Lily Hates Goodbyes

By Jerilyn Marler
Quincy Companian Books, 32 pages, $6.95

Help is Here for Military Kids

Anyone with a loved one in the military knows the difficulty of saying goodbye on deployment day. For children, understanding the feelings that accompany such a departure is extremely confusing. In Jerilyn Marler’s book Lily Hates Goodbyes, a young girl learns to cope during the absence of her father. Marler wrote the story for her four-year-old granddaughter who was experiencing pain and fear while her dad served in the Navy. Lily and her mother find ways to work out their feelings together. Punching a feather pillow helps on days when Lily is mad. Coloring pictures and putting them in a “memories for Daddy” box helps when Lily wants to share with her father. Putting stickers on the big calendar visually shows Lily when Daddy will come home.

The book is filled with ideas that can help any child with an absent loved one. Nathan Stoltenberg’s beautiful illustrations warm the heart. An especially important message that Marler subtly highlights is how important the at-home parent/family are when helping a child cope with their feelings. Marler has created a special book that is guaranteed to help the families of the men and women who bravely and selflessly serve our country.

Reviewed by Elizabeth Franklin,

[amazon asin=1936214504&text=Buy On Amazon&template=carousel]

People Before Profit: The Inspiring Story of the Founder of Bob’s Red Mill

By Ken Koopman
Inkwater Press, $19.95, 316 pages

Bob Moore became a leader in corporate ethics in 2010 when he generously gave his whole grain foods business to his employees. People Before Profit: The Inspiring Story of the Founder of Bob’s Red Mill is first-time Portland author Ken Koopman’s biography of the man who created a business based on values. Bob Moore turned down countless offers from large corporations to buy Bob’s Red Mill. He preferred to have the people who built the company be in charge of running it. Moore was raised to have a strong work ethic. After several business ventures, he decided to pursue his passion for natural foods. Koopman focuses on Moore’s character throughout the book. He includes many touching examples of the personal interest Moore took in his employees. He paid to repair their cars and made sure they were able to send their children to college. This book is a refreshing read and good for the soul. Moore is a man worth emulating in business and in life.

Reviewed by Alicea Swett

[amazon asin=1592997260, B007CLZF2I&text=Buy On Amazon&template=carousel]

The Listeners

By Leni Zumas
Tin House, $15.95, 352 pages

 

Fractured and clattering, Leni Zumas’s heroine Quinn crashes onto the page in The Listeners. In her life, reality is an ephemeral, to-be-avoided-thing, a fact Zumas accentuates with tiny short burst chapters that flash between past and present. We are teased, back and forth, with the bits and pieces of Quinn’s life in all its harshness. From her haunted house mind we see her unusual childhood, her sister’s tragic death, her ability to see numbers as colors, and her belief that a bloodworm lives inside her. In the half-life after her sister’s death, when self-mutilation is her greatest form of expression, she is certain her sister wants her dead so she will have company in the afterlife. Into this world comes music, which provides a release, until her career as a punk rock singer is cut short through an accident and a decision that becomes one more part of the past that cannot be acknowledged. She approaches her mid-thirties as an unemployed, borderline alcoholic with no home but the couch in her brother’s apartment.

Too much crazy can make for unpleasant reading but while The Listeners is intense Zumas’s harsh staccato prose also illuminates Quinn’s humanity and desire to exorcise the past. In her coping efforts (counting bites of food, snapping a rubber band against her wrist) and wry humor we see a woman who is not doomed but struggling and we want her to prevail. This is not a book that reads lightly but once started it won’t let you go. A compelling debut.

Reviewed by Catherine Gilmore,

[amazon asin=1935639293&text=Buy On Amazon&template=carousel]

The Farewell Season

 

By Ann Herrick
Puddletown Publishing Group, $10.99, 142 pages

After his father was killed by a drunk driver, Eric becomes withdrawn and angry. He defies his mother, fights with his sister and questions his future. He wavers between wanting to pursue a career in football, and giving it up altogether. This is the inspiring story of his journey from pain to acceptance as he works through misunderstandings and jealousies. While unable to express his feelings to his family or friends, when he meets a new girl in town, he learns to open up. Glynnie is also struggling with angry feelings about her father after the divorce of her parents. As he introduces her to their small Oregon town, her straightforward manner puts him at ease, and they become friends and even a hint of romance begins to appear.

Author Ann Herrick lives in Oregon with her husband, who was her high-school sweetheart. She loves cats, the Oregon Ducks, and the beautiful countryside. She writes stories and books for children and young adults.

Any young person struggling with the loss of a parent, whether through death or divorce, will relate to this sensitive story. In an entertaining format, there are nuggets of wisdom and guidance that can offer help and comfort. Even readers without a loss will find this book charming and enjoyable.

Reviewed by Fran Byram

[amazon asin=1614130191, B0051VU34G&text=Buy On Amazon&template=carousel]

Gardening for a Lifetime: How to Garden Wiser as You Grow Older

By Syndey Eddison, Timber Press, Inc., 208 pages

-Make the Most of What You Have-

“I am getting old, and that’s why I am writing this book – to blaze a trail for other gardeners…to show them that there is a way to continue gardening into a ripe old age.”

With age comes the realization that once simple tasks become more difficult to complete. The process of slowing down creeps into most aspects of life. Consider gardening. Imagine having taken care of a piece of land for decades. As the land matures, so does the gardener, and maturity requires the gardener make choices. How can one enjoy the act of gardening while simultaneously respecting the body’s limitations? Sydney Eddison’s latest book is Gardening for a Lifetime: How to Garden Wiser as You Grow Older. Eddison is an award-winning writer, gardener and lecturer.

In her book she gives examples of ways to continue gardening as you age. Her writing is hopeful and poetic. She talks about certain plants like they are longtime friends. Her book is organized into chapters that offer tips for wiser gardening. For example, Eddison suggests changing perennial flower borders to shrub borders, which require less upkeep but are still pleasing to the eye. Each chapter ends with “Gleanings,” where Eddison sums up her words of wisdom. Knowledge of plant names and horticulture would help, but it is not necessary. Eddison’s message of accepting change and letting go of impossible expectations is an important lesson from which everyone can benefit.

Elizabeth Franklin

Loowit’s Legend: The Story of the Columbia River Gorge

by Erin k. O’Connell, Illustrated by Diana Thewlis

Parallel 45 Publishing, $20.00, 32 pages

How was the Columbia River Gorge created? According to an ancient legend, the mountains of the Gorge (Mount Hood, Mount Adams, and Mount Saint Helens) were formed when two brothers fell in love with the same woman. Author Erin K. O’Connell tells the tale in Loowit’s Legend. The Great Spirit had two sons, Pahtoe and Wy’East, and they argued constantly. To encourage them to bond, the Great Spirit offered them each a nation of their own if they could live together peacefully. As it often happens with brothers, the fighting did not stop, especially when the men fall in love with a beautiful young maiden named Loowit. Find out how the siblings’ issues are resolved.

Diana Thewlis’ illustrations are stunning. Her pastel color palate evokes the beauty of the natural wonder that is the Columbia River Gorge. People have lived along the Columbia River for more than twelve thousand years. They recorded clues about their lives by carving petroglyphs and drawing pictographs into rocks and cliffs. The book includes examples of these images. A portion of the proceeds from the sales of the book will go toward the preservation and conservation of the Columbia River Gorge.

Elizabeth Franklin

Seeing Ezra: A Mother’s Story of Autism, Unconditional Love, and the Meaning of Normal

by Kerry Cohen

Seal Press, $25.00, 286 pages

This book is boldly honest, vulnerable, charismatic, heart-wrenchingly sincere and completely without apology. It will make your blood boil, your heart sink and, every once in a while, put many smiles on your face. Local author Kerry Cohen bravely writes about her experiences as a mother of an autistic child – her adorable, lovable, engaging child. Like any mother, Cohen loves her children deeply, fiercely and, like any mother, she worries about them too. Often, her thoughts are broken, intangible and digressive, adding credence and drama to her writing style while opening a window into this mother’s mind.

Cohen writes, “He does a lot of things differently from other kids his age. But there is nothing wrong. I don’t have the right words yet, and even someday when I do, I will still be misunderstood.” Well, she did find the words and put them all in the right order to invoke empathy, camaraderie, sympathy and righteous anger in this anguishing, humorous and loving account of Ezra’s life.

Cohen dexterously weaves the beauty of our Portland neighborhoods, the Columbia Gorge and camping in our magnificent forests into this story, making the whole book the perfect, local, emotional read.

M. Chris Johnson

Whispered Wonders

by Kari Pius Baker

Bree Noa Publishing, $15.00, 32 pages

Whispered Wonders is different than most children’s picture books. Among these differences is the exceptional quality. The paper is heavyweight, both the dust jacket and cover are embossed, the binding is sewn, the printing is superb. That’s just one of the “Wonders” of this book. Every page is a blend of two artists’ work, the visual and words (with illustrations by Pamela Jaschob) melded seamlessly together. “What’s it about?” That’s a difficult question to answer, so I asked the author, Kari Pius Baker. She replied, “In a day and age of high technology and over stimulation, I was inspired to write a simple story about being still. I wanted to weave in nature and create positive affirmations that when read would feel good. Statements such as ‘I am love, I am peace, I am safe, stable, and brave’ are to encourage the reader to recognize these qualities not just in the nature that surrounds them; but also within themselves.”

It’s not surprising to me that Whispered Wonders is selling well in art galleries. What surprises me is that the price is only fifteen dollars. How the publisher managed to create such a masterpiece to sell it for that price is a mystery.

Dave Broughton

The Art of Doug Sneyd

by Doug Sneyd

Dark Horse Comics, $39.99, 247 pages

Playboy, it’s the dirty little secret of men coming of age in America, it’s a right of passage.  It’s a magazine that not only features beautiful women, but also articles, interviews, short stories, and cartoons.  It’s a place to get a little bit of everything.  40 years of Doug Sneyd’s comic art from Playboy are explored In this collection.  The book is organized thematically, rather than chronologically, from marriages, to fantasies, to holidays; everything in his distinctive style.  His subjects are beautiful, the focus is usually on the female, as it should be. Sneyd likes to play with different set ups, and the punch line at the bottom is hilarious.  It is interesting to see the progression of the artist’s style, as well as the cultural shift over the last 40 years.  For people who like titillating comic art, or for those who remember sneaking a look in Playboy, for the articles; this book will bring back memories.

Reviewed by Kevin Winter

10.20.11: Omelettes, Waffles and Bacon – Oh, My!

Omelettes, Waffles and Bacon – Oh, My!

I’m a big breakfast fan. In fact, I would rank it as one of my three favorite meals of the day! Actually, when dining out, if I find myself in one of those restaurants that serves breakfast all day long, I’m much more likely to opt for an omelette over, say, a burger – ordering breakfast out feels like a warm and cozy indulgence, and it’s a meal that tastes most delicious when somebody else cooks it. Fortunately, Portlanders share my enthusiasm for a hearty first meal; the Rose City is chock-full of cafes, coffee shops, bistros, and (naturally) food carts that serve delicious and filling breakfasts morning, noon and night. In the mood for more than a McMuffin? Here are just a few of my favorite Portland-area breakfast spots…hardly a definitive list, but a good launching pad for further breakfast exploration.

Pine State Biscuits (two locations – Alberta and Belmont, plus the Portland Farmer’s Market) is a haven for folks who aren’t afraid of a little – gasp! – cholesterol in their diets, and judging by the long lines at this popular eatery, there are many people willing to throw caution to the wind for a bite of the scrumptious biscuits dished out here daily. Most popular is The Reggie, a glorious ode to gluttony consisting of the holy grail of culinary excess – fried chicken, bacon and cheese – sandwiched between a flaky, buttery biscuit topped with sausage gravy. Make it a Deluxe (let’s face it, why wouldn’t you?) and you’ll also get an egg. Much like the statue of the umbrella-wielding man in Pioneer Square, The Reggie is a Portland icon, and every bit as tasty as it sounds. There are other options, including a Steak Club and an Andoulle Corn Dog, but it’s that magic combination of chicken, biscuits and gravy that makes my mouth water most.

Venture further down Belmont and you’ll find Slappy Cakes, a do-it-yourself breakfast joint with hot griddles built into the middle of each table. The owners have taken the concept popularized by fondue restaurants and extended it to breakfast; here, patrons cook their own pancakes. There are plenty of batter options for everybody (buttermilk, vegan, whole grain, gluten-free), and a fun selection of mix-in ingredients. You can choose sweet fixins like chocolate chips, bananas and pecans, or savory ones such as bacon, chorizo or cheddar. Can’t decide? Go crazy, and mix them all in! Nobody is watching, anyway. Top your pancakes with a variety of tasty syrups diverse enough to please any palate. In the mood for something other than flapjacks, or just too darn lazy to do your own cooking? Fear not, the menu contains plenty of breakfast favorites the kitchen will prepare for you, including Huevos Rancheros and a pork belly Benedict. I’m sure they’re delicious, but I can’t go there and not order their pancakes. Plus, with a tantalizing list of breakfast cocktails – including Bloody Marys served by the pitcher – you simply can’t go wrong here!

Pine State isn’t the only place serving up hearty, fluffy biscuits. The appropriately named Biscuits Café (twelve locations in the Portland area and two in Vancouver) offers their namesake dish, plus a whole bunch of others, in generous portions that will leave you feeling satisfied for hours…and then planning your next visit soon after. Don’t be fooled by the fact that they’re a restaurant chain; Biscuits serves quality, made-from-scratch food at reasonable prices, and their wait staff is second to none. You’ll want to try the biscuits, of course; whether accompanied with one of their seasonal, homemade jams as a side dish or smothered beneath a rich, tangy layer of sausage gravy as the star attraction, they are wonderfully addictive. But don’t stop there; Biscuits offers up omelettes that are among the best in the metro area: fluffy, expertly cooked eggs stuffed with an array of tempting and unique ingredients. The Chorizo Omelette, packed with spicy sausage, avocado, green chilies and jack cheese and finished with a topping of salsa and sour cream is a personal favorite; also can’t-miss choices include a Greek Omelette, a Fajita Omelette, and a Shrimp Omelette. On the off chance that your salivary glands aren’t running on overdrive yet, how does a Breakfast Taco grab you? Or a Diced Ham Scramble? How about Chicken Fried Steak and Eggs, buried beneath their signature sausage gravy? If you’re not drooling yet, there’s something wrong with you!

One of the joys of wandering around a farmer’s market – aside from scoring fresh produce – is deciding where to stop for a bite to eat. Lugging around a bag filled with fruits and veggies will make you work up an appetite, after all. C’est Si Bon can be found at several Portland-area markets (PSU, Pioneer Square, OHSU, King Market) and perfectly bridges the gap between breakfast and lunch by offering a variety of either sweet or savory crepes. On one recent visit, a pork confit-caramelized onion-organic spring mix crepe competed with a strawberry-and-whipped-cream crepe for my attention. Savory won out over sweet – but just barely. With a rotating list of seasonal ingredients and perfectly airy crepes (available in both natural and buckwheat versions), C’est Si Bon delivers a bit of Parisian street flair to Portland, no matter the season.

Mark Petruska

---

Mark Petruska is in love and wants the world to know it. The object of his affection? The Pacific Northwest, where he has lived since 1994. Born in Hawaii, his father was in the Air Force, and the family moved often. Over the years, Mark has called many places home – Dayton, Ohio; Rapid City, South Dakota; San Jose, California – but his heart belongs to Portland.

Mark is also passionate about writing, and has cranked out a number of novels and short stories over the years. His dream is to become a published author. “I’d love to walk into Powell’s Books someday, and pull a novel with my name on it from the shelf,” he says. “It will happen…mark my words!”

A recent corporate layoff prompted Mark to pursue his passion and begin a freelance writing career. With a steady and growing client base, he hopes to make a living solely through his writing. Hobbies include cooking, blogging, photography, hiking, and “mind-numbing reality television.”