Episode 405: Natural Disasters

Welcome back to the show. We are so glad you are here, joining us for the book group discussion.

In our book group we talk  about books and about different genres, and provide useful information for library people doing Reader’s Advisory work. There are so many books out there that it’s tough to be an expert on all of them. So we pick a new genre each week to chat about and hopefully provide you with some insight into what may be an unfamiliar genre!

This week we look at books on natural disasters.

Who is joining us this week?  Our returning Guest Host is Ariel Kirst from the Great River Library System.

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We love doing this, but podcasts aren’t free to create; so thank you so much to our book group members who have joined us. We love having you as part of the team.

Beverages:

Each week we like to connect the theme of our books with our beverages, and we each came prepared with our own drink to enjoy while we talk about our books. You are an important part of this book group, so if you don’t have a beverage go ahead and get one now. Each of our beverages will have a recipe or a link on our episode page, so you can try them yourself!

Of course, everyone knows about Hurricanes and they are indeed lovely (and potent) beverages. So this week we are looking at a few others from an article in Smithsonean magazine. We link to it on our show notes page, along with the recipes. 

Mudslide

From the Kahlua website: A twist on the ice-cold Frozen Mudslide, this cocktail, simply known as the Mudslide drink, comes from a much warmer place. Legend tells us it was first concocted at a bar in the tropical Cayman Islands

  • 1 part Kahlúa
  • 1 part Absolut Vodka
  • 1½ parts Irish cream Liqueur

Shake Kahlúa, Absolut Vodka and Irish cream Liqueur in a shaker with lots of ice. Serve in a rocks glass with ice. Easy does it. Tip: to make it look even more delicious, add some chocolate flakes on top, because… who says you can’t indulge?

Tornado

The Tornado is a rather strong mixed drink that makes a great visual impression. It’s a fun drink and one that you’ll want to share with friends; with a table full of Tornados whirling, it can be entertaining.

Ingredients

Steps to Make It

  1. Stir the liquors in a collins glass.
  2. Add sugar and stir again (but not too well).
  3. Add ice, then cola.
  4. Stir three times and serve with a straw.

Earthquake

The original Earthquake recipe consisting of equal parts Cognac and absinthe is commonly credited to Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, the influential French Post-Impressionist and early advocate of American cocktail culture. 

Ingredients

Serving: 1

  • 2 ounces Cognac, preferably Hardy VSOP
  • 1 ounce absinthe, preferably Lucid

Garnish: lemon twist

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass over cracked ice and stir until chilled.
  2. Strain into a chilled Georgian punch glass.
  3. Garnish with expressed lemon peel.

Genre Discussion:

Natural disasters in books are kind of contradictory. On the one hand, it’s scary and potentially sad to read about terrible things happening. And on the other hand – it’s exciting and can be very inspirational to hear about the ways people banded together and overcame the disasters facing them. 

When disaster happen around us, or the world feels like a huge dumpster fire of disaster, it can be comforting to read books about people who have had the worst happen – and have made it through. We can learn lessons, we can take comfort in their survival, we can be inspired by their struggle.

And if some days you are having a lousy life experience, and just want to check in on people who are having an even worse day – well, we’ve got suggestions for you!

Suggested Reading Resources:

Our Book Discussion

Now we are a little more familiar with this week’s genre, and we have enjoyed some of our special beverages, let’s get to the book discussion!

As always, the below links and images are from Amazon.com. If you click on one and buy a book, or other nice items, Amazon will give us a small percentage of the profits they make from your sale. Thanks in advance!!

Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago, by Eric Klinenberg

Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital, by Sheri Fink

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl, by Timothy Egan

The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic–and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World, by Steven Johnson

When the Mississippi Ran Backwards: Empire, Intrigue, Murder, and the New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-12, by Jay Feldman

Supervolcano: Eruption, by Harry Turtledove

The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America, by Timothy Egan

Conclusion

Thanks so much for joining us this week for the book group! It’s always better when you are here with us.

Be sure you are subscribed to this podcast to get every episode, genre, and book suggestion dropped right into your favorite app. And you can check out our shownotes for each episode to get all the info we discussed, along with the links to more resources. Every episode we have created is on our website: cmle.org.

Join us next week for more genre discussions!