The Elven Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by the Elves of Tolkien (Literary Cookbooks) – January 10, 2023
by Robert Tuesley Anderson

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Father of the Lost Boys: A Memoir by Yout A. Alaak tells the story of Alaak's family during the Second Sudanese Civil War, as well as roughly twenty thousand 'Lost Boys' - boys mostly between the ages of 8 and 12, who had been sent to refugee camps unaccompanied.

Although some of the subject matter is dreadful, this is a beautifully written book that maintains a generally upbeat tone, and makes sure to talk of joy as well as sadness.

Also included is a brief history of South Sudan, which is one of the clearest summaries of several hundreds of years of history that I've seen in a long time.

Released by Fremantle Press in 2020

Content warnings for war related topics, child death.

Fairy Bad Day by Amanda Ashby

Summary: While most students at Burtonwood Academy get to kill demons and goblins, fifteen-year-old Emma gets to rid the world of little annoying fairies with glittery wings and a hipster fashion sense. She was destined to be a dragon slayer, but cute and charming Curtis stole her spot. Then she sees a giant killer fairyÑand it's invisible to everyone but her! If Emma has any chance of stopping this evil fairy, she's going to need help. Unfortunately, the only person who can help is Curtis. And now, not only has he stolen her dragon-slayer spot, but maybe her heart as well! Why does she think it's going to be a fairy bad day?


★★★★★ | Not the best written book and pretty straight forward plot wise, but so much fun! I read 2/3 of the book in one day because I was enoying it so much. It's got some interesting world building, and I really do love the magic/warrior high school trope. Definitely recommend if you like that trope too! And if anyon's got similar recs, hit me up ;)

In January, I set a goal to read four new cookbooks this year. The fourth is Zoe's Ghana Kitchen by Zoe Adjonyoh, which I just finished the other day. We found a recommendation for several African cookbooks in one of our cooking magazines, and this is one of the two we bought to try.  I have also written about In Bibi's Kitchen over in book_love.

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the full title is, American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of G*psy Rose Lee.

From Amazon;

America was flying high in the Roaring Twenties. Then, almost overnight, the Great Depression brought it crashing down. When the dust settled, people were primed for a star who could distract them from reality. Enter Gypsy Rose Lee, a strutting, bawdy, erudite stripper who possessed a gift for delivering exactly what America needed. With her superb narrative skills and eye for detail, Karen Abbott brings to life an era of ambition, glamour, struggle, and survival. Using exclusive interviews and never-before-published material, she vividly delves into Gypsy’s world, including her intense triangle relationship with her sister, actress June Havoc, and their formidable mother, Rose, a petite but ferocious woman who literally killed to get her daughters on the stage. Weaving in the compelling saga of the Minskys—four scrappy brothers from New York City who would pave the way for Gypsy Rose Lee’s brand of burlesque and transform the entertainment landscape—Karen Abbott creates a rich account of a legend whose sensational tale of tragedy and triumph embodies the American Dream.

If you've seen the musical G*psy, forget that, it was the sanitized version. One the only things they got right was Rose's mother was the ultimate stage mother, but 1000 times worse in real life. And she might have killed at least one person.

A very interesting look not only at the life of GRL, but the world of Burlesque as it was in the first part of the 20th century. and has a few chapters interspersed about the biggest promoters of burlesque in NYC, the Minsky brothers. (an infamous raid on one of their theaters inspired a movie called The Night They Raided Minsky's.)

They only thing I didn't like is the book wasn't linear, each chapter jumping from the "modern" era of the '40s to the early years of GRL's life or the Minsky's rise in the business.

But over all, I really enjoyed this book. as I did the others I've read by the author; Sin in the Second city; Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul & Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War.