The Z Was Zapped: A Play in Twenty-Six Acts
by Chris Van Allsburg Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Our Price: $18.95
This is my favorite alphabet book. Take a look! All the letters meet their untimely end in a Gorey-esque fashion. Chris Van Allsburg's beautiful, mysterious pencil drawings make it the only alphabet book that I reread as an adult.
Flour: A Baker’s Collection of Spectacular Recipes
by Joanne Chang Chronicle Books Llc
Our Price: $35.00
Finally, a cookbook from our own local pastry chef/baker Joanne Chang, owner of Flour Bakery and Myers + Chang! Cambridge recently got our own branch of Flour this spring, right next to MIT, but I’m even more delighted about the release of this cookbook, so I can bake Flour goodies out of my own oven.
I’ve been making her wonderful Mock-Oreo cookies and Mock Pop-tarts for several years, since Chang is generous about sharing her recipes with newspapers and magazines. Her recipes are easy to follow, and in the case of the mock oreos and pop-tarts, so much better than the “original” processed versions. I can’t wait to try her Iron-Chef-winning Sticky Buns.
This is the long-awaited finale to Hunger Games trilogy. I have recommended this series to everyone I know who likes fantasy and who would be a fan of Suzanne Collins' excellent plotting skills. It delivers suspense and action like Harry Potter or Agatha Christie murder mysteries, where you'll stay up until the wee hours to finish the book. An ideal end-of-summer or weekend read.
The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work
by Alain de Botton Vintage Books
Our Price: $15.95
This is an excellent, meditative book on the meaning of work by Alain de Botton, author of The Architecture of Happiness and Consolations of Philosophy. In each chapter of the book, de Botton turns his thoughts to a particular profession or job (artist, rocket scientist, entrepreneur).
Botton’s writing style is graceful and philosophical, but he is also hilariously funny every now and then, which surprised me. His turns of wry wit arrive suddenly and quietly, and are even more effective for their suddenness. The section on accountancy (p. 241-242, "They are like renal surgeons for whom one is first and foremost a always a kidney") and the paragraphs on de Botton’s attempt to get a closer look at an airplane junkyard (p. 315-316) are especially funny.
This is one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read this year. I was initially skeptical about a book with so much bridge in it. I’ve never played bridge, a mathematical, complex card game that seems to only be played by British characters in books. But I’m a fan of Louis Sacher, writer of Sideways Stories from Wayside School and the Newbery-winning Holes, so I picked it up. I found myself interested in the game, and riveted by the underlying story about a rich uncle, an inheritance, and a woman who went mad under mysterious circumstances in the past.
Sacher’s skills as a storyteller and polish as a writer only continue to grow. He keeps his sense of humor and his imagination, but this book has a gentle psychological subtlety that made it special.
Patricia Wrede is best known as the author of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles (Dealing with Dragons), but this book is my favorite. It’s a fantasy set in Regency England (the era of Jane Austen), but with the addition of magical history and a Society of Wizards. The story begins in Hungerford Market in London, where Kim, a homeless street urchin and expert lock-picker, is hired to break into the wagon of one Mairelon the Magician. Though she is uneasy about the job, Kim agrees. However, as she opens a locked chest, an explosion goes off...
The main characters and the dialogue are especially engaging. Kim is a sharp-tongued, tough heroine, motivated by a wish to get out of the streets where she has spent her life. Mairelon is witty and smart, and has a Puckish charm. Recommended for fans of the Hunger Games trilogy, Jane Austen fans, and for readers looking for an unconventional Cinderella story.
Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things
by Randy Frost Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Our Price: $27.00
I found this book on compulsive hoarding to be utterly fascinating. The authors are local professors of psychology and social work and have studied compulsive hoarders for several years, visiting hundreds of cluttered homes in the process.
Most people like their stuff, and it is easy to empathize with the motivations of hoarders. Most of us derive comfort from things we own, and most of us also bind up our identity with things: books, record collections, vacation photos, or favorite clothes. It is natural to feel a bit of a wrench in our hearts when parting with special material things, whether the loss is sudden or comes from natural wear and tear. I come from a family of packrats, so it was particularly easy for me to identify with hoarders and the feelings and stories they attach to their stuff.
Stuff is easy to read (not dry at all) and the case studies are especially compelling. There is also one chapter on animal hoarding, a subset of compulsive hoarding in general.
Seasonal Fruit Desserts: From Orchard, Farm, and Garden
by Deborah Madison Broadway Books
Our Price: $32.50
As Cambridge/Boston’s farmer’s market season begins in earnest and continues through summer and fall, I’m planning on going to market to buy delicious fruit (and heading out to local farms and picking my own!). Although I’ll eat a lot of it straight, I also want to bake some into desserts, and this is one of the first cookbooks I’m going to use.
This is the first baking/desserts-only cookbook from Deborah Madison, IACP and James Beard award-winning cookbook writer of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and The Greens Cookbook.
Madison loves fruit, particular fresh regionally-distinctive produce, and her expertise on growing seasons and different fruit varieties across the United States shines here.
I’m particularly looking forward to summer, when I’ll be able to make the Wild Blueberry Tart in a Brown Sugar Crust, and the Strawberries in Red Wine Syrup.
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
by Judi Barrett Atheneum
Our Price: $6.99
This book is the BEST picture book involving food EVER. The illustrations and story are a joy, and the people I introduce the book to invariably love it, whether they are 5 or 15 or 50 years old.
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
by Dr. Seuss Random House Childrens Books
Our Price: $14.95
This is my favorite Dr. Seuss book. The hand-in-hand buildup of hats and suspense enraptured me as a child.
The story: Bartholomew Cubbins has a snazzy new red hat. He lives in a kingdom where all citizens must show respect for their king by removing their hats when the king passes. When Bartholomew removes his new hat, another mysteriously appears in its place on his head. The king is enraged. Then...well, the book shows and tells it better.
The Italian Slow Cooker
by Michele Scicolone Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Our Price: $22.00
These long winter months are a great time to use that slow cooker yournreceived as a gift, or to dig it out of a cabinet Hearty stews and hotrnsoups are delicious, comforting meals for cold evenings.
For my money, this is the most enticing slow cooker cookbook out there right now. The author, Michele Scicolone, is well-known as an Italian cookbook writer. Italian cuisine, with its soups and stews and other braised dishes, is well suited to the low, steady heat of the slow cooker.
Unlike the majority of slow cooker cookbooks out there, this one does not use highly-processed shortcuts of dubious origin like condensed cream of mushroom soup, onion soup mix or pre-mixed spice packets. The results are far more flavorful and authentic.
Hint: For those of you with crockpots that don’t have a programmable timer, you can buy a programmable electric outlet timer that will cut off the power to an outlet after a set time, so the food won’t bernovercooked.
I Love Macarons
by Hisako Ogita Chronicle Books Llc
Our Price: $14.95
This is a pretty little cookbook exclusively for macarons, the delightful French almond sandwich cookie, with recipes for a rainbow of delicious flavors. At first, I thought \"Who needs a whole cookbook on only one cookie?\" but I couldn\'t resist getting it once I had thumbed through it. If, like me, you love macarons and want to make your own cookie and filling flavor combinations, this cookbook has all the information you want in one place.
Literally every step of the process is color-photographed and illustrated, and there are separate mini-chapters on modifying the basic recipe for different cookie flavors and fillings. I personally can\'t wait to try to black sesame, coffee, and Matcha green tea cookie variations (p. 32-33), and the framboise cream filling (p. 44-45).
It was written by a professional French-trained Japanese pastry chef who perfected her recipes over much trial and error. A troubleshooting section (p. 36-37) covers the most common problems (two of which I have experienced myself, working with other macaron recipes).
This is possibly the most beautifully rendered graphic novel ever. Dave McKean is best known for doing the cover art for all 75 issues of Neil Gaiman's landmark Sandman comics series, and as the director of the independent film Mirrormask. Not all of his fans may know about McKean's solo comics work. Cages, his magnum opus, was originally released in 10 issues, over a period of 6 years, dogged by publishing difficulties and McKean's busy schedule. It was worth the wait, for within it McKean shows himself to be an extraordinary storyteller in his own right, as well as being a wonderful draughtsman and illustrator.
Cages should be classified in the genre of realism, yet its atmosphere is dreamlike and improvisational. The story is about a tenement and its various occupants (three characters in particular: a novelist, a musician, and a painter), but it's also about the strength and fragility of our relationships, and the things that drive us to create.
Worth every penny.
The Dumpling: A Seasonal Guide
by Wai Hon Chu William Morrow Cookbooks
Our Price: $35.00
The dumpling is possibly my favorite food. A daintier, less messy riff on the idea of the sandwich or wrap, it comes in an endless variety of shapes, the only constants being a wrapping and filling. It is portable and equally appropriate as street food or high-end restaurant appetizer. Depending on the filling, it can consist of several food groups. It can serve as both a healthy snack or a rich indulgence.
All you really need to know about Juliet, Naked, Nick Hornby's latest, is that it doesn't disappoint. It's really, really good, and it may even replace High Fidelity as my favorite.
The main characters are Annie and Duncan, a middle-aged couple, and Tucker Crowe, an aging musician in retirement. Annie and Duncan have a relationship-ending fight about the quality of Tucker Crowe's new album, and Annie begins a correspondence with Tucker Crowe himself.
Juliet, Naked is about Regret. Big, mid-life crisis level Regret—grief and anger at the too-quick passage of time, of wasted opportunities. It's about the realization that one has not Done Enough, or Done the Right Things.
This may sound unappetizing. But one of the rare and great features of Nick Hornby's writing is how he takes situations that would normally berndreary, such as a serious break-up (High Fidelity) or teenage pregnancyrn(Slam), makes these situations hilariously funny. His characters arernself-aware about themselves in some ways, but not at all in other ways. rnThese gaps in self-knowledge, and Hornby's gentle handling of them, arernexquisite in their subtlety and insight.
This book reminded me: (1) Do the work you love, and (2) Strive to spend time with the people who (a) love you and (b) who you love in return. Which of us doesn't need this reminder, always?
The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary Edition--with a new Introduction by the Author
by Richard Dawkins Oxford University Press, USA
Our Price: $15.95
"It is, in my view, the best work of popular science ever written." -- H. Allen Orr, New York Review of Books.
"This book should be read, can be read, by almost everyone. It describes with great skill a new face of the theory of evolution."--W. D. Hamilton, Science.
Reading The Selfish Gene inspired a good friend of mine, when she was only in middle school, to pursue a career in biology. She is now a grad student in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard. After reading the book, I could see why. Dawkins is an clear, compelling writer, and the book is easy for a lay reader to understand (no knowledge of biology is assumed). The central thesis of the book is basic unit of evolution is not the species, nor the individual, but the gene. Dawkins explains, with fascinating turns of logic and examples from the animal world, how the apparently blind, self-propelling process of Darwinian natural selection can account for physiology as the human eye or the wings of birds, or how the "selfish" gene is, in fact, the engine that drives apparently selfless behaviors such as altruism.
Recently re-released for its 30th anniversary, The Selfish Gene is still a classic and a must-read for both biologists and any member of the general public who is interested in science.
Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme
by Pierre Herme Little Brown & Co
Our Price: $45.00
If you (or people you know) enjoy chocolate desserts, especially those in which dark, bittersweet European chocolate is the key note, this book is a must-have. The lavish professional photography and the size of this book make it coffee-table-worthy. More importantly, it is a culinary love letter to chocolate in all its glorious and myriad textures and flavors, sometimes pairing chocolate with particularly compatible partners like pecans or fresh raspberries, sometimes letting it shine on its own.
Edward Albee is best-known for his play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, a Broadway classic that was made into a film starring a young Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. However, this play, A Delicate Balance, is my favorite out of Albee’s plays, and I’ve read nearly all of them. It won Albee the first of his 3 Pulitzer Prizes, and was made into a film starring Katherine Hepburn.
The story focuses on an aging WASP couple, Agnes and Tobias. Agnes' alcoholic sister, Claire, lives with the couple. Then events, or rather people, intrude into this carefully ordered household. First, two old friends, Harry and Edna, arrive without warning and ask to stay for an indeterminate time. Then Julia, the daughter of Agnes and Tobias, also asks for refuge. Cracks form in the veneer of control and peace that Agnes has cultivated. The character of Claire (a delightful drunk if there ever was one) steals the show as she alternately mocks the situation and tries to help the people involved.
As in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the characters occupy intensely charged domestic landscapes, inner spaces of anxiety and dread, and the climaxes of both plays are punctuated by speeches from the main characters. These monologues roll out with a cathartic force equivalent to operatic arias. True to its title, though, the play as a whole feels restrained and delicate, its turmoil gurgling underneath.
Rose Levy Beranbaum is one of the cookbook writers that I trust, because as a baker and writer she is unwaveringly precise. Her recipes are almost foolproof, provided that you follow her instructions and don't make too many ingredient substitutions. She's a little anal-retentive in her quest for perfection, but I'd trust her tested, detail-heavy recipes any day over recipes where I can't be sure that things will turn out right (or even be edible) the first time through.
An Edge in the Kitchen: The Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Knives -- How to Buy Them, Keep Them Razor Sharp, and Use Them Like a P
by Chad Ward William Morrow Cookbooks
Our Price: $34.95
If you want a book that will help you improve your knife skills (such as chopping faster, avoiding accidents, or getting a better edge on your knife), An Edge in the Kitchen is best, most readable book on the market, and I’ve read through several books and websites for information.
There is an in-depth primer to knife honing and sharpening, and well as the standard full-color photos of cutting up all the vegetables and meat you could possibly be expected to encounter in your kitchen adventures.
More importantly, it’s also a “knife book” as well as a “knife skills” book for your inner materialist or consumer junkie (like me). If you wondering about (1) what kitchen knives to buy for a first kitchen or a registry, or (2) looking to upgrade your current kitchen, or (3) if you simply appreciate good food/tools/gadget writing, this is the best, most up-to-date source of information out there. Even if shiny, sharp objects scare you, and you’re not too handy in the kitchen, this is a fascinating read.
Have you ever seen those beautiful, pricey German or Japanese knives in a specialty store or Williams-Sonoma, but you were afraid to commit to a purchase, because you were unsure how to decipher the jargon (high-carbon stainless? VG10 steel? drop-forged? full-tang?), and how to separate the facts from the sales pitches? This book explains everything you might want to know about knives (and debunks many consumer myths) in an easy-to-understand, engaging way, and arms you with knowledge as a consumer.
A good knife is an extension of a cook’s hands. Ideally, buying a good kitchen knife is an investment in a tool that will last a lifetime and that you will use on a near-daily basis. I would recommend this book to anyone who uses knives in a kitchen.
On Writing the College Application Essay: The Key to Acceptance and the College of your Choice
by Harry Bauld Collins
Our Price: $13.95
The personal essay is one of the less important factors in a college application. The high school transcript and test scores are paramount, and the author of this book, a former college admissions dean himself, doesn't pretend that the essay counts for more than it does. However, it can be a tie-breaker between two similarly-qualified applicants.
Back in my frenzied college application days, I read a couple of college application books. Most were mind-numbingly boring, both in style and content. This book, however, was a delight to read. I've still got my copy. It's witty, elegant, focused, and wise, both artistic and practical; everything a good book (of any kind) should be. It transcends mere advice/strategy and is really about the pursuit of excellence.
Bauld knows that to be able to write a good college application essay, one has to be able to write well. This means that the essay you submit to those various colleges and universities should ideally be something that a person would choose to read in their spare time, or at the very least, that reading it should not involve mental pain for the reader. A tall order, perhaps. The personal essay is an art, and the book has excellent examples of essays both from high-schoolers and from masters of the form such as George Orwell, H.L. Mencken, and E.B. White. Bauld also tells you what clichés to avoid and what mistakes are the most common.
Also, as a coda, yeah, I did get into the school that was my first choice, though my initial joy faded into more complicated and contradictory feelings over time. But I don't regret that I made my best effort.
E.L. Konigsburg is most well-known for her book From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, assigned to elementary school students nationwide, and generally enjoyed by all, despite being assigned reading. That's a good book, but this one, originally titled Father's Arcane Daughter, is my favorite Konigsburg creation. (You may notice that her publishers have chosen to bland down her weird titles, which is too bad.) If you once enjoyed her books, or have a kid who enjoyed her other books, it's worth reading. The wit, characterization and the keen social observations within are as fun (and relevant) now as they were when I was 12 years old.
The story concerns the members of a wealthy society family, the Carmichaels. The eldest daughter, Caroline, from the father's first marriage, was the victim of a kidnapping many years ago, and then disappeared. The mother died. After a time, the father remarried, and had two children (Winston and Heidi) by his second wife, Grace. Caroline was to have been a wealthy heiress, since her mother came from a rich family as well as her father. Mere months before the deadline to claim her inheritance, a woman shows up on the Carmichaels' front door and claims to be Caroline. Winston, the elder child, immediately decides that he will investigate her and discover the truth. He does, but not in a way that either he or the reader will be able to predict.
The central mystery of the story -- is Caroline an impostor? -- is compelling enough, but what makes this book outstanding is the voice of its narrator, 12-year old Winston. He is similar in character to Sport of Louise Fitzhugh's Harriet the Spy series, though Winston is less practical than Sport and more verbally clever.
The book covers serious themes such as social shame, disabilities, and the strength to face life's harsh truths. Yet the book is a funny, light confection of a read, and it is Winston's voice that is central to that effect.
I Could Tell You But Then You Would Have to be Destroyed by Me: Emblems from the Pentagon's Black World
by Trevor Paglen Melville House
Our Price: $22.95
Written by one of the co-authors of Torture Taxi (on the practice of extraordinary rendition), this bizarre little book might seem fun and slightly ridiculous with its tactile cover and small size, yet it is also fascinating and frightening, because it hints at the deadly serious operations and undertakings of a vast, top-secret military infrastructure - our own.
Paglen has tracked down and documented the badges/symbols that the Pentagon creates for its classified "black budget" programs. They represent a strange cornucopia of projects with peculiar names ("Goat Suckers," "None of Your Fucking Business," "Tastes Like Chicken") and unknown purposes. Their operatives collect and display these badges, behaving like a bizarre cross between Boy Scouts and gang members.
Cookwise: The Secrets of Cooking Revealed
by Shirley O. Corriher William Morrow Cookbooks
Our Price: $30.00
This is first cookbook I 'veread that really gives you enough detail about the different types of flour and fat and how they can really affect the texture of your bread, cakes and pastry.
Plus, it has a most unusual and delicious recipe for Buttermilk Biscuits, what Corriher calls her "Touch-of-Grace" biscuits.
Twenty-five years after its first publication, Margaret Atwood's verses still retain their power -- her imagery still startles and disturbs; her insights are still relevant. As Sharon Thesen has written, Power Politics is “astonishing, notorious, a classic.”
Atwood is better-known as the Booker-Prize-winning author of The Handmaid's Tale, Cat's Eye, and The Blind Assassin. Though I admire her prose, if I had to choose, I would pick the poetry. It has always seemed more immediate, more personal than her novels and short stories, while still thoughtfully composed and within Atwood's glacial tonal range. As with her prose, Atwood delights the reader with her dry wit and elegant irony, even while maintaining her cool veneer of detachment.
This book is a treasure trove for bread lovers. Maggie Glezer traveled cross-country and gathered recipes from most of the pre-eminent artisan bakeries across America, including Cambridge's own Hi-Rise Bakery. Two of Hi-Rise's recipes are revealed within. Their Boston Brown Bread (p.66) is the best I've ever tasted - not too sweet, the right balance between hearty, slightly bitter rye and tangy and sweet molasses. Also included is their yeasted Corn Bread recipe (p. 64).
Glezer also managed to get recipes from Acme Bakery in Berkeley, CA (considered one of the founders of the revival in artisan baking), Sullivan St. Bakery of New York (best known as the originator of the No-Knead Bread recipe popularized by Mark Bittman in the pages of the New York Times), and many others.
Besides Hi-Rise's breads, please take note of these two particularly tasty and famous breads: Kossar's Bialys (p. 174) and Bruno's Italian Pandoro (p.161), which takes a full 33 hours to make.
If you liked Nick Hornby's novel High Fidelity, chances are that you'll also enjoy Songbook, his collection of essays on specific songs, originally written when he was a pop music critic for The New Yorker. Like Rob, the protagonist of High Fidelity, Hornby himself is a music fan who links particular songs to different events and stages of his life. His enthusiasm is genuine, and rather contagious, and his observations are thoughtful and funny. Furthermore, Hornby's taste in music is excellent, though, as he admits, he leans towards the contemplative, lyrical side of pop. I will be forever grateful to him for introducing me to the music of Rufus Wainwright.
Songbook was originally released with a cd from McSweeney's Books, and that edition is long out of print, however, in this age of iTunes and downloadable music, you should have no problem compiling your own copy of what is, essentially, Hornby's mix tape for you, the reader.
This paperback edition also has new material at the back, including Hornby's hilarious account of his attempt to broaden and update his taste by listening to Billboard's Top Ten Albums.
Slam is Nick Hornby's latest, and his first book written for or about teenagers. Whether Hornby's writing about football or popular music, he excels at (1) being very funny and (2) getting at the voice of, and giving voice to ordinary blokes/guys, who don't have blemish-free lives (or faces, for that matter.) But he makes ordinary guys and ordinary lives interesting, without being bleak or fantastical, and this is what makes his work unusual among contemporary writers. With his usual light touch and unerring ear for dialogue, Hornby illuminates the ordinary human heroism of getting on with life and the success of anyone who is, in the end, a decent person despite mistakes and weaknesses.
The ordinary bloke in this book is Sam, who becomes a teenage father at age 16. Teenage parenthood is a grim topic, even when buffered by a suburban setting and largely supportive parents. But the voice of Sam, by turns endearing and irritating, draws you into the story.
I'm not sure I would have loved this book as a teenager, for it doesn't idealize the life or the mind of your average teenager. It might have been too ironic, too knowing, for me to really take to it when I was 16. Now, its honesty matters more to me than it would have then. A teenage father's life, and the teenage father himself, is far from perfect, but the book, like the narrator, it tries to make the best of what's out there in life.
Robin McKinley is probably best known for her book The Hero and the Crown, which garnered her a Newbery Award. Her work is important to me because (1) it's fun to read, and (2) because she makes the girls the stars and heroes, in an uncontrived way. The girls and women in her stories are the primary movers and shakers, and they kick some serious butt. The fantasy genre is still somewhat male-centric, so it's a particular relief to have someone like McKinley out there. Sunshine is my favorite out of her books thus far. The main character is a girl baker! She is abducted by vampires, but she escapes partly by discovering her own powers, and partly by forming an alliance with a vampire. Fans of Buffy would approve, for while the premise is familiar, the action of the story is in no way derivative.
Vampires, baking, and a girl who doesn't wait to be rescued, what's not to like?
Cooking for Mr. Latte: A Food Lover's Courtship, with Recipes
by Amanda Hesser W. W. Norton & Company
Our Price: $14.95
COOKING FOR MR. LATTE
Most people might pick this book up to reread Amanda Hesser's New York Times "Mr. Latte" columns, or because they're curious about the book's concept, but I want to first call attention to the recipes. Namely that they're very good ones. I prefer the recipes in this book to most recipes in proper cookbooks, as Hesser is an excellent recipe writer. The peach tart recipe is great to have when you're on the road or in an unfamiliar kitchen, and it produces a surprisingly impressive dessert with very little equipment, time, or effort.
Notably, this book also includes a recipe for the vanilla cake from Cambridge's justly famous Hi-Rise Bakery. (The secret to Hi-Rise's recipe, if there is a secret, is to "use as many vanilla beans as you can afford.") To my knowledge, Hi-Rise hasn't put out a book (and why not, I'd like to know?), so the recipe in this book is the is the only authentic way to recreate that intensely-flavored, pebbly-textured vanilla loaf, if you're a fan.
Hesser's account of her courtship with her then-boyfriend now-husband is a fun read. Though its manner is quite winsome and fluffy, Hesser's account has teeth, because at its core, it is a touchstone for anyone wondering about a long-term relationship. In other words, Hesser's overarching theme is compatibility – about the conflicts that play out as two people figure out what is congruent and complementary between them. It's about the drive towards "improvement" versus the desire for acceptance, both within and without. -- Jen C.
Paris Sweets: Great Desserts From the City's Best Pastry Shops
by Dorie Greenspan Broadway
Our Price: $26.00
Dorie Greenspan writes the best recipes. I've tried about 6 recipes from this book, and all are authentic and delicious. The recipes for madeleines, Anise Cookies, and the Pierre Herme's Korova cookies are especially noteworthy.
Also, recipes in the cookies and simple cakes sections don't take very much time and are suitable for a beginning baker.
Crust & Crumb: Master Formulas for Serious Bread Bakers
by Peter Reinhart Ten Speed Press
Our Price: $18.95
Within this book is the best Buttermilk Pancakes recipe EVER, and I've tried about 20 and counting.
The bulk of the book is devoted to artisanal breadbaking techniques, bread philosophy, and some excellent bread recipes. Reinhart is one of the major San Francisco bakers and his recipes, or formulas as he calls them, are very sound and detailed.
The Book of Changes : A Collection of Interviews
by Kristine McKenna Fantagraphics Books
Our Price: $14.95
So far, my favorite book of interviews. Kristine McKenna is a brilliant interviewer. She asks the best questions and is able to get her subjects to really open up without being pushy.
I was especially taken with the Leonard Cohen interview, and I wasn't even much of a Cohen fan when I read it.
Secret Language
by Molly Barker City Lights Publishers
Our Price: $12.95
Poe and Gorey fans should take a look at this. Molly Barker's work is lighter and less ornate than Poe's prose, and less comic and more contemplative and fluid than Gorey's work. The loose and evocative line of her etchings and the tensed flow of her prose create a most atmospheric and poetic narrative.
Barker's work has been released in only 2 ways: (1) in limited-edition fine art books of bound prints, for the art collector's market, and (2) through City Lights, a small press in California, for the general reader. Her work has had less attention than it deserves due to its limited distribution.
