Tag Archives: wednesdays@west

Wednesday at the West: More Tea and Books

literateaThe first week of the month means that once again lovers of tea and books gather at the West Branch to indulge in these two passions for an hour.

This month’s tea was pomegranate green, which was served iced.

For a full list of books and news discussed by library staff, check out the July Literatea Newsletter.  Of course, things really got interesting when the ladies of Literatea started discussing their recent book recommendations.

In the world of book news, one of the hot tidbits is still the upcoming release of Harper Lee’s new book, Go Set a Watchman (released in 7 days… but who’s counting?).  One participant suggested that book lovers may want to check out the new American Masters biography about Harper Lee that will be on PBS this coming Friday, July 10th.

Meanwhile, until you can get your hands on Lee’s new offering, you may want to check out these other titles suggested by the voracious readers at Literatea:

beautiful ruinsBeautiful Ruins by Jess Walters

 

 

 

savingfishSaving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan

 

 

 

suprememacaroniThe Supreme Macaroni Company by Adriana Trigiani

 

 

 

lovelossLove, Loss and What I Wore by Ilene Beckerman

(This novel was adopted into a play with Nora Ephron)

 

touchofstardustA Touch of Stardust by Kate Alcott

 

 

 

claraandmrtiffanyClara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland

 

 

 

deadwakeDead Wake by Erik Larson

 

 

 

icecreamqueenThe Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street by Susan Jane Gilman

 

 

outlanderOutlander by Diana Gabaldon

(also recommended was the TV adaptation of this book series)

 

 

haroldfryThe Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

(If you have read or read this one and enjoy it, note that the sequel was just released: The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy)

 

brokenharborBroken Harbor and other novels by Tana French

 

 

 

soulsatnightOur Souls at Night by Kent Haruf

 

 

 

hedgehogElegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

 

 

 

fifthgospelThe Fifth Gospel by Ian Caldwell

 

 

 

zookeepersThe Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman

 

 

 

invisiblecityInvisible City and Run You Down by Julia Dahl

 

 

 

underordersUnder Orders and other novels by Dick Francis

 

 

And that fellow bibliophiles, should keep you happily reading until the first of August when we return with more books and tea that you won’t want to miss.

Wednesdays @ the West: Go tiny & go home

Note: The  Think Big, Go Small: The Tale of a Massachusetts Tiny House program at the West Branch has been rescheduled for Thursday, August 6th at 7pm.

Whether you currently live in a 800 square foot apartment, a 1,400 square foot townhouse or a 2,600 square foot house, would you ever consider downsizing to a home of 84, 116, 210 or even 360 square feet?  A growing number of people are doing just that and in the process becoming part of what’s known as the tiny house movement.

Who exactly would want to live in a tiny house (and the definition of tiny varies, but is usually considered under 400 or 500 sq feet)?  This infographic from 2013 provides one of the first and only snapshots of the people who currently make up the tiny house community.  But their numbers are growing.  And they are attracting attention.  There are now two television shows dedicated to houses of the tiny variety:  the FYI network has Tiny House Nation and HGTV has debuted Tiny House Hunters.

pagetinyhouse

Chris Page’s tiny house

Since the Peabody Institute Library is on a quest to make sure that you, our beloved community, are kept well informed about all matters important, interesting and fun, the West Branch is hosting its own tiny house event.  Chris Page of Andover will be at the West on Thursday, July 16th at 7 pm for Think Big, Go Small: The Tale of a Massachusetts Tiny House.  The owner of a 210 square foot home, Chris will talk about his process of researching, building and living in a tiny house.  Chris will discuss building costs, systems, and lessons learned over the course of the project.  A question and answer period will follow.  If you’d like to join us for this event, you can sign up at the West Branch events calendar.

How did tiny houses first cross our radar?  Well, your friendly West Branch Librarian (i.e. me) is, unabashedly, a huge tiny house geek.  While the tiny house movement has really been gaining steam over the past few years, I was first intrigued ten years ago when I came across a company selling tiny houses.  These particular homes were called wee houses and looked very much like a shipping container converted into a house (and there is a type of tiny house now that is exactly that).  Then Jay Shafer started Tumbleweed Tiny Houses, which despite their diminutive size, actually look like real houses.  And the Tiny House Blog was launched and fed my obsession even more.  Today, tiny house enthusiasts, and there are more than you might think, can lose entire days to websites like Tiny House Swoon or Tiny House Listings.  Not that I’ve ever done that.

Motivations for going tiny vary depending on the individual’s or family’s situation.  Often cited reasons include the desire to not have a mortgage payment, the freedom to move your house at will and/or concern about your environmental impact.  Noble goals, all of them, but jumping into tiny house living isn’t easy.  One of the major stumbling blocks for potential tiny housers is the issue of where to park their domiciles.  Most tiny houses are on wheels and are legally considered RVs.  In fact part of Chris Page’s tiny living story is his search for a community that will legally allow him to live in his 200 square foot home.  Perhaps now that he’s gotten some ink in the Boston Globe about his search, he will find his dream location.  The newly formed American Tiny House Association, which advocates to change local zoning laws, is also hoping to help tiny house dwellers like Chris.

And in fact, Chris Page isn’t the only tiny houser with local ties.  The Greater Boston Tiny House Enthusiasts Meetup Group has 624 members.  And one teacher from St. John’s Prep is actually living the tiny dream.  His story was also shared this year in the Globe.

Anyway, if you are as intrigued by small space living as I am, you will, of course, wish to dive into the available media.  You could start with  the “classics” of tiny houses: Tiny, tiny houses by Lester Walker (published back in 1987) or Tiny Homes: simple shelters by Lloyd Kahn.

Then you may wish to move on to the stories of people who have taken the plunge and gone tiny themselves.  For this, you should start with:

bigtinyThe Big Tiny a memoir by Dee Williams

 

 

 

tinythemovieAnd then you’ll want to move on to the documentary about tiny house living: Tiny: a story about living small

 

One you’re ready to join the fun personally, and start dreaming and living tiny, check out:

tinyhousefloorplansTiny House Floor Plans by Michael Janzen

 

 

 

tinyhouselivingTiny House Living: ideas for building and living well in less than 400 square feet by Ryan Mitchell

 

 

tinyhomesonthemoveTiny Homes on the Move: wheels and water by Lloyd Kahn

 

 

If nothing else, you’ll be well informed when tiny houses start appearing in a neighborhood near you.

Wednesdays at the West: Bringing Together Books, Tea and Readers

literatea

Last Tuesday, a group of tea and book lovers gathered at the West Branch Library for what quickly turned into a literary tea party.  It was the first meeting of Literatea, a new monthly event that allows readers to sample different loose leaf teas and chat about books.

First, the tea.  This month’s tea selection was Earl Grey Creme.  Adding a touch of vanilla to the traditional Earl Grey tea lends a nice, creamy taste to this British favorite.  The ladies and gentlemen of Literatea give this tea an enthusiastic endorsement, both for its flavor and its delightful and welcoming aroma.

To learn a bit more about Earl Grey Creme, check out the Literatea June Newsletter, which also includes all the staff recommended titles for the month of June, some news from the literary world and five books that pair especially nicely with our tea selection of the month.

As our tea party progressed, things got even more interesting as the talk turned to the titles that the bibliophile library patrons suggested.  Some of the new and new-to-us titles mentioned include:

pemberleyDeath Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James, featuring Jane Austen’s much loved characters from Pride and Prejudice.

 

onceuponatimeinrussiaOnce Upon a Time in Russia by Ben Mezrich, is the latest novel from this prolific, but not always well known author.

 

 

palaceoftreasonPalace of Treason by Jason Matthews is another new release attracting the attention of our readers.

 

 

troublewiththetruthThe Trouble with the Truth by Edna Robinson is a tale with an interesting backstory of its own.  Robinson’s novel was originally accepted for publication in 1960, but was never released because its publishers believed it shared too much in common with To Kill a Mockingbird (also released that year).  Robinson’s daughter was determined to see it in print and managed to have it published after her mother’s death.

truthaccordingtousThe Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows is causing significant excitement amongst fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (and really, who isn’t a fan?),  since Barrows was one of that charming book’s co-authors.

 

inthewoodsIn the Woods by Tana French gets accolades from self-described fans of “creepy” fiction.

 

 

Then our discussion turned towards some perennial favorites.

no1Anything by Alexander McCall Smith, especially the books in the The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series.

 

 

companyholmesIn the Company of Sherlock Holmes, which is a collection of short stories written by authors who took their inspiration from Sir Arthur’s legendary character.

 

extraordinarythingsThe Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman.  Is there anything more intriguing than a book that no one can agree on?  Even those who love Alice Hoffman couldn’t agree on whether to love or hate this one.

shoemakers

 

Less controversial and much loved is anything by Adriana Trigiani, including The Shoemaker’s Wife and The Supreme Macaroni Company

 

essentialingredients

 

If you’re a fan of literature that makes you hungry, even as it feeds your mind and soul, our book lovers suggest checking out The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

 

delicious

 

If you still can’t get enough books about food, including some tempting recipes (not Weight Watchers approved), our readers suggest you take a look at Delicious by Ruth Reichl, a fictional tale, and also the author’s food related memoirs, Garlic and Sapphires and Tender of the Bone.

forgottengardenOur bibliophiles final suggestion for June was The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton.  And if you love it, keep an eye out for Morton’s newest release due out in September.

 

 

The next Literatea event will be Tuesday, July 7th at 10am.  Feel free to join us in person for even more from the world of books and tea.

Wednesdays @ the West: Cookbook Round-Up

If you happen to wander into the West Branch on select Thursday evenings, you may notice some delectable smells that are not coming from our books (waxing eloquently on the smell of books is an entirely different post).  These smells have likely been transported from the kitchens of the talented cooks who take part in our monthly Cookbook Club.

Each month the Cookbook Club explores a different cookbook. Members make a dish and bring it to share at the meetings.  We end up with so many recipes that just a taste of each is enough.  Then we discuss our thoughts on the book in general and each recipe specifically.  And of course, we enjoy all that great food.

fasteasyfreshFor two months recently, the Cookbook Club explored The Bon Appetit Fast Easy Fresh Cookbook by Barbara Fairchild.  This 700+ page treasure had far too many delectable options to try in just one month.  Over the course of two months, we tried a couple of nice soups to start any meal with; the French lentil soup was a particular favorite, but the creamy bean soup with fresh herbs and spinach also got a seal of approval.  For main courses, we sampled meatballs with parsley and Parmesan, Indian curried shrimp and orange and ginger chicken.  All of these were declared successes, although there was a consensus that the shrimp needed more curry.   Lest you think we neglected the sweeter side of things, we also enjoyed the results of the recipes for pumpkin-raisin bars and coconut rice pudding.  Overall, the Cookbook Club declares Fast Easy and Fresh to be worthy of even the most experienced cook’s time.

everythingfastFor May, club members turned their attention to How to Cook Everything Fast by Mark Bittman.  Another heavy volume, Bittman’s book comes in at an impressive 1,000+ pages.  In addition to recipes, he includes tips for speeding up the cooking process in general and a handy list of ingredient substitutions.  After each recipe, he also offers suggestions for variations and side dishes that would go well with each dish.  Although there was a general consensus that Everything Fast isn’t quite the rich resource that Fast Easy and Fresh is, cookbook club members still thoroughly enjoyed sampling Bittman’s takes on eggplant Parmesan, carrot salad with raisins and apricot-cinnamon couscous.  The couscous was the generally agreed upon favorite of the evening.  All cooks were in agreement that Bittman’s recipes are indeed a score for those who may be short on time, but not willing to skimp on taste.

pioneerwomancooksFor June, our cookbookers will turn their appetites to The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from my Frontier by Ree Drummond.  Created by a city-loving, blog-writing woman who never expected to end up as a rancher’s wife, Drummond’s image-rich cookbook promises to be chalk full of yummy comfort food.

The West Branch Cookbook Club will continue to meet throughout the summer.  If you’d like to join us on the last Thursday evening of the month, we’d be happy to have you.  In the meantime, between meetings or if you can’t make it, pop by to check out some of the West’s newest additions to our cookbook collection.

veganitalianChloe’s Vegan Italian Kitchen by Chloe Coscarelli.  While my 90 year old Italian Nonnie would say that Vegan Italian is an oxymoron, those who have tried Chloe’s take on antipasti, zuppa, pasta and dolci may respectfully disagree.

honeyandoatsDesserts with nutritional value?  Sign me up!  Jennifer Katzinger’s Honey and Oats offers healthier twists on breads, cakes, pies, cookies and more by substituting  natural sweeteners for sugar and whole grains for white flour.

 

pollanfamilyIf you’ve read any of  Michael Pollan’s classics on how we should be eating, you’ll know his food rules: “eat [real] food, mostly plants, not too much.”  But what does that look like in practice?  In The Pollan Family Table, Corky and Lori Pollan share their favorite real food recipes.  The resulting cookbook has fast become an award winner.

What are your go-to cookbooks?  Share your favorites with us and we may just use them for a future Cookbook Club selection or feature them in a Cookbook Round-Up.