The Grumpy Old Git's Guide to Life


Geoff Tibballs - 2011
    We all know one! They like to groan and grumble, offering their own commentary on the shortcomings of modern life. Whether it is queues at the supermarket, the state of the health system, the price of a pint these days, the hairstyles of teenagers, or the number of Maltesers you actually get in a bag, there is always something that will get their goat. 'The Grumpy Old Git's Guide to Life' is a hilarious celebration of all these grumps, how to identify one, what exactly they find so irritating and why we find their rants quite so amusing.

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise


Ruth Reichl - 2005
    She also knows that as the most important food critic in the country, you need to be anonymous when reviewing some of the most high-profile establishments in the biggest restaurant town in the world--a charge she took very seriously, taking on the guise of a series of eccentric personalities. In Garlic and Sapphires, Reichl reveals the comic absurdity, artifice, and excellence to be found in the sumptuously appointed stages of the epicurean world and gives us--along with some of her favorite recipes and reviews--her remarkable reflections on how one's outer appearance can influence one's inner character, expectations, and appetites, not to mention the quality of service one receives.

Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness


Scott Jurek - 2012
    Until recently he held the American 24-hour record and he was one of the elite runners profiled in the runaway bestseller Born to Run.In Eat and Run, Jurek opens up about his life and career as a champion athlete with a plant-based diet and inspires runners at every level. From his Midwestern childhood hunting, fishing, and cooking for his meat-and-potatoes family to his slow transition to ultrarunning and veganism, Scott’s story shows the power of an iron will and blows apart the stereotypes of what athletes should eat to fuel optimal performance. Full of stories of competition as well as science and practical advice—including his own recipes—Eat and Run will motivate readers and expand their food horizons.

The Insulin Resistance Solution


Rob Thompson - 2016
    But where should you start? Americans are slowly becoming ill from impaired glucose metabolism that manifests itself as a debilitating illness or chronic condition. You may try to manage one problem after another– diuretics to treat blood pressure, statins to lower cholesterol, metformin and insulin to treat diabetes--without fully realizing that the root of these issues is insulin resistance which revs up inflammation, damages the immune system, and disrupts the whole hormonal/chemical system in the body.It's time to feel better and get healthy by following a simple step-by-step plan to a healthy lifestyle. Rob Thompson, MD and Dana Carpender create the ultimate dream team in your journey to wellness.The Insulin Resistance Solution offers a step-by-step plan and 75 recipes for reversing even the most stubborn insulin resistance.The Program:- Reduce Your Body's Demand for Insulin: This is the stumbling block of many other plans/doctor recommendations. Even "healthy" and "moderate" carb intake can continue to fuel insulin resistance.- Fat is Not the Enemy: Stop Worrying about Fat, Cholesterol, and Salt- Exercise--the RIGHT way:- Use Carb Blockers: Eat and Supplement to Slow Glucose Digestion and Lower Insulin Levels- Safe, Effective Medication

Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America


Steve Almond - 2004
    From the Twin Bing to the Idaho Spud, the Valomilk to the Abba-Zaba, and discontinued bars such as the Caravelle, Marathon, and Choco-Lite, Almond uncovers a trove of singular candy bars made by unsung heroes working in old-fashioned factories to produce something they love. And in true candyfreak fashion, Almond lusciously describes the rich tastes that he has loved since childhood and continues to crave today. Steve Almond has written a comic but ultimately bittersweet story of how he grew up on candy-and how, for better and worse, the candy industry has grown up, too. Candyfreak is the delicious story of one man's lifelong obsession with candy and his quest to discover its origins in America.

Dr. Libby's Beauty From The Inside Out


Libby Weaver - 2013
    How many of us stop to consider that our outer layer is merely a reflection of inner processes, completely reliant on the health of the 50 trillion cells that you are made of? And the health of those cells is impacted by everything from the food you eat, the nutrients present or missing from your blood, and the hormones and messages your body makes based on whether your thoughts are fearful or loving. Think about that…As a society, our relationship with beauty is in crisis. We are told that beauty exists only in certain forms, images, and at certain ages. We can feel bombarded with images that lead us away from our own unique beauty and encourage us to try to look like someone else rather than become and accept more of who we are. While adults can be affected by such messages, these messages can be particularly damaging to children and teenagers who so desperately want to be loved, approved of, considered special, and seen as beautiful. There is so much beauty on offer to us 24/7, at any age, inside us, around us, and shining from us. For so many, a veil just needs to be lifted so you can experience your own radiance. Let’s see what we can do!When most people think about improving their appearance, they usually focus on a product, another “quick fix”. Yet when you consider that the skin cells on your face are a small percentage of the total number of cells in the whole body, it seems crazy that we don’t spend more time getting the majority of the cells functioning optimally, leading us to the outcomes we seek.Through Beauty From The Inside Out, Dr Libby expertly explains your outer world, the food you choose, the nutrients you ingest, hydration, posture, movement and what your body needs to create lovely nails, lustrous hair, sparkling eyes, and clear, luminous skin. Be guided to deal with very specific bumps in the road, such as dark circles under the eyes, eczema, pimples, and hair that is falling out, just to name a few. Just as importantly, Dr Libby explains your inner world, sex hormones, stress hormones, detox, digestion, elimination pathways, thyroid and pituitary functions. Both worlds relate to your sparkle and by taking a heart-opening look at your emotional landscape, many find that that is where the real elixir is.Beauty From The Inside Out is a must-have beauty bible for all women. Enjoy radiating your own unique sparkle, from the inside out.

Fresh Off the Boat


Eddie Huang - 2013
    Eddie Huang was raised by a wild family of FOB (“fresh off the boat”) immigrants—his father a cocksure restaurateur with a dark past back in Taiwan, his mother a fierce protector and constant threat. Young Eddie tried his hand at everything mainstream America threw his way, from white Jesus to macaroni and cheese, but finally found his home as leader of a rainbow coalition of lost boys up to no good: skate punks, dealers, hip-hop junkies, and sneaker freaks. This is the story of a Chinese-American kid in a could-be-anywhere cul-de-sac blazing his way through America’s deviant subcultures, trying to find himself, ten thousand miles from his legacy and anchored only by his conflicted love for his family and his passion for food. Funny, moving, and stylistically inventive, Fresh Off the Boat is more than a radical reimagining of the immigrant memoir—it’s the exhilarating story of every American outsider who finds his destiny in the margins.

Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World


Michael Pollan - 2020
    Caffeine, it turns out, has changed the course of human history - won and lost wars, changed politics, dominated economies. What's more, the author shows that the Industrial Revolution would have been impossible without it. The science of how the drug has evolved to addict us is no less fascinating.

Fresh Fast Vegetarian: Recipes That Make a Meal


Marie Simmons - 2011
    Over the years, she has come to rely more and more on vegetables and grains, because, as she says, "They taste good and they make me feel better."Now, in Fresh & Fast Vegetarian, she offers up more than 150 of her favorite dinners. Most can be made in half an hour or less, and for each one, Simmons provides an equally easy accompaniment. Like Roasted Vegetables and Mozzarella Quesadillas, some are meals in themselves, while others are smaller dishes that can be paired to create a quick but sumptuous dinner. A number of Simmons's nearly effortless, vibrant recipes are vegan. Each tells exactly how long it will take to prepare. Fresh & Fast Vegetarian also provides hundreds of tips for shortcuts and substitutions.

Maeve's Times


Maeve Binchy - 2013
    But for many years Maeve was a journalist, writing for The Irish Times.From 'The Student Train' to 'Plane Bores', 'Bathroom Joggers' to 'When Beckett met Binchy', these articles have all the warmth, wit and humanity of her fiction. Arranged in decades, from the 1960s to the 2000s, and including Maeve's first and last ever piece of writing for The Irish Times, the columns also give a fascinating insight into the author herself.With an introduction written by her husband, the writer Gordon Snell, this collection of timeless writing reminds us of why the leading Irish writer was so universally loved.

The Most Decadent Diet Ever!: The cookbook that reveals the secrets to cooking your favorites in a healthier way


Devin Alexander - 2008
    caterer Devin Alexander has maintained a fifty-five-pound weight loss for over sixteen years by transforming the dishes she and millions of other Americans love best into guilt-free (yet still outrageously mouth-watering) indulgences--Rigatoni with Meat Sauce, BBQ Bacon Cheeseburgers, Eggplant Parmesan, Sinless Yet Sinful Sticky Buns, and even Dark Chocolate Layer Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. These simple-to-prepare recipes for the kind of delectable dishes people crave but feel they can’t eat when trying to be healthy and trim, actually can be the basis of a personal weight-loss plan. They can also be a way to add “off-limit” foods back into an already successful diet. Or they can simply be part of an exciting new way to eat healthfully — and with pleasure. In The Most Decadent Diet Ever! Devin Alexander proves that even the most decadent dishes — Chipotle Chili with Blue Cheese Crumbles, "Fried" Jumbo Shrimp, Super-Stuffed Steak Soft Tacos, Fettu-Skinny Alfredo, Godiva Brownie Sundaes, and Chocolate Chip Pancakes — can lead to weight loss, good health, and carefree enjoyment.

Dinner: A Love Story: It All Begins at the Family Table


Jenny Rosenstrach - 2012
    Even when they work long days. Even when their kids' schedules pull them in eighteen different directions. They are not superhuman. They are not from another planet.With simple strategies and common sense, Jenny figured out how to break down dinner—the food, the timing, the anxiety, from prep to cleanup—so that her family could enjoy good food, time to unwind, and simply be together.Using the same straight-up, inspiring voice that readers of her award-winning blog, Dinner: A Love Story, have come to count on, Jenny never judges and never preaches. Every meal she dishes up is a real meal, one that has been cooked and eaten and enjoyed at least a half dozen times by someone in Jenny's house. With inspiration and game plans for any home cook at any level, Dinner: A Love Story is as much for the novice who doesn't know where to start as it is for the gourmand who doesn't know how to start over when she finds herself feeding an intractable toddler or for the person who never thought about home-cooked meals until he or she became a parent. This book is, in fact, for anyone interested in learning how to make a meal to be shared with someone they love, and about how so many good, happy things happen when we do.

Through Apache Eyes: Verbal History of Apache Struggle (Annotated and Illustrated)


Geronimo Chiricahua - 2011
    Yet, the one constant in the history of the Apache People is their constant struggle to survive in a world where they are surrounded by various enemies, including other Indian tribes, the Mexicans and finally their brutal nemesis the United States Army. Attacked, tricked, lied to and double crossed by all of those who surround and outnumber them, the Apache people continued their struggle until they were for all intent and purposes almost totally wiped out. One Apache’s name stands out in their brave yet woeful history and it is Geronimo, who at age 30 witnessed the massacre of his mother, wife and two young children.I’ve taken his recollections or accounts of the struggle of the Apache people and intertwined them with some archeological facts about this extraordinary tribe. In addition, I have searched and included some of the best photos of Apaches from that era, which I collected from Library of Congress Archives. What impressed me most about Geronimo was his brevity of words, yet his ability to take a knife to the heart of anyone who reads his verbal history. Like most Apaches, Geronimo said little, but what he did say was profound and truthful. But most powerful is what Geronimo didn’t say in his recollections. It is between this silence one can feel the pain, sorrow, pride and bravery of the Apache People. Chet DembeckPublisher of One

My Morning View: An iPhone Photography Project about Gratitude, Grief & Good Coffee


Tammy Strobel - 2014
    One day, Tammy came home from her walk with a new idea. She would start an iPhone photography project that included two passions Mahlon and she shared: coffee and the great outdoors. She called her project My Morning View. In this book, Tammy shares her story, photography tips, and a brief how-to guide. She reminds us that even when everything seems to be falling apart, we can find beauty and practice gratitude every day.

Frontier Follies: Adventures in Marriage & Motherhood in the Middle of Nowhere


Ree DrummondRee Drummond - 2020
    On her blog, in her magazine, and on her cooking show, Ree shares recipes, tales of her adventures in the country, and stories of everyday life with her four children and cowboy/rancher husband.In this down-to-earth and charming book, Ree shares real-life anecdotes about parenting from her own unique vantage point. While her busy life is constantly full of new surprises, what's most important to her is family. Over the years she's learned a few things about balancing motherhood with a million other things, and now she offers the wisdom of her experiences; the ups, the downs, the bumps in the road, the laughter and the tears; in stories brimming with the relatable wit and humor found in her cookbooks and her bestselling love story, The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels.A celebration of motherhood, family, love, and laughter, Frontier Follies is a keepsake to treasure and share with the wonderful women in your life