Love Saffron

The Instant National Bestseller and #1 Indie Next Pick In the vein of the classic 84, Charing Cross Road, this witty and tender novel follows two women in 1960s America as they discover that food really does connect us all, and that friendship and laughter are the best medicine. When twenty-seven-year-old Joan Bergstrom sends a fan letter--as well as a gift of saffron--to fifty-nine-year-old Imogen Fortier, a life-changing friendship begins. Joan lives in Los Angeles and is just starting out as a writer for the newspaper food pages. Imogen lives on Camano Island outside Seattle, writing a monthly column for a Pacific Northwest magazine, and while she can hunt elk and dig for clams, she’s never tasted fresh garlic--exotic fare in the Northwest of the sixties. As the two women commune through their letters, they build a closeness that sustains them through the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of President Kennedy, and the unexpected in their own lives. Food and a good life—they can’t be separated. It is a discovery the women share, not only with each other, but with the men in their lives. Because of her correspondence with Joan, Imogen’s decades-long marriage blossoms into something new and exciting, and in turn, Joan learns that true love does not always come in the form we expect it to. Into this beautiful, intimate world comes the ultimate test of Joan and Imogen’s friendship—a test that summons their unconditional trust in each other. A brief respite from our chaotic world, Love & Saffron is a gem of a novel, a reminder that food and friendship are the antidote to most any heartache, and that human connection will always be worth creating.

Indian food is an internationally popular cuisine, yet, unfairly, it is often considered to be heavy, rich and indulgent. With more people than ever before turning to healthy home cooking there has never been a better time for a fresh and lighter take on Indian food - one that Mira is creating with her vibrant and healthy cooking style. Inspired by her mother and grandmothers' cooking, Mira Manek's style of food is a modern interpretation of the Indian classics, creating utterly delicious and naturally healthy dishes. Whether you want to cook a Summer Saffron Chia Pot, an Indian Summer Salad, a Thali, a Masala and Nut Milk or a Mango Yoghurt Cheesecake, Saffron Soul combines the best of the core elements of Indian cooking with original health-promoting twists. As well as offering the best and most naturally healthy Gujarati receipes, Mira also recreates some perennial favourites, replacing traditionally used grains and sugar with more nutritious ingredients such as millet, chia and jaggery, and cutting down on oils and fats, to make her dishes even healthier. Whether cooking a filling spicy curry, a soulful brunch, a nutritious light meal or a luscious dessert, Mira's dishes vibrantly burst with colour and a richness of flavour and spice, each fit for a feast.

“Glorious.” —Kirkus Reviews A colorful journey of self-discovery and identity, this sweet, vibrant picture book follows young Leila as she visits her grandmother’s house for their weekly family dinner, and finds parts of herself and her heritage in the family, friends, and art around her. Sometimes I’m not sure if I like being me. When Leila looks in the mirror, she doesn’t know if she likes what she sees. But when her grandmother tells her the saffron beads on her scarf suit her, she feels a tiny bit better. So, Leila spends the rest of their family dinner night on the lookout for other parts of her she does like. Follow Leila’s journey as she uses her senses of sight, smell, taste, touch to seek out the characteristics that make up her unique identity, and finds reasons to feel proud of herself, just as she is.

Edgar Award Finalist for Best First Novel by an American Author “Captivating . . . has qualities any reader would wish for: adventure, romance, history and a vividly described exotic setting.”—The Washington Post In 1925 the international treasure-hunting scene is a man’s world, and no one understands this better than Irene Blum, who is passed over for a coveted museum curatorship because she is a woman. Seeking to restore her reputation, she sets off from Seattle in search of a temple believed to house the lost history of Cambodia’s ancient Khmer civilization. But her quest to make the greatest archaeological discovery of the century soon becomes a quest for her family’s secrets. Embracing the colorful and corrupt world of colonial Asia in the early 1900s, The Map of Lost Memories takes readers into a forgotten era where nothing is as it seems. As Irene travels through Shanghai's lawless back streets and Saigon’s opium-filled lanes, she joins forces with a Communist temple robber and an intriguing nightclub owner with a complicated past. What they bring to light deep within the humidity-soaked Cambodian jungle does more than change history. It ultimately solves the mysteries of their own lives. Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more. Praise for The Map of Lost Memories “In The Map of Lost Memories, Kim Fay draws us into a universe as exotic, intense, and historically detailed as the ancient artifacts her unforgettable heroine seeks. It’s a deliciously unexpected journey: Indiana Jones meets Somerset Maugham meets Marguerite Duras.”—Jennifer Cody Epstein, author of The Painter from Shanghai “A thrilling mix of adventure and personal discovery . . . [Kim] Fay crafts an intricate page-turner that will keep readers breathless and guessing.”—Publishers Weekly “A ripping good tale . . . mysterious Asian locations . . . a driven young American heroine . . . an era no longer remembered but faded to romantic imagination . . . The Map of Lost Memories pulls the components together in a story that intrigues and rewards.”—Lincoln Journal Star “Fay’s extraordinary novel has everything great historical-adventure fiction should—a strikingly original setting, exhilarating plot twists, and a near-impossible quest.”—Booklist (starred review)

Darling Arrow, I shouldn't be writing this. It's not as if I'm ever going to send you this letter, and there are a million reasons why. First of all, I was sent to this reform school as a punishment for a petty, totally inconsequential crime. Not to ogle the principal's hot son around the campus. Second of all, you're a giant jerk. You're arrogant and moody and so cold. Sometimes I think I shouldn't even like you. But strangely your coldness sets me on fire. The way your athletic body moves on the soccer field, and the way your powerful thighs sprawl across that motorcycle of yours, make me go inappropriately breathless. But that's not the worst part. The worst part is that you, Arrow Carlisle, are not only the principal's hot son. You also happen to be the love of my sister's life. And I really shouldn't be thinking about my sister's boyfriend, or rather fiancé (I overheard a conversation about the ring that I shouldn't have). Now if I can only stop writing you these meaningless letters that I'll never send and you'll never read... Never yours, Salem NOTE: This is a STANDALONE novel set in the world of St. Mary's.

Living in Vietnam for four years in the 1990s, Seattle native Kim Fay fell in love with the romantic landscapes, the rich culture, and the uninhibited warmth of the people. A decade later, she grew hungry for more. Inspired by the dream of learning to make a Vietnamese meal for her friends and family in America, Kim returned to Vietnam and embarked on an unforgettable five-week culinary journey from Hanoi to Saigon. Joined by her sister and best Vietnamese girlfriend, Kim set off to taste as much as possible while exploring rituals and traditions, street cafés and haute cuisine, famine and feast, and Communism and the legacy of war. Together, the three women discovered a society shaped by its ever-changing relationship with food. Every encounter serves up an enticing morsel, from uncovering the secret world of ragu in the French hill town of Dalat to bonding with the Julia Child of Vietnam in Saigon. Epicures and culture buffs will delight in markets, restaurants, farms, fisheries, and cooking classes as Kim assembles her dream meal and shares recipes such as banana flower salad and clay pot fish. Examining how we eat reflects who we are as individuals and as communities, Communion: A Culinary Journey Through Vietnam offers a feast for armchair gourmets, as well as a colorful guide for travelers hungering for their next adventure.

Willow Taylor lives in a castle with large walls and iron fences. But this is no ordinary castle. It's called Heartstone Psychiatric Hospital and it houses forty other patients. It has nurses with mean faces and techs with permanent frowns. It has a man, as well. A man who is cold and distant. Whose voice drips with authority. And whose piercing gray eyes hide secrets, and maybe linger on her face a second too long. Willow isn't supposed to look deep into those eyes. She isn't supposed to try to read his tightly-leashed emotions. Neither is she supposed to touch herself at night, imagining his powerful voice and that cold but beautiful face. No, Willow Taylor shouldn't be attracted to Simon Blackwood at all. Because she's a patient and he's her doctor. Her psychiatrist. The medicine man.

Layla Robinson is not crazy. She is suffering from unrequited love. But it's time to move on. No more stalking, no more obsessive calling. What she needs is a distraction. The blue-eyed guy she keeps seeing around campus could be a great one--only he is the new poetry professor--the married poetry professor. Thomas Abrams is a stereotypical artist--rude, arrogant, and broody--but his glares and taunts don't scare Layla. She might be bad at poetry, but she is good at reading between the lines. Beneath his prickly façade, Thomas is lonely, and Layla wants to know why. Obsessively. Sometimes you do get what you want. Sometimes you end up in the storage room of a bar with your professor and you kiss him. Sometimes he kisses you back like the world is ending and he will never get to kiss you again. He kisses you until you forget the years of unrequited love; you forget all the rules, and you dare to reach for something that is not yours.