Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines

     There are lots of good cook books and recipe books at our library. One of my favorites is Magnolia Table. While Chip and Joanna Gaines first became well known for fixing up houses, they have now branched out into several other avenues; having books published being one.
     I have actually made several of the recipes in this book over the past year and have even repeated a couple that we really liked. We loved the After-School Banana Bread (which are more like banana bars) and the Baked Bruschetta with tomato, basil, and cheese (nice when you have a lot of tomatoes and basil!)
     Two other things I like about this particular book are Joanna's personal comments before a recipe and the tips she offers after the recipes. The pictures of her family working on the home place throughout the book are so charming, and help give the whole publication a country and family feel. Loved it!

Chances Are... by Richard Russo

Lincoln, Teddy, and Mickey are friends who met when they all worked cooking at a sorority during college in the late 1960s.  Fast forward to 2015, and they are middle aged men, meeting for the weekend at Lincoln's vacation home on Martha's Vineyard.

While there, of course the memory of their mutual college friend Jacy surfaces.  Jacy disappeared in 1971, after the 4 friends had spend Memorial Day weekend at that house, and her memory has haunted them ever since.  Lincoln goes digging at the local newspaper, and bits of information begin to surface.

I love Russo's writing style, and the characters he creates.  Eventually, we do find out what happened to Jacy.  If you liked Empire Falls, check out Chances Are...!