Four picks to begin your literary year
By Susan Swagler
The Tricking of Freya
(St. Martin’s Press)
By Christina Sunley
When I very briefly mentioned this book in the December book column, I was still reading it. I’m finished now and highly satisfied, so I’ll share some more details.
This debut novel is written, in part and quite cleverly, as a memoir. Freya, the granddaughter of a famous Icelandic poet, starts her story with the first summer she and her mother spent with her mother’s family in the Icelandic-Canadian village of Gimli. The tension between Freya’s sensible mother and her unpredictable aunt, Birdie, started years ago, but the surprising source is something that will have a lasting impact on young Freya. This coming-of-age novel is rich with contemporary detail; vivid, otherworldly landscapes; fantastic Norse mythology; and an informative, interesting foray into the intricacies of the Icelandic language. It covers some 20 years of family strife and mental illness and takes Freya from the States to Canada and finally to beautiful, mysterious Iceland. It’s a cold-weather book that is perfect for reading right now.
Word for Word
(Perigee)
By James E. Snyder Jr.
Transform your vocabulary from pedestrian to precocious (or from sophisticated to straightforward) with this addictive little book of words.
The author, an attorney who lives in North Carolina, started with his own list of “lexicographic discoveries—the most beautiful, unusual and nuanced words of our language, paired with their simpler, more familiar equivalents.”
The list was easier than a dictionary, he says, and more straightforward than a thesaurus, and for years he used it as his own handy desk reference. In these days of high-speed messaging, the subtleties of our language (not to mention the spellings ... u no im rite) often are lost. “Word for Word,” Snyder says, “was created as a small gesture toward dialing back our modern sensibilities and making use of a wide array of spectacular words too many of us have forgotten or never known.”
Rose’s Heavenly Cakes
(Wiley)
By Rose Levy Beranbaum
Beranbaum (aka the “Diva of Desserts”) is the award-winning author of The Cake Bible, which was published some 20 years ago. Many things have changed since then. The standard cake pan used to be one-and-a-half inches deep. Now it’s two inches. Many of today’s bakers value simplicity over complexity, and the wide availability of professional equipment and topquality ingredients for at-home cooks makes this possible. In this absolutely beautiful new cookbook, Beranbaum expands on her sweet subject with easy-to-follow how-tos for celebratory cakes as well as simpler sweets perfect for a weeknight dinner.
There are flourless cakes, sponge cakes and cheesecakes here. Learn how to make her Golden Lemon Almond Cake and her Devil’s Food Cake with Midnight Ganache. Also, you’ll find charming (and currently very trendy) baby cakes like Mud Turtle Cupcakes, Peanut Butter Ingots and White Velvet Butter Cupcakes. This book, full of approachable yet delicious confections, is a must for anyone who loves to bake.
The Cracker Queen: A Memoir of a Jagged,
Joyful Life
(Gotham Books)
By Lauretta Hannon
Life handed this woman a sad sack of lemons, and she made some pretty sweet lemonade. She ended up with a wonderfully moving story, too.
This self-proclaimed “Cracker Queen” (read: strong, authentic Southern woman) shares stories of her tumultuous upbringing in Warner Robbins, Ga. While she says she always felt cherished, her mama and her jazz musician daddy (who died when Lauretta was 17) had a deep but disorderly relationship fueled by years of infidelity, drinking and nervous breakdowns.
Some of these stories are laugh-out-loud funny; others will break your heart. All are told with an engaging mix of sass, wit and Southern charm. If her name sounds familiar, it’s because Hannon is a commentator on NPR’s All Things Considered.
