Mikaela's Reviews

If you've read Name of the Wind, the first in this awesome science fiction/fantasy series, don't hesitate to pick up book #2, Wise Man's Fear. This book delivers every bit as much (and more) as the first book, and is full of great moments in Kvothe's path to adulthood as well as the adventure of his lifetime. We're still all eagerly awaiting book #3, will it be out this year? Please Patrick Rothfuss?

This book is eerie in a good way. It makes you scared for your life and anxious about your place on earth. Its existentialism is hard to swallow, and yet I read this book within a span of days. Don Delillo is a master at his craft of writing about the futility of human life, as well as the overwhelming and sometimes suffocating fear of death. 

If you want to read a classic that still remains relevant today, I definitely recommend Sense and Sensibility, even more so than Pride and Prejudice. Two sisters share intertwining, though directly opposite fates, and the tale unfolds much in the infamous Austen writing style--with much turning out wrong in order to find what is right. If you've never read Austen before, try this book. 

I picked this book up on a trip to Europe at the recommendation of another bookseller. I will always take other booksellers' advice! This book was stunningly, painfully beautiful and poetic. In fact, it's written by a poet. I'm a huge fan of poets turned fiction writers--they make the landscape of novels so fantastic.

There are two things that Ruth Reichl was put on this Earth to do: cook food and write about it. Thus it makes a lot of sense that her latest venture would be not only her first fiction ever, but that it would be about a young woman discovering the pleasures of food, and that, of course, it would be spectacular. I can imagine taking this book to the beach and spending hours devouring it. Sometimes you just need to read something really fun.

I have read everything David Sedaris has ever written and you should, too! This is his latest book of humorous essays, which explore everything from a cross-country train ride to a bout of cleaning trash along the roadway. I love Sedaris’ outlook on life, which I would describe as a combination of serious and funny, anecdotal and ever-concerned with the extraordinariness of the mundane. He will make you laugh at yourself and say, “I have totally thought that before.” No matter how peculiar the experience, Sedaris puts it to paper for the world to laugh alongside him.

This is a great guide to the pleasures of community farming and its ties to community building--everything from creating compost to planning a complete urban garden. It’s a great how-to as well as a reflective book. Author Joffe explores biodynamic farming as well as the political implications of the ways we farm and sustain ourselves. A joy to read and absorb, Citizen Farmer is all about what we are passing on to the next generation—the knowledge and the practice of sustainability.

This is a brilliant compilation of creator Douglas Gayeton’s photo-illustrated art, focused on the pertinent topic of local, sustainable food and agricultural practices in the nation. Gayeton’s work simplifies the sometimes overly complex terminology of the many diverse food movements in the country—including “organic,” “grass-fed,” and “locavore”—to make the sustainable food movement accessible to everyone, as it should be.

Santa Cruz author Amelia Slayton Loftus knows how to do it right! Like many in the area, Loftus is in support of organic, small-scale farming, and argues that it follows that those who call for sustainable food should also call for sustainable drink. A great guide to homebrewing for any aspiring beer crafter—and in league with some of the best instruction guides out there—this book is a testament to delicious, organic beer. 

Patrick Martins—deeply involved with the Slow Food movement—has written a manifesto that makes clear that meat is something we can eat sustainably, making the world a better place in the process. Endorsed by chef Alice Waters, who writes its introduction, the book argues that local artisan craft and agriculture are things worth fighting for. I don’t often find myself unable to put a book down, but this was one of those pleasant exceptions that kept me up late in the night, ready to stir things up.