I recently read and loved Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. This irresistible debut novel had me wanting to convert my kitchen into a chemistry lab just in time for Thanksgiving dinner.
If you’re like me, when a book grabs you and pulls you in like this one does, you want to quickly find another satisfyingly delicious read. I recommend you dish up a helping of Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs.
Augusta Simpson, better known as Gus to fans of her long-running cooking show, is not sure how she feels about turning 50. Birthday cakes are her specialty, after all, so she should be excited about creating a grand confection to mark this milestone. But the TV business favors the youthful and the novel. For Simpson, keeping her top spot on the Cooking Channel’s ratings is tenuous, especially when beautiful, vivacious Carmen Vega hits the scene. Former Miss Spain, Vega, wants to bring her flair for Latin flavors to a Cooking Channel audience ready for something new and exciting.
Taking a page from Elizabeth Zott, the resourceful Simpson begins to question the status quo of her life and rallies her friends and family to forge a way forward from past tragedies and celebrate the flavors of life.
Tracy Hvezda-Lehtola is a patron experience supervisor for the Hennepin County Library–Excelsior. Read more at hclib.org.
![Finding enough to do in her Long Lake garden isn’t difficult for Meg Cowden. She relishes the opportunity. “Gardening is a multifaceted life-giving hobby,” she says. “It provides you with the opportunity to slow down, observe [and] experience deep reverence daily, and it’s grounding.”](https://lakeminnetonkamag.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Future_LKM_GardenTour_Meg_7743.jpg)
