What to read this winter

The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams
By Stacy Schiff

Pulitzer Prize winner Schiff uses her trademark talent for unorthodox historical narrative to tell the largely unknown story of Samuel Adams. His contemporaries agreed he was the most essential architect of the American Revolution (Paul Revere’s ride was a mission to warn Adams personally), but today he’s mostly known for seasonal beers. Schiff is the perfect biographer for the subject, and even Revolution buffs will come away with revelations and new perspectives.

Now Is Not the Time to Panic
By Kevin Wilson

I always love Wilson’s quirky, interesting characters. He says in the foreword that this is a book about friendship, about art, about memory and about what it means to hold onto the person who we were, even as we become someone else, and I couldn’t agree more.

Hester
By Laurie Lico Albanese

Albanese takes us to Salem in this behind-the-scenes novel of the creation of “The Scarlet Letter”. Isobel is a seamstress with a family secret, and when she meets a young, morose writer named Nathaniel Hawthorne, she can’t help but fall for him even though she’s married to a less than desirable man. But this new world offers her less freedom than she thought, and for someone with a witch in her family tree, maybe Salem isn’t the safest place.

Go-To Dinners: A Barefoot Contessa
Cookbook
By Ina Garten

The latest cookbook by America’s favorite home cook presents delicious, crowd-pleasing, go-to recipes that you’ll want to make over and over again.

The Wolf Suit
By Sid Sharp

This beautifully illustrated book for early readers is a sweetly comic twist on a familiar story. Bellwether Riggwelter is a sheep terrified of wolves, so he decides to sew a wolf costume to disguise himself in the forest. But what will happen when this sheep-in-wolf’s-clothing encounters fellow wolves?

Our Missing Hearts
By Celeste Ng

Highly anticipated and new on shelves this fall. Celeste Ng (“Everything I Never Told You”, “Little Fires Everywhere”), does it again in this riveting novel set in a not too distant future in which blatant racism, family fragmentation and violence are commonplace. Equally terrifying and beautiful.

River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile
By Candace Millard

A harrowing, colorful history of the dramatic and dangerous expedition of Richard Burton and John Speak, (a pair of friends turned enemies) to solve the greatest geographic mystery of their time. Author and former National Geographic journalist Candace Millard is a meticulous researcher and a remarkably talented writer of narrative non-fiction, and she does a remarkable job bringing this adventure, and these two men, to life.

Water Views: Rivers Lakes Oceans
By David Ondaatje

What could be better than a literal birds-eye view of our spectacular and varied world’s waters? David Ondaatje, an author and filmmaker, uses state-of the-art drone photography to bring us the magnificence and fragility of this precious resource. A perfect and stunning coffee table book for our time.

Into the Forest: The Secret Language of Trees
By Susan Tyler Hitchcock

In this time of grave climate concerns, this breathtaking book combines stunning photography with cutting-edge science to celebrate the wonder of the forest. Through both story and images, the author explains how trees not only sustain us but impact all aspects of our lives and culture.

The Door of No Return
By Kwame Alexander

This is the firsten try in a trilogy for young adults, so readers will want to get right on this coming-of-age story of a young boy in Ghana. It is beautifully written with well-drawn characters, and a true sense of place. This sweeping and equally breathtaking — and heartbreaking — story will leave you deeply invested in what is yet to come — and eagerly awaiting the next two books in this series, which is poised to become an instant classic

Half Baked Harvest Every Day: Recipes for Balanced, Flexible, Feel-Good Meals Every Day
By Tieghan Gerard

We all need cookbooks we can turn to every day, and this latest from Tieghan Gerard is a perfect addition any kitchen bookshelf. Her tried-and-true recipes are easy and include a great blend of wholesome and healthy to slightly indulgent. Gerard’s beautiful photos from her cozy kitchen in the mountains of Colorado will inspire home cooks of all kinds.

The Cocktail Cabinet: The Art, Science and Pleasure of Mixing the Perfect Drink
By Zoe Burgess

In this brand-new book, Zoe Burgess, a drinks researcher and developer, not only walks you through making a perfect cocktail, but explores flavor profiles and the building blocks required to make and create delicious drinks.