Sarasota News and Books

Florida-s a great place to read, what with all the beaches. When you-re not watching the Bucs on Sunday Ticket on DIRECT TV get out there and peruse some of the state-s best independent bookstores. Here are a few of our favorites
Inkwell-s ” Touting itself as Tampa-s only independent bookstore Inkwells is practically an institution. The staff is friendly and the coffee-s strong and there-s no doubt you can kill an afternoon (or a weekend) [»]

It can be hard for those with diabetes to find yummy baking recipes that are not laden with sugar and other unhealthy ingredients. However, it does not need to be so hard to make baked goods that are also diabetic-friendly. Here are some tips for making sugar-free baking easy.

1.Use a sugar substitute in place of sugar. In this day and age, there are many sugar substitutes available at grocery stores. However, make sure you read the [»]

Winter is the season to look out for if you have young children or are prone to getting sick. Harsh weather in the winter time dramatically increases the amount of cold and flu cases. The immune system in your body was created intentionally to protect your body and heal it when you are sick. Preparing for winter may include researching baking recipes that include immune boosting ingredients. Consider the following ingredients when shopping, to get your body weather ready.
Vitamin C
Most people know that Vitamin C is good for you when you have a cold, but what [»]

Making dinner can be such a hassle. It is not so much the cooking part. It is figuring out what to make. Trying to please every one that will be eating and having the ingredients needed to make the meal. Sometimes, it just isn’t fun making dinner. Using your leftovers can make this process a little easier and more convenient. Besides, in this economy no one wants to waste anything.

If you had tacos and you have some leftover meat, you could use it to make [»]

Baking as a family can be a lot of fun and a great way to get children familiar with the kitchen. Simple steps will help children learn to follow directions and measuring ingredients will help with math skills. In addition to the educational value, you will have time to grow in your relationship. Children are also more willing to eat the food that they have created, so you may be able to get them to try foods that they normally would not try. Here is a simple, tasty recipe for [»]

Enjoying a home cooked meal doesn’t mean breaking the bank. A few simple ingredients combined with care will result in a satisfying and healthy day.

Frozen vegetables are the most economical way of purchasing vegetables. There are tastes for everyone, as most veggies complement any meal. Try buying in bulk as much as possible. Often you can save a lot of money on these frequently necessary ingredients.

Pasta is another great way of eating simply and isn’t expensive. Try making improvised spaghetti dishes that utilize your frozen vegetables. Use spinach, [»]

Deep in Michigan, a state renowned for its contributions to the automotive industry, a dark magic lurks, bringing the dreams and nightmares of a number of literary magicians to life. Some are well-known and critically acclaimed, some seem to have sprung full-grown from the shadows. The place where all of this happens is a small publisher called Subterranean Press, and it’s been happening since 1995.Almost all of the publisher’s books fit in the horror, mystery, fantasy, or science fiction genres, although not always neatly. For example, Joe R. Lansdale’s work often combines elements of fantasy, horror, mystery, and even westerns. Lansdale publishes a number of his unreleased stories in limited editions through the press, although most titles are sold out as of this writing. [»]

What do Noam Chomsky, Jimmy Carter, Thomas Edison, ad Madonna have in common? They’re all protagonists (or at least central charactersour sympathy for them is sometimes in question) in Lydia Millet’s wondrous new collection, Love in Infant Monkeys. The title comes from the celebrities’ curious co-stars: a collection of animals ranging from hamster and rabbits to elephants and giraffes.The Pulitzer Committee praised Millet’s book for “underscoring the human folly of longing for significance while chasing trifles.” Millet has never been nominated before, but did win a PEN-USA Award for another novel of human folly: 2002′s My Happy Life. The narrator of this book is an unnamed woman trapped in an abandoned mental asylum, who writes her life story on her prison walls. [»]

All across America, independent booksellers keep the spirit of the free presses alive. While selling books of all kinds, these stores manage to make a name for themselves in the way that larger franchises can’t.

• City Lights (San Francisco, California): City Lights was founded in 1953 by Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The building used to be a religious revival center, but under Ferlinghetti’s hand became known as a meeting place of off-beat literary icons. Today, the seller also functions as a publisher, with Ferlinghetti still playing a leading role.
• Powell’s Books (Portland, Oregon): Powell’s is an independent chain with its headquarters rumored to be the largest independent bookstore in the world. The original Portland location was founded in 1971. You can find “new, used, and rare books” at the store and its online site, where you can also enter contests and read reviews. [»]

Every year beginning in 1976, Pushcart Press has published its Best of the Small Presses anthology. Within these lengthy tomes, you’ll find a variety of new fiction, non-fiction, and poetry written by authors both known and unknown. The only requirement is that the piece appeared in a small-print magazine or collection during the previous year.Part of the pleasure in reading such a collection is in imagining where these authors will be in ten years. Many acclaimed writers, including Raymond Carver and Tim O’Brien, reached the public consciousness based on their inclusion in early editions. Which authors from this collection could achieve the same success? There’s Gregory Orr, a documentary filmmaker with one of his first published prose pieces (“Return to Hayneville,” a non-fiction piece). In contrast, J.C. Hallman’s “Ethan: A Love Story” is an insightful piece on video games. [»]