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Nitta Sayuri is a celebrated Japanese geisha. In this beautiful coming of age story, Nitta shares how she was sold into slavery as a young girl, learns the art of being a geisha, survives World War II, and struggles to win the man she loves.
Tagged: Fiction, Historical fiction, Japan
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Using original material from the collections of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum, Well presents the daily life and residences of Calvin Coolidge in Northampton, Massachusetts. She uses new sources to document the unique and interesting personal life stories of Coolidge’s landlords and neighbors.
Copies are also available to purchase in at the library or in our online store.
Tagged: Biography, History, Non-fiction
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The 1988 debut of Brattleboro police detective Joe Gunther depicts small town life with all its charms and frustrations. The characters are multifaceted and believable, and the suspense stays on till the end. If you know the town of Brattleboro, you’ll find familiar places and types.
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Because she was by nature reserved and even shy, Edna Lewis never received the credit she deserved for helping recreate American cooking in a style that treasured in equal measure our culinary heritage and our fresh, local foodstuffs. In this, her autobiography, she lets us see how this came about—a childhood totally immersed in the living tradition of country cooking as practiced in a small Virginia Piedmont community settled by slaves.
Tagged: Biography, Food, Non-fiction
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This action-packed TV series stars Jeffrey Donovan as agent Michael Westen who receives a burn notice or termination notice. He wakes up in Miami with no money or identification, trapping him there until whoever burned him decides otherwise. While trying to figure out who is responsible for his burn notice, Michael helps people in trouble, using his unique skills gained as a spy. Co-stars include Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead) and Sharon Gless (Cagney & Lacey).
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The third in her trilogy about Gilead, Robinson tells the story of a family and its community from yet another viewpoint, that of Glory Boughton the unmarrried daughter come home to care for her ailing father. The character development in an old refrain of loved ones in pain is exquisite. John, her brother the outsider, comes vividly off the pages in his tender love and despair.
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This character-driven mystery introduces us to Irish archaeologist Cormac Maguire and American pathologist Nora Gavin, who team up to learn more after a decapitated woman is found preserved in a bog in Ireland. Nora is running away from a personal tragedy back in the United States, and Cormac is recovering from the death of a close friend. Together they search for answers in the historical death of a woman, and a current missing woman. The characters are richly drawn, as is the countryside of Ireland, with a strong dose of Irish folklore and musical tradition thrown in.
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In 12th Century Ireland, Caitrin is fleeing an abusive suitor and finds work as a scribe to a struggling and crippled chieftain, Anluan. Caitrin goes through his family documents and begins to uncover an evil sorcery that has plagued Anluan’s family. With enemies approaching, Caitrin must help Anluan overcome this evil and save their budding romance. Heart’s Blood is an adventurous love story and reminded me of Beauty and the Beast, one of my favorite fairy tales.
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One of the great classics of food writing, still fun to read and filled with insights almost 200 years later.
Tagged: Food, Non-fiction
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Join Julie Powell as she tries to cook the entire “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” cookbook in one year. Her funny story started out as a blog and turned into one hilarious story about the adventures of trying something new.
Tagged: Food, Memoir, Non-fiction
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Trillin is just as serious about food as some of the more earnest writers on this list, but also hysterically funny. His main thesis is that the local food usually is best, not the “continental cuisine” served in the pretentious restaurants found everywhere which he names generically “La Maison de la Casa House”. This book is the first in his Tummy Trilogy, which moves on to Alice, Let’s Eat, and finishes with Third Helpings — a delectable three-course meal, all in our collection.
Tagged: Food, Non-fiction
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Analyzing the influence of the fast food industry on American society, an award-winning journalist explores the homogenization of American culture and the impact of the fast food industry on modern-day health, economy, politics, popular culture, entertainment, food production, and more.
Tagged: Food, Non-fiction