Author: alamancelibraries

“The Holiday Trap,” by Roan Parrish. Copyright 2022, Sourcebooks Casablanca (440 pages, $16.00).

Content Warning: Emotional abuse, sexual content, chronic illness.

If you’re a fan of the Christmas movie, The Holiday, then you’ll love Roan Parrish’s novel The Holiday Trap with its queer and modern spin on the concept of house swapping for the holidays.

We open with Greta, who loves her family (even if they are trying to set her up for an auctioned date with a man) and her tiny hometown in Maine but needs space away from everything in order to figure out who she is and what she needs from her life. Next, we meet Truman, our other main character, who has just had his heart broken from his boyfriend of a year when a massive secret is revealed and Truman would rather be anywhere else then in New Orleans. Enter Ramona, a mutual friend with the perfect solution! That Greta and Truman should house swap for the holidays and get some much-needed space and perspective for their own individual lives.

Some of the great things about this novel are the layers that define the characters as well as their own personal growth. Greta is Jewish, a lesbian, and a plant lover with the absolute greenest thumb and learns to distance herself from her somewhat co-dependent family by making her needs known to herself and by setting boundaries. Truman is a gay accountant who loves his bullet journals and fantasy novels and while in Maine, learns to advocate for himself in his romantic relationships so that they are no longer one-sided. Both go through a discovery journey that then allows them to make healthy decisions for themselves and their lives.

Parrish’s writing for Truman and Greta and the cast of characters that surround our main leads fell so authentic with everyone’s own issues and personality quirks. This is a great, cozy read to either kick start your holiday themed reading or just put in with all of your other holiday books!

Kayleigh Dyer is a Library Technical Processing Assistant at May Memorial Library. Contact her at kdyer@alamancelibraries.org.

“Cemetery Boys,” by Aiden Thomas. Copyright 2020, Swoon Reads (344 pages, $17.99).

Content Warning: Transphobia, Blood, Death, Death of a parent, Violence

Cemetery Boys is a refreshing coming of age story with realistic issues that people face today, interwoven with a touch of magic.

We follow Yadriel as he’s just trying to find his way through a world that has a difficult time accepting him for who he is. Yadriel wants to prove once and for all that he is a real brujo, a sorcerer. Yadriel, with the help of his cousin Martiza, tries to summon their recently deceased cousin, only to be saddled with Julian Diaz, a former schoolmate with unbound energy and a surprisingly carefree attitude for being dead. While trying to solve the mysteries behind Yadriel and Martiza’s cousin’s death as well as that of Julian, Yadriel learns what being a boy and what being a brujo really means to him. All while navigating high school, family dynamics, and raging hormones.

Thomas has done a wonderful job interweaving individual experiences with a culture that isn’t talked about enough and making the magic work without being too much. They are also able to pull from their own experiences as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and incorporate themes and issues that a lot of people face but that aren’t addressed in main stream media. Thomas is a strong advocate for diverse representation and I can’t wait to see how they tackle this next in Lost in the Never Woods and their future publications.

Kayleigh Dyer is a Library Technical Processing Assistant at May Memorial Library. Contact her at kdyer@alamancelibraries.org.

“A Spindle Splintered” by Alix E Harrow.  New York:  Tom Doherty Associates, 2021. 119 pages, $17.99

“A Mirror Mended” by Alix E Harrow.  New York:  Tom Doherty Associates, 2022, 130 pages, $18.99

From the series “Fractured Fables”.

Alix Harrow’s two recent novellas are time travel “fractured fairy tales” for adults in which Harrow takes the reader on upended versions of the Grimm fairy tales Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, respectively.  The protagonist for this inventive romp is an adventurous 21-year-old folklore aficionado named Zinnia Gray.  Zinnia lives in rural Ohio and has been afflicted since childhood with an incurable disease called Generalized Roseville Malady.

Having never expected to live to adulthood, Zinnia is nonplussed by her lack of future plans after an impromptu birthday bash thrown by her best friend, Charm, or Charmian.  When she drunkenly pierces her finger on a junk shop spinning wheel used as a party prop, Zinnia ends up transported into the medieval version of Sleeping Beauty in which young Princess Primrose is soon to fall victim to a long, cursed sleep preventing her from marrying young Prince Hal.

Because this is a feminist retelling for modern times, Primrose or Prim turns out to be a lesbian princess who has little interest in Prince Hal.  Prim is desperately trying to run away from her scripted story and needs Zinnia’s intervention from outside the story to make it happen.

In the sequel, “A Mirror Mended”, Prim has escaped her fairy tale destiny and become a couple in modern times with Zinnia’s best-friend Charm.  Zinnia has injected herself into a number of Sleeping Beauty narratives throughout time and rescued dozens of damsels from their long sleep and is making it her life’s calling.  However, she’s getting jaded at being a princess rescuer.  Then things switch up and Zinnia looks into a mirror at the face of evil and is transported into a very Gothic version of the Snow White story replete with a nameless evil queen trying to preserve her beauty.

The evil queen, quickly dubbed Eva, turns out to be a foreign-born, barren monarch who has been the victim of domestic violence at the hands of her king for her inability to produce an heir.  She feels the restiveness of her subjects and is counting on Zinnia to help her elude her ultimate storybook fate of death by burning while walking over hot coals in iron boots of torture.

Just when you think you knew everything about fairy tales, the Disney version gets thrust aside for darker, more symbolic tales based on the moral values that the Grimm Brothers wanted to transmit to an adult audience.  Juxtaposed on top of this is the time-travel format familiar to many from the “Outlander” series for adults and the “The Magic Treehouse” series of books for children.  The combination is a potent mix of enjoyable quest and timely message.

Lisa Kobrin is the reference and local history librarian for Alamance County Public Libraries. She can be reached at lkobrin@alamancelibraries.org.

The baking season is upon us! From now until the end of the year, kitchens will be full of bakers creating delectable delights to share with family and friends. But with so many recipes to choose from, it can be hard to know where to start. Here are a few cookbooks that are sure to lead to holiday baking success!

Snacking Cakes by Yossy Arefi. New York : Clarkson Potter, 2020. 191 pages.

Snacking Cakes is the perfect book for small gatherings or for people who don’t have time for elaborate bakes. All of the cakes in Snacking Cakes are one bowl recipes, and generally bake in about 45 minutes or less. Throughout the book, variations are given for both flavors and sizes of cakes, allowing bakers to customize according to their taste. Instead of elaborate buttercream frostings, Arefi opts for glazes and dustings of powdered sugar, perfect for those who find frosting too sweet. One recipe that would be perfect for holiday baking is the sticky whiskey date cake, which takes the popular English dessert of sticky toffee puddings and recreates it on a larger scale. Full of warm spices and a delicious glaze, this easy to make cake is sure to stand out on any holiday table. This cookbook is perfect for anyone who wants recipes that are unfussy but delicious.

Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking by Cheryl Day. New York : Artisan, 2021. 400 pages.

Cheryl Day is a James Beard Award nominated baker who operates the renowned Back in the Day Bakery in Savannah, Georgia, and is viewed as an authority on southern baking. Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking collects savory and sweet recipes, and offers both staples of southern cuisine and soon to be classics. Readers can find recipes for classic fluffy buttermilk biscuits, cheese straws or peach cobbler alongside recipes like wildflower honey buns and strawberry black pepper butter.  Bakers will not only enjoy the recipes, but also the history that Day provides.  Gorgeous photos also accompany these recipes. This is the perfect book for anyone who wants to learn what makes southern baking special.

The All-Purpose Baker’s Companion by King Arthur Baking Company. New York: The Countryman Press. 2021. 568 pages.

The Vermont based King Arthur Baking Company might be best known for their flour, but they have grown quite a following for their excellent recipes as well. The All-Purpose Baker’s Companion is an invaluable resource for the home baker, as it covers everything from bread making to pies and cookies. Variations are given for almost every recipe, and there are helpful tips on topics like how to get crisp crackers or prevent waffles from sticking. The soft cinnamon roll recipe is the perfect holiday morning treat, made soft by using the Chinese technique of making a tangzhong starter, which results in pillowy, delicious rolls. This cookbook is perfect for the baker who wants to try a variety of recipes to build their baking skills.  

Elizabeth Weislak is the Youth Services Coordinator at the Alamance County Public Libraries. She took a deep dive into baking during the pandemic, and we have all benefited from her experience. She can be reached at eweislak@alamancelibraries.org

“Breaking Bad: A Cultural History” by Lara C. Stache; Rowman & Littlefield (236 pages, $38).

AMC’s Breaking Bad spent five years presenting its audience with the tale of Walter White, a brilliant but unfulfilled high school chemistry teacher, husband, father of two, and recently diagnosed cancer patient who would go on to slowly but surely become the meth kingpin of the American Southwest. As Mr. White and former student turned partner Jesse Pinkman become deeply entwined in the deadly underworld of making and selling narcotics, their narrative leaves a trail of bodies strewn across the show’s five seasons, marking a story that resulted in more than 15 Emmy awards as it developed into one of the most critically acclaimed TV shows ever made.

In Breaking Bad: A Cultural History, author Lara Stache offers her readers an engaging analysis of the program, focusing on the show’s fascinating characters and complex story lines. Stache gives the show its due reverence, but also suggests new ways of understanding and critiquing the series as a part of the larger culture in which it exists. The author looks at how the program challenges viewers to think about choices made in the narrative, analyzes what design choices did and did not work, and determines the program’s cultural significance both before and after the show’s conclusion.

Stache also explores how Breaking Bad grappled with themes of morality, legality, and anti-drug rhetoric and looks at how the marketing of the series influenced the ways in which television shows are now promoted. Key scenes from Breaking Bad are retold within this book along the way, often to celebrate the fantastic story threads or engaging scenes of the show, and other times for the sake of the critical analysis of the inner workings of Breaking Bad’s narrative. Either way, it makes for a fun way for fans to revisit their favorite scenes from a new perspective or for not-yet-fans to enjoy a little appetizer of the show.

Setting aside the thrilling character-driven plots of Breaking Bad, very subtle but intentional symbolism is often used in the show’s set design and character actions. These artistic flairs by the show makers always fascinated me, and I’m glad this book elaborates upon them in detail, quoting interviews with the show creators to help solve the mysteries behind these interpretive design choices.

The use of symbolism in Breaking Bad is so barely focused on that you can easily miss it, but once you’re aware of it you’ll begin to see it in every dramatic scene! One example is the set designers carefully using the color of environmental lighting or a character’s clothing to symbolize morality and intent prevalent in the scene. Certain hues of color represented lawful society, other hues represented the criminal underworld, and some colors represented morally gray areas in-between or other concepts like greed or despair.

Aside from color, many other subtle artistic symbolic choices are made in the show. Walter White often visits his family’s seldom used backyard pool when he wants to be alone with his thoughts, where the state of the pool itself will give the audience a peek into his state of mind. Walter also picks up subtle but distinct mannerisms from those who die due to his actions throughout the story, as though he’s taking a little piece of their soul with him on his descent ever deeper into the criminal underworld.

A few Biblical themes even manifest themselves in the characters towards the end of the series, fitting with the show’s heavy themes which explore the vices and virtues of its character cast. It’s wonderfully creative design choices like this that help the show be a treat to watch even on second or third viewing. You’ll always spot a new detail you missed on last viewing!

Lara Stache is clearly a big time Breaking Bad fan, and her book does a fantastic job of exploring the show’s narrative from both the perspective of the audience and of the writers. Breaking Bad: A Cultural History captures the spirit of the series and examines how the show had an impact on viewers like nothing before it. This book will be of interest to fans of the show as well as to scholars and students of television, media, and American pop culture.

Donavon Anderson is a reference library assistant at May Memorial Library. He can be reached at danderson@alamancelibraries.org.

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang. New York, NY : Harper Voyager, [2022].

Content Warnings: Racism, Colonization, Racial slurs, Slavery, War, Death of parent.

Babel is one of the best book club books I have ever read.  Set in an alternative version of 1800s Oxford where England’s technological revolution runs, not on standard technology, but on magic made with silver and translated language, the novel explores imperialism, linguistics, and what it means to be an outsider.

The book follows Robin Swift, a Chinese boy spirited away from his home in Canton by the mysterious British benefactor, Professor Lovell.  Lovell tells Robin that he has a glorious future ahead of him as a member of Oxford’s Translation Institute.  As one of the few people in Britain to grow up fluent in both Mandarin and English, Robin has the chance to make magic.  If he works hard, Robin may be able to find elusive match-pairs, words that, in translation between languages, have just enough difference in meaning between them to change the material world.

Soon enough, Robin finds himself immersed in the study of language.  Academics become his entire life.  The more he learns, however, the more Robin discovers that there is a dark side to The Translation Institute’s work.  While silver magic continues to make Britain richer and more powerful, it also funds conflict and poverty in China and the East Indies.  While Robin and his classmates are supposedly the heart of British progress, they also are taunted, beaten, and abused for existing in Britain while being non-white.  Students who do not measure up academically disappear or die without warning.  Behind the scenes, a secret society is plotting against The Institute and Robin is not sure if that is a bad thing.

R.F. Kuang is known for her character work in her hit series The Poppy War.  This same strength can be seen in Babel.  The book teleports readers to an alternative version of the past and into the heads of characters different from themselves while making those characters thoughts and internal logic make sense.  I may not have agreed with half of Robin’s choices, but I viscerally understood why he made them.

In Babel, Kuang also makes excellent use of footnotes.  The novel is marked with extra information given by a very opinionated narrator telling the reader more about quotations, history, and characters in the book.  Set within Babel’s lectures about languages and textbooks, this makes readers think about how we understand history and who we learn it from.

Babel, however, is not simply titled Babel.  The novel’s full title is Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translator’s Revolution.  Readers should know that this is not a happy story.  Throughout its 560 pages, Babel repeats cycles of hurt and confusion as Robin becomes more cynical and hopeless about the state of the world.

This leads to the greatest flaw in the novel: The book focuses so much on Robin’s story of loss that it bypasses more complex and interesting ideas.  The narratives of amazing side characters are relegated to single chapters or footnotes while the novel’s imagery and foreshadowing becomes repetitive and heavy-handed.  The book ends with the conclusion of Robin’s story, but other plot points feel left at loose ends.

Babel by R.F. Kuang is a book for those looking to reminisce about academia, learn more about linguistics, or think seriously about the implications of imperialism.  I recommend it to those who liked the idea of The Poppy War, but could not stomach all three books of the trilogy or wanted something at least a little more hopeful.  The audiobook is particularly spectacular, capturing the voices and languages of all the characters from all over the world.  Love them or hate them, Babel contains characters that will stick with you forever and a haunting ending that will make you wonder if we are doomed to repeat history forever.

Rebecca Mincher is a library assistant in children’s services at the Graham Public Library. You can reach her at rzimmerman@alamancelibraries.org.

How to Keep House While Drowning: a gentle approach to cleaning and organizing by K. C. Davis. New York, NY: Simon Element, 2022.

Content Warning: Ableism, Mental Illness.

Prior to the Covid-19 shutdown, I blamed my untidy home on time management. My spouse and I both worked forty hours a week, and most weeks it was as much as we could accomplish just to keep up with the dishes and laundry.

When we were sent home, my first thought was all the time I would save not having to get ready to go to work, drive to and from, and prepare food to take or eat out away from home. Surely this was what I needed in order to have a clean, organized home!

At first, my plan went well. But as the pandemic wore on, I found myself glued to the television, worried and anxious. I was also dealing with health issues, loss of half of our family income, and my spouse’s growing depression. No doubt, I was drowning.

K. C. Davis was expecting her second child in February of 2020, and she had prepared a robust support group of family, friends, and a preschool for her older child so she could have the time she needed to recover. When the pandemic stopped her from utilizing this support, she quickly slipped into postpartum depression, weighed down by lack of sleep and being the sole caretaker for an infant and a toddler. Her awakening came when she posted a lighthearted video on TikTok making fun of her own unkempt home and the challenges of keeping up with two young children. Amongst the comments, there was this one word: “Lazy.”

That word triggered the author’s shame and guilt stretching back to childhood. Even though as a counselor she knew that overwhelm was unavoidable in her situation she immediately embraced the belief that she was a failure, both as a mother and as a human. Only later, as she listed all she had been through and accomplished, did she realize that, although she was tired, depressed, and overwhelmed, she was definitely NOT lazy. She needed help, not shaming. This story resonated deeply.

Davis invites us to reframe household chores as “care tasks” that are a gift to “future you.” For example, if morning is the most difficult time of day for you, making lunches and laying out clothes the night before is a form of self-care. In this way, the author introduces the idea of treating ourselves with compassion, a powerful antidote to overwhelm.

K. C. Davis wrote this book to be accessible to the people who need it most – those who feel they are drowning. In addition to short chapters, she offers a “map” through the chapters so even readers with a minimal amount of time or attention can benefit from the material. I started by taking this “abridged” trip through the book, hoping to get it back in circulation at the library quickly. However, the short chapters were so well written that I found myself grabbing it for a quick read every time I sat down. In this way, I was able to finish the book without having to schedule the time to read it. I appreciate that Davis intentionally kept the reader in mind in this way.

This book may be small, but it is a much-needed life preserver for those of us that feel we are drowning.

Deana Cunningham is the Associate Director of Operations for Alamance County Public Libraries. She can be reached at dcunningham@alamancelibraries.org.