Book Bites are quick, five minute looks at a book from readers. Try a new book this week!
Today’s book is The Queens of Innis Lear, by Tessa Gratton.
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Each week we assemble a collection – a bouquet, if you will – of books you can read for yourself, or use to build into a display in your library. And each week, we tend to go to a random word generator to find words that would be interesting to explore.
So this week, my word is “splurge” and I’m kind of into it. As I type this part, I don’t know what’s going to come next, and I’m googling things that people splurge on, so I’m interested to see what turns up. Let’s explore some books that would look at different ways to splurge on things – and maybe think about splurging for yourself this week!
As always, the books we link to have info from Amazon.com. If you click a link, and then buy anything at all from Amazon, we get a small percent of their profits from your sale. Yay!!! Thanks!!! We really appreciate the assistance!
“Happiness is baking cookies. Happiness is giving them away. And serving them, and eating them, talking about them, reading and writing about them, thinking about them, and sharing them with you.”
Maida Heatter is one of the most iconic and fondly remembered cookbook authors of all time. Her recipes, each a modern classic, are must-haves in every home baker’s bag of tricks: her cookies, cakes, muffins, tarts, pies, and sweets of all kinds range from extravagantly special to the comforting and everyday. Her brown-sugary Budapest Coffee Cake, her minty Palm Beach Brownies, her sophisticated East 62nd Street Lemon Cake, and many other desserts have inspired legions of devotees.
Happiness Is Baking reproduces Maida’s best-loved recipes in a fully illustrated new edition with a foreword by Dorie Greenspan. Developed for foolproof baking by experienced cooks and novices alike, these recipes bear Maida’s trademark warmth, no-nonsense style, and her promise that they will work every time.
Happiness Is Baking is the perfect gift for anyone who loves baking–or who knows the happiness that comes from a delicious dessert.
Highway 61, from Duluth, Minnesota, to the Canadian border, is peppered with tourist hotspots that Minnesotans love. But even the most devout North Shore traveler doesn’t know Lake Superior like William and Kathryn Mayo do. These explorers and residents of the region outline the best sites that you may not know about in this revised and updated edition of the popular guide to the best sites and experiences along one of the state’s most scenic roads. The entertaining book spotlights 61 of the North Shore’s hidden treasures and tourist favorites, offering complete site details and need-to-know information, such as driving directions, accessibility, and fun facts. Full-color photographs and maps further enhance the usefulness of this handy guidebook, so get 61 Gems on Highway 61 for your next North Shore adventure. With this book in hand, you’ll experience the beautiful region in a whole new way.
When carpenter Spike Carlsen and his wife set out with their recently blended family of five kids to build a cabin on the north shore of Lake Superior, they quickly realized that painting, parenting, and putting up drywall all come with both frustrations and unexpected rewards. Part building guide and part memoir, Cabin Lessons tells the wryly funny, heartwarming story of their eventful journey — from buying an unforgiving plot of land on an eroding cliff to (finally) enjoying the lakeside hideaway of their dreams.
The Book of Massage is the classic guide to the relaxing and healing skills of the hands. Featuring both Eastern and Western methods, it presents step-by-step, beautifully illustrated instructions on everything from traditional massage to shiatsu and reflexology. The Book of Massage offers easy-to-follow techniques for giving the perfect massage, including advice on creating the right setting and suggestions for using aromatic oils and lotions. Now revised and updated with fresh color photos and drawings throughout, The Book of Massage is a simple and comprehensive handbook that reveals how you can experience the myriad benefits of giving and receiving a soothing massage.
Looking for a great idea for date night or to entertain friends? Why not cue up Casablanca with some French 75s and a Moroccan-themed spread? Turner Classic Movies: Movie Night Menus spotlights thirty crowd-pleasing films from the 1930s through the ’80s, paired with signatures drinks and dishes that appear in, or are inspired by, each film’s setting and stars. Filled with entertaining tips and background on each film, dish, and cocktail, the book offers a unique culinary tour of movie history, including menus inspired by The Thin Man, The Philadelphia Story, Sunset Boulevard, Some Like It Hot, American Graffiti, Moonstruck, and many more.
Fully illustrated with luscious food photography and evocative film stills, Movie Night Menus provides the perfect accompaniments and conversation pieces to round out a fun-filled evening.
Heartwarming, insightful, and often laugh-out-loud funny, A Dog’s Purpose is not only the emotional and hilarious story of a dog’s many lives, but also a dog’s-eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man’s best friend. This moving and beautifully crafted story teaches us that love never dies, that our true friends are always with us, and that every creature on earth is born with a purpose.
Coloring time is calming time! Best selling coloring book artist Angie Grace invites you to relax and explore the intricate and exquisite world of stress mending circular whimsical art. Stroke by stroke, shade by shade, tension and worries fade away as you transform Angie’s beautiful black and white lines into your own unique, personal and beautiful keepsake art piece. This book has been drawn for connoisseur colorists and is suitable for adults and older children coloring with fine tipped markers, colored pencils or brush tipped markers. 50 delightfully detailed original designs printed on one side of the page.
Book Bites are quick, five minute looks at a book from readers. Try a new book this week!
Today’s book is The Silence of the Girls, by Pat Barker.
Subscribe to our newsletter, our social media, and our podcasts to stay up to date on all kinds of great stuff! We serve 300+ libraries of all types, and are always ready to talk about libraries and books.
Baseball is such a fun sport, whether you’re playing, watching a game at Target Field, or just reading about it. Here are some Minnesota titles to help you get full baseball enjoyment:
Town Ball: The Glory Days of Minnesota Amateur Baseball by Armand Peterson
“Fondly remembered and celebrated throughout Minnesota, old-fashioned town team baseball was the glue that held a community together and generated a great sense of pride and passion among its residents. A love of baseball—and, of course, the desire to whomp the neighboring town’s team—spurred on players and fans alike.”
They Played for the Love of the Game: Untold Stories of Black Baseball in Minnesota by Frank M. White
“A tale of unsung heroes and forgotten stars who battled discrimination and other hardships to play the game they loved, told by the son of one such legend of Minnesota black baseball.”
Swinging for the Fences: Black Baseball in Minnesota by Steven R. Hoffbeck
“From the early formation of barnstorming teams that toured the state to the moment Dave Winfield hit number three thousand, Minnesota’s African American ball players have made the state a land of baseball. However, the stories of many black players parallel the larger struggle for civil rights. Those tales, collected here for the first time, show how teamwork on and off the field led first to acceptance, then to admiration and triumph. Swinging for the Fences is the first collection to highlight the thrilling and controversial landmarks in the history of black baseball in the North Star State.”
Baseball in Minnesota: The Definitive History by Stew Thornley
“Beginning with the sunny August afternoon in 1857 when Minnesota’s first ball club was organized in Nininger and continuing through the Twins’ latest season, Baseball in Minnesota is the first comprehensive history of America’s Pastime in the North Star State. Encompassing the rich heritage of minor league baseball, town teams, the Minnesota Gophers, the Saint Paul Saints, and the Minnesota Twins, this encyclopedic volume delivers exceptionally detailed stories of the games, the ball parks, and the larger-than-life personalities, all woven with carefully researched statistics, eyewitness accounts, and vintage photos.”
So mushrooms are not one of my favorite foods, but they are so healthy and you can find several types right here! Get out, explore, and see what you can find for wild mushrooms, then read these books to learn which are safe to eat and how to cook them. Or, try to grow your own!
Untamed Mushrooms: From Field to Table by Michael Karns, Lisa Golden Schroeder, Dennis Becker (Photographer)
“Step into nature, whether in a park, forest, prairie, or lakeland, and you are surrounded by edible wild foods–if you know where to look. Old traditions of foraging have seen a passionate resurgence of interest among midwestern chefs and home cooks intrigued by the vitality of foods growing just footsteps–or a healthy hike–from their doors. But many hesitate over collecting wild mushrooms: How do you know which ones are okay to eat? And once you do, how should you prepare them?”
Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest: A Simple Guide to Common Mushrooms by Teresa Marrone
“Hundreds of full-color photos with easy-to-understand text make this a great visual guide to learning about nearly 400 species of common wild mushrooms found in the Upper Midwestern states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The species (from Morel Mushrooms to Shelf Mushrooms) are organized by shape, then by color, so you can identify them by their visual characteristics. Plus, with the Top Edibles and Top Toxics sections, you’ll begin to learn which are the edible wild mushrooms.”
Midwest Foraging: 115 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Burdock to Wild Peach by Lisa M. Rose
“The Midwest offers a veritable feast for foragers, and with Lisa Rose as your trusted guide you will learn how to safely find and identify an abundance of delicious wild plants. The plant profiles in Midwest Foraging include clear, color photographs, identification tips, guidance on how to ethically harvest, and suggestions for eating and preserving. A handy seasonal planner details which plants are available during every season. Thorough, comprehensive, and safe, this is a must-have for foragers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and North Dakota.”
Mushroom Cultivation: An Illustrated Guide to Growing Your Own Mushrooms At Home by Tavis Lynch
“Understanding how mushrooms grow is crucial to successfully cultivating them, and Mushroom Cultivation offers comprehensive instruction both on how mushrooms grow and how you can cultivate them yourself to enrich your soil, speed up your composting, and even to suppress weeds. Some cultivate mushrooms for medicinal use or make them into teas and tinctures.
After reading Mushroom Cultivation, you’ll discover that growing a mushroom is really no more difficult than growing a tomato. You just need a slightly different set of skills.”