Barbara's Picks

I had so much fun with this! First, I checked to see which of my favorites made the cut. Then, I found a few new spots to check out. Then, I found a few more, and it seems I have some culinary adventures to catch up on! Look for faves new and old by location, style of fare, or setting. Indexes list restaurants by cuisine or specialty dish, as well as by restaurant name. A great gift for foodies, as well as for Valley visitors, and certain to spark discussion with the experienced "know it all!" Enjoy!

Only two generations ago, the mountainous West was, for the most part, a sparsely settled wilderness. An unvarnished true tale, Nothing Daunted is absolutely filled with the wonder, adventure, and excitement of those days. Dorothy Woodruff and Rosamund Underwood, two East Coast society women fresh from Smith College, answer a call for teachers to the northwestern Colorado mountain wilderness. Their enthusiastic undertaking makes for a great story, and it is well told by Dorothy Wickenden, New Yorker magazine editor and Dorothy Woodruff’s granddaughter. Nothing Daunted springs from the recently discovered correspondence between the women and their East Coast relatives. Interviews with other descendants, photographic evidence, and historical research flesh out the tale. This book was truly a joy to read; Dorothy’s and Rosamund’s enthusiasm and sense of adventure comes through on every page!  —Barbara

Fearing for their very lives, a young girl named Myra and her sister sever ties with their violent, schizophrenic mother, move away, and change their names. Years later, Myra—now ‘Mira’—struggles to remember the details of her life and reclaim her sense of who she is after a devastating car accident leaves her with a traumatic brain injury. When the sisters reunite to care for their now homeless mother as she dies of cancer, Mira is given the key to her storage unit. She discovers journals, photos, and artifacts that her mother, a gifted pianist with a brilliant mind, had saved for years as if to say, “See, this is who I am.” Mira uses these fragments to fill the rooms in her own ‘memory palace’, a place where each room retains a piece of her rediscovered life. The Memory Palace is a beautifully written, heartfelt memoir by a gifted writer and artist. —Barbara

This delightful read, a story of love, integrity, loss, and hope, will appeal to the legions of Alexander McCall Smith fans, and will create for him many new ones. La brings together neighbors old and new to form an orchestra, strengthening their sense of community and providing a bit of beauty in WWII-ravaged England. At the same time, La's conflicting desires and ideals force her to make a decision. Will she do the right thing? Smith's tales typically deliver an uplifting conclusion. This one does so sweetly and neatly. —Barbara

When it comes to birding, you know the "locals." Ready to move ahead in your skills? This is the book for you! In workbook style, this will teach what to look for and how to recognize various bird families by sound, flight pattern, and other traits. Use with Peterson Field Guides available here. Highly recommended by Dr. John Harris, Biology Department Head at Mills College, Oakland, CA and lifelong birder. —Barbara