Hobbies & Crafts

 

To order any of these titles, contact the library by email, mail or phone. You may also request these titles online through WolfPAC. All books listed are linked to Braille and Audio Reading Download site (BARD) for downloading. Happy Reading! 

 

May 2017

 

This recommended reading list contains books on cooking, gardening, and other hobbies.

 

The Backyard Beekeeper: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden by Kim Flottum

DB 83657

Read by Kerry Dukin. Reading time: 14 hours, 7 minutes.

BR 21396; 5 volumes of braille.

The third edition of a guide to husbandry techniques for bees. The author provides instruction for setting up a bee colony, caring for a colony in both urban and rural environments, the harvesting and uses of honey and beeswax, guidelines in the wake of colony collapse disorder, and more. 2014.

 

The Backyard Parables: Lessons on Gardening, and Life by Margaret Roach

DB 76330

Read by Margaret Strom. Reading time: 10 hours, 29 minutes.

Companion memoir to And I Shall Have Some Peace There (DB 76235), provides gardening tips and life lessons learned from the decades the author spent working in her upstate New York acreage. She divides her paean to gardening by the elements: water, earth, fire, and wind. Some strong language. 2013.

 

Baking with Mary Berry by Mary Berry

DB 84712

Read by Marsha Rehns. Reading time: 4 hours, 36 minutes.

BR 21519; 2 volumes of braille.

Collection of recipes and techniques for baking by one of the judges of PBS's The Great British Baking Show. Recipes are categorized into breakfast goods; cakes, cupcakes, and pastries; cookies, bars, and brownies; pies, tarts, and cobblers; British favorites; and special-occasion desserts. 2015.

 

Best Food Writing 2015 by Holly Hughes

DB 83714

Read by Kerry Dukin. Reading time: 12 hours, 17 minutes.

A collection of forty-four previously published essays exploring the draw of particular dishes and drinks, the restaurant business, traditions, and ideal kitchen tools, among other topics. Includes essays by Anthony Bourdain, J. Kenji López-Alt, Zainab Shah, and Kim Severson. 2015.

 

Dehydrating at Home: Getting the Best from Your Dehydrator, from Fruit Leather to Meat Jerkies by Michelle Keogh

DB 84287

Read by Kerry Dukin. Reading time: 4 hours, 9 minutes.

BR 21458; 2 volumes of braille.

Cookbook featuring recipes geared toward the use of dehydrators. Categories covered are fruits, vegetables, leathers, jerky, nuts and seeds, crackers and flatbreads, herbs and seasonings, breakfast, entrées, desserts, main meals, pet treats, and other household uses. Includes a guide to what to consider when buying a dehydrator. 2015.

 

Foolproof Preserving: A Guide to Small Batch Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Condiments, and More by America’s Test Kitchen

DB 86037

Read by Robert Sams. Reading time: 10 hours, 43 minutes.

BR 21670; 4 volumes of braille.

Guide to best practices and recipes related to preserving and canning food. Topics covered include common vocabulary, food preservation science, step-by-step canning instructions, tips for troubleshooting common issues, necessary tools, and recipes for jams, jellies, chutneys, pickles, tomatoes, fruit in syrup, condiments, and fruit butter. 2016.

 

Good and Cheap: Eat Well on $4/Day by Leanne Brown

DB 84666

Read by Kerry Dukin. Reading time: 6 hours, 15 minutes.

BR 21507; 3 volumes of braille.

Recipes originally created as part of a master's program capstone project to address the daily funding limitations of the SNAP food assistance program--capped at four dollars per person per day. Provides strategies for grocery shopping, guides to food seasonality, and suggestions for flavor enhancement. Includes cost per serving for recipes. 2015.

 

The Homemade Kitchen: Recipes for Cooking with Pleasure by Alana Chernila

DB 83884

Read by Marsha Rehns. Reading time: 8 hours, 45 minutes.

BR 21537; 4 volumes of braille.

Food blogger shares recipes centered around her kitchen philosophy of enjoying the process of creating tasty food that reflects the way you want to live your life. Each section provides tips and advice on topics like being a beginner, using scraps, and being kind to yourself. 2015.

 

How to Knit Socks That Fit: Techniques for Toe-Up and Cuff-Down Styles by Donna Druchunas

DB 84558

Read by Suazanne Duvall. Reading time: 3 hours, 9 minutes.

BR 21486; 2 volumes of braille.

Guide to the basics of knitting socks. Discusses considerations for choosing yarn, needle choice, determining sock fit and sizing, the parts of the sock, which direction to knit the sock--up from the toe, or down from the cuff, with specific techniques for each--knitting two socks at once, and more. 2015.

 

The Indestructible Houseplant: 200 Beautiful Plants That Everyone Can Grow by Tovah Martin

DB 85029

Read by Marsha Rehns. Reading time: 8 hours, 58 minutes.

A gardening expert shares tips for growing foolproof houseplants, arguing that the key is to pick the right plant. Focuses on two hundred plants that are easy to find and hard to kill. With detailed information on care, including potting, watering, and fertilizing. 2015.

 

Knitting Ephemera: A Compendium of Articles, Useful and Otherwise, For the Education and Amusement of the Handknitter by Carol Sulcoski

DB 86035

Read by Marsha Rehns. Reading time: 5 hours, 3 minutes.

Collection of articles, tidbits, and factoids of interest to knitters and crocheters. Includes entries about the patron saint of knitting--currently not assigned--a description of a nineteenth-century spinning bee, a history of the sizing of knitting needles and crochet hooks, a quiz on slogans for fiber-related companies, and more. 2015.

 

Knitting Pearls: Writers Writing about Knitting by Ann Hood

DB 84066

Read by Suzanne Duvall. Reading time: 8 hours, 59 minutes.

Collection of twenty-seven essays on the topic of knitting. Includes pieces by knitwear designer Jared Flood; Diana Gabaldon, author of Outlander (DB 36535); Christina Baker Kline, author of Orphan Train (DB 76746); Laura Lippman, author of the Tess Monaghan series; and more. Also contains six knitting patterns. 2016.

 

Modern German Cookbook by Frank Rosin

DB 84844

Read by Kerry Dukin. Reading time: 4 hours, 35 minutes.

Chef whose restaurant has received two Michelin stars shares recipes using traditional German cooking methods, but refined for a twenty-first-century audience. Dishes are arranged by the classic courses on a menu. Includes recipes for schnitzel and strudels along with foamed asparagus and sweet ravioli. 2015.

 

My Paris Market Cookbook: A Culinary Tour of French Flavors and Seasonal Recipes by Emily Dilling

DB 84201

Read by Kerry Dukin. Reading time: 5 hours, 38 minutes.

BR 21496; 3 volumes of braille.

American expatriate in Paris expands on her blog, Paris Paysanne, and shares the culture of local farmers markets around her, offering recipes arranged according to when ingredients are in season. Discusses the farmers she usually sources her food from and provides tips on understanding food seasonality. 2015.

 

On the Noodle Road: From Beijing to Rome, with Love and Pasta by Jen Lin-Liu

DB 77270

Read by Kerry Dukin. Reading time: 15 hours, 12 minutes.

BR 20230; 6 volumes of braille.

Chef makes a pilgrimage in 2010 from Beijing to Rome, tracing the evolution of food and culture along the ancient Silk Road. Focuses on the migration of noodles as a menu staple and explores other foods, including saffron and rhubarb. Includes recipes she learned from cooks along the route. 2013.

 

Recipes from My Home Kitchen: Asian and American Comfort Food from the Winner of MasterChef Season Three by Christine Ha

DB 76676

Read by Kerry Dukin. Reading time: 5 hours, 51 minutes.

BR 20085; 3 volumes of braille.

Winner of TV's MasterChef recalls teaching herself to make treasured comfort foods as a teenager after her mother's death, losing her vision to neuromyelitis optica at age twenty-five, and relearning to cook. Recipes range from appetizers to desserts, chicken pot pie to ginger-coconut tuiles. 2013.

 

Small-Space Vegetable Gardens: Growing Great Edibles in Containers, Raised Beds, and Small Plots by Andrea Bellamy

DB 83087

Read by Kerry Dukin. Reading time: 7 hours, 18 minutes.

BR 21234; 3 volumes of braille.

Focusing on the special challenges of gardening in containers and small plots, Bellamy gives tips on designing and building garden areas to make the most of small spaces. Offers advice on growing in tight settings and provides an A to Z list of plants, including container suitability. 2014.

 

The Water-Saving Garden: How to Grow a Gorgeous Garden with a Lot Less Water by Pam Penick

DB 84886

Read by Kerry Dukin. Reading time: 7 hours, 12 minutes.

A gardening guide for those who live in drought conditions or who simply wish to design gardens that need minimal watering. Includes advice on how to prepare the soil, use water wisely, and choose plants that thrive in low-water environments. 2016.

 

The Yarn Whisperer: My Unexpected Life in Knitting by Clara Parkes

DB 84700

Read by Clara Parkes. Reading time: 4 hours, 33 minutes.

Twenty-two essays from the author of Knitlandia (DB 84484) recounting various events reflecting her journey through the world of knitting. Includes stories from childhood, accounts of particular projects, and reflections on the influence of friends and family members. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2013.