Author: joycesmysteryandfictionbookreviews

This is a fantastic cookbook with the most gorgeous photographs.  It is well worth a look and would make a nice gift for a person of your acquaintance who loves the kitchen.

The book is divided into sections called Filling the Pot, Weaving Roots, Of Feathers Scales and Fur, Larder,  Weaving Maple into Silk, and finally Imagination and Alchemy.  So you can see that it was written by a chef with a unique take on food and how to present it.

There are so many recipes in this book that is hard to choose just a few but here they are:  Chilled Early Harvest Apple Soup, Eggplant Sou with Walnut Dumplings, Cucumber Cattail Salad with Buttermilk  Bagna Cauda, Carrot-Ricotta Custard, Grilled Maple Eggs, Smoked Fish and Potato Hand Pies, Silver Dollar Corncakes and Buckwheat Maple Rhubarb Sundae.  There are also drink ingredients including Smoked Purple Barley Tincture and Fir Tip Tea.

Take some time with this book.  The author herself describes it as a Choose Your Own Adventure Guide. Learn about her, think about the recipes and our world and, even if you don’t cook, enjoy imagining that you could make the food in this volume.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

#NourishMeHome #NetGalley

All of these authors have written multiple books so the chances are that, if you enjoy the one here, you will enjoy others by the wame writer.  See my archive for a review of Murder in Belgravia.  I always rate the books by Jacqueline Winspear highly.

David Attenborough is a well known advocate for environmental causes. He has produced a number of spectacular television series about the world we live in. Yet, he was once a little boy who was just beginning to explore his interests in the natural world. In this charming entry in a wonderful biographical series, readers watch a curious David become educated, spend time with all kinds of animals in all kinds of places and find his calling. He is eventually honored by Queen Elizabeth.

Charmingly illustrated, this is another appealing entry in the Little People series that children should read to learn more about their world and the many things that people do in it. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

What a clever idea for an anthology! The author organizes this book into sections that reflect moods such as “cry it out with, fall in love with, celebrate life with, focus with, dance around with” and more. Each section features artists as, for example, cry it out with Lana Del Rey, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Joni Mitchell and others. There is then information about each artist including biographical facts and suggestions of songs. This book with illustrations of the musicians would make a great gift for an eight year old or above child in your. The suggestions are good for adults too.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this read in exchange for an honest review.

This book with lively illustrations is for the youngest listeners to hear. Told from a child’s point of view, it shows in a comic way, some of the things that dad do not do perfectly.  At the end of course, the most important thing is that the dad loves his child.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review

#SometimesDaddiesAre #NetGalley

Do you know what the monkey mind is? Does your child? As I understand it, this is a concept that addresses our being all over the place, unable to focus on the moment or to live one’s best and most peaceful life. We all can use some assistance in learning to quiet ourselves and to be more present. This deck hopes to help children, and maybe their adults, to do this by sharing some of the “playful and powerful qualities of animals and elements in nature as inspiration to discover these qualities in ourselves.” In a note to adults, the author states that the exercises are meant to provide a “safe way to reflect on difficult topics and a form of…support.” The author engages children by offering them multiple ways to use the cheerily illustrated deck.

I recommend these cards as one tool for helping children to think, feel and be as comfortable as possible in their lives. Adults may well enjoy this deck too!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this title in exchange for an honest review.

A mystery, a light read and an excellent non-fiction title.

My review of the book on the far right:

I am reading this nonfiction title for an undergraduate class, Religion and Healing. This book offers a profound look at the culture, practices and beliefs of the Hmong people and how these clash with Western medicine when the Lee’s daughter, Lia, is found to have epilepsy (in Hmong culture, the title of the book is the Hmong word for this condition.) This book is enlightening and heartbreaking. In our current political climate, it offers a poignant reminder of the importance of learning about other’s belief systems without judging. Recommended for all readers but especially for those in the “helping” professions.

Some more mysteries.  I liked The Cutting Season.

Every morning I look forward to my cup of coffee.  I sip it as I take some time to read a novel and  find this to be an excellent way to start a day.

If you would like to have a coffee drink that is a bit fancier, this book contains 50 recipes for just that.  One caveat, a number of them seem to depend on having an espresso maker.  That said, there are some great looking drinks here including Cafe au Lait, Cold Brew, Scandinavian Coffee, Flat White, Cubano, a number of flavored lattes and frozen drinks like a mocha frappe or an affogato.  The book concludes with some coffee cocktail recipes.

In addition to the recipes this title has information on the different coffee roasts, types of grinders for beans, filters, coffee history, coffee makers  and more.

If coffee is you thing, you might want to give this title a look.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

#TheCoffeeRecipeBook #NetGalley

From the publisher:

I don’t know how it is that I never read this book. It feels like a classic. This edition is the 40th anniversary one of The Paper Bag Princess. This is a modern fairy tale for both our daughters and sons. Elizabeth, the princess of the title, is plucky, brave and clever. Her prince, Robert, does not appreciate her talents, even though the untidy Elizabeth rescues him from a dragon. What happens at the end? Read the book to find out.
This edition has an introduction by Chelsea Clinton and a short piece by Francesca Segal.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review. I give the book five stars.