Staff Recommendations
Sheryn Morris
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At Balthazar : a tale of the New York brasserie at the center of the world
by Nadelson, Reggie,
July 31, 2017
Call Number: 647.95 B197Na
Located in Manhattan’s Soho, Balthazar is a Parisian-style brasserie with its own unique features. Very much like its Parisian counterpart, the eatery is both a neighborhood hangout and place to enjoy a fine meal. Created by a British transplant, Keith McNally, who at the time was an illegal immigrant, but in 2017 the owner, staff and restaurant are legal and thriving. Balthazar has been in business for twenty years. The decor, service, and most importantly the menu, all have French roots. In the great tradition of European brasseries and bars, regulars feel a strong sense of... Read Full Review
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The price of illusion : a memoir
by Buck, Joan Juliet,
July 11, 2017
Call Number: 051.092 B922
Over many years Joan Juliet Buck contributed excellent reviews and criticism on a variety of subjects (fashion, media, the arts, film and music) to Vogue Magazine. After an ill-fated assignment in 2011 she and her work evaporated from the printed media. It was an interview with the first lady of Syria printed a few weeks before Bashar al-Assad ordered violent attacks against masses of protesters. Buck is not a stupid woman, perhaps guileless in trusting those who had given her the interview assignment. She has detractors who have not spoken in her defense, and... Read Full Review
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Seeds on Ice: Svalbard and the Global Seed Vault
by Fowler, Cary
May 30, 2017
Call Number: 631.5211 F785
In the modern industrialized world we rarely give much thought about the future availability of food. Domestic and international world disasters remind us about famines and starvation. Wars, terrorism and natural disasters cause displacement of people and destroy their access to farmland. In addition there are global concerns about GMOs. A doomsday vision was the incentive for the creation of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault aka The Doomsday Vault, which is located on one of the islands in the Norwegian archipelago. Millions of seeds are stored in cold vaults deeply buried in rock, and... Read Full Review
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The great British bake off : perfect cakes and bakes to make at home
by Collister, Linda,
January 24, 2017
Call Number: 641.71 C713-3
What better time to get ready for Valentine's Day treats than to try some recipes from the ever popular television program: The Great British Bake Off, found on local PBS stations and YouTube. The show is hosted by Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc, a pair of cut-ups, with the hard core judging done by two redoubtable bakers, Mary Berry, aka Mary Queen of Cakes, and Paul Hollywood--their real names by gum. Mary Berry has a solid background in food preparation and judging, having graduated from Bath College of Domestic... Read Full Review
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Frantumaglia : a writer's journey
by Ferrante, Elena,
January 15, 2017
Call Number: 853 F373F
Elena Ferrante is the internationally acclaimed Italian author of The Neapolitan Quartet and other novels. She writes under a pseudonym and has maintained her privacy for over twenty years. In this autobiographical work, Frantumaglia (in Neapolitan dialect meaning bits and pieces) she allows her readers to get very close to who she is as a person and as a writer. The work is divided into three sections: Papers: 1991 - 2003; Tesserae: 2003 - 2007; Letters: 2011 - 2016.What shines through is her attentiveness: to her work and her vision; concerns about accepting a major Italian... Read Full Review
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The passions & politics of Ed Edelman an untold story of leadership
September 19, 2016
Call Number: DVD 92 E21Pa
LAPL Reads is committed to reviewing books, however this week we are recommending a DVD, The passions & politics of Ed Edelman an untold story of leadership. Former Los Angeles City Councilman (nine years) and former Los Angeles County Supervisor (twenty years), Edmund Edelman died last week. This documentary is not being reviewed because of Mr. Edelman's death. It is being reviewed to bring attention to a civic leader and elected official who was dedicated to serving the public.... Read Full Review
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Rise of the rocket girls : the women who propelled us, from missiles to the Moon to Mars
by Holt, Nathalia, 1980-
August 15, 2016
Call Number: 629.40973 H758
When Natalia Holt, scientific researcher and writer, and her husband were searching for a name for their baby daughter, they googled the name Eleanor Frances. Among the names, she became intrigued with Eleanor Francis Helin, a scientist who had worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for over three decades, starting in the 1960s. Who was this woman and were there other women working at NASA during this time? Two births emerged: baby daughter Eleanor, and a research project about the women behind the rocket science that sent Americans into space.Today there are many innovations... Read Full Review
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Soup for Syria : recipes to celebrate our shared humanity
by Massaad, Barbara Abdeni, compiler, photographer.
May 23, 2016
Call Number: 641.71 M414
This book evolved out of trips made by writer and photographer Barbara Abdeni Massaad to Syrian refugee camps forty-five minutes from her apartment in the Bekka Valley, Lebanon. At least once a week, during the winter of 2014-2015, she put food in the trunk of her car for numerous refugee camps in Lebanon. There were many who shared her dismay and concern for 3.8 million people who have been displaced throughout the region and live in temporary camps, in need of food and shelter. She enlisted the help of world food writers, chefs and others who love to cook. Everyone contributed... Read Full Review
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Los Angeles Central Library: A History of Its Art and Architecture
by Gee, Stephen
May 4, 2016
Call Number: 027.47949 L881Ge
Last Friday, April 29, 2016 was the 30th anniversary of the fire at Central Library. The remembrance of that day, and its significance in the history of the library, was admirably covered by the Library Docents, and by Christina Rice, Senior Librarian, Photo Collection. Last week also marked the arrival of a significant new book about the Central Library’s history... Read Full Review
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In Memory's Kitchen: A Legacy from the Women of Terezin
March 12, 2016
Call Number: 940.5472437 I355
This book is of special interest for Women’s Heritage Month, and in reference to the exhibit at Central Library, State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda.The subject matter of this book does not directly or completely address Nazi propaganda, but does so partially and in an oblique way.The setting was Terezin, a concentration camp which also was a transit center, with one section created as "a paradise ghetto" for propaganda, and at the very end as a death factory. From... Read Full Review
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Voracious : a hungry reader cooks her way through great books
by Nicoletti, Cara,
January 13, 2016
Call Number: 641.5 N643
A recurring dream, shared by generations of immigrant parents and grandparents, is that they their offspring get an education, a good job and not have to earn a living doing manual labor. According to Cara Nicoletti her grandfather, “ . . . always said he wanted us to ‘sit at a desk and have clean hands.’ “ She and her female relatives all worked in the family butcher shop, and Cara attended New York University, earning a degree in English literature. However, the very job her grandfather would not have wished her to have was the one she loved. Coming from a long line... Read Full Review
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Flash fiction international : very short stories from around the world
November 9, 2015
Call Number: SS
The short story is different from a novel in length and in plot content. Flash fiction is a variation with very, very, very short stories. They are popular throughout the world and offer writers a creative chance to experiment, to compress and still express some type of story which can leave a reader room for speculation and even some puzzle solving. As with regular short stories, because they are short, these works can be read quickly, however they often require more than one repeat reading, and will elicit questions, speculation and probably more rereading. This... Read Full Review