Good Reads: A salmagundi of books as the weather breaks

The Chester Telegraph introduces its new column from our friends at Misty Valley Books. Good Reads will be compiled by John  Hoover from Misty Valley’s staff recommendations. It will appear the first week of every month in our Community & Arts Life section. Sometimes there will be a theme, sometimes not. Using the Comment form below, feel free to add your own reviews and recommendations. We love hearing from you.

Looking for a good book to read?  The owners and staff at Misty Valley Books are avid readers and are always discovering books, old and new, that we think of as good reads.  Beginning this month, Good Reads will let you in on books we’ve recently read and enjoyed.  We’ll give you capsule reviews from a variety of genres and for all age groups.  Our hope is that you will find titles in this column that will spark your interest to continue your exploration of the wonderful worlds available to you through books.

• With the graduation season at hand, Amanda, Misty Valley’s kitchen maven, recommends Kitchen Express by Mark Bittman ($15). “Excellent cookbook for a college student moving into his/her first apartment. Simple recipes and a straightforward approach, nothing complicated.”

• In our Nature and Science section, Bill likes Packing for Mars by Mary Roach ($15.95). “…a well-researched, fascinating, funny book about the space program! Included are some of the, let’s say, grosser aspects of space travel.”

• For lovers of history, Kim suggests Candice Millard’s River of Doubt ($19). Kim says “Fantastic! Historical drama yet it reads like an adventure novel. Plenty of natural history and intrigue, as well as a local connection – one of Roosevelt’s companions – Dr. George Cherrie – lived just down the road in Townshend, VT.”

• As for fiction, Lynne highly recommends The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philip Sendker ($14.95). “This is one of those rare books that you don’t want to end. A complex love story set in New York and Burma and one that will change the way you understand the world.”

• And for a baby shower gift, I’d like to suggest to what miserable wretches have i been born by Suzanne Weber ($16). This book is subtitled, “Revenge Poetry for Babies and Toddlers.” Laugh-out-loud funny: the book that asks the question “How do you breed contempt?” then supplies the answer, “Have a baby.”

—  by John Hoover