FREE BOOKS! The books are gone now | It’s that time again: The first person to write in and request one of the books linked below gets it for free. Limit one per person and you must request a specific book and send me your mailing address — although we won’t use your email or postal address for anything other than sending you the book. Email me for a free book while they last!
Note: If you’ve already won a book from me give someone else a chance. Thanks!
Gone! Sent to Machelle of Antioch, Illinois
Blue Ribbon USA: Prize Winning Recipes from State and County Fairs | “The most interesting part of this slender volume is not the collection of odd prizewinning recipes (Five-Minute Crock-Pot Burritos, anyone?), but rather the illustrations, anecdotes and ephemera that come out of the 150-year history of the state fair. Tales of prize-winning livestock and oversized vegetables abound; the authors deem fairs ‘a rare opportunity…to be recognized for an astounding array of superlatives: the perfect pie…the sweetest fudge, the farthest-spit watermelon seed.” The superlative recipes selected for this volume, one from each state, prove hit-or-miss. Take Korean Oven-Roasted Turkey SPAM Stir-Fry, winner of the New Mexico State Fair’s ‘Best SPAM Recipe competition’; it’s an intrepid mix of soy sauce, cornstarch, snow peas and canned meat that ends up tasting like Chinese take-out-not necessarily a bad thing in the wake of Oregon’s Bacon Cheeseburger Potato Salad.” By John Margolies and Georgia Orcutt —Publishers Weekly (List price: $16.95)
Gone! Sent to Stephanie of Medford, Massachusetts
Travels with Barley: A Journey Through Beer Culture in America | “Thoreau said, ‘The tavern will compare favorably with the church.’ Following this premise rather closely, longtime Wall Street Journal writer and novelist Wells (Junior’s Leg) searches for his preferred house of worship: the ‘perfect beer joint.’ Setting out to follow the Mississippi River, Wells writes, ‘I would begin in Minnesota among folk who, geographically speaking, are practically Canadians and by reputation descended from good beer-drinking Swedes and Germans. I would slide down soon enough into the Great Beer Belly of America, for, by lore at least, Midwesterners are presumed to be the mightiest of U.S. beer drinkers.’ Full of profundities (‘One thing you can say about lagers: the good ones don’t make you work very hard to like them’), the book also lends historical, scientific and cultural insights into the $75 billion industry—from the likes of beer behemoths like Budweiser to newfangled Extreme Beer, which has bottle values comparable to fine Bordeaux. Along the way, Wells encounters quirky characters, and the pages he devotes to describing brewers, bar proprietors, bartenders and plain ol’ beer drinkers prove he’s more interested in beer people (84 million Americans drink beer) than the industry itself.” By Ken Wells —Publishers Weekly (List price: $24.00)
Yowza! Just email me for a free book while they’re still available!