Author: Ann

Flight 93 by Tom McMillan

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flight 93United Airlines Flight 93, which took off from Newark Airport the morning of September 11th, 2001, is perhaps the most famous flight in modern American history: We know of the passenger uprising, but there’s so much more to the story besides its harrowing and oft-told climax. Amazingly, the definitive account of this seminal event has yet to be written.

Flight 93 : the Story, the Aftermath and the Legacy of American Courage on 9/11 offers the most complete account of what actually took place aboard the airplane – from its delayed takeoff in Newark to the moment it plunged upside-down at 563 miles per hour into an open field in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Flight 93 provides a riveting and complete narrative of the lead-up, event, and aftermath of the flight, based on interviews, oral histories, personal tours of the crash site and evidence recently made public. It examines the lead-up to that horrific morning; the stories of the victims who were launched into the center of history; the revolt that saved untold amounts of carnage on the ground and likely, the US Capitol; the eyewitnesses and first responders who rushed to the crash scene; the impact on family members; the effort to uncover evidence at the site; and the legacy the story leaves for future generations. (description from publisher)

The Wreath Recipe Book by Alethea Harampolis

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wreath recipe bookThe Wreath Recipe Book provides 100 “recipes” to make with flowering and leafy branches. These aren’t just evergreens for Christmas – the book is organized seasonally, with dozens of projects to make throughout the year.

In the spring, a cherry blossom bough gets a touch of whimsy with a colorful ribbon, and a tabletop is adorned with lilacs and olive branches. In the summer, a garland features sage with pomegranates and citrus-colored strawflowers. In the fall, wreaths are created with magnolias, rosemary, and plums, and gourds are used to create an unexpected garland. Winter highlights cedar, pine, and juniper, yielding unexpected table settings and new wreath shapes.

There are detailed ingredient lists and hundreds of step-by-step photos as well as chapters covering basic techniques, sourcing, and care information. (description from publisher)

The Kitchn Cookbook by Sara Gillingham-Ryan

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kitchn cookbookFrom Apartment Therapy’s cooking site, The Kitchn, comes 150 recipes and a cooking school with 50 essential lessons, as well as a guide to organizing your kitchen–plus storage tips, tool reviews, inspiration from real kitchens, maintenance suggestions, 200 photographs, and much more.

 
The Kitchn Cookbook offers two books in one: a trove of techniques and recipes, plus a comprehensive guide to organizing your kitchen so that it’s one of your favorite places to be.

For Cooking: – 50 essential how-to’s, from preparing perfect grains to holding a chef’s knife like a pro plus 150 all-new and classic recipes from The Kitchn, including Breakfast Tacos, Everyday Granola,  Slow Cooker Carnitas, One-Pot Coconut Chickpea Curry, and No-Bake Banana and Peanut Butter Caramel Icebox Cake.

For Your Kitchen – A shopping list of essentials for your cabinets and drawers (knives, appliances, cookware, and tableware), with insider advice on what’s worth your money, solutions for common kitchen problems like limited storage space and quirky layouts, a 5-minute-a-day plan for a clean kitchen, tips for no-pressure gatherings, and a look inside the kitchens of ten home cooks around the country, and how they enjoy their spaces

The Kitchn Cookbook gives you the recipes, tools, and real-life inspiration to make cooking its own irresistible reward. (description from publisher)

In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides

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in the kingdom of iceIn the late nineteenth century, people were obsessed by one of the last unmapped areas of the globe: the North Pole. No one knew what existed beyond the fortress of ice rimming the northern oceans, although theories abounded. The foremost cartographer in the world, a German named August Petermann, believed that warm currents sustained a verdant island at the top of the world. National glory would fall to whoever could plant his flag upon its shores.

James Gordon Bennett, the eccentric and stupendously wealthy owner of The New York Herald , had recently captured the world’s attention by dispatching Stanley to Africa to find Dr. Livingstone. Now he was keen to re-create that sensation on an even more epic scale. So he funded an official U.S. naval expedition to reach the Pole, choosing as its captain a young officer named George Washington De Long, who had gained fame for a rescue operation off the coast of Greenland. De Long led a team of 32 men deep into uncharted Arctic waters, carrying the aspirations of a young country burning to become a world power. On July 8, 1879, the USS Jeannette set sail from San Francisco to cheering crowds in the grip of “Arctic Fever.”

The ship sailed into uncharted seas, but soon was trapped in pack ice. Two years into the harrowing voyage, the hull was breached. Amid the rush of water and the shrieks of breaking wooden boards, the crew abandoned the ship. Less than an hour later, the Jeannette sank to the bottom, and the men found themselves marooned a thousand miles north of Siberia with only the barest supplies. Thus began their long march across the endless ice–a frozen hell in the most lonesome corner of the world. Facing everything from snow blindness and polar bears to ferocious storms and frosty labyrinths, the expedition battled madness and starvation as they desperately strove for survival.

With twists and turns worthy of a thriller, In the Kingdom of Ice is a spellbinding tale of heroism and determination in the most unforgiving territory on Earth. (description from publisher)

Air Plants by Zenaida Sengo

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air plantsAir plants, also known as tillandsias, are having their moment. Popular for their spiky shape and extremely low-maintenance needs, they are now widely available in garden centers, small boutiques, upscale food markets, and national retail stores dedicated to home furnishing and design.

Air Plants , by Zenaida Sengo who is the interior coordinator at the popular San Francisco-based Flora Grubb Gardens, shows how simple and rewarding it is to grow, craft, and design with these modern beauties. Decorating with air plants is made easy with stunning photographs that showcase ideas for using them mounted on walls, suspended from the ceiling, as living bows and jewelry, as screens, and in unique containers, like leather pouches, dishes, and baskets. Six step-by-step projects include a wood mount, a wall hook, lasso-and-hook wiring, a ceramic-frame garden, and three unique terrariums. This lushly designed guide is perfect for anyone with the desire to grow on air. (description from publisher)

Fluent in 3 Months by Benny Lewis

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fluent in three monthsBenny Lewis, who speaks over ten languages—all self-taught—runs the largest language-learning blog in the world, Fluent In 3 Months. Lewis is a full-time “language hacker,” someone who devotes all of his time to finding better, faster, and more efficient ways to learn languages.

Fluent in 3 Months: How Anyone at Any Age Can Learn to Speak Any Language from Anywhere in the World is a new blueprint for fast language learning. Lewis argues that you don’t need a great memory or “the language gene” to learn a language quickly, and debunks a number of long-held beliefs, such as adults not being as good of language learners as children. His proven techniques break down language learning myths and replaces them with practical “language hacks” that take advantage of the skills we already possess.

Fluent in 3 Months provides everything you need to make learning a new language fast, intuitive and fun. (description from publisher)

Catification by Jackson Galaxy

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catificationCat owners know the struggles of creating living spaces that are both functional and stylish for owner and cat. Don’t just go to your local pet shop and adorn your home with unattractive cat towers and kitty beds. In Catification, Jackson Galaxy, the star of Animal Planet’s My Cat from Hell, and Kate Benjamin, of the popular cat design website Hauspanther.com, walk readers through a step-by-step process of designing an attractive home that is also an optimal environment for cats.

This gorgeously designed, full-color book includes more than twenty fun DIY projects, from kitty beds and litter boxes to catios (cat patios) that will be sure to make readers–and their cats–purr in approval. (description from publisher)

 

Portlandia Cook Book by Fred Armisen

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portlandiaFood plays a very special role in Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein’s award-winning satire Portlandia – and the way Portlandia’s residents enjoy and talk about food are a huge part of the show’s personality. Fred, Carrie, and director Jonathan Krisel take you to the dishes that define the show, from cult-raised chicken to Stu’s stews, from pickled veggies to foraged green salads.

Complete with new full-color finished food shots and illustrations, and paired with humorous stories, head notes, and sidebars from the loveable food-obsessed Portlandia characters, The Portlandia Cook Book is a funny cookbook, with serious recipes, for people who want to bring Portlandia right into their kitchens. (description from publisher)

Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel

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station elevenAn audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity.

One snowy night Arthur Leander, a famous actor, has a heart attack onstage during a production of King Lear . Jeevan Chaudhary, a paparazzo-turned-EMT, is in the audience and leaps to his aid. A child actress named Kirsten Raymonde watches in horror as Jeevan performs CPR, pumping Arthur’s chest as the curtain drops, but Arthur is dead. That same night, as Jeevan walks home from the theater, a terrible flu begins to spread. Hospitals are flooded and Jeevan and his brother barricade themselves inside an apartment, watching out the window as cars clog the highways, gunshots ring out, and life disintegrates around them.

Fifteen years later, Kirsten is an actress with the Traveling Symphony. Together, this small troupe moves between the settlements of an altered world, performing Shakespeare and music for scattered communities of survivors. Written on their caravan, and tattooed on Kirsten’s arm is a line from Star Trek: “Because survival is insufficient.” But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who digs graves for anyone who dares to leave.

Spanning decades, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, this suspenseful, elegiac novel is rife with beauty. As Arthur falls in and out of love, as Jeevan watches the newscasters say their final good-byes, and as Kirsten finds herself caught in the crosshairs of the prophet, we see the strange twists of fate that connect them all. A novel of art, memory, and ambition, Station Eleven tells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it. (description from publisher)

Not My Father’s Son by Alan Cummings

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not my fathers sonDark, painful memories can be like a cage. Or, in the case of Alan Cumming, they can be packed away in a box, stuck in the attic to be forgotten. Until one day the box explodes and all the memories flood back in horrible detail.

Alan Cumming grew up in the grip of a man who held his family hostage, someone who meted out violence with a frightening ease, who waged a silent war with himself that sometimes spilled over onto everyone around him. That man was Alex Cumming, Alan’s father. When television producers approached Alan to appear on a popular celebrity genealogy show in 2010, he enthusiastically agreed. He hoped to solve a mystery that had long cast a shadow over his family. His maternal grandfather, Tommy Darling, had disappeared into the Far East after WWII. Alan’s mother knew very little about him–he had been a courier, carrying information between battalions on his motorbike. The last time she saw her father, Alan’s mother was eight years old. When she was thirteen, the family was informed that he had died by his own hand, an accidental shooting. But this was not the only mystery laid before Alan’s feet. His father, whom Alan had not seen or spoken to for more than a decade, reconnected just before filming for Who Do You Think You Are? began. He had a secret he had to share, one that would shock his son to his very core and set into motion a journey that would change Alan’s life forever.

With ribald humor, wit, and incredible insight, Alan seamlessly moves back and forth in time, integrating stories from his childhood in Scotland and his experiences today as the celebrated actor of film, television, and stage. At times suspenseful, at times deeply moving, but always incredibly brave and honest, Not My Father’s Son is a powerful story of embracing the best aspects of the past and triumphantly pushing the darkness aside. (description from publisher)