Lovely London

It's a dreary day in New York City.  I practically swam to work in a sea of umbrellas.  For some reason, gray, rainy days make me think of London--despite the fact that when I was there it was rather sunny. I am actually dying to go back, but, in the meantime, I will have a spot of tea and read Taschen's London.  I adore this book that adorns my coffee table.  First of all, I really am a sucker for color scheme and I am currently loving all things purple.  Moreover, I really do find the photographs inspiring; they make me want to revisit old haunts, explore new ones, oh--and go back to London when I am not a broke student.

Since a trip to London is not going to be on the agenda for at least another year, I may need to devote some time to exploring a little bit of London in New York City for the meantime.  When I was there, I did frequent pubs (more because I was not yet the golden age of 21 which brings with it the legal right to imbibe).  One pub that is reminiscent of the London pub scene is the new(er) Jones Wood Foundry located on the upper east side of New York City.

Then of course there is tea.  All things related to tea make me pine for London.  Perhaps a little "high tea" is in order.  While I have never been, I do believe it might be time to pay a visit to Lady Mendi's Tea Salon.  If only because my dog's doppelganger is on their website...

After tea, I do think that a little stroll through Gramercy Park would be in order. I will somehow need to stealthily procure a key, but an elite park somehow tickles my London fancy...

Lastly, dinner courtesy of Gordan Ramsey at The London in NYC would be a fine way to feel all around Londony on this side of the pond.
Cheerio!

Teacher Woman

March is a tough month for teachers.  While anyone not in the education field might think with envy...ahhhh those long summers and frequent vacation breaks...for teachers, March is a test of Herculean proportions. And on those days when I have to write up a student for throwing a book at a classmate, or explain to another student that no, "money order" does not mean that you put the bills in order and mail them off to the bailiff...I turn to Teacher Man by Frank McCourt.  While the book was written about his experiences as a teacher in the NYC school system over 30 years ago, the fact that McCourt was filling out "delaney cards" just as I do each day shows how much how little has changed.  The book really does capture all of the reasons why, despite the difficult and trying month of March, teachers continue to teach.

However, for those moments when even a book cannot inspire us--here are some educationally themed "field trips" that are a must for every educator's March itinerary...
Read a little Dylan Thomas at the White Horse Tavern

Or head to one of my all time favorite New York City neighborhoods to Pete's Tavern where you can read a little "Gift of the Magi" and ponder O. Henry's mustache...

Or perhaps you don't want to visit the old haunts of dead writers, but rather, you want to stalk contemporary writers in order to ask advice on how you can turn the torment of the marches of your career into a novel.  For you, I would recommend reading this Village Voice article.

Happy Reading! 

The Most Populous Borough

Don't you just love when you read a book and you can envision the film version as you are reading? Jonathan Lethem's Motherless Brooklyn was just that type of book for me.  While I wouldn't necessarily say that it was the best book I have ever read, the characters near-absurdities made them somehow realistic and endearing to me.  Edward Norton must have seen the same film reel spinning through my mind when I read the book because his version of the detective fiction a la film is due out in 2013.  I am secretly hoping that he applies some of the film techniques used in American History X to this film.  In my imaginative in-my-mind-cinematography, there are plenty of scenes in black and white...

While the actual setting of St. Vincent's Home for Boys, where the main character Lionel spent his childhood, is in Brooklyn Heights, which doesn't really evoke the imagery of the book that I pictured while reading it, I do love the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood.  I could grab a cup of coffee and easily spend an entire afternoon walking the promenade. I also especially love the area around halloween when those blessed brownstone owners deck their stoops in pumpkins and gaudy halloween skeletal displays.

photo via this adorable blog

So the upshot of this is...read Motherless Brooklyn and then visit Brooklyn!

Feeling Philosophical?

If philosophizing just seems to be in your blood today, might I suggest a book to go along with some dive-bar intellectualism? Milan Kundera's Unbearable Lightness of Being (which I just re-read excerpts of after it emerged in weekend conversation) might just be your cup of tea...or cognac...or red wine...or whatever you feel like drinking when you are feeling philosophical.  Personally, I crave a ginger cocktail that I had at Milk and Honey once whenever I feel like busting out Derrida, Neitzsche, or Gramsci. 

via New York Magazine

I loved this book the first time I read it and I continue to love it. Beyond a fascinating look at the tension between free thought and an intellectually oppressive society, the explorations of love, desire, suffering and everything in between makes this novel one that stays with you.  In addition, it makes me want to explore Prague--something that I have not yet had the chance to do, but eagerly await for its architecture and lovely cool mugs of beer.  

As for the book...if you love it...I recommend another Kundera book The Book of Laughter and Forgetting...or, if something a little lighter is in the cards...why not read Love the One Your With, which I have also just finished. Like Tomas' concepts about love, the main character in this (significantly) less weighty novel, struggles with the notions of love and desire; however, in Giffin's novel, you are absolved of nearly all thinking and along merely for the entertaining plot! Personally, I enjoyed both. 

Whichever book you decide to go with...enjoy!

Dog People

So I am undoubtably a dog person; not in the I push my dog around in a stroller and wear sweatshirts with dog appliques on the front of them kind of way, but there are definitely some borderline weird old dog lady tendencies latent within me just dying to get out! When I turned on Good Morning America before work this morning, I was smitten with the youtube sensation-- Denver the guilty dog. Like Denver, my dog definitely has a guilty look of his own when he has done something he shouldn't have.  In honor of dog lovers everywhere, today's book recommendation combines two of my great loves: dogs and New York City.  The New Yorkers by Catherine Schine is a dogcentric love story filled with quaint upper west side brownstones and pup-tastic dog parks.

New York City is a great place to have a dog...it opens up a whole network of neighborhood dog culture.  My favorite dog park is in Carl Schurz Park and overlooks the East River.  It is a great place to rest on a bench, let my dog romp, and read a great book.

The Joy of Cookbook (Pictures)

As with many of my failed, yet well-intentioned efforts in the fine art of gift giving, a christmas present for one of my friends somehow ended up in the pile of "things never mailed" and I stumbled upon it yesterday in my living room.  The cookbook (for my foodie friend) called Lucid Food looks like it belongs on a beautifully designed table  display at Anthropologie or at the adorable Brooklyn store Eponymy.

While my cooking extends little beyond ordering takeout and artfully arranging it on a pretty plate, I do adore the recipes and images in this cookbook.  The author Louisa Shafia has a great blog as well for those who can actually create the beautiful food that adorns their plates.

The beautiful recipes that she derives from fresh, local, seasonal ingredients make me crave dishes from one of my favorite New York City restaurants that seemingly possesses the same food philosophy.

Hundred Acres is a delightful place that my friends and I stumbled upon in the fall when the seasonal produce lent itself to a menu of mouthwatering fried green tomatos and a to-die-for macaroni and cheese...Ahhh...LOVE those blissfully balmy fall days when al fresco dining is a must on the agenda.

Here's to summer strolling through farmer's markets, evening oyster dinners outside, chilled white wine, and the summer fantasies of delivering all christmas gifts in a timely manner...

Tulip Dreams

Today, on my walk home from work through Central Park, I noticed that the tulips have started to blossom.  Even though it is supposed to snow in NYC tomorrow, I am content to know that spring is on the way.  I do love rediscovering my typical routes home through new eyes when the seasons change.  Bill Bryson writes about a similar experience of rediscovery when he walks the Appalachian Trail and documents it in his travel memoir A Walk in the Woods.

To him, car obsessed America looks entirely different through a walker's eyes.  No surprise considering that, in suburbia at least, one can do almost anything from their car; conduct their banking, buy ice cream, drop off library books... While there are definitely things that exist to critique in this book (I have a feeling that I might argue with Bill Bryson a lot if I ran into him at a cocktail party), overall, it is entertaining and inspires its readers to hike the Appalachian Trail.  In the meantime, this city girl has her own vast wilderness to conquer: Central Park.

Maybe I can try Bryson's bear begone trick for the throngs of people that congest the pathways as the weather warms?

Reminiscing about Cambodia

This weekend, my friend hosted her annual mother/daughter brunch where a group of us who have been friends since middle school get together for delicious food and conversation-- and we bring our mothers.  Sunday's menu included beautiful pastries, savory egg dishes, sparkling mimosas and the range of conversation that manifests when a diverse group of women get together.  While my friend the hostess, who is pregnant, talked about the new cribs for those who are petite (at 5'2 I am surely filing this information away), myself and one of the "moms" talked about Cambodia.  After working for an NGO (and traveling) there last summer, I fell in love with the country and talk about it every chance I get! As we talked about Angkor Wat over cinnamon bread, I found myself recommending all of the books that I read when I learned that I would be teaching there. Since Cambodia does have the tragic history of relatively recent genocide, many of the books I read were devastating, but, despite this, they did have a message of human resilience and of hope and I recommend reading them for more than just the history lesson.

The first book that I would suggest is Francois Bizot's The Gate, which is told from the perspective of a French academic who was imprisoned by the Khmer Rouge.  A compelling and moving story...

The second book, which might be harder to obtain, despite the prevalence of photocopied editions that I found for a dollar all over Southeast Asia, is When Broken Glass Floats by Chanrithy Him.  This book, while lacking linguistic flourish, is moving for its oral history approach to telling the story of the genocide as experienced by the people who lived it.

Lastly, First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung.  A must-read for anyone who cares about human rights and dignity.

On a less depressing note...for those who ever have the chance to visit Cambodia--seize the opportunity! It is an incredible and amazing country to travel through for its depth, beauty, wonders of the world, people, and Khmer curry, of course! 

And what to drink while reading these powerful pieces? I would suggest wine as they are all heavy reading.  While I am usually not a big fan of hotels when traveling (it sort of defeats the purpose of getting to know a country), I did go for a drink at the amazing Hotel De La Paix in downtown Siem Reap where they had these beautiful and inventive sofa swings where you could enjoy your beverage and a book...

Yes, I wouldn't mind one of these drinks again in that amazing setting after a day exploring temples in a tuk tuk...

Happy Reading! 

Five Books to Read When You are Battling the Last of the Winter Colds...

I have been a little under the weather this week...sorry for the sparse posting! 

That said, while I was feeling sick, slurping chicken noodle soup and lounging on my couch, I spent a lot of time reading books that wouldn't make my brain hurt as much as my head.  So... here are my reading recommendations for "when you are sick" in review:

1. Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin (Please remember that while sick, intellectual books should be cast aside...I mean your throat is already hurting...if there is any time to be vapid...well...now is the time!) This book is kind of like a soap opera in printed form. Warning: I suggest refraining from any type of feminist analysis whatsoever or you will become more nauseated. 

2. Equally, mindless but fun: Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner. Like cotton candy for the stuffy-nosed soul.

3. While the subject matter (domestic violence) is actually quite serious, the predictability of the plot and love story that propels the story makes Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks another excellent choice when feeling under the weather...

4. Like the much needed food type when battling everything from the common cold to the full-blown flu, Kate Jacob's Comfort Food is a read with a far lower calorie count than the food category of the same name...

5. Last, but not least, Steig Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is...well...it's actually pretty good.

While all of these books are sure to provide hours of entertainment, I suggest taking your vitamins, getting eight hours of sleep per night, exercising regularly and staying healthy so that you can read these books anywhere but your couch! 

Healthy Reading...  

Game On!

While I spend my days teaching adolescents and actually enjoy teenagers for their sense of humor, wide-open futures, and misery that I know is only ephemeral, when I think about adolescent fiction, my enjoyment factor plummets.  I have found a lot of the adolescent fiction genre to be trite, wrought with stereotypes that need not be imposed on the already insecure individuals of this age, and worst of all...terribly written.  That said, I cannot say that I have not read (and enjoyed) The Twilight Series--though the movie was more comedic than romantic and, while I jumped on the Harry Potter bandwagon a tad late, I find that series quite enjoyable as well.  However, for a well-written, nuanced, and refreshingly agency invoking series, I would recommend The Hunger Games trilogy.  Begin reading it and I guarantee obsession--and not just if you are between the ages of 13-18.  

 

Looking for a place to become engrossed in this trilogy? How about The Library Bar at the Hudson Hotel? Grab a glass of wine and root Katniss Everdeen on as she competes in the "hunger games" where only one person gets out alive! And, in the meantime, if you need a game derived adrenaline rush of your own while your there, sit at one of their tables that has a chessboard ready and waiting for your dramatic checkmate. 

Enjoy~you won't be disappointed! 

The Art of Reading in the Rain

Personally, I love the rain. I think that it is romantic and peaceful and it makes me want to curl up and read a good book while I listen to the sounds of the raindrops hitting the window panes.  Don't get me wrong, like anyone else commuting in New York City, the rain can make getting from place to place somewhat of an annoyance, but I think the trade off for perfect reading weather is worth it. Today, after a brief stop at Magnolia Bakery after work (I work in dangerous proximity to this establishment!), I came home to cuddle with my adorable dog and (re)read a great rainy day read: The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. There's something about a dark day and a cheery cupcake that is just delightful!

This book is sad and uplifting and whether or not you care for car racing (I don't!), the book's plot is compelling enough that cars and speeding around a race track are somewhat irrelevant. In addition, if you are a dog person, this book has an added layer of joy and sorrow that it quite simply worth the read! 

Craving Clam Strips...

So, while I once heard that the good old New England seaside classic: the clamstrip roll is regarded with disgust in fine dining circles, I can't help but love them...in the very least because of my association of them with summer.  Today, as I was planning an upcoming trip to Newport, Rhode Island, my mouth began salivating at the thought of Flo's Clam Shack... This tacky, kitschy, but delicious clam strip haven is the stuff that dreams are made of.

In honor of New England seaside towns and the coming warm weather (I can just feel that spring is in the air!!), tonight I will recommend a book that should be on everyone's summer reading list: Melville's Moby Dick.  

So, whether you wait for summer to partake in this delightful piece of fiction, or you pretend it's summer and pick up a copy now--and I am convinced that most everyone probably already owns a tattered copy somewhere in the depths of their bookshelves--make it a summer reading requirement.  And...be sure to make clam strip rolls a summer eating requirement!

A Penchant for Horror? ...Not So Much, But Still a Good Read

I am usually not a big fan of Steven King.  In all honesty, I am not generally a fan of scary books at all; however, I just read Under the Dome and, while I had to skim over certain parts, it was definitely an entertaining read.  The premise of the book is that an unexplained and impermeable dome suddenly appears over a small town in Maine.  As a result of the dome, power struggles ensue as King examines how people deal with crisis situations.  He is a cynic for sure and his fictional dome is not one that I would ever want to be caught under!  I did continue reading for a thousand plus pages though to learn how the dome got there, so he did something right in the realm of suspense.  This is a fun summer beach read--though I would caution you NOT to read this as you board a plane to travel to that said summer beach destination...I am pretty sure that had I read this on my recent plane ride to San Diego, I would have had a heart attack, or, at least, an anxiety attack...

Frightful reading!