This has to be the world’s worst title.

And I feel that her editors were on break when this one slipped by. But Bon Appetit, Y’All   by Virginia Willis has to be one of my favorite cookbooks so far this fall. 
Virginia Willis is Southern by birth and trained with Anne Willan at La Varenne and her food reflects this. You hop from Cheese Straws to Gougeres, Country Captain Chicken to Coq Au Vin, Chess Pie to Crème Brulee au Vanille. The pictures are glorious and her personality shines through with hilarious anecdotes and touching personal stories (you must check out the story accompanying the recipe for Fingerling Potato Salad. We were laughing so hard we started to cry). It is an awful lot like spending time on a friend’s front porch. Provided that friend can make a  mean Corn Spoon Bread. 
I was a lucky girl growing up. I had a French Grandmother and a Southern Grandmother. This book reminds me of lovely by-gone dinners at two very different tables. But they both had wonderful food lovingly prepared in common. Cook something good this weekend!

Our New iPod Is Ready for You!

First, the bad news: The Library's classic iPod crashed after many, many checkouts. Now the good news: A replacement model has been received and is ready for use! Our iPod, along with all of our library materials, including our computers, was purchased with contributions from Friends of the Darien Library. So, in order to check out our iPod, you must be a Darien resident, work full time in Darien, or be a non-resident Contributor to the Library at the $300 level. Before stopping by, be sure to check our catalog to see if the iPod is available for checkout. If it's checked out to another library user, just click on "Request this item" to place a reserve, and we'll email/call you as soon as it's ready.

For more information on the Library's iPod or on any of our technology, please call the Help Desk at 203-669-5238.


Storyteller's Choice Booklist: Best Books for Kids

Storyteller's Choice booklists are named in memory of Phil A. Petitt. 

Phil Petitt was a great storyteller as well as a man of indomitable spirit whose love of life was felt by all who knew him.  This collection of booklists is dedicated to his grandchildren.

The Petitt lists as they are fondly referred to in the children's room, are a frequent go-to for solid book suggestions.  Created over the years by Darien Library children's staff, they contain books of all types: fiction, adventure, non-fiction, fantasy, classics!

 

Best Books for Infants and Toddlers

Best Books for 3 and 4 Year Olds

Best Books for 5 and 6 Year Olds

Best Books for 7 and 8 Year Olds

Best Books for 9 and 10 Year Olds

 

Petitt lists are updated on a rotating basis.  Do you have a "hidden find" book?  Do you have a book that some people know about and say "oh yeah" when mentioned, but it's not as well known as Goodnight Moon?  Please share!

Countdown to "Mudbound"

At 7 p.m. next Wednesday, August 13th, Hillary Jordan, the author of Mudbound will be the special guest speaker at our Adult Summer Reading Grand Finale. We know how wildly popular the book is (there are 42 holds on the book right now!), so we also know that you're as eager as we are to learn more about "Mudbound"...and Hillary. Well, as luck and timing would have it, Janet and I had the chance to talk for a bit with Hillary earlier today, and you can listen to the conversation
right here.

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Hillary Jordan

Summer's beginning to wind down and we'll enjoy some down time at our Grand Finale wine and cheese party. We're counting on having a good time, which is why we're counting down...counting down to Mudbound.

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Make sure you're Library-bound for "Mudbound"

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Hillary Jordan
(photo credit: William Coupon)

As if we weren't already excited enough about this summer's Adult Summer Reading Program...now we get to celebrate! (Well, I know we celebrate books and reading here every day...but, this...THIS(!) is different!) On Wednesday, August 13 at 7 p.m. we will host the Grand Finale! and it's going to be good. Really good.

Join us for a wine and cheese party and Grand Prize drawing,

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The Grand
Prize!

 

AND... meet Hillary Jordan, the author of Mudbound! We are extremely happy that she's agreed to come to Darien Library. First of all, we love the book. Period. It's an extraordinary story, incredibly well told. My hunch is that it is destined to become an important American book; one which earns a spot in our collective memory. Not a lot of books are able to do that.

Erica and I met Hillary back in January when we attended a conference in Philadelphia, and we each received advance reading copies of Mudbound. Neither of us big fiction readers, Mudbound swallowed us whole and we came out the other side richer for the experience. The word-of-mouth about this book is loud, and clear, and sustained, which is unusual for a first-time author. And it's not just here in town. We're hearing Mudbound-chatter no matter where we go. We're calling this "the little book that could" and we're just watching as it gains momentum. It's a beautiful thing.

Dishing Up Dirt With Our Mystery Writers!

Wednesday evening marked the first "Meet the Authors" event of our Adult Summer Reading program, and we were truly delighted that Jane Cleland and Rosemary Harris visited Darien Library for a chat about their respective new mystery novels Antiques to Die For and Pushing Up Daisies.

Barbara, our mini-moderator, interviewed the authors as they dished up the dirt on the inspirations for their novels. Now, talk about real life mysteries translating to the page! For Jane, it was a chance encounter she had with a stolen Rembrandt etching and for Rosemary, it was reading about a body found buried in an unassuming suburban Connecticut home. The audience was served a real treat when both authors candidly shared their experiences as first-time writers, as well, and gave us the insider's view on getting published, working with editors, and marketing their books.

I hope you've decided to add these fun 'n fabulous cozy mysteries to your list of beach reads this summer! Also, check out what our visiting authors have on their nightstands. Rosemary recommends I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming, and Jane recommends The Fiddlers: A Novel of the 87th Precinct by Ed McBain.

Click the arrow below to see photos from the event. Antiques, daisies, fabulous conversation, "dirt" dessert. It was one fabulously dishy night!

 

Patton, Impending

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On Sunday, June 8th, at 5:30 p.m., we continue our "Meet the Author" series. Robert H. (Bob)Patton will be here to discuss his new book, Patriot Pirates: The Privateer War for Freedom and Fortune in the American Revolution.

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The book came out on May 20th and Bob came into the library that morning for a brief interview. He's got a great way of humanizing his historical subjects, and given the topic, the book is quite an adventure.

Please join us for what's certain to be a great presentation. There will also be a reception and book signing.

Refreshments will be served.

(Copies of Patriot Pirates will be available for purchase.)


 

"Patriot Pirates" and Patton and Podcasts

Lately, we've been getting some great mileage (so to speak) out of our MP3 recorder! Over the course of the last four weeks, Janet and I have done one interview per week and it's been incredibly exciting and gratifying to be able to have those interviews available to you to listen to as podcasts.

This morning, Robert H. (Bob) Patton came in to chat with us about his new book, Patriot Pirates: The Privateer War for Freedom and Fortune in the American Revolution, which hits the shelves today.

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Bob Patton

 

 

Bob will be our featured speaker on Sunday, June 8th at 5:30 p.m. as part of our Meet the Author Series. The book is great; Bob does a terrific job of humanizing his Revolutionary subjects. The timing couldn't be better -- coming after so many of us have already been swept away by the excellent John Adams series on HBO, it is more than welcome to those of us ready for more. The book is getting great reviews and Bob is such an enthusiastic and engaging speaker...if it's not already on your calendar, be sure to add it now. You won't want to miss it!

In the meantime, click here to listen to the interview.

We REALLY Like Him, Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

Meet the Author - Bob Spitz
Bob Spitz (yesterday at the Library)

When Bob Spitz got divorced, had his heart broken, was nearly destitute, and turned 50, what did he do? He fled to Europe and embarked on a culinary adventure. Hmmm. Let's see. I had my heart broken, got divorced, was nearly destitute, and turned 50...what did I do? I bought a practical car and got my ears pierced. Bob's is definitely the better story, and he tells it in his new book The Saucier's Apprentice: One Long Strange Trip through the Great Cooking Schools of Europe. It's a wonderful book and he was here yesterday afternoon to talk about it.

The book really is a great read...fantastic stories, recipes, and laughs. He's got a wonderful way with words and tells a great story -- we'd be happy for him to come speak here anytime, but given that we were the first stop on his book tour, we were thrilled!

What's Cooking?

SAUCIER'S APPRENTICE COVER.webjpgLots! These last few months, we have been at a constant simmer with some great Meet the Author programs at the Library. This Sunday, we heat things up a bit with Bob Spitz, who'll be here to talk about his new book, The Saucier's Apprentice: One Long Strange Trip through the Great Cooking Schools of Europe. It's a culinary memoir and it's a great and fun read (it even has recipes!). It also just came out this week and we will be the first stop on Bob's book tour at 5:30 p.m. this Sunday, May18th.

Bob stopped in this morning to chat with me and Janet and it was, as usual, a delightful experience. The link to the podcast of that interview is right here

From here, he heads out to California (the same night!) to begin his tour.

The Norwalk Hour had a great story about Bob and the book in yesterday's edition. And(!) we must make sure to be on the alert for the August issue of Oprah magazine where a story about Bob cooking with his daughter will be featured. We can't wait!

...and we can't wait for Sunday to hear more from Bob. Please join us!
 

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