A Porch Sofa Almanac

ETA: a complete list of author events for this book can be found here.

Part 3 of Book Week comes in the form of A Porch Sofa Almanac by Peter Smith. This was sent to me, unsolicited, by the University of Minnesota Press. I confess--I took one look at the cover and thought, oh, that's cute. If you know me, you know that generally "cute" is not my favorite thing, unless we're talking about puppies, babies, or cupcakes. I set the book down and ignored it. But when I thought about having a book week, I picked it back up, albeit with suspicion and a sigh.

A Porch Sofa Almanac is a collection of short essays written for MPR, with the task of saying something about Minnesota. Smith does just that, with the book progressing from autumn through summer, a tidy school-based progression that does seem very Minnesotan. What's more, the essays aren't "cute" in the bad sense of the word; instead, they're often dead-on and funny. More than once I found myself chortling out loud, something I rarely do when reading. Consider his description of ice fishing:

"From Lake of the Woods and the other famous ice fishing venues to the local lake in the middle of town, men, driven out of the house by wives who've had more than enough, hunker over holes in the ice, twitching their bobers, reduced to coaxing half-hearted bites from sluggish perch and bluegills--species they wouldn't bother to fish for at all in July. Tedium has set in with a vengeance, and this wasn't exactly a thrill-a-minute proposition in the first place."

I can't help but agree with him on the subject of rutabagas:

"You know rutabaga--the dictionary defines it as 'a brassicaceous plant having a yellow or white-fleshed, edible tuber.' If 'brassicaceous' means tasting like the fourth day of an untreated case of strep, the dictionary has it about right. Rutabaga is the only vegetable I know that ought to be seasoned with one or two large dashes of Absorbine Jr."

He even pokes fun at a certain Brainerd-based, Finnish-heritage writer who was working on a coffee-table book about saunas. "I am sure that, in true Finlander form, my friend's book will be beautiful, the photos will be glorious, and the text will be evocative. It will be almost glorious and evocative enough to make me want to take a 'sow-na'--but not quite."

I could quote indefinitely, but that's not really fair to you or the book. Pick up a copy. It's a quick, entertaining read. And anyone who's suffered a bad case of cabin fever in March will certainly empathize with the essay called "Split-level Shack-whacky."

Comments

[kate]

I am enjoying the book reviews this week. A great little glimpse into the literary section of your corner of the world. Thanks!