Nathalie Cooke’s culinary history text "Tastes and Traditions" explores menus as strategic documents—much more than simple bills of fare. Menus, it says, do not always present their wares in a straightforward way; some go off the... Read More

A decadent horror story (for the oyster) narrated with awe and gusto, Andreas Ammer’s "Portrait of an Oyster" is must for all who find their joy on the half shell. Once “a cheap form of nourishment” twice consumed to near... Read More

The incisive autobiographical essays of Amy Lee Scott’s "When the World Explodes" ponder private tragedies and global threats. Eleven inquisitive pieces consider personal crises alongside natural disasters and gun violence. One links... Read More

In Brandon Mull’s exciting fantasy novel The Gorgon’s Fury, adventurers work to save a magical kingdom. Newel and Doren are satyr cousins who are determined to win the annual Satyr Games. In addition to their competitive foes Barrett... Read More