What new book did you receive during the holidays? Wickeds share ours, and hope you’ll let us know what you’re reading, too.
Edith: I am deep into Michael Pollan’s Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation. I never got around to reading his previous books, but am loving this one. Wonderful writing about the four essential types of cooking: with fire (barbeque), water (stews, braises, soups), air (bread), and earth (fermented stuff). Being Pollan, he brings in the history of cooking, the politics of food, our current state of relying on prepared meals, his apprenticeships with these four kinds of food, and so much more, all written in a delightful voice.
Barb: When you finish it, Edith, you have to read The Botany of Desire. One of my favorite non-fiction books, evah.
Jessie: Alas, I received no books over the holidays. I gave a bunch as gifts however, and one was so cute I couldn’t help but leaf through it before wrapping it up. Great Balls of Cheese by Michelle Buffardi was a delight. Not only were the presentations creative and whimsical, the recipes sounded delicious and inventive. If you love cheese balls I highly recommend this read!
Liz: I didn’t get any fiction for Christmas, but I got an amazing book by Julia Cameron, The Prosperous Heart: Creating a Life of “Enough.” If you’ve read Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, you’re familiar with her “digging deep” style of helping people overcome blocks to their creative self. The Prosperous Heart is similar – it offers activities and tasks to help people find their way to true prosperity in every area of their lives. Each week you tackle a new lesson. I’m looking forward to starting week two!
Sherry: I didn’t get any books either. But I did get a lot of gift cards to book stores. I always ask for them and am so happy to use them during the year. I’m not sure what I’ll buy first because I have a huge stack of books in my to be read pile. Joy!
Barb: We have an extended family all-book Yankee swap. We started doing a CD swap about ten years ago, but then the younger generation starting asking what a CD was, so we gave it up. We tried DVDs, but somehow that didn’t work. People’s tastes were so different. The all book swap works. About twenty-one of us participate Books can be new or used. It’s a great way to find out what people are reading and go down new paths. As my daughter said, the online booksellers are always trying to sell you books just like the last one you bought, but a multi-generational book swap opens you up to new reading experiences.
