Decorah Public Library staff are hosting two book discussions in August. The groups are open to the public and newcomers are encouraged to attend. Anyone interested should call the library at 382-3717 to learn more or to reserve a book. Zoom links are available on the Library’s website or you can email ktorresdal@decorahlibrary.org to be added to any of the groups’ email distribution lists. Funds for multiple copy sets were generously provided by Friends of Decorah Public Library.
For more information, contact Tricia Crary (Friday Book Group) or Zach Row-Heyveld (Cookbook Group) at 563-382-3717.
How to Grill Everything
The Cookbook Group will meet in-person in the mezzanine of the library on Thursday August 11 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss Mark Bittman’s “How to Grill Everything.” “How to Grill Everything” features 1,000 recipes and variations, plus Bittman’s practical advice on all the grilling basics. Recipes cover every part of the meal, including appetizers, seafood, meat and poultry, vegetables (including vegetarian mains), and even desserts. Plenty of quick, high-heat recipes will get dinner on the table in short order (Spanish-Style Garlic Shrimp, Green Chile Cheeseburgers); low and slow “project” recipes (Texas-Style Smoked Brisket, Pulled Pork with Lexington BBQ Sauce) are ideal for leisurely weekend cookouts. You’ll also find unexpected grilled treats like avocado, watermelon, or pound cake, and innovative surprises—like cooking meat loaf or from-scratch Rosemary Olive Oil Bread on the grill—to get the most out of every fire.
The Cutting Season
The Friday Book Group will hold a hybrid meeting Fri. August 19 at 2:00 p.m. to discuss Attica Locke’s “The Cutting Season.” In-person attendees will meet in the lower-level public meeting room at the library and digital attendees will join via Zoom. While walking the grounds of Belle Vie, the historic plantation house in Louisiana she has managed for four years, Caren sees some ground that has been dug up by the fence bordering the sugar cane fields. Assuming an animal has been out after dark, she asks the gardener to tidy it up. But he calls her to say it’s something else—a body. Now she has police on site, an investigation in progress, and a member of staff no one can track down. As Caren is drawn into the dead girl’s story, she makes discoveries about the future of Belle Vie and the secrets of its past.