Hello, bookish friends! Every week, I invite a friend over to try a recipe I’m experimenting with. This week, it’s been raining non-stop, so I decided to go with an old favorite: my homemade tomato sauce with spaghetti. It’s hard to go wrong with a classic. I love to listen to audiobooks while I cook. There’s something about cooking that helps me wind down after a stressful day. Inspired by my weekly cooking sessions, we’re talking about a lot of books today.
But first, bookish goods and Valentine’s! Here’s another reminder that if you’re looking for a gift for that special, bookish person in your life, consider our TBR service! Our professional booknerds will help them achieve their reading goals and there are plans for every budget. Go to mytbr.co/gift.
Bookish Goods
![a photo of an art print with the words "for the book lovers" at the top. There are twelve different colored circles formatted into a four by four grid. Each color has a quirky bookish name.](http://newsletters.riotnewmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/For-the-Book-Lovers.jpeg)
A Color Guide for Book Lovers by Ember Road Designs
Ever since I moved, I’ve been hunting for more unique wall art to go with my book-themed house. (Yes, my entire design aesthetic is books — I gave up resisting it years ago.) So when I saw this adorable print, I knew it was just perfect for me. $15+
New Releases
![a graphic of the cover of Fieldwork: A Forager's Memoir by Iliana Regan](http://newsletters.riotnewmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Fieldwork-1.jpg)
Fieldwork: A Forager’s Memoir by Iliana Regan
Iliana Regan made a name for herself in the food memoir world with Burn the Place, which we’ll talk about here in a second. Now she is back with her second memoir, Fieldwork. This time, she shares her latest food-related endeavor, Milkweed Inn, which she runs with her wife up on Michigan’s upper peninsula. There are so many wonderful moments in this book all about foraging and living with the land.
![a graphic of the cover of Twice as Hard: The Stories of Black Women Who Fought to Become Physicians, from the Civil War to the 21st Century by Jasmine Brown](http://newsletters.riotnewmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Twice-as-Hard.jpeg)
Twice as Hard: The Stories of Black Women Who Fought to Become Physicians, from the Civil War to the 21st Century by Jasmine Brown
Jasmine Brown has pulled together stories of Black women physicians throughout America’s history, giving readers an array of women determined to gain the medical knowledge to serve their communities. I adore history and love sharing it with others. This book sounds perfect for the aspiring doctor in your family or just a great history read to stay in with on a rainy day.
For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
![a graphic of the cover of Burn the Place: A Memoir by Iliana Regan](http://newsletters.riotnewmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Burn-the-Place.jpeg)
Burn the Place: A Memoir by Iliana Regan
Iliana Regan grew up on a small farm in Indiana, going out on foraging expeditions with her family members and learning how to live with the land around her. As she grew older and began to realize she was queer, she tried to bury that knowledge with alcoholism and an intense amount of work in the food industry. As she worked her way up through the restaurant world, she discovered her calling, the thing that gave her purpose. She began to focus more on ingredients, remembering her childhood spent searching for ingredients with her family. Regan writes about her complex inner world, struggling to stay sober and create a better world for herself where she accepts who she is and becomes her best self. Eventually, she started a Michelin-starred restaurant that put her name on the map. What’s more, Burn the Place became the first food-related book in four decades to be longlisted for the National Book Award.
![a graphic of the cover of East a Peach: A Memoir by David Chang](http://newsletters.riotnewmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Eat-a-Peach.jpg)
Eat a Peach: A Memoir by David Chang
David Chang is known for his food documentaries Ugly Delicious and Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. And before that, he was known as a rising star, chef-owner of his award-winning restaurant Momofuku. But while everyone admired Chang for being a successful entrepreneur and chef, inside, he struggled with anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. He struggled with anger management, yelling at his staff and hating himself after. After several years of therapy, David Chang finally came to the realization that he was, in fact, the problem. In his memoir, Chang describes his life as the child of Korean immigrants, his father pushing him to be the best golfer he could be. But Chang chafed at his parents’ never-ending list of expectations, while simultaneously understanding that pushing him was their form of loving him. Eat a Peach is not a memoir of a man who’s finished his path to healing. Instead, it is written by a man who has just started healing and is now facing the consequences of his actions, just beginning to make amends to the people he’s hurt along the way.
That’s it for this week! You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave, over on Instagram @kdwinchester, 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 over on Book Riot.
Happy reading, Friends!
~ Kendra