Dream, Ayşe Kulin
Ayşe Kulin is one of the most popular Turkish authors not just in her homeland but all around the world. For over 30 years, she has written many bestsellers and won numerous awards both in Turkey and abroad. She’s one of the favorite authors of the literary world. But how did Ayşe Kulin become Ayşe Kulin? “Hayal” tells the story of how Ayşe Kulin became a writer and gained her reputation along with her travels, memories of awards, dreams, and disappointments. In her previous two books, “Hayat” and “Hüzün,” Kulin wrote about the early years of her life from childhood including her family and academic life and marriages. This time, she writes about the fame of “Adı: Aylin,” how she became a bestselling author in the U.S. with “Nefes Nefese,” the international awards she has won, and the background of her authorship. “Hayal” which also comprises a photo album selected from Kulin’s personal archive is a book in which the author shares her inner world. It’s a primary source for readers who are curious about Kulin’s life or about being a writer.
Destination Moon, Herge
2020 was a year no one in the world had expected and a representation of which we could only have seen in sciencefiction movies in the comfort of never experiencing it ourselves. We witnessed how the whispers of a disease in a far-away land quickly spread across the world to imprison us and how nothing could ever be the same again. We are confined in our homes, we have distanced ourselves from coughing people, and stopped visiting our favorite movie theater, stage, or restaurant. We learned not to hug the ones we loved most or travel, and how to remain distant from each other. We still don’t know if there’s a light at the end of the tunnel or when we will see it. We started to care more about what health experts around the world have to say more than we care about the statements of politicians and even what our family or friends are saying. Every day, before the weather forecast, we check the pandemic numbers, new developments, and bulletins that announce new measures. The next winter will bring along not only cold weather and dark days but also the uncertainty of the pandemic. As world leaders are saying, humanity is in a kind of battle. As we have seen many times in history, during dire times like this, we gather great strength from remembering and rediscovering the moments we felt safe. It’s hard to find a harbor that is safer than childhood - a time when little troubled us and we had calm days and peaceful sleep. A perfect solution would be reading a republished childhood classic under a blanket with a cup of tea or coffee, to remember those times and to achieve that inner peace even for a few hours. Tintin’s recently republished adventures make for a wonderful alternative in moments like these. Tintin will do us all good in his journeys to far away places with his ever-loyal friends and lovely Terrier Milou. These journeys always end on a happy note.
Aunt Emma’s Book, Elvan Uysal Bottoni
Emma Teyze (Aunt Emma) is a second-generation member of the Mancini family who lived in northern and central Italy in the early 1900s. One day, Emma Mancini decided to put together a notebook -possibly not because she wanted to be known among Turkish readers but because she wanted to pass on the family recipes she had been preparing in the kitchen and the tricks she had been using to younger generations so that they would be able to cook them for their loved ones. In time, this notebook by Aunt Emma made its way to the family of Elvan Uysal Bottoni’s husband. Based in Italy for 20 years, the author saw the value of the material she came across and decided to publish it as a book. The recipes offer the most delicious examples of Italian cuisine but they have one more important feature: They belong to the postwar years of struggle in Italy. Therefore, the book includes delicious meals made with simple and few ingredients. It was a time of war with long queues for flour, oil, and sugar. The book has recipes for over 120 dishes and more than 40 desserts. The author steps in to help the reader in certain recipes. Elvan Uysal Bottoni herself prepared each recipe for the book’s appetizing pictures taken by Derya Turgut, and after the shoot, they ate it all as a team. It’s a delightful experience to read a book published with love based on a notebook also created with love, but more importantly, this book is an ideal journey for current times in which we’re rediscovering the value of cooking and spending time together in the kitchen or around a table.
Amalfi Coast,
Carlos Souza
We’re going through times in which we’re realizing how much we have been taking things for granted. The biggest longing some of us feel is traveling whenever we feel like it. Until things get back to normal, reading is the only way we can quench our passion for rejuvenating ourselves; for exploring new places, lives, and cultures; for lying under the sun, and watching the sunset from a distant island. Assouline, which deserves a special interest with its meticulousness in every book from photographs to printing and diligent authorship, released a colorful series to fulfill your longing for traveling. The series, which brings dreamlike places, exclusive corners, wonderful pictures, and unknown stories into our own homes, includes books about Marrakesh, Ibiza, Miami, Capri, Mykonos, and the Amalfi Coast wher e unforgettable movies were filmed. Promising breathtaking views with its lemon trees, blue coves, and winding roads that lead up to hills, the Amalfi Coast comprises thirteen neighboring villages. An idyllic life hidden among the bougainvilleas, drinking homemade limoncellos in the late afternoon, delicious Italian food, sea, sun, and “dolce per niente” i.e. that unique bliss of doing nothing... The book carries us from our chair to this dream on the Amalfi Coast.
