Larry Grieco, Librarian.   Some of you will remember the fifties better than you remember the sixties. Those adolescent days conjure up memories that are often clearer than the ones that came later. If you remember the fifties, you will certainly remember Frankie Avalon, the kid out of South Philidelphia who made it big on American Bandstand, and then made those beach movies with Annette Funicello. Before all that fame and fortune, Frankie was just an Italian boy, growing up in a family that knew how to cook and revered food, not unlike yours truly, except for the teen idol part. Now, at the ripe old age of 75, he has published Frankie Avalon’s Italian Family Cookbook: From Mom’s Kitchen to Mine and Yours.

This is the real deal, folks. To call these recipes mouth-watering doesn’t do them justice. There’s antipasti here (salami-stuffed mushrooms, stuffed artichokes, bruschetta with bell peppers, olives, and basil); soups and salads (Italian wedding soup, pasta e fagioli); pasta (pasta e ceci, Sunday gravy with meatballs, sausage and ribs, the ultimate Bolognese sauce); meats and poultry (braciole, roast chicken with chestnut-sausage stuffing); seafood (shrimp scampi, stuffed calamari); vegetables and sides (eggplant marinara, mom’s tomato pizza); and desserts (cannoli-rum layer cake, Italian ricotta cheesecake, rainbow cookies.) And those are just some examples of the treasures that lay within these pages. Don’t pass up this cookbook!

Within the genre of the supernatural there’s a special little sub-genre called “magical fiction.” One of its practitioners is Suzanne Palmieri. Her latest book is called The Witch of Bourbon Street, and it tells the story of Frances Green Sorrow, a woman who was born “carrying the signs of the so-called chosen one.” Her family believed she would be their “savior…setting the Sorrow ghosts free” once and for all. Frances wants no part of that, however, and flees from their Louisiana bayou estate to “the seductive chaos of New Orleans,” where she marries too young and has a son.

When her marriage breaks up, she runs away from it too, but is forced to embrace her supernatural destiny when she learns her son has disappeared and she must find him. The French Quarter of New Orleans, with all of its charms, is practically one of the characters in this dark novel.

Writer Sarah Addison Allen: “Palmieri is quickly becoming a standout star of magical fiction. [This] may just be her best yet. Haunting and beautiful, you’ll find yourself captivated by the exquisite setting and the Sorrows themselves. A must-read.”

There’s nothing like a little book of short stories on a cold winter’s night. One such book that will warm the cockles of your heart is A Paris Affair, written by best-selling author Tatiana de Rosnay. These stories are genuinely French, in fact they are presented here translated into English, and will serve to remind us that Paris is enchanting, especially for lovers. In these eleven stories you will meet husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, in the throes of illicit desire. Yep, they’re having affairs, and there’s nothing they can do about it. Here are “forbidden loves…sometimes tragic, sometimes humorous, sometimes heartfelt, but [told] always with a dry wit and unflinching authenticity.” De Rosnay lives in Paris with her husband and two children, and writes about the “city of light” and “la vie parisienne” like no other.

The library will be closed on Thanksgiving and the day after. We’ll see you on Saturday, Nov. 28, when we re-open. May you all have a wonderful holiday, full of good cheer and stuffed with turkey, an assortment of pies and cookies, and maybe a little touch of wine (or the non-alcoholic beverage of your choice.) As they say in Italy, South Philadelphia, New Orleans and Paris: Bon appetit!