Recipes for Summer: Quick. Simple. Yum!

If you are ever short of time and ideas, then here is a small sample of new cookbooks to help you out!  Included in this list are lots of ideas on quick and delicious meals, also a couple to get you prepared for the Christmas season.

Dinnertime SOS : 100 sanity-saving meals parents and kids of all ages will actually want to eat / Palanjian, Amy
“Dinnertime SOS, a collection of super-fast, accessible, and delicious family meals that appeal to both kids and parents.  This is your playbook to make the most of your limited time in the kitchen. This is the cookbook that parents with little kids have been waiting for. With recipes that are all super fast – we’re talking twenty minutes max –  this is everything you need to prepare healthy meals on a budget from a trusted source.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

The seriously good student cookbook : 80 easy recipes to make sure you don’t go hungry
“From fresher’s week to graduation, this is the only cookbook you’ll ever need.  Need something comforting for dinner like the ultimate carbonara or smoky mac and cheese? Perhaps you want something easy but filling to see you through all those hours at the library, like a best-ever turkey club sandwich or one-pot prawn pasta. Whenever you need something SERIOUSLY GOOD to eat, this book will make sure you never go hungry. With a photo for every recipe and clear instructions, you’ll be able to create food that you actually want to eat.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Festive : simple recipes, crafts and traditions for the perfect Christmas / Stone, Francesca
“Make Christmas magic in this book, you’ll find easy, accessible ways to embrace your festive spirit and create lasting memories with the family with a collection of traditions – old and new – including simple recipes, styling tips and crafts to make your celebrations meaningful and beautiful without the big spend. By using traditional, low-cost ingredients to create simple and tasty festive recipes.  This is a book you’ll reach for year on year.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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There’s a Cure for This – New Health Books in the Collection

We all worry about our health from time to time; it’s completely normal.  Thankfully there are lots of good books written on the topic from people who have had similar experiences or worries.  We’ve got a good crop for you this month in our new books in the collection.  Here are just a few of the new titles available.

There’s a cure for this : a memoir / Espiner, Emma
“From award-winning writer Dr Emma Espiner comes this striking and profound debut memoir. Encompassing whānau, love, death, ’90s action movies and scarfie drinking, There’s a cure for this is Espiner’s own story, from a childhood spent shuttling between a ‘purple lesbian state house and a series of man-alone rentals’ to navigating parenthood on her own terms; from the quietly perceived inequities of her early life to hard-won revelations as a Māori medical student and junior doctor during the Covid-19 pandemic. Clear, irreverent and beautiful, this book offers a candid and moving examination of what it means to be human when it seems like nothing less than superhuman will do.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Allergic : our irritated bodies in a changing world / MacPhail, Theresa
“Hay fever. Peanut allergies. Eczema. Either you have a frustrating allergy, or you know someone who does. Billions of people worldwide–an estimated 30 to 40 percent of the global population–have some form of allergy; millions have one severe enough to actively endanger their health. Medical anthropologist Theresa MacPhail, herself an allergy sufferer whose father died of a bee sting, set out to understand why. This book is a holistic examination of the phenomenon of allergies from its first medical description in 1819 to the mind-bending recent development of biologics and immunotherapies that are giving the most severely impacted patients hope.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

The wellness trap : break free from diet culture, disinformation, and dubious diagnoses–and find your true well-being / Harrison, Christy
“”It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle.” You’ve probably heard this phrase from any number of people in the wellness space. But as Christy Harrison reveals in her latest book, wellness culture promotes a standard of health that is often both unattainable and deeply harmful. Many people with chronic illness understandably feel dismissed or abandoned by the healthcare system and find solace in alternative medicine, as Harrison once did. Weaving together history, memoir, reporting, and practical advice, Harrison illuminates the harms of wellness culture while re-imagining our society’s relationship with well-being.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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Get a grip, love: New health books

Whether you’re looking to improve the health of your body or your mind, we can help you with health  books to give you some guidance. Body image, food allergies, chronic illness, neurodiversity, the history of germs, eating healthy on a budget and more are all in this selection this month.

Get a grip, love / Lucey, Kate
“Kate Lucey has been ‘officially’ depressed (as in, diagnosed) for six years. In that time she’s experienced everything from bad therapy, knock-out meds, and friends-with-too-many-opinions, to good therapy, medication, and solutions that actually work. This book recognises that getting help is not as easy as ‘just telling someone’ or ‘taking some pills’. Crucially, as well as poking fun at mental illness and all its absurdities (because what are we without laughter, hey?), Kate reminds you that it’s fine not to feel ok. That you can go back to crying at any time. And that you do not need to get a grip.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Your weight is not the problem : a simple, no-diet plan for healthy habits that stick / Cohen, Lyndi
“In Your Weight is not the Problem, nutritionist and dietitian Lyndi Cohen offers a simple plan to break free from the dieting trap with small, doable healthy habits you can stick to no matter how busy life gets. Her evidence-based strategies will help you find freedom with food and build a trusting, healthy relationship with your body. Because health and happiness aren’t about having a perfectly flat stomach or a cellulite-free tush. They’re about feeling comfortable in your skin and having the energy to do the things you love. Liberate yourself from food guilt and self-blame with a new approach to health that doesn’t rely on willpower or counting calories, because you can’t live a full life on an empty stomach.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

The long COVID survival guide : how to take care of yourself and what comes next
“The first patient-to-patient guide for people living with Long COVID, with answers and reassurance to guide readers through issues like getting diagnosed, dealing with symptoms, and caring for their mental health.” (Catalogue)

Dirty laundry : why adults with ADHD are so ashamed and what we can do to help / Pink, Richard
“The authors, the husband-and-wife team behind the social media accounts @ADHD_Love, present their perspectives and insights on real adult life with ADHD, including guidance and education for family and friends on how to best support neurodivergent people.” (Catalogue)

Living gluten-free / Korn, Danna
“Covering the practical, medical, scientific, and emotional aspects of the lifestyle, this book will inspire you with all the details on the benefits of giving up gluten, common and hidden sources of gluten, how to deal with the social and emotional challenges, tips and insight on shopping and eating out, and recipes for creating delicious, gluten-free meals and snacks.” (Catalogue)

The complete human body : the definitive visual guide / Roberts, Alice
“The definitive guide to the development, form, function, and disorders of the human body. The most detailed popular reference book on human anatomy available, this beautiful exploration of the human body is now in its third edition, revised with the latest medical knowledge. The 3-D computer-generated illustrations are incredibly detailed, virtually life-size, and based on the 3-D scans of a real human body. But in addition, the book features hundreds of smaller illustrations, diagrams, and the latest medical and microscope imaging.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Breasts : an owner’s guide / Kaye, Philippa
“Separate fact from fiction with the first complete medical guide to breasts. Health expert Dr. Philippa Kaye offers straightforward advice, explaining every what, why, and how of your mammaries, helping you improve your self-care routine both today and tomorrow.” (Catalogue)

Pathogenesis : how germs made history / Kennedy, Jonathan
“‘According to the accepted narrative of progress, a few great humans have bent the arc of history. But in this revelatory book, Dr Jonathan Kennedy argues that germs have done more to shape humanity at every stage, from the first success of Homo sapiens over the equally intelligent Neanderthals to the fall of Rome and the rise of Islam. By exploring the startling intimacy of our relationship with infectious diseases, Kennedy shows how they have been responsible for some of the seismic revolutions of the past 50,000 years.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

A history of fatigue : from the Middle Ages to the present / Vigarello, Georges
“This pioneering book explores the rich and little-known history of fatigue from the Middle Ages to the present. Vigarello shows that our understanding of fatigue, the words used to describe it, and the symptoms and explanations of it have varied greatly over time, reflecting changing social mores and broader aspects of social and political life. Ranging from the history of war, religion and work to the history of the body, the senses and intimacy, this history of fatigue shows how something that seems permanently centered in our bodies has, over the course of centuries, also been ingrained in our minds, in the end affecting the innermost aspects of the self.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Broke vegan one pot : over 100 simple plant-based recipes that don’t cost the earth / Dixon, Sam
“With over 100 plant-based recipes using supermarket staples, along with hints and tips for simplifying vegan cooking, Broke Vegan: One Pot will have you cooking delicious meals time after time that save money and help the planet. From easy weeknight meals to fancier dishes for entertaining, Broke Vegan: One Pot will help you cook sustainably without breaking the bank.” (Catalogue)

For more new items in the collection, go to What’s new & Popular / June 2023 (wcl.govt.nz)