It’s time for another book bouquet! It’s summertime in Minnesota, so going to the lake (any lake, all lakes) is important! So this week we look at books set in lakes, by lakes, or around lakes.

Each week we look at a collection of a few books on a topic. You can explore the books on your own, or use them as a foundation for building a display in your library! You can use this flyer to get started, or another one you build for your library. (Click here: Lake Books flyer)

A Day at the Lake, by Stephanie Wallingford You can always use a good picture book about lakes! Take this on vacation with you, or use it to get kiddos excited about upcoming lake trips.

“Flippity flop and splash your way through this colorful trip to the lake. Jump in with your senses and play with rhymes as you experience the waves, the boats, and the many animals. This cheery book follows three children as they enjoy the simple pleasures and rare glimpses that nature offers us around the lake.”

 

Lake Silence (The World of the Others), by Anne Bishop For those who like fantasy books, this is a very interesting series. It is the first in a companion series to the long-running The Others, existing in the same world but in a different location with (primarily) different characters. Slightly creepy, and entirely enjoyable!

“Human laws do not apply in the territory controlled by the Others–vampires, shape-shifters, and even deadlier paranormal beings. And this is a fact that humans should never, ever forget….

After her divorce, Vicki DeVine took over a rustic resort near Lake Silence, in a human town that is not human controlled. Towns such as Vicki’s don’t have any distance from the Others, the dominant predators who rule most of the land and all of the water throughout the world. And when a place has no boundaries, you never really know what is out there watching you.

Vicki was hoping to find a new career and a new life. But when her lodger, Aggie Crowe–one of the shape-shifting Others–discovers a murdered man, Vicki finds trouble instead. The detectives want to pin the death on her, despite the evidence that nothing human could have killed the victim. As Vicki and her friends search for answers, ancient forces are roused by the disturbance in their domain. They have rules that must not be broken–and all the destructive powers of nature at their command.”

 

Iron Lake (Cork O’Connor Mystery Series), by William Kent Krueger Of course we have talked about this series in our past looks at Minnesota books, but this is an exciting look at a lake area. Start here, and move through the rest of this Minnesota mystery series!

“Part Irish, part Anishinaabe Indian, Corcoran “Cork” O’Connor is the former sheriff of Aurora, Minnesota. Embittered by his “former” status, and the marital meltdown that has separated him from his children, Cork gets by on heavy doses of caffeine, nicotine, and guilt. Once a cop on Chicago’s South Side, there’s not much that can shock him. But when the town’s judge is brutally murdered, and a young Eagle Scout is reported missing, Cork takes on a mind-jolting case of conspiracy, corruption, and scandal.

As a lakeside blizzard buries Aurora, Cork must dig out the truth among town officials who seem dead-set on stopping his investigation in its tracks. But even Cork freezes up when faced with the harshest enemy of all: a small-town secret that hits painfully close to home.”

 

A 1000-Mile Walk on the Beach – One Woman’s Trek of the Perimeter of Lake Michigan, by Loreen Niewenhuis  As someone who likes to walk and explore (and lived around Lake Michigan for many years!), this was a really interesting book to read. I like the travel, the hiking, and the environmental issues shared! (NOTE: if you like this, check out our other Book Bouquet: Hike Your Own Hike!)

“In 2009, Loreen Niewenhuis walked completely around Lake Michigan. This book chronicles that journey, a 1,000-mile walk around the world’s fifth-largest lake. The book explores both the geology of the lake and the measure of a person–a woman, married, mother of two sons (who joined her for portions of the walk). But most of the walk was done solo, an adventure in discovery of self and place.

Niewenhuis conveys a sense of the magnitude of the lake she loves, a place so elemental to the four Midwestern states that form its shores.

From a ground-level perspective, the book explores the natural and human history of Lake Michigan . . . and raises important questions about preserving our wild places and protecting fragile ecosystems on which we all depend.”

 

The Third Coast: Sailors, Strippers, Fishermen, Folksingers, Long-Haired Ojibway Painters, and God-Save-the-Queen Monarchists of the Great Lakes, by Ted McClelland I have lived on/near three different Great Lakes, and thought I knew things – but this really fun travel book showed me all kinds of different aspects to life in different areas – including places I’ve lived! (NOTE: if you like this one, you may also like our Book Bouquet selection Summer Road Trips!)

“Chronicling the author’s 10,000-mile “Great Lakes Circle Tour,” this travel memoir seeks to answer a burning question: Is there a Great Lakes culture, and if so, what is it? Largely associated with the Midwest, the Great Lakes region actually has a culture that transcends the border between the United States and Canada. United by a love of encased meats, hockey, beer, snowmobiling, deer hunting, and classic-rock power ballads, the folks in Detroit have more in common with citizens in Windsor, Ontario, than those in Wichita, Kansas—while Toronto residents have more in common with Chicagoans than Montreal’s population. Much more than a typical armchair travel book, this humorous cultural exploration is filled with quirky people and unusual places that prove the obscure is far more interesting than the well known.”

 

The Lady in the Lake, by Raymond Chandler  You always know what you are getting with a Chandler book: hardboiled detectives – here Philip Marlow – who pursue justice at all costs!

“In The Lady in the Lake, hardboiled crime fiction master Raymond Chandler brings us the story of a couple of missing wives—one a rich man’s and one a poor man’s—who have become the objects of Philip Marlowe’s investigation. One of them may have gotten a Mexican divorce and married a gigolo and the other may be dead. Marlowe’s not sure he cares about either one, but he’s not paid to care.”

 

Lake News, by Barbara Delinsky It’s nice to be able to relax with a Delinsky book – there are problems to solve, and situations to work through; but in the end you know the characters will be okay. Enjoy this one, then check out others by this very prolific author!

” After an unscrupulous reporter falsely accuses Boston lounge singer Lily Blake of having an affair with a newly appointed Cardinal, she’s hounded by the press, fired from her job, and robbed of all public freedom. The humiliation and violation of privacy leaves her no choice but to retreat to her rural hometown of Lake Henry, New Hampshire. In search of refuge, Lily forms an uneasy alliance with John Kipling, a former Boston reporter with trust issues of his own. Now editing Lake Henry’s local newspaper, John cannot ignore Lily’s appeal or her plight — even at the risk of taking on his former colleagues. Surprising and deeply satisfying, Lake News offers an intimate look at the complex relationship between an enigmatic man and a vulnerable woman, both struggling to find a new sense of community in a place they once called home.”

 

In the Lake of the Woods, by Tim O’Brien If you liked Gone Girl, or enjoy thrillers, this is the book for you! And if you just like reading about books set on Minnesota lakes – check it out.

“On a lake deep in the Minnesota woods, Kathy Wade comforts her husband John, a rising political star, after a devastating electoral defeat in which he’s been pursued by rumors of the atrocities he committed in Vietnam. But it is clear that something is horribly wrong between them – too much has been hidden. Then Kathy vanishes, along with their boat.”

 

By the Shores of Silver Lake (Little House), by Laura Ingalls Wilder Wilder’s books may be fun for your own younger readers – or go back and reread these books you enjoyed in your childhood. This one in particular reads differently as an adult that it does as a kid; browse and enjoy learning new perspectives!

“The adventures of Laura Ingalls and her family continue as they move from their little house on the banks of Plum Creek to the wilderness of the unsettled Dakota Territory. Here Pa works on the new railroad until he finds a homestead claim that is perfect for their new little house. Laura takes her first train ride as she, her sisters, and their mother come out to live with Pa on the shores of Silver Lake. After a lonely winter in the surveyors’ house, Pa puts up the first building in what will soon be a brand-new town on the beautiful shores of Silver Lake. The Ingallses’ covered-wagon travels are finally over.”

 

The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, by Dan Egan  This book is one of the standards for people who want to learn more about the issues faced by the Great Lakes. And with 20% of all the fresh water in the world, those issues apply to many people!

“The Great Lakes―Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Superior―hold 20 percent of the world’s supply of surface fresh water and provide sustenance, work and recreation for tens of millions of Americans. But they are under threat as never before, and their problems are spreading across the continent. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is prize-winning reporter Dan Egan’s compulsively readable portrait of an ecological catastrophe happening right before our eyes, blending the epic story of the lakes with an examination of the perils they face and the ways we can restore and preserve them for generations to come.

For thousands of years the pristine Great Lakes were separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the roaring Niagara Falls and from the Mississippi River basin by a “sub-continental divide.” Beginning in the late 1800s, these barriers were circumvented to attract oceangoing freighters from the Atlantic and to allow Chicago’s sewage to float out to the Mississippi. These were engineering marvels in their time―and the changes in Chicago arrested a deadly cycle of waterborne illnesses―but they have had horrendous unforeseen consequences. Egan provides a chilling account of how sea lamprey, zebra and quagga mussels and other invaders have made their way into the lakes, decimating native species and largely destroying the age-old ecosystem. And because the lakes are no longer isolated, the invaders now threaten water intake pipes, hydroelectric dams and other infrastructure across the country.

Egan also explores why outbreaks of toxic algae stemming from the overapplication of farm fertilizer have left massive biological “dead zones” that threaten the supply of fresh water. He examines fluctuations in the levels of the lakes caused by manmade climate change and overzealous dredging of shipping channels. And he reports on the chronic threats to siphon off Great Lakes water to slake drier regions of America or to be sold abroad.

In an age when dire problems like the Flint water crisis or the California drought bring ever more attention to the indispensability of safe, clean, easily available water, The Death and the Life of the Great Lakes is a powerful paean to what is arguably our most precious resource, an urgent examination of what threatens it and a convincing call to arms about the relatively simple things we need to do to protect it.”

 

Thanks for reading with us this week!! We will have another bouquet of books next week.

You can also always get book suggestions by joining our book group podcast: Reading With Libraries. Join us! Stream it here! Download it to your own app! Read books! Drink themed beverages! Have fun with us!!

It’s time for another book bouquet! Each week we look at a collection of a few books on a topic. You can explore the books on your own, or use them as a foundation for building a display in your library! You can use this flyer  to get started, or another one you build for your library! (Hiking Thru Books)

This week we look at books on hiking!! Have you done any long-distance hiking?? Is hiking from the couch to the fridge enough fun for you?? There is a saying in the hiking community: Hike Your Own Hike. So, do what’s right for you when it comes to hiking; but we can all enjoy reading about hiking – either as an inspirational goal, or as a scary adventure you only want to enjoy from the safety of your comfy couch while wrapped securely in a cozy blanket.

 

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

This is one of the classic books you could read to learn about hiking. I noticed that it follows the pattern of many books about long-distance hiking: “I have no idea what I’m doing! I’m making all the mistakes!” Bryson is fun to read, and even the movie adaptation was not bad. Check out some of his other travel books after you finish enjoying this one!

“The Appalachian Trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in America–majestic mountains, silent forests, sparking lakes. If you’re going to take a hike, it’s probably the place to go. And Bill Bryson is surely the most entertaining guide you’ll find. He introduces us to the history and ecology of the trail and to some of the other hardy (or just foolhardy) folks he meets along the way–and a couple of bears. ”

 

Travels with My Donkey: One Man and His Ass on a Pilgrimage to Santiago, by Tim Moore

This is a fun one – though more for the reader than for Moore! His books all focus on having crazy adventures, that are probably not pleasant to do – but that are wonderful to read about. Hiking the Camino is an adventure on its own; adding in a donkey (in a bow to tradition) just adds to the fun of reading about this hike!

“Having no knowledge of Spanish and even less about the care and feeding of donkeys, Tim Moore, Britain’s indefatigable traveling Everyman, sets out on a pilgrimage to the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela with a donkey named Shinto as his companion. Armed only with a twelfth-century handbook to the route and expert advice on donkey management from Robert Louis Stevenson, Moore and his four-legged companion travel the ancient five-hundred-mile route from St. Jean Pied-de-Port, on the French side of the Pyrenees, to the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela which houses the remains of Spain’s patron saint, St. James.

Over sun-scorched highways, precipitous bridges, dirt paths shaded by leafy trees, and vineyards occasionally lashed by downpours, Moore and Shinto pass through some of northern Spain’s oldest towns and cities in colorful company. Clearly more interested in Shinto than in Moore, their fellow walkers are an assortment of devout Christian pilgrims, New Age–spirituality seekers aspiring to be the next Shirley Maclaine, Baby Boomers contemplating middle age, and John Q Public just out for a cheap, boozy sun-drenched outdoor holiday.

As Moore pushes, pulls, wheedles, cajoles, and threatens Shinto across Spain, the duo overnights in the bedrooms, dormitories, and—for Shinto—grassy fields of northern Spain. Shinto, a donkey with a finely honed talent for relieving himself at the most inopportune moments, has better luck in the search for his next meal than Moore does in finding his inner pilgrim. Undaunted, however, Man and Beast finally arrive at the cathedral and a successful end to their journey. For readers who delighted in his earlier books, Travels With my Donkey is the next hilarious chapter in the travels of Tim Moore, a book that keeps the bones of St. James rattling to this day. ”

AWOL on the Appalachian Trail, by David Miller

In contrast to the last book, Miller (trail name: AWOL) spent a lot of time prepping for his hike of the AT. After he finished the trail, he has gone on to continue his work in the hiking community by writing guides to the trail to help other hikers!

“A 41-year-old engineer quits his job to hike the Appalachian Trail. This is a true account of his hike from Georgia to Maine, bringing to the reader the life of the towns and the people he meets along the way.”

Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer

I visited Denali National Park a while ago, and the guide was talking about this story. The bus has become a tourist destination, bringing in many more hikers – both experienced and not. Read the story, and hopefully be inspired by his inexperience and his lack of understanding of what to do in a difficult situation. Read a book on wilderness survival before you try it!!

“In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, a party of moose hunters found his decomposed body. How McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild.

Immediately after graduating from college in 1991, McCandless had roamed through the West and Southwest on a vision quest like those made by his heroes Jack London and John Muir. In the Mojave Desert he abandoned his car, stripped it of its license plates, and burned all of his cash. He would give himself a new name, Alexander Supertramp, and, unencumbered by money and belongings, he would be free to wallow in the raw, unfiltered experiences that nature presented. Craving a blank spot on the map, McCandless simply threw away the maps. Leaving behind his desperate parents and sister, he vanished into the wild. ”

 

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, by Cheryl Strayed

As is true with several of these books, this story really touches people and was made into a movie. It’s always interesting to read about people who make big, important changes to their lives to respond to tragedies. This choice that Strayed made helped to really popularize the PCT for hikers!

“At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State — and she would do it alone.
Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her. ”

 

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster, by Jon Krakauer

This is not a new book, and a lot of the tragic choices made here, and natural disasters that led to tragedy, have been reflected in other stories. It has also led to some changes in the way the Everest hikers operate – and can draw attention to the problems that still exist on the mountain and in the climbing culture there.

“A bank of clouds was assembling on the not-so-distant horizon, but journalist-mountaineer Jon Krakauer, standing on the summit of Mt. Everest, saw nothing that “suggested that a murderous storm was bearing down.” He was wrong. The storm, which claimed five lives and left countless more–including Krakauer’s–in guilt-ridden disarray…”

Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail, by Carrot Quinn

Another story about a person who wants to make a big life change! (If these make you want to quit your own job and take a hike for months, you might try browsing YouTube for hiker vlogs. You can see the entire “class” of people each year who hike the AT, the PCT, and the CDT, as they move along their adventures – for good and bad.)

“Carrot Quinn fears that she’s become addicted to the internet. The city makes her feel numb, and she’s having trouble connecting with others. In a desperate move she breaks away from everything to walk 2,660 miles from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail. It will be her first long-distance hike.

In the desert of Southern California Carrot faces many challenges, both physical and emotional: pain, injury, blisters, aching cold and searing heat, dehydration, exhaustion, loneliness. In the wilderness she happens upon and becomes close with an eclectic group of strangers- people she wouldn’t have chanced to meet in the “regular world” but who are brought together, here on the trail, by their one common goal: make it to Canada before the snow flies. ”

Hamish’s Groats End Walk: One Man and His Dog on a Hill Route Through Britain and Ireland, by Hamish Brown

A little less stressful, and a little more tourism in the hike! And really – isn’t everything going to be better with a dog as a companion?

“For five months, Hamish Brown and his collie dog Storm walked the length and breadth of the British Isles, taking in the highest peaks in Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland. In this captivating account of his travels, Hamish’s unique blend of description, anecdote and personal philosophy triumphantly evokes the spirit of the mountains and provides a many-sided personal guide to Britain’s finest hill country. ”

On the Road, by Jack Kerouac

I first read this as a college student, which was just the right age. (Yes, I considered dropping out of college to walk across the country; No, I did not do it. But I have taken many fun road trips!) A classic in the hiking literature, it’s worth a read no matter your age or desire to trudge the country!

“Inspired by Jack Kerouac’s adventures with Neal Cassady, On the Road tells the story of two friends whose cross-country road trips are a quest for meaning and true experience. Written with a mixture of sad-eyed naiveté and wild ambition and imbued with Kerouac’s love of America, his compassion for humanity, and his sense of language as jazz, On the Road is the quintessential American vision of freedom and hope, a book that changed American literature and changed anyone who has ever picked it up. ”

 

Thanks for reading with us this week!! We will have another bouquet of books next week. You can also always get book suggestions by joining our book group podcast: Reading With Libraries. Join us! Stream it here! Download it to your own app! Read books! Drink themed beverages! Have fun with us!!

 

It’s time for another book bouquet! Each week we look at a collection of a few books on a topic. You can explore the books on your own, or use them as a foundation for building a display in your library! You can use this flyer: Now We’re Cooking, to get started, or another one you build for your library!

 

Summer cooking is fun. The emphasis is on lighter food, things that don’t heat up the kitchen, things that can travel as you go to the lake or other fun spot. It’s also a great time to try out some new things that may turn into your new favorites!

Food is a great way to learn about people. You can see the food that has been prepared for generations by different people, and enjoy different flavors and spices than you may usually use in your food. A pro tip: food from grandmothers seems to always be tasty, no matter what the culture or flavor profile!

I am not a great cook, but I like to try things in the kitchen; and I like to share food with people (because obviously feeding people is love!). So I love to browse cookbooks, to see what kinds of things I might want to try. And it’s always fun to see the recipes that are probably too complicated for me, but look so pretty or so tasty! (You gotta dream, and some of my dreams involve lovely, complex food.)

If you have interest in history, geography, chemistry, or anthropology – test out some cooking for yourself! Try some of these different cookbooks, and test out a couple of recipes for yourself.  And if you want to drop some of your experiments by the CMLE HQ, we would be delighted to test them for you!! (We are really good eaters here!)

(You can find more info and books by clicking on these links to Amazon.com! In theory, we might get a small percentage of Amazon’s profits from your purchase; in practice, it doesn’t seem to work – so feel free to shop or not as you wish!)

How to Eat a Peach: Menus, Stories and Places, by Diana Henry “When Diana Henry was sixteen she started a menu notebook (an exercise book carefully covered in wrapping paper). Planning a menu is still her favorite part of cooking.

Menus can create very different moods; they can take you places, from an afternoon at the seaside in Brittany to a sultry evening eating mezze in Istanbul. They also have to work as a meal that flows and as a group of dishes that the cook can manage without becoming totally stressed. The 24 menus and 100 recipes in this book reflect places Diana loves, and dishes that are real favorites.

The menus are introduced with personal essays in Diana’s now well-known voice- about places or journeys or particular times and explain the choice of dishes. Each menu is a story in itself, but the recipes can also stand alone.

The title of the book refers to how Italians end a meal in the summer, when it’s too hot to cook. The host or hostess just puts a bowl of peaches on the table and offers glasses of chilled moscato (or even Marsala). Guests then slice their peach into the glass, before eating the slices and drinking the wine.

That says something very important about eating – simplicity and generosity and sometimes not cooking are what it’s about.”

 

Breakfast with Beatrice: 250 Recipes from Sweet Cream Waffles to Swedish Farmer’s Omelets, by Beatrice Ojakangas (A Minnesota author!! Extra love and support for our local authors!!)

“Breakfast may be, as some say, the most important meal—but not unless it’s the best tasting. With the help of James Beard Cookbook Hall of Famer Beatrice Ojakangas, that is precisely what breakfast will be. With recipes drawn from her storied career and honed in her home kitchen, Breakfast with Beatrice prepares the cook—seasoned veteran or novice—to make breakfast the perfect start to every day.

Sweet or savory, classic or surprising, fancy or short order, these are breakfasts for every occasion, with simple ingredients, straightforward instructions, and the occasional anecdote (Veterinarian’s Breakfast, anyone?). Whip up a smoothie on the go. Chill a parfait overnight for a readymade morning treat. Dress up good, old-fashioned porridge for a hot and hearty start to the day. Make a meal of the smorrebrod, a breakfast sandwich favored in Denmark, with anything from cheese and fruit to smoked fish and meat piled on a slice of crusty bread. Whether you favor a grain-rich loaf or a handy quick bread, or a sweet treat like Cardamom Coffee Braid or an elaborate Danish pastry, these recipes will satisfy your morning palate. For more leisurely breakfasts (or for dinner when it’s kids’ choice), there are pancakes and mouth-watering cream waffles to warm the heart. From quiches and casseroles to waffles with berries, Breakfast with Beatrice is a treasury of recipes worth waking up for.”

Saladish: A Crunchier, Grainier, Herbier, Heartier, Tastier Way with Vegetables, by Ilene Rosen  “A “saladish” recipe is like a salad, and yet so much more. It starts with an unexpectedly wide range of ingredients, such as Japanese eggplants, broccoli rabe, shirataki noodles, Bosc pears, and chrysanthemum leaves. It emphasizes contrasting textures—toothsome, fluffy, crunchy, crispy, hefty. And marries contrasting flavors—rich, sharp, sweet, and salty. Toss all together and voilà: an irresistible symphony that’s at once healthy and utterly delicious.

Cooking the saladish way has been Ilene Rosen’s genius since she unveiled the first kale salad at New York’s City Bakery almost two decades ago, and now she shares 100 fresh and creative recipes, organized seasonally, from the intoxicatingly aromatic (Toasty Broccoli with Curry Leaves and Coconut) to the colorfully hearty (Red Potatoes with Chorizo and Roasted Grapes). Each chapter includes a fun party menu, a timeline of preparation, and an illustrated tablescape to turn a saladish meal into an impressive dinner party spread.”

Soo Fariista / Come Sit Down: A Somali American Cookbook, by by Wariyaa (Author), Osman Mohamed Ali (Foreword)   “Somali Americans celebrate a shared heritage at mealtime. No matter how they found their way to America, members of this community come together over kackac, bur, and halwad (that is, tea, beignets, and sweets).

Realizing how quickly traditions can change in a culture on the move, Somali American students set out to preserve their culinary legacy by interviewing family members, researching available and alternative ingredients, and testing kitchen techniques. In Soo Fariista / Come Sit Down, seventy recipes for everything from saabuuse (stuffed pastry) to suqaar (sauteed meat) to canjeelo (flatbread) to shushumow (fried sweet dough) honor memories and flavors from East Africa with adjustments for American realities. An introduction explores Somali foodways and their transitions in the United States, and each contributor is highlighted with his or her story. Notes on the recipes share the students’ journey from “a little of this and a little of that” to methods that will bring success in Somali American cooking to novices and practiced hands alike.”

 

Sweet Laurel: Recipes for Whole Food, Grain-Free Desserts, by Laurel Gallucci and Claire Thomas “From LA’s trendy bakery comes the new definitive grain-free baking book that makes eating paleo, gluten-free, and dairy-free diets a lot sweeter for home bakers. From the beginning, Sweet Laurel has been about making sweet things simple. The recipes here are indulgent yet healthful. They use just a few quality ingredients to create delicious desserts that benefit your body; all of these treats are paleo, and many are vegan and raw. From Matcha Sandwich Cookies to Salted Lemon Meringue Pie to Classic German Chocolate Cake, these treats are at once uncomplicated, beautiful, and satisfying, made only with wholesome ingredients such as almonds, coconut, cacao, and dates. Here, too, are basic staple recipes to keep with you, like grain-free vanilla extract and vegan caramel, and fancy finishes, like paleo sprinkles and dairy-free ice cream.  Whether you’re looking for simpler recipes, seeking a better approach to dessert, or struggling with an allergy that has prevented you from enjoying sweets, Sweet Laurel will change the way you bake.”

Summertime means vacations, and that can mean road trips!!

I loooove to road trip – toss all kinds of stuff in the car and just go places. Five gallon container of water, tent, tons of snacks (the kinds that don’t melt or spoil are the best!), a GPS and an atlas – and you are ready to go! Ideally, you can stop off at every single brown highway sign to see the sights. (Brown signs are for recreation and cultural interest.)

You can pick out some standard drives, or head for a specific destination. We are really lucky here in Minnesota to have so many great Scenic Byways: “a road corridor that has regionally outstanding scenic, natural, recreational, cultural, historic or archaeological significance. These corridors offer an alternative travel route to our major highways and daily travel patterns, while telling a story about Minnesota’s heritage, recreational activities or beauty. ”

If you love to road trip, or if you have always wanted to do one, check out the books below! And if you are more of an armchair traveler, here are the books that will let you enjoy adventures from the comfort of your home.

You can use this flyer o help you build your own display! Road trip books

(We are linking to Amazon in the book images below; if you click thru it in theory we get a small piece of Amazon’s profits.  In practice, it rarely works – so just enjoy the information either way!)

The Longest Road, by Philip Caputo

I listened to this on a road trip with my dad, as we drove the entire length of Alaska. We have also driven in a long road trip from Illinois to Key West, so this book really resonated with us!! (I think Caputo could have been nicer to his wife sometimes; but travel does not always bring out out best behavior!)

“Standing on a wind-scoured island off the Alaskan coast, Philip Caputo marveled that its Inupiat Eskimo schoolchildren pledge allegiance to the same flag as the children of Cuban immigrants in Key West, six thousand miles away. And a question began to take shape: How does the United States, peopled by every race on earth, remain united? Caputo resolved that one day he’d drive from the nation’s southernmost point to the northernmost point reachable by road, talking to Americans about their lives and asking how they would answer his question.

Caputo, his wife, and their two English setters made their way in a truck and classic trailer (hereafter known as “Fred” and “Ethel”) from Key West, Florida, to Deadhorse, Alaska, covering sixteen thousand miles. He spoke to everyone from a West Virginia couple saving souls to a Native American shaman and taco entrepreneur. What he found is a story that will entertain and inspire readers as much as it informs them about the state of today’s United States, the glue that holds us all together, and the conflicts that could pull us apart.”

 

  Take Me With You, by Catherine Ryan Hyde

I read this road trip to hear about the visit to National Parks – always the BEST travel destinations!! (I’m on a quest to visit all the state parks in Minnesota, and we are so lucky to have such great parks!!) This book is emotional, but does not dwell in the sadness – like any good road trip it keeps moving forward and does not get bogged down in the details. Good story!

“August Shroeder, a burned-out teacher, has been sober since his nineteen-year-old son died. Every year he’s spent the summer on the road, but making it to Yellowstone this year means everything. The plan had been to travel there with his son, but now August is making the trip with Philip’s ashes instead. An unexpected twist of fate lands August with two extra passengers for his journey, two half-orphans with nowhere else to go.

What none of them could have known was how transformative both the trip—and the bonds that develop between them—would prove, driving each to create a new destiny together. ”

 

 

Rules of the Road, by Joan Bauer

I stumbled into the book, and was living in Chicago at the time, so the location grabbed me. But then I wanted to keep reading it for the adventure of the road trip! A good YA, for actual YAs or adults who enjoy a nice trip.

“Meet Jenna Boller, star employee at Gladstone Shoe Store in Chicago. Standing a gawky 5’11” at 16 years old, Jenna is the kind of girl most likely to stand out in the crowd for all the wrong reasons. But that doesn’t stop Madeline Gladstone, the president of Gladstone’s Shoes 176 outlets in 37 states, from hiring Jenna to drive her cross country in a last ditch effort to stop Elden Gladstone from taking over his mother’s company and turning a quality business into a shop-and-schlock empire. Now Jenna Boller shoe salesperson is about to become a shoe-store spy as she joins her crusty old employer for an eye-opening adventure that will teach them both the rules of the road and the rules of life.”

Blue Highways: A Journey Across America, by William Least Heat-Moon

I love to see small towns, and sights off the big interstate highways – and this book really started a lot of us in thinking about taking those kinds of adventures to see things you would not otherwise have discovered!

“William Least Heat-Moon set out with little more than the need to put home behind him and a sense of curiosity about “those little towns that get on the map-if they get on at all-only because some cartographer has a blank space to fill: Remote, Oregon; Simplicity, Virginia; New Freedom, Pennsylvania; New Hope, Tennessee; Why, Arizona; Whynot, Mississippi.”

His adventures, his discoveries, and his recollections of the extraordinary people he encountered along the way amount to a revelation of the true American experience.”

Out West: A Journey through Lewis and Clark’s America, by Dayton Duncan

A few summers ago, I drove the entire Lewis and Clark Trail, visiting every public library along the way. It was an amazing adventure!! And I clutched my copy of this book, and several other great Lewis and Clark books, to make sure I could maximize my adventuring. (Note: it totally worked. I had a fantastic time!)

“One hundred and eighty years after Lewis and Clark’s “Voyage of Discovery” (1804–1806), Dayton Duncan set out in a Volkswagen camper to retrace their steps. Out West is an account of three separate journeys: Lewis and Clark’s epic adventure through uncharted wilderness; Duncan’s retracing of the historic trail, now in various ways tamed, paved, and settled; and the journey of the American West in the years in between. Readers traveling with Duncan will encounter the people who inhabit today’s West: farmers and ranchers, cowboys and mountain men, Native Americans, residents of dying small towns, city dwellers who have survived cycles of boom and bust. From the Gateway Arch in St. Louis to the Oregon coast, readers will be treated to a landscape as variously impressive as its people.”

 

  Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road, by Neal  Peart

This was a really interesting road trip book, with a lot of letters to friends included and other material that contributed to the text. Starting off the motorcycle trip with an amazing amount of sorrow, having lost his daughter and his wife in just a few short months, the story covers a few years and talks about the adventures he had driving from Canada, to the United States, to Mexico, and back.

“This bold narrative written by the drummer and lyricist for the band Rush shows how Peart tried to stay alive by staying on the move after the loss of his 19-year-old daughter and his wife. ”

Paper Towns, by John Green

You can enjoy this very popular story in book format, or check out the movie! Green is a very popular YA author, with many other interesting books after this road trip adventure!

“When Margo Roth Spiegelman beckons Quentin Jacobsen in the middle of the night—dressed like a ninja and plotting an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows her. Margo’s always planned extravagantly, and, until now, she’s always planned solo. After a lifetime of loving Margo from afar, things are finally looking up for Q . . . until day breaks and she has vanished. Always an enigma, Margo has now become a mystery. But there are clues. And they’re for Q.”

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