book reviews
Imagine living in a community with its own farm, where you can walk from your home to buy freshly harvested food. In Welcome to the Agrihood , housing expert Anna DeSimone spotlights agriculture-focused communities around the U.S., including California, then takes the farm-to-table lifestyle a step further by telling readers how to grow their own food. Paperback The East Bay is a culturally rich region that includes Oakland, Berkeley and six other cities. Carolyn Jung, a James Beard Award- winning food and wine writer, captures the culinary diversity of the region in her new book, East Bay Cooks . The ambitious cookbook includes 80 recipes from 40 restaurants, ranging from shrimp tacos to a soba noodle salad. Hardcover from Figure 1 Publishing. $32.99.
Just the name of the book is likely to spark the imagination of young readers. Lynn Brunelle, a writer for Bill Nye the Science Guy, created Turn This Book Into a Beehive! to teach children about the fascinating world of bees. It comes with 19 different activities, including turning the cover into a real beehive that houses friendly, non-stinging mason bees. Paperback fromWorkman Publishing. $19.95.
from Housing 2020 Publishing. $19.95.
A new trend in organic gardening is use of biochar: slow-roasted organic materials such as wood, brush and yard waste mixed with compost and manure. In his book Gardening with Biochar , organic gardening expert Jeff Cox says biochar supercharges garden soil and eliminates the need to use fertilizer. He gives readers the information they need to make and use biochar in a home garden. Paperback from Storey Publishing. $18.95.
Crush: The Triumph of California Wine tells the 200-year history of wine in the Golden State, including the 1976 blind tasting in Paris that led to California wines being respected and enjoyed worldwide. Author John Briscoe is a poet, restaurant co-owner and San Francisco lawyer who has argued cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Hardcover from University of Nevada Press. $34.95.
California Bountiful’s Book Reviews highlight books related to rural living and California agriculture. To suggest a book, email cbmagazine@californiabountiful.com.
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