thursday august 07
In 2004, British travel writer
John Gimlette enticed Putnam Flint, an 85-year-old American veteran of World War II to return to Europe and retrace the journey of his Tank Destroyer unit (nicknamed The Panthers) sixty years earlier. The result is
Panther Soup: Travels through Europe in War and Peace, a fascinating book that considers lingering effects of the great conflict on the land, the people, and cultures of Europe, as much as it does the war itself.
The author remarks on how the combatants, especially the Germans, so often named their killing machines after large cats: “It’s odd to think of the European chaos as the work of cats, a sort of feline stew, a
Panthersuppe.” And thus, he discovers his title.
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My husband and I recently saw the exhibition Building Books: The Art of David Macaulay, currently on view at the Cincinnati Art Museum through September 7th.
David Macaulay is a Caldecott Medal winning children’s book author and illustrator who was born in England in 1946 and moved to Bloomfield, New Jersey when he was 11. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design with a degree in architecture, he vowed never to practice. Instead, he experimented with creating books and his first, Cathedral, was published in 1973. His drawings have the uncanny ability to explain everything from simple gadgets to amazing architectural structures.
Building Books presents pen and ink illustrations from many of his classic books, including The New Way Things Work, Cathedral, Castle, City, Mill, Mosque, Pyramid, Unbuilding, and Underground. You can also see illustrations from his other children’s books such as Black and White (1991 Caldecott Medal winner), Shortcut, and Angelo. A great exhibit for adults and children alike!
Macaulay’s new book, The Way We Work: Getting to Know the Amazing Human Body, will be published in October.
wednesday august 06
This one’s irresistible. Look at the cover of Karen Tack and Alan Richardson’s Hello Cupcake! and you’ll see how adorable their ideas are for decorating cupcakes for all kinds of festive occasions.
Cupcake corn on the cob decorated with yellow jelly beans, fruit-chew “melted butter pats,” sugar crystal “salt and pepper” and real corncob holders. Chocolate donut and donut-hole penguins. Twinkie sharks with bright red fruit-leather grins. These are easy and utterly captivating ideas, all made from cupcakes, candy, and colored frosting.
So celebrate the dog days of summer with the charming terriers on the cover or the dozen other doggie breeds Tack and Richardson create with these easy ingredients. Equal time for cupcake kitties, too.
Sweet.
monday august 04
Preparations for the
2008 pro football season are underway, with all 32
NFL teams in training camps. For NFL fans like me, optimism runs high this time of year. The inevitable setbacks, injuries, and eviscerating losses that each team experiences (are you listening Patriots fan?) during the grueling campaign remain over the horizon.
All too soon, passionate football fans will stand accused of taking the games way, way too seriously. That's why books such as The Football Uncylopedia, written by Michael Kun and Adam Hoff, are well suited to this time of the year. It’s a compilation of football miscellanea that possesses qualities essential for enduring the NFL preseason: it's frivolous and entertaining.
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I am a little girl again...it is Saturday evening...and I hear the wooden steamboat whistle and the long-awaited announcement, "Welcome to the Grand Ole Opry!!" I actually teared up when I saw the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville for the first time a couple of years ago. You just never forget!
I have found a book that makes me happy: Around the Opry Table: A Feast of Recipes and Stories from the Grand Ole Opry, by Kay West (2007). This book is full of stories of original and modern Opry stars, including favorite recipes of the musicians and a few induction party menus.
There are a lot of books on Opry history, but a couple that I have enjoyed are A Good-Natured Riot: The Birth of the Grand Ole Opry (1999) by Charles K. Wolfe, about the origins and savvy business decisions that established the radio show; and Saturday Nights With Daddy at the Opry (2003) by Libby Leverett-Crew, a fascinating memoir about being the take-along daughter of the Opry photographer (lots of photos in this one!).
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