Cat Pictures, Please: And Other Stories by Naomi Kritzer

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

With a title like that, how could I pass this book up?  Although I was not familiar with multi-award winning author Kritzer’s work, it didn’t take more than a story or two to convince me that all those Hugo, Locus, and Nebula nominations and awards were well deserved. While the trappings may vary—an alternate world where dragons live with Native Americans in the Old West or a town in Nazi Germany or a witch’s hut in a wood—the stories have realistic characters facing realistic problems. There’s also a gentle sweetness, even if the stories don’t end as I might have liked.

The title story, Cat Pictures, Please, is about a sentient AI who, well, likes to look at cat pictures.  But while looking at the pictures, it becomes interested in the lives of the people who post them and believes that it can help the people with their problems.  The trouble is that some people will just NOT take a hint. They’d rather moan about their current job that look at all the helpful job postings that are appearing in their online feed or the offers of free resume help.  It’s most frustrating.  This is a delightful tale that really carries the ring of truth.

The Wall is another intriguing story about a college student faced with an alleged time traveller who is trying to talk her into an impromptu trip to Germany for some reason.  The woman seems to know a lot about her, but is this some sort of scam?

What Happened at Blessing Creek is one of the grittiest stories, in which a group of pioneers are looking for a place to settle on Osage lands.  One of the group is a young girl who has some psychic powers and who is faced with a difficult choice, one which will have devastating consequences. 

The Good Son is the story of an Irish fae who is attracted to a mortal woman and who follows her to her home in Minnesota.  He soon finds out that the mortal world can be more complicated than he anticipated—especially in matters of the heart.

There are seventeen stories in all, and there’s not a clunker in the bunch.  This collection is highly recommended.  And don't let the cover put you off--this book is more about humans than technology.

Good Lookin’ Cookin’: A Year of Meals by Dolly Parton and Rachel Parton George

Reviewed by Jeanne

“Hey, good lookin’—what ya got cookin’?” comes from a Hank Williams song, but it’s the very apt phrase Dolly and her sister say or sing when they enter a kitchen.  Food is a love language, and both sisters and many of their relatives speak it well.  Each sister writes a separate introduction about what food means to them, and then one together which gives their philosophy of cooking, as it were. They believe in planning ahead but being able to improvise; in timing the preparation so that the cook is with the family and not hidden away in the kitchen; and in the treasured memories that come from cooking and eating with those you love.

The cookbook is divided up by months, with one meal for each month: an “Opening Act” appetizer, the main courses, including meat and vegetables, and then the “Encore” dessert.  Some of the meals are tied to celebrations, so of course November features dishes for Thanksgiving, while July has food more suited for a cookout.  However, the sisters take pains to explain that these dishes can be made for any occasion (though you might want to leave the licorice legs off the spider cake for a non-October treat).  The idea is to have certain recipes that you can use any time in any combination to come up with a winning meal. As a bonus, there are festive pictures of the Parton sisters and various family members scattered throughout.

Each recipe lists prep time, cooking time, and additional time if needed (such as chilling dough), offers tips on ingredients, and has a glorious color photo of the finished product. They do give some of their favorite brands for ingredients for that particular recipe, such as Hellmann’s mayonnaise or King Arthur flour, and give a good amount of detail on some of the prep (greens need to be washed four times to get rid of all the grit).

And just in case you didn’t remember which holiday featured corn bread in a cast iron skillet, there’s a handy index.

For someone who doesn’t cook, I seem to pick up a lot of cookbooks.  I certainly don’t do anything but look, but I do enjoy that.  This one has several recipes that I might even be able to do, should I ever be properly motivated.  As promised there are a lot of staples like Dressed Eggs (deviled eggs, but the “dressed” refers to the many types of garnish that can be added, including olives, sweet pickles, or bacon), Country Potato Salad, Oven Roasted Broccoli, Mac and Cheese, and so on. 

If you’re looking for a new recipe for Thanksgiving or just want to see what spin the Partons put on an old favorite, this might just be the book for you.

Nevermore: Serena, Ministry of Time, Tell Me Everything

 

Nevermore 9-24-24

Reported by Rita

Serena: a Novel by Ron Rash

Traveling to the mountains of 1929 North Carolina to forge a timber business with her new husband, Serena Pemberton champions her mastery of harsh natural and working conditions but turns murderous when she learns she cannot bear children.

Beautifully articulated, thought-provoking, and powerful. I loved it.  – KN  5 stars

 

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

To establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also the fabric of space-time, a “bridge” who lives with, assists, and monitors the expat known as“1847” or Commander Graham Gore falls fervently in love with consequences she never could've imagined—ones that could change the future.

Funny at times, this was good escapism.    – MH     4 stars

 

Tell Me Everything: a Novel by Elizabeth Strout

While defending a lonely, isolated man accused of killing his mother, town lawyer Bob Burgess falls into a deep and abiding friendship with acclaimed writer Lucy Barton. Together, they meet the iconic Olive Kitteridge and spend afternoons in Olive's apartment, telling each other stories, which imbue their lives with meaning.

Many characters from other books make appearances. LOVE, LOVE, LOVED IT!  Two thumbs up!  - CD    5 stars

 

Other Books Mentioned

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

By Any Other Name  by Jodi Picoult

 The Moonflowers by Abigail Rose-marie

The Cider House Rules by John Irving

The Maid : a Novel by Nita Prose

Lovely in Her Bones by Sharyn McCrumb

Staggerford by Jon Hassler

A Green Journey by Jon Hassler

Dear James by Jon Hassler

Holy City : a Novel by Henry Wise

You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q. Sutanto

New Books

A Pair of Wings by Carole Hopson

Foul Days by Genoveva Dimova

Katharine, the Wright Sister by Tracey Enerson Wood

Suffrage Song : the Haunted History of Gender, Race and Voting Rights in the United States of America by Caitlin Cass

The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg

 

Reviewed by Kristin

Martha Andersson has had a good life, but is having a little trouble adjusting to conditions at Diamond House, a Swedish old age pensioners’ home. The problem is that Nurse Barbara is cutting corners. Profits are down, or at least not as high as the new director desires, and suddenly sticky buns and cake are no longer in the budget. Other amenities are likewise limited, and Martha and her friends are chafing a bit in the sparse accommodations.

Martha hatches a plan with Christina, Anna-Gretta, and the men—nicknamed Brains and Rake. They are going to become art thieves. After all, no one would suspect a group of oldies walking with the aid of Zimmer frames to be the ones kidnapping art from the National Museum. “The League of Pensioners” is born, and they are stomping their orthopedic shoes on their way to riches.

The pensioners hone their skills with a small robbery at a nearby hotel, then move on to the big times. The police have no idea how those paintings (Monet and Renoir!) disappeared or who tried to ransom them. They dismiss the old people as dithering fuss-budgets who are just confused, bless their hearts.

Told with humor, The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules is achingly clever, and funny even to those of us who haven’t reached retirement age yet. This book reminded me of the Elderly Lady series by Helene Tursten. Those short volumes (An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good and An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed) are also set in Sweden and are laugh out loud funny.

This is the first book in the series.

We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida, translated by E. Madison Shimoda

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Shuta Kawaga is struggling with his job.  It’s a prestigious company and he should be happy but the long hours, callous treatment of employees, and a horrible boss are weighing him down. He’s having trouble sleeping, he doesn’t want to eat, he’s miserable and yet he can’t bring himself to quit.  What he needs, he thinks, is some counseling to help him cope. That’s how he ends up at the odd little clinic in a narrow alleyway.  It definitely doesn’t fit his view of a highly recommended doctor’s office, but he’s already run through all the local clinics and none have helped.  He’s feeling a little desperate and ready to try something different.

This place turns out to be a little more different than he anticipated.

For one thing, the doctor prescribes him a cat. 

A real cat.

Bewildered, Shuta heads home with his furry medication, only to find out that the instructions for use are not as thorough as he would have liked. . . .

We’ll Prescribe You a Cat is a series of stories about different people who seek help from the “Clinic for the Soul” from a frustrated office worker to a designer at an upscale store.  All are struggling with both their personal and professional lives.  All end up at the mysterious clinic with a rather sullen nurse and off-beat doctor. I’ve read and enjoyed several of these episodic Japanese novels, many of which have similar themes of sorting out what one thinks one wants as opposed to what one really wants.  In some ways, this book does follow that theme, providing attitude adjustments in the best sense of the phrase, but it does something a bit different with an overall story line that is gradually revealed.  I hesitate to say more because I don’t want to spoil it, but I was charmed and a bit teary-eyed at the end.  While Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa remains my favorite, I have to say that this book is a very strong second.  It is an absolute delight.  I am buying my own copy, which is my highest recommendation.

Nevermore: One by One, Dragon from Chicago, The Husbands

 

Nevermore 9-17-24

Reported by Rita

One by One by Freida McFadden

Forced to hike to their hotel after their minivan breaks down, a group of friends finds themselves hopelessly lost in the woods. Soon, they are each struck down mysteriously one by one, making them wonder if an animal is hunting them — or if the hunter is one of them.

It was predictable, and I figured it out pretty quickly. However, it was still enjoyable.    – NH    5 stars

 

The Dragon from Chicago: the Untold Story of an American Reporter in Nazi Germany by Pamela D. Toler

Drawing on extensive archival research, this captivating look at Sigrid Schultz, one of the earliest reporters to warn Americans of the growing dangers of Nazism, shows how she exposed the Nazis for misreporting the news to their own people — a powerful example of how we can reclaim truth in an era of disinformation and “fake news.”

I sometimes found it boring, but it was well-written with lots of details. I liked it.     –KM    5 stars

 

The Husbands: a Novel by Holly Gramazio

When she discovers the attic in her London flat is creating an infinite supply of husbands, waking up to a slightly altered life each day, Lauren confronts the question: if swapping lives is as easy as changing a lightbulb, how do you know you've taken the right path?

A completely frivolous read that I really enjoyed.     – MH    4 stars

 

Other Books Mentioned

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

 The Master & Margarita by Mikhail Afanasevich Bulgakov

Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips

Medicine Is the Best Laughter by John McPherson

Travel As a Political Act by Rick Steves

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

James: a Novel by Percival Everett

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

Neither Wolf Nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads With an Indian Elder by Kent Nerburn

Serena: a Novel by Ron Rash

Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

New Books

Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury by Drew Gilpin Faust

We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance by Kellie Carter Jackson

Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig

All This & More by Peng Shepherd

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