Book Concierge — THE SPITFIRE GRILL

The Spitfire Grill is celebrating its 25^th anniversary this year, and Skylight is thrilled to bring back this audience favorite.  Here are some suggestions from board member, Tessa Bartels (a/k/a/ The Book Concierge) to go along with this heartfelt story. 

First a couple of books that deal with former prisoners finding a second chance.  

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich 

Tookie survived years of incarceration by reading “with murderous intention.”  After her release from prison, Tookie is back at home and running a bookstore. There’s no question that she’s made mistakes, but she’s paid for them. Now she has the support of friends and coworkers, whom she also tries to support.  The novel is set during a time of unrest and uncertainty – COVID 19 and the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. I’ve read a number of books by Erdrich, and this may be my favorite.  

The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange 

When Tara Connelly is released from prison after serving eighteen months on a drug charge, she knows rebuilding her life at thirty years old won’t be easy. With no money and no prospects, she returns home to live with her siblings, who are both busy with their own problems.  Life becomes even more complicated when the cop who put her in prison keeps showing up unannounced, leaving Tara to wonder what he wants from her now.  While she works to build a new career and hold her family together, Tara finds a chance at love in a most unlikely place.  (From the publisher via Goodreads.com) 

And here are a couple of books set in small-town restaurants. 

Saturday Night At the Lakeside Supper Club  by J Ryan Stradl 

Mariel Prager’s restaurant is bleeding money by the day. The Lakeside Supper Club has been in Mariel’s family for decades, but it also was the cause of a rift between Mariel and her mother, Florence, that has never quite healed. Her husband, Ned, is heir to a chain of homestyle diner, and he believes his family’s chain could provide a better future that The Lakeside. I really like Stradal’s writing. He is spot on in revealing the small-town Midwestern vibe. These are ordinary people, leading ordinary lives, full of hope, dreams, hardship, fights, reconciliations, tragedy, and perseverance. His books remind me that we ALL have stories to tell. 

The Tall Pine Polka by Lorna Landvik 

In the small town of Tall Pine, Minnesota, at the Cup O’Delight Cafe, the townsfolk gather for what they call the Tall Pine Polka, an event in which heavenly coffee, good food, and that feeling of being alive among friends inspires both body and soul to dance.  This small town is full of quirky characters, but they are a tight-knit community. They’ll find out just how tight-knit they are when a movie crew shows up and upsets the town dynamic.  

And finally one that I really enjoyed that focuses on how we use food to comfort and soothe what ails us. 

Eat Cake by Jeanne Ray 

Ruth has always found baking cakes to be a source of relief from the stresses of life. And now—as her husband loses his job, her life-of-the-party father arrives for an extended stay (much to the dismay of her mother, who also moved in recently), and her teenage daughter perfects the art of sulking—Ruth is going to have to save the day. And let the crumbs fall where they may. 

Happy reading! 

Tessa Bartels 

a/k/a Book Concierge