A Book, a Blanket, and a Beverage
November 1, 2009

At long last the weather has turned cool. I’m hoping it’s for good because three weeks ago I was fooled. We had a 24-hour rainstorm that dropped astonishing amounts of water and brought enough chill for me to put away my tee shirts and bring out my flannel sheets.

Turned out I was wrong. The next day, temperatures shot up as if it was July—and stayed that way until, on Monday of last week, they peaked in the high eighties and even the nineties a bit farther south toward Los Angeles. There was a lot of moaning, and not all of it was from me. You see, the day of the big storm I realized I had almost no winter clothes. Outerwear, yes, but no sweaters, no pants. With a “get it now” sense of urgency I ordered half a dozen of each hoping to somehow get through the few days I would have to endure until they arrived.  Silly me.

Last night I turned the air conditioning on for a couple of hours. This morning, however, I am wearing one of the new sweaters, a lovely black cotton tunic with my spring skirt. The air has that feel that gives you the sense that you could take a bite out of it like a crisp autumn apple.

This weather stimulates me to get out and walk and otherwise be active in ways that warm weather does not. It also induces me curl up on my sofa with one of my wool blankets, a pile of books beside me, and the cats who I couldn’t keep away even if I tried. Winter reading time has arrived.

So what is “winter reading time” exactly? Aside from the physical manifestations, it’s involves a certain type of book. Not necessarily genre; I will select from any favored genre year round. But winter books tend to be longer, more involved, and in a twist from my favored nonfiction, fictional.

Fortunately, I had just finished American Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn a couple of days before the rain. This hardcover edition’s dust jacket incorporates various shades of unnatural gaudy green that shout “Spring! Summer!”, and that’s not what I’m after now.

Fall and winter should denote quiet, a sense of peace and softness, tones of white and gray, gentle closures and submission to nature’s shows. It feels like a more acquiescent time so I look for the same in my reading. Yesterday I replaced the piles of yet-to-be-read books I had on the nightstands with books that feel more in tune with the cooler weather. Of those, I began two: One Dry Season: In the Footsteps of Mary Kingsley by Caroline Alexander and Ann Vickers by Sinclair Lewis.

Lewis is one of my favorite writers, probably because I share his cynical view of this country. But I also find his writing compelling, and despite having no experience with the small towns in which he specializes I feel an affinity to his characters however much I may dislike them or disagree with their inherent character. Ann Vickers, interestingly, was written while he was married to American journalist Dorothy Thompson to whom he writes this dedication: To Dorothy Thompson whose knowledge and whose help made it possible for me to write about Ann. I’m not far enough in to get a sense of Ann, but having read biographies of both people I am aware that their marriage came to a rather screeching halt when Lewis began to resent her professional success. But even in the first chapter I sense the strength and independence of Thompson in Ann Vickers. Lewis may well have disliked the results of Thompson’s achievements, but he was also attracted to them in life and in his books.

The other book in which I am fully engaged feels so far apart from Ann Vickers that it almost seems a foreign entity, a different, even strange alien. The author had heard of the African country, Gabon, while camping in central southeast Africa, but it wasn’t until several years later that she stumbled across a book in her local library titled Travels in West Africa by Mary Kingsley. In 1893, Miss Kingsley had elected to escape the stifling atmosphere of late nineteenth-century domesticity and spend the summer in “a region notorious for its deadly climate and diseases, its alarming wildlife, and its cannibals.” Alexander, seeing that Kingsley’s travels occurred in Gabon, decided to retrace her route, and I seeing that Alexander has written a book about both their travels decided to read it. (Nothing like TMVM—travel, mosquitoes, and voluntary misery—to make me love a book.)  What particularly drew my attention, however, was this:

Every travel account has its own peculiar Edge, as every writer has his own idea of Truth and how best to present it. Temperament, the specific objectives of one’s journey, prior expectations, selective memory, personal associations, the audience one is address—are all determining factors that shape the interpretation and ultimate presentation of one’s story.

Not just every travel account, though this is focused on that. Underneath the vastly different stories lies a connection for me, a reason I selected these books now. Or should I say the books selected me? And while I cuddle under the blanket, book-of-the-moment in hand, cats on shoulder and lap and feet, hot drink on the floor, I will ponder that connection. It may be nothing more than two damn good books, but perhaps there is something more. I can’t wait to find out.

Sipping beverages while reading, while not exclusive to winter, seems more suited to it. I take advantage of the cold nights to enjoy either hot milk (plain), hot lemon water, or on occasion, Wassail, a spicy apple cider with or without the addition of wine. The following recipe can be cut in half or more, but the larger quantity assures several days’ worth. And I do recommend buying whole spices and grinding them fresh; they are much better than previously ground ones.

1 gallon apple cider
2 cups orange juice
1 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar (I use less than 1/4 cup sugar as I don’t like mine that sweet)
2 teaspoons freshly ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly ground cloves
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Mix the ingredients and slowly bring to a boil in a large pot. Boil for one minutes. Serve hot with a slice of orange perched on the edge of each cup. Extra wassail can be refrigerated and reheated in a microwave.

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Note:
BiblioBuffet now has a blog. Behind the Words at BiblioBuffet is intended to provide an occasional (approximately twice weekly) look at things that go into creating each issue or the site in general. Managing Editor Nicki Leone and I will contribute commentary and amusing tidbits about what we see and experience while working with our writers. Comments are encouraged, and we'd love to hear from you about anything connected to the blog or to BiblioBuffet. 

Upcoming Book Festivals:
This week and upcoming weekend is bursting with book festivals. Those of you able to attend these are very lucky, so take advantage of them if you can. 

The  Austin Jewish Community Book Fair is a weeklong literary festival—it runs from November 1 to November 8—will make the city burst with book excitement. Several ticketed events include, but most of the events are free. Authors come from all over and participate in lectures and discussions, the Bagel Breakfast, Dinner Break, and Book Lover’s Luncheon, and various Texas Book Festival appearances. Check the website for specific event details. 

Though most of the events  at the Vegas Valley Book Festival take place on the weekend, the actual festival runs from Wednesday, November 4 through Sunday, November 8. Attendees can enjoy any of them since they are all free and open to the public. Among them are an evening U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan, “The Sin City Sonneteer Spectacule,” panels and readings, 100 authors, book signings, exhibitors, four special Saturday programs (Target Children’s Festival, The Comics Festival, Local Authors Festival, and Plaza Used Book Fair). Sunday’s offerings include a nice selection of panels and the special closing keynote address by E.L. Doctorow. 

The Maine Literary Festival, which takes place on November 5-6 in Camden, is offering both the Ready-to-Publish Workshop and a special evening event. Unfortunately, the two-day workshop (featuring three literary agents and two editors) is sold out, but tickets are still available for “An Evening Exploring Literature of New Voices in America reflecting Cross-Cultural Experience” at the Camden Opera House with, among others, Shilpa Agarwai, Jaed Coffin, Pat Nyhan, and Jan Pieter van Voorst van Beest. Tickets are $50 for this three-hour program of presentations, readings, the panel discussion and a reception for authors and participants at the Opera House, as well as book signings.

Shawnee, Oklahoma will be hosting the Red Dirt Book Festival from November 6-7. This year’s theme is “Imagine Oklahoma,” which will be illustrated by several featured presenters who help the state to present itself through their television work. In addition, more than seventy writers, including New York Times bestselling author Billie Letts, entertainers and scholars with Oklahoma roots will participate in forty programs for readers and writers. The festival will be held at the Oklahoma Expo Center and Oklahoma Baptist University.  Registration for most events is free and can be done online. Two ticketed events include the Friday luncheon with Susan Miller ($20) and the evening banquet with Galen Culver and the Red Dirt Rangers ($25). There is also a meal event with no charge, the Saturday Scholar Luncheon, but it requires special registration. 

Down in Louisiana, New Orleans will be hosting the New Orleans Book Fair on Saturday, November 7. The fair runs along the 500-600 blocks of Frenchmen Street from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. Live music performances will take place in the Blue Nile and Café Negril throughout the day, and readings will be ongoing at Snug Harbor and the Apple Barrel. In addition the famous “top-secret after-party” will be happening, with the location to be announced on the day of the book fair. The night before, November 6, you can also join the Bookfair Kick-Off Party at the Sound Café to enjoy readings by Ethan Brown and Louis Maistros. 

From 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on November 7, the 13th annual Rochester Children’s Book Festival (New York) will be the scene of more than three dozen authors and numerous presentations over four venues. It takes place at Monroe Community College. 

On Saturday, November 7, the Kentucky Book Fair will take place in Louisville. More than 200 authors (including George McGovern, Dana Canedy, Ted Bassett), five symposiums,  and a number of special events including the Kentucky Bookfair Librarians Luncheon, Gumpop!, and more. It all takes place at the Frankfort Convention Center from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. 

Nearly 100 authors and illustrators will be appearing at the Buckeye Book Fair, which takes place in Wooster, Ohio, from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm. on Saturday, November 7. Among the events are readings, signings, and children’s activities. What’s nice about this fair is the emphasis on Ohio authors, though nationally-known authors are also part of the day. 

Georgia will be the site of the Dahlonega Literary Festival that will take place next weekend,  November 7-8. This festival celebrates “books, writers, literacy, storytelling and literary performance art” with more than two dozen authors (including Catherine Coulter) who will participate in readings, signings, panels and special events, one of which is the all-day writers’ conference. Children will also have a number of events just for them. As of this writing, details about the days were missing so be sure to check with the website closer to the date. 

Lovers of rare, antiquarian, and collectible books and related ephemera will want to check out the Albany Antiquarian Book Fair on Sunday, November 8 in Albany, New York. It will take place at the Washington Avenue Armory from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, and offer attendees more than sixty dealers of books, manuscripts, autographs, postcards, maps, posters, photographs and general ephemera.

One of the country’s largest book festivals, the Miami Book Fair International takes place from November 8-15. Southern Florida will be hopping with bookish events for this eight-day fair. Among the events: an astonishing 460 authors will be appearing; the Comix Gallery is expanding with three days of workshops on making comics for kids and teens; a Children’s Alley with two stages of storytelling, theatre, and dance, educational games, and hands-on activities; Twilight Tastings where attendees can partake of  samples of hors d’oeuvres and a complimentary cocktail from some of the city’s famous restaurants as well as a cash bar; Evenings With . . . (readings by celebrities and world-renown authors); workshops from Florida Center for Literary Arts; IberoAmerican authors; Student Literary Encounters; Weekend Author Sessions; and of course the huge and popular three-day Street Fair which includes hundreds of booksellers and exhibitors, book signings, and musical entertainment.

The Pub House:
Persephone Books is a British publisher that didn’t just discover but actually created a niche market for itself. Focusing primarily on women who appreciate understated quality and underappreciated books by (mostly) twentieth-century women, Persephone has developed an entire line totaling eighty-six books  (at time of writing) concentrating “mainly [on] neglected fiction and non-fiction by women, for women and about women” . . . “books designed to be neither too literary nor too commercial.” They include novels, short stories, diaries, and cookery books.

The books themselves are specially designed to work as a set or as an individual volume. Each has a dove-gray jacket with French flaps, a clean typeface, and a paper reproduction of a fabric for its endpapers and bookmark. It’s sad that the dollar/pound ratio is tilted against Americans for I own about a dozen of these and would like to own more. With the holidays coming up, it might be worth considering one or more of these books as a gift. And though they are geared to women, some would make great gifts for men: The Hopkins Manuscript, for example, is a science fiction novel centering around the question of what would happen if the moon crashed into the earth. I loved it. Another one of my favorites is Few Eggs and No Oranges, a diary begun the night after the Germans began the London Blitz to try and break its inhabitants’ spirits. And while I haven’t yet read it, The World that Was Ours, a memoir about the events in South Africa that led up to the 1964 Rivonia Trial when the author’s husband was acquitted but Nelson Mandela and “the men of Rivonia” received life sentences, sounds superb.

Of Interest:
Malcolm X is certainly a controversial figure. He was while he was alive, and his beliefs remain so. That said, one thing I think all of us, regardless of our feelings about his preachings, can admire about him was his determination to pull himself up, to educate himself, and to teach himself the tools he needed to communicate effectively.

In his essay, “Coming to an Awareness of Language,” he soberly assessed himself: “In the street, I had been the most articulate hustler out there—I had commanded attention when I said something. But now, trying to write simple English, I not only wasn't articulate, I wasn't even functional.” This is brutal self-honesty without self-pity. It is the thought of someone who recognizes that he has the ability to achieve the competency he  needs. And in this short essay he goes on to explore how he did that.

The essay is both tender and blunt. It is also wonderful. If you haven’t read it I encourage you to take the time now to do so. And if you have, read it again. Then share it. We all need to remember this, even those of us who already know it.  

This Week . . .
The New York Public Library always has extraordinary online exhibitions. But right now the one that particularly captured my attention, and should yours, is called Between Collaboration and Resistance: French Literary Life Under Nazi Occupation. France, as you probably know, is obsessed with writers and writing. Perhaps “obsessed” is a bit over the top, but the French have always and continue to maintain a passionate interest in the written word and in those who produce it. From 1940-1944, when Germany occupied France, the writers and artists were particularly affected. Writers were supposed to offer “moral guidance in a troubled time,” but how? Using contemporary manuscripts, diaries, and letters, as well as maps, photographs, and other material, this exhibition explores the lives and roles of writers and publishers in Nazi-occupied France. 

Until next week, read well, read often and read on!

Lauren