Bookshelf

(Claremont, N.H.: Laurel Elite Books, 2021).
“Meadowlands is a compilation of haiku and photographs inspired by walking the meadow paths in my little corner of the world,” the author notes. “I started writing haiku and taking photos during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to both interpret and find solace in the beauty of nature.”

(Little Cottage Press, 2020).

Beautifully illustrated by Mariia Luzina, this picture book teaches both young children and their adult readers the history behind different names for the moon, from January’s Wolf Moon to June’s Strawberry Moon to the Harvest Moon of September, all in lively rhyme.

(Grey Cap Books, 2020 and 2021)

In a dystopian world, a citizen’s value is determined by the color of their cap. For many, life goes on as usual, but for Pinkcaps born into a life of prostitution, the demands are too high. The series follows the life of Grey Alcott, a Redcap nurse, who is condemned to a life as a Pinkcap after trying to flee the country. But as the government tightens its grip on the lower castes, Grey and her newfound friends must fight back if they want to survive.

(New York and London: The New Press, 2021).
The author spent years traveling the globe — from Liberia to Indonesia, India to Brazil — reporting on the human and environmental impacts of the growing palm oil industry. Her book blends history, science, politics, and food as seen through the people whose lives have been upended by this hidden ingredient. As Publishers Weekly noted: “Vividly describing people and places damaged by the palm oil industry, Zuckerman establishes a through line connecting 19th-century imperialism to the exploitative practices of today’s multinational corporations. This deeply reported account sounds the alarm loud and clear.” The author, a former deputy editor of Gourmet, is the recipient of a James Beard Journalism Award for Feature Writing.

(Seattle: Marrowstone Press, 2021)
This book of poems includes “many voices in many places, like snapshots saved in a scrapbook.” The author takes readers on a journey that begins in the South, moves to the Northeast and New England, shifts to Texas and the Middle West, and then travels to the Pacific Coast. “It concludes with another sort of pilgrimage, with its intimations of journeys’ end,” the publisher notes. “Throughout, it is concerned with one theme most of all, the intersection of place, time, and self as each speaks through the other of the meanings that bind them, and us, together.”

(Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2019)
One reviewer noted, “Scrutinizing a wealth of slave narratives, plantation records, and trial transcripts, the book documents the violent resistance of enslaved people … [who] did not violently rebel to claim their freedom; instead, they struck out in defiance or exasperation, to protect their honor, to reclaim their masculinity, and to defend their femininity. These acts did little to ultimately change the conditions for enslaved people; however, such physical confrontation ‘provided [them] with hope against a system of oppression designed to destroy their humanity.’”

New York: Hachette Books, 2021)

The author, a former college dean of admission turned consultant, says admissions committees often take seconds to decide whether to admit a student. They must sum up a candidate in one sentence that predicts whether that student will be a good fit for their college. That’s why she developed the soundbite, a tool that helps students craft their own defining statement of self-identity. By doing so, Haberson says, “the student’s fate no longer rests on a soundbite composed by an admissions officer. Instead, the student employs their own soundbite to define themselves on their own terms.” This book offers tried-and-tested exercises.

(Wiesbaden, Germany: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2020)
According to the publisher, “This richly illustrated catalog brings together for the first time all of the known popular prints published by the Altzenbach firm in Cologne from approximately 1609 to 1680. Over 550 prints plus models and copies are drawn from more than 120 collections in Europe and North America. Working in the bastion of Catholicism on the Lower Rhine, the Altzenbachs specialized in devotional prints for the local market as well as for the large number of pilgrims who visited the religious sites in Cologne, Trier, and Aachen. At the same time, however, they published prints for a broad market on a variety of secular subjects: local history, natural events, executions, architecture, allegories, and moral satires.”

(self-published, 2020)

The author, an internationally renowned baker and cake designer, turns her attention to the healthier side of eating — from Caesar, Cobb, and wedge, this cookbook features 70 mouth-watering salad recipes. It’s the fifth cookbook (and first printed in English) for Deffense, who lives in Portugal.

(Parker, Colo.: Outskirts Press, 2021).
The author writes, “As an antidote in these serious times … this book will answer a lot of questions that you may have about Jewish history, customs and ceremonies, religion, and food, as well as a provide you a dictionary of the most important Jewish words. And hopefully, it’s good for a few laughs. For Gentiles, learn all you need to know about being Jewish. For Jews, give the book as a present to somebody who really needs it.”