Books
In Print : "Summer Friends," a Vineyard Stories children's tale
By Don Hinkle
Published: July 27, 2011
"Summer Friends" written and illustrated by Sarah French. Vineyard Stories, 2011, 32 pp., $17.95.
Kids are especially fond of books about friendships — and the weirder the better. Children's literature is full of friendship bonds forged between unlikely pairs: Frog and Toad, Pooh Bear and Piglet, Lion and Mouse, Charlotte the spider and Wilbur the pig, and, though it's not a book, Lilo and Stitch.
"Summer Friends" is a story about such a relationship, based on the Vineyard. Sarah French, Chilmark summer resident, is a painter and collage artist. She says the book was inspired by daily summer beach walks with the dog she calls Minnie My Marvelous Mutt, who became the main character and part of a friendship. Read more.
In Print : "In the Small Kitchen"
By Gwyn McAllister
Published: July 27, 2011
"In the Small Kitchen: 100 Recipes from our Year of Cooking in the Real World" by Cara Eisenpress and Phoebe Lapine, William Morrow An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 304 pp. $21.99.
Phoebe Lapine and Cara Eisenpress have known each other since middle school and have maintained a close friendship into their early 20s, as each has pursued a professional career in their native New York City. Considering that Ms. Eisenpress formerly worked in publishing and Ms. Lapine in marketing, it's not surprising that the two have pooled their talents in a literary venture. What may seem more surprising is that the quarter-lifers — as they refer to themselves — have accumulated enough cooking experience without the advantage of a culinary education or professional food-related jobs to turn out a cookbook.
But they have succeeded very well in creating a wonderful book that's as fun and funny as it is a practical guide. "In the Small Kitchen: 100 Recipes From Our Year of Cooking in the Real World" is a combination starter cookbook and journal chronicling a coming of age year in the friends' shared lives, as orchestrated by food. Read more.
In Print : Sebastian Junger talks soldiering on Martha's Vineyard
By Jack Shea
Published: July 20, 2011
"War" by Sebastian Junger. Twelve, 2010. 304 pp. $26.99.
In his 2010 book, "War," Sebastian Junger has done for soldiering what he did for bad weather in "The Perfect Storm" 14 years ago, telling us what it's like being in harm's way. While the "The Perfect Storm" fishermen were willing to be in harm's way, in "War" they intend to be there. Read more.
In Print : The young nation's best and brightest go to Paris
By Elizabeth Hawes
Published: July 13, 2011
"The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris" by David McCullough, Simon & Schuster, May 24, 2011. 576 pp. $37.50.
In 1826, when the celebrated author James Fenimore Cooper set forth from New York for a long sojourn in Paris, there were neither ocean-going steamships nor regular passenger vessels, and the North Atlantic crossing in a two-masted square-rigger could last as long as six weeks. The voyage down from Le Havre in a lumbering stagecoach required another 24 hours of fortitude. Nonetheless, in the decades since Thomas Jefferson had pronounced his five years in the French capital arguably the most memorable of his life, Paris had begun to register as an important destination for aspiring young Americans. Read more.
In Print: New Book by Vineyard author Judy Campbell
By Don Hinkle
Published: July 6, 2011
"An Unspeakable Mission" by Judith Campbell, Mainly Murder Press, 2011. 262 pp. $16.95.
When I pick up a mystery novel, I usually know what to expect: I grew up on a testosterone-enhanced diet of Mickey Spillane and other hard-boiled male writers, and what I expected was hot guns and hot babes and lots of action.
Now the genre has developed sub-genres. Dame Agatha Christie laid many eggs and from them have risen many female writers, and readers whose demands vary, but who still prefer a mystery with their muffin. Read more.
In Print : "Jaws: Memories from Martha's Vineyard"
By Jack Shea
Published: June 29, 2011
"Jaws: Memories of Martha's Vineyard" by Matt Taylor, Moonrise Media, Chilmark, June 2011 (on-Island), September 2011 (nationally), 295 pp., $59.95 paperback; $250 limited edition hardcover package. Available at Bunch of Grapes and Edgartown Books.
The Book of "Jaws," biblical in scope, will be a top summer read based on early interest in the fascinating, often-hilarious Island story behind "Jaws," filmed here in 1974 by then-unknown director Steven Spielberg. Read more.
In Print : Feiffer book
By Karla Araujo
Published: June 15, 2011
"My Side of the Car," Kate Feiffer, illustrated by Jules Feiffer. Candlewick, April 26. 32 pp. $16.99.
When an acclaimed children's book author and her Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist father collaborate on their third children's story, it's bound to become a joy ride for readers of all ages. Their latest effort, "My Side of the Car," written by Kate Feiffer and illustrated by Jules Feiffer, is a 28-page homage to an extraordinary real life father/daughter relationship bound by love, respect, and humor. Read more.
In Print : An unflinching look at the Styron family's life with father
By C.K. Wolfson
Published: June 1, 2011
"Reading My Father: A Memoir" by Alexandra Styron, Scribner, April 2011. 304 pp. $25.
Told with straightforward candor, remarkable objectivity, and the elegance of a well-honed craft, "Reading My Father: A Memoir" by Alexandra Styron offers every privileged bit of information you've wondered and wanted to know about the inner workings and private family dynamic of an iconic writer. Read more.
Vineyard photographer Alison Shaw tells how it's done
By C.K. Wolfson
Published: June 1, 2011
"Photographing Martha's Vineyard: Where to Find Perfect Shots and How to Take Them," by Alison Shaw, Countryman Press, 2011. 112 pp., $16.95.
Alison Shaw showing you how to photograph the Vineyard is sort of like Fred Astaire showing you how to waltz.
In her first self-authored book, "Photographing Martha's Vineyard: Where to Find Perfect Shots and How to Take Them," Ms. Shaw, who has earned her well-established reputation as one of the Island's premier fine art photographers, gives readers an all-inclusive what, where, why, and how of using the Vineyard as inspiration for creating memorable images. Read more.
