Queen Anne Books

This is Stef Penney's debut novel, and what a remarkable debut it is! I loved it, and it is one of my top five books of 2007. It was a hard book to put down; I grew very attached to the characters and what they were all experiencing, and I didn't want it to end. Tenderness of Wolves would be a great bookclub selection; there are so many layers that make up the whole, and there is much to discuss.

The story takes place in the frozen wilds of 1860's Canada. A small remote village is shattered when a local man is murdered, and the town authorities are determined, almost frantic, to find a suspect. The same day the body is found, a seventeen-year old local boy goes missing and a visiting Indian trapper is caught searching the dead man's home. And so begins the mystery, but there is so much more to the story than the whodunit. The boy's mother sets out to find him, along with the accused trapper -- an unlikely pairing -- but together they brave the unforgiving landscape and frigid elements, forging an unexpected bond along the journey. Also involved in the search, among others, are a young, inexperienced Hudson Bay Company representative and an older man known locally as a "searcher" (finder of missing persons), who is interested in an archeological piece tied to the murder.

Several love stories develop as the story progresses, but the relationships are each unexpected or unusual in some way, and the characters gradually experience significant (yet subtly revealed) changes in their individual outlooks. There is a striking juxtaposition between the harsh, cold, loneliness of the Canadian landscape and this 'connectedness' of the characters, as they journey together through snow and freezing conditions to find answers. They connect despite the fact that each, essentially, is an outcast. At the heart of it all, there is the suspenseful mystery, and of course Penney's fantastic writing that holds everything together so well. The story begins with a punch (think of a velvet hammer) and then flows smoothly from there until the very end. It's just so beautiful but it's also weighty and powerful. This is the perfect book to read while curled up on the couch on a stormy winter night, and seeing as we're heading into a Seattle winter, there should be plenty of those. Now if only there were more books like this one....~Hilary

Ludlow Fitch is on the run. His parents want to sell his teeth so they can keep drinking and stealing (not good, even by kid’s book standards), but Ludlow barely manages to escape by hitching a ride on the back of a carriage headed out of “The City.” Ludlow arrives in the small town of Pagus Parvus. Grey and icy, Ludlow isn’t sure he is better, but he happens to be just in time to be hired by another mysterious new arrival, Joe Zabbidou, a pawnbroker, but, of course, not just your ordinary pawnbroker. Thus begins The Black Book of Secrets, one of my favorite books of the year.

Joe Zabbidou is a secret pawnbroker. Ludlow’s job is to record, in an ancient black book, the secrets the townspeople tell Joe in the middle of the night. What they don’t realize is that telling their secrets will change everything.

There is something magical about the story of Ludlow and Joe Zabbidou stirring up the lives of this depressed town, though there is no actual magic in the story. It all feels a little like Dickens, certainly, but with Amelie or Chocolat mixed in. Reading this reminded me that great books aren’t just great compared to whatever genre they may fit into (oh that was great for a kid’s book, great for a fantasy book, etc…). Great books, like this one, are compelling and vivid and thought-provoking and entertaining – regardless of who they are written for.

(A quick note about the age level: this is really one of those kids books that is great for adults and I think it would be appropriate for kids as young as nine or ten. The cover and the description on the back are perfectly scary so that, hopefully, a child who isn’t ready will be scared away.) ~Lillian

I think just about every flyer this year, and many last year, have included a review of a book about cooking, a chef or a restaurant; it's become a very popular genre, but it's really nothing new. Molly O'Neill, cookbook author and New York Times food columnist has gone back 250 years to find essays, tales and recipes which reflect the American history of eating and food appreciation. It is an amazing collection with an extraordinarily diverse group of contributors. The book is arranged chronologically so historical notables such as Meriwether Lewis, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Walt Whitman and Henry David Thoreau, appropriately enough, lead the way; contemporary writers such as Michael Pollan, Anthony Bourdain and Ruth Reichl follow. There are also recipes and they span the same 250 years so some recipes are more of a curiosity than a palate teaser; for instance Lydia Maria Child's "To Make a Chowder" but others beg trying. This is the gift for anyone who loves to cook but believes they have too many cookbooks (not possible!). ~Patti

As someone who has enjoyed cooking and cookbooks for many years, the name Alice Waters inspires more than a little bit of awe. Although I've never had the pleasure of eating at Chez Panisse in Berkley, I own her cookbooks and dream of someday indulging in a memorable meal. When a friend, discerning reader and customer of Queen Anne Books mentioned he had just finished McNamee's biography of the chef and restaurant and thought it was wonderful, I immediately went over to the shelf and purchased a copy of my own.

This book is something of a trip down memory lane for someone growing up in the late sixties and seventies. It is not just a biography of Waters and her restaurant; it is also a memoir of the turbulent times which shaped both the person and the place. And because it spans 35 years, it is also full of interesting gossip about the cooks and chefs who worked with Waters and tried to help her fulfill her dream of a restaurant which provided food like she had on her first trip to France - simply prepared and born of the absolute freshest ingredients. In fact, Waters is credited for founding the "California Style" of cooking on which so many restaurants now base their cuisine: menus which change with the season taking advantage of the fresh and preferably local ingredients currently available. You'll run into many familiar names including chef Jeremiah Tower (that chapter really is gossipy) and Ruth Reichl.

If you've been to Chez Panisse, you'll love the insight into the vast ups and downs which contributed to today's venerable restaurant. If you own one of Water's four cookbooks, you'll enjoy learning about the woman responsible for changing the way most of us cook and eat. All in all, a delectable treat. ~Patti

Bittman's cookbooks are a staple around my house. How to Cook Everything and The Best Recipes in the World are never put away in the study but have a permanent spot in the kitchen. They are now joined by his How to Cook Everything Vegetarian cookbook.

As many of us are trying to become more conscious and healthier eaters, we may decide to incorporate two or three (or even four) vegetarian meals a week into our lives. This is true at my house so the timing is perfect for a new cookbook which approaches the wonders of vegetables, grains, pasta and legumes simply and 'minimally'. There is also a chapter on tofu and one for eggs and dairy products. As usual, a worthy Bittman addition. ~Patti