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Staff Picks -- Books to take along on Vacation
06/30/2023
Beth Pofahl
Book Recommendations, Staff Picks, Fiction, Science Fiction, Fanstasy
Are you looking for a lighthearted novel to take with you on vacation? Bookmobile Outreach Associate Kadie and Cataloger Camden have a couple fun reads to suggest. If by chance you've already read these titles, check out the links for read-alike suggestions!
 
Camden recommends . . .

Cover ArtLegends and Lattes by Travis Baldree                                     Genre: cozy fantasy

What happens when an orc barbarian retires from her adventuring life to open up a coffee shop in a world that doesn't know about coffee?  A surprisingly heartwarming story about finding your place in the world and discovering the people who will become your family.  I was instantly charmed by this lighthearted story that managed to blend whimsical fantasy and down to earth realism in a way that simply flowed off the page.  
Find it in the library catalog Here
Also available for digital checkout:
Montana Library2Go eBook and audiobook
Read more about the author Here
If you have already read and enjoyed Legends & Lattes and would like some read-alike suggestions, check out this article: 10 Books Like Legends and Lattes.

 
Kadie recommends . . .

Cover ArtA Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers                       Genre: science fiction

Winner of the Hugo Award! In A Psalm for the Wild-Built, bestselling Becky Chambers's delightful new Monk and Robot series, gives us hope for the future. It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend. One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They're going to need to ask it a lot. Becky Chambers's new series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?

Find it in the library catalog Here
Also available for digital checkout:
Montana Library2Go eBook and audiobook
Hoopla audiobook
Read more about the author Here
If you have already read and enjoyed A Psalm for the Wild-Built and would like some read-alike suggestions, check out this helpful list from Goodreads.
 
That's all for today's blog post.  If you'd like more recommendations for great books to take with you on vacation, stop by the library's main branch and check out the Reader's Picks and Staff Picks book display on the second floor. It's loaded with great reading suggestions. If you would like help finding read-alike titles for a book you just finished, ask the friendly staff at the public service desk. We're here to help!
 

 

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Staff Picks, Cookbooks!
06/16/2023
Beth Pofahl
Book Recommendations, Non-Fiction

The Lewis & Clark Library doesn't have everything you will need to make your culinary dreams come true, for example, we can't supply the ingredients or the cooking space, however, we do have a wide variety of cookbooks that will inspire and delight you! Here are a few favorites recommended to you by Lewis & Clark Library staff -- Enjoy!

Maddy recommends . . .

Bean by Bean: a Cookbook by Crescent DragonwagonCover Art

"The author clearly states how important beans are--often overlooked and underappreciated, beans can be the main part of a meal. Don't let the 175 recipes intimidate you, the recipes are so clear and uncomplicated--and delicious!"

Has there ever been a more generous ingredient than the bean? Down-home, yet haute, soul-satisfyingly hearty, valued, versatile deeply delectable, healthful, and inexpensive to boot, there's nothing a bean can't do--and nothing that Crescent Dragonwagon can't do with beans. From old friends like chickpeas and pintos to rediscovered heirloom beans like rattlesnake beans and teparies, from green beans and fresh shell beans to peanuts, lentils, and peas, Bean by Bean is the definitive cookbook on beans. It's a 175-plus recipe cornucopia overflowing with information, kitchen wisdom, lore, anecdotes, and a zest for good food and good times. Consider the lentil, to take one example. Discover it first in a delicious slather, Lentil Tapenade. Then in half a dozen soups, including Sahadi's Lebanese Lentil Soup with Spinach, Kerala-Style Dahl, and Crescent's Very, Very Best Lentil, Mushroom & Barley Soup. It then turns up in Marinated Lentils De Puy with Greens, Baked Beets, Oranges & Walnuts. Plus there's Jamaica Jerk-Style Lentil-Vegetable Patties, Ethiopian Lentil Stew, and Lentil-Celeriac Skillet Sauce. Do the same for black beans--from Tex-Mex Frijoles Dip to Feijoada Vegetariana to Maya's Magic Black Beans with Eggplant & Royal Rice. Or shell beans--Newly Minted Puree of Fresh Favas, Baked Limas with Rosy Sour Cream, Edamame in a Pod. And on and on--from starters and soups to dozens of entrees. Even desserts: Peanut Butter Cup Brownies and Red Bean Ice Cream.
Find Bean by Bean in the library catalog Here
Hoopla eBook
 
Holly recommends . . .
Cover ArtDuck, Duck, Goose by Hank Shaw
A lush, illustrated cookbook devoted to preparing and cooking ducks and geese, both domestic and wild, from the author of the award-winning blog: Hunter Angler Gardener Cook. Duck is having a renaissance in American restaurants and kitchens as cooks discover that diverse breeds, species, and cuts of meat offer an exciting range of flavors and textures. Many cooks-and even hunters-have a fear of cooking fowl. Duck, Duck, Goose shows you how to cook duck and goose like a pro- perfectly crisp skin crackling with each bite, succulent confit, impeccable prosciutto, and more. Hank Shaw, an award-winning food writer, hunter, and cook on the forefront of the marsh-to-table revolution, provides all you need to know about obtaining, cleaning, and cooking these flavorful birds. Duck, Duck, Goose includes detailed guides on species and breeds, selecting a duck in the market, and plucking and hanging a wild bird. Shaw's delicious and doable recipes include basics such as Grilled Duck Breast and Slow-Roasted Duck; international favorites like Duck Pho, Sichuan Fragrant Duck, Mexican Duck with Green Mole, and Cassoulet; and celebration-worthy fare such as Perfect Roast Goose. It also features an array of duck and goose confit and charcuterie, from fresh sausages to dry-cured salami. The most comprehensive guide to preparing and cooking both domestic and wild ducks and geese, Duck, Duck, Goose will be a treasured companion for anyone who wants to free themselves from the tyranny of chicken and enjoy perfectly cooked waterfowl.
Find Duck, Duck, Goose in the library catalog Here
 
 Beth recommends . . .

Cover ArtNom Nom Paleo - Let's Go! by Michelle Tam; Henry Fong

"I highly recommend checking out Michelle Tam's unique cooking guides to paleo or paleo-ish cooking. She has two previously published cookbooks in this series. Great photographs and illustrations make this family-oriented cookbook a favorite"

Michelle Tam and Henry Fong know that the healthiest meal is the one you make yourself, so they're all about getting you off your butts and into the kitchen. Whether you're cooking for yourself, whipping up a family dinner, or preparing a special-occasion feast, Nom Nom Paleo: Let's Go! will inspire you with deliciously nourishing meals. Weeknight suppers should be healthy and flavor-packed but also fast and simple. Weekends and celebrations, on the other hand, are the perfect excuse to craft elevated (but easy!) crowd-pleasers. This cookbook offers crazy-delicious recipes for all occasions, and every single one is free of grains, gluten, dairy, and refined sugar. Better yet? No one in your family will notice what's missing! As always, Nom Nom Paleo's recipes reflect the diverse cuisines Michelle grew up with and culinary ideas from her travels. Often Asian-inspired, Michelle's unfussy recipes maximize flavor, optimize whole foods, and are presented with photos of each step so they're absolutely foolproof - even for novice cooks! New recipes include: Cantonese Roast Duck, Nom Nom Chili, Crisp Bacon Cheeseburger, Casserole Chicken Karaage, Instant Pot Balsamic Beef Stew, Paleo-Friendly Cream Puffs.  So what are you waiting for? LET'S GO!
Find Let's Go in the library catalog Here
 
 Deby recommends . . .
Cover ArtHalf Baked Harvest Super Simple: More Than 125 Recipes for Instant, Overnight, Meal-Prepped, and Easy Comfort Foods  by Tieghan Gerard
"Everyone must try Grown Up Tomato Parmesan Pasta!"
We all want to make and serve our loved ones beautiful food, but we shouldn't have to work so hard to do it. With Half Baked Harvest Super Simple, Tieghan Gerard has solved that problem. On her blog and in her debut cookbook, Tieghan is beloved for her freshly sourced, comfort-food-forward recipes that taste even better than they look. Half Baked Harvest Super Simple takes what fans loved most about Half Baked Harvest Cookbook and distills it into quicker, more manageable dishes, including options for one-pot meals, night-before meal prep, and even some Instant Pot or slow cooker recipes. Using the most important cooking basics, you'll whip up everyday dishes like Cardamom Apple Fritters, Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese, and Lobster Tacos to share with your family, or plan stress-free dinner parties with options like Slow Roasted Moroccan Salmon and Fresh Corn and Zucchini Summer Lasagna. Especially for home cooks who are pressed for time or just starting out, Half Baked Harvest Super Simple is your go-to for hassle-free meals that never sacrifice taste.
Find  Half Baked Harvest Super Simple in the library catalog Here
 
Katy recommends . . .

Cover ArtDinner Then Dessert: Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5, or 7 Ingredients by Sabrina Snyder

"Great traditional American food with some lightly exotic flavors and dishes. Everything I have cooked from this book has been lovely, easy, and mild enough for my whole family to eat. The author also has an excellent website where they include variations of the recipes for different methods of cooking, like a crock pot instead of a Dutch oven for example. My favorite recipe (so far) is Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Apricots."

Learn how to make easy, practical, mouth-watering meals in this first-ever cookbook featuring over 100 full-color photos from the genius chef behind the very successful, no-nonsense food website Dinner Then Dessert. "How do you make interesting and tasty meals for every member of the family?" That question inspired former private chef and mom Sabrina Snyder to post practical, reliable, and taste-tested recipes to the website she created, Dinner Then Dessert. Five years later, her website is one of the biggest food sites in America with millions of monthly views and more than 900,000 followers on social media. Incredibly, Sabrina's famous Philly Cheese Steak recipe, which she posted the day before the Super Bowl, racked up 45,000 hits within the first five minutes! Now, in Dinner Then Dessert, Sabrina has selected some her favorite dishes from her vast trove of recipes, along with new fare to help cooks of all levels get great meals on the table every member of the family will love. Sabrina knows that cooking delicious meals day after day can be a challenge, even for professional chefs. Add in picky eaters, dietary restrictions, a busy schedule, and children, and it feels easier to order take out. But cooking at home doesn't have to be difficult or boring. Inside Dinner Then Dessert you'll find flexible fail-safe recipes; 3, 5, and 7 ingredient meals; skillet dinners; classic side dishes, slow-cooker recipes, irresistible desserts, and more. Enjoy sausage and fennel pasta, salmon with plum sauce, garlic honey chicken, easy breezy pot roast, sweet and spicy tilapia, roast pork loin, steak and potato hash, vegetable green curry, cilantro lime shrimp, and much, much more. Serve them up with tasty sides, including easy Mexican rice and rotisserie chicken potatoes, as well as flavorful desserts such as Nutella brownies and salted caramel chocolate tart. Dinner Then Dessert is packed with more than 100 full-color photos, easy-to-follow directions that teach you how to cook each recipe to match your skill level, variations of recipes made with ingredients you have on-hand, and advice on the best ingredients to stock your fridge and pantry. With Dinner Then Dessert, you'll never have to struggle over what to make for dinner again!
Find Dinner then Dessert in the library catalog Here

Lisa recommends . . .

Cover ArtThe Perfect Cake by America's Test Kitchen (Editor)
Cakes are the all-occasion dessert--the center of attention at birthdays, holiday celebrations, and dinner parties, and the most welcome brunch, after-school, or teatime snack. America's Test Kitchen's first all-cake book is the definitive guide to any cake you crave from Classic Pound Cake to enjoy anytime to a stunning and impressive Blueberry Jam Cake with brilliant jam stripes and ombre frosting. In addition to foolproof recipes are features that make towering 24-layer Hazelnut- Chocolate Crape Cake as approachable as Applesauce Snack Cake. Sidebars include step-by-step photography for cakes with more advanced techniques like piping the ribbons of frosting that help give beautiful Rhubarb Ribbon Cake its name. Our years of test kitchen knowledge on the art and science of baking cakes provide all the tips and tricks you need for executing perfect cakes every time.
Find The Perfect Cake in the library catalog Here 
 
We hope you'll find plenty to satisfy your appetite in the cookbook section of our wonderful library. As always, if you need help finding anything at the library, just ask-- we are here to serve you. Below are a few cookbook-related photos from Kady, Beth, Terri, Lisa and Holly.

photo collage from staff cookbooks 

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Book Recommendations from Readers like You
06/03/2023
Beth Pofahl
Book Recommendations, Fiction, Mystery, Non-Fiction

Today's blog post features book recommendations from readers like you: two new releases in well-established mystery series, a fantastic Pulitzer prize winning novel, a romance, the first novel in a new WW2 saga, a reimagining of the Shadow, and a timely nonfiction book by a Missoula based author. Read on for some great titles you may want to add to your Summer Reading list.

 

Cover ArtSo Shall You Reap by Donna Leon (2023)
On a cold November evening, Guido Brunetti and Paola are up late when a call from his colleague Ispettore Vianello arrives, alerting the Commissario that a hand has been seen in one of Venice's canals. The body is soon found, and Brunetti is assigned to investigate the murder of an undocumented Sri Lankan immigrant. Because no official record of the man's presence in Venice exists, Brunetti is forced to use the city's far richer sources of information: gossip and the memories of people who knew the victim. Curiously, he had been living in a small house on the grounds of a palazzo owned by a university professor, in which Brunetti discovers books revealing the victim's interest in Buddhism, the revolutionary Tamil Tigers, and the last crop of Italian political terrorists, active in the 1980s. As the investigation expands, Brunetti, Vianello, Commissario Griffoni, and Signora Elettra each assemble pieces of a puzzle--random information about real estate and land use, books, university friendships--that appear to have little in common, until Brunetti stumbles over something that transports him back to his own student days, causing him to reflect on lost ideals and the errors of youth, on Italian politics and history, and on the accidents that sometimes lead to revelation.
Find it in the library catalog Here
Also available for digital checkout:
Montana Library2Go/Libby app eBook 
Hoopla eBook 
Read more about the author Here

 
 
Cover ArtSomeone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes (2023)
Who are you when you are forced to walk in someone else's shoes? Nisha Cantor lives the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband announces a divorce and cuts her off. Nisha is determined to hang onto her glamorous life. But in the meantime, she must scramble to cope--she doesn't even have the shoes she was, until a moment ago, standing in. That's because Sam Kemp - in the bleakest point of her life - has accidentally taken Nisha's gym bag. But Sam hardly has time to worry about a lost gym bag--she's struggling to keep herself and her family afloat. When she tries on Nisha's six-inch high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes, the resulting jolt of confidence that makes her realize something must change--and that thing is herself. Full of Jojo Moyes' signature humor, brilliant storytelling, and warmth, Someone Else's Shoes is a story about how just one little thing can suddenly change everything.
Find it in the library catalog Here
Also available for digital checkout:
Montana Library2Go/Libby app eBook and audiobook
Read more about the author Here
 
 
Cover ArtDead on Target by M.C. Beaton; R. W. Green (2023)
Beloved New York Times bestseller M. C. Beaton's cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin--the star of her own hit T.V. series--is back on the case again in Dead on Target. A visit to the local village fete for a spot of fun and relaxation turns into a nightmare for Agatha Raisin when she discovers the body of the local landowner in the woods―with an arrow in his chest and trousers round his ankles. Agatha's old adversary, Detective Chief Inspector Wilkes, declares the death a tragic accident, believing the victim has been hit by a stray arrow from an archery demonstration. Agatha is convinced of foul play, however, and is shocked when Wilkes eventually agrees...with her as his prime murder suspect. Determined to clear her name and find the real killer, Agatha launches her own investigation, quickly becoming involved with a family at war, an unscrupulous gangster―and a killer who is determined to make her the next victim...
Dead on Target's release date is in September 2023, place a hold on this book Here
Find more titles in the Agatha Raisin series, as well as DVD TV series in the catalog Here
Also available for digital checkout:
Montana Library2Go/Libby app eBooks and audiobooks
Hoopla audiobooks and TV series
Read more about the author and the Agatha Raisin series Here
 
 
Cover ArtTenacious Beasts by Christopher J. Preston  (2023)         NONFICTION
An inspiring look at wildlife species that are defying the odds and teaching important lessons about how to share a planet. The news about wildlife is dire--more than 900 species have been wiped off the planet since industrialization. Against this bleak backdrop, however, there are also glimmers of hope and crucial lessons to be learned from animals that have defied global trends toward extinction. Bear in Italy, bison in North America, whales in the Atlantic. These populations are back from the brink, some of them in numbers unimaginable in a century. How has this happened? What shifts in thinking did it demand? In crisp, transporting prose, Christopher Preston reveals the mysteries and challenges at the heart of these resurgences. Drawing on compelling personal stories from the researchers, Indigenous people, and activists who know the creatures best, Preston weaves together a gripping narrative of how some species are taking back vital, ecological roles. Each section of the book--farms, prairies, rivers, forests, oceans--offers a philosophical shift in how humans ought to think about animals, passionately advocating for the changes in attitude necessary for wildlife recovery. Tenacious Beasts is quintessential nature writing for the Anthropocene, touching on different facets of ecological restoration from Indigenous knowledge to rewilding practices. More important, perhaps, the book offers a road map--and a measure of hope--for a future in which humans and animals can once again coexist.
Find it in the library catalog Here
Read more about the author Here

 

Cover Art

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (2022)
WINNER OF THE 2023 PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION - Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father's good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities. Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens' anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can't imagine leaving behind.
Find it in the library catalog Here
Also available for digital checkout:
Montana Library2Go/Libby app eBook and audiobook
Axis 360 eBook 
Hoopla eBook and audiobook
Read more about the author Here
 
 

Wartime at Bletchley Park by Molly Green (2022) new series
September 1939. London is in blackout, war has been declared, but Dulcie Treadwell can think only of American Broadcaster, Glen Reeves, who didn’t say goodbye before leaving for Berlin. Heartbroken, Dulcie is posted to Bletchley Park, where she must concentrate instead on cracking the German Enigma codes. The hours are long and the conditions tough, with little recognition from above, until she breaks her first code… but when a spiteful act of jealousy leads to Dulcie’s brutal dismissal, her life is left in pieces once more. Is it too late for Dulcie to prove her innocence and keep the job she loves? And will her heart ever truly heal until she doesn’t hear from Glen again? A new, inspiring wartime series set in Bletchley Park from saga queen Molly Green.

Wartime at Bletchley Park is available for digital checkout:
Hoopla eBook
Read more about the author Here

 

 

Cover Art

The Shadow by James Patterson; Brian Sitts (2021)
Only two people know that 1930s society man Lamont Cranston has a secret identity as the Shadow, a crusader for justice. One is his greatest love, Margo Lane, and the other is fiercest enemy, Shiwan Khan. When Khan ambushes the couple, they must risk everything for the slimmest chance of survival . . . in the future.  A century and a half later, Lamont awakens in a world both unknown and disturbingly familiar. The first person he meets is Maddy Gomes, a teenager with her own mysterious secrets, including a knowledge of the legend of the Shadow. Most disturbing, Khan's power continues to be felt over the city and its people. No one in this new world understands the dangers of stopping him better than Lamont Cranston. And only the Shadow knows that he's the one person who might succeed before more innocent lives are lost.
Find it in the library catalog Here
Also available for digital checkout:
Montana Library2Go/Libby app eBook and audiobook
Axis 360 eBook 
Read more about the authors Here
 
 

Stop by the library and leave your own favorite book recommendations.  If you'd like your recommendation to be featured on the blog, talk to Beth!

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