Friday Finds: Food, Fables, and Fiction

FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.
What great books did you hear about / discover this past week?
Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!

HIDDEN BUDDHAS
by Liza Dalby

Found at Shelf Awareness
(From the publisher):
According to Buddhist theology, the world is suffering through a final corrupt era called mappô. As mappô continues, chaos will increase until the center can no longer hold. Then the world will end. In Japan, many believe that Miroku, Buddha of the Future, will appear and bring about a new age of enlightenment.

From this ancient notion of doom and rebirth comes a startling new novel by the acclaimed author of Geisha and The Tale of Murasaki. Hundreds of temples in Japan are known to keep mysterious "hidden buddhas" secreted away except on rare designated viewing days. These statues are not hidden because they are powerful-their power lies in their being hidden. Are they being protected, or are they protecting the world?

In this novel, one Buddhist priest struggles with the dictates of his inherited orthodoxy, while another rebels. An American graduate student begins to suspect the mysterious purpose of the hidden buddhas, just as he falls in love with a beautiful Japanese artist who is haunted by an aborted child. The weaving of karma that brings these two together results in a tech-savvy half-Western, half-Japanese child who text-messages her way through the profane world to enlightenment.

Tracing the lives of its characters through the late twentieth century to the present, from Paris to Kyoto to California, Hidden Buddhas turns a cosmopolitan eye on discipline and decadence in religion, fashion, politics, and modern life.

Liza Dalby is an anthropologist and writer specializing in Japan. She lives in Berkeley, California.

APPLES FOR JAM: A Colorful Cookbook
by Tessa Kiros

Found at Chocolate & Croissants

(From the publisher):
Tessa Kiros has circled the globe working in restaurants in Australia, Greece, Mexico, and London. Her extensive travel and multicultural background lend authenticity to more than 200 recipes, which are grouped by color and presented alongside vibrant photographs, sound cooking advice, and heartwarming anecdotes about friends, family, and the whimsies of childhood.

Kiros shares a bevy of diverse and easy-to-prepare dishes playfully themed in colored chapters. An index references both specific foods and recipes. With memories of daisy chains, ice cream cones, circuses, and four-leaf clovers, Kiros shares her belief that good food sparks cherished memories that intensify life's melting pot of flavor. A sampling of the flavors includes:

·Sage and rosemary mashed potatoes
·Pecan butter cookies
·Roast rack of pork with fennel & honey
·Pomegranate sorbet
·Roasted zucchini and tomatoes with thyme
Pan-fried sole with lemon butter

Born to a Finnish mother and a Greek-Cypriot father, Tessa Kiros grew up learning about diverse cultures and tastes. She has traveled the world—living in London (where she worked at the famous Groucho Club), South Africa, Australia, Greece, and Mexico. She currently lives in Tuscany, Italy.

BUT WHO WILL BELL THE CATS?
by Cynthia Von Buhler

Found at Book Blogs post by E. Crawford

(From the publisher)
Finally, the solution to Aesop’s age-old question: Who will bell the cats?

Mouse and his friend, Brown Bat, are determined to get out of the basement and into the banquet hall to join the fun and frolicking there.  But escape won’t be easy with the cats blocking their efforts . . .

It will take many attempts and a surprising solution for Mouse and Bat to succeed.

Cynthia von Buhler’s enchanted upstairs/downstairs world shows readers the rewards of determination, bravery, and creativity—and reminds them of the uncomplicated power of kindness.