I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: CORB LUND-“Dig Gravedigger Dig” (2012).

I’m not what you’d call a country music fan.  There’s a lot of reasons for this.  But most of the reasons have little to do with the music itself–some of which (the faster honkier tonkier stuff) I rather like.  Corb Lund is a Canadian country singer who I’ve heard of but don’t know anything about.

This song is a honky tonking, harmonica stomping, group singing song about digging graves.

This is the kind of country I could get used to. Whoo!

[READ: July 19, 2012] Bake Sale

Why not follow a cookbook with a book about cooking.  Bake Sale is a graphic novel about a cupcake who makes cupcakes.  He is friends with an eggplant and all of the residents of his Brooklyn neighborhood come into buy his wonderful baked goods (a bag of sugar loves his brownies and an egg gets coffee every morning).  Cupcake is also in a band with his friends: bagel on banjo, pear on bass, egg on horn, eggplant on trombone.

(After I read it, Sarah pointed out how odd it is that all of the characters are foodstuffs, and that the bag of sugar is eating something that contains sugar.  I noticed that (how could you not?) but I allowed for some cognitive dissonance I think).

Turns out that Eggplant’s Aunt Aubergine knows Turkish Delight, the famous chef.  And Eggplant is traveling to Turkey to visit Aunt Aubergine.  Cupcake would love to meet Turkish Delight, but he can’t afford an airplane ticket.  So cupcake has a choice to make–work longer hours and quit the band or simply not meet his idol.

Cupcake decides to work extra hours.  But not in his shop–he begins selling his cupcakes (and more) on the street.  I enjoyed his table laden with themed items (for a boxing match, for the blessing of the animals at the cathedral, and even dog biscuits for the Westminster dog show).

Will he make enough to go on his flight?  What will happen to the band when a potato takes over on drums? (you know they have no rhythm).  And, my favorite, what happens when a cupcake goes into the Turkish baths for a schvitz?

This was a fun story.  The ending is nice–it avoids being overly sugary and sweet, but is not a downer either.  And the appendix of the book offers recipes for cupcakes, brownies, icing, marzipan and even the dog biscuits.

The art work is wonderful.  Varon has a unique style that is deceptively simple.  Her characters are big and warm (big eyes, big smiles) and yet when she also does detail work very well (like the ingredients and utensils in the margins–which also make the story very “real”).  The pages are chock full of wonderful local scenery (the bakery that served as a reference for the book was Cheeks in Brooklyn, now closed), the Russian and Turkish Baths, the Cathedral of St John the Divine.  It’s all very cool.

It’s a fast read, but it’s really enjoyable.  Both Sarah and Clark liked it too.  Here’s Sarah’s review.