Buy the Book is a Party Book school fundraiser. It sells out in the first hour the site opens. It consists of a group of women getting together for breakfast and a white elephant style book swap. It is currently hosted by Heidi Taylor, Helen McCusker and Michon Roth. This year we celebrated it’s 12thyear. It is a fabulous event. The food is always glorious and it is great to catch up with Mom’s you haven’t seen in a long time. It has always been a traditional American Brunch with eggs and bacon and scrumptious baked goods, but this year the ladies went all out with a Japanese Brunch. When we arrive the ladies are usually finishing up cooking as we have coffee and mingle around Heidi’s gorgeous kitchen. This year we got to see Heidi making Atsumaki Tomago while Helen baked the salmon, dressed the salads and and Michon made the miso soup.
Heidi prints these gorgeous menus on her letterpress.
Prior to the brunch you have to send you book selection to Helen to make sure there are no duplicates or books from previous years. The white elephant book swap rules undergo discussion every year. But this is how we do it. Before we start the swapping we go around the table and give a short description of the book. Then we draw numbers to determine what order we will go in. Number 1 picks a book and then number 2 can choose to either pick a book from the pool or steal a previous player’s book. Anyone who gets their book stolen in this way can do the same – choose a new book or steal from someone else. After three swaps, the book cannot be stolen again – we have someone in charge of monitoring the steals.
Here is this year’s list of books. We get a print out of all the books so you can make notes on what you want and what gets taken out of circulation. I love to keep this list handy all year when I’m looking for a gift or another book to read. The ladies always bring great selections. Start one of these books today!
The Refugees byViet Thanh Nguyen
She Wants It: Power and the Toppling of the Patriarchy by Jill Soloway
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
The Terrorists Son: A Story of Choice by Zak Ebrahim
Cherry by Nico Walker
Dear Los Angeles: The City in Diaries and Letters 1542 to 2018 Edited by David Kipen
The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough
How to Change your Mind by Micahel Pollan
The Age of Light by Whitney Scharer
Bad Blook: Secrets and Lies In a A Silicon Valley Startup by Jon Carreyou
The Trouble With Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon
If You Want to Write A Book About Art, Independence and Spirit by Brenda Ueland
Meditations from the Mat: Daily ReflectionsOn the Path Of Yoga by Rolf Gates and Katrina Kenison
King Leopolds Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror And Heroism In Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
Tamagoyaki
Ingredients
3 eggs
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp water
1 tsp olive oil
Instructions
Crack the eggs into a medium size mixing bowl and add sugar, salt water
Mix gently to avoid bubbles forming
Strain the egg mixture through a sieve a few times
Pour about 2 tbsp oil into the frying pan and heat the pan until it feels hot when your hand hovers over the pan
Pour 1/3 of the mixture into the pan – it should sizzle
Break any bubbles that form with the edge of a chopstick
When the surface has solidified a little, fold and push the egg to one end of the pan with chopsticks
Wipe the empty side of the pan with oil soaked kitchen paper and pour another 1/3 egg mixture into the empty space of the pan
Lift the folded egg mixture up to let the egg mixture run under it
Fold and roll the egg from one side of the pan and wipe the empty space with the oil shake kitchen paper
Pour the last 1/3 of egg mixture and repeat fold and roll
Turn the heat off and wrap the egg with thin kitchen towel
Roll the wrapped egg with a sushi mat to shape and let rest and cool
Once it is cool slice 2 cm thick and serve
Notes
Raise the rolled egg off the counter by placing chopsticks underneath to prevent it becoming soggy while it cools
