Ten Tomatoes That Changed the World: A History by William Alexander According to the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, tomatoes are “the world’s most popular vegetable.” Never mind that tomatoes, which come from the flowering part of the plant and have seeds, are more accurately a fruit — they represent 17% of all vegetables produced annually. … Read more
Here With You: A Memoir of Love, Family, and Addiction by Kathy Wagner The opioid crisis has reached epidemic proportions with virtually no place escaping its devastation. Here in Whatcom County, according to data provided by the Whatcom County Medical Examiner’s Office, there were 136 overdose-related deaths in 2023, up from 91 in 2022. Libraries and other agencies now offer free naloxone, a … Read more
The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai From childhood favorites to special meals with friends or family, few things bring us back to the past as immediately as the smell or taste of a particular dish. But sometimes foods become lost to time and circumstance, and that’s where Nagare and Koishi Kamogawa come in. From their … Read more
The French Ingredient: Making a Life in Paris One Lesson at a Time by Jane Bertch Midwesterner Jane Bertch wasn’t much of a world traveler when her job in finance took her overseas. But after spending several years in London, she felt ready to sign on to life in Paris. It wasn’t long before she fell … Read more
Daughters of Riga by Marian Exall Bellingham author Marian Exall trades mysteries for historical fiction with her newest title, “Daughters of Riga,” which follows the lives of several women whose lives crossed paths in Latvia during World War II. While so much has been written about the Blitz in Britain and the occupation of France and the … Read more
The Chaos Machine: The Inside Story of How Social Media Rewired Our Minds and Our World by Max Fisher Max Fisher, an international reporter and columnist, has written extensively on diplomacy, conflict and social change. In “The Chaos Machine,” Fisher turns his journalistic lens to the world of social media and its impact on society. … Read more
This Is the Honey: An Anthology of Contemporary Black Poets; edited by Kwame Alexander In 2020, poet Kevin Young, current director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and poetry editor for the New Yorker, published “African American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle and Song.” Young’s 1,110-page anthology is a comprehensive array of Black poets from … Read more
Brutalities: A Love Story by Margo Steines Since she was a teenager, Margo Steines has been drawn to risk and self-inflicted suffering. Substance use, an abusive relationship, and careers as a dominatrix and a welder in high-rise buildings are all stops on her lifetime tour of pain—both physical and emotional. Even after she settles into a … Read more
The Night Parade: A Speculative Memoir by Jami Nakamura Lin “Maybe this isn’t a story about ghosts, but a story about telling a story about ghosts.” This genre-defying memoir uses multiple storytelling traditions to make sense of mental illness, motherhood, and grief. Jami Nakamura Lin, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at seventeen, has always struggled … Read more
Find Yourself at Home: A Conscious Approach to Shaping Your Space and Your Life by Emily Grosvenor Emily Grosvenor is a feng shui consultant, editor of Oregon Home magazine and author of “Find Yourself at Home: A Conscious Approach to Shaping Your Space and Your Life.” (Photo courtesy of Beth Olson Creative) How would your life change if your concept of home was not as sanctuary, a … Read more