Who Lives Like This?! is a podcast, hosted by me and Jason Lehmbeck, that tells the stories of caregivers of disabled children and their families.
For our final literary and food gathering of the year, we’ll be reading the great Syrian author Samar Yazbek’s book of nonfiction The Crossing: My Journey to the Shattered Heart of Syria.
I continue to think it’s time to dig in and do some quality reading in these weird times when we are bombarded with so much that is mind-numbing. How many of us really know anything of depth about Syria — its history and its tragic present-day? My maternal grandfather immigrated from Syria as a boy, and I grew up eating Syrian food and hearing Arabic spoken in my grandparents’ home. I even know a curse word or two! I promise to recreate some of those delicious dishes and look forward to a lively discussion about a part of the world that I imagine many of us remain ignorant.
To RSVP, email me

It’s been a few months since our last Books & Bakes, but I think it’s time to dig in and do some quality reading. Given our current political climate, I thought we should dig down into an important book about race. This month we’ll read the Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s deeply relevant novel “Americanah,” published in 2013. The “New York Times” said that the novel “examines blackness in America, Nigeria and Britain, but it’s also a steady-handed dissection of the universal human experience — a platitude made fresh by the accuracy of Adichie’s observations.” I’m deep into it and can’t wait to discuss it with you.
MENU
Nigerian Fanta Chapman
Classic Akkara Balls
Ewedu Soup
Amala (pounded yams)
Jollof Rice and Tomato Stew
Nigerian Meat Pie
Iceberg Lettuce Salad
Dodo (Fried Plantains)
Mango Banana Ice-Cream Sundaes
Stories for Parents of Children with Special Needs
Support for Special Needs website
Hands & Voices: Spirituality and Health Magazine
Slow Trains Literary Journal
When Bears Fall From Trees
photo credit: Andy Duncan/CU Independent/Associated Press
The Unabashedly Human Experience of Raising Kids with Disabilities
How Women & Social Media Are Revolutionizing Politics in America
A year of writing exercises
Mostly True Stories of Life on the Spectrum
a collection of short poems
It’s been a few months since our last Books & Bakes, but I think it’s time for a diversion from everything political going on. We’re reading an interesting novel that is somewhat relevant in that it’s about Russia — or the Soviet Union, to be exact. “A Gentleman in Moscow,” by Amor Towles, is “an elegant tale” that chronicles over forty years in the life of Count Alexander Rostov. He is an aristocrat who is sentenced to life imprisonment in Moscow’s Metropol Hotel by a Bolshevik tribunal in 1922. It’s evidently cinematic and romantic, owing a debt to Eloise and Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.
MENU
Vodka
Russian Blini with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Crème Fraiche
Okrosha Soup
Veal Pojarski
Roasted Bass with Fennel, Black Olives and Lemon
Fennel and Orange Salad with Beets
Mille Feuille
Honey Apple Ice Cream

Books & Bakes is not your basic book group. Passionate about literature and food, I create an elaborate menu that aligns with the novel we’re reading and then facilitate a discussion. We all read the book. We all love food. Some of us drink alcohol closely matched with the food. We all love dessert. This month we’ll be reading an intense new novel about love, violence and religion in modern-day India. It was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. All three themes are, of course, vital to our time. Think about the food possibilities and join us!

This month we’ll plunge into Sicily and the Risorgimento. I’m half Italian.
An hors d’oeuvre:
Nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
The daily recital of the Rosary was over. For half an hour the steady voice of the Prince had recalled the Glorious and the Sorrowful Mysteries; for half an hour other voices had interwoven a lilting hum from which, now and again, would chime some unlikely word: love, virginity, death; and during that hum the whole aspect of the rococo drawing room seemed to change; even the parrots spreading iridescent wings over the silken walls appeared abashed; even the Magdalene between the two windows looked a penitent and not just a handsome blonde lost in some dubious daydream, as she usually was.

Are you a lover of literature but stuck in a book group that never really discusses the book? Are you a lover of food but want to cut through the pretension of the foodie world? Do you revel in devouring both beautiful fiction and food, especially when they intersect? Are you looking for a unique gift for your loved ones or yourself? Come join a community of like-minded souls and share your love of literature and food at the June Books & Bakes literary and food salon. Salon size is limited to 10, so rsvp early! Dinner, drinks and stimulating conversation are included.

Are you a lover of literature but stuck in a book group that never really discusses the book? Are you a lover of food but want to cut through the pretension of the foodie world? Do you revel in devouring both beautiful fiction and food, especially when they intersect? Are you looking for a unique gift for your loved ones or yourself? Come join a community of like-minded souls and share your love of literature and food at the first Books & Bakes literary and food salon of 2016. Salon size is limited to 10, so rsvp early! Dinner, drinks and stimulating conversation are included.