July 2002 | In this issue, we've got some old-time absolute favorite beach reads to share with you, all three stories that keep you turning the pages even after you've dropped the book in the pool. Whoops. And, of course, some ideas for tasty treats and handy tips to enhance your summer reading experience. Enjoy!

1.  Books of Late: Our favorite hot summer reads
2.  Tips: Listening to books and swapping good reads
3.  Food for Thought: Some of our favorite frozen recipes
4.  Etc.: A few creative ideas for staying cool

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1.  Books of Late

Anne Rivers Siddons is one of those guilty pleasure writers, but in this, her first novel, she shows that she could have been and still might be something more. This intriguing coming-of-age novel has it all--a steamy hot Alabama summer, a revolution brewing in the wings, and a beautiful quintessential Southern belle fed up to the teeth with the unspoken social rules that govern her ilk in the year 1956. Siddons' eye for all the little precise details that evoke a time and place is nothing short of uncannily obsessive and makes for great pop culture fun. Will poodle-skirted heroine Maggie Deloach relinquish the best fraternity boy's pin in order to seek a more meaningful, if terrifyingly precarious existence? Only Elvis the Pelvis knows.

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Good Books Lately co-founder Ellen Moore gets all gooey when she talks about this retrospective coming-of-age novel, "my favorite love story EVER!" Flailing New York City artist A. Jenrette wakes up one day to a phone call from his walled-off past. Wiping the residual blow off his nose (it's 1986), he returns to his long-lost home in a small North Carolina town to attend a family funeral. And runs smack-dab into lovely green-eyed Jane McCrae, the girl that came between A. and his best friend Cary, in that Alice-in-Wonderland summer on the Carolina shore so many years ago. The writing is dark, funny, fluid; the story is bittersweet and somehow achingly true. Jane is perhaps one of our favorite female characters in all of fiction, and you'll root for all three of the main characters until the very last page. Deeply satisfying, especially if you're secretly a big sentimental schmuck.

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Yet another in the long line of great books that have suffered the transformation to mediocre movie. Despite what Barbara Streisand's film version might have you thinking, there's a lot more to the book than just a thick Southern yokel freaking out to a sophisticated New York psychiatrist with whom he eventually falls hopelessly in love. Nope, this is mostly the story of a very, very dysfunctional South Carolina family who give new meaning to words like "dark," "violent," and "passive-aggressive," and who have been keeping a very, very big elephant in the old family closet for the past forty years. It's sick and twisted, all right, but because it's Pat Conroy, it's also sweet, sensitive, lyrical, and pleasantly obsessive compulsive. The first time GBL co-founder Kira Stevens read this passionate, poetic tear-jerker, she stayed up all night to finish it and missed her chemistry exam entirely. Oh, no, wait. Sorry, Kira, that was me.

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2.  Tips

If you're in a book club, arrange for a Beach Read Book Swap at your next group meeting. Ask each member to bring in his or her favorite "easy" read--you know, something compelling and readable but nothing too intellectually demanding. Pass the hate with numbers that correspond to numbers randomly assigned to each paperback, and then send everybody home with a new favorite page-turner.

We cannot, simply CANNOT overemphasize the power of a book-on-tape to transform your summer road-trip, especially if you have to drive all the way across states like Kansas or Nevada--no offense to Kansans or Nevadans intended. This is your chance to catch up with that hot bestseller that was checked out of your library all last winter, or to experience a genre or an author that you wouldn't normally choose to read. We love Stephen King short stories, for instance, to get us all the way across I-70. These tapes can be expensive, but if you build a small library of them you can start to exchange with friends--and yet again listen to some authors or stories that aren't your usual cup of tea.

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3.  Food for Thought

Try some of these recipes from Epicurious.com to refresh you on a hot summer day!

Strawberry Daquiri Slush with Honeydew Melon

A refreshing adults-only treat!

Ingredients:
1 (12-oz) package frozen unsweetened strawberries
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 to 1/3 cup white rum
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 ripe honeydew melon, seeded and flesh cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Garnish: lime slices

Directions:
1. Purée frozen berries, corn syrup, rum to taste, and lime juice in a blender until slushy.
2. Spoon into 6 (8-ounce) wineglasses or other stemmed shallow glasses and top with melon.

Makes 6 servings.

 

Icy Fruit Salad

This classic recipe comes with an amusing note from Gourmet Magazine's Kathy Spivey:
"I hated this salad when I was growing up: It was pink, had too many ingredients in it, and my very Southern family loved it — three good reasons to abstain. During Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, my mother would always go back for seconds, chiming, 'You don't know what you're missing.' But I knew, all right — an unappealing mishmash of canned fruit and mayonnaise. No thanks. However, as I've grown older my family's 'Southern classics' don't embarrass me as much. I've actually eaten this salad many times as an adult, and though I'm not saying it's my favorite, sometimes I need seconds to be sure."

Ingredients:
2 small cans of mandarin oranges, drained
1 16-oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
1 small jar maraschino cherries, drained and chopped
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup shredded coconut (optional)
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1 container of Cool Whip
1/3 cup of mayonnaise
1 large package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

Directions:
1. Combine Cool Whip, mayonnaise, cream cheese, and sugar in a large bowl. Beat until thoroughly blended. Stir in other ingredients.
2. Chill at least two hours before serving. Serve on a bed of lettuce with tea biscuits (or some other salty cookie). Or pack in tupperware for a summer picnic.

Serves 8.

Cool Curry Caulifower Soup

Cooking the curry powder over low heat for a short time eliminates any raw taste and sweetens the spice.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 celery ribs, with leaves
2 medium-sized onions, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon curry powder
6 cups fresh vegetable broth
1 head cauliflower, broken into florets
1 ripe tomato, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup half-and-half
Salt and pepper to taste
3 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal, for garnish

Directions:
1. Combine oil and butter in a heavy pot over low heat. Wilt the celery and onions 10 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally; add garlic during last 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the curry powder and cook, stirring, over low heat for 1 minute. Add the broth, cauliflower and tomato; bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Remove the pot from the heat and cool slightly.
3. Purée the soup in a food processor, adding the half-and-half through the feed tube. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate to chill before serving. Garnish with scallions.

Makes 6 servings.

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4.  Etc.

We thought we'd remind ourselves (and you!) about some common sense tactics for staying cool. When it gets above 90 degrees, staying cool isn't just about comfort, it's a real health issue, so take good care of yourself this summer when you're reading a book at the beach or by the pool!

How to Keep Your Cool in the "Dog Days" of Summer

• Stay out of the sun during the hottest hours, from noon to 4 p.m.
• If you stay in sunlight for a prolonged period, wear a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15. Use a broad-spectrum product that protects against both ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B radiation.
• Wear light, loose fitting clothes.
• Drink plenty of fluids. Avoid alcohol. Drink plenty of water regularly and often; your body needs water to keep cool. Drink plenty of fluids even if you do not feel thirsty.
• Avoid caffeinated drinks (tea, coffee, colas) and high-sugar drinks.
• Eat smaller meals. Choose salads, fruits or vegetables.
• Keep athletic activities to a minimum. Go swimming instead of jogging.
• Suck on ice chips.
• Slow down. Avoid strenuous activity. If you must do strenuous activity, do it during the coolest part of the day, which is usually in the morning between 4 and 7 a.m.
• Stay indoors as much as possible. If air conditioning is not available, stay on the lowest floor, out of the sunshine. Try to go to a public building with air conditioning each day for several hours.
• Put a wet towel or cold pack on your head.
• If you don't have air conditioning, make sure rooms are well-ventilated.
• If your home is just unbearably hot, use the heat as an excuse to go to a movie or shopping at the mall -- it'll be air-conditioned!

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For questions, suggestions or comments, please give us a call anytime at: 1 . 866 . 456 . 9416 (toll free), 303 . 744 . 8000 (in Colorado), or e-mail us at: kira@goodbookslately.com.