My Son, the Comic

I usually blog about new things at SoFAB. But today I am using my space here to talk about something that happened at SoFAB. My son is a stand-up comic. He stands there and is funny. So obsessed as I am with using everyone's talents to make SoFAB special, I invited him to perform at SoFAB the last time he was in New Orleans. I think that he and his friends had a good time, and that people who came had the unusual experience of eating Turkey Bone Gumbo (it was right after Thanksgiving), drinking beer and laughing at a museum. His name is Mark Normand.
Mark has been nominated for Best Emerging Comic by ECNY. I urge you all to vote for him. If you think that I shamelessly talk about SoFAB, imagine how I am talking about my son. He is my son, the comic. Whenever I tell anyone about it, they say, "You're kidding, right?" I wait for the reaction. If I were to say, "My son, the teacher," I could wait all day for a reaction. But being able to say "comic" is always good for a second take or a quizzical look.
Please watch him. Please vote for him. I am a proud mother. He performed at SoFAB.

Cookbooks Thrive in Tough Times

If you’ve got a fresh idea for a cookbook, now is the time to think about approaching a publishing house.

Why? When times are tough, cookbook sales increase. It seems that people do more cooking at home and they buy cookbooks to help with meal preparation.

Some publishing experts suggest that economic downturns are good for cookbook production.

Consider the following statistics.

• Retailers sold 14.9 million cooking-related books in 2006, a 9% increase from the previous year. (Nielsen BookScan)

• Cookbooks generated $159 million in 2006, an increase of 5.1% over 2005 and 20% over 2002. (Simba Information)

• American women own an average of 15 cookbooks, and three out of 10 women collect cookbooks. (1001 Ways to Market Your Books, by John Kremer)

• Ninety-seven million people gave or received a book as a gift, and the most popular book category was cookbooks. (American Bookseller)

• The cookbook market has sustained a growth rate of 5% annually since 1984 due to strong sales in cookbooks compared to the book market in general. (Trendwire, October 18, 2004)

With or without an economic downturn, it’s not such a bad idea to create a family cookbook. If you aren’t able to create a major seller, you’ll still be able to create an important heirloom to document the way you live and that can be passed down to other generations.

Don’t forget to make a copy for us!

Bar from Bruning's Restaurant

Bruning's Restaurant was the third oldest restaurant in New Orleans. It was opened in 1859. It was a part of the Milneburg resort area on Lake Pontchartrain. The restaurant changed from an adult entertainment and resort to a casual family restaurant over the years. The bar moved from one building to another after hurricanes. Finally the bar was stored. And from that storage, SoFAB has become the recipient of the bar from Bruning's. We have a little piece of New Orleans history ready for restoration and exhibition. Very soon the progress of the restoration will be documented for you every week. When the bar is completely restored and ready for use, we will toast its reopening. Stay tuned.

Used Cookbooks

Thanks to the generosity of a donor, the Museum Store has available for sale a large collection of used cookbooks. While these books new have retailed as high as $50, everything is priced between $1 and $9.95 and many are actually new. Aside from traditional American cookbooks, there are many international books that span the globe from Russia to Cuba. This represents a perfect opportunity for someone who wants to fatten their cookbook library while at the same time not lose any weight in their wallet.