Every month we let you know what we’ve been reading and our monthly recommendations. You’ll get to see new titles with fabulous reviews from the Bay Books team. We’re sure you’ll love these fantastic books just as much as we do. We recommend a wide range of genres and themes. So get ready to explore more books!
Tina’s Picks
Mushroom Gastronomy: The Art of Cooking with Mushrooms by Gibbs Smith
Living in Northern Michigan, it is hard to find someone who doesn’t love mushrooms, even those not called “morels”. I certainly do and in this book, I find the best of all worlds with delicious descriptions, recipes, and encyclopedic knowledge of this single protean ingredient. The photographs are stunning and you’ll find recipes for stroganoff, Chantilly potatoes, omelets, croque monsieur and more. Perfect for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.
Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller
“Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books” is a must read anytime.
No can imagine Lula Dean even reading a book, much less banning one, but when you’re craving for attention that you feel you’ve always deserved, some crazy idea will stick. It’s how this banning comes about and the books that are included that makes this story so compelling. The power of a book, and the unintended consequences, speak volumes about our current environment.
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookshop by Evan Friss
Where did the idea of a bookshop come from? Here is the incisive and thorough answer to that question, surrounded with historical and cultural references, as well as political machinations, that go along with how we came to have established bookshops.
Friss also goes behind the scenes and describes the thoughts and impact that the progression of big box stores, and ultimately online shopping, came about.
Incredibly interesting
Mrs. March by Virginia Feito
Hang on for a wild ride into one’s woman’s descent into madness. But why this descent when it appears that Mrs. March has everything one might wish? Living on the Upper East Side in splendor, Mrs. March’s husband is a successful author and her son attends the best school available. Was it because folks surmise her husband’s main character of his latest book was modeled after her? Or could it be the dysfunctional family she was raised in, or could it be latent desires that left her conflicted and confused? There’s much to ponder while reading this novel. Not for the faint hearted.
Nathan’s Pick
1491 by Charles Mann
“1491” by Charles Mann is the first text that anyone interested in the true history of the Western World needs to read. European history tells a story of brave adventurers coming to a strange and primitive land, where the natives were undeveloped and barbaric. Stories about how empty and wild landscapes were traversed by primitive nomads have been passed down for centuries. This image is not accurate. 1491 explains the complex and wide-reaching society of the Native American tribes, how their culture was steeped in tradition and community. Pre-Contact Americans had metropolitan cities, some larger than any European city at the time, and large-scale agriculture that was well understood. I personally enjoyed the segment about metal-working and how the Europeans and Natives had very different values in their approach to it. I learned more about Indigenous cultures in this book than I did throughout my entire k-12 school career. Overall, this book is vital for gaining a deeper understanding of how the past shapes our present.
Wendy’s Pick
The Briar Club by Kate Quinn
1950’s Washington D. C. – a women-only boarding house is the lively setting for this outstanding novel. We meet a diverse cast of characters whose lives become intertwined as they get to know one another via their weekly attic dinner parties. Each chapter focuses on a different boarder and her unique back-story. The author deftly weaves their stories together and brilliantly captures this evocative historical period, including the paranoia of McCarthy-ism and the evolving roles for women in America. A tale of friendships, secrets, loyalties, politicians, artists, gangsters – even murder!