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Here are a few of the good books I’ve read this year that you might enjoy this holiday season.
Environment
Global warming might not be at the top of your favorite topics, but this terrific book — reader-friendly and with “eye-grabbing graphics” — could make it so. Dire Predictions: Understanding Global Warming: The Illustrated Guide to the Findings of the IPC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) by Michael E. Mann and Lee R. Kump.
History
American Cuisine
If you’re a foodie, you’ll love this remarkable slice of history about how the icons of American cuisine happened to hang out in southern France one year and, one by one, found themselves abandoning the tyranny of French cooking and moved toward an American cuisine. Provence, 1970: M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard, and the Reinvention of American Taste by M.F.K. Fisher’s nephew, Luke Barr.
European History
Amsterdam: A History of the World’s Most Liberal City by Russell Shorto is an utterly entertaining look at the city that epitomized tolerance for centuries. Home to generations of dissidents and radical thinkers, its liberalism greatly affected the new country of the United States of America.
U.S. Politics
Having been married for 27 years to an avid Rush Limbaugh fan, I deliberately balanced my left-wing reading with works from or about the right. This policy never ended up changing my mind, but it did open my eyes to different perspectives.
In his memoir of his White House staff days, Tip and The Gipper: When Politics Worked, MSNBC “Hardball” anchor Chris Matthews remembers with fondness and memorable detail the civil way political adversaries used to get things done.
In Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, reporter Peter Baker from the New York Times takes an up-close and personal look at the relationship between President Bush and his VP. It might surprise readers from both sides of the aisle to know how different the relationship was in real life from its image in the press.
Goddess Women
You can’t really be a goddess-honoring woman if you don’t have a We’Moon appointment book, an exquisitely illustrated and inspirational time management aid. This year the book features poetry from Black Mountain composer and poet Annelinde Metzner. – www.wemoon.ws
Humor
Asheville’s favorite newspaper writer for over a quarter century, Susan Reinhardt, happens to be one of the funniest gals on the planet. Her first novel, Chimes from a Cracked Southern Belle, is cellulite-thigh-slapping hilarious and makes you cry, too. Check out her website to keep up with Susan’s performance schedule. – www.susanreinhardt.com
With Novel #13, Miss Julia Stirs Up Trouble, Hendersonville’s Ann B. Ross continues her heart-warming tales about the resilient Miss Julia and her household of lovable oddballs. A cherished gift package would include the newest novel with the first one that introduces the main characters, Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind. – www.missjulia.com
Literature
As readers of this column know, my favorite regional male writer is the prolific Tuckasegee resident, Thomas Rain Crowe — poet, writer, translator, memoirist, editor, environmentalist and musician. All his works are gift-worthy, including his latest, a collection of poetic travel memories, Postcards from Peru. If you’re new to Crowe’s work, be sure to read Zoro’s Field: My Life in the Appalachian Woods (2005), his story of living alone in North Carolina for four years in a cabin without electricity. – www.newnativepress.wordress.com
First-time novelist West Virginia resident Wiley Cash wowed reviewers with A Land More Kind Than Home, a powerful literary mystery about two brothers and evil in a small North Carolina town. I couldn’t put it down and can’t wait for his second novel, This Dark Road to Mercy, which comes out next year. – www.wileycash.com
Local Honey
If you’re making gift baskets this year, be sure to add a copy of local food guru Laurey Masterton’s, lovely Fresh Honey Cookbook, filled with yummy recipes and Laurey’s usual wonderful stories. In a recent taste contest presented by the Center for Honeybee Research, Masterton’s honey won the award for Best Local Blend. – www.laureysyum.com
Native American Views of the Universe
A long time ago, I discovered Standing Rock Sioux writer Vine Deloria Jr. His book, God Is Red: A Native View of Religion, changed my life. One day I was a devout white Christian — the next I questioned everything I had ever been taught. So I was thrilled when former Rapid River Magazine poetry editor and my friend, MariJo Moore, who is part Cherokee, dedicated her latest work, as an anthology co-editor, to Mr. Deloria.
Unraveling the Spreading Cloth of Time, Indigenous Thoughts Concerning the Universe is a stunning collection of 40 Native American writers and their sacred views on the relationship human beings have to the universe.
It’s the kind of book that can shake up your universe. It’s not a quick read — gift it to yourself during the holidays and read it slowly for the rest of the year. – www.marijomoore.com
Note: Most of these books can be ordered through your local library. All can be purchased — ready for gift-wrapping — at your local book store.