written by Samantha

If you’re a fan of Asian cuisine, you will definitely want to check out Ken Hom’s delightful cookbook Asian Vegetarian Feast: Tempting Vegetable and Pasta Recipes from the East. Hom is the author of more than 25 Asian cookbooks, and Asian Vegetarian Feast is one of his greats. While not strictly vegetarian (he frequently uses oyster sauce, chicken stock, and fish sauce in his recipes), the cookbook offers up an assortment of utterly delicious recipes which can generally be adapted for either a strict vegetarian diet or a meat-eater’s palate. Some favorties include Vietnamese-Style Vegetarian Spring Rolls (easier than you might think!), Corn and Ginger Soup, Cantonese-Style Bean Curd with Chinese Greens, and his Hot and Sour Noodles recipe, a nod to the beginning of his career when he taught people to make homemade pasta while studying art history at Berkeley. For the most part, the recipes are simple and clear, though a few may require a special trip to your local Asian grocery store. It’s well worth the trip, though, as the end results are fantastic. And don’t miss his incredibly informative sections on ingredients and techniques, as they are filled with advice on topics such as picking out good soy sauce and properly stir-frying vegetables. Great Asian recipes from one of the leading authorities on Asian cuisine.

Okay, it’s not the best for the ol’ waistline, but it sure helps get the lawn mowed. Extreme Brewing by Sam Calagione is a useful tool for novice zymurgists. Pssst…that’s geek speak for folks that make their own beer.

While The Complete Joy of Homebewing by Charlie Papazian is considered the de facto standard for homebrew instruction, I find Calagione’s book a much more pleasurable read. It is practical, gives hints for cutting corners, and suggests ways to kick recipes up a notch.

Unlike most homebrew books, this guide is loaded with attractive full color photos which makes it especially useful. Also, Mr. Calagione is the owner and founder of Dogfish Head Brewery, so you know he knows what he’s talking about.

And if you screw up, you’ve got 5 gallons of bratwurst marinade.

Agatha Christie’s mystery, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a beloved classic; however, critics have said that Christie broke a fundamental rule of mystery writing when she revealed her murderer. How could this author, so renowned for her puzzle-making ability, have have made such a mistake? And, of course, no one thought to question detective Hercule Poirot’s conclusions. Until now.

Pierre Bayard has written a delightfully enjoyable mystery about Christie’s book. (Spoiler alert: if you intend to read Christie’s book first, then don’t click on the Bayard link because the murderer [as revealed by Christie] is revealed in the book’s description.) In his book, Who Killed Roger Ackroyd? Bayard questions Poirot’s conclusions and makes a very strong case for his argument that the famed detective is wrong!

If it’s been a while since you’ve read the original, you might want to read that first and then pick up Bayard’s book (although Bayard’s book stands up perfectly well on its own). If you’re a fan of mysteries (and even if you don’t particularly like Agatha Christie) you won’t be disappointed.

Linked murders 400 years apart create the suspense and intrigue in this literate novel of family secrets, loyalty, and betrayal. Adam Strickland goes to Tuscany to write about a famous memorial garden, but the garden hides secrets – was Flora Docci actually murdered and why? As Adam delves into the mysteries of the garden he is also drawn into a more recent wartime murder involving the son of the matriarch of the villa, putting his own life in danger.

If you liked The DaVinci Code with it’s mysteries wrapped in ancient texts, or are intrigued by twists and turns of wartime loyalties, you’ll love The Savage Garden.