From House of Nanking noodle recipes in print for the first time to a dystopian tale of a robot noodle shop from Annalee Newitz, and Bay Area butterflies to Marin County’s Toluma Farms treats, here’s the current crop of books we’re reading this season.
Butterflies of the Bay Area and (Slightly) Beyond: An Illustrated Guide, by Liam O’Brien
Self-taught lepidopterist and illustrator Liam O'Brien has spent decades learning about and loving butterflies. In this new guide, he shares stories and 700 hand-drawn illustrations of the greater Bay Area’s 135 species, as well as practical tips for finding and identifying our local butterflies (think silver-spotted skippers and swallowtails). O'Brien created the Green Hairstreak Project for the organization Nature in the City and led efforts to restore variable checkerspots to the Presidio. Since 2015, he has helped monitor the endangered mission blue butterfly in the Marin Headlands. // $50, Heyday Books
(Courtesy of @prince.reads)
Automatic Noodle, by Annalee Newitz
Acclaimed Bay Area science journalist, podcaster (Our Opinions Are Correct), and former editor-in-chief at Gizmodo, Newitz adds a fourth novel to their collection, which already includes The Terraformers, The Future of Another Timeline, and Autonomous (winner of the Lambda Literary Award). In the near-future novella Automatic Noodle, a crew of deactivated robots open a noodle shop to make food for San Francisco humans recovering from a war. Local author Michael Chabon says this "deceptively breezy, sneakily poignant, culinary dystopian redemption tale… blends the pleasures of a heist, a satirical romp, and The Bear.” // $25, Macmillan
Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy, by Mary Roach
New nonfiction from the always-entertaining science writer Roach is highly anticipated. This time, the New York Times best-selling author of Stiff, Packing for Mars, and Fuzz gives us an exploration of the difficult questions and impressive advances prompted by the human body’s failings and our attempts to grow body parts from scratch. Traveling from a stem cell “hair nursery” in San Diego’s tech hub to a legendary burn unit in Boston, Roach brings her unique humor to the latest technologies and questions like: Can a donated heart be made to beat forever, or can an intestine provide a workable substitute for a vagina? // $28, Penguin Random House
Lessons in Magic and Disaster, by Charlie Jane Anders
You might recognize Charlie Jane Anders as host of the long-running Writers with Drinks literary event in SF. She has also won the Hugo, Nebula, Sturgeon, Lambda Literary, Crawford, and Locus Awards; co-created Escapade, a transgender superhero, for Marvel Comics; and reviews science fiction and fantasy for the Washington Post. In her latest novel, a young witch—who appears to be the prototypical New England grad student/literary nerd—teaches her grieving mom to do magic. Library Journal calls the book "a breathtaking work of magic, grief, and love. The vulnerable depiction of relationships and challenges within queer and trans communities is heart-wrenching but still reflects hope and optimism throughout." // $30, Macmillan
Feasts on the Farm: Over 60 Seasonal Recipes and Stories of Sustainable Farming from Tomales Farmstead Creamery, by Tamara Jo Hicks and Jessica MacLeod
Toluma Farms is a 160-acre goat and sheep dairy and educational center just a few miles from the Pacific Coast in Marin County that’s been stewarded by Tamara Jo Hicks and her family since 2003. Working with writer and illustrator Jessica MacLeod, Hicks shows readers how to take advantage of the Northern California bounty we are so lucky to have access to. With recipes straddling the Bay Area's many microclimates and seasons (think pumpkin muffins with maple goat butter, roasted Dungeness crab with herb butter, and the perfect summer cheese board), Feasts on the Farm pairs recipes with advocacy and education. // $30, Chronicle Books
(Courtesy of @colpapress)
The Basement Tapes, edited by Luca Antonucci & Mitsu Okubo
An analog media fan’s paradise, The Basement, a studio and art collective based in the Mission District, has curated a self-proclaimed “VHS seed bank of San Francisco.” The Basement Tapes offers a unique look at the eccentric archive shaped by a fascination with greasy horror films, obscure science fiction, and niche, special-interest cinema. // $35, Colpa Press
House of Nanking: Family Recipes from San Francisco' s Favorite Chinese Restaurant, by Kathy Fang and Peter Fang
Since opening in 1988, House of Nanking has been a popular local culinary destination for more than 35 years, earning a legacy business designation in 2020. This accessible book, featuring 100-plus recipes, marks the first time the instructions for making the restaurant’s beloved Shanghai and Chinese American dishes have appeared in print. Kathy Fang, daughter of House of Nanking’s founders, Peter and Lily Fang, grew up in the restaurant. She shares with readers how to pan-fry, steam, cook in a wok, and prep vegetables the Chinese way. Kathy is also a two-time Chopped champion, and she and Peter have starred in the Food Network show Chef Dynasty: House of Fang. // $40, Abrams Books
Tassajara Stories: A Sort of Memoir/Oral History of the First Zen Buddhist Monastery in the West—The First Year, 1967, by David Chadwick
Chadwick’s memoir and oral history of Tassajara, a monastery founded south of San Francisco in 1967, “captures the wacky spirit, the dedication, and the courage required to leap into the unknown that characterized the earliest Zen students surrounding Suzuki Roshi,” says actor and author Peter Coyote. Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center, started the first Zen monastery in the West, attracting hippies, dreamers, serious practitioners, and notable counterculture celebs Alan Watts, Gary Snyder, and Allen Ginsberg, among others. // $33, Monkfish Publishing
Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music, by Greil Marcus
Oakland author Marcus was the first records editor at Rolling Stone in 1969. He released the original Mystery Train in 1975 and now, in this special 50th-anniversary edition, he revives its analysis of the relationship between rock 'n' roll music and America with updated discographies and new intros. Marcus' definitive book focuses on just six bands and artists: early rock 'n' roller Harmonica Frank; country blues singer Robert Johnson; and some of the better-known musicians who followed—The Band, Sly Stone, Randy Newman, and Elvis Presley. // $22, Penguin Random House
(Courtesy of @akkersfood)
Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love: A Cookbook, by Samin Nosrat
Chef, teacher, and author of the bestselling Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat (also a terrific documentary series on Netflix), Samin Nosrat learned to cook at Chez Panisse while studying at UC Berkeley. Renowned for the warmth and charm that accompany her precise and meticulous cooking advice, Nosrat’s new book features the food she most loves to make for herself and her friends. With recipes for delicious-sounding roast chicken burnished with saffron, yellow cake with chocolate frosting, and ricotta custard pancakes, Good Things also includes advice on fundamentals like selecting olive oil and the best uses for your pressure cooker. // $45, Penguin Random House
Designing the Lush, Dry Garden: How to Create a Climate-resilient, Low-water Paradise, by Cricket Riley, Alice Kitajima, & Kier Holmes
Ruth Bancroft (1908-2017) was a self-taught garden designer whose methods highlight richly textured and colorful layers of regionally climate-appropriate flowers, shrubs, trees, and succulents. Walnut Creek’s Ruth Bancroft Garden, known as one of the finest dry outdoor botanical gardens in the world, is a pioneering example of resilient design with a focus on water conservation. This is the first guide exploring her methods, and it includes 20 portraits of gardens inspired by the process, with advice on plant selection, integrating paths and structures, and consistently adhering to a water-wise design. // $40, Timber Press
All the President’s Money: How the Men Who Governed America Governed Their Money, by Megan Gorman
Bestselling SF-based author, tax attorney, and wealth manager Megan Gorman reveals the complex financial stories behind American presidents in All the President’s Money. From fortunes made to fortunes lost, the book gives context to the ways in which private fortunes (or lack thereof) intersect with the highest office in the U.S. Initially published in hardcover last fall, Gorman’s acclaimed nonfiction is out in paperback this week. // $20, Regalo Press
