|
BOOKPOST #73 -- SEPTEMBER 2006
Dear Friend of
Rakestraw Books,
It's hard for me to believe that
it has been eleven years since I
wrote my first newsletter for
Rakestraw Books. Eleven years of
great books and author events
and thousands of conversations
about books. And, you know what,
it's still absolutely wonderful.
Every time we unpack a box of
new books or, sometimes better
still, old ones; every time we
talk about a book we love or
invite a customer to meet a
favorite author -- it's all
still a great pleasure.
In preparing this newsletter --
reviewing the season's
catalogues, reading my notes on
what I have read, considering
the calendar of events -- I have
to say how excited we are about
this fall season. It looks like
it's going to be terrific. We
look forward to sharing it with
you.
Come see us soon! and until
then, Happy Reading!
Sincerely yours,
Michael Barnard
and the Staff of Rakestraw Books
Inside this issue of Bookpost:
- Calendar of Events for
September -- We're hosting
another Dinner!;
- Rakestraw's Readers Recommend:
New Books;
- Book Group News;
- Complete Schedule of Upcoming
Events;
- Free E-Waste Disposal Event -
Open to the Whole Community;
- Recipe for Slow-Roasted Fresh
Country Ham and Salsa Verde;
- Talking Books on NBC-11.
A word to the
wise, to help ensure that you
continue to receive this
newsletter, please "white list"
this address: "Rakestraw_Books___The_Bookstore_@mail.vresp.com"
to your address book. Thank you.
|
|
Gloria Lenhart Visits on
Tuesday, 19 September 2006 at 7
PM
A mother's story of
navigating a suddenly
unrecognizable
world . . . .
One of the most stressful and
traumatic events a person can
face is the death of a spouse.
It happened to Gloria Lenhart
suddenly when her husband Nick,
only forty-four years old,
dropped dead while jogging.
Planet Widow is the story of
her struggle to negotiate
motherhood, family, and career
in a world that is suddenly
unrecognizable. Serving as both
a comfort and a cautionary tale,
this powerful story helps answer
real-life questions about coping
with loss, as well as how to
prepare for the unthinkable.
Planet Widow is a memoir
that reads like a novel. Like
the recent bestseller Year of
Magical Thinking, Planet
Widow provides insight into
the experience of grieving, but
takes a more pragmatic approach.
Laced with touches of humor and
realism, Planet Widow
might be thought of as a
counterpoint to Anne Lamott's
Operating Instructions. It
will satisfy readers searching
for new definitions of family
and love, and Planet Widow
will also provide a fresh
perspective tor readers who have
looked for answers on the
after-life from bestselling
authors suchn as James Van
Praagh and Sylvia Brown.
Rakestraw Books is delighted to
invite you to a talk and signing
with Gloria Lenhart on Tuesday,
19 September 2006 at 7:00 PM.
Bring a friend and join us for
this special event.
Click here to learn "Six Ways to
Say 'I love you.'"
|
|
Susan Sokol Blosser Visits on
Monday, 25 September 2006 at
7:00 PM
The inspirational story of
one woman's journey to success
in an industry run mostly by men
. . . .
This moving, evocative memoir,
woven with lyrical descriptions
of the sights and smells of
vineyard life, tells the
inspirational story of one
woman's journey to success in an
industry run mostly by men.
At Home in the Vineyard,
filled with colorful characters
and unexpected experiences,
brings a local rural community
vividly alive as Oregon wine
pioneer and industry icon Susan
Sokol Blosser recounts how she
fell in love with a vineyard,
learned how to run it, and
ultimately achieved her vision
of producing Pinot Noirs to
rival those of Burgundy. An
intimate family story, At
Home in the Vineyard:
Cultivating a Winery, an
Industry, and a Life also
gives a candid insider's view of
Oregon's flourishing wine
industry.
Sokol Blosser begins her
narrative in the 1970's, when,
as a young, idealistic wife, she
helped her husband make his wild
idea of planting a vineyard in
the Dundee Hills become a
reality. By the book's final
pages, she has become president
of Sokol Blosser Winery, widely
respected for gaining national
visibility and for producing
world-class wines, especially
the elusive Pinot Noir. Along
the way, Sokol Blosser tells how
she learned to do everything
from driving a tractor and
managing a picking crew to
selling Oregon wine in
Manhattan. She also shares some
special accomplishments: how she
instituted values of
environmental sustainability and
social responsibility at the
vineyard, integrated family and
business life, and successfully
brought the second generation on
board.
To celebrate the publication of
At Home in the Vineyard,
we are delighted to invite you
to a special Harvest Dinner with
Susan Sokol Blosser on Monday,
25 September 2006 at 7:00 PM.
Tickets are $25 and advance
reservations are essential. You
can make reservations by calling
Rakestraw Books at (925)
837-7337. These special dinners
have become among the best-loved
events that we present, we look
forward to welcoming you.
Experience a year in the
vineyard at Sokol Blosser by
clicking here.
|
|
Shawn Decker Visits on Thursday,
28 September 2006 at 9:00 AM
Shawn met Gwenn. They fell in
love. Shawn has HIV. Gwenn
doesn't. They keep it that way .
. . .
Shawn Decker's life was shaped
by medical adversity from day
one. Despite being born with
mild hemophilia, he enjoyed a
pretty normal childhood that
included baseball and
neighborhood games of football
with friends. Infected with HIV
through the use of tainted blood
products, Shawn was expelled
from public school just after
his HIV diagnosis at age 11. (He
was eventually readmitted.)
For the next ten years, Shawn
kept his HIV status to himself,
barely talking to his parents or
doctors and never mentioning his
pet virus by name. In 1996, at
age 20, a change of heart led to
the creation of “My Pet Virus”,
a web site devoted to Shawn's
favorite pastimes as well as a
sounding board for his feeling
about living with HIV. His
humorous and informative take on
life with HIV caught the eye of
POZ Magazine, and Shawn
was featured on the cover of the
January 97 issue before being
invited to write a column for
the magazine.
At age 23, he met a fellow HIV
educator, Gwenn Barringer, who
is HIV negative. After they fell
in love, friends encouraged them
to speak together as a couple,
and in 2000 they joined
CAMPUSPEAK, a speaker's bureau
specializing in health issues.
Since 2000, the couple have
spoken to thousands of college
students on hundreds of campuses
through their program, "A Boy, A
Girl, A Virus & The Relationship
That Happened Anyway." Through
honesty and a life-affirming
sense of humor, their message of
personal responsibility has
inspired to students to take
their health seriously. Because
if Gwenn can remain HIV
negative, then anyone should be
able to.
It is a pleasure to bring Shawn
Decker to Rakestraw Books on
Thursday, 28 September 2006 to
discuss his new book My Pet
Virus: The Story of a Rebel
Without a Cure. We will be
working closely with some local
high schools to arrange special
events with him. Please contact
the bookstore at (925) 837-7337
for more information.
Welcome to "A Boy, a Girl, and a
Virus!" - Check it out here.
|
|
Lewis Buzbee Visits on Thursday,
28 September 2006 at 7 PM -
RE-SCHEDULED!
I cannot remember when I read
a book with such delight. --Paul
Yamazaki, City Lights Bookstore
"November, a dark, rainy
Tuesday, late afternoon. This is
my ideal time to be in a
bookstore. The shortened light
of the afternoon and the
idleness and hush of the hour
gather everything close, the
shelves and the books and the
few other customers who graze
head-bent in the narrow aisles.
I've come to find a book."
In The Yellow-Lighted
Bookshop, Buzbee, a former
bookseller and sales
representative, celebrates the
unique experience of the
bookstore -- the smell and touch
of books, getting lost in the
deep canyons of shelves, and the
silent community of readers. He
shares his passion for books,
which began with ordering
through "The Weekly Reader" in
grade school. Interwoven
throughout is a fascinating
historical account of the
bookseller's trade -- from the
great Alexandria library with an
estimated one million papyrus
scrolls to Sylvia Beach's famous
Paris bookstore, Shakespeare and
Company, which led to the
extraordinary effort to publish
and sell James Joyce's
Ulysses during the 1920s.
Rich with anecdotes, The
Yellow-Lighted Bookshop is
the perfect choice for those who
relish the enduring pleasures of
spending an afternoon finding
just the right book.
In the face of the sad news that
has dominated Bay Area
bookselling over the past
several months, there may be no
better time to remind ourselves
of the pleasure of bookshops.
Please join us to welcome Lewis
Buzbee to Rakestraw Books on
Thursday, 28 September 2006 at
7:00 PM.
Please note the new time and
date for this special evening.
Check out of some other great
independent bookstores around
Northern California by clicking
here. |
|
Rakestraw's Readers Recommend --
the Best in New Books
Giraffe by J. M.
Ledgard (Penguin, $45.95).
As Giraffe opens,
Snehurka, a giraffe, recounts
his herd's capture in East
Africa. From there, narrators
take turns telling their parts
of the story -- from Emil, a
biologist who accompanies the
herd to a zoo in Czechoslovakia;
to Amina, who finds the animals
strangely calming; to Tadeas,
the virologist who diagnoses the
herd's disease when they take
ill; to Jiri, the sharpshooter
ordered to kill the giraffes
after Tadeas's diagnosis. It's
based on the true and tragic
story of the largest herd of
giraffes ever held in captivity,
and it's also a harsh portrait
of
the years of Czech Communism.
The Interpretation of
Murder by Jed Rubenfeld
(Henry Holt, $26). Yale law
professor Jed Rubenfeld
recreates the 1909 visit of
Sigmund Freud to New York.
Inspired by this historical
event, Rubenfeld considers what
may have happened that Freud
ever afterwards referred to
Americans as “savages.” What
befell the great man during his
visit to our shores? Inspired by
this question, he has woven a
beautifully-plotted novel which
blends crime, historical
characters, and references that
range from Shakespearean puzzles
to psychological mysteries.
Great good fun indeed.
The Ladies of Grace Adieu
and Other Stories by Susanna
Clarke (Bloomsbury, $23.95).
“Magic, madam, is like wine and
if you are not used to it, it
will make you drunk.” Following
the international success of
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell,
Susanna Clarke returns with an
enchanting collection of short
stories. Each of this stories is
as Keats said “a charm’d magic
casement” opening “on faerie
lands forlorn”; a window that
returns the reader to world of
Strange and Norrell and, most
especially, to that of John
Uskglass the Raven King. For new
readers, The Ladies of Grace
Adieu introduces a world
where charm is always tempered
by eeriness and picaresque
comedy is always darkened by the
disturbing shadow of Faerie.
The Meaning of Night: A
Confession by Michael Cox
(W.W. Norton, $26.95). For
readers of The Crimson Petal
and the White, this is an
extraordinary story of murder,
deceit, love, and revenge set in
Victorian England. Cox has spent
thirty years writing this lavish
tale and, in it he has created a
world that is both brilliantly
vivid and compelling, yet is
accurate in every detail. Cox’s
editor Jill Bialosky predicts
that The Meaning of Night
will become a classic. I think
she may be right – what a read!
Restless by by William
Boyd (Bloomsbury, $24.95).
It is the summer of 1976 and
someone is trying to kill Sally
Gilmartin. The only person she
can trust is her daughter, Ruth.
Ruth learns that her mother is
really Eva Delectorskaya, a
Russian émigré recruited for the
British Secret Service. Slowly
Ruth is drawn deeper into the
compelling story of her mother’s
life. And, then, she finds that
Eva – keen, quick, alert – is on
final assignment and this time
she needs Ruth’s help. From one
of today’s best writers comes a
spy thriller like no other and
one of the best novels of the
year. Very highly recommended
indeed.
Hot and Bothered by
Annie Downey (Algonquin
Books, $12.95). She’s offbeat,
off balance, and at times
off-the-wall, a late-thirties
mother of two living in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, and
trying to figure out who she is
now that her husband has left
her. He’s a rat, anyway, and
currently attends Sex Addicts
Anonymous. He still comes by the
house, though, as do her hippie,
macrobiotic mother; her feisty,
alcoholic best friend; her
God-fearing grandmother; and
that Perfect Guy, the one with
the beatific son who plays with
her daughter, the one who
happens to have a winning smile,
wild black hair, a professorship
at Harvard — and (drats!) a
gorgeous doctor girlfriend.
Annie Downey has written an
updated Cinderella story for all
single moms.
Sky Burial: An Epic Love
Story of Tibet by Xinran
(Anchor, $13). It was 1994 when
Xinran, a journalist and the
internationally acclaimed author
of The Good Women of China,
received a telephone call asking
her to travel four hours to meet
a woman who had just crossed the
border from Tibet into China.
Xinran made the trip and met the
woman, called Shu Wen, who
recounted the story of her
thirty-year odyssey in the vast
landscape of Tibet. In Sky
Burial, Xinran has
re-created Shu Wen’s journey,
painting an extraordinary
portrait of a woman and a land,
each at the mercy of fate and
politics. It is an
unforgettable, ultimately
uplifting tale of love, loss,
loyalty, and survival.
What Do You Do All Day?
by Amy Scheibe (Picador,
$14). Bright, witty, and covered
in homemade play-dough, Jennifer
Bradley has traded her fabulous
job at a New York auction house
for the life of a stay-at-home
mom. No one said it would be
easy. Between the alpha moms all
around her and a backstabbing
mother-in-law, there's little
hope that maternal instinct
alone will save her. And perhaps
it was less than helpful of her
husband, Thom, to suddenly take
off on business to Singapore for
the next who-knows-how-long,
leaving behind the faint scent
of an extramarital affair. And
this may not be the best time
for Jennifer's old flame, a
former child star, to show up on
her doorstep, looking to patch
things up. What Do You Do All
Day? is a sparkling story of
love, lust, and the joys of
modern motherhood.
A Sport and a Pastime
by James Salter (FSG, $13).
“As nearly perfect as any
American fiction I know,” is how
Reynolds Price (The New York
Times) described this
classic that has been a favorite
of readers, both here and in
Europe, for almost forty years.
Set in provincial France in the
1960s, it is the intensely
carnal story — part shocking
reality, part feverish dream —
of a love affair between a
footloose Yale dropout and a
young French girl. There is the
seen and the unseen — and pages
that burn with a rare intensity.
Also worthy of note, the cover
on this new edition is stunning!
Mr. Jefferson's University
by Garry Wills (National
Geographic, $10.95). The
University of Virginia is one of
America's greatest architectural
treasures and one of Thomas
Jefferson's proudest
achievements. At his request his
headstone says nothing of his
service as America's first
Secretary of State or its third
President. It says simply: "Here
was buried Thomas Jefferson,
author of the Declaration of
American Independence, of the
Statute of Virginia for
Religious Freedom, and Father of
the University of Virginia." For
this political genius was a
supremely gifted artist as well,
and of all Jefferson's stunning
accomplishments, the school he
built in Charlottesville is
perhaps the most perfect
expression of the man himself:
as leader, as architect, and as
philosopher. In this engrossing,
perceptive book, Garry Wills
once again displays the keen
intelligence and eloquent style
that have won him great critical
praise as he explores the
creation of a masterpiece,
tracing its evolution from
Jefferson's idea of an "academical
village" into a classically
beautiful campus. Mr.
Jefferson's University is at
once a wonderful chronicle of
the birth of a national
institution and a deft portrait
of the towering American who
brought it to life.
Cress Delahanty by
Jessamyn West (The Feminist
Press, $15.95). Cress Delahanty
remains one of the most intrepid
and beloved teenagers in all
American literature. Amid the
clotted oil fields and pungent
orange groves of rural 1940s
California, the young woman
explores her family's citrus
ranch, worries about boys,
attempts to negotiate the high
school social ladder, and
suffers embarassments, big and
small, in a tenacious search for
her own identity.
Human Traces by
Sebastian Faulks (Random
House, $25.95). The Times
of London review says it best,
"The novel begins in the latter
part of the nineteenth century,
when Europe was an intellectual
minefield and Darwin, Freud, and
Einstein were about to blow all
comfortable assumptions sky-high
. . . . The novel's canvas is
spacious, . . . the themes
unashamedly philosophical, the
whole enterprise gloriously
large . . . . But Faulks has not
jettisoned his novelist's
instincts and what gives
Human Traces its pathos and
power is the sense of our
abiding frailty before life's
instransigent mysteries and the
dimness of our rational
understanding."
The Tender Bar: A Memoir
by J. R. Moehringer
(Hyperion, $14.95). It begins
like this, "We went there for
everything we needed. We went
there when thirsty, of course,
and when hungry, and when tired.
We went there when happy, to
celebrate, and when sad, to
sulk. We went there after
weddings and funerals, for
something to settle our nerves,
and always for a shot of courage
just before. We went there when
we didn't know what we needed,
hoping someone might tell us. We
went there when looking for
love, sex, or trouble, or for
someone who had gone missing,
because sooner or later everyone
turned up there. Most of all we
went there when we needed to be
found."
The Hummingbird's Daughter
by Luis Alberto Urrea (Back
Bay Books, $14.95). The
Hummingbird's Daughter is an
amazing novel from a superb
storyteller. Through some sort
of sleight-of-hand sorcery, Luis
Alberto Urrea — who quite justly
can be compared with Gabriel
García Márquez — has combined
the sacred and the profane to
create a mesmerizing novel. On
one level The Hummingbird's
Daughter is the story of
Teresita's survival and her
spiritual powers, but it is also
a family's history (based on the
author's own family); a story of
cultural, religious and
political conflict; and a
paradoxical tale of magical
realism and terrifying beauty.
On Beauty by Zadie
Smith (Penguin, $15). Set on
both sides of the Atlantic,
Zadie Smith's third novel is a
brilliant analysis of family
life, the institution of
marriage, intersections of the
personal and political, and an
honest look at people's
deceptions. How do you choose
the work on which to spend your
life? Why do you love the people
you love? Do you really believe
what you claim to? A nd what is
the beautiful thing, and how far
will you go to get it? It is
also, as you might expect, very
funny indeed.
Galen Rowell: A
Retrospective with a
Foreward by Tom Brokaw
(Sierra Club, $50). Galen Rowell
was the archetypal adventure
photographer, his iconic images
published in leading magazines
and scores of books, exhibited
in major galleries, and
cherished by fans ranging from
the Dalai Lama to news anchor
Tom Brokaw. When he and his wife
and business partner, Barbara
Cushman Rowell, perished in a
small plane crash in 2002, he
had just completed a landmark
assignment for National
Geographic and had begun
making stunning new images of
his favorite old haunts in the
Sierra Nevada.
Fortunately for us, his
productivity was immense and his
photographs meticulously
archived, making possible this
first and only comprehensive
retrospective of his work.
Rowell himself had no time for
looking back: his creative
energies went into books that
combine his images and writings
on a wide range of subjects
including, climbing and
expeditionary feats; exotic
cultures; endangered wildlife
and places; celebrations of
light, color, and rare natural
phenomena; and visionary
interpretations of landscape.
All are magnificently on view in
this retrospective, which
includes more than 175 images
representing all phases and
dimensions of Rowell's singular
career, chosen by the editors
with whom he worked most
closely, overseen by his family
and studio colleagues, and
reproduced to the highest
standards of lithography from
digital masters of his 35mm
frames. Complementing and
illuminating the pictures are
essays and commentaries by
Rowell's friends and associates
from the worlds of
mountaineering, conservation,
photography, and publishing,
along with an in-depth
biographical introduction by
Robert Roper and an appreciation
of his work by photography
critic Andy Grundberg.
|
|
Book Group News at Rakestraw
Julie’s Morning Book Club is
reading Siddharth Shangvi's
Last Song of Dusk for their
September meeting on Friday, 22
September 2006 at 10:30 AM.
Please join the group for a
lively discussion – new members
are always welcome.
Note: The first meeting
of our new Evening Book Club
will be on Wednesday, 20
September 2006 at 7:00 PM. Julie
is asking everyone to read Amy
Scheibe's What Do You Do All
Day? before joining the
discussion. Please join us!
Julie says, "We try to read good
books you might not pick out for
yourself. And we talk about it,
and talk about it, bringing our
own lives and that of the author
to bear on the subject at hand.
Join us!"
We are still considering
starting a food and wine book
group. Please let us know if
you're interested by calling the
shop at (925) 837-7337.
Also, remember that either Julie
or Michael are happy to talk to
your book group about books.
Visits last about an hour and
your group will come away with a
couple dozen great suggestions
for future reading. Let us know
if you are interested in
arranging for one of these
special programs!
|
|
Complete Schedule of Upcoming
Events
Local writer Gloria Lenhart
joins us to discuss her recently
published memoir Planet Widow
on Tuesday, 19 September at 7:00
PM.
Winemaker Susan Sokol Blosser
join us for a Fall Harvest
Dinner on Monday, 25 September
at 7:00 PM as we celebrate the
publication of her memoir At
Home in the Vineyard.
Tickets are $25 and advance
reservations are essential.
Memoirist Shawn Decker visits us
on Thursday, 28 September at 9
AM to share his scathingly funny
debut My Pet Virus.
Please call for more
information.
San Francisco writer Lewis
Buzbee visits Rakestraw to talk
about his lyrical book A
Yellow-Painted Bookshop: A
Memoir, A History on
Thursday, 28 September 2006 at
7:00 PM. Please note the new
time and date.
Children's author and
illustrator Derek Anderson
visits to read and sign his new
book How the Easter Bunny
Saved Christmas on Monday, 9
October 2006 at 10:00 AM. Class
reservations are essential.
Local children's author and
illustrator Jon Agee visits to
discuss his work including the
newly published Why Did the
Chicken Cross the Road? on
Tuesday, 10 October 2006 at
10:00 AM. Class reservations are
essential.
One of Rakestraw's greatest
friends, Elisha Cooper comes to
visit on Thursday, 12 October
2006 at 7:00 PM. He will be
sharing his newly published
memoir Crawling: A Father's
First Year. Please stay
tuned for details -- we are
working to create a very special
evening.
We are delighted to invite you
to an Heirloom Tomato Luncheon
with Mimi Luebberman on Friday,
13 October 2006 as we celebrate
the publication of The
Heirloom Tomato Cookbook.
Tickets are $15 and reservations
are essential.
Bay area writer Lissa Rovetch
visits to present her new books
Hot Dog And Bob And the
Seriously Scary Attack of the
Evil Alien Pizza Person and
Hot Dog And Bob And the
Particularly Pesky Attack of the
Pencil People on Tuesday, 17
October at 10:00 AM. Class
reservations are essential.
National bestselling author and
illustrator Todd Parr returns to
Rakestraw Books on Thursday, 19
October at 10:00 AM to celebrate
the publication of The Giant
Book of Friendship Fun!.
Class reservations are
essential.
Caldecott Medal-winning
illustrator Paul Zelinsky visits
Rakestraw on Thursday, 19
October 2006 at 1:00 PM as we
celebrate the publication of not
one, but two new books for young
readers. Class reservations are
essential.
Frank Beddor visits Rakestraw
Books to present his new novel
The Looking Glass Wars on
Wednesday, 25 October at 10:00
AM. I am willing to bet that
this will be one of the hits of
the season -- don't miss it!
Rabbi Lawrence Kushner visits on
Wednesday, 25 October at 7:00 PM
as we celebrate the publication
of his new novel Kabbalah: A
Love Story.
Bestselling journalist and
essayist Michael Lewis returns
to Rakestraw Books to discuss
his new book Blind Side :
Evolution of a Game on
Thursday, 2 November at 7:00 PM.
Reservations may be necessary.
Michael Prinz Medal winner John
Green visits on Friday, 3
November at 10:00 to discuss his
new novel An Abundance of
Katherines. Please call for
more information. Class
reservations are essential.
Local writer Annie Barrows joins
us to present her new children's
novel Ivy And Bean And the
Ghost That Had to Go on
Wednesday, 8 November at 10:00
AM. Class reservations are
essential.
It is our pleasure to announce
that Pulitzer Prize-winning
novelist Richard Ford will visit
Rakestraw Books on Thursday, 9
November 2006 at 7:00 PM. He
will be reading from and signing
his new novel The Lay of the
Land, one of the most
eagerly anticipated books of the
season. We will producing one of
our special broadsides in
commemoration of this event.
Celebrated wine writer Leslie
Sbrocco returns to Rakestraw
Books to taste some wine with us
and talk about her new book
Simple & Savvy Wine Guide :
Buying, Pairing, And Sharing for
All on Friday, 8 December
2006 at 7:00 PM. Come enjoy the
evening and help us raise some
money for Meals on Wheels.
Please note that these events
are subject to change but that
as of this writing all details
are correct. We encourage you to
call us at (925) 837-7337 to
confirm. In addition, you should
remember that more events will
be added to this calendar so be
sure to check each newsletter
for additions.
|
|
No More E-Waste! - A Special
Collection Event
"Don't know what to do with that
old TV, computer, or monitor?
Bring your unwanted electronic
equipment to a FREE e-waste
disposal and recycling event
happening at Diablo Valley
College, Friday, September 8th
from 12PM-5PM, and Saturday &
Sunday, September 9th and 10th
from 9AM to 3PM. Drop off is
FREE and all e-waste will be
recycled. There is no amount
limit and any business, school,
resident or organization is
welcome to bring their e-waste.
Call toll free (866) 335-3373 or
the website for event details,
including a complete list
electronic items accepted, and
the state-required form everyone
must complete. (It helps speed
the drop-off process if the form
can be filled out before coming
to the event.)"
Visit the No E-Waste website by
clicking here!
|
|
Slow-Roasted Fresh Country Ham
with Salsa Verde
We had so many requests for the
recipe for the Slow-Roasted
Fresh Country Ham with Salsa
Verde that we served for the
Nina Planck dinner that I
decided to include the recipe
here.
1 cup packed fresh cilantro
leaves
6 cloves roasted garlic
4 jalapeno chilies, seeded and
minced
1/2 cup good olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
One 5-6 lb fresh pork shoulder (aka
Boston butt)
Salsa Verde (recipe follows)
In the food processor, combine
the first five ingredients.
Process until well blended but
still a little chunky. Rub the
mixture into the pork roast,
cover, and refrigerate over
night.
Remove the meat from the
refrigerator about 1 1/2 hours
before roasting and place on a
rack set in a roasting pan.
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Roast the
pork for 45 minutes. Reduce the
heat to 300ºF and roast for
about 2 more hours or until a
thermometer inserted into the
center of the roast registers
155ºF. Remove from oven and
loosely cover in aluminum foil.
Let rest for 25 to 30 minutes.
Cut the ham across the grain
into 1/3-inch thick pieces. Pass
the salsa verde separately.
Salsa Verde
6 cloves roasted garlic
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed
1 salt-packed anchovy, filleted
and rinsed
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and
minced
1/4 cup packed flat-leaf parsley
zest of one lemon
1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro
leaves
1/2 cup good olive oil
salt to taste
In the bowl of a food processor,
process all ingredients until
well-combined but still somewhat
chunky.
|
|
Talking Books on NBC-11
"Today we continue our new
weekly series for Bay Area
booklovers called 'The Quills.'
Every Monday, we'll feature a
variety of bestsellers and books
recommended by independent
booksellers here in the Bay
Area."
A couple weeks back, I had the
privilege of being the
bookseller guest on NBC-11's new
feature on the Monday
mid-morning show. And, the best
part, I got to do what I love
best -- talk about some of my
favorite books -- with Laura
Cannon-Garcia. I picked three
recent novels that have proved
popular with book groups. Great
fun . . . .
If you'd like to watch the
segment, click the link below.
Once on the NBC-11 site, look
for the box called Video Clips
and scroll down til you find the
clip labelled "Freddy and
Fredericka." Drag it down into
the Playlist and click play. It
takes a minute or so to load.
Enjoy! and let me know what you
think of it.
Follow this link to watch
Michael on televsion.
|
And, that's Bookpost
#73! We hope you found it
interesting, useful, and enjoyable.
Of course, if you need more
information, please feel free to
contact us by telephone at (925)
837-7337. Or, if you are in the
lovely San Ramon Valley, stop by the
real books-and-mortar shop at 409
Railroad Avenue, Danville,
California 94526. Or, if you prefer
not to leave your computer, simply
email us at rakestraw_books@yahoo.com.
We look forward to seeing you soon.
Happy Reading!
Sincerely,
Michael Barnard
and the Staff of Rakestraw Books
"The Bookstore in Danville"
|
