cara

History geeks everywhere lost an icon recently. Howard Zinn, best known for his radical work A People’s History of the United States , left behind an illustrious life at the age of 87. History is written by the winners, they say, and the works of powerful men have been recorded since antiquity. But we have Zinn largely to thank for creating a place in historical scholarship for the narratives of everyday citizens, for those who have been largely ignored and often oppressed.

It’s me again, the Non-Fiction Lady (N.F.L). As mentioned in a previous post, I usually find myself drawn less to novels and more to practical stuff, texts that inspire me and teach me how to do something special. And hopefully, they are well-written and entertaining as well.

Staycation . It’s just one of those words that makes me cringe. Maybe it is the idea itself that I find so unappealing. After all, I’m at my house everyday, and there’s so much world to explore in my limited vacation time. “Stay?” That’s for dogs, not for me.

But sometimes a grand excursion is not in the cards. In that case, a great writer describing an interesting destination or journey is a pleasurable consolation for us who choose to staycate the premises. Here’s my list:

Woman of Taste By Cara Sure, I enjoy reading as much as the next library rat. But after a long, hard day of shushing people and fussing over index cards, I don’t really feel like flopping down with War and Peace. You know? I do want to read something edifying, but with my limited free time, I need it to really speak to me. Something both practical and soul-satisfying. What I want to read is… cookbooks.