A cultured life

 

Today, as I was enjoying the sack lunch I usually bring with me to work, I pondered the expansion of one of my long time hobbies - puttering in the kitchen.  I have always enjoyed the whole process of preparing the food I eat, and for some of it, that involves the harnessing of beneficial microbes.  Most longstanding of these is the sourdough bread culture I have maintained for more than 20 years.  Most weekends, I bake two loaves of sourdough bread for use throughout the week in everything from sandwiches to croutons for soup and salads.  The venerable sourdough culture I have carried for decades contains a mix of bacteria and yeast whose metabolic activities produce the leavened bread that I have exclusively consumed for many years.  Home fermentation activities have not been restricted to bread: on a sporadic basis, I have fermented cabbage to make sauerkraut, and though I haven't brewed in some time, one of my earliest hobbies was making my own beer.  Beneficial microbes have always been welcomed in my kitchen!

More recently, I have expanded these cultural pursuits.  I revived a yogurt maker that I'd purchased several years ago, and I've turned out a few batches of very tasty homemade yogurt.  I've stepped up my sauerkraut production.  And just this week, I sampled my first batch of fermented dill pickles.  These are classic full-sour dill pickles in the best NYC deli tradition.  So with my home baked sourdough sandwich, I had a fermented pickle which was delicious.  I expect to expand fermentations even further after reading a book that I received yesterday, containing info and recipes to produce all manner of fermented produce and beverages.  About the only area of microbe-driven food production that I have not yet tried is making cheese.  Something to look forward to!

New month, new book

 Just two days ago, the final book club meeting of the Trollope Society was held to discuss Mr. Scarborough's Family.  And so now we turn to the next novel on this year's reading list:  The Belton Estate.  This book was first published in 1865.  Just as a violent civil war was coming to a close in the USA, Anthony Trollope wrote this book about a young woman choosing between two suitors.  Thorny issues of inheritance and measuring the qualities of two imperfect men are themes in this short novel by the prolific author.  I look forward to the book as the summer reading season begins.

Bippity boppity bacon!

 I love bacon.  That is certainly not unique, but during the bacon craze of a few years ago, I really leaned into it.  It became a standing joke among family and friends that my bacon affliction was incurable.  References were often made to memes, novelty bacon themed products, and an endless stream of bacon-heavy recipes.  I can even recite from memory the entirety of Jim Gaffigan's bacon monolog.  In more recent times, my bacon ardor has cooled but not fully receded.  Alongside of all that goes my interest in history, and my attraction to author autographed books.  There is just something remarkable about a published book which has been physically touched by its author as they leave a personal inscription as a souvenir.  Try doing that with an audio book or a Kindle.  So when I recently learned that my local independent bookstore - which deals only in autographed books - was holding a book signing for a book devoted to the history and cultural significance of bacon, there was no way I could pass that up.

Yesterday afternoon, then, I was able to meet and briefly talk with Mark A. Johnson, a history professor who has recently published his latest book, American Bacon: The History of a Food Phenomenon.  Initially a little surprised that there was a whole book in bacon, I recalled other similar books that explore society's complex relationships with individual food items, like cod, coffee, and salt.  Johnson's book was a multiyear effort involving scholarly research and disciplined formal writing.  In talking with him, I found similarities in our authorships:  his book was peer-reviewed, just as my papers are in scientific journals.  I suspect his research involved more delicious investigation than mine, however.  This was an early stop on a book publication tour that is just beginning as Johnson continues with appearances at academic and culinary institutions around the country.  I look forward to reading his new book and wish his every success.

Next up

 Yesterday was the final meeting of the Trollope Society to discuss the current title of the ongoing Big Read.  The meeting presentation was given by Oxford University professor Nicholas Shrimpton, and was a detailed historical analysis of one of Anthony Trollope's lesser known works, The Bertrams.  As is usual in these bi-weekly Zoom meetings, I learned a great deal and gained much more insight into the novel than I would have on my own.  Each meeting has about 100 participants from all around the world, and their viewpoints in the small breakout groups and in the final full group discussion never fail to be enriching.

And so today begins the next novel in this year's reading list: Mr Scarborough's Family.  This work was published in 1883 and was one of the last of Trollope's many works to reach the public.  As always, I've prepared myself with a print copy I obtain through the used book clearinghouse webpage ABE Books, as well as a digital version downloaded from Project Gutenberg to my vintage second generation Kindle.  I'll dive into the new book later today, and look forward to discovering another work from the highly prolific Victorian author.

Big Read '26

 Today begins another year of The Big Read, a global online book club organized by The Trollope Society.  Every other Monday through the year, as I did all last year, I join in the discussion via Zoom meeting with Anthony Trollope fans all around the world to discuss one of the prolific author's novels.  Today begins discussion of Rachel Ray, the story of a young country girl as she deals with the hurdles and difficulties of building a social life for herself.  She does this while enduring the critical gossip of a small town, the well-meaning but hapless advice from a weak-minded mother, and the downright maliciousness of a religious-zealot sister.  Even being nearly 200 years old, the story rings true in many aspects and is relatable today.  I look forward to hearing what my fellow Trollopians have to say later today.

Big Read finale

 For the past year, I have been participating in The Big Read from the Trollope Society.  In bi-weekly Zoom meetings from London, UK, I have joined in the discussion of several worthy novels by the prolific Victorian author Anthony Trollope.  Coming into 2025, I was well familiar with Trollope's best-know novel series, the Chronicles of Barsetshire, and the Pallisers, but little beyond that.  By following along with this year's reading list, I have been exposed to a much wider selection of the author's works.  Some of the books I have enjoyed greatly...others, not so much.  But it was all time well spent.  And now I embark on the final reading assignment of the year.  It is the short story Christmas at Thompson Hall, first published in 1876.  Instead of buying a bound paper copy of the book as I usually do, I've instead downloaded the text from Project Gutenberg to read on my vintage 2nd generation Kindle.  Instead of turning pages, I'll be virtually flipping them with a button press.  But by the final meeting on December 22, I will have completed the entire reading list of this year's Big Read.

Playlist

 Since he began several weeks ago, I've been a regular listener to the podcast of actor Bill Nighy, Ill-advised.  In each weekly episode (which usually drop on Thursdays) Bill dispenses answers to listener-submitted questions on a wide variety of topics.  Everything from personal relationships to sartorial tips receive Bill's ostensibly well considered opinions.  Bill himself cuts off any excessive expectations, however, by prefacing each show with the boast that it is at best an opportunity to squander time.  And it's certainly helped me to do that; my job requires the squandering of large amounts of time, which I do via podcasts and audiobooks while I labor away at the lab bench in the furtherance of science.  Anyway, the show concludes each week with a musical playlist, a compendium of music that Bill recommends.  He is, we are to understand, a devotee of diverse musical genres.  Since I am not, I usually gloss over this segment of the show.  But then is the book segment, for Bill is an avid reader.  And he's mentioned a couple of titles recently that I have greatly enjoyed.  The first is The Bookshop, by Penelope Fitzgerald, which I just finished.  The short novel is the story of a brave young woman, Florence Green, who overextends herself and her capital resources to open a bookshop in a small, dreary coastal town in 1960s England.  In doing so, she upsets the rigid social order of the dull, drab village, and plunges headlong into the morass of bureaucratic red tape and hidebound local inhabitants.  Fitzgerald's delightful novel is a fascinating study of human nature and the incongruous hurdles that are thrown up by prejudice and ignorance.  Apparently, the novel was also made into a feature film of the same name, which Mr. Nighy appeared in.  From this, I immediately moved on to Nighy's next book recommendation, Berlin Game by Len Deighton.  I'm only a few chapters into this first book of a nine book series, but am already enthralled.  It is a cold war spy thriller set in divided Germany shortly after WWII, and it reads very much like a novel of John Le Carre or Graham Greene.  This was once my favorite type of fiction, and it's a pleasure to be reunited with the style by such a well written book.  I expect I'll enjoy this and all the ones to follow.  Bill Nighy's book tip batting average is running high- I hope I can keep up.

Delivering for America

 

For a book lover and collector with a fascination for postal mail, the newly published history of the US Postal Service was a temptation too great to resist.  My copy arrived yesterday, and I look forward to many hours spent perusing its 496 pages.  The beautifully produced large coffee table book is full of rare photos and captivating facts of the 250 years of the USPS.  It is written by James H. Bruns, the former director of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum and a prolific author and historian.  The long story of the USPS is a wild tale of adventure, innovation and technology that can hold the interest of any candid reader.  Though today's dismal state of the Federal government casts serious doubt on the future of the largest delivery service in the world, there will always be its noble history, as related in the pages of this stellar book.

Banned Books Week 2025

 We are now in the midst of Banned Books Week 2025, which runs from October 5 to Let Freedom Read Day on October 11.  The annual celebration of Free Speech and Freedom of the Press long predates the short history of this blog; indeed, it has been needed from the earliest days of our nation.  Sadly, it is needed now more than ever.  Hopefully our current thuggish, tyrannical administration will eventually recede into the dark corners of history, yet we must be ever mindful that the freedom to read any and all literature is perpetually under threat.  Censorship is today no less a problem that it has been in recent memory.  Efforts to restrict libraries in schools, universities and municipalities is a corrosive force that poses a persistent threat to society.  This year author, actor, and activist George Takei has been named honorary chairman of Banned Books Week.  Mr. Takei is no stranger to harassment and censorship, and he reminds us that a free and open society depends on the abolishment of censorship in all its forms.  So this week, I will remember that living in "the land of the free and the home of the brave" requires unrelenting effort from all of us to root out censorship wherever it is found.  Read on!

Vacation reading

 

On every vacation I've ever taken, I always have a book or two with me to fill the quiet moments.  Though it is apparently now rare, I still frequently read for pleasure, and a cozy little house in midcoast Maine is the perfect spot for it.  A cup of coffee, a sofa, and a good book are all anyone needs, according to Anthony Trollope.  And this vacation is no different.  I've been reading two books, and picked up a third while here at a local bookshop.  The first is The Three Clerks, by Anthony Trollope.  This is the current book in a year-long series that is the subject of bi-weekly zoom meetings from London, UK.  While I have a fine print copy, I've been reading this one on my ancient 2nd generation Kindle reader.  It's no longer fully functional, as Amazon stopped supporting direct connections to it some time ago.  But the device works perfectly well, and I can patch it into my laptop to download free books from Project Gutenberg which provides open access text files that work with this old reader.  So I've been plodding along with this novel, which is not my absolute favorite of all Trollope's works.  It is the story of three clerks in the English civil service, and the trouble they get into- in relationships and in business.

Even 15-year old Kindles have their place for avid readers

Much more interesting is a book that was recommended to me by a reader of this blog.  Mailman, by Stephen Starring Grant is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the operations of the US Postal Service.  In 2020 when Covid started to change the world, Grant was a high earning consultant living in Blacksburg, Virginia but often travelling to NYC and other cities on business.  But as the pandemic raged, he suddenly lost his job and was simultaneously diagnosed with cancer.  With a family to support, he decided to take a job as a postal carrier in rural Appalachia.  This book recounts his gripping experiences.  From an intense training period, to a long period of learning the actual skills required on the job, this is an attention grabbing book that reveals the work we, the public, take for granted in our postal system.  It is a huge and complex operation, and much more goes into delivering the daily mail - letters, bills, magazines, and parcels - than most of us think about.  I have a new appreciation for the USPS, and those who do their difficult job well without the recognition they deserve.

A fascinating look behind the curtain

And finally, I've been reading a small volume I bought while here in Rockland.  On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder is a timely book that addresses the current state of the country. Snyder is the Levin Professory of History at Yale University, and in this book he proposes 20 "lessons" to guide us as the USA goes through these dark days.  Each lesson is accompanied by historical context and examples of what happens when despots rule unchallenged.  A sobering and thought-provoking book.

A thought-provoking book for this dismal period

Next up

 The next book in this year's list of the Trollope Society's Big Read is The Three Clerks. This is Anthony Trollope's sixth novel (out of a total of 47), written when he was 42 years old.  The book was published amidst his familiar six book Chronicles of Barsetshire, which detailed life in an English country cathedral town.  In contrast, this current novel is set in London and deals will a trio of government employees.  Trollope, himself an administrator in the Royal Mail, would have been quite familiar with London office life, and perhaps for that reason, the author always spoke proudly of The Three Clerks.  I look forward to diving into this well made Trollope Society edition.

Late night reading

 Even though I've been an avid reader since early childhood, I was never one of those zealots who routinely read multiple books simultaneously.  A simple, linear progression of reading is more in line with my practical, boring self.  So I am stepping out of my comfort zone a little bit by beginning a second novel while I am in the midst of John Caldigate, by Anthony Trollope, one in a series of the year-long reading list from the Trollope Society.  What tempted me to add a second book to my daily TBR (to be read list, for you non-readers) is a newly instituted virtual book club from Stephen Colbert and The Late Show.  Recently, Colbert announced his new book club would kick off with Orbital, by Samantha Harvey.  The short novel is a Booker Prize winner, and at the outset seemed something that would interest me.  It covers the life of a group of astronauts living on the International Space Station.  As a space travel history buff of long standing, I think an account of life abord the space station would be fascinating.  Of course, modern space-age living will be a stark contrast with life of Victorian-era Australian gold prospectors, so I don't anticipate any problems keeping the plots of the two books separated.  Just finding spare time to devote to both is the main problem that arises.  But where there's a will, there's a way.

Next Trollope

 Earlier this week was the final Zoom meeting session to discuss the Anthony Trollope novel The Claverings.  This is a part of the ongoing Big Read project organized by The Trollope Society.  Starting today, I begin reading the next novel on the list, John Caldigate.  This is a story of a young man, estranged from his father, who leaves his home in England to make his fortune in Australia.  After doing so, he returns to England, only to be embroiled in a bigamy scandal when he is accused of being already married to an Australian wife when he marries in England.  The book is said to be Trollope's response to the common theme in the novels of Charles Dickens of bureaucratic incompetence, as exemplified in Little Dorrit by the Circumlocution Office, which displays its unerring knowledge of "how not to do things."  Trollope, himself a government official in the Royal Mail, refutes Dickens with characters who are government employees who possess cool efficiency and professionalism. I look forward to this book, and the bi-weekly Zoom meetings to discuss it.

Tony 210

 Happy 210th birthday to Anthony Trollope!  It was on this day in 1815 that one of the best known Victorian novelists was born.  That year also saw the Battle of Waterloo, and the end of the Napoleonic Wars.  It also was the year of the Corn Laws; protectionist tariffs are nothing new, you see.  Trollope's life saw a lot of social change and turmoil.  And before his death in 1882 he wrote 47 novels, along with short stories and travelogues.  All while holding a day job with the Royal Mail.  A remarkably prolific author.  His books are both entertaining and thought-provoking, as they satirize many social and political aspects of life in his day.  As I continue to read his works as park of the Trollope Society Big Read, I will remember this day as one that marks the beginning of an astonishing life.

Next book...

 Today is the final online book club meeting of the Trollope Society to discuss my current Trollope novel, Dr. Wortle's School.  It's been a fast read, and an interesting book.  One of the first Trollope books I've read that is set partly in the USA.  In fact, there is a suspenseful scene in my hometown of Chicago.  But with this meeting, we now turn attention to the book on the list, The Claverings.  This novel by Anthony Trollope was written in 1864 band published as a serial before being released as a complete novel.  It is the story of a man caught in a love triangle between two women.  I look forward to the story with some misgivings, however.  As is my practice, I bought a used copy of the book on ABE, and neglected to closely read the description.  What arrived was an Oxford University Press edition that might be called a pocket edition.  It is a very small, hardcover book, with very small type.  I hope my aging eyes will be able to cope.

New month, new book

 Earlier this week, The Trollope Society held the final online book club meeting of the novel we'd been reading since the beginning of the year, The Vicar of Bullhampton.  I thoroughly enjoyed the book, which was completely new to me.  Anthony Trollope was an especially prolific writer, so even though I've read his works for many years, there are still many that I have yet to read.  Another such novel is Dr. Wortle's School, which is the next book in the yearlong book club reading list.  This one is a bit shorter, and will be covered in two bi-weekly meetings, as opposed to the six that covered Vicar of Bullhampton.  As I dive into one of Anthony Trollope's last novels, I gather it will cover what was in Victorian times an unpardonable sin:  a man and woman living together, unmarried.  Such a condition is now commonplace, but even still, we have other issues of intolerance and bigotry that are the modern day equivalents of "living in sin".  What lessons will Trollope offer for those who judge and those who are judged by an intolerant society?

New year, new book

 Just as the year 2025 begins, I have begun to read a new book.  It is a Victorian novel by one of my favorite authors, Anthony Trollope.  The Vicar of Bullhampton is a stand-alone novel, not part of one of Trollope's novel series, like the Chronicles of Barestshire, or the Palliser series.  I chose this book since it will be the topic of discussion at an online bookclub organized by The Trollope Society.  The first 14 chapters are due to be covered in the first meeting on Monday, January 6, 2025.  So far, I've made it through eight chapters and found the book to have a faster start than some of Trollope's novels.  Several main characters have already been introduced, and there's been a minor scuffle between two of them.  Tension, conflict, and a budding love affair, all in the first 52 pages!  This novel was published in 1870, by which time the prolific Trollope was a well-established author.  I've read over a dozen of his other works and look forward to completing this one.

Bread of Life

 I was rummaging through my very sizable collection of cookbooks the other day and came across one that has been in my library for decades.  I'm not sure how long, since it seems to pre-date my efforts in systematic book cataloging via nifty software that I began well over a decade ago.  I'm certain I've had this book for at least 20 years; its copyright date is 1995, so it may be even longer.  Anyway, I struck upon the idea of using this book as a sort of Julie and Julia project.  For those who may not have seen the 2009 film, a young food enthusiast documents her efforts to cook every dish in the cookbook of famous French food chef Julia Child.  It's a long and sometimes arduous journey, and the film based on it was quite entertaining.

As an enthusiastic baker, what if I tried the same sort of project?  While I have been assiduously baking for 30 years, I am completely self-taught.  Therefore, I can't claim to be skillful, or even significantly knowledgeable about a domain of cooking to which professionals can devote a lifetime.  However, I can read and learn, and have a certain amount of experience that I've accumulated over the years.  So, I set as my goal the project of making every recipe in this book, The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking, by the late Brother Rick Curry, S.J.  As a scientist and a hobbyist baker, what better endeavor?  Experiments that I can eat!  Brother Curry was perhaps slightly disadvantaged as a baker, since he had only one arm.  But he certainly had much baking knowledge to impart to me and my two arms.  I look forward to the adventure.  Stay tuned!

Our Town

 On the second day in NYC, we begin with a familiar routine.  Our first stop was The Strand Bookstore, near Union Square.  This place has long been a favorite shopping spot during all our NY trips.  A large part of our house is filled with books from The Strand.  So we paid another visit and were not disappointed.  The place has changed a little inside, and now includes a small coffee bar in the back.  We perused the stacks for over an hour, and came away with some new books and a stack of postcards I will be soon sending to Postcrossing members around the world.

We walked around the farmer's market set up in Union Square for a while, enjoying the beautiful day before then going to nearby Ribalta, a Neapolitan pizza joint we've come to love.  The wood fired oven pizza can't be beat, and we enjoyed an elegant and delicious lunch.  I strongly recommend the Brigante pizza with spicy oil and salami.  Superb!

From there, a stop at the St. Regis Hotel, where the famed King Cole Bar has just re-opened after a long period of renovation.  At this bar, it is said the original Bloody Mary was invented, though they call it the Red Snapper.  We ordered one, and so this trip included a martini and Bloody Mary at the places where they originated.

Back to The Knickerbocker to freshen up before we headed out through Times Square to the Ethel Barrymore Theater to watch the revival of Thornton Wilder's classic play Our Town.  Opening night for the play was the previous evening, so we'd just read the glowing review of the familiar play.  Familiar, because in the 1970s, my father, a high school teacher, and my mother played Mr. and Mrs. Webb in the high school's student-faculty production of Our Town.  In this Broadway version, their parts were played by Richard Thomas (John-Boy, from The Waltons) and Katie Holmes (ex-wife of Tom Cruise).  The lead role of the play, the Stage Manager, was played by Jim Parsons (from Big Bang Theory).  The show was a triumph, and I enjoyed watching the examination of human mortality as presented via small town New Hampshire life.  A very memorable evening!  But then it was time to head back to our hotel, as tomorrow will be an early start.

Read Free or die

 Once again, it is Banned Book Week.  This is the time of year when we remind ourselves of the poor, hapless individuals in the world who are deeply threatened...by ideas.  Sad to say, it's a growing movement once again in this country, and especially in my part of it, to ban books.  Mostly in the guise of "protecting children", these misguided souls are rampaging through libraries and bookstores searching for anything they disagree with.  Not content with merely suppressing ideas, they are threatening the employment or even physical harm to those who they view as not sufficiently closed minded.  Quite predictably, the same people who want to post their Ten Commandments in schoolrooms and who offer the solution to "just don't look at them" to those who follow another faith or none at all, can't follow their own advice when it comes to school library books they choose to be offended by.  Or more likely, are told to be offended by, as it is often the case that book banners have never actually read the books they want to ban. So this week, take a moment to remember these troubled, perpetually aggrieved souls, who are burdened to go through life persistently outraged by ideas they can't accept.