December 2018 Prime Picks
The
Culinary Corner
Baladi Palestine
Joudie Kalla
Interlink Publishing
9781623719814
$35.00
www.interlinkbooks.com
Baladi Palestine: A Celebration of Food from Land and Sea comes from the author of Palestine on a Plate and offers more Palestinian recipes that reflect the diverse cultural influences of its area and peoples.
From the roasted vegetable medley Khudar Mashwi Bil Za'atar Wa Shatta to a baked lamb kufta (Kufta Bil Khudar) and a cumin-spiced Jumbo Shrimp with Carrot and Cumin Salad, each dish is introduced with history and description, comes with Joudie Kalla's own endorsement, and is paired with a full-page color photo.
Even more educational are photos and descriptions introducing each chapter which describe Palestinian countryside, ingredients, history, and culture. The blend of family dishes and Palestinian classics make for a cookbook packed with mouthwatering delights, designed to be accessible to a wide audience.
Cook's Illustrated
Revolutionary Recipes
Cook's Illustrated
Editors
America's Test
Kitchen
9781845256479
$45.00
www.americastestkitchen.com
Cook's Illustrated Revolutionary Recipes represents some 25 years of kitchen-tested dishes by America's Test Kitchen that were published in their Cook's Illustrated Magazine, and compiles a handpicked selection of the best, most groundbreaking recipes based on editorial recommendation.
Each recipe is accompanied by a full-page color photo that compliments the original dish, sidebars of information, and an extensive introduction that explains why each updated dish is a standout.
The piece on 'Updating Shepherd's Pie', for example, explains that traditional flavor-filled productions are prohibitively time-consuming for the average cook. Andrea Geary goes on to recommend a variety of adaptations, including using ground meat (explaining why a straight-ahead swap of chunks for ground meats don't work correctly) to improve flavor and texture.
Another article discusses 'The Problem with Roast Turkey', while adaptations for producing an exceptional Rice and Lentils with Crispy Onions are discussed in detail.
Cooks can either read the articles about experiment successes and failures and learn more about kitchen science from them, or can go straight to the foolproof recipes.
Cook's Illustrated Revolutionary Recipes is highly recommended as a 'bible' packed with exceptional recipes that not only assure success, but teach readers about what makes for an exceptional dish over standard fare.
Crave
Christine S. O'Brien
St. Martins Press
9781250128836
$28.99
www.stmartins.com
Crave: A Memoir of Food and Longing is a food memoir like no other. While one might anticipate it to be a family culinary history, it's actually an account of bizarre diets, hunger in a privileged family, a mother's sudden collapse, and an ailment that doctors said had no physical basis.
Hunger comes in many forms. In this case, it is the intriguing story of a mother determined to preserve the health of her family by defying ordinary diets and nutrition to follow a program that left Christine and her three younger brothers feeling constantly hungry.
From family dinner table struggles to broader implications of cravings that extended from food into psychological realms, Crave is a vivid story recommended not just for biography readers, but for those interested in the broader implications of food choices, diets, and nutrition.
A Culinary History of
Taipei
Steven Crook and Katy
Hui-Wen Hung
Rowman &
Littlefield
9781538101377
$38.00
www.rowman.com
A Culinary History of Taipei: Beyond Pork and Ponlai represents the first in-depth English language examination of the history and cuisine of Taipei, and is recommended reading not so much for those seeking cookbooks, but for cooks who want a scholarly survey of Taipei's people, customs, and culinary evolution.
Chapters cover the eating patterns and choices of various communities and ethnic groups, draw connections between Taiwan's food and cultural traditions, and include interviews and discussions of food trends in the nation, from students entering culinary schools abroad to changing community access to new foods and tastes.
Interviews with leaders in Taipei's culinary scene nicely compliment historical details gleaned from meticulous research through English- and Chinese-language materials published in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, creating a survey that should reach beyond the culinary shelf and into any collection strong in Taiwanese history and culture.
Oxmoor House
www.meredith.com
Breakfast: the Most Important Book About the Best Meal of the Day (9780848757694, $25.00) comes from the editors of Extra Crispy, who compile recipes from the popular website (some 75 of them) to enhance breakfast and brunch efforts.
It should be noted that this contains as much familiar 'comfort food' fare as innovative dishes; adds essays and cultural references to fare such as Goetta, Taylor Ham, and Scotch Eggs; and includes a healthy dose of culinary history and color photos to compliment the recipes peppered throughout.
Recipe seekers will appreciate such tips as 'How to Make the Best Biscuits and Sausage Gravy of Your Life' or 'How to Make Cold Brew Concentrate At Home', while those interested in culinary history will relish the lively stories about everything from donuts to peameal bacon.
Cooking Light's Everyday Slow Cooker: 130
Modern Recipes,
with 40 Gluten-Free Dishes and 50 Multicooker Variations
(9780848756451,
$24.99) is packed with recipes that blend international touches with
dishes
that are a snap to produce not just because the slow cooker is being
used, but
because they require a minimum of preparation and few exotic
ingredients.
Variations on traditional dishes (such as a Lemon-Coriander Shrimp and Grits or Tortellini with Creamy Butternut Squash) offer something different to cooks who seek innovative fare, while multicooker directions, full-page color photos of finished dishes, and instructions that can take as few as two-step make these dishes appealing on many levels.
The book uses canned and quick ingredients to speed up the prep process, such as cartons of chopped tomatoes or tomato sauce or pre-chopped fresh mushrooms, but doesn't scrimp on fresh ingredients when they would enhance the dish's flavor.
Many slow-cooker cookbooks promise simplicity; but few pair the focus on revised 'light' dishes with ease and appeal as does Cooking Light's Everyday Slow Cooker.
Health Matters
Let's Talk About
Death Over Dinner
Michael Hebb
DaCapo Press
9780738235295
$26.00
www.dacapopress.com
Let's Talk About Death Over Dinner: An Invitation and Guide to Life's Most Important Conversation creates an unusual set of guidelines and ideas for starting a conversation about death and end-of-life needs. It is recommended for anyone who would broach the subject in a non-threatening, inviting manner.
Unlike most other books about the psychology of death and dying, Let's Talk About Death Over Dinner uses many sample vignettes to pair basic issues and decisions with scenarios that lend to open conversations.
The questions Michael Hebb gathered for this title, the examples of how they were broached and handled, and the fact that Hebb is the founder of Death Over Dinner and Convivium, an agency that pairs food with discussion-based gathering, lends to an important guide that should be in any health or psychology collection.
Meet Your Bacteria
Nicola Temple and
Catherine Whitlock
Firefly Books
9780228101260
$24.95
www.fireflybooks.com
Meet Your Bacteria: the Hidden Communities That Live in Your Gut & Other Organs offers lay readers an accessible, colorful discussion of bacteria that presumes no prior medical or health knowledge, and adopts a lively format to impart the basics of microorganisms.
High school students to adult audiences receive a basic primer that discusses bacteria, physiological environments for microbes, and profiles the many important families of bacteria in the human body.
Even more revealing is the latest research and discoveries in vaccines, antibiotics, and resistant forms of bacteria which provide tips to improving personal health through a better understanding of microbes and how they work.
This colorful primer lends to easy understanding using a lively format that reviews the latest scientific and health discoveries surrounding bacteria and bodily functions.
Novel New Novels
Black Autumn
Jeff Kirkham &
Jason Ross
Defiance Press &
Publishing
9781948035163
$21.95
www.defiancepress.com
Black Autumn: A Post-Apocalyptic Saga is a novel told by two experts (one in global civil disorder; the other ion preparedness), and describes a scenario in which America falls when a tiny North Korean nuke that barely causes damage leads to the downfall of America's entire economy.
Readers well versed in apocalyptic nuclear scenarios will be especially intrigued to find that this focus on economic downfall rather than all-out nuclear war provides a gripping saga of not just physical terrain under attack; but the economic structure underlying the American system itself.
A community of Special Forces veterans and their families face challenges even given their unique knowledge and survival skills, creating a spellbinding story that will intrigue survivalists, post-apocalyptic thriller readers, and those interested in different kinds of doomsday scenarios.
Flame Tree Press
www.flametreepress.com
Two powerful horror reads from Flame Tree Press provide horror and fantasy fans with compelling stories that are hard to put down.
Ramsey Campbell's Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach (9781787580312, $14.95) tells of a family vacation in Greece gone awry when Ray and Sandra find islanders stalking the family. And then the nightmares begin...
Various tour operators show them the island, but the more they journey through its byways and back roads, the more they expose hidden dangers that threaten both the island's closely-held secrets and their own safety.
Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach is a satisfyingly engrossing story of a vacation gone awry and a series of events that challenge a family's perception of Greece as they encounter not only its culture, but its too-real legends.
Jonathan Janz's The Siren and the Specter (9781787580053, $14.95) will appeal to fans of haunted house stories as it tells of skeptic David, who is invited by a friend to spend a month in the haunted Alexander House.
David is interested in writing an exposé about the house's past and realities, but is hiding his own dark secrets, which come alive under the house's brooding countenance.
Combine a traditional haunted house story and scenario with a tale of personal struggle for a ghost story that is a cut above the usual haunted house account, filled with twists and turns designed to keep readers immersed in not just the house's dark heritage, but David's own failings and inability to come to terms with his past.
Both are stellar examples of classic and innovative horror writing at its literary best.
Limetown
Zack Akers and Skip
Bronkie with Cote Smith
Simon & Schuster
9781501155642
$26.00
www.simonandschuster.com
Limetown represents a prequel to the podcast of the same name and tells of a teenager who learns of a secret research facility where over three hundred people have vanished.
In the original podcast, when journalist Lia Haddock's lost uncle joins the missing, she undertakes a series of investigations to uncover what really happened in Limetown.
In 2015, a podcast of this name combined the format of oral history with the drama of a radio show to create this premise to become, virtually overnight, an internet sensation.
This book goes back in time to tell the stories of Lia's adolescence and her relationship with a mysterious uncle whose condition involves their family in dangerous research. It adds another dimension to the Limetown story; yet is accessible for newcomers who may never have heard of the podcast sensation.
This thoroughly engrossing story shouldn't be limited to adolescent or horror genre readers alone; but is a riveting novel that will attract a wide audience to the creepy fictional town's history and mystery.
Science, Nature & Technology
Einstein's Monsters
Chris Impey
W.W. Norton
9781324000938
$26.95
www.wwnorton.com
Einstein's Monsters: the Life and Times of Black Holes comes from a notable astronomer who provides a detailed introduction to the latest scientific facts surrounding this phenomenon.
The first section presents evidence for black holes gleaned from some forty years of research and discoveries. This basic introduction supports the second section, which tackles both proven facts and common myths about the origins, attributes, and life cycles of black holes.
Discussions of scientific investigations, notable astronomical events, stars that scientists are watching, and missing links between physics and astronomical observation create a powerful survey recommended for not just students of Einstein's theories, but anyone interested in the history and process of black hole research.
Wild Land
Peter and Beverly
Pickford
Thames & Hudson
9781760760076
$65.00
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
Wild Land: A Journey into the Earth's Last Wilds presents an oversized book exploration comprising some four years and seven continents where the photographer authors captured over 200 images of various wilderness spots on the planet.
Having these full-page, oversized images is just part of the main attraction of Wild Land: its benefit does not stop there. Accompanying these images (which make for a gathering highly recommended for science and nature holdings both casual and scholarly) are artistic insights on their making which will appeal to landscape and nature photographers interested in how the authors chose to represent the concepts of wild lands and nature preservation.
These detailed first-person observations and reflections are fitting pairings to images that range from the deserts of Namibia in Africa to double-page spreads of the European Arctic.
The result is a powerful survey that excels in diversity, from the expansive frozen landscapes of the north to beautiful white-out pages featuring two delicate birds in flight, dancing with each other.
The diversity of this compilation is startling and earns it a top recommendation for science, nature, or photography collections alike.
Reviewer's Choice
The End of Strategic
Stability?
Lawrence Rubin and
Adam N. Stulberg, Editors
Georgetown University
Press
9781626166035
$36.95
www.press.georgetown.edu
The End of Strategic Stability? Nuclear Weapons and the Challenge of Regional Rivalries belongs in college-level collections strong in international relations, political science, and security issues, and gathers an in-depth collection of essays considering how states in different regions view strategic stability, nuclear and other weapons, and their ideals, costs, and effectiveness.
Contributors from a range of disciplines explore the politics and policies of current and future nuclear powers in the world, offering papers that consider an array of interrelated issues, from Russia's approach to cyber warfare to how the concept of strategic stability is applied in the Middle East and how various nations interact over the concept of strategic stability.
From cross-domain campaigns to internal and external regional policies promoted by individual nations, The End of Strategic Stability? is highly recommended not just for political analysis, but for classroom discussion and debate.
Young Adult/Children
Eye Spy: Wild Ways
Animals See the World
Guillaume Duprat
What On Earth Books
9781999802851
$21.99
www.whatonearthbooks.com
Eye Spy: Wild Ways Animals See the World shares the latest scientific research on animal vision in a manner youngsters can readily absorb, depicting in visual pages of detail the various ways that cows, cats, eagles, and others see different layers of their worlds.
Gorgeous drawings accompany fold-out pages of detail that may not lend to the rigors of library circulation, but which are perfect choices for adults who want to use Eye Spy as a primer for introducing kids to ideas about different animal perceptions.
Good reading skills are required, making this a pick for elementary grades 4-6.
Holiday House
www.holidayhouse.com
Six new easy readers are recommended for board book to picture book enthusiasts and their read-aloud parents; each offering something different that stands out from other books.
Gail Gibbons' Boat Book (9780823439782, $7.99) provides a lovely board book that explores different kinds of boats, from kayaks and rowboats to sailboats and speedboats. A simple format helps boat-crazy kids understand their differences and basic operations.
Eve Bunting's board book Pirate Boy (9780823439799, $7.99) is illustrated by Julie Fortenberry and tells of a pirate boy's love for his brave mother. Dannie enjoys reading about pirates and fantasizes about sailing away on a pirate ship as his mother reads aloud, but when he queries his mother about leaving to have adventures, she gives fun responses that reflect both her devotion to her son and her commitment to his adventures and his connections with her.
Parents will find this story of a bid for independence to be unusually compelling.
Giada Francia's I Will Eat You (978082340313, $14.99) isn't recommended for the rigors of library lending, but offers parents and kids illustrations to unfold to learn about food chains around the world. The colorful pages packed with fold-outs by Agnese Baruzzi illustrate how one creature consumes other creatures and plants in the food chain, offering up a whimsical, fun method of understanding food systems.
Julie Gonzalez's How Could a Bear Sleep Here? (9780823436798, $17.99) receives fun drawings by Stephanie Laberis as it tells of Shelby, who needs to sleep, but finds the woods too noisy. His discovery of the perfect sleeping environment comes with a price tag and is a surprise in this tale, which excels in inviting, fun drawings and a whimsical twist.
Irene Kelly's A Frog's Life (9780823426010, $17.99) receives colorful and inviting drawings by Margherita Borin, who brings descriptions of various frogs and their environments to life. These frog varieties are clearly presented so young nature lovers get a solid idea of their differences and natural histories.
Pat Schories provides a Guided C Reading Level primer in Squeak the Mouse Likes His House (9780823439430, $15.99), a fun story for kids in grades K-1. Squeak is a little mouse who likes the human house he lives in, from its food to its toys and cozy beds.
Kids will appreciate the engaging tale of a young mouse who finds much to like in a home not of his creation.
All are fine picks highly recommended for discriminating elementary-level picture book collections.
Simon and Schuster
www.simonandschuster.com/kids
Five new books offer teens and picture book readers excellent stories that stand out from the crowd and lend to repeated library interest and year-round lending.
Teens will appreciate Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman's Dry (9781481481960, $18.99), the story of an endless drought in California that leads to the inevitable: no water at all.
Alyssa's suburban life changes when the taps run dry completely and neighbors are pitted against one another in a desperate search for water.
This revealing story assumes different points of view, easily identified by changing headings, as characters interact in struggles for survival in suburbia.
Anne Rockwell's Hiking Day (9781481427371, $16.99) is illustrated with engaging drawings by Lizzy Rockwell and provides ages 4-8 with the vivid story of a young girl's first hike.
What she experiences as she hikes up a mountain offers a few surprises and a set of observations about a family's preparations for hiking and the things they encounter.
Barbara Odanaka and Sydney Hanson's Construction Cat (9781481490845, $17.99) will reach ages 4-6 with its delightful story of cats who form a construction crew to build something notable in their local park.
The gentle rhyming descriptions create a fine tale of safety, cooperation, and achievement which will delight youngsters with rudimentary reading skills and an interest in cats and creations.
Angela DiTerlizzi and Samantha Cotterill's Just Add Glitter (9781481409674, $17.99) also features a rollicking rhyme as it tells of a girl's determination to enliven a boring world with more glitter and bling. If a little is good, a lot is better—or, is it?
This fun story of a glitter-filled world will especially interest girls attracted to the sparkling possibilities for enlivening life.
Sy Montgomery's Inky's Amazing Escape: How a Very Smart Octopus Found His Way Home (9781534402925, $17.99) is based on true events and tells of octopus Inky, who lives in a tank in a New Zealand aquarium but wants to explore the world outside his home.
Inky is ready to explore; but he holds many abilities that lend not just to escape, but developing other talents, as well.
Kids with good reading skills will find Inky's Amazing Escape a delightful story not just of Inky, but octopus natural history in general.
Amy Schimler-Safford's colorful drawings are a fine embellishment to Inky's story.
Two holiday books are special picks for Christmas gifts and seasonal library display.
Sean Hayes and Scott Icenogle's Plum: How the Sugar Plum Fairy Got Her Wings (9781534404045, $17.99) is illustrated by Robin Thompson and presents a captivating holiday title based on a little orphan, Plum, who consumes a holiday cake left by a magician, only to be transported to the Land of Sweets.
Christmas, both in her own realm and in this land, is threatened by sourness and negativity, and Plum is determined to help.
Her efforts result in unexpected side benefits that might fulfill her own dreams in this engaging story of good deeds, caring, and magic.
Jeffrey Burton's All is Merry and Bright (9781534429123, $24.99) receives gorgeous drawings by Don Clark and provides an unusual blend of a board book format with numerous pages rather than the diminutive presentation of most board books.
Foil, embossing, and bright, artistic drawings on every page create an outstanding display that will especially appeal to board book readers and their adult helpers as it captures, both visually and verbally, the shining lights of the holiday season.
Both are outstanding, unique, original creations that stand apart and above most children's holiday book productions.
Sleeping Bear Press
www.sleepingbearpress.com
Helen Foster James highlights the role a new aunt will play in a young life in Auntie Loves You! (9781534110113, $15.99), which receives engaging and lovely drawings by Petra Brown as it explores the role an aunt can play in a child's life.
Rhyming text accents the story of Auntie Bunny, who welcomes her young charge with promises of dancing, singing, and playing games together.
Large print and easy words enhance this fine story of an aunt's potential role in a youngster's life.
Barbara Joosse's Lulu & Rocky in Milwaukee (9781534110175, $16.99) presents the first in a series recommended for ages 5-8, introducing cousins who open the Our City Adventures series by exploring Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
As Lulu and Rocky dash across the city exploring cheese curds, rides on a surrey bike, and more, they reveal the city's many attractions and cultural appeal for potential young visitors to the area.
Both are strong picks that libraries will find colorful and different.
Viking Penguin
www.penguin.com/youngreaders
Two excellent new books will appeal to a wide age range with books that are visually appealing, fun reads.
Cicely Mary Barker's Flower Fairies of the Winter (9780241335482, $6.99) presents iconic images by an author whose flower fairy books have been attracting children since 1923.
Many an adult will recognize Barker's style and images from their own childhood, and will appreciate this small, delightfully embellished gift book which pairs full-page color 'flower fairy' images with poetic celebrations of each flower fairy's colorful attributes.
Steven Johnson's How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World (9780425287781, $19.99) adapts the New York Times adult bestseller for younger audiences ages 10 and up, providing younger readers with a vivid story of invention and how it happens.
Six key inventions and breakthroughs that continue to affect the world today are covered in detail (glass, cold, sound, cleaning, time, and light) in a lively survey designed to surprise and entertain as well as educate.
Adults familiar with the six-part PBS miniseries and its inspiring history will delight in the opportunity to provide these insights to new generations via How We Got to Now.
The Visitor
Antje Damm
Gecko Press
9781775671888
$17.99
www.geckopress.com
Elise is scared of everything in the world, so she seldom ventures into it, preferring to stay at home.
When a strange thing flies through the window and then something knocks on her door, Elise is forced to accept the idea of something new in her life, and her darkness begins to change in unexpected ways.
The Visitor is a delightful story of overcoming fear and uses visual embellishments to cement the story of a character who is pulled out of her comfortable but dark world.