More Summer Readin’

Uzzie Cannon says that she hopes to read at least seven from the list for the summer, but all before the end of the year.

“Somebody Knows My Name”—Lawrence Hill

“The Secret Life of Bees”—Sue Monk Kidd

“Push”—Sapphire

“If Beale Street Could Talk”—James Baldwin

“Giovanni’s Room”—James Baldwin

“Running Scissors”—Augusten Burroughs

“The Shadow of the Wind”—Carloz Ruiz Zafon

“Pictures of a Dying Man”—Agymah Kamau

“Love in the Time Cholera”—Gabriel Garcia Marquez

“Heart is a Lonely Hunter”—Carson McCullers

“Angela’s Ashes”—Frank McCourt

“Black Girl, White Girl”–Joyce Carol Oates

“The Polished Hoe”—Austin Clarke

“The Chaneyville Incident”—David Bradley

“Half of a Yellow Sun”—Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

“The Spook Who Sat By the Door”—Sam Greenlee

“White Guilt”—Shelby Steele

“Losing the Race”—John McWhorter

“We Who Are Dark”—Tommie Shelby

Summer Reading

Those splendid summer days are getting closer! We polled faculty and staff to discover what was on their summer reading list and we will be posting them as we receive them. As a lead in, please sing with me (adapted from Grease’s “Summer Lovin’ ”)

~Summer readin’, I’ll have me a blast~
~Summer readin’, passes so fast~
~I’ll read ten books, fun for me~
~Sit by the sea, chill as can be~
~Summer days driftin’ away, but uh oh those summer books!~

~Well-a, well-a, well-a, huh~
~Tell me more, tell me more…~

Dr. Pat MacEnulty is reading “Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers” by Stefan Fatsis.

Peter Lehmuller, Dean of Culinary Education, is reading “The Nine” by Jeffrey Toobin

And from the library -

Christine Tran will be reading:

“The Yiddish Policeman’s Union” by Michael Chabon
“Fieldwork” by Mischa Berlinski
“The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” by Junot Diaz
“Palace of Illusions” by Chitra B. Divakaruni
“Knots” by Nuruddin Farah
“Careless in Red” by Elizabeth George
“The Turnaround” by George Pelecanos
“The Various Haunts of Men” by Susan Hill

Jean Moats plans to read:

“People of the Book” by Geraldine Brooks
“Yiddish Policemen’s Union”  by Michael Chabon
“Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini

Unsung Hero Award

Congratulations to librarian Christine Tran who was a recipient of the Unsung Hero award at the 2008 Employee Recognition program last Friday, May 2nd.

Library Blog Welcome

Welcome to the JWU Library Blog! We are excited to offer this new communication as a virtual forum and newsletter for students and faculty. Please take the time to look around and offer any comments that will help us to serve you better. Thank you.

Book Sale Success!

Many thanks to those of you who participated in this year’s book sale!  We raised $335.00 selling duplicated and outdated books from our collection. The money will go toward purchasing new books and videos for the Percolator Collection.  If you haven’t visited the Percolator in the library, please do so soon.  We have a great selection of books and videos for your enjoyment.

Virtual Reference at the Library

Need to ask a Librarian a question? 

You can connect with a librarian in the Johnson & Wales Charlotte Library by using any of the following IM addresses: 

jwulibraryclt@yahoo.com

jwulibraryclt@hotmail.com

jwulibraryclt@gmail.com

jwulibraryclt@aol.com 

Generally available during library hours for reference questions and library help 

My Last Supper - Book Review

 My Last Supper

50 great chefs and their final meals -portraits, interviews, and recipes

By: Melanie Dunea (Located at the Reference Desk)

“If you were to die tomorrow; what single dish, what on emouthful of food from anywhere in the world or anytime in your life,would you choose as your last?” My Last Supper records the response that 50 top chefs gave in answer to this question. There are similarities in many of their answers; but there are also differences. Many choose food that reminded them of happy times with favorite people when life was simpler. The kind of things we would call comfort food and as simple as bread and butter. My Last Supper is a look at the personal side of many of the chefs whose names have become household words to us. We try to savor and always want thelast of anything to be the best - the last piece of cake, the last day ofvacation, the last year in school, or the last time to see a friend. By using food as a focal point and the last meal in particular, we are given a look at how these chefs think about other things that are important to them and have made an impact on their lives. For instance, Thomas Keller would like for the chefs of the French Laundry and Bouchon to fix his final meal. Charlie Trotter shows his enjoyment of reading with the desire that the authors Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Ernest Hemingway, Tom Wolfe, and F. Scott Fitzgerald all be present for his last meal. If they could have their wishes Mario Batali and Jacques Pepin would have their last meal go on “for a very long time” – Pepin says “years”! Actually, JacquesPepin would like the meal to go on for so long that he would die from the sin of gluttony. You get the idea that they enjoy eating and they enjoy life!! Marcus Samuelsson would like to prepare the meal himself. Many chose Jazz music to accompany their meal played by some of the most celebrated jazz musicians such as Miles Davis, Nat King Cole, or Dave Brubeck. The choice of what foods they decided upon was amazingly different yet for all reminiscent of somethingthat was meaningful to them. Most would like their last meal to be with family or friends at home. Some of the questions that were repeated throughout the book are: What would be your last meal on earth? What would be the setting for your last meal? What would you drink with your meal? Would there be music? Who would by your dining companions? And, who would prepare your meal? As a big plus the book also provides a gorgeous portrait of each chef. Check it out!! Behind the Reference Desk, you will find My Last Supper, a portrait of a side of our favorite chefs we normal seldom see!!

Linda Meckes

For a real treat take a couple of minutes and look at Time Magazine Online to see 12 portraits from the book and a few short samples of some interesting interviews -

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1673230,00.html

 

Culinary Book Donation

 

 

The library received a donation of 980 culinary books from Marie C. Suwalski and family. Marie gave the donation in memory of her husband, George W. Suwalski, who enjoyed cooking and trying out new recipes. Mr. Suwalkski never worked professionally in foodservice, but loved to cater parties and prepare meals for family and friends. During his lifetime, they lived in California and later moved here to Spencer, North Carolina. Marie knows in her heart that George would be happy to know that his culinary collection has a new home here at Johnson & Wales University.

Jean Moats

Diner Exhibit

 

Diner Exhibit

 

While its first donation came as long ago as 1979, the Culinary Museum at Johnson & Wales University has recently come into prominence as a major part of our Providence Harborside campus. While the old facilities were somewhat makeshift, the relatively newer facility occupied just 6 years ago is state of the art in museum design. Including on-site exhibits and items stored off site the museum possesses a veritable treasure trove of tens of thousands of culinary-related items. Its collections are surely one of a kind and draw interest from all over the world.

The Charlotte campus was visited this summer by Steven Spencer and Richard Gutman. Gutman is the author American Diner: Then and Now and Worcester Lunch Car Company (among other titles). Gutman and Spencer carefully surveyed our campus before they sped off to check out Denver and Miami as well. A new idea had been brewing for some time. With all of these magnificent collections sitting in storage in Providence it was thought that the other branches might benefit from hosting smaller exhibits of their own. It was a result of this and the efforts of the museum staff that we now have the diner exhibit on the 3^rd floor of the Academic Center. The exhibit is much more than just objects and pictures. If you take the time to peruse what’s there you can actually learn something about the unique role that diners have played in American history. If you haven’t had the opportunity to check it out just yet think about stopping by for a few moments next time you have a break from or between classes.

 

—

Richard J. Moniz, Jr., Ed.D.

Director of Library Services

Johnson & Wales University - Charlotte

801 West Trade Street

Charlotte, NC 28202

980-598-1603  office

richard.moniz@jwu.edu

http://library.jwu.edu/charlotte

 

FAST Book Group

Get ready for the big fun!  The FAST (Faculty and Staff Together) book group is having its first meeting at the library on Wednesday, January 23 to discuss Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.  Refreshments and chitchat will begin at 4:30 p.m. and the booktalk will rev up around 5 p.m.  Our library, PLCMC (www.plcmc.org), Union County Public Library, and Fort Mill Public Library all have multiple copies of the book.  Please contact Christine Tran (christine.tran@jwu.edu, x1604) for more information.