Pizza: History, Recipes, Stories, People, Places, Love

 

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A copy of this book is available at Sherman Public Library

641.824 ELLIOT

Pizza: History, Recipes, Stories, People, Places, Love  by James and Thom Elliot

 

If this were JUST a recipe book it would obviously have no real place in a book review blog. Even if the recipes included were of a nature that they did not appeal to the reader, it would seem to me to be a bit egregious to spend time and effort to point out any disagreement that one had with the author's choices of recipes included.

However, in this book that is not the case. The authors have combined several things in this volume to make it interesting even to those who may not have a desire to take the leap into cooking your own pizza. Under a moniker of The Pizza Pilgrims, the two ran a blog about a journey they made across Europe in a small van that they converted gradually into a pizza truck. So, in one part it is a travelogue as they visit the cities of origins of various types of pizza.

A second part of the book is a fairly brief but intriguing history of pizza, down through the ages, including some early history that involves early meals that eventually turned into what we now call "pizza", including one of my favorite stories when the King and Queen of Italy visited Naples and a local chef invented the pizza now called "Margherita" (a pizza that has tomato sauce (red), mozzarella cheese (white) and basil (green) using the colors of the nation's flag as an inspiration.

Interspersed in the book are some interviews with local "heroes" of the pizza industry, not just ones in Italy, but all over the world. These heroes are famous chefs and pizza shop owners who have had some impact on the pizza industry. The authors didn't limit themselves to just Europe, but even did some time in the U.S., thus giving a background in the styles of pizza in the states now know as "New York style" and "Chicago style" pizzas.  Also of interest is a page or two denoting celebrity pizza enthusiasts, including Jennifer Lawrence, Beyonce, Lebron James and Ed Sheeran.

And if you are ambitious, there is a plethora of recipes that you can try your hand at making. Be sure you have eaten prior to looking at them or you may find yourself rushing off to make one for lunch.

  

  

Until next time, happy browsing.

Quiggy

Disclaimer: BARR Discoveries is solely the opinion of the author of the entry. BARR Library is not responsible in any way for the material posted.

The Road to Little Dribbling

 BARR Discoveries is a public forum. Anybody can submit articles on library materials (or even events) to be published here.  I reserve the right to correct spellings on the entries submitted, but otherwise the entries will be published without comment from the moderator. Send any prospective articles to me at winthrop_j_quiggy@yahoo.com  

 

A copy of this book on CD is available at Sherman Public Library

914.104 BRY

A copy of the print book is also available at Denison and Sherman Libraries:

914.104 BRYSON

The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson has an extensive bibliography, much of which can be categorized as travel literature. He has toured England twice (Notes from a Small Island and this book). He has also done a tour of the United States (The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America), a trip across Australia via the country's transcontinental railroad (Down Under), and a trip across Europe (Neither Here Nor There). 

In addition Bryson has also written two volumes on word origins; The Mother Tongue, devoted to English and Made in America, which tells of the origin of specifically American words in the English language. Both of of those are entertaining not just because of the discussion of word origins but because each one is peppered with a lot of history, and not the boring kind of history you remember from your High School teacher.

The Road to Little Dribbling came as a result of a conversation that Bryson had with his publisher who suggested to Bryson that he write a sequel to Notes from a Small Island. Both Notes from a Small Island and The Road to Little Dribbling, as I said, deal with Bryson touring his adopted country of England.

Some background to Bryson may be instructive. Bryson was born in Iowa and travelled to England in his early 20's, but ended up staying and marrying and English girl. Some of the vignettes Bryson tells during his travels often carry some anecdotes about life as a kid in America as well as his life experiences while living in England.

In all of his travel literature books Bryson has an engaging voice of the ups and downs of travel, and his occasional consternation at what he perceives as ineptitude when dealing with some people he encounters. It's kind of like listening to your crotchety old uncle talk about his trip to California via some indirect route through small towns on the way.

Having heard Bryson himself read an audiobook once, I have to admit that the audiobook reader on this volume, Nathan Osgood, is a much better speaker. But if you prefer reading print, there is always the option of just going with the book.  

Unfortunately, if you find this volume intriguing, none of the BARR Libraries has any of the other travel literature volumes listed in the first paragraph above. But I have read almost all of his stuff, so you can't go wrong with some of the volumes that are available.

Until next time, happy browsing.

Quiggy

Disclaimer: BARR Discoveries is solely the opinion of the author of the entry. BARR Library is not responsible in any way for the material posted.

 
 

1984: The Graphic Novel

BARR Discoveries is a public forum. Anybody can submit articles on library materials (or even events) to be published here.  I reserve the right to correct spellings on the entries submitted, but otherwise the entries will be published without comment from the moderator. Send any prospective articles to me at winthrop_j_quiggy@yahoo.com  

 

A copy of this book is available at Grayson College Library

741.5 NES

 

George Orwell: 1984 The Graphic Novel by George Orwell (Adapted and Illustrated by Fido Nesti) 

 

 Many people have experienced the original classic dystopian novel 1984 by George Orwell, either in high school or  in college English literature classes, or maybe, like me, just read it on their own out of an interest of some aspect of the iconic masterpiece.

It is, in case you didn't know, a look into the dystopian future of 1984. For background, when Orwell first wrote the novel in 1948, he just interposed the "48" to "84" as an ostensible year in the future. In this nightmarish vision of the future the government controls just about everything, including what you are allowed to think. The world of the future comprises only three nations, Oceania (where our protagonist lives), Eastasia and Eurasia. There is always a war going on between the countries, but as seen from the eyes of Winston Smith, the protagonist, it is never really certain who is at war with who.

The job that Winston has is to keep altering the past so that it fits with the current viewpoint. For example, Oceania is currently at war Eurasia and is allied with Eastasia, and that is the way it has always been.  But Winston is almost certain that at sometime in the recent past it was the other way around... Oceania had been at war with Eastasia and allied with Eurasia, and THAT was the way it had always been.

Everyone is being watched by Big Brother, the government in other words, and there are no secrets from the government.  Even your own home has a camera in it to spy on you in your private lives. And God forbid if you should be involved in doing something the government considers subversive and not conducive to the Party line.  The only problem is that keeps changing and at any moment the police could come and take a person away for subversive acts. And said person would disappear.  Not just from society, his or or total existence would be expunged from the records as if they had never existed.

The main plot of the first part of the story tells how Winston meets a woman, Julia, and begins what they think is a clandestine relationship; one that would bring the Big Brother down on them if it were discovered.  Both are secretly revolutionary, as in wanting the downfall of Big brother, but both are rational enough to know that it would be hazardous to their health to try anything overt.

I don't want to give away any more if you've never read the original story.  As far as this particular book, you are getting the main gist of the story, but like cheating and just reading the Cliff Notes for a classic book, some of the subtleties may be missing. Nothing is actually changed over the course of this graphic novel from it's original source. In other words Winston does not actually lead a revolution and overthrow Big Brother, instead of how the actual novel ends.  But it is slightly more compact.  The bonus however is the illustrations that graphic comic artist Fido Nesti brings to the project.

In 1984 (the actual year), a movie made it's big screen debut with John Hurt as Winston, Suzanna Hamilton as Julia and  Richard Burton as O'Brien . As well, in 1956 there had been a version with Edmond O'Brien as Winston, Jan Sterling as Julia,  and Michael Redgrave as O'Connor (changed from O'Brien in this film, maybe due to the lead actor's last name being O'Brien?)    While those two films are worth checking out, I kind of like Nesti's artistic renderings of the characters, especially that of Winston. It seems to fit the character a bit better as the drudge who is somewhat down on his lot in life.

 

Until next time, happy browsing.

Quiggy

Disclaimer: BARR Discoveries is solely the opinion of the author of the entry. BARR Library is not responsible in any way for the material posted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

The Town That Loved Bigfoot

 

BARR Discoveries is a public forum. Anybody can submit articles on library materials (or even events) to be published here.  I reserve the right to correct spellings on the entries submitted, but otherwise the entries will be published without comment from the moderator. Send any prospective articles to me at winthrop_j_quiggy@yahoo.com

 

A copy of this DVD is available at the Denison Public Library

DVD 001.944 TOWN

 

 

 

The Town That Loved Bigfoot 

Do you believe in Bigfoot?

Whether you think the legend of Bigfoot is a throwback to a prehistoric age, or some heretofore unknown species of ape, or just the result of some people taking a little more time at the local watering hole than prudent, The Town That Loved Bigfoot is a good source to further justify whatever outlook you might already have,

Then again, what with the stories that some of the townspeople tell, it might even change your way of thinking....

The town of Evergreen, AL has taken a rather opportunistic approach to their own local legend.  Bigfoot is not limited only to the wilds of the northwest of the United States, at least if you take these people's word for the strange happenings in their neighboring woods. Of course, anyone who has delved into the legend more than just a brief glance will know that there are similar sightings of such creatures all over the world. (The Yeti in the Himalayan Mountains of Asia comes to mind).

What makes this particular film interesting is the side carnival that the townspeople have made of the sightings.  Included in the story is how the town bought a huge statue of a Bigfoot creature and displays it prominently in the city, attracting many visitors to come and just have their picture taken with it. Which leads to the tourists spending money locally, of course, and thus the "opportunistic approach" I referenced at the beginning.

It can be easy to dismiss the townspeople as "hillbillies" if you take a superior attitude intellectually. After all the town is also the Collard Green Capital of Alabama and holds an annual Collar Green Festival, one of the events at said festival being a "Bigfoot calling" contest.  But the people here are genuine, and the ones who are interviewed for the film really believe in their local legend.  Some of them have even had close encounters with a mysterious creature.

If you don't come to this film with an already predisposed attitude of being dismissive, the film is definitely worth a look.  

 

 

Until next time, happy browsing.

Quiggy

Disclaimer: BARR Discoveries is solely the opinion of the author of the entry. BARR Library is not responsible in any way for the material posted.

 

Gong This Book!

 

BARR Discoveries is a public forum. Anybody can submit articles on library materials (or even events) to be published here.  I reserve the right to correct spellings on the entries submitted, but otherwise the entries will be published without comment from the moderator. Send any prospective articles to me at winthrop_j_quiggy@yahoo.com

 

A copy of this book is available at the Denison Public Library

791.497 NEDEFF

 

 

Gong This Book! The Uncensored History of Television's Wildest Talent Show:

 

For someone who was born post-1980, this book might be just a curious foray into the seedier side of '70's era TV.  The concept of the game show, The Gong Show, might even cause some of the more modern population to be in consternation as to how such a show ever got off the ground in the first place. But for those of you who were from this blogger's era (I was born in 1961), it will be a window into that bygone era.  

Chuck Barris, for those of you new to the name, was a TV producer who brought such classic TV game shows to the public as The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game to TV in the 70's. The Gong Show, to educate the neophyte, was a show that was basically a predecessor of such modern TV shows as America's Got Talent, albeit with a more seedier premise.  

The Gong Show showcased a bevy of talent that was basically something like an amateur hour, with acts that were just barely better than something the local kid's school talent show, and sometimes not even as good as that.  What made The Gong Show so popular, at least to me, was the fact that the viewer could laugh at the audacity that some of the contestants had to even think they had enough talent to be on the show, or that the viewer could watch and think "I could do better than that...!"

The author fleshes out this look into the studio background of the production with some insights into the life of the show's creator, Chuck Barris, as well as some reminiscences of some of the personnel behind the scenes.  It's really hard to describe the show and have the reader see how truly outre the show was, however. I highly recommend that you scope out YouTube for a few episodes before delving into the book. The problem with doing that is it may convince you to abandon reading the book in the first place, since it is admittedly something that is what I hesitate to refer to as an "acquired taste".

That said, if you do have fond memories of the show, either from experiencing it first hand during it's initial run, or the occasional revival on such modern re-airings on  such stations like The Game Show Network, the book is well worth checking out.

 

Until next time, happy browsing.

Quiggy

Disclaimer: BARR Discoveries is solely the opinion of the author of the entry. BARR Library is not responsible in any way for the material posted.

 

Polybius

BARR Discoveries is a public forum. Anybody can submit articles on library materials (or even events) to be published here.  I reserve the right to correct spellings on the entries submitted, but otherwise the entries will be published without comment from the moderator. Send any prospective articles to me at winthrop_j_quiggy@yahoo.com

 

A copy of this book is available at the Denison Public Library

F Armstrong

 

Polybius by Collin Armstrong 

As I stated at the launch of this blog, fiction is usually not my forte'. But one of my favorite non-fiction subjects is in the realm of urban legends and stuff like Bigfoot and UFO's. So a few weeks ago I saw this book at a local bookstore and noted that "Polybius" title.  And sure enough, although a fictional story, it has some basis on an urban legend of a video game from the '80's that supposedly caused extreme reactions on those who played it.  The entire urban legend is out there for more research if you care to look into it. (just Google "Polybius" and "video game" and check out the links.)

But on today's subject, this novel (be forewarned, it's a horror novel) takes place in a fictional town of Tasker Bay in California. The town is the usual run-of-the-mill people, including a character named Mal, who runs the local video rental place (yes, in the '80's most people saw videos through the outdated system of some local magnate buying copies of the VHS tapes, and then renting them to clients.) He also has a sideline of a standup video games (yes, folks, we are in the realm of that time when pretty much the only place you could play video games was a place called an "arcade". Don't forget your bag of quarters, and all that.)

Mal is probably the least likeable person you would ever meet, just looking for the bottom line of raking in money.  So he goes to auction houses and buys up second-hand video consoles.  One of these is a new game called "Polybius". Not much is known about it, and it turns out even it's development is shrouded in secrecy.  But as far as Mal is concerned that doesn't matter because when he plugs in the new game it attracts a following, and people line up to play it. Which means more money for Mal.

One of Mal's employees. Andi, is a reclusive girl who has just moved into town with her mother.  She is a computer whiz of sorts, which is the main reason Mal has her on his payroll; she is a cheap way to keep all those derelict games he buys second-hand running.  But there is something odd about Polybius (more than just one "something").  For instance it's obvious that the game has some kind of hold on people who play it.  And it even has some kind of hold on people who are just watching as bystanders.

The town becomes a center of very strange happenings during the initial weeks that Polybius is put into use.  People who would not normally be so violent suddenly start erupting in fits of rage, and yes, some people end up dying over these altercations.  Originally no one but Andi thinks there is any connection to this new video game, but as she delves into what is happening in the town, she realizes that most of the central figures in these outbursts were people she saw lined up to play this game. And when she delves deeper into the background it starts to appear that no one involved in it's production wants to be associated with it now.

Along with the few people who have managed to not be drawn into the weirdness of the game (possibly because they are too busy dealing with others affected by the game: one is the police chief, and another is Andi's mother who is the town doctor, both of which are confronted with the aftermath of the violent outbursts by the mostly usually sedate townsfolk), Andi tries to get to the bottom of the mystery. 

The book is seriously addictive, and at times I had to lay it aside to rest my mind, because the author was stirring up some strange feelings within me.  (Maybe the author was one of those who was involved in the creation of the "real" original game? A game that now no one wants to even admit existed in the first place?) I did have one issue with the book.  The author seems to be trying to make this book relatable to a younger audience, given that his protagonist is a 17-18 year old girl, but if that's the case, I really don't think he has the ability in that respect. Unless he is describing some of the outlandish violent behavior of the townspeople in general, when he tries to focus on the teens, I don't think he has a line on the concept. (But then, being in my 60's, maybe it's me that doesn't have a line on it. I just was never convinced he conveyed the teen mind however.)

I got the book on Saturday and blasted through it in three days (had to take time off to eat and sleep, you know.) If you read this and want to discuss it feel free to use the email included in this entry.  I would be interested to hear what you have to say. 

 

Until next time, happy browsing.

Quiggy

Disclaimer: BARR Discoveries is solely the opinion of the author of the entry. BARR Library is not responsible in any way for the material posted.

 

The Horror! The Horror!

BARR Discoveries is a public forum. Anybody can submit articles on library materials (or even events) to be published here.  I reserve the right to correct spellings on the entries submitted, but otherwise the entries will be published without comment from the moderator. Send any prospective articles to me at winthrop_j_quiggy@yahoo.com

A copy of this book is available at Grayson College Library

741.5 HOR  

 

 

 

The Horror! The Horror!  Comic Books the Government Didn't Want You to Read by Jim Trombetta

 If you are a fan of MAD Magazine, especially the MAD that was published in the 60's and 70's, you know the name William M. Gaines (that magazine's publisher). What you may not know is that he and several other publishers came under fire in the 50's for a series of graphic horror comics with titles such as The Vault of Horror,  The Tomb of Terror and Uncanny Tales. These comics, though possibly not so shocking by today's standards, were considered to be controversial, to say the least, in the staid 50's society.

 Some of those titles can now be viewed without the censorship that was wielded with a heavy hand in that era. Even so far as to be on TV and even on the big screen. I have seen reprints of "Tales of the Crypt", and of course there was a TV show by the same name a few years back. But even those could be considered tame compared to some of the stories here.

The book doesn't just stop with describing what was contained within these pages. It includes, in graphic detail, some of the covers of the covers of said "offensive" comics, as well as each chapter including an example of an entire story reprinted from those comics.  Now, it should be noted, these stories are probably still not suitable for children under a certain age. But if you have a strong heart, the comics can be enlightening, especially as a glimpse into the seamier side of comics from that bygone age.

Included in the book are brief essays for each chapter, which covers everything that made it's way into those comics, including chapters devoted to crime (in which the criminal always got his just desserts, even if it wasn't always behind the bars of a jail cell), the horrors of war (in which the grisly aftermath of battles made for graphic depictions of the downside of conflict), science fiction (in which mad scientists and aliens both helped to shock the reader in many ways) and of course, the standard horror stories, which more often than not, had skeletons and night creatures  making quick work of the destruction of the main character of the story.

Like the previous post on this blog TV Land to Go , this one doesn't require you to read cover to cover to get the enjoyment out of it.  You can skip around and just read those sections that interest you. As a side note: This one was a happy discovery. I saw it on the desk at Sherman Library scheduled for transfer (one of those cases where the patron made use of the benefit that the BARR library system has where you can turn books in at the nearest convenient one). If I hadn't seen it, I might never have known it was available, since I rarely get to the Grayson College location. Gotta start remedying that lapse.

Until next time, happy browsing.

Quiggy

Disclaimer: BARR Discoveries is solely the opinion of the author of the entry. BARR Library is not responsible in any way for the material posted.