Book Picks

Adult Book:

Much Depends on Dinner  -By Margaret Visser
1986

This is a fascinating book about the history and cultural values surrounding some common foods.

Visser examines a simple meal of chicken, salad, corn, rice and ice cream devoting a chapter of the book to the origins of each food. Additional chapters deal with salt, olive oil, lemons and butter. Visser has gathered some amazing facts about our ordinary dinner ingredients. For instance; the history of breakfast cereal (found in the chapter on corn), the customs surrounding Japanese sake (found in the chapter on rice) and the production of extra virgin olive oil. This is an entertaining and informative book.

Children's Book:

Midnight is a Place -By Joan Aiken
1974

Two orphaned children learn to cope when their home burns down and they are left penniless. The self-sufficient pair take on several nasty jobs including fishing for objects in the sewer system and working in the local carpet factory. Aiken's grim descriptions of working conditions during the Industrial Revolution add a touch of social commentary to the story. At the conclusion of this exciting novel the children find a new home and a chance to improve the working conditions of the other children in the town.