Books and Breads Blog

June 17, 2025

The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka *** (of 4)

An expertly crafted introduction to the people that swim laps with the author. Lap swimmers, she makes clear, forego daylight and nature in exchange for...

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June 17, 2025

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys **** (of 4)

There is no shortage of books describing the horrors of war, which makes this novel of World War II refugees so remarkable for its riveting...

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June 2, 2025

The Lock-Up by John Banville ** (of 4)

The remarkably prolific Irish writer, John Banville, gives his take on Jews in Ireland soon after the end of WW II. Rosa Jacobs is a...

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June 2, 2025

A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid (***) of 4

Jamaica Kincaid's second book (1988) expands the vision of a theoretical tourist vacationing in Antigua. The tourist soaks up deliciously sunny skies, gazes at unbelievably...

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June 2, 2025

Red Scare by Clay Risen *** (of 4)

Clay Risen's thorough recounting of the Red Scare, which began well before Joseph McCarthy's rise to infamy, makes clear that right wing opposition to progressive...

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May 5, 2025

Eating Invasive Weeds: New On-line Exhibit

The Museum of Food and Culture Launches Virtual Exhibit on Eating Invasive Weeds and Food Sovereignty Katherine Hoehl and I worked on this exhibit for...

Environment/Nature/Ag

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May 5, 2025

Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson *** (of 4)

This is Kate Atkinson’s sixth in her series of Jackson Brody novels. Brody is former British police, now private investigator, called upon to look for...

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May 1, 2025

An African History of Africa by Zeinab Badawi *** (of 4)

A much needed, and enthusiastically rendered account of the history of Africa as seen through the eyes of Africans. Badawi, a native of Sudan, and...

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May 1, 2025

Bomb by Steve Sheinkin *** (of 4)

A young adult award winning (Newberry Honor, Sibert Medal) account of the making of the world’s first nuclear bomb and attempts by the Russians to...

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May 1, 2025

The Hidden Globe by Atossa Araxia Abrahamian *** (of 4)

For hundreds of years, the Swiss have maintained public neutrality. The country did not join the United Nations until 2002. Yet, almost since the end...

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