Bianca's Picks

Before beginning with Phoenix Books Rutland, Bianca dusted the not-so-distant shelves of Griswold Library at Green Mountain College, and is now working in the college's sustainability office as the Community Service & Outreach Coordinator. When Bianca isn't rousing students to action or teaching writing, she can be found learning new recipes and experimenting in the kitchen, or reading up on new UN Resolutions. She's used spices in her poetry before, too, and loves books that surprise her like cayenne in mac n' cheese.

Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Emily Von Euw

Reviewed by: 
Bianca
Staff Pick Badge
The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook: The Must-Have Resource for Plant-Based Eaters Cover Image

The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook: The Must-Have Resource for Plant-Based Eaters (Paperback)

By Emily von Euw, Kathy Hester, Amber St. Peter, Marie Reginato, Celine Steen, Linda Meyer, Alex Meyer
$30.00
ISBN: 9781624146411
Availability: Not in stock. At Our Partner Warehouse: Usually Ships in 4-7 Days.
Published: Page Street Publishing - October 23rd, 2018

It really is ultimate, and I'm not vegan; though, I enjoy a mostly plant diet and I love the vibrancy of beets. I had never had a blender but got one two days before quarantine started and have been lucky to use it for all sorts of recipes! 

Healing the Divide - James Crews

Reviewed by: 
Bianca
Staff Pick Badge
Healing the Divide: Poems of Kindness and Connection Cover Image

Healing the Divide: Poems of Kindness and Connection (Paperback)

By James Crews (Editor), Ted Kooser (Preface by)
$19.95
ISBN: 9781732743458
Availability: Click Title to See Location Inventory
Published: Green Writers Press - April 9th, 2019

If you give Healing the Divide a chance -- if you hold it with purpose in your hands -- then it will hold you back. The poems in this varied collection hold space for reflection and meaning-making. Read in the morning as part of your meditation practice.

Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee

Reviewed by: 
Bianca
Staff Pick Badge
Pachinko (National Book Award Finalist) Cover Image

Pachinko (National Book Award Finalist) (Hardcover)

By Min Jin Lee
$28.00
ISBN: 9781455563937
Availability: Not in stock. At Our Partner Warehouse: Usually Ships in 4-7 Days.
Published: Grand Central Publishing - February 7th, 2017

I was unfamiliar with the game, "Pachinko," before I picked up Min Jin Lee's inspiring book, but if you believe in the adage that "life is a game," then her story is such: life. It incorporates so much rich world history, following a Korean family in Japan through generations after war, so you get treated to issues of gender, socioeconomics, and religion along with beautiful prose. Highly recommended!

Pig Tales, by Barry Estabrook

Reviewed by: 
Bianca
Staff Pick Badge
Pig Tales: An Omnivore's Quest for Sustainable Meat Cover Image

Pig Tales: An Omnivore's Quest for Sustainable Meat (Paperback)

By Barry Estabrook
$16.95
Email or call for price.
ISBN: 9780393352931
Published: W. W. Norton & Company - June 21st, 2016

Would you wrap bacon up in bacon, if you could? Are you a vegan or vegetarian? Either way, you will love learning about the lives of pigs in this well-researched scientific tale. Read up, and eat up, differently, after local VT author Barry Estabrook brings back heart to the dinner table.
5 out of 5 piglets!
 

Corn-Pone 'Pinions, by David Mook

Reviewed by: 
Bianca

Corn-Pone 'Pinions is a thoughtful collection of self-aware poems and essays with the added splendor of current political cartoons. Mook acknowledges his white privilege with an artful analogy in the essay, "Born on Third Base," and his poem, "Castleton University War Memorial," sheds its shadow on the grim reality of future conflicts. It's an intense and greatly fulfilling exploration of our modern society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quiet, by Susan Cain

Staff Pick Badge
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking Cover Image

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking (Paperback)

By Susan Cain
$18.00
ISBN: 9780307352156
Availability: Click Title to See Location Inventory
Published: Crown - January 29th, 2013

Artfully researched, Cain poses and answers a question I have often wondered about after growing up being called "shy" and denying it every step of the way: is it wrong to be an introvert? This book draws into the light the differences between a distinct separation in our culture and allows the evidence to speak for itself on the benefits on giving a bit more power to the quieter population.