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#myreadsmonday Force of Nature by Jane Harper

Last year when I finished reading Jane Harper’s debut novel, The Dry,  my first thought was, “I really love this Aaron Falk character… I hope she writes more books that feature him!” My wish came true this year as Jane Harper’s latest book has Aaron Falk out on a new case. This time, instead of the arid edges of the Australian outback, Falk has a missing person case in a lush, dense forest.

Here’s the premise of Force of Nature: Five women go into the woods on a corporate retreat weekend…only four walk back out. What happened out there in the woods? Does Falk need to look at the other women as suspects, or is there a sinister threat lurking in the wooded shadows?

This book will keep you guessing. There are various threads of stories that are expertly and intricately woven together, binding the characters until those threads ultimately get so twisted that they snap from all the tension. Jane Harper has masterfully paced this story to build to its exciting conclusion.

I like that we get a little more of the back story of Aaron Falk interspersed so casually into the new plotline. It doesn’t feel forced or awkward, it’s just a little piece of his past meeting with his present.

I, of course, am hoping that Jane Harper continues Aaron Falk’s story in her next novel. I want to know more about his life, and I enjoy seeing him pull together the bits and pieces of a crime to bring the story to a satisfying conclusion.  Do you like reading novels that have recurring character’s like Falk? What’s your favorite?

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Getting Ready to Find Culinary Bliss at The Lost Kitchen

This past fall I heard about Freedom, Maine’s unique restaurant, The Lost Kitchen. Reservations here are harder to get than tickets to Hamilton! No joke. Chef Erin French has been wowing patrons at her 40 seat establishment in an old grist mill for a few years now. Her restaurant is only open 4 nights a week from May through New Year’s eve; when reservations opened on April 1st, 2017 for the season, she booked all her spots for the entire season on the very first day! She’s gotten some excellent press in the last year from the likes of Food & Wine, The New York Times, and Martha Stewart, adding to the fervor to experience her culinary artistry.

With last year’s crazy reservation process lingering in her mind, Erin French chose to go a little more old-school for reservations this year. Want to dine at The Lost Kitchen in 2018? Find a notecard,  envelope, and a stamp, because reservations are accepted BY MAIL ONLY!

I find the new process utterly charming and perfectly fitting for everything she’s made The Lost Kitchen out to be. It fits. I’m planning on sending my card off to Maine at the designated time, crossing my fingers, and hoping I get a call to schedule a reservation.

(Photos from The Lost Kitchen website and Instagram page)

Want to know more about Erin and what makes The Lost Kitchen so special? Check out the following articles about TLK:

http://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/heartbreaking-story-behind-lost-kitchen-incredible-new-restaurant-freedom-maine

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/01/dining/the-lost-kitchen-maine-erin-french.html

https://www.themainemag.com/eat/the-lost-kitchen/

http://www.themarthablog.com/2017/09/a-visit-to-the-lost-kitchen-in-freedom-maine.html

Now, most importantly, you want to know how to send in a postcard for yourself, right? Read all the details in the PDF. Go to The Lost Kitchen‘s Website, and click on 2018 reservations. https://www.findthelostkitchen.com/

Then simply download the PDF file you’ll see in the bottom left corner of your screen. “TLK 2018 Reservation Process” All the details are there! It’s a five page document, so make sure you read through it carefully. The most important thing to note is that cards will only be accepted from April 1 through April 10. Don’t mail it early! Cards postmarked prior to March 31st will be rejected.

Good luck to all my foodie friends out there! I hope you have a chance to find culinary bliss at The Lost Kitchen this season in Maine!

And just in case you don’t end up being one of the lucky chosen ones who gets to experience The Lost Kitchen this season, Erin French now has a cookbook out! You can purchase a signed copy of “The Lost Kitchen: Recipes and a Good Life Found in Freedom, Maine” right from her website. It’s filled with sumptuous, beautiful recipes lovingly curated from Erin’s own kitchen.

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#myreadsmonday – The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian

The Flight Attendant plunges headfirst into the complicated wreck of drama and chaos that is the life of Cassie Bowden. After another wild night of binge drinking until blackout, she wakes up expecting to have an awkward, hungover conversation with the man she spent the night with- a passenger from her previous day’s flight. Instead, she wakes up to find the man dead, and she’s not 100% sure she didn’t do it!

I’ve been a fan of Chris Bohjalian for years, and love putting his books into the hands of the patrons at the library where I work (and they love reading them!) I will admit that two of his more recent books, Close Your Eyes Hold Hands, and The Guest Room, weren’t winners for me. I don’t mind saying this since Mr. Bohjalian admitted during his recent visit to Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, NH that he himself doesn’t love everything he’s written. I read his most recent novel prior to The Flight Attendant, The Sleepwalker, with high hopes, and felt like he was back at the top of his game with that one. It was the perfect blend of exciting narrative and sophisticated character development reminiscent of Midwives, Skeletons at the Feast, and The Double Bind. I also feel like The Flight Attendant is another big win! The twists and turns in this book keep the pages flying, and could even have you screaming out loud like I did! (Just wait until the fire alarm gets pulled!)

The Flight Attendant is a satisfying blend of thrilling narrative curves, alternating points of view, and just enough surprise turbulence to keep you on the edge of your seat. You’ll get to the end of this book and want to know more! I certainly feel that way.

Speaking of knowing more, have you heard that Kaley Cuoco of Big Bang Theory fame has signed on to star in and executive produce a limited series based on The Flight Attendant? (Think Big Little Lies, a la Reese Witherspoon). I’m super excited for this production to come to life and I hope that Kaley continues the story of Cassie Bowden past what Chris Bohjalian has written in the novel. At Gibson’s, he mentioned that while he won’t be writing any of the episodes, he will be working with the production team as a consultant. http://deadline.com/2017/10/kaley-cuoco-pod-deal-warner-bros-tv-the-flight-attendant-1202196368/

The Flight Attendant also has an introspective, thoughtful side. Can Cassie, with her life seemingly in shambles, turn things around and start again? Is there another. better life waiting for her? You’ll have to read all the way to the end to find out what Cassie discovers about life and about herself. It’s worth the read!

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In the Heights, in the 603! (at Seacoast Rep)

Townie #2, who admittedly is my big theater nerd, fell in love with the Broadway cast recording of In the Heights the very first time she listened to it a few years back. One go through, and she was hooked on the catchy rap tunes and the way they blend seamlessly with the salsa and bodega beats. She’s often lamented since that first listen how she hadn’t known about In the Heights when it was still on Broadway, and has often dreamed of seeing the show. Imagine my glee when I heard that the Seacoast Repertory Theatre was staging a production of In the Heights this spring!

With a preview night  on Thursday, March 22, In the Heights has its opening night on Friday, March 23rd and will run through Sunday, April 22nd. The Seacoast Repertory Theater is located in the heart of downtown Portsmouth, NH. There are still seats available at just about every performance, but you’ll have a better selection the further out you are willing to book your tickets.

For more information on the show or to purchase tickets, visit the Seacoast Repertory website at: http://www.seacoastrep.org/in-the-heights/

A note on parking when you attend a show at Seacoast Rep: while it will be tempting, don’t park in the St. John’s Episcopal Church parking lot which is *right across the street* .  Patrons to the theater do not have permission to park there and you run the risk of being towed. There are plenty of parking options in Portsmouth within walking distance, one of the big ones being the Hanover Street garage. (Parking tip for the garage: if the “Lot Full” sign is up on the Hanover Street entrance, drive around to the Fleet Street side and enter there…odds are you can find a spot somewhere on the upper levels.) Leave extra time to account for finding parking and hoofing it to Seacoast Rep! My favorite place to park in Portsmouth is what my family refers to as “The Whale Parking Lot”… the metered public parking area officially known as the Worth Lot just off Maplewood Avenue. There’s one of the life-size whale murals painted by artist Robert Wyland there. The name of the mural is Isle of Shoals Humpbacks, and it was the 37th mural out of the 100 he painted as part of his 27 year project. It’s a fascinating story. For more informationon Wyland and his murals, go to: http://www.wylandfoundation.org/community.php?subsection=wyland_walls

There are so many great dining options in Portsmouth, it’s easy to have a fantastic dinner after a matinee performance or before an evening show. One of my new favorite casual spots in Portsmouth is BRGR Bar, at 34 Portwalk Place (corner of Deer St. and Portwalk Pl., right next to the Marriott Residence Inn) This place doesn’t serve your typical boring burgers and fries. Their takes on the American classic are unique and delicious. It’s worth a visit for the peanut butter and chocolate milkshake alone! https://www.brgr-bar.com/

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Thoughts on The White Card

Walking into the amazing set of The White Card, staged at The Paramount Theatre’s Robert J. Orchard Stage, is an incredible experience. The stark whiteness that surrounds you is at once soothing and disconcerting. This blank slate of a space has the right balance of elegance and sparseness to accommodate Claudia Rankine’s play, The White Card.

First, before I share my thoughts, I want to make sure you know this show is only running for another two weeks, through April 1st. An extremely limited number of tickets are still available! The advice from ArtsEmerson to score tickets to a performance is as follows:

  • Check online or call the box office 1-2 days before the date you wish to attend; we regularly see tickets become available in this window due to cancelations.
  • Show up at the box office 1-2 hrs before curtain. We may have last minute openings that aren’t available online. If nothing is available, we can put you on the waitlist which starts 1 hr prior to each curtain.

Your best chance at seats is likely the Sunday March 18th show at 7:30PM, which was just added this week. For more information about the play, visit the ArtsEmerson website at:

http://bit.ly/artsemersonwhitecard

I went into this show hoping and expecting to be challenged. I wanted to be a little bit uncomfortable. I wanted this show to make me think! And it certainly did. My whole ride home I kept re-hashing bits and pieces of dialog and considering the interactions between these 5 characters (six, if you count the art).

The main character in this play is Charlotte; an up and coming African American artist whose work has piqued the interest of rich, white socialites Charles and Virginia. They aspire to collect socially relevant works of art both by and about African Americans. But is their desire for this art truly well-intentioned, or merely a way to look racially aware? I felt like Charles’ desire to purchase these racially charged pieces of art were a way for him to appear to seek absolution from his complicity in the American Penal system. He’s working to build jails that in some cases are filled predominantly with African Americans. Charles wants to be relevant; he wants to look outwardly like he’s purchasing the right art, reading the right books, knowing the right issues, but I think he wears ALL of that as a cloak. It’s not who he truly is. I’m not saying he’s a closet KKK member, just that Charles isn’t really connecting with the issues surrounding racism in America today; he only ends up looking like he is.

Even Charles and Virginia’s son Alex, who is very involved in Black Lives matter and wants to be an aware citizen, still struggles in a conversation with Charlotte when he referred to other African Americans as, “your people”. Charlotte points out he could have just said, “people”. Alex still feels that ingrained difference. How does one acknowledge the perception of that difference and then move past it?

The final image of the show has really stuck with me. The image of the photograph that Charlotte takes: Charles, shirtless, facing away from her. Charlotte herself, standing in mock chains, facing him. I’ve been considering Charles’ pose. He’s turned away from her. At first I’d just assumed he’d turned his back because there’s more smooth skin exposed for her to photograph. But the more I think about this, the more it occurs to me that his choice to turn away is representative of his inability to face the issue of race that is between Charles and Charlotte. Even in that moment when he submits to being the subject of her art, he is turning away from the realities of her life as a black woman. He could have faced her, he could have looked her in the eye, but in the end he still chose to turn away.

“Can American Society progress if whiteness stays invisible?” is what The White Card asks. Diane Paulus, Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater, asks in her Welcome in the playbill, “In difficult conversations about race, how do we stay in the room?” Both these questions are stirring, and stimulating, and I hope this play will help further the discussion of race in America today. I really enjoyed what the entire ArtsEmerson team did here with The White Card, and I’m glad the thoughts and questions are still percolating in my mind.

If you do attend a performance of The White Card, I recommend you stick around for the Act II facilitated discussion about the play. It felt good to have some space for the audience to publicly digest what we’d just seen.

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Need to Escape From Winter? Visit The Butterfly Place

New England is being hit by the second big winter storm in less than a week.  It’s hard to believe that Spring is only one week away when there’s more than a foot of snow outside (and more falling as I type!) Are you feeling those late winter blues? A great place to escape from this dismal weather is The Butterfly Place in Westford, MA. Just minutes off of Exit 34 on Route 3, The Butterfly Place is the perfect cure for winter fatigue.

If you’ve never been, The Butterfly Place is an indoor garden with hundreds of free flying butterflies. The temperatures inside are set at a balmy 80-85 degrees to keep the butterflies happy! (It keeps me pretty happy too!) It’s such a treat to leave a cold, wintry day behind for a little while and pretend like you’re somewhere tropical.

All areas are handicapped accessible and strollers are encouraged. According to their website, most visitors spend about an hour on an average visit. In addition to the large indoor garden space, they have displays about the life cycle of butterflies, including a 15-minute video.

The Butterfly Place is open daily from Valentines Day through Columbus Day; the hours are 10:00am – 4:00pm. For more information including admission prices and special offers, visit their website at: https://butterflyplace-ma.com/

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#myreadsmonday How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

I loved this book. Looooooved this book! When you meet the main character Tom Hazard, you learn right away that his life is rather extraordinary; and it would have to be if one is 439 years old! (I’m not giving away any secrets here, don’t worry.) Tom may look like a typical 41 year old man, but the places he’s been and the things he’s seen are enough to fill multiple lifetimes.

How to Stop Time moves back and forth through different periods of Tom’s long life, from his present-day iteration as a history teacher in London, all the way back to his early teens with his mother in rural Suffolk, England. I was worried this novel would be some sort of odd rehash/offshoot of The Time Traveler’s Wife, but it’s totally not. It’s so much more than that! This story stands strong on its own two legs and takes you on an extraordinary journey to discover what it means to live and be loved.

Tom’s gone on some amazing adventures over his 400+ year lifetime, and the chance at love in his latest life has him facing some tough questions. Tom has to decide if he’s going to stick with the safe way of living that’s stood the test of time (quite literally) or if he’s going to be brave and take a chance on what a world with love could offer him.

Any Strictly Ballroom fans out there? This book made me think of the famous line from that movie, “Una vida con miedo es como la vida medias.” (Translation: “A life lived in fear is a life half-lived.”). Tom may have been alive for a long time, but has he really been living? Is he strong enough to recognize the difference and do what it takes to break free from what binds him? You’ll just have to read the book yourself to discover the truth.

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Ticket Alert: The Cashore Marionettes – Simple Gifts at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, NH

The Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, NH offers a special concert series every year called the William H. Gile Concert Series. This series opened on December 16, 1960, after a legacy of more than $700,000 was left by Helen B. Gile to finance a free concerts for the residents of Concord. The bequest was made in memory of Miss Gile’s father, William H. Gile.

In the past few years I’ve been lucky enough to take Townies 1, 2, & 3 to see free performances of The Pirates of Penzance and a ballet performance of Cinderella. There’s usually at least one Gile Series performance a year that is family friendly! On Tuesday April 10th, 2018 at 7:00pm, the latest Giles series concert will be The Cashore Marionettes – Simple Gifts. From the Capitol Center for the Arts website:

Simple Gifts is a series of touching portrayals and poignant scenes from everyday life set to stunning music by such composers as Vivaldi, Strauss, Beethoven and Copland. Through a combination of virtuoso manipulation, beautiful music, theatrical illusion, and artistic insight, the original vignettes presented in Simple Gifts provide an entertaining and sensitive vision of what it is to be human. The performance explores a range of emotions with characters and actions that are amazingly convincing. The marionettes are engineering marvels and the quality of movement is extraordinary.

Tickets to this performance will be available online on Tuesday March 13th at 11:00am. Tickets are FREE, and there is a 4 ticket per person limit.  You do not have to be a resident of Concord, NH to attend. Make sure to mark you calendar and be logged in on the CCANH website ready to get your tickets, because the Gile Concert Series tickets can go FAST!

If you aren’t able to get tickets before the show “sells out”, check back with the Capitol Center for the Arts in the weeks leading up to the show. People’s plans often change, and tickets may become available.

For more information and to see what else is upcoming at the Capitol Center for the Arts, see their website at: www.ccanh.com

Information about the William H. Gile series can be found under Shows and Tickets/Community Events/Gile Series.  The next Gile Series Concert after the Cashore Marionettes is Tom Rush on May 20th. Those tickets will be available on April 23rd at 11:00am.

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Chris Bohjalian at Gibson’s Bookstore

I’ve been a fan of Chris Bohjalian for years. I love the way he weaves a story together with characters so real that you could imagine bumping into them at the grocery store (or maybe General Store is a better reference, since many of his novels take place in small town New England!)

You can bump into Chris Bohjalian yourself when he visits Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, NH on Friday, March 16th at 7:00 PM to promote his latest novel, “The Flight Attendant”. Here’s a teaser about the novel, from its publisher, Doubleday:

Cassandra Bowden is no stranger to hungover mornings. She’s a binge drinker, her job with the airline making it easy to find adventure, and the occasional blackouts seem to be inevitable. She lives with them, and the accompanying self-loathing. When she awakes in a Dubai hotel room, she tries to piece the previous night back together, counting the minutes until she has to catch her crew shuttle to the airport. She quietly slides out of bed, careful not to aggravate her already pounding head, and looks at the man she spent the night with. She sees his dark hair. His utter stillness. And blood, a slick, still wet pool on the crisp white sheets. Afraid to call the police – she’s a single woman alone in a hotel room far from home – Cassie begins to lie. She lies as she joins the other flight attendants and pilots in the van. She lies on the way to Paris as she works the first class cabin. She lies to the FBI agents in New York who meet her at the gate. Soon it’s too late to come clean-or face the truth about what really happened back in Dubai. Could she have killed him? If not, who did? Set amid the captivating world of those whose lives unfold at forty thousand feet, The Flight Attendant unveils a spellbinding story of memory, of the giddy pleasures of alcohol and the devastating consequences of addiction, and of murder far from home.

This one sounds like a provocative ride!  I hope it brings the same levels of suspense and excitement found in his last novel, “The Sleepwalker”. I’m loath to admit that I didn’t really love “Close Your Eyes Hold Hands”, or “The Guest Room”, the two novels he published prior to “The Sleepwalker”, since I’ve loved so many of his other novels (as in, ALL the other books by him I’ve read!). I felt like Bohjalian hit a storytelling win with “The Sleepwalker”, and I’m anticipating this new novel, “The Flight Attendant” will continue the winning streak.

Gibson’s Bookstore does a fabulous job with author events. I’m delighted to go to Concord next Friday, hear Chris Bohjalian speak, and have a chance to meet him as well! For more information, or to pre-order a copy of “The Flight Attendant”, visit Gibson’s Bookstore’s website at: http://www.gibsonsbookstore.com/event/the-flight-attendant

One final note: If you’ve ever wondered how to pronounce Bohjalian, you can listen to the short clip on this website where Chris Bohjalian himself explains it! https://www.teachingbooks.net/pronounce.cgi?aid=20658

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NH Institute of Art Bowl Sale

The Ceramics Department of the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester, NH holds a Bowl Sale every year. This event is a fundraiser for the department, and funds raised this year will go towards a student trip to the 2018 National Council on Educations for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Conference.  All bowls are $20 each; the bowls are handcrafted by NHIA students and faculty.

I managed to make it there on Tuesday afternoon and was excited to see the variety of beautiful crafted bowls available for purchase! This event was originally scheduled to be held on Tuesday through Thursday of this week, but the snowstorm forced the school to cancel Wednesday and Thursdays sale dates.  If you missed the chance to get there on Tuesday, NHIA is opening the bowl sale all day on Friday, March 9th. The sale will take place from 8:30am – 5:00pm at 77 Amherst Street in Manchester, NH.

Scroll below to check out the beautiful bowl I picked up! The students on hand staffing the sale told me this bowl was made by one of their faculty members, and in their opinion it was a STEAL at $20. It’s really lovely and I’m so glad I took the time to go. I think these would make great birthday/hostess/holiday gifts. I’ll definitely be marking my calendar and going next year as well!