Category Archives: Books

Literary Boston

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With literary landmarks, beautiful and historic libraries, and a wealth of bookstores, Boston is every book lover’s dream. Check out this curated list of some of the best literary Boston has to offer.

Courtesy of Boston Public Library / Front of the Boston Public Library

Boston Public Library

The Boston Public Library’s Central Branch at Copley is one of my favorite places in the city and a can’t miss destination for visitors. Founded in 1848, the Boston Public Library was the first free library in the United States. It’s now home to over 23 million items, including rare books and manuscripts, art, music, and more. With regular exhibitions, musical events, lectures, and book sales it’s got something for everyone and is a true cultural center for the city. Not to mention that the building is breathtaking! Take a stroll through the courtyard and older sections of the McKim building as well as the newly renovated, modern Johnson building. Free art and architecture tours are offered daily.

Courtesy of Boston Public Library / McKim Building Interior

Courtesy of Boston Public Library / Courtyard

Boston Athenaeum

Is one library not enough? The Boston Athenaeum, founded in 1807, is one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States. Its collection today features over half a million volumes, with a particular focus on local Boston history, state, and New England history, as well as its permanent collections of artwork and rotating exhibitions. It’s a beautiful, classical space with columns, busts, and shelves and shelves of books. You have to pay for admission but it’s worth the trip to 10 ½ Beacon Street (I just love that!)

Creative Commons Boston Athenaeum, Boston, Massachusetts by Daderot is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 / Boston Athenaeum

Omni Parker House Hotel

The Omni Parker House Hotel has a long and varied history since its opening in 1855 and that includes some literary greats. The legendary nineteenth-century Saturday Club, an intellectual club that included Emerson, Thoreau, Longfellow, and others, met regularly at the Omni Parker for conversation (and I would assume cocktails). You might also remember the Omni Parker House Hotel from Edith Wharton’s Age of Innocence. It’s not just a landmark though, but a working, gorgeously preserved historic hotel, so take a quick break in the hotel bar or restaurant—supposedly they perfected Boston cream pie here—and enjoy!

Creative Commons Omni Parker House by themightyquill is licensed under CC BY 2.0 / Front of Omni Parker House Hotel

Famous Author Residences and the Boston Literary District

Speaking of famous authors, Boston has been home to so many I can’t even begin to list them all! Some of the highlights include Sylvia Plath and her residence on Willow Street, Kahlil Gibran, the Lebanese-American painter, poet, and author of The Prophet, and his residence and memorial, and Phillis Wheatley, the African-American poet and the Old South Meeting House where she joined the congregation in 1771. Boston has a designated Literary District (that stretches from the Boston Public Library in Copley Square through the Boston Public Garden and Beacon Hill) and the map provided by the Boston Literary District is an especially useful resource to find author residences, literary landmarks, and more!

 

Bookstores

Boston has a wealth of bookstores, notably independents that serve almost every neighborhood in the greater Boston area. I’ll feature a few here but they are all different and wonderful.

Creative Commons Brattle Book Shop by bill_comstock is licensed under CC BY 2.0 / Brattle Book Shop

Brattle Book Shop and Trident Booksellers and Cafe

Brattle Book Shop and Trident Booksellers are two of the best indies in the downtown area. Brattle Book Shop, located next to the Boston Common, is one of America’s oldest and largest antiquarian book shops. It’s known for its collectible and rare books as well as its photogenic outdoor sale lot (And yes, that is a large pencil!) Trident Booksellers and Cafe is a lovely and inviting space, with a great selection of new books and gifts. And the cafe serves a killer brunch.

Brookline Booksmith

Brookline Booksmith, located in Coolidge Corner, Brookline, just outside of Boston, is an absolutely wonderful and beloved independent bookstore. The selection is diverse and it’s obvious that a lot of love (and work) has gone into the curation of the Booksmith’s collection. Check out the used book cellar, the gift section, and all of the fantastic author events, book clubs, and more!

Harvard Book Store

Harvard Book Store is a locally owned independent located in the heart of Harvard Square in Cambridge. It’s an extensive collection of new, used, and remaindered books, Harvard University merchandise, and gifts. The author event series is award-winning and you shouldn’t miss their print on demand, espresso book machine “Paige M. Gutenborg.” Twice a year they open their warehouse in Somerville for a can’t-miss sale.

Other notables:

Grolier Poetry Book Shop

Newbury Comics

Papercuts J.P.

Porter Square Books

Raven Used Books

Creative Commons Make Way for the Damn Ducklings by theilr is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 / Make Ways for Ducklings Sculpture

For the Kids

Visiting Boston with the family? Here are some easy, fun, literary adventures to have with children. If you’re downtown near the Boston Common, visit the Make Way for Ducklings Sculpture located in the Public Garden, a tribute to Robert McCloskey’s Caldecott medal-winning children’s story. It’s beloved by Bostonians and you’ll often find the ducklings dressed up for the season or a special event. You can pick up the book Make Way for Ducklings at most Boston-area bookstores for fun bedtime reading.

Also in the Public Garden is the Trumpet of the Swan Bridge and Swan Boats, named after E.B. White’s The Trumpet of the Swan. This is the spot where Louis, a trumpeter swan born with no voice embraces who he is and plays his trumpet. The swan boats are available to ride in the warmer months but it’s a lovely area to walk through regardless of the season.

The World’s Only Curious George Store

A whimsical book and toy store in Harvard Square all about—you guessed it—Curious George. In addition to books, toys, and merchandise related to Curious George, the store also has a delightful selection of other children’s books and toys.

This post was originally published on Book Riot.

Indie Press Guide: Great Books from 2017

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Are you planning on reading more books from small independent presses as a New Year’s resolution? Maybe you specifically want to read more books in translation? Check out this indie press guide for great books published by indie presses in 2017!

Her Body and Other Parties: Stories by Carmen Maria Machado (Graywolf Press)

This was one of my favorite books of the fall! Intense and strange, feminist and queer, this collection of stories blends genres—notably horror and fantasy—to shape narratives of women and the violence visited upon their bodies. It’s a powerful and enthralling collection and I can’t wait for more from Carmen Maria Machado.

Have you already read Her Body and Other Parties? I’d recommend Fen: Stories by Daisy Johnson, another stunning collection from Graywolf Press.

Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett (Tin House Books)

Rabbit Cake follows Elvis Babbit and her family as they cope with the death of her mother. Hartnett’s understanding of grief is startling and honest. There’s a clever balance of dark humor and grief with these light (sometimes laugh out loud) funny moments. It’s quirky, funny, and an absolute delight. You’ll come away from the book absolutely in love with Elvis and this sweet coming-of-age novel.

My Favorite Thing Is Monsters by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)

My Favorite Thing Is Monsters came highly recommended to me and it didn’t disappoint. Set against the  tumultuous background of 1960s Chicago, Monsters follows ten-year-old Karen Reyes as she tries to solve the murder of her upstairs neighbor, a hauntingly beautiful and damaged Holocaust survivor. Karen loves nothing more than monsters—she is pictured throughout the graphic novel as a “weregirl”—and the book is full of b-rated monster movie posters and covers of monster magazines. The artwork is extraordinary, pen on lined notebook paper, but in a range of styles that perfectly captures the multifaceted nature of the story.

The Iliac Crest by Cristina Rivera Garza, Translated by Sarah Booker (The Feminist Press)

From award-winning author, translator, and critic Cristina Rivera Garza comes a startling gothic novel of gender, power, and language. In The Iliac Crest, two women invade the unnamed narrator’s home and ruthlessly interrogate him about his identity. They claim to know his great secret and when he fails to give them what they want he finds himself in a sanatorium. And this is the first time its been available in English!

 

Moonbath by Yanick Lahens, Translated by Emily Gogolak (Deep Vellum Publishing)

Moonbath is a beautiful and haunting novel that is at once an intimate family saga that spans four generations of Haitian women and at the same time this broad and sweeping story of a country. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I finished it—it’s lyrical and evocative and the writing will blow you away. It’s not an easy read in many ways; the history of Haiti is often complicated and we watch these women struggle against violence and poverty, but it is such a powerful force of a novel.

I’d also recommend Eve Out of Her Ruins by Ananda Devi, translated by Jeffrey Zuckerman (also from Deep Vellum) as a powerful pairing to Moonbath.

A Working Woman by Elvira Navarro, Translated by Christina MacSweeney (Two Lines Press)

Elvira Navarro has been named one of the “Best of Young Spanish-Language Novelists”and one of the major Spanish voices of the future. In A Working Woman, she explores female friendship, madness, and the bizarre through the story of two roommates, Elisa and Susana. It’s a subtle, interesting novel that you won’t forget anytime soon.

Looking for more great reads from independent publishers? Check out Liberty Hardy’s list of 100 Must-Read Indie Press Books.

This post was originally published on Book Riot as an Indie Press Holiday Gift Guide.

Three Women in Translation to Add to Your #TBR Pile

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Looking to add more women in translation titles to your TBR piles? Here are three international authors who might not be on your radar but definitely should be!

Bae Suah

Bae Suah is one of the hottest, most experimental voices coming out of South Korea right now. She’s published numerous novels and short story collections and has won several prestigious awards. Suah is heavily influenced by her work as a translator, having translated several books from German, including works by W.G. Sebald, Franz Kafka, and Jenny Erpenbeck. Nowhere to be Found, one of her first books to appear in English, was longlisted for a PEN Translation Prize and the Best Translated Book Award.

Her most recent work, North Station, translated by Deborah Smith, is a collection of stories that embodies all that Suah is known for in her writing—subverting time and narrative, intellectually stimulating questions of art and life, and epically gorgeous writing.

Josefine Klougart

Josefine Klougart is considered one of Denmark’s most important contemporary writers and she’s often compared to Virginia Woolf and Joan Didion. Two of her three novels have been nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize—arguably one of the most prestigious prizes in Scandinavia. She is currently the editor of Den Blå Port, a literary journal in Denmark.

It’s an impossible task choosing between her two novels currently available in English, so I’m just not going to do it! One of Us Is Sleeping and Of Darkness, both translated by Martin Aitken, are beautiful, haunting novels about loss, blending literary styles and genres.

Valeria Luiselli

Valeria Luiselli is a highly-acclaimed Mexican novelist and essayist. Of the authors on this list, she’s probably the author you’re most familiar with—her writing is incredible and she’s received so much well-deserved buzz! She’s received numerous awards, her work has appeared in publications like The New York Times, McSweeney’s and The New Yorker, and she’s been a recipient of the National Book Foundation’s “5 under 35” award.

The Story of My Teeth, translated by Christina MacSweeney, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Best Translated Book Award and won the Los Angeles Times Prize for Best Fiction. It’s an eccentric and challenging novel about storytelling, lies, and the creation of value and meaning in modern art. Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions is another incredible work by Luiselli that I can’t recommend enough!

This post was originally published on Book Riot.

Delicious reads for the holidays!

Posted in Books, Food, Seasonal by

Delicious books that will pair nicely with all of your holiday plans. And they make fantastic gifts for the foodie in your life!

The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen by Sean Sherman with Beth Dooley

This is arguably one of the most important cookbooks to come out this year! Sean Sherman is a Oglala Lakota chef and the founder of The Sioux Chef, a company that not only creates and caters Native American cuisine but also educates the Minneapolis/St. Paul region on indigenous food. Sherman focuses on seasonal and indigenous ingredients (no European staples like flour and sugar) and the recipes reflect this—they look vibrant and mouthwatering. It’s not just a cookbook, though, and the personal stories and history in the book make it a real treasure.

 

Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine by Sarah Lohman

Eight Flavors is a delightful and utterly fascinating culinary history of America. Historical gastronomist Sarah Lohman examines American history, culture, and what she calls the “changing culinary landscape” through eight flavors that she argues are influential to American cooking. The eight flavors are: black pepper, vanilla, chili powder, curry powder, soy sauce, garlic, MSG, and Sriracha. In each chapter she explores a flavor and the history of how it made its way to the American table.

 

The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty

I love a good food memoir and The Cooking Gene by Michael W. Twitty is a powerful and compelling memoir of Southern cuisine and food culture. Twitty traces his personal ancestry through food and cooking in this great mixture of stories, recipes, historical documents, genetic tests, and details from his own travels—it’s a combination of everything, but it comes together beautifully. And between the illustrations, the color photographs, and the recipes, it’s a striking book.

Ten Restaurants That Changed America by Paul Freedman

More than just a collection of profiles, Ten Restaurants That Changed America is a social and cultural history of “dining out in America.” Freedman discusses ten historically significant American restaurants and the history and events that shaped them (and that they in turn influenced.) The restaurants include: Delmonico’s, Antoine’s, Schrafft’s, Howard Johnson’s, Mamma Leone’s, The Mandarin, Sylvia’s, Le Pavillon, The Four Seasons, and Chez Panisse. It’s also a gorgeously designed book with photographs and menus scattered throughout.

Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live For Taste by Bianca Bosker

I’m finishing this list like I’ll be be finishing off my Thanksgiving meal—with a glass of wine. Bianca Bosker’s Cork Dork is the perfect light, fun (but surprisingly informative) read for your holiday weekend. Bosker is no wine expert, but a tech journalist who decides to learn all she can about wine and try her hand at the Court of Master Sommeliers exam. Full of wine history, science, tastings, and more, Cork Dork is an immersive and obsessive, but ultimately delicious read.

This post was originally published on Book Riot.

Ten Memoirs by Women in the Culinary World

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The long-awaited memoir from culinary icon and food activist Alice Waters, Coming to My Senses: The Making of a Counterculture Cook, hit stands in September. To celebrate, I’ve collected ten memoirs written by remarkable women in the culinary world, from chefs and restaurateurs to food writers, cookbook authors, and more!

Coming to My Senses: The Making of a Counterculture Cook by Alice Waters—In this hotly anticipated memoir, Alice Waters reveals the beginnings of the legendary Chez Panisse.

Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India by Madhur Jaffrey—Madhur Jaffrey is without a doubt one of the most well-respected experts on Indian food and cooking. This delightful memoir of her childhood is a “testament to the power of food to evoke memory.”

Out of Line: A Life of Playing with Fire by Barbara Lynch—Barbara Lynch recounts her rise from her tough South Boston “Southie” childhood to her culinary empire today.  

My Soul Looks Back: A Memoir by Jessica B. Harris—Jessica B. Harris is the author of numerous critically acclaimed cookbooks documenting the foods and foodways of the African Diaspora. In My Soul Looks Back she looks back at “the vibrant New York City of her youth, where her social circle included Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and other members of the Black intelligentsia.” Although it’s not strictly a food memoir, it’s a definite must-read.

Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China by Fuchsia Dunlop—An extraordinary memoir of eating and cooking in China by celebrated British food writer Fuchsia Dunlop. (Note: With its scenes of Sichuanese food markets and elite Chinese culinary schools, and Dunlop’s honest look at the greed, corruption, and environmental impact of the industry, this memoir might be my favorite on the list.) 

Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing by Anya Von Bremzen—Food writer Anya Von Bremzen eats and cooks her way through seven decades (and three generations) of the Soviet experience, “brilliantly illuminat[ing] the history and culture of a vanished empire.”

Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton—One of the most popular and bestselling chef memoirs, Gabrielle Hamilton’s Blood, Bones & Butter is a raw and intimate account of Hamilton’s life and the unconventional journey that led to the opening of her restaurant Prune.

Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoirby Padma Lakshmi—“A vivid memoir of food and family, survival and triumph, Love, Loss, and What We Ate traces the arc of Padma Lakshmi’s unlikely path from an immigrant childhood to a complicated life in front of the camera.”

Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table by Ruth Reichl—In my notes I’ve written “Pick one Ruth Reichl memoir (How??!!).” I picked Tender at the Bone, Ruth Reichl’s coming-of-age story about her family and her passion for food, but I’d recommend all of her beautiful memoirs.

I Hear She’s a Real Bitch by Jen Agg—Toronto-based restaurateur Jen Agg is a force to be reckoned with and her memoir is an equally compelling story of food, business, and the need for change in the restaurant industry. It’s “more than just a story about starting a restaurant: it is a rallying cry for a feminist revolution in the culinary world.”

Check out the full post on Book Riot.

Three Books in Translation for Fans of The Handmaid’s Tale

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Love The Handmaid’s Tale? Check out these great works of international literature, complete with political unrest, elements of dystopian and speculative fiction, and unusual narrative structures.

The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz

Translated from the Arabic by Elisabeth Jaquette. The Queue is set in an unnamed Middle Eastern city under authoritarian rule. The centralized authority the Gate has risen to power after the “Disgraceful Events,” a failed popular uprising. Citizens are required to obtain permission from the Gate for the most basic of their daily affairs but the Gate never opens and the queue grows longer, until it becomes a permanent and never-ending facet of the city. It’s a powerful and startling novel. Basma Abdel Aziz is also an important activist and figure in Egypt right now (nicknamed “The Rebel”) and this is her first novel.

The Core of the Sun by Johanna Sinisalo

Translated from the Finnish by Lola Rogers. Probably the closest in subject matter to The Handmaid’s Tale, The Core of the Sun is a wildly inventive, smart, and wickedly funny dystopian novel set in an alternate Republic of Finland. This alternate state has bred a subspecies of women, known as eloi, for sex and procreation. The eloi are receptive and submissive, beloved for their blonde hair and perfect bodies. Smart and independent women are sterilized. Our protagonist Vanna passes as an eloi with her blonde locks and good looks but is fiercely intelligent. She is desperately looking for her missing sister while also keeping at bay her growing addiction to a powerful, illegal stimulant—the chili pepper. If that’s not enough to tempt you, there’s also a crazy religious cult, chili pepper induced hallucinations, and one of the most jaw dropping opening scenes I’ve ever read.

Human Acts: A Novel by Han Kang

Translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith. In the midst of a student uprising a young boy is killed. His story and the events following the uprising are told in a series of narratives—each chapter from a different perspective: his best friend, his heartbroken mother, a factory worker, an editor facing down government censorship. Together these narratives form a fictionalized account of the South Korean Gwangju Uprising in 1980. Horrific and brutal, Human Acts is not for the faint of heart but it is so beautifully written. If Han Kang and Deborah Smith sound familiar, they’re also the author/translator team of the Man Booker International Prize winner The Vegetarian.

 

Check out the full article on Book Riot.

#WITMonth Stats

Posted in Books, Publishing News, Translation by

Earlier in the month I posted about the dismal percentage of published works in translation that are written by women and I promised more specifics for all of you data junkies. According to Chad Post, Publisher at Open Letter Books and keeper of the largest translation database in publishing, here are the numbers:

First off, the big one: For the data I’ve collected between 2008-20181only 28.7% of the translations in the database were written by women. That’s 1,394 titles out of a grand total of 4,849. That’s not great . . .

Here’s a list of the ten countries that have produced the most total titles written by women:

France 155
Germany 145
Sweden 84
Italy 64
Spain 64
Japan 62
Argentina 49
Russia 43
South Korea 39
Canada [Quebec] 38

Obviously, certain languages are at a disadvantage when you look at their authors by country of origin, so here’s the top ten by language.

French 236
Spanish 186
German 185
Swedish 88
Italian 67
Japanese 60
Russian 46
Arabic 44
Korean 39
Norwegian 37

And, here are the top ten publishers.

AmazonCrossing 194
Dalkey Archive 58
Europa Editions 47
Seagull Books 37
Other Press 28
New Directions 26
Open Letter 24
Atria 19
Feminist Press 17
Penguin 17

Check out the full post on Three Percent.

 

#WITMonth Recommendations!

Posted in Books, Publishing News by

August is Women in Translation Month, something that’s very near and dear to my heart. Why do we need a specific month dedicated to reading women in translation? The numbers alone are pretty bleak. The publishing industry as a whole publishes very few works of translation to begin with—the number that’s often cited is three percent, although it’s probably lower than that. But let’s stick with three percent—so only three percent of titles published in English are international titles written originally in a language other than English. Of that small percentage of books, 28.7% of translations published in 2008–2018 were written by women. I’ll post more specifics later but those numbers* are dismal, especially when considering some of the exciting and award-winning translations currently beloved by English reading audiences (think Elena Ferrante, Man Booker International Prize winner Han Kang, and Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexeievich.)

Want to add more works in translation to your #TBR pile? I recommend the following titles and authors to celebrate (and support!) women in translation: 

Recitation by Bae Suah

Translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith, Bae Suah’s Recitation is a wandering and lyrical meditation on memory and language reminiscent of Sebald. Suah is one of the most fascinating writers in South Korea right now and her books are coming out at a rapid pace.

Her other titles currently available in English include A Greater Music and Nowhere To Be Found and North Station comes out from Open Letter Books in October!

The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz

“A very real vision of life after the Arab Spring written with dark, subtle intelligence, The Queue describes the sinister nature of authoritarianism, and illuminates the way that absolute authority manipulates information, mobilizes others in service to it, and fails to uphold the rights of even those faithful to it.” (back cover)

Translated from the Arabic by Elisabeth Jaquette. The Queue is this terrifying dystopian novel set in a non-specific Middle Eastern city under authoritarian rule. It’s powerful and startling. The author, Basma Abdel Aziz, is also an important activist and figure in Egypt right now and this is her first book translated into English.

Umami by Laia Jufresa

Translated from the Spanish by Sophie Hughes. I haven’t read this yet but Umami is at the top of my list! The novel is set in Mexico City in a neighborhood with a cluster of five house named after tastes: Sweet, Salty, Bitter, Sour, and Umami. It sounds like an inventive and poignant novel about grief.

“A thoughtful, eccentric, and heart-wrenching interwoven story told from the Umami tells the stories of characters who are dealing with mortality, abandonment, and loss.” —World Literature Today

 

Looking for more? Check these authors out!

Clarice Lispector (Lispector’s been called Brazil’s greatest modern writer and the most important Jewish writer since Kafka.)

Josefine Klougart (Klougart has been hailed as one of Denmark’s greatest contemporary writers.)

Can Xue (A Chinese avant-garde fiction writer and literary critic. I’d recommend Frontier and The Last Lover.)

Dubravka Ugresic (Ugresic, a Croatian native now living in Amsterdam, was awarded the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 2016.)

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

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I’ve had Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff on the very top of my TBR pile for a solid year (or more!) and after just finishing it I’m very angry with myself for letting it languish there for so long. It left me gasping. An utterly fascinating, beautiful, and dark portrait of a marriage. I know she has other novels—what should I read next? (Not my picture but isn’t it gorgeous?)