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Earlier this week, I saw someone online mention that they had smelled the first hints of fall in the air. I read their tweet and looked jealously at my phone while melted in the South Carolina humidity. But still, I can’t help but hope for cooler weather in my future. And, of course, fall means soup season. It means lentils, stews, and roasted tomatoes. I can’t wait, and I had to pull out some of my recipes for ideas. So today, we’re taking a look at two of my favorite cookbooks. But first, let’s jump into bookish goods!
Bookish Goods
Cookbook Stand by CreationsbyBrull
Nothing is worse than trying to hold open a cookbook page when you have gross or wet hands. So I LOVE a good cookbook holder, and this one comes in different colors of wood—gorgeous! $75
New Releases
A Wilder Shore: The Romantic Odyssey of Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson by Camille Peri
There’s nothing like a book that delves into the life of a beloved author. Camille Peri brings to life the lives of Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of Treasure Island. She shares a portrait of two incredibly fascinating people who lived vibrant, adventurous lives.
Opacities: On Writing and the Writing Life by Sofia Samatar
I’ll read anything Sofia Samatar writes, but her latest book sounds phenomenal. In Opacities, Sofia Samatar examines ideas around writing and literature. She includes excerpts from letters, portions of her own writing, and snippets from the writing of others. Together, these pieces explore big ideas around publishing, the art of writing, and why any of it even matters.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
Grains for Every Season: Rethinking Our Way with Grains by Joshua McFadden
Joshua McFadden’s Six Seasons won the James Beard Award. While Six Seasons focused on vegetables, Grains for Every Season is a new take on how we incorporate grains into the food we prepare. The cookbook is beautifully illustrated, and gives a great background into different grains and how to best incorporate them into our everyday recipes.
Bottom of the Pot: Persian Recipes and Stories by Naz Deravian
I’ve had my eye on this cookbook for years, so you can imagine how excited I was to see it under my holiday tree a couple of years ago. Bottom of the Pot is the winner of the IACP 2019 First Book Award presented by The Julia Child Foundation. It combines essays and recipes to create that unique pairing of cooking from a very personal place. Deravian gives us a diverse collection of Persian recipes, adding sections about how to treat individual ingredients so we get the best results.
You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave, over on Instagram @kdwinchester, on TikTok @kendrawinchester, or on my podcast Read Appalachia. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles on Book Riot.
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