Category: Books

Frozen in Time by Mitchell Zuckoff

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frozen in timeTwo harrowing crashes . . . A vanished rescue plane . . . A desperate fight for life in a frozen, hostile land . . . The quest to solve a seventy-year-old mystery Mitchel Zuckoff delivers a gripping true story of endurance, bravery, ingenuity, and honor set in the vast Arctic wilderness of World War II and today in Frozen in Time by Mitchell Zuckoff.

On November 5, 1942, a U.S. cargo plane on a routine flight slammed into the Greenland ice cap. Four days later, a B-17 on the search-and-rescue mission became lost in a blinding storm and also crashed. Miraculously, all nine men on the B-17 survived. The U.S. military launched a second daring rescue operation, but the Grumman Duck amphibious plane sent to find the men flew into a severe storm and vanished. In this thrilling adventure, Zuckoff offers a spellbinding account of these harrowing disasters and the fate of the survivors and their would-be saviors. Frozen in Time places us at the center of a group of valiant airmen fighting to stay alive through 148 days of a brutal Arctic winter by sheltering from subzero temperatures and vicious blizzards in the tail section of the broken B-17 until an expedition headed by famed Arctic explorer Bernt Balchen attempts to bring them to safety. But that is only part of the story that unfolds in Frozen in Time.

In present-day Greenland, Zuckoff joins the U.S. Coast Guard and North South Polar–a company led by the indefatigable dreamer Lou Sapienza, who worked for years to solve the mystery of the Duck’s last flight–on a dangerous expedition to recover the remains of the lost plane’s crew. Drawing on intensive research and Zuckoff ‘s firsthand account of the dramatic 2012 expedition, Frozen in Time is a breathtaking blend of mystery, adventure, heroism, and survival. It is also a poignant reminder of the sacrifices of our military personnel and their families – and a tribute to the important, perilous, and often-overlooked work of the U.S. Coast Guard. (description from publisher)

The Art of French Pastry by Jacquy Pfeiffer

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art of french pastryWhat does it take to perfect a flawless éclair? A delicate yet buttery croissant? To pipe dozens of macarons? The answer is: an intimate knowledge of the fundamentals of pastry.

In The Art of French Pastry award-winning pastry chef Jacquy Pfeiffer, cofounder of the renowned French Pastry School in Chicago, gives you just that. By teaching you how to make everything from pâte à choux to pastry cream, Pfeiffer builds on the basics until you have an understanding of the science behind the ingredients used, how they interact with one another, and what your hands have to do to transform them into pastry. This yields glorious results! Expect to master these techniques and then indulge in exquisite recipes, such as: · brioche · napoléons / Mille-Feuilles · cream puffs · Alsatian cinnamon rolls / chinois · lemon cream tart with meringue teardrops · elephant ears / palmiers · black forest cake · beignets as well as some traditional Alsatian savory treats, including: · Pretzels · Kougelhof · Tarte Flambée · Warm Alsatian Meat Pie.

Pastry is all about precision, so Pfeiffer presents us with an amazing wealth of information–lists of necessary equipment, charts on how ingredients react in different environments, and the precise weight of ingredients in grams, with a look at their equivalent in U.S. units–which will help you in all aspects of your cooking. But in order to properly enjoy your “just desserts,” so to speak; you will also learn where these delicacies originated. Jacquy Pfeiffer comes from a long line of pastry chefs and has been making these recipes since he was a child working in his father’s bakery in Alsace. Sprinkled with funny, charming memories from a lifetime in pastry, this book will have you fully appreciating the hundreds of years of tradition that shaped these recipes into the classics that we know and love, and can now serve to our friends and families over and over again.

The Art of French Pastry, full of gorgeous photography and Pfeiffer’s accompanying illustrations, is a master class in pastry from a master teacher. (description from publisher)

Side by Side by Tsia Carson

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side by sideCrafting is always more fun and more meaningful when it’s shared with those you love. Discover the joy of working alongside your child while creating arts and crafts that inspire in Side by Side by Tsia Carson.

With these twenty whimsical projects in a variety of mediums, you and your child will find fun ways to work collaboratively and independently – together on the same project, or side by side on related projects. Create Giant Newspaper Snowflakes that take traditional paper snowflakes to magical new levels. Create surprising monoprints that take glitter glue to new heights. Explore the versatility of embroidery with a child-friendly version that uses a leaf as the canvas and a more advanced version that uses a child’s drawing for stitching inspiration. Get out in the garden and plant a Living Willow Teepee that will be a perfect playhouse and retreat for years to come.

Some of life’s best moments are spent simply doing things in the presence of the ones we love, not necessarily doing the same thing together, but being together and working side by side. The craft projects in this book will help you to create just those moments with your child. (description from publisher)

DIY Chalkboard Crafts by Lizette Schapekahm

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diy chalkboard craftsThe chalkboard isn’t just for the classroom anymore! With DIY Chalkboard Crafts, you’ll find everything you need to create one-of-a-kind accessories, decorations, and gifts using the latest home decor trend.

This fun and original collection features 50 imaginative crafts that you can create using a few essential tools and a splash of chalkboard paint. You’ll find simple, step-by-step instructions as well as helpful tips for turning a little bit of paint into stylish crafts that you won’t be able to find anywhere else. From bookends and lampshades to cake toppers and ornaments, you’ll transform ordinary household items into eye-catching pieces with beautiful chalkboard crafts like: Cake-Silhouette Table Runner Chevron Votive Holders Paint-Dipped Flowerpot Rustic-Wood Menu Card Patriotic Lanterns.

Complete with stunning, full-color photographs and plenty of chalkboard inspiration, the projects in DIY Chalkboard Crafts will show you that this schoolhouse staple is all grown up! (description from publisher)

Giada’s Feel Good Food by Giada De Laurentis

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giadas feel good foodFood Network’s star Giada De Laurentis reveals her secrets for staying fit and feeling great in Giada’s Feel Good Food, a gorgeous, practical book with healthy recipes including nutritional information, and personal lifestyle and beauty tips.

Finally answering the question her fans ask most often, “How do you stay so trim?,” Giada De Laurentiis shares the delicious easy recipes and tips she uses to maximize energy and remain fit. Here are 120 recipes for breakfasts, juices, lunches, snacks, dinners, and desserts that can be combined into a month of delicious feel-good meals. So that everyone can enjoy these dishes, many are gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, and/or vegan, with helpful icons to call them out – and, for the very first time, each recipe includes a calorie count and nutritional analysis. Special sections delve into Giada’s everyday life, including her beauty and exercise routines, how she satisfies sugar fixes, what’s always in her bag, and her ordering tips for eating in restaurants.

With 100 color photographs, Giada’s Feel Good Food is a beautiful guide to staying on track while still eating everything and enjoying life to its fullest. (description from publisher)

One Day, One Year, Two Books

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I’m pretty sure that if a cute stranger offered to take me to a romantic European city for the day, I would probably say “No, but thank you. I’m just too awkward for that.” And I wouldn’t even fret about possibly missing out on an experience of a lifetime because, luckily, there are plenty of young adult romances that can satisfy my “but what would have happened?!” curiosity. Just One Day by Gayle Forman (and its companion book, Just One Year) is the perfect choice for armchair travel because the heroine just happens to be quite introverted herself, and thus, very relatable to us classic Librarian-types 😉

Just One Day begins with sensible, quiet Allyson feeling ready for her graduation trip around Europe with a teen tour group to be over so she can go home to the States. Yeah, that whining-about-being-in-Europe part isn’t that relatable to me, but granted her best friend has gotten a little bit wild/annoying, and the tour skipped over Paris–the one city Allyson wanted to see on the tour. But then she runs into a cute street actor who had flirted with her during his performance the night before…AND HE OFFERS TO TAKE HER TO PARIS! YES! YES! YES! So Allyson tells him her name is Lulu and hops on the train to Paris with him (and then promptly has several panic attacks on the train about him leaving her, killing her, making a fool of her, etc–this is actually the moment where I went from liking the book to LOVING the book). Lulu/Allyson and Willem spend an amazing day running around Paris and then live happily ever after. Swooooooon.

Well, until the next morning when Allyson wakes up alone in an empty Paris art studio.

With lots of tears and panic, Allyson finds her way back to London and her tour group and then back home to the United States. We then follow her through her first year of college as she learns to overcome her broken heart and embarrassment. After a long self-inflicted isolation, new friends help Allyson discover that she needs to revisit Paris and find Willem–partly because she believes that there is a mystery surrounding the morning Willem left her and partly because she needs to prove to herself that she is in control of her life.

Sorry, I can’t tell you if she finds Willem…BUT I will tell you that the companion book Just One Year tells the story of what happened to Willem during his year apart from Lulu. He does quite a bit more traveling…that is all I will say.

These two books are a must read for fans of Stephanie Perkins, John Green and Maureen Johnson and anyone else who likes a little independence and a little travel with their romances.

Moosewood Restaurant Favorites

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moosewood restaurant favoritesFounded in 1973, Moosewood Restaurant revolutionized vegetarian cooking by introducing delicious soups, satisfying sandwiches, and warming casseroles, zesty entrees, spiffy salads and divine desserts.

Moosewood Restaurant Favorites contains 250 of their most requested recipes, completely updated and revised to reflect the way they’re cooked now – increasingly vegan and gluten-free, and benefitting from fresh herbs and new varieties of vegetables, and the wholesome goodness of newly-rediscovered grains. This mouthwatering cookbook includes favorites like – Red Lentil Soup with Ginger and Cilantro – Sweet-Potato and Black Bean Burrito – The Classic Moosewood Tofu Burger – Carmelized Onion Pie – Peruvian Quinoa Salad – Confetti Kale Slaw – Vegan Chocolate Cake – Moosewood Restaurant Brownies – Apple Spice Cake with Sesame Seeds. Including a guide to natural-cooking techniques, Moosewood Restaurant Favorites is the next classic book on their much-loved cookbook shelf. (description from publisher)

No Excuses Art Journaling by Gina Rossi Armfield

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no excusesKiss those excuses goodbye! “I don’t have time.” “I don’t know what to journal about.” “I can’t keep the momentum going.” Sound familiar? What are your excuses for not spending time with your art journal? Get ready to cast those excuses aside because Gina Rossi Armfield’s No Excuses Art Journaling offers a no-fail approach to art journaling.

Using a day planner as your art journal, you’ll find daily, weekly and monthly prompts that you can adapt to fit your real-life, busy schedule. Along the way, you’ll learn fun and convenient techniques to add sketching, watercolor painting, collage and more into your journal, all while setting goals, creating art and chronicling your unique life. Inside you’ll find more than 20 mixed-media art journaling techniques demonstrated step-by-step so you can add color, style and life ephemera to your journal, 6 pages of journaling prompts and tips for every month of the year, dozens of inspirational art journal pages by Gina and 12 guest artists to show how you can make the No Excuses program decidedly yours.

Grab your journal and pen, and kick your excuses to the curb! (description from publisher)

Smithsonian Civil War – Inside the National Collection

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smithsonian civil warSmithsonian Civil War – Inside the National Collection is a lavishly illustrated coffee-table book featuring 150 entries in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. From among tens of thousands of Civil War objects in the Smithsonian’s collections, curators handpicked 550 items and wrote a unique narrative that begins before the war through the Reconstruction period.

The perfect book for history lovers, Smithsonian Civil War combines one-of-a-kind, famous, and previously unseen relics from the war in a truly unique narrative. Smithsonian Civil War takes the reader inside the great collection of Americana housed at twelve national museums and archives and brings historical gems to light. From the National Portrait Gallery come rare early photographs of Stonewall Jackson and Ulysses S. Grant; from the National Museum of American History, secret messages that remained hidden inside Lincoln’s gold watch for nearly 150 years; from the National Air and Space Museum, futuristic Civil War-era aircraft designs. Thousands of items were evaluated before those of greatest value and significance were selected for inclusion here. Artfully arranged in 150 entries, they offer a unique, panoramic view of the Civil War. (description from publisher)

Weeknight Wonders by Ellie Krieger

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weeknight wondersFood Network host and registered dietician Ellie Krieger makes frequent appearances on national morning shows as one of America’s leading nutrition experts. Ellie has long been loved for her no-nonsense (yet delicious) approach to healthy eating. She is the first to recognize that people won’t succeed at eating right if they feel that they’re being deprived. That’s why Ellie’s recipes often start with favorite foods and familiar recipes, and then she works her magic to remake them without all the fat and cholesterol. Weeknight Wonders is no exception, including 150 recipes like Parmesan Chicken Breasts and Goat Cheese Frittata (plus no-guilt desserts), that can be prepared any day of the week, even after a long day at work.

As always with Ellie’s recipes, there will be minimal fuss about cooking techniques or hard-to-find ingredients, so people can stay focused on eating well. (description from publisher)