Barb's picks

Barbara Haynes
Barb is our ‘resident good writing reader’, perhaps a carry over from her English major. Barb is an avid reader who likes good fiction, and nonfiction about people and places. She’s a tenacious traveler (most recently New Zealand) and once did a solo trek in Nepal. If Barb could invite anyone to dinner, she’d have Colette. Of course-a celebrated French novelist with pluck, just like Barb. Fit and athletic, Barb is a great hiker, former jazzercise instructor, a track coach and athletic director at Sisters Middle School. Need some advice on a good local trail? Search out Barb!

Plenty: Vibrant Recipes from London's Ottolenghi (Hardcover)

By Yotam Ottolenghi, Jonathan Lovekin

$28.00

ISBN-13: 9781452101248
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Chronicle Books, 3/2011

I first heard about this book on NPR and was coincidentally reading a novel that mentioned eating at Ottelenghi in London. I love coincidences! I bought this for a good friend who is a terrific cook and has an extensive garden of heritage and unusual vegetables, in addition to the more common ones. Since I wasn't going to see her for two weeks, I had plenty of time to read the recipes and try a few. This is a treasure trove of unusual combinations and flavors, delicious, exotic, beautiful, healthy, and delicious (I meant to say it twice). Ottolenghi is not a food snob and his style is friendly and encouraging.  Gorgeous photos, helpful grouping of vegetables by categories (brassicas, legumes, funny onions, etc) and clear directions make this a comfortable book to cook from. The exotic mix of European, Arab and Asian cuisine calls for some spices and ingredients that may not be available in Central Oregon, but I am an inveterate user of substitutes and had great success with what I've tried so far. These are no insipid vegetable dishes - they burst with flavor, color and heat and are visually gorgeous as well.

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Walking Home: A Traveler in the Alaskan Wilderness, a Journey into the Human Heart (Paperback)

By Lynn Schooler

$12.80

ISBN-13: 9781608194643
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Bloomsbury USA, 5/2011

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Exhausted, discouraged, working every day on a house that he fears will never be a home for him and his increasingly distant wife, seeing a "grizzled old coot" in a window, and realizing it is him, Schooler decides to take a walk. A long, arduous walk. In a remote stretch of coastline that has an amazing history yet is incredibly difficult to access, Schooler encounters nature at her most capricious, wild and beautiful. Though his journey is solitary, Schooler is accompanied by the stories of the people who preceded him: Tlingit Indians, trappers, explorers, marooned sailors, hermits. It is in this vast wilderness that he ponders these past travelers to discover how the trials of life can be better borne with the help and community of others. Beautifully written.

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Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void (Paperback)

By Mary Roach

$12.76

ISBN-13: 9780393339918
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: W. W. Norton & Company, 4/2011

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I've always been intrigued by the title, but when I finally picked up the book and started reading, I was thoroughly hooked. At last...science for English majors! While Roach's research is in depth, to the extent of riding the vomit comet to experience weightlessness, conducting countless interviews with astronauts and scientists, and studying the history of the space programs world-wide, it's always (ironically?) down to earth. It's also laugh aloud funny, as she recounts the difficulties of eating, exercising, dressing, performing toilet functions, and more in zero gravity. Training toilets! Appetite suppressants? Sex in space? (No one's talking.) All this while confined to a cramped, claustrophobic capsule without bathing for days, sometimes weeks. Things we don't necessarily think about, scientists did, and do, and the astronauts had to contend with.  Mary Roach tells us all about it, but at the same time acknowledges the accomplishments, sacrifices and successes of the space programs from the early animals launched into space to the international orbiting space station. Endlessly entertaining, informative and thought-provoking. I highly recommend it.

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Bone Fire: A novel (Paperback)

By Mark Spragg

$12.00

ISBN-13: 9780307474353
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage, 4/2011

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This excellent novel continues the story of the Gilkyson family that began with Spragg's first novel "An Unfinished Life", which was also made into a movie.  Einar, 80 years old and unable to perform the ranch chores that anchored his life, finds comfort in the presence of his granddaughter, Griff, who has dropped out of art school to take care of him. Her boyfriend, Paul, Native American, wants to pursue graduate studies in Chicago where he isn't under constant scrutiny. Einar's sister Marin, long absent, returns after her partner's death and the siblings reforge their bonds. Though the scenery of Ishawooa, Wyoming, is breathtaking, life's realities are harsher. Drugs and murder, the death of a young man, these illustrate the harsh facts of life even in this beautiful place. But, as with his first novel, Spragg endows his characters with grit and grace and an enduring perseverance to overcome their obstacles. You can't help but root for these folks. This is the modern west, not the romantic, mythical one, and it shapes their characters on the forge of harsh climate and tough living. And yet, it is a beautiful, powerful, living place that he paints for us. This is not a depressing book; it is one of determination and character overcoming the obstacles life strews in our paths.

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Made for You and Me: Going West, Going Broke, Finding Home (Hardcover)

By Caitlin Shetterly

$19.19

ISBN-13: 9781401341466
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Hyperion Books, 3/2011

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In 2008, Caitlin Shetterly and her husband Dan set off for LA from their home in Maine, full of anticipation, jobs in hand, eager for a new chapter in their lives. Then the economy hit bottom, the jobs dried up, their options and money dwindled and Caitlin discovered she was pregnant. Desperate and disillusioned, their dreams shattered, they finally drove home, two month-old baby and dog, no money, to move in with Caitlin's mother. Depressing though their plight was, this is a book full of love, hope and the search for the "American Dream" that turns into a discovery of the strength of family bonds, community, and living in a place that brings comfort. This is such a timely book, with the bleak future that our young people are contending with, but also one with grace, humor and hope. Caitlin's blog throughout this time garnered many followers, and was the seed for this book, which ensued. A book advance, and Dan's acceptance to graduate school, gave this family a glimpse of the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. A very thought pprovoking and touching read.

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