Incredibly clever, imaginative, and a book-lover’s dream: the first book in the Hell’s Library series introduces us to the world of unfinished stories…in hell. Claire, the head librarian, finds herself “well suited for damnation” as she performs her job of shelving, repairing, and watching over the books. When part of Lucifer’s Codex randomly appears in her wing, it launches a quest for both hell’s librarian and heaven’s angels. A ragtag band of book-wranglers, a battle of good and evil, and a terrifically twisty plot make for an unputdownable series opener. Among the many perks of backlist reading: the next two books are available now. Check it out if you enjoyed Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series.

From the publisher: "The classic cookbook from 'the first lady of Southern cooking' (NPR). Decades before cornbread, shrimp and grits, and peach cobbler were mainstays on menus everywhere, Edna Lewis was pioneering the celebration of seasonal food as a distinctly American cuisine. Miss Lewis (as she was almost universally known) shares the recipes of her childhood, spent in a Virginia farming community founded by her grandfather and his friends after emancipation, as well as those that made her one of the most revered American chefs of all time. Interspersed throughout are personal anecdotes, cooking insights, notes on important Southern ingredients, and personally developed techniques for maximizing flavor."