The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food by Jennifer 8. Lee

Nonfiction
Jennifer 8. Lee (yes, 8 is her middle name) investigates the history of Chinese food in this entertaining, fact-filled book. In the process, she discovers that many of her beloved childhood dishes have little in common with food served in China, and that fortune cookies may actually be Japanese in origin. Through reading this book, you'll find out how little you know about what is possibly the world's most popular cuisine.

Submitted by PJ

Cold Beer and Crocodiles: a Bicycle Journey into Australia by Roff Martin Smith

Travel/Memoir
Smith, a Time magazine correspondent based in Sydney, realizes that he's never experienced the broad scope of Australian land and character. He embarks on a 10,000 mile bicycle circuit through cities, deserts, mountains, and villages, where the personalities are as diverse as the landscape. A very engaging read.

Submitted by Judith

Here if You Need Me: A True Story by Kate Braestrup


Memoir
Poignant and inspiring experiences of a chaplain for the Maine Waren Service, which does search and rescue missions. When her husband, a Maine state trooper, dies, Kate takes up his chosen second career to become an ordained minister, while raising her four children. Her well-written stories, rooted in service to others in their time of need, convey humor, pathos, and love in a very readable and moving book.

Submitted by Judith

The Ponds of Kalambayi by Mike Tidwell

Memoir
Early in his career, Tidwell devoted two years to working in the Peace Corps, teaching villagers to build ponds and raise fish in central Zaire. This well-written book is rich with stories of interesting people and insights into a culture very different from anything I've known. His experiences range from funny to heart-wrenching, and are always attention-grabbing.

Submitted by Judith

Love in the Driest Season: A Family Memoir
by Neely Tucker

Memoir
When journalist Neely Tucker and his wife settled in Zimbabwe, they knew that years of exposure to world crises had numbed their senses to human suffering. Feeling the need for a constructive response to Zimbabwe's growing orphan population, they began to volunteer at local orphanages where they fell in love with an abandoned baby girl. Their struggle to adopt and save one child re-aligned all other priorities.

Submitted by Max

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

Fiction
A very emotional book full of twists, turns, and surprise that had me weeping, but in a good way!
It pulls together an old man, a teenage girl, and a grieving widow; it's funny, sad, and hopeful, and extremely well-written.

Submitted by L.B.

Deafening by Francis Itani

Historical Fiction
A moving story of the life of a deaf woman in Canada during World War I. It's a beautifully written view of both love and war, and an unforgettable depiction of a world where sound only exists on the margins.

Submitted by L.B.