Celebrating Small Buisness Saturday AND Indies First.

When You Start Out On Black Friday, Remember To:

Mischief, Mayhem and Murder: Margaret N. Offer's Her Recommendations For Great Mysteries Out in November

A special signed limited edition of the new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly follows Detective Harry Bosch and his new partner as they investigate a recent murder where the trigger was pulled nine years earlier.

In the LAPD's Open-Unsolved Unit, not many murder victims die almost a decade after the crime. So when a man succumbs to complications from being shot by a stray bullet nine years earlier, Bosch catches a case in which the body is still fresh, but all other evidence is virtually nonexistent.

Now Bosch and rookie Detective Lucia Soto, are tasked with solving what turns out to be a highly charged, politically sensitive case. Beginning with the bullet that's been lodged for years in the victim's spine, they must pull new leads from years-old information, which soon reveal that this shooting may have been anything but random.

In this gripping new novel, Michael Connelly shows once again why Harry Bosch is "one of the greats of crime fiction" (New York Daily News).

The Queensville Heritage Society is restoring the once-grand Dumpe Manor. While Dumpe relatives and society members use the occasion to dust off old grudges, Jaymie Leighton prefers to adorn the kitchen with authentic Depression Era furnishings. A collection of vintage wooden mallets found in the house is a perfect addition to her display, but one also offers a late-night intruder the perfect weapon to knock Jaymie unconscious before escaping.

Though the attack has everyone on edge, nothing is missing from the house. Perhaps it was merely a vagrant who thought the place was still abandoned. But when Dumpe Manor’s resident historian is murdered with a mallet from the same collection, it’s time for Jaymie to turn up the heat on the investigation before someone else becomes history.

Includes recipes!

Blockbuster author Lisa Scottoline returns to the Rosato & Associates law firm with Betrayed, and maverick lawyer Judy Carrier takes the lead in a case that's more personal than ever. Judy has always championed the underdog, so when Iris, the housekeeper and best friend of Judy's beloved Aunt Barb, is found dead of an apparent heart attack, Judy begins to suspect foul play. The circumstances of the death leave Judy with more questions than answers, and never before has murder struck so close to home.

In the meantime, Judy's own life roils with emotional and professional upheaval. She doesn’t play well with her boss, Bennie Rosato, which jeopardizes her making partner at the firm. Not only that, her best friend Mary DiNunzio is planning a wedding, leaving Judy feeling left behind, as well as newly unhappy in her relationship with her live-in boyfriend Frank.

Judy sets her own drama aside and begins an investigation of Iris’s murder, then discovers a shocking truth that confounds her expectations and leads her in a completely different direction. She finds herself plunged into a shadowy world of people who are so desperate that they cannot go to the police, and where others are so ruthless that they prey on vulnerability. Judy finds strength within herself to try to get justice for Iris and her aunt -- but it comes at a terrible price.

The chase is on in New York Times bestselling author Rita Mae Brown’s gripping new foxhunting mystery, featuring the irrepressible “Sister” Jane Arnold and the wily antics of her four-legged friends. In Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, a century-old crime reawakens bad will—and stirs up a scandal that chills Sister to the bone.

Sister Jane and the Jefferson Hunt Club have traveled from Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains to the Bluegrass State of Kentucky to ride with the members of the Woodford Hounds—in the teeth of foul weather. Sister knows better than anyone that an ill wind blows no good.

After the hunt, Sister Jane and her boyfriend, Gray Lorillard, head to a sumptuous party on a nearby estate, also home to a historic equine graveyard. The revelry is interrupted by jarring news: The discovery of grisly remains in the cemetery that are decidedly not equine.

Now Sister and her hounds are on the case, digging up clues to an old murder that links three well-connected Southern families. When mayhem follows the Jefferson Hunt back to Virginia, the deadly doings become all too real: A dear friend of Sister’s is found murdered. Sister and her animal friends must work fast to find a clever killer determined to keep deep-rooted secrets buried.

A rollicking, riveting mystery, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie is a masterly novel full of colorful characters, gorgeous country landscapes, and the breathtaking thrill of the hunt. 

Come Into Our Metro Area Stores on Indies First Day (Saturday, Nov 30, 2014) And You Might Win These Books!

There are three prizes:

Indie Next Hardcover

Indie Next Now in Paperback

Kids Books for Indies First Day Giveaway 

 

25 Anniversary Edition Deluxe!

A contemporary classic celebrates its 25th birthday.

Twenty-five years in the Big House and A.Wolf is still sticking to his story: he was framed! As for that huffing and puffing stuff? A big lie. A.Wolf was just trying to borrow a cup of sugar to make his poor old granny a birthday cake.

Who should you believe, the pigs or the wolf? You read. You decide.

A quarter-century after publication, with over two million copies sold, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs remains as funny as irreverent as the inventive minds of Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith. Viking is celebrating this landmark anniversary with a handsome gift edition, featuring a stunning new jacket with lots of silver. And there's a surprise inside as well!

 

Here's a play based on this book written by Jon Scieszka--you can be the star!

 

 

 

We Are Thankful For You Lovely Readers and Book Lovers. Have A Wonderful Thanksgiving.

Michele Is Recommending:

How to meditate—a concise, pocket-size guide that tells you everything you need to know, from the best-selling author of The Buddha Walks into a Bar...

This is the ultimate go-to guide for learning how to meditate. It contains all the instructions you'll need to get started in a remarkably short space, but it also shows you how to make meditation practice a permanent part of your life, infusing it with wisdom and compassion as you go about your day. And it's instruction in the voice of the meditation teacher the young spiritual-but-not-religious crowd have come to trust: Lodro Rinzler, a young Buddhist teacher who speaks to the twenty- and thirty-something crowd in a way that has made his first book, The Buddha Walks into a Bar..., a best seller. Lodro begins by challenging you to understand why you want to meditate in the first place, then, after the basic instructions, he shows how to prioritize your practice among your other daily activities and make it the center of all of them. He then shows you how to bring the wisdom and insight gained from meditation into all aspects of life.

 

 

Can God be revived in a skeptical age? What would it take to give people a spiritual life more powerful than anything in the past?  

 

Deepak Chopra tackles these issues with eloquence and insight in this book. He proposes that God lies at the source of human awareness. Therefore, any person can find the God within that transforms everyday life.

God is in trouble. The rise of the militant atheist movement spearheaded by Richard Dawkins signifies, to many, that the deity is an outmoded myth in the modern world. Deepak Chopra passionately disagrees, seeing the present moment as the perfect time for making spirituality what it really should be: reliable knowledge about higher reality. Outlining a path to God that turns unbelief into the first step of awakening, Deepak shows us that a crisis of faith is like the fire we must pass through on the way to power, truth, and love.

“Faith must be saved for everyone’s sake,” he writes. “From faith springs a passion for the eternal, which is even stronger than love. Many of us have lost that passion or have never known it.” In any age, faith is a cry from the heart. God is the higher consciousness that responds to the cry. “By itself, faith can’t deliver God, but it does something more timely: It makes God possible.”

For three decades, Deepak Chopra has inspired millions with his profound writing and teaching. With The Future of God, he invites us on a journey of the spirit, providing a practical path to understanding God and our own place in the universe. Now, is a moment of reinvigoration, he argues. Now is moment of renewal. Now is the future.

Jocelyn Loves This Book

Rose Howard is obsessed with homonyms. She’s thrilled that her own name is a homonym, and she purposely gave her dog Rain a name with two homonyms (Reign, Rein), which, according to Rose’s rules of homonyms, is very special. Not everyone understands Rose’s obsessions, her rules, and the other things that make her different – not her teachers, not other kids, and not her single father.

When a storm hits their rural town, rivers overflow, the roads are flooded, and Rain goes missing. Rose’s father shouldn’t have let Rain out. Now Rose has to find her dog, even if it means leaving her routines and safe places to search.

Hearts will break and spirits will soar for this powerful story, brilliantly told from Rose’s point of view.

Jocelyn says:
"A touching, bittersweet novel told in the first person by a 5th grader with Asperger's.
 
Rose (rose) and her single Dad live in rural New York state and life changes for this intense, intelligent girl who loves homonyms when her father brings home a stray dog she names Rain (rein, reign).
 
My little review doesn't do it justice- really a great mid-grade book I'll hand sell a lot this season.
 
I LOVE IT!!!"

Oh, How Sweet It Is!

The latest and most comprehensive baking book yet from best-selling author and "diva of desserts" Rose Levy BeranbaumLegendary baker Rose Levy Beranbaum is back with her most extensive "bible" yet. With all-new recipes for the best cakes, pies, tarts, cookies, candies, pastries, breads, and more, this magnum opus draws from Rose's passion and expertise in every category of baking. As is to be expected from the woman who's been called "the most meticulous cook who ever lived," each sumptuous recipe is truly foolproof--with detail-oriented instructions that eliminate guesswork, "plan-aheads," ingenious tips, and highlights for success. From simple everyday crowd-pleasers (Coffee Crumb Cake Muffins, Gingersnaps, Gooseberry Crisp) to show-stopping stunners (Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Tart, Mango Bango Cheesecake, White Christmas Peppermint Cake) to bakery-style pastries developed for the home kitchen (the famous French Kouign Amann), every recipe proves that delicious perfection is within reach for any baker.

 

The eagerly awaited first cookbook from Jessica Merchant, creator of the popular food blog "How Sweet Eats", has now created her first cookbook,
Seriously Delish. Her playfulness jumps off the page in her inventive and incredibly delicious recipes, such as Amaretto-Butternut Squash Soup with Cinnamon Toast Croutons, Mini Crab Cakes with Sweet Corn and Blueberry Salsa, and Fleur de Sel Caramel Bourbon Brownie Milk Shakes. Her sense of humor, which brings millions of visitors to her site, shows through in chapter titles like "Breakfast (. . . for Dinner?)" and "Salad, Soups, and Vegetable-like Things (Ugh, if We Must)." Merchant makes food that people get excited about, nothing run-of-the-mill or expected. As an added bonus, all of the photographs in the book were taken by Merchant herself, giving her cookbook the personal touch that her fans love and newcomers will appreciate. Seriously Delish features imaginative recipes that are tasty and original and bring readers to a place where cooking becomes adventurous and food becomes fun.

Here is a recipe from the book:

Fleur de Sel Caramel Bourbon Brownie Milk Shakes
Serves 2. Time: 15 minutes
A poem:
I like bourbon.
I like milk shakes.
I like bourbon milk shakes. The end.

• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups vanilla bean ice cream
• 1⁄2 cup bourbon
• 2 brownies, plus an extra for crumbling on top
• 1 cup caramel sauce, plus extra for drizzling
• 1⁄2 teaspoon fleur de sel (or flaked sea salt), plus extra for sprinkling
• Whipped cream, for topping

Combine the milk, ice cream, bourbon, brownies, 1⁄2 cup of the caramel sauce, and salt in a blender and puree until smooth. Fill two glasses with 1⁄4 cup of caramel each and pour the shakes into the glasses. Top the shakes with the whipped cream, an extra drizzle of caramel, and another pinch of salt. Crumble a brownie on top.

A "culinary guru" and author of the award-winning Around My French Table and Baking: From My Home to Yours returns with an exciting collection of simple desserts from French home cooks and chefs

With her groundbreaking bestseller Around My French Table, Dorie Greenspan changed the way we view French food. Now, in Baking Chez Moi she explores the fascinating world of French desserts, bringing together a charmingly uncomplicated mix of contemporary recipes, including original creations based on traditional and regional specialties, and drawing on seasonal ingredients, market visits, and her travels throughout the country.

Like the surprisingly easy chocolate loaf cake speckled with cubes of dark chocolate that have been melted, salted, and frozen, which she adapted from a French chef's recipe, or the boozy, slow-roasted pineapple, a five-ingredient cinch that she got from her hairdresser, these recipes show the French knack for elegant simplicity. In fact, many are so radically easy that they defy our preconceptions: crackle-topped cream puffs, which are all the rage in Paris; custardy apple squares from Normandy; and an unbaked confection of corn flakes, dried cherries, almonds, and coconut that nearly every French woman knows. Whether it's classic lemon-glazed madeleines, a silky caramel tart, or "Les Whoopie Pies," Dorie puts her own creative spin on each dish, guiding us with the friendly, reassuring directions that have won her legions of ardent fans.

Kate M. Is Recommending:

New York Times bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray spins a beautiful holiday tale of finding love in unexpected places

Twenty-year-old Ruth Stutzman is a wonderful caregiver . . . but she has no experience with children. Laid off because of budget cuts from her job at a retirement home, she's relieved to find work--even if it means temporarily watching widower Martin Rhodes's brood of six

Martin has been doing his best since his wife's passing, but he and the children need help. Their house, once full of laughter and light, has been darkened by sadness. Soon after Ruth arrives, the children are drawn to her warmth and gentleness, and so is Martin, even though he feels it's wrong. But the harder he tries to ignore her, the deeper he begins to care for this attractive young woman who has brought joy back into his children's lives . . . and his own.

Each passing day brings the Rhodes closer to Ruth . . . and closer to Christmas, when she will have to say goodbye. Ruth cannot deny the bond she feels with the children--and with Martin. When her old job becomes available again, Ruth finds herself torn: How can she stay with the Rhodes? And yet how can she go?

So begins Bible scholar Stephen Patterson's fascinating and rigorously researched study, revealing the dramatic story behind the modern discovery of the earliest gospels--accounts that do not portray Jesus just as a martyr, but instead recover a lost ancient Christian tradition centered on Jesus as a teacher of wisdom. The church has long advocated the Pauline view of Jesus as deity and martyr, emphasizing his death and resurrection. But another, earlier, "lost" tradition portrayed Jesus as a teacher of wisdom. As Patterson explains, scholars have now uncovered this community's gospel--the lost Gospel known as "Q."

Patterson also tells the riveting story of the discovery of the Gospel of Thomas, another "wisdom gospel" from the earliest communities that looked to Jesus as their teacher, and of the Egyptian Christian community from which Apollos, a New Testament teacher of Christian wisdom, emerged. Q and Thomas together illuminate a lost chapter in the story of Christian origins, one in which Jesus and other prophets of wisdom advocated something they called "the Way," in which everyone, regardless of race, class, or gender, can become a "child of God."

Winner of the Prose Award for HumanitiesFinalist for the NAACP Image AwardFinalist for the Hurston/Wright Legacy AwardA Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year

No musician has lived a more transformational, or tragic, life than Charlie Parker, one of the most talented and influential figures of the twentieth century. Drawing on decades of original interviews with peers, collaborators, and family members, Stanley Crouch reveals Parker as he was: from the dance clubs of late-night Kansas City, where he learned his craft, to the ballrooms of wartime Harlem, it offers an unprecedented window into the world--and intimate life--of the young genius.

"The beauty of Barry’s writing is almost visceral. There are passages either so nicely phrased or so deeply insightful that a frisson of pleasure or pain is inescapable." ~Eric B.

A first-person narrative of Lilly Bere’s life, On Canaan’s Side opens as the eighty-five-year-old Irish émigré mourns the loss of her grandson, Bill. Lilly, the daughter of a Dublin policeman, revisits her eventful past, going back to the moment she was forced to flee Ireland at the end of the First World War. She continues her tale in America, where—far from her family—she first tastes the sweetness of love and the bitterness of betrayal.

Spanning nearly seven decades, Sebastian Barry’s extraordinary fifth novel explores memory, war, family ties, love, and loss, distilling the complexity and beauty of life into his haunting prose.

 Eric B. says:
"The beauty of Barry’s writing is almost visceral. There are passages either so nicely phrased or so deeply insightful that a frisson of pleasure or pain is inescapable. In addition to this literary facility one of the most engaging protagonists in my recent memory adds an unusually satisfying degree of substance.

Lilly Bere is a person who understands love and fear, and can escape the consequences of neither. Her capacity for both and for a steadfast moral strength in the face of the damages thereby inflicted is especially endearing. She loves with a fidelity and readiness that would provide an ideal for anyone. Her disregard for the perils and willingness to suffer what she often knows will be a tragic outcome is more than admirable; it’s almost heroic. She is an epic figure.

Overlaying all this is Barry’s exquisite prose which often bears rereading just to make sure the reader was not dreaming it. Lilly’s narration includes this: “It’s so strange that I can write this, and feel that my years have no width or length, have no dimension at all, just the downturn of a bird’s wing. So quick, so quick.” Or the opening sentences of the book, which in my opinion might be some of the best ever written, “Bill is gone. What is the sound of an eighty-nine-year-old heart breaking? It might not be much more than silence, and certainly a small sound.” If you are not affected by these, you should check your pulse.

There is some mystery here, a few genuine surprises, a wealthy exposition of the generosity and paucity of the human spirit, and a golden portrait of love. I cannot recommend this book too highly. It is a profound literary achievement."

Is a Chef Ever Off Duty?

The award-winning celebrity chef and New York Times best-selling author unwinds at home, sharing 150 relaxed, multicultural dishes For two decades, Marcus Samuelsson has captivated food lovers with his brilliant culinary interpretations. Born in Ethiopia, raised in Sweden, and trained in European kitchens, he is a world citizen turned American success story. Not only was Samuelsson the youngest chef ever to receive three stars from the New York Times, he is also a five-time James Beard Award recipient, a winner of "Top Chef Masters, "and a judge on "Chopped." Chosen by President Obama to cook the first state dinner, he is now a charismatic TV host.

In this book, the chef who former President Bill Clinton says "has reinvigorated and reimagined what it means to be American" serves up the dishes he makes at his Harlem home for his wife and friends. The recipes blend a rainbow of the flavors he experienced in his travels--Ethiopian, Swedish, Mexican, Caribbean, Italian, and Southern soul. His eclectic, casual food includes dill-spiced salmon; coconut-lime curried chicken; mac, cheese, and greens; chocolate pie spiced with Indian garam masala; and for kids, peanut noodles with slaw. This is an inside glimpse into how one of the world's top chefs cooks in his home kitchen for those nearest and dearest to him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hank Enjoyed This Very Chilly Mystery

In Through the Evil Days, New York Times bestselling author Julia Spencer-Fleming raises the stakes for Russ and Clare, putting their new marriage, their unborn child, a missing teen, and their very own lives on the line.

On a frigid January night, Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne and Reverend Clare Fergusson are called to the scene of a raging fire. The extent of the tragedy isn't known until the next day, when the charred remains of a man and woman are recovered—along with evidence showing they were shot execution style.

The last thing Russ needs are two potential homicides. He's struggling with the prospect of impending fatherhood, and his new wife is not at all happy with his proposal for their long-delayed honeymoon: a week ice-fishing at a remote Adirondack lake.

St. Alban's Church is still in turmoil over the Reverend Clare Fergusson's news that she's five and a half months pregnant—but only two and a half months married. Worried her post-deployment drinking and drug use may have damaged the baby, she awaits the outcome of the bishop's investigation into her "unpriestly" behavior: a scolding, censure, or permanent suspension.

Officer Hadley Knox is having a miserable January as well. Her on-again, off-again lover, Kevin Flynn, has seven days to weigh an offer from the Syracuse Police Department that might take him half a state away. And her ex-husband's in town—threatening to take custody of their kids unless Hadley pays him off with money she doesn't have.

When Hadley discovers that the dead couple fostered an eight-year-old girl who was a recent liver donee, the search for the killer takes on a new and terrible urgency. With no access to immunosuppressant drugs, transplant rejection will kill the girl in a matter of days.

As a deadly ice storm downs power lines and immobilizes roads, Russ and Clare search desperately for the truth about the missing child, but the hunters will become the hunted when they are trapped in the cabin beside the frozen lake and stalked through the snowbound woods by a killer.

Hank says:
"The eighth installment in the crime series set in and around the fictional Adirondack town of Millers Kill delivers another suspenseful read, as the characters find themselves separated by a devastating ice storm. The weather has always figured into Spencer-Fleming's storytelling as a non-human adversary, and the storm complicates the ill-timed ice fishing honeymoon of the two main characters, as the ones left in charge try to investigate what appears to be a case of kidnapping and fatal arson, and others attempt to hold down the fort and provide emergency assistance.
 
I did not quite read this series in order, but Through the Evil Days continues story lines begun in previous books, and some familiarity with the characters would be helpful, although some context is provided. In the Bleak Midwinter, the first Millers Kill book, would be my recommended starting point, and also features the Reverend Clare Fergusson floundering around in the winter woods. At least by now, she's gotten up to speed on appropriate clothing and transportation in a region where, in any given year, summer might fall on a Thursday!
 
Speaking as someone with family and friends who lived through the REAL ice storm of the century, 15 years before Through the Evil Days was published, I think these characters got off pretty easy, considering. OK, it's a new century now, so maybe we're due for another--but I hope not."

Wendy Is Recommending:

In her first memoir, the Academy Award-winning actress Sophia Loren tells her incredible life story from the struggles of her childhood in war-torn Naples to her life as a screen legend, icon of elegance, and devoted mother.

In her acting career spanning more than six decades, Sophia Loren became known for her striking beauty and dramatic roles with famed costars Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Gregory Peck, Jack Lemmon, and Paul Newman. The luminous Italian movie star was the first artist to win an Oscar for a foreign language performance, after which she continued a vibrant and varied career that took her from Hollywood to Paris to Italy--and back to Hollywood. In Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, Loren shares vivid memories of work, love, and family with winning candor.

With this first picture book in Russell Brand's Trickster Tales series, the famed comedian, actor, and bestselling author delivers a hilarious retelling of an old fairytale favorite that will appeal to adults and children alike.

"Once upon a time, long ago, in a time that seemed, to those present, exactly like now except their teeth weren't so clean and more things were wooden, there was a town called Hamelin. The people of Hamelin were a pompous bunch who loved themselves and their town so much that if it were possible they would have spent all day zipped up in a space suit smelling their own farts. But space suits hadn't been invented yet so they couldn't. 

Then one day without warning a gang of rats bowled into the town and began causing a right rumpus..."

So begins Russell Brand's wildly funny and surprisingly wise retelling of the classic tale The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Whether you're a kid or a grown-up kid, you'll be chuckling the whole way through this zany story that bypasses Brand's more adult humor for the outrageous, the madcap, and the just plain silly.

Maybe you've heard about the Pied Piper before, with his strange music and those pompous townspeople and pesky rats. Or maybe you haven't. But one thing is for sure: you've never heard it quite like this.

Tony Robbins has coached and inspired more than 50 million people from over 100 countries. More than 4 million people have attended his live events. Oprah Winfrey calls him "super-human." Now for the first time--in his first book in two decades--he's turned to the topic that vexes us all: "How to secure financial freedom for ourselves and our families. "

Based on extensive research and one-on-one interviews with more than 50 of the most legendary financial experts in the world--from Carl Icahn and Warren Buffett, to Ray Dalio and Steve Forbes--Tony Robbins has created a simple 7-step blueprint that anyone can use for financial freedom.

Robbins has a brilliant way of using metaphor and story to illustrate even the most complex financial concepts--making them simple and actionable. With expert advice on our most important financial decisions, Robbins is an advocate for the reader, dispelling the myths that often rob people of their financial dreams.

Tony Robbins walks readers of every income level through the steps to become financially free by creating a lifetime income plan. This book delivers invaluable information and essential practices for getting your financial house in order.

Money: Master the Game is the book millions of people have been waiting for. 

This Book Might Be VERY Helpful Over The Holidays (And It Makes A Great Gift Too!)

Homemade wonton soup in 30 minutes. Chicken Parmesan without dredging and frying. Fruit crisp on the stovetop. The secret to cooking fast is cooking smart--choosing and preparing fresh ingredients efficiently.

In How to Cook Everything Fast, Mark Bittman provides a game plan for becoming a better, more intuitive cook while you wake up your weekly meal routine with 2,000 main dishes and accompaniments that are simple to make, globally inspired, and bursting with flavor.

How to Cook Everything Fast is a book of kitchen innovations. Time management-- the essential principle of fast cooking-- is woven into revolutionary recipes that do the thinking for you. You'll learn how to take advantage of downtime to prepare vegetables while a soup simmers or toast croutons while whisking a dressing. Just cook as you read--and let the recipes guide you quickly and easily toward a delicious result.

Bittman overhauls hundreds of classics through clever (even unorthodox) use of equipment and techniques--encouraging what he calls "naturally fast cooking"--and the results are revelatory.

There are standouts like Cheddar Waffles with Bacon Maple Syrup (bold flavors in less time); Charred Brussels Sprout Salad with Walnuts and Gorgonzola (the food processor streamlines chopping); Spaghetti and Drop Meatballs with Tomato Sauce (no rolling or shaping); and Apple Crumble Under the Broiler (almost instant dessert gratification).

Throughout, Bittman's commonsense advice and plentiful variations provide cooks with freedom and flexibility, with tips for squeezing in further shortcuts, streamlined kitchen notes, and illustrations to help you prep faster or cook without a recipe.

How to Cook Everything Fast puts time on your side and makes a lifetime of homemade meals an exciting and delicious reality.

What A Powerful Statement From Ursula Le Guin!

"I've never read a book like this one." ~Jackie

"I've never read a book like this one.  It's sci-fi in a lot of ways, but there is a great deal of spirituality in it given that the leading character is a a preacher requested by the occupants of Oasis, a small world millions of miles away from Earth.  Alas, Pete (the preacher) was not able to bring his wife with him, which in another part of the drama of this book--marital strife caused by the terrible things that began to happen shortly after Peter launched for space.  There is another angle about dealing with the indigenous beings, of which some wish to become Christians and most want to be nowhere near the Earthlings.  Frankly, most of the compound where the Earthlings are not crazy about being around the Oasan folks either, though they are producing the bulk of the food for the space station.  This book will make you think, and the writing is lovely.  It's a big book with a lot of big questions that seem to have no answers."

~Jackie

Cheers!

Over 100 recipes for soft and hard drinks--including juices, sodas, teas, liqueurs, bitters, and wines--from the author of Handmade Gatherings.

From homemade root beer to hard cider, fresh-squeezed ginger lemonade to handcrafted Irish cream, do-it-yourself beverages are gaining interest and intrigue across the culinary spectrum. Professional mixologists and amateur home cooks alike are looking for beverages to inspire and satisfy, sourced from a variety of natural and seasonal ingredients. Quench offers the solution, covering the entire beverage range with hot, cold, fermented, infused, and cured offerings. There's something here for every palate, occasion, and need. Quench promises to help you pour a glass of whatever it is you're thirsting for.

Now completely revised and updated, this new edition of the essential consumer guide to wine features all the most current information for today's wine landscape. The authors, longtime wine educators at The Culinary Institute of America, have added all the latest and most relevant information to their award-winning book, including new picks for the best regional producers, off-the-beaten-path finds, and bargain bottles. With a practical, anti-snob attitude, the emphasis is always on enjoying wine to the fullest in real-world scenarios and getting the best value for your dollar, whether splurging on a special-occasion bottle or deciding on your own "house" wine. All the basics are covered, including the major wine grapes, flavor profiles, and decoding labels, plus up-to-date information on established and up-and-coming regions, advice on pairing wine with everything from Korean short ribs to all-American burgers, opinions on wine gadgets (yea or nay?), and more. 

The anticipated follow-up to GQ Eats, this ultimate drinks book features creations from bar legends such as Salvatore Calabrese as well as innovative mixes from new talent from the UK's best bars. As well as over 120 recipes for classic and cutting-edge cocktails, you will also find inside tips such as which are the best brands to use for the perfect G+T. A special section on hardware covers the glasses to use and the shakers that are worth spending money on.

This highly accessible and enjoyable guide is full of practical and fascinating information about how to enjoy whisky. All whisky styles are covered, including (just whisper it) blends. Along the way a good few myths are exploded, including the idea that whisky has to be taken neat.

In 'What to Drink', Dave Broom explores flavor camps - how to understand a style of whisky and - moves on to provide extensive tasting notes of the major brands, demonstrating whisky's extraordinary diversity.

In 'How to Drink', he sets out how to enjoy whisky in myriad ways - using water and mixers, from soda to green tea; and in cocktails, from the Manhattan to the Rusty Nail. He even looks at pairing whisky and food.

In this spirited, entertaining, and no-nonsense guide, world-renowned expert Dave Broom dispels the mysteries of whisky and unlocks a whole host of exciting possibilities for this magical drink.

Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book is the bestselling wine guide on the market.

Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2015 is the essential reference book for everyone who buys wine - in shops, restaurants, or on the internet. Now in its 38th year of publication, it has no rival as the comprehensive up-to-the minute annual guide.

Hugh Johnson provides clear succinct facts and commentary on the wines, growers and wine regions of the whole world. He reveals which vintages to buy, which to drink and which to cellar, which growers to look for and why. Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book gives clear information on grape varieties, local specialities and how to match food with wines that will bring out the best in both.

The perfect gift for cocktail lovers and would-be mixologists is this set of four mini paperback books - Little Book of Gin Cocktails, Little Book of Tequila Cocktails, Little Book of Rum Cocktails and Little Book of Vodka Cocktails - beautifully packaged together in a slipcase.

From favorites like the Moscow Mule, Cosmopolitan and Margarita to exotic concoctions, such as the fruity Caribbean Cruise and Kahlua-based South of the Border, there are 200 recipes to try. Each book also contains essential bartending tips and fascinating anecdotes about the cocktails and how they got their names.

Take your brewing to the next level. They say that a meal tastes better if you make it yourself--that you can taste the preparation, labor, and care put into the final dish. It's often the same for home-brewed beer; perhaps nothing on this earth tastes more sublime than that first victorious sip of basement ale. But eventually, as your skills improve and the difficult becomes easy, something nasty happens: you get bored.

Luckily, if you're a bored brewer, Experimental Homebrewing was written for you. Inside, authors and brewmasters Drew Beechum and Denny Conn don't waste their time describing what malted barley is or how to use a hydrometer. Instead, they demonstrate how the scientific method can empower you to break the established rules of homebrewing in order to create new, unique beers all your own, using cheap and common equipment to your advantage. In addition to explaining special considerations for experimental homebrewing (such as recipe design and small-batch brewing), Beechum and Conn guide you through your first experiments before delving into ways you can deviate from the norm during boiling, fermentation, bottling, and kegging--and even in the glass.

Of course, the book wouldn't be complete without a rundown of unconventional ingredients, including flowers, cacao nibs, chili, seaweed, chicory, peppermint, and more. So whether you're into IPAs, Belgians, porters, stouts, wheats, or all of the above, Experimental Homebrewing enables you to venture forth into a world of homebrewing possibilities you never thought possible.