Home, Garden, and DIY
May 2022
Recent Releases
You Grow, Gurl! Plant Kween's Lush Guide to Growing Your Garden
by Christopher Griffin

What it is: a fun, encouraging guide to house plants, covering selection, watering, propagating, health benefits, and more, plus color photos.

Read this next: Danae Horst's Houseplants for All, Hilton Carter's Wild at Home, or Veronica Peerless' How Not to Kill Your Houseplant.

Author buzz: Christopher Griffin is the creator of the Plant Kween Instagram account celebrating plants, community, and self-care.
The Art of Papercraft: Unique Projects Using Origami, Cutting, Quilling, Pop-Up, and...
by Helen Hiebert; foreword by Michael G. LaFosse

What it is: Artist and teacher Helen Hiebert presents a comprehensive look at paper arts (including paper making) and 40 unique projects by a variety of artists, each using just one sheet of paper.

What's inside: detailed instructions; colorful, inspiring photos; info on paper, tools, materials, and skills (including folding and stitching). 

Projects include: Origami Candy Dish; Inflatable Paper Votive; One-Sheet Tree; Pop-Up Alphabet; Floral Lantern; Plantable Paper; Storytelling Mask; Mini Tunnel Book; Swirling Flower; Exploding Cube.
The Wok: Recipes and Techniques
by J. Kenji López-Alt

What it is: an in-depth look at the wok that covers it all, including buying, cleaning, and using, by the award-winning author of The Food Lab.

What's inside: 
over 200 recipes; a pantry list; color photos; details on how to stir fry, deep fry, simmer, and braise; info on rice and noodles. 

Recipes include: Mandarin Pancakes; Egg Drop Soup; Clams with Garlic, Sake, and Butter; Sesame Chicken; Beef with Broccoli; Japanese Fried Noodles; Thai-Style Omelet; Stir-Fried Eggplant with Sake and Miso; Smoky Bok Choy with Garlic Sauce; Bibimbap. 
Unbelievably Vegan: 100+ Life-Changing, Plant-Based Recipes
by Charity Morgan

What it is: the cookbook debut of a private chef to elite athletes who began eating vegan years ago alongside her NFL linebacker husband and who appeared in the documentary The Game Changers.

What's inside: more than 100 flavorful plant-based recipes; color photos; tips for incorporating vegan foods; ingredients to watch out for.

Recipes include: Eggless French Toast; Walnut Chorizo; Cream of Broccoli Chedda Soup; Caribbean Ceviche; Taco Salad in Baked Tortilla Bowls; Smoky Jambalaya; Flaky Pie Dough; Pecan Sticky Buns.  
Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff: Declutter, Downsize, and Move Forward with Your Life
by Matt Paxton with Jordan Michael Smith

What it is: an empathetic, step-by-step approach to decluttering and downsizing by an expert who addresses mental roadblocks and offers poignant stories from his life and the lives of people he's helped.

Don't miss: the substantial resource lists at the end of the book.

For fans of: TV's The Legacy List with Matt Paxton and Hoarders (both of which feature the author); Marie Kondo; decluttering.
The Fresh Eggs Daily Cookbook: Over 100 Fabulous Recipes to Use Eggs in Unexpected...
by Lisa Steele; photographs by Tina Rupp

What it is: an egg-cellent cookbook by Fresh Eggs Daily blogger and Maine farmer Lisa Steele, offering more than 100 tasty recipes.

What's inside: egg basics; essential ingredients and tools; an index of recipes by number of eggs needed (noting whole, white, or yolk).

Recipes include: Egg Flip; Butter Crackers; Bacon and Eggs Pizza; Toasty Holiday Strata; Scrambled-Egg Hand Pies; Broccoli Cheddar Tart; Lemon Curd; Cheesecake with Shortbread Crust; Bundt Pound Cake.
Knit 2 Socks in 1: Discover the Easy Magic of Turning One Long Sock into a Pair!
by Safiyyah Talley; foreword by Jeanette Sloan

What's inside: a step-by-step guide that teaches a new way to knit socks that starts with a cuff, creates a tube (with lifelines as markers), and ends in a cuff, with heels and toes added after; 21 sock styles.

Styles include: Savasana Yoga Socks; Huntsman's Cottage Socks; Flower Buds Anklets; Mosaic Rib; Frilly Booties; Glass Slippers.

Reviewers say: "knitters of all strokes will appreciate this innovative primer" (Publishers Weekly).
Feng Shui Modern
by Cliff Tan; illustrated by Dura Lee

What it's about: Cliff Tan, an architect and TikToker, clearly explains how to use the ancient art of Feng Shui to create a more harmonious home. 

Chapters include: What is Feng Shui?; Fundamentals; How to Apply Feng Shui; Planning (which offers room-by-room help); and Styling.

Want a taste? "Before we embark on this journey, always remember that if following a particular theory makes you feel uncomfortable, then it is not in the spirit of feng shui."
Contact your librarian for more great books!