Library News

A customer holds a tray of plants during the Native Plant Sale in 2025.
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Pre-Orders are OPEN NOW for the Annual Native Plant Sale!

This winter season may feel brutal, but we're already dreaming up our summer gardens!

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A graphic of an orange cookbook with a measuring cup and a wooden spoon.
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Recipe Club and Potluck: January 2026

This month's Recipe Club and Potluck program featured delicious soups and chilis, homemade bread and biscuits, a delicious and tangy Brazilian lemonade, and plenty of dessert-- from fresh blueberry crisp to Amish cinnamon bread and colorful Peeps

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Non Fiction Titles to enjoy during the Winter Reading Challenge.
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Winter Reading Challenge: Adult Non-Fiction Titles

As we reach the halfway point of Cromaine's 2025-2026 Winter Reading Challenge, your Cromaine staff are excited to recommend a variety of non-fiction titles to enjoy!

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New at Cromaine

Book cover for "Good Things"

Good Things

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat—and one of America’s most beloved chefs and teachers—125 meticulously tested, flavor-forward, soul-nourishing recipes that bring joy and a sense of communion

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: THE NEW YORKER, BON APPÉTIT, WASHINGTON POST, SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE, LIBRARY JOURNAL, NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

With all the generosity of spirit that has endeared her to millions of fans, Samin Nosrat offers more than 125 of her favorite recipes—simply put, the things she most loves to cook for herself and for friends—and infuses them with all the beauty and care you would expect from the person Alice Waters called “America’s next great cooking teacher.” As Samin says, "Recipes, like rituals, endure because they’re passed down to us—whether by ancestors, neighbors, friends, strangers on the internet, or me to you. A written recipe is just a shimmering decoy for the true inheritance: the thread of connection that cooking it will unspool." 

Good Things is an essential, joyful guide to cooking and living, whether you’re looking for a comforting tomato soup to console a struggling friend, seeking a deeper sense of connection in your life, or hosting a dinner for ten in your too-small dining room. Here you’ll find go-to recipes for ricotta custard pancakes, a showstopping roast chicken burnished with saffron, a crunchy, tingly Calabrian chili crisp, super-chewy sky-high focaccia, and a decades-in-the-making, childhood-evoking yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Along the way, you’ll also find plenty of tips, techniques, and lessons, from how to buy olive oil (check the harvest date) to when to splurge (salad dressing is where you want to use your best ingredients) to the best uses for your pressure cooker (chicken stock and dulce de leche, naturally).

Good Things captures, with Samin’s trademark blend of warmth, creativity, and precision, what has made cooking such an important source of delight and comfort in her life.

Book cover for "Firestorm"

Firestorm

"Gripping, unshakeable firsthand account. . . . Riveting." --San Francisco Chronicle

A revelatory and searingly immediate report from the frontlines of the firestorm that consumed Los Angeles, from the MS NOW reporter and New York Times bestselling author of Separated, who covered the fires on the ground as an LA native.

On the morning of January 7, 2025, a message pinged the phone of Jacob Soboroff, a national reporter for MS NOW. "Big Palisades fire. We are evacuating," his brother texted within minutes of the blaze engulfing the hillside behind the home where he and his pregnant wife were living. "Really bad." An attached photo showed a huge black plume rising from behind the house, an umbrella of smoke towering over everything they owned. Jacob rushed to the office of the bureau chief.
"I should go. I grew up in the Palisades."
Soon he was on the front line of the blaze--his first live report of what would turn out to be weeks covering unimaginable destruction, from both the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire, in Altadena. In the days to come, Soboroff appeared across the networks of NBC News as Los Angeles was ablaze, met with displaced residents and workers, and pressed Governor Gavin Newsom in an interview on Meet the Press. But no story Soboroff has covered at home or abroad--the trauma of family separation at the border, the displacement of the war in Ukraine, the collapse of order in Haiti--could have prepared him for reporting live as the hallmarks of his childhood were engulfed in flames around him while his hometown burned to the ground.
But for Soboroff, questions remained after the fires were controlled: what had he just witnessed? How could it have happened? Is it inevitable something like it will happen again? This set Soboroff off on months of reporting--with firefighters, fire victims, political leaders, academics, earth scientists, wildlife biologists, meteorologists and more--that made him keenly aware of how the misfortune of seeing his past carbonize was also a form of time travel into the dystopian world his children will inhabit. This is because the 2025 LA fires were not an isolated tragedy, but rather they are a harbinger--"the fire of the future," in the words of one senior emergency--management official.
Firestorm is the story of the costliest wildfire in American history, the people it affected and the deeply personal connection to one journalist covering it. It is a love letter to Los Angeles, a yearning to understand the fires, and why America's new age of disaster we are living through portends that--without a reckoning of how Los Angeles burned--there is more yet, and worse, to come.
 

Book cover for "There Is No Other"

There Is No Other

An essential balm for these tumultuous times, this thoughtful and inspiring guide features newly gathered teachings to abandon the idea there is an "other," bridging differences and cherishing our lives in the world, from beloved spiritual leader Ram Dass.

With the world seeming to teeter between democracy and authoritarianism, between humanitarianism and individualism, Ram Dass's teachings on wholeness and unity are more needed than ever.

There Is No Other is a groundbreaking work showcasing the late spiritual leader's thoughts and insights on broaching the divide and bringing disparate souls together. In these profound, newly gathered writings, Ram Dass shows us how a house divided against itself--whether that "house" is our individual self or the society in which we live--can come together in wholeness. There is no "other," he explains. It is all one.

Structured in three sections, There Is No Other teaches us to open ourselves, come together in community, and love one another--and ourselves--across all our seeming contradictions and divisions. Anne Lamott contributes a beautiful foreword and each section is followed by a short essay reflecting on the endurance of Ram Dass's ideas penned by Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, and Mirabai Bush, as well as guided meditations to deepen each lesson.

As he leads us toward wholeness within our unique selves and as a human community, Ram Dass gives us the most precious gift: hope. Only in seeing ourselves in our complexity can we come together and honor our incarnations on the sacred planet we inhabit.

Book cover for "House of the Beast"

House of the Beast

NATIONAL BESTSELLER!

"As darkly whimsical as the most beloved fairy tales and soaked in gothic atmosphere. The gorgeous and evocative illustrations bring to life an unforgettably lush and hypnotically romantic story." --Ava Reid, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning

Step into the dark coming-of-age fantasy debut from The Legend of Korra illustrator Michelle Wong, where a young woman bound to a mysterious god seeks revenge on her aristocratic family in a story of divine rituals, brutal magic, and twisted love--featuring illustrations throughout by the author.

Born out of wedlock and shunned by society, Alma found solace in solitude--so long as her mother was by her side. But when illness strikes, Alma reaches out to the father she's never known and uncovers a dark truth: she's a bastard of House Avera, one of the four noble families that serve the gods, and her father is a vessel of the Dread Beast, a harbinger of death.

To save her mother, Alma agrees to sacrifice her arm in a blood-soaked ceremony that binds her to the Beast. But the cure never comes, leaving her trapped in a hostile, gothic estate--despised by her relatives and used as a pawn in her father's schemes.

Now vengeance drives her, guided by the god who shadows her every step. He appears only to her--a beautiful, monstrous prince--whispering that she's destined to reshape the world. With his dark magic fueling her, Alma sets out to destroy the House that took everything from her. But as their bond deepens and their plans grow more perilous, she must decide if her god's honeyed words--and her forbidden feelings for him--are leading her to victory, or dragging the mortal world to ruin.

"A beguiling tale of strange gods, cosmic horrors, and ruinous revenge, House of the Beast dazzled me. With compelling characters and masterful world building, Wong's debut is sure to become a celebrated classic."-- Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Child

If you enter the House of the Beast, prepare to find:

  • Morally grey characters with toxic, codependent relationships (M/F, M/M)
  • Vengeful heroine and her chaotic-evil trickster god
  • Slow-burn yearning and forbidden attraction
  • Family rivalries and court intrigue
  • Deadly trials and divine bargains
  • Nightmare realm full of monsters and secrets
  • Magic, violence, and madness
  • Stunning black-and-white art by the author woven through the text
  • For fans of One Dark Window, Blood Over Bright Haven, and A Study in Drowning
Book cover for "Let the Biscuits Burn"

Let the Biscuits Burn

Find the deeply connected life you've been longing for when you open your home and let God transform your heart through the spiritual practice of hospitality.

Do you long for deep, Christ-centered community, but you're overwhelmed at the thought of inviting people into your home because it doesn't look "perfect"? Do you find yourself making excuses and saying things like "I can't cook," "My house is too small," or "I don't have the time or energy to host"? If so, you're not alone in feeling that way, but practicing hospitality is easier and more transformative than you think.

In Let the Biscuits Burn Abby Kuykendall offers practical advice and biblical inspiration that will help you reclaim hospitality as a ritual that is less about performance and perfection and more about care and connection. She also shares personal stories of imperfect but God-honoring hospitality, along with the tips, tricks, and lists she's gathered over the years to make every piece of hosting less stressful. She'll share the profound rewards of welcoming others around your table, helping you:

  • Understand the differences between cultural entertaining and Christ-like hospitality,
  • Master the art of the invite and confidently open your home and life to others,
  • Let go of the excuses that keep you from true connection and community, and
  • Gain a clearer idea of who God is and why he calls Christians to the spiritual practice of hospitality.

Building a rich, deeply connected life has little to do with the perfect charcuterie board. Let the Biscuits Burn shows you how to open the door, set the table, and let God transform your heart.

Book cover for Awake

Awake

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, OPRAH DAILY, GOODREADS, KIRKUS REVIEWS, AND MORE • A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “I can’t imagine any woman reading this without feeling seen, inspired, and totally empowered.” —Mel Robbins • “A MASTERPIECE, you guys. This memoir by the great Jen Hatmaker *cannot* be missed. I was riveted as if to a thriller and touched/moved/inspired in ways I can’t quite articulate yet. Just please read. You’ll thank me.” —Elin Hilderbrand, on Instagram

From Jen Hatmaker—beloved New York Times bestselling author and host of the For the Love podcast—a brutally honest, funny, and revealing memoir about the traumatic end of her twenty-six-year-long marriage, and the beginning of a different kind of love story.

At 2:30 a.m. on July 11, 2020, Jen Hatmaker woke up to her husband of twenty-six years whispering in his phone to another woman from their bed. It was the end of life as she knew it. In the months that followed, she went from being a shiny, funny, popular leader to a divorced wreck on antidepressants and antianxiety meds, parenting five kids alone with no clue about the functioning of her own bank accounts. Having led millions of women for over a decade—urging them to embrace authenticity, find radical agency, and create healthy relationship—she felt like a catastrophic failure.

In Awake, Jen shares for the first time what happened when she found herself completely lost at sea—and how she made it to shore. In candid, sur­prisingly funny vignettes spanning forty years of girlhood, marriage, and parenting, Jen lays bare the disorienting upheaval of midlife—the implosion of a marriage, the unraveling of religious and cultural systems, and the grief that accompanies change you didn’t ask for. And, drawing on all resources—from without and within—Jen dares to question the systems beneath the whole house of cards, and to reckon with the myths, half-truths, and lies that brought her to this point.

More than one woman’s story, Awake is a critical analysis of the story given to all of us: the story of gender limitations, religious subservience, body shame, self-erasure. With refreshing candor, Jen explores a midlife renaissance—grieving what’s lost, cherishing possibility, and entering the second half of life wide awake.

Book cover for "Tidying Up"

Tidying Up

Declutter your life and create the peaceful sanctuary you desire with these 100 organizational tricks from Meg DeLong and Ea Fuqua, cofounders of The Tidy Home. This foolproof, room-by-room guide is the book you need--so easy and fun, everyone can join in!

Joy and peace are just around the corner. In fact, they can be around every corner of your home, from the kitchen to the living room to that dangerously dark section of the laundry room. And it's easier than you think.

In Tidying Up, Meg DeLong and Ea Fuqua--founders and owners of The Tidy Home--offer you a shame-free, straightforward approach to embracing organization as soul care. Whether you have a studio apartment or an overflowing farmhouse, Tidying Up will help you:

  • Put into practice 100 strategies--organized room by room--that make an immediate difference
  • Create sustainable systems that free you rather than bog you down
  • Tailor your living space to complement your personal style and purpose
  • Discover how regaining authority over your stuff invites your brain and body to rest

These two sisters have seen it all and have helped countless clients tackle their living spaces and create peaceful and practical homes--so they know what really works and lasts! This book is a must for anyone navigating life with family members, roommates, or even solo-dwellers looking to maximize their space!

With fun, colorful design features throughout, Tidying Up is a perfect gift for New Year New You, Christmas, Mother's Day, spring cleaning, back to school, or for anyone making a fresh move into their new home, apartment, or dorm room.