Feeding the Frasers

 

I received a copy of this release from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Title: Feeding the Frasers: Family Favorite Recipes Made to Feed the Five-Time CrossFit Games Champion, Mat Fraser
Author: Sammy Moniz
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: 1.25.22


Publisher’s Summary
Based on Sammy Moniz's popular Instagram page, Feeding the Frasers is a book that any CrossFit aficionado—or just someone curious about how to cook with whole foods without sacrificing the world—will want to get their hands on.

Filled with 100 terrific recipes of high quality delicious food that promote balance, togetherness, indulgence, and athletic recovery.

Sammy Moniz is well known in the CrossFit community as an activist, and she is also the wife of five time champion Mat Fraser, the winningest athlete in CrossFit history and one of the most beloved.

This is her cookbook where she shares the secrets behind feeding the greatest champion of the sport.


My Review

I like that Sammy Moniz opens the book with a brief look into where she found her love of cooking. She honestly states that she didn't grow up cooking alongside an adult family member and that cooking wasn't really a part of her family culture. Her mother fed a family of seven with a rotating menu of spaghetti, tacos, and casseroles, but it wasn't so much a heartfelt declaration of love, it was a necessity. However, her memories of spending time around the table are what sparked her curiosity for cooking. 

Divided into fairly typical chapters covering poultry and pork; beef and lamb; seafood; sides, salads, and sandwiches; and snacks and sweets, the only variation on these sections are two large sections on breakfast (savory and sweet). As a big breakfast cook and eater I really loved these sections, especially the savory recipes. I am a super fan of "Baked Chipotle Breakfast Tacos," and can't wait to try "Heirloom and Cheddar Summer Frittata," and "Corn Cake Fritter, Jalapeño Honey Butter, and Sweet & Spicy Bacon."

Department of Rare Books and Special Collections

 

I received a copy of this release from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Title: The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections
Author: Eva Jurczyk
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Release Date: 1.25.22


Publisher’s Summary
What holds more secrets in the library: the ancient books shelved in the stacks or the people who preserve them?

Liesl Weiss has been (mostly) happy working in the rare books department of a large university, managing details and working behind the scenes to make the head of the department look good. But when her boss has a stroke and she's left to run things, she discovers that the library's most prized manuscript is missing.

Liesl tries to sound the alarm and inform the police about the missing priceless book but is told repeatedly to keep quiet to keep the doors open and the donors happy. But then a librarian goes missing as well. Liesl must investigate both disappearances, unspooling her colleagues' pasts like the threads of a rare book binding as it becomes clear that someone in the department must be responsible for the theft. What Liesl discovers about the dusty manuscripts she has worked among for so long—and about the people who preserve and revere them—shakes the very foundation on which she has built her life.



My Review

This review is going to be short, and not so sweet. My excitement grew with each phase of my exposure to this book. First, about a year ago, the cover and title caught my eye. I read the summary and instantly added it to my list of review requests. When I began reading it, I learned that the main character is a middle age woman and thought "this is going to be so great." 

If only. 

There is so much focus on the other characters' backstories but NOTHING HAPPENS. Maybe it's a slow burn of a book with great final scenes. I'll never know. I was bored and I gave up. I read almost 40% and just could not make myself finish. 

Finding Normal: Sex, Love, and Taboo in Our Hyperconnected World

 

I received a copy of this release from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Title: Finding Normal: Sex, Love, and Taboo in Our Hyperconnected World
Author: Alexa Tsoulis-Reay 
Publisher: St. Martin's Press  
Release Date: 1.25.22

Publisher's Summary 
Alexa Tsoulis-Reay's Finding Normal is an author's up close tour of people who are using the Internet to challenge the boundaries of what's taboo and what it means to be normal.

Based on a popular series of candid interviews conducted for New York magazine’s human science column—"What It's Like"—Finding Normal explores the ways that real people are using the Internet to find community, forge connections, and create identity in ways that challenge a variety of accepted sexual norms. Ranging from the atypical to the shocking, each story in Finding Normal intimately immerses the reader in the world of a person who is grappling with a unique set of circumstances relating to sexuality.

Finding Normal at once celebrates the power of our current media moment for helping people rewrite the script for their lives and offers a warning about the danger of that seemingly limitless freedom to find yourself. Finding Normal shows the enduring power of the search for belonging—for humans and society. Like happiness or life purpose, finding normal is perhaps the definitive human struggle.



My Review

Alexa Tsoulis-Reay explores the sliding scale of socially acceptable sexualities.

As the internet has become more accessible and conversations about sexuality have become more prevalent, the concept of "normal" has evolved. Social media has led people to find others with similar interests and proclivities, allowing them to feel "normal" in these communities, and in turn, accept that there is nothing wrong with them. Overall, I think this is amazing and wonderful and so important for people who are struggling with acceptance in their families and physical communities. However, this also means that people with "extreme" taboos are also able to find communities where their thoughts and practices are normal. While the first half of this book covers what I would call "acceptable" non-normative sexuality (asexuality, consensual non-monogamy, and age gap relationships), the second half covers genetic sexual attraction/incest (mostly adult adoptees reunited with birth parents,) and zoophilia.

Going into this book, the "hyperconnected" part of the title had me expecting that the focus would be about finding connections and communities with like-minded people online. Maybe even some analysis about how our society may be more connected technologically but less so personally. The "sex, love, and taboo" part of the title had me thinking the author would possibly highlight and offer insight into various kinks or fetishes. 

I want to give this book 5 stars for its originality and the objective reporting by its author but I also want to give it 1 star because I draw the line at any type of sexuality involving children and animals. For those reasons, I will not be rating this title. Also, I don't think I will ever recommend this to someone unless referencing it as an example of the vast spectrum of human sexuality.

Bourbon: The Story of Kentucky Whiskey

 

I received a copy of this release from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Title: Bourbon [Boxed Book & Ephemera Set]: The Story of Kentucky Whiskey
Author: Clay Risen
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Release Date: 12.14.22

Publisher's Summary

A visually stunning illustrated guide to the history, craft, and appreciation of Kentucky bourbon

Bourbon, we soon realized, was not just a good drink. It was a drink with a story, from a place, with an unbreakable tie to the people and the land that produced it.

Whiskey expert Clay Risen explores the origins, history, and evolution of America's distilling craft and culture in this luxurious boxed set. From boom to bust and back again, Risen tells the engrossing story of Kentucky whiskey, using interviews, photographs, and archival material to illuminate the singular region where bourbon was born. This meticulously researched book details how bourbon is made, how best to enjoy it, and how to build your own collection, along with profiles of the distilleries and makers that form the landscape of bourbon country.


My Review
I have received some lovely finished copies of books from publishers but the boxed book and ephemera set of Bourbon: The Story of Kentucky Whiskey by Clay Risen might be the best ever. In addition to a slick-paged hardback book full of gorgeous pictures, the set box also includes a drawered section full of maps, original logo stickers, distillery blueprints, and more. 

I knew a little bit about bourbon, the industry, and its communities from a few of my close friends and family members. I knew enough to be wistful of sections and statements like this: 

"Today, bourbon is the most popular, coveted, talked about spirit in America, but not long ago it was a liquor-store wallflower. When I worked in downtown Washington D.C., in the early 2000s, the liquor store around the corner from my office carried A.H. Hirsch Reserve 16-Year-Old, one of the all-time legendary bourbons, for about sixty dollars. Bottles of Willett Family Estate, including near-mythical single-barrel selections such as the Iron Fist and the Velvet Glove, sold for about the same. Even Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve 23-Year-Old was going for a few hundred dollars. Though "going" is not quite the right word; no one wanted expensive bourbon, so the bottles sat there, gathering dust."

For those of you who may not know anything about bourbon, the thought of some Pappy just sitting around because no one wanted it is about enough to bring a tear to the eye of current bourbon aficionados. Nowadays, it's not only not sitting around anywhere, but it's also in such demand that it's not easy to get--there are lotteries and allotments.  

This collection would look stunning on a bar cart or beautifully displayed. It would also make a perfect gift for any bourbon lovers in your life. 

The Unfamiliar Garden

 

I received a copy of this release from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Title: The Unfamiliar Garden (The Comet Cycle #2)
Author: Benjamin Percy
Publisher: Mariner Books
Release Date: 1.4.22


Publisher’s Summary
The night the sky fell, Jack and Nora Abernathy’s daughter vanished in the woods. And Mia’s disappearance broke her parents’ already fragile marriage. Unable to solve her own daughter’s case, Nora lost herself in her work as a homicide detective. Jack became a shell of a man; his promising career as a biologist crumbling alongside the meteor strikes that altered weather patterns and caused a massive drought.

It isn’t until five years later that the rains finally return to nourish Seattle. In this period of sudden growth, Jack uncovers evidence of a new parasitic fungus, while Nora investigates several brutal, ritualistic murders. Soon they will be drawn together by a horrifying connection between their discoveries—partnering to fight a deadly contagion as well as the government forces that know the truth about the fate of their daughter.

Award-winning author Benjamin Percy delivers both a gripping science fiction thriller and a dazzling examination of a planet—and a marriage—that have broken.


My Review
As the second book in the Comet Cycle series, The Unfamiliar Garden doesn't simply pick up where the first book left off. Instead, author Benjamin Percy offers a parallel storyline with connections to some of the characters and events of the first book. Just as I expressed my shock at how much I loved the first book (read my review here), I find myself doing the same for this one. The first book featured warring between and within families, a town cult, government experiments, police drama, and political power plays all set within a modern-day gold rush. The second book is a scientific wonderland of mushrooms and the exploration of the effects of materials from outer space on our ecosystem. It also features the emotional erosion of a marriage in the wake of a child's disappearance and the detailed description of a hunt for a serial killer. I am just blown away by how Percy blends so many different stand-alone genres into not only a coherent story but one that is so beautifully written. I'm hooked on The Comet Cycle for sure!

The School for Good Mothers

 

I received a copy of this release from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Title: The School for Good Mothers
Author: Jessamine Chan
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: 1.4.22


Publisher’s Summary
In this taut and explosive debut novel, one lapse in judgement lands a young mother in a government reform program where custody of her child hangs in the balance.

Frida Liu is struggling. She doesn’t have a career worthy of her Chinese immigrant parents’ sacrifices. What’s worse is she can’t persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with their angelic daughter Harriet does Frida finally feel she’s attained the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she’s just enough.

Until Frida has a horrible day.

The state has its eyes on mothers like Frida — ones who check their phones while their kids are on the playground; who let their children walk home alone; in other words, mothers who only have one lapse of judgement. Now, a host of government officials will determine if Frida is a candidate for a Big Brother-like institution that measures the success or failure of a mother’s devotion. Faced with the possibility of losing Harriet, Frida must prove that she can live up to the standards set for mothers — that she can learn to be good.

This propulsive, witty page-turner explores the perils of “perfect” upper-middle-class parenting, the violence enacted upon women by the state and each other, and the boundless love a mother has for her daughter.


My Review
First, a mini-backstory and rant: 

I read this book at the beginning of December and was excited to write my review. Then I saw it was chosen as a book club pic, and that just put a bad taste in my mouth. I know that being chosen as a book club selection is a great honor for authors, but as a reader, I can't stand the idea of people reading something just so they can be doing what everyone else is doing. It's too much like the "gotta jump on a new trend even if I don't like it because I don't want to be left out" high school bullshit.  *end rant* So, 2 months later, I'm finally writing my review. 

The School for Good Mothers was one of the most intense stories I've read about autonomy, social judgement, and the value of motherhood since The Handmaid's Tale. Yes, I know that every near-future feminst dystopian novel makes that comparison, but all I can say is that this one hit me in the gut in a way I can't remember feeling since I read The Handmaid's Tale. 

The main character, Frida is "not an alcoholic, not an addict, that she has no criminal record. She’s gainfully employed and a peaceful, committed co-parent. She has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in literature from Brown and Columbia, a 401(k) account, a college savings fund for [her daughter] Harriet." After a major lapse in judgement, Frida loses custody of her daughter and is sentenced to a year in a new type of rehabilitation program offering instruction and training to become a better mother. At the end of the year, "she must demonstrate her capacity for genuine maternal feeling and attachment, hone her maternal instincts, show she can be trusted." If she does not meet these standards, gets expelled, or quits, her parental rights will be terminated and her name will be added to the Negligent Parent Registry. At the school, the mothers are forced to perform various tasks that range from heartwrenching to downright disturbing--and the "tools" they use to perform these tasks are straight up the shit out of horror movies. 

I found each of the characters very well written and even among the wildly different attitudes and reactions within the institution, I felt compassion for almost every student mother. This novel peels back the layers of judgement against mothers. What makes a "good mother" and what makes a "bad mother"? What is the hierarchy within each group? Must a woman who is a mother always act as a mother first and foremost? Who has harsher standards for mothers, society or mothers themselves? This novel had me clenching my jaw and on the verge of tears almost the entire time. Debut author Jessamine Chan deftly draws a picture of a near future where government overreach and the dark complexities of motherhood collide. I definitely recommend this book, especially to mothers, and I will be snapping up Chan's next release the moment it becomes available. 

This Way to the Universe by Michael Dine

 

I received a copy of this release from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Title: This Way to the Universe: A Theoretical Physicist's Journey to the Edge of Reality
Author: Michael Dine
Publisher: Dutton Books
Release Date: 2.8.22



Publisher’s Summary
This Way to the Universe is a celebration of the astounding, ongoing scientific investigations that have revealed the nature of reality at its smallest, at its largest, and at the scale of our daily lives. The enigmas that Professor Michael Dine discusses are like landmarks on a fantastic journey to the edge of the universe.

Asked where to find out about the Big Bang, Dark Matter, the Higgs boson particle--the long cutting edge of physics right now--Dine had no single book he could recommend. This is his accessible, authoritative, and up-to-date answer. Comprehensible to anyone with a high-school level education, with almost no equations, there is no better author to take you on this amazing odyssey.

Dine is widely recognized as having made profound contributions to our understanding of matter, time, the Big Bang, and even what might have come before it. This Way to the Universe touches on many emotional, critical points in his extraordinary carreer while presenting mind-bending physics like his answer to the Dark Matter and Dark Energy mysteries as well as the ideas that explain why our universe consists of something rather than nothing. People assume String Theory can never be tested, but Dine intrepidly explores exactly how the theory might be tested experimentally, as well as the pitfalls of falling in love with math. This book reflects a lifetime pursuing the deepest mysteries of reality, by one of the most humble and warmly engaging voices you will ever read.


My Review
This Way to the Universe is an absolutely fascinating look at all aspects of our universe. From the smallest of particles to the largest of concepts, Michael Dine's excitement about each subtopic really shines in what a fellow reviewer labeled "a physics textbook for the rest of us." Readers will need at least a basic knowledge of science and physics but don't necessarily need to be an expert to enjoy this book. 

I learned some mind-blowing facts about the relation of space and time, like gravitational redshift, which is when "in a gravitational field, near a massive star, for example, time runs more slowly." Full of statistics and equations, I really loved how much this book made me just sit and ponder. For example, astronomers have discovered almost 4000 planets in our observable universe, which is about 13 billion light-years across. The nearest of these planets to our sun is Proxima Centauri, *just* 4.2 light-years away (1 light year = about 6 trillion miles.) 

Dine exemplifies the infiniteness of space with scientific statements that sound metaphorical, like "We are not merely an unimaginably small speck in a gigantic universe, but what we think of as the universe is itself just a tiny speck in a universe of universes." To further give readers an idea of what to expect from This Way to the Universe, I've included the table of contents below. 

Table of Contents 

STEP ONE 

1. Surveying the Universe 

2. Can We Take Space and Time for Granted? 

3. What Do We Mean by Universe? 

STEP TWO 

4. Can Quantum Mechanics Predict the Future? 

5. Fruits of the Nuclear Age 

6. The Weight of the Smallest Things 

7. Stardom 

THE NEXT STEPS 

8. Why Is There Something Rather than Nothing? 

9. “The Large Number Problem” 

10. What Is the Universe Made Of? 

11. The Dark Energy 

AND STEPPING INTO THE UNSTABLE 

12. At the Beginning of Everything 

13. Can We Get to a Final Theory without Getting Up from Our Chairs? 

14. The Landscape of Reality 

15. Rolling the Dice of Theoretical Physics