fact, Amelia's father lovingly calls his wife "Dearest belch-breath." Each book begins with a map and then black and white portraits of the main characters. Each portrait includes the character's likes and dislikes (Tangine hates an empty stomach). Throughout the chapter books, readers are treated to Anderson's expressive illustrations: We see the emotions on the character's faces, drawings of scenery, and busy action scenes. Anderson also uses different fonts to convey different types of text: noises, Florence's dialogue, notes, signs, and so on.

The Amelia Fang books star a girl vampire, but she has female and male friends of different creatures, making it easy for all kinds of readers to find plenty to love in these stories. I'm looking forward to the next books in the series. (Thanks to the publisher for finished review copies)

Burn the Ice by Kevin Alexander (Penguin Press, July 9). In this well-researched book, Alexander takes a look at the American foodie boom, especially in the early twenty-first century. He looks at the role of social media, the "spicing" of American foods, the rise of celebrity chefs, important food cities, the rediscovery of cocktails, the #metoo movement, the #blacklivesmatter movement, NOLA and Katrina, and much more. To tell this story, Alexander focuses on a handful of important restaurant chefs and their establishments: how they came to cooking, what they brought to the scene, and where they set up shop. Some of them you may have heard of--like Tom Colicchio from Gramercy Tavern and Top Chef--and others are much less well known--like Anja Mitra and his wife, Emily, who brought Indian food to the Bay Area. Some people we meet in depth, like Portland's Gabriel Rucker, and others are given short bursts of background info (Guy Fieri and Ree Drummand). I was particularly interested in the history of hot chicken and the story of Indian food in California, both of which reflect on business competition, different levels of personal ambition, and what happens when diners and chefs sense a trend. Be warned: Burn the Ice jumps around a bit and doesn't hold back on adult language. Alexander's examination of the rise and fall of the new millennium's food scene will be most appealing to those of us who are interested in food movements and the interplay between the food world, the economy, and cultural trends. My review of the audiobook edition will be available via AudioFile magazine.