Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain (HarperCollins)
Garth Stein’s wholly original novel The Art of Racing in the Rain, now out in paperback, became one of the literary sensations of 2008, making many national and regional bestseller lists. Narrated in the opinionated and insightful voice of a mutt named Enzo, who hopes to be reincarnated as a human, the novel also traces the ups and downs of Enzo’s owner Denny, a racecar driver.
News of Note
Staff Picks
A Case of Exploding Mangoes
Written by Sarah
by Mohammed Hanif (Vintage, $15.00)
If your idea of summer reading is more Kurt Vonnegut than Candace Bushnell, this is the novel for you.
Border Songs
Written by Jessica
by Jim Lynch (Random House, $25.95)
Jim Lynch's previous novel, The Highest Tide, was one of those books I loved obsessively that never seemed to find its audience. I think this amazing new novel is going to get Lynch the attention he deserves. It's an ensemble piece about the idiosyncratic residents of a contentious Canadian/American border town, in a present day much like our own. It's inflected with a knowledge and passion for nature--especially birds--so strong it makes you want to learn the names of every animal and plant you see. It's a book that will spark conversations about outsiders, artists and originality, government and media, working class anxieties and dreams deferred. It's also one of those rare literary books you can recommend when someone says, "I just want something with a happy ending."
Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics
Written by Cheryl
by Ina Garten (Clarkson Potter, $35)
When I first started working at McNally Jackson, a customer came running into the store, his car illegally parked on the street, asking for The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. He was going away for the weekend, and he wanted to bring it as a gift. When I asked "Why?", he replied, "It has the best chocolate cake recipe ever!" I finally had the opportunity to bake that lavish chocolate cake for the bridal shower of a fellow McJ employee; it didn't disappoint. In fact, that classic cookbook, with its easy yet extravagant recipes, has always elicited the wow factor. The Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics, Ina Garten's latest cookbook, returns to the strengths of her first recipes with its seasonal ingredients and its easy, unfailing instructions that will bring tears to the eyes of your hungry dinner guests. I just baked her blueberry struesel muffins with the first crop of New Jersey's best, and when they came out of the oven, I just screamed "WOW!" I can't wait to prepare the turkey roulade and the lobster corn chowder. Bring this as a hostess gift, and you'll be invited back again and again.
Garth Stein’s wholly original novel The Art of Racing in the Rain, now out in paperback, became one of the literary sensations of 2008, making many national and regional bestseller lists. Narrated in the opinionated and insightful voice of a mutt named Enzo, who hopes to be reincarnated as a human, the novel also traces the ups and downs of Enzo’s owner Denny, a racecar driver.
If your idea of summer reading is more Kurt Vonnegut than Candace Bushnell, this is the novel for you.
Jim Lynch's previous novel, The Highest Tide, was one of those books I loved obsessively that never seemed to find its audience. I think this amazing new novel is going to get Lynch the attention he deserves. It's an ensemble piece about the idiosyncratic residents of a contentious Canadian/American border town, in a present day much like our own. It's inflected with a knowledge and passion for nature--especially birds--so strong it makes you want to learn the names of every animal and plant you see. It's a book that will spark conversations about outsiders, artists and originality, government and media, working class anxieties and dreams deferred. It's also one of those rare literary books you can recommend when someone says, "I just want something with a happy ending."
When I first started working at McNally Jackson, a customer came running into the store, his car illegally parked on the street, asking for The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. He was going away for the weekend, and he wanted to bring it as a gift. When I asked "Why?", he replied, "It has the best chocolate cake recipe ever!" I finally had the opportunity to bake that lavish chocolate cake for the bridal shower of a fellow McJ employee; it didn't disappoint. In fact, that classic cookbook, with its easy yet extravagant recipes, has always elicited the wow factor. The Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics, Ina Garten's latest cookbook, returns to the strengths of her first recipes with its seasonal ingredients and its easy, unfailing instructions that will bring tears to the eyes of your hungry dinner guests. I just baked her blueberry struesel muffins with the first crop of New Jersey's best, and when they came out of the oven, I just screamed "WOW!" I can't wait to prepare the turkey roulade and the lobster corn chowder. Bring this as a hostess gift, and you'll be invited back again and again.