By Collection Management Librarian Kathy
It’s that time of the year—the leaves start turning, a chill is in the air, the sun sets earlier, and we all start craving the deliciousness of pumpkin spice. Okay, maybe not all of us, but it is time to get cozy and comfy, start baking and boiling, and bust out the sweaters and hoodies.
Kick off fall with some spice
Oh My Gourd! How to Carve a Pumpkin: Plus 29 Other Fun Halloween Activities by Jack Hallow
Why you should try it: Duh? It's all about pumpkins! Carving, cooking, and crafting.
Description: Oh My Gourd! is your go-to gourd guide, with how-to-carve step-by-step instructions, 20 pumpkin recipes, 9 other uses for pumpkins and gourds, and two pumpkin carving stencils. Get back to the basics with a handy step-by-step for carving a pumpkin. Use one of the included templates to carve your creation. Then discover how to turn a simple gourd into a water bottle or a colorful animal feeder that will bring all sorts of critters to your garden. After, why not whip up a batch of smoky pumpkin deviled eggs, pumpkin chips, or a warming pumpkin spiced latte to sip while you watch your favorite holiday movie?
Purely Pumpkin: More Than 100 Wholesome Recipes to Share, Savor & Warm Your Kitchen by Allison Day
Why you should try it: Duh? It's all about pumpkins! But seriously, pumpkins are far more versatile than we give them credit for. They are so much more than pie! But also, they are delicious in pie.
Description: With savory and sweet recipes for all meals of the day—including a mouthwatering pumpkin dessert chapter—it's the cookbook your home shouldn't be without during the fall and winter months. Homemade pumpkin spice latte variations along with wholesome meals ideal for every day and holidays are tucked into this plentiful pumpkin volume.
Bite by Bite: Nourishments & Jamborees by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Why you should try it: Why do we crave all things pumpkin spice around this time? Psychologists say it's all about nostalgia. Nezhukumatathil would likely agree, and it's not just this flavor but food in general.
Description: Nezhukumatathil restores our astonishment and wonder about food through her encounters with a range of foods and food traditions. From shave ice to lumpia, mangoes to pecans, rambutan to vanilla, she investigates how food marks our experiences and identities and explores the boundaries between heritage and memory.
Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea by Michelle M. Francl
Why you should try it: It's not just coffee that warms our souls (and hands) on cool, crisp days—it's also tea. If you've ever wondered how tea leaves have such a variety of flavors (including pumpkin and spice), check this out.
Description: Tea contains over a hundred different chemical compounds which contribute to its colour, taste, and scent—and its stimulating effects. Beginning with the leaves, Steeped explores the chemistry behind different styles of tea, from green teas to pu-erh. It tackles the age-old question of when, or even whether, to add milk. And it puts the chemistry to use with advice on how to brew a better cup.
Every Season Is Soup Season: 85+ Souper-Adaptable Recipes to Batch, Share, Reinvent & Enjoy by Shelly Westerhausen Worcel
Why you should try it: Sure, every season is for soup, but we all know that now is the time to kick it into high gear.
Description: These simple base recipes for healthy, yummy soups are easy to prepare and so satisfying. And the best part? You can riff on them endlessly with toppings and fixings—add mini meatballs, grilled cheese croutons, or a handful of grains. Or transform yesterday’s soup into an entirely new dish.
Njuta (Enjoy, Delight In): The Swedish Art of Savoring the Moment by Niki Brantmark
Why you should try it: While drinking your pumpkin spice latte, do you not enjoy, delight in, and savor it? Maybe you should do like the Swedes and have more of those moments even without (gasp!) the latte.
Description: Deeply ingrained in the Swedish psyche, njuta is about simplicity and intent in every aspect of life, from daily routines and leisure to family and food and everything in between.
The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore
Why you should try it: Pumpkin spice in fiction form—yes, please!
Description: When Jeanie’s aunt gifts her the beloved Pumpkin Spice Café in the small town of Dream Harbor, Jeanie jumps at the chance for a fresh start away from her very dull desk job. Logan is a local farmer who avoids Dream Harbor’s gossip at all costs. But Jeanie’s arrival disrupts Logan’s routine, and he wants nothing to do with the irritatingly upbeat new girl, except that he finds himself inexplicably drawn to her.
The Baker & the Bard: A Cozy Fantasy Adventure by Fern Haught
Why you try it: I don't know what could make this teen graphic novel more perfect for the season. It has cozy in the title, there's baking, foraging for mushrooms, and a cover palette that screams fall.
Description: Juniper and Hadley have a good thing going in Larkspur, spending their respective days apprenticing at a little bakery and performing at the local inn. But when a stranger makes an unusual order at the bakery, the two friends set out on a journey to forage the magical mushrooms needed to make the requested galette pastries. Along the way, they stumble across a mystery too compelling to ignore: Something has been coming out of the woods at night and eating the local farmers' crops, leaving only a trail of glowy goo behind. Intent on finally going on an adventure that could fuel their bardic craft, Hadley tows Juniper into the woods to investigate.
About Kathy
Kathy is a Collection Management Librarian who loves reading, sharing, and talking about books. Her missions in life are to: create communities of readers, convince folks that her official title should be "Book Pusher," and refute that "disco" is a dirty word.
