January 2021 Prime Picks
The
Culinary Corner
The Complete
Plant
Based Cookbook
America's Test
Kitchen
America's Test
Kitchen, Publisher
9781948703369
$34.99
www.americastestkitchen.com
The Complete Plant Based Cookbook: 500 Inspired,
Flexible Recipes for
Eating Well Without Meat is a top recommendation for both new
vegans and
those who would add more plant-based main dishes into their meals. It
gathers
and tests 500 flexible dishes that make the most of meatless eating.
Readers who
think a
plant-based diet might be bland will be in for a surprise. These dishes
focus
on flavorful results as a key component for success, from Pinto
Bean-Beet
Burgers (which include fresh basil leaves and walnuts, garlic, and
carrot baby
food) to Fettuccine with Walnut Sauce (which blends a creamy walnut
sauce made
quickly in a food processor with ingredients that are bound by lemon
juice and
an attention to vegan substitutes for Parmesan cheese, if needed).
The
flexibility means
that these dishes will appeal to vegans, vegetarians, and meat-eaters
alike,
offering suggestions for ingredient substitutions that work equally
well for
everyone.
The
introduction to
each dish about 'why this recipe works' reviews the testing process and
why the
featured dish held exceptional results, while the color photos
throughout add
appeal and encourage cooks to try something new.
The result
can be
used either for side dishes or entire menu planning, and will appeal to
diverse
eaters across the board with attractive, appealing fare.
Reviewer's Choice
Harvard
Business
Review Press
www.hbr.org
Three new
arrivals
from Harvard Business Review Press present readers with insightful
approaches
to various topics, and should be mainstays of any serious business book
collection.
David G.
Smith and W.
Brad Johnson's Good Guys: How Men Can Be
Better Allies for Women in the Workplace (9781633698727,
$30.00) will also
be of interest to women's studies holdings, providing a strong key to
gender
equality that begins with men's' actions and choices.
The authors
are
gender-in-the-workplace experts who demonstrate that men can play key
roles in
promoting gender equality by supporting gender-inclusive programs and
helping
women make real progress through male engagement using
paradigm-changing
processes.
Good Guys covers all the details of what
it means to become a male
ally for women in the workplace, and is filled with real-life
experiences and
tips from men and women that support various methods of advancing
women's
leadership roles. No other approach provides such a powerful blend of
ideals
and action.
Anyone who
has
wondered about the business thoughts and philosophy of Amazon magnate
Jeff
Bezos will want to consult Invent &
Wonder (97816478207818, $28.00), which features the collected
writings he's
produced over the years.
They reveal
his core
beliefs and guiding principles and approaches to business, gathering
annual
shareholder letters, speeches, interviews, and other writings that
document his
business efforts and innovations.
Readers
might not
expect cultural and social insights from Bezos, nor definitions of
customer
engagement and how to foster a new business idea, but this book holds
all kinds
of topics and opportunities to learn from his success. Managers, small
business
owners, and anyone interested in his approach will find Invent
& Wonder enlightening, specific, and diverse.
Kings of Crypto: One Startup's Quest to Take
Cryptocurrency Out of
Silicon Valley and Onto Wall Street by Jeff John Roberts
(9781647820183, $30.00)
provides a history of the rise, fall, and new interest in
cryptocurrency around
the world. It follows entrepreneur Brian Armstrong's startup, and the
issues he
faced from those who would steal or compromise its new technology.
Jeff John
Roberts
considers how virtual currencies operate around the world, how startups
around
them are changing financial and economic pictures and possibilities,
and the
evolving technology and the people and businesses behind cryptocurrency.
This
revealing study
is recommended for any reader or business owner with an interest in
cryptocurrency's past, present, and future.
Holly Jolly
Mark Voger
TwoMorrows Publishing
9781605490977
$43.95
www.twomorrows.com
It's too bad
Holly Jolly only arrived around the
first of December, too late for more timely mention, but Holly
Jolly: Celebrating Christmas Past in Pop Culture deserves
ongoing mention as a fine holiday exploration connecting pop culture to
Christmas for year-round viewing this year, and for years to come.
From holiday
movies
and classics to new renditions in comics and interviews with TV and
comic art
creators, this surveys the holidays with a visual approach to color and
creative reflections of the Christmas spirit.
Be
forewarned:
unusual approaches are incorporated into this presentation. One doesn't
anticipate an association between the holidays and monsters, for
example...but
there's a fun history involved.
From the
campy Santa
Claus Conquers the Martians, a sci-fi movie from 1964, to the 1956 I
Love Lucy
TV show's Christmas episode, Holly Jolly
is filled with colorful fun that pop culture fans, especially, will
find
whimsical and historical.
Young Adult/Children
Disney/Hyperion
www.disneybooks.com
Two fun
stories
provide picture book readers with appealing, entertaining reads that
parents
will find exceptional for their color and amusing themes.
Disney
unicorn Minnie
is featured in One Unicorn Day
(9781368055901, $5.99), which is filled with glitter (physical as well
as
psychological) and fun as Penelope the pony follows a butterfly into
Minnie's
makeover salon and becomes something magical.
The
butterfly isn't
just making one stop, however. As Penelope continues to chase it,
Donald Duck,
Daisy, and other Disney characters join in the fun of confronting a
fantasy
come to life.
Giles
Andreae and
Emma Dodd's I Love My Teacher
(9781368027304, $16.99) celebrates school and learning through rhyme
and
appealing illustrations, discussing school teachers who make the day
special.
Large,
colorful,
simple drawings will appeal to kids, accompanying a step-by-step
routine that
moves from going to school and greeting one's teacher to hanging a coat
on the
proper hook, learning new things, and pleasing the teacher.
From books
to play,
the entire school day comes to life in a fun survey especially
recommended for
little ones about to physically enter a school for the first time.
Penguin/Putnam
www.penguin.com/kids
These fine
new
picture book stories are highly recommended reading for kids and
read-aloud
adults looking for exceptional quality.
Jan Brett's Cozy (9780593109793, $18.99) is the
lovely story about a musk ox in Alaska who has especially warm fur.
When he's
separated
from his family during a storm, he's lonely. But as animals seeking
refuge are
attracted to his fur, Cozy finds himself hosting unexpected roommates
who
require rules.
A fun story
of
friendship and help is paired with Brett's usual exceptionally
gorgeous,
colorful illustrations to appeal to all ages.
Lindsay
Rechler's Good Morning Zoom: A Parody
(9780593352304, $14.99) is a treatise for life under COVID-19, and
surveys the
opportunities for connection provided by video chat.
A fun rhyme
accompanies facing pages of illustration showing kids zooming, adults
using
tablet and cameras to connect with family and friends, and the hope
that better
changes and opportunities are in sight.
It's the
perfect
story for anyone interested in helping young picture book readers
absorb the
nuances of the COVID age in a different, perhaps more encouraging light.
Sleeping
Bear Press
www.sleepingbearpress.com
Two fine new
titles
are recommended for teachers and homeschool adults looking for picture
books
that hold appeal and inviting lessons.
Elissa
Grodin's E is for Everyone! A Democracy
Alphabet
(9781534111363, $15.99) will reach ages 5-8 with a blend of civics
lesson and
simple A-Z poetic survey of American government processes.
From
definitions of
judicial branches to entries such as "Q
is for Questions all of us should ask/Taking part in a democracy/is
every
citizen's task." this primer lends to various uses, from
read-aloud to
a refresher course in civics for all ages.
Barbara
Joosse's Everybody's Tree
(9781534110488, $16.99)
features a glow-in-the-dark cover and a seasonal celebration that
should reach
young audiences ages 4-8 for years to come.
A little boy
becomes
an adult, a father, and then a grandfather while the tree he planted as
a seed
grows into a mighty symbol of a city's holiday celebration.
Lovely drawings by Renée Graef accent a message of community togetherness, growth and aging, and sharing that links human and natural worlds in a supportive admonition to join together to make holidays and life special celebratory events.