The Best Cook in the World: Tales from My Momma’ s Table
By Rick Bragg Aside from some ancestors who settled in Kentucky before finding their way to Pennsylvania, I’ m a Yankee through and through. But I’ m a Yankee who understands that Southern food has some of the best offerings in the world. I have stood in line for biscuits in unseasonably cold weather knowing they’ d be worth it in the end, have detoured my business travels because I read about a place that has the best greens, and don’ t even get me started on my barbecue opinions. My love of food didn’ t happen accidentally. Much like Rick Bragg, I got it from my mom. This book is a love letter to his mom and her southern cooking, a journey into the stories and histories that recipes have to share and tell. Thankfully for us, he includes a lot of her recipes, some of which are even pre-Civil War, as a way to preserve her history and culture, and ultimately as a way to always remember his mom and share her with the world.
Marmee
By Sarah Miller To this day, Little Women remains one of my favorite books, and movies, of all time. I’ ve had conversations with friends about which of the March sisters we think we’ re most like, somehow defining our personalities behind our choices, similar to picking which Golden Girl we best relate to. But I can’ t recall a time in all the years I’ ve played this game when someone has chosen the mother, Marmee. Even in the film adaptations, she’ s, at best, a side character. Granted, the story is about the sisters, but she’ s raising them and helping them create themselves. It wasn’ t until the 2019 film version that Marmee, played by Laura Dern, started to receive the credit she’ d long been due. Here, author Sarah Miller has also picked up on the notion that Marmee deserved the spotlight, writing the book a few years after the latest film came out. Margaret March, aka Marmee, is caught up in the world of the Civil War, with her husband away serving as a chaplain in the Union Army, and all the struggles that came with surviving that period. Money is tight, she has four daughters to look after, and she has a community she seeks to serve. How can one woman handle all of that, and when will it possibly be too much? If you’ ve wanted to explore women’ s lives during this era or have ever wanted to know more about Marmee the person, and not just the mother, this is a book you’ ll want to read. Bonus: Miller has also written a book about Caroline, the mom from the Little House on the Prairie series, bringing her into the spotlight as well.
Elin Woods is a librarian from the mountains of western Pennsylvania. When she ' s not busy reading, she enjoys baking historical treats and exploring the East Coast. She balances her mostly nonfiction history reading with the occasional modern romance novel and plenty of cookbooks. nwgeorgialiving. com | 11