Bookish Types

Last night was book club and it was my turn to host. We have a great group - there are eight of us and we've managed to keep the book club going for over 2 years. There are a few secrets that seem to work for us: we take turns hosting, we've kept the group small, and we take turns offering a few book suggestions that the group then votes on. While some book clubs dissolve after awhile, we periodically check in and discuss what could work better in terms of scheduling and not putting pressure on anyone to be the ultimate hostess.

The book we read this month was Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake. I loved the book and there were loads of themes to consider; plus it was the best kind of science fiction because it was believably realistic. The next book in the trilogy (The Year of the Flood) is going on my must-read list.

The menu I schemed up was a couscous recipe from 101 Cookbooks, roasted asparagus, hummus with veggies and pitas, deviled eggs, fresh strawberries, the icebox cake from Smitten Kitchen, and Pimm's Cups*. The hummus recipe is from one of my favorite Athens, Georgia restaurants The Grit, where everything is both vegetarian and crazy good. So good that my sister and I devised strategies around eating there several times each weekend visit and ordering different items so we could essentially have it all. If you are a hummus fiend like me, you should try this recipe from The Grit Cookbook:

2 cans chickpeas, drained, with liquid reserved
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 to 3/4 tsp. minced garlic
1/3 cup tahini
2 tsp. cumin powder
3/4 tsp. black pepper
3/4 tsp. salt

Puree all ingredients except chickpea liquid in a food processor (I first mince the onion solo rather than chop it). Gradually add some of the chickpea liquid until the hummus is the consistency you prefer, blending until all graininess is gone. Refrigerate at least one hour before chowing down with pitas and veggies.

*Pimm’s cups were first revealed to me during a layover at a duty free shop in Gatwick airport. It was 7 am and an odd time of day to sample this beverage, so I knew these would probably be tastier in other circumstances. I later read that Pimm’s Cups are best if you have the equivalent of a fruit salad in there, and it certainly was a massive improvement. Now I am hoping to make Pimm’s Cup the cocktail of Summer 2010 the way the spiked Arnold Palmer was for Summer 2009 (in Savannah at least).

Movie Time!

We watch a lot of movies in our household, easily three or four a week. Which means once we watch the mainstream movies of interest, there are many obscure films to catch up with. So if you are interested in a new movie you've never heard of, and are open to the quirky and unusual, consider these for the Netflix queue:

For the fan of Napoleon Dynamite
Try Gentlemen Broncos. It has Sam Rockwell, Jennifer Coolidge and Jemaine Clement (all of whom I love) with a story about plagairism and science fiction. It continues the Napoleon Dynamite aesthetic with a hard-to-identify time period due to some bad fashion and decor. Just one tip: when someone shows up with a giant boa constrictor, it might be a good time to not be eating.

If you like movies that are so bad they're good
Considered the worst movie ever made, The Room has developed a cult following. This is one to invite your funny friends over to watch with- it has horrible acting, lousy editing, and some awesomely terrible quotes that will stick in your head. Keep an eye on Lisa's neck and I invite anyone with an explanation of that to please, please fill me in on what happened there.

For the fan of documentaries
I've got to recommend three in this category: Man on Wire is about a Frenchman who walks on a tightrope between the World Trade Center's twin towers. It was inspiring and moving and hard to believe that this could actually happen. The second documentary is Monster Camp, about a group of people heavily involved in Live Action Role Playing. The third is I Like Killing Flies, about the owner and cook of the New York restaurant Shopsin's (who has, shall we say, a Soup Nazi approach to his business). What can I say - I'm a total sucker for stories about real people who are passionate and obsessed with something I had maybe never heard of or considered. 

Parlez-vous francais? If you enjoy movies about France
Watching 2 Days in Paris was funny because of the cultural differences that American Adam Goldberg navigates as he stays in Paris with his French girlfriend played by Julie Delpy (who also wrote and directed). We had to watch the scene in the subway MANY times and just laughed ourselves silly.

If you like your horror movie with a side of comedy
Check out Dominic Monaghan in I Sell the Dead. Although it starts a bit slow, this one has grave robbing that gets increasingly more bizarre and an excellent style to the film.


This is a good start and I might post more movie recommendations in the future. One entire post could probably be about zombie movies alone (they are a special favorite genre). And meandering off into other movie territory, the preview for The A-Team movie looks promising. The casting is excellent and I will be there on opening night because I am a massive fan of the series.

Luggage Tags

I'm still working on photos for the new luggage tags, but here is a sneak preview. Several prototypes have been tested on recent flights and I'm happy to report they traveled safely through checked baggage! This is especially miraculous if you know how much bad luck my sister has when traveling.

The luggage tags add a fun bit of color to help identify your suitcase in the sea of identical black bags. The backs are plain felt, which I think is perfect because you get that shot of color from either side. There is room on the inside to slip a name and address card if desired. I tried working a clear vinyl window into the back instead of felt (to display a name and address), but the results displeased me. I adore the warmth and texture of felt, whereas the vinyl lost that vintage feel. It also made the process less fun, so for now I'm skipping the window. Keep an eye out for these to be added to the Dear Reader shop soon!

Catching Up

We are back from our trip to New York City and I am still trying to catch my breath. We had some major fun celebrating my mom's birthday (and some major funny too!). One of the highlights was going up into the crown of the Statue of Liberty, thanks to my dad's excellent planning skills getting us tickets months ago. We got to see the Tim Burton exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art (along with every single goth teenager on the planet on a spring break field trip). Also featured at the MoMA: performance artists wearing zero clothes. Wasn't expecting to see that, and I also wasn't expecting to see a homeless man take his pants off in the subway but I guess that is New York for you. Probably the least enjoyed part of the trip was waiting in line at the Empire State Building for four hours; it was too crowded and the employees were too rude to be worth it. We totally celebrated my mom's birthday proper, complete with special t-shirts made by Eric, feasting in Little Italy, and seeing as much of the city as possible. Oh, and for the funny (in a book geeky way). After wandering around The Strand on our own for an hour, my dad and I each picked out the exact same book to buy: The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry.

This weekend I'm planning on a major push to list some new items in the Dear Reader shop (luggage tags!), so check back soon.