Alvah's Books

My attempts to assign myself books to read is an utter and dismal failure. I start one book, put it down, and then start another.  And then there are those “Come Hither” books that seduce you to reading them although they were not on your reading list at all. Damn you, Audrey Niffenegger and The Time Traveler’s Wife!

As much as I am enjoying Ms. Niffenegger’s book, I have set it aside. My list remains the same as last week’s:

• A World I Never Made, by James LePore
• The UnAmericans, by Alvah Bessie
• Men in Battle, by Alvah Bessie
• The Spanish Civil War: A Very Short Introduction, by Helen Graham

I’m getting  little better at completing my reading goals. I managed to complete:

• Spain Again, by Alvah Bessie
• A Spy by Nature, by Charles Cumming

Still working on:

• A World I Never Made, by James LePore

Since it is Alvah Bessie Month this week’s books include:

• The UnAmericans, by Alvah Bessie
• Men in Battle, by Alvah Bessie
• The Spanish Civil War: A Very Short Introduction, by Helen Graham

I’m still behind on reviews, but Lush Life and A Spy by Nature will be posted later this week.

Until I was in grad school, I wasn’t much of a coffee drinker. I drank mostly Lipton’s tea with milk and sugar until one day the red Twinnings tin of loose English Breakfast tea caught my eye and I thought I would try it. Well, I’ve never touched Lipton’s since then.When I spent a semester abroad in France, I became very friendly with a Canadian fellow who was an avid tea drinker and enjoyed formal afternoons teas. One afternoon, we discovered a little tea shop that had a little restaurant that served “Afternoon Tea” to the British ex-pats. I always looked forward to 4:00 pm when we’d make our jaunt, settle in to have tea, and try all the assorted sandwiches and pastries. It was such a civilized way to spend the afternoon.

When I returned to the States and told my mother about my love for afternoon tea, we decided to start our own tradition and stock up on different types of tea, which included, Early Grey, Irish Breakfast, Ceylon, Jasmine, Orange Pekoe, Oolong. Every afternoon, we’d take out our good tea set and sip that day’s choice and savor the tiny sandwiches and pastries we made.

In one of my weekly forays to our local independent bookstore, I discovered Having Tea by Catherine Calvert, and I knew that I had to buy this book just by looking at the cover. I’ve had this book for 22 years now and it’s still one of my favorites.

Having Tea: Recipes & Table Settings
By Catherine Calvert, photographs by Keith Scott Morton
Clarkson. N. Potter Inc./Publishers, 1987
87 pages, $22.50

If you want to go beyond dunking a teabag in a mug and enjoy a civilized “cuppa,” Calvert’s book gives you five option on how to be civilized and a slew of recipes. And chuck away that all chipped mug, because you’ll need a proper tea service if truly want to enjoy tea.

If I had to pinpoint what I like so much about Having Tea, I’d have a hard time. As I leaf through the book, I ooh-and ahh at the tea services that have been photographed. These range from traditional white porcelain sets to 1930s Art-Deco geometric designs. Others include delicate flowered porcelain sets (we had those, my mother was partial to egg-shell thin porcelain with an ornate flower design), to Asian-inspired services.

But my oohs soon change to stomach grumblings  as I read through the recipes, I suddenly get a hankering for “Brunch in the City” which consists of the following:
• Toasted Cornmeal Muffins with Apple Butter
• Slow-Scrambled Eggs with Cream and Chives
• Pan-Fried Tomatoes with Fresh Tarragon
• Honey-Dew Melons Wedges with Lemon
• Bloody Mary’s and English Breakfast Tea.

Now that’s how you kick off a Sunday!

What if you’re in the mood for a picnic? Try “Summer Harvest Picnic” which includes:
• Honey-Glazed Chicken with Rosemary
• Red Potato Salad
• Vine-Ripened Tomatoes with Fresh Basil
• Crusty White Peasant Bread
• Old-Fashioned Peach Pie
• Fresh Peaches
• Mint Iced Orange Pekoe Tea

In addition to the recipes, Calvert includes a section on tea tasting and lists the major types of tea and their individual characteristics. Like wine, the qualities in tea reflect the region they’re cultivated, the soil, the altitude, and the climate.

Once you’ve decided what teas you like, you need to stock your tea larder. Some items you might want to consider:
• Crystallized Ginger (sweet, but with a little kick)
• Honey
• Lemon
• Preserves (stir in the preserves in your cup in the fashion of the Russians or Hungarians)
• Sugar

Short on tea sandwich ideas? Calvert offers the following:
• Stilton Cheese crumbled over pear slices on oatmeal bread
• Asparagus spears with lemon mayonnaise on wheat bread
• Smoked turkey with raspberry mayonnaise on cracked what bread

Next time, when you need a pick me up of sorts, skip the Starbucks. Instead, have a nice cuppa with a few shortbread biscuits and enjoy your tea time.

I am still very behind of reading and reviews. To make matters worse, I went to our local library’s booksale and stocked up on some beach reads.

In any event, this week’s reading includes:

• A Spy by Nature, by Charles Cumming

Still reading:

• Spain Again, by Alvah Bessie
• A World I Never Made, James LePore

I completed:

• Lush Life, by Richard Price. Review will be up on Wednesday

I’m in the middle of several books, but this week I plan to tackle and finish the following three:

• A World I Never Made by James LePore
• Lush Life, by Richard Price
• Spain Again, Alvah Bessie

I’ve been in a catch-up mode with reading and reviewing (for other book review sites) that I probably shouldn’t post this week, but it’s difficult to ignore the piles of books that are waiting to be started (or finished and I do have a few with book marks).

On that note, I have to finish these:

• First Execution by Domenico Starnone.
• Private Midnight by Kris Saknussemm.

New this week (and it will be just one):

• The Lazarus Project by Aleksandar Hemon.

This week I’m not going to be as ambitious. Only two short books.

Lulu in Marrakech by Diane Johnson

and,

First Execution by Domenico Starnone

Due to technical difficulties (a slow connection–I can actually watch my hair turn grey-and, to top it off, the monitor is flickering and has gone black on me in the middle of writing emails), I am posting Weekly Reads very, very late.

I’d also like to note that last week’s attempt to get anything read was a dismal failure. Since I changed servers, redesigned the site, and spent too much time learning WordPress, I didn’t get much reading done. 

However, this week without fail I need to read two books. The first one Gabriel Garcia Marquz: A Life by Gerald Martin is for the Feminist Review, which is due by next week; the second one, Private Midnight by Kris Saknussemm,  is for a blog tour. 

A review for In the Woods will be posted later this week, depending on my computer’s health.

I am failing dismally in my Weekly Reads assignments. I like the idea of reading at least three books, but in this household it’s simply not possible. However, I did complete two books so that’s good, right?

Books completed: 

• In the Woods, Tana French (review will be posted in the next few days)

• Peace First, Uri Savir (review will be posted on The Internet Review of Books)

This week’s reading includes one carry over and two new books:

• One Nation Under Dog: Adventures in the New World of Prozac-Popping Puppies, Dog-Park Politics, and Organic Pet Food, Michael Schaffer

• Gabriel Garcia Marquez: A Life, Gerald Martin (review is for Feminist Review)

• Dirty Little Angels, Chris Tusa

I wasn’t very successful with my first round of Weekly Reads. I only completed:

• Etta, Gerald Kolpan

And I still have to finish:

• In the Woods, Tana French

• One Nation Under Dog: Adventures in the New World of Prozac-Popping Puppies, Dog Park Politics, and Organic Pet Food, Michael Schaffer

But this week I need to read for The Internet Review of Books:

• Peace First: A New Model to End War, Uri Savir

A review for Etta will be posted within the next day or two.