This nifty little book really has a lot of information about pizza as well as recipes for many different kinds of pizza. The first part of the book contains tips on pizza making. Included here is a chapter on dough. She recommends using bread or all purpose flour. On the topic of shaping, she recommends hand stretching for a tender, chewy crust. Equipment she recommends include a cheese grater and a cutting wheel. Next, the book includes recipes for different types of pizza. First, traditional pizzas are presented including Oil and Garlic Pizza. Next is a chapter on cheese and egg pizzas and the author includes Goat Cheese and Sun Dried Tomato Pizza. Next is a chapter on vegetable and fruit pizzas. Here we have Red Onion and Parmesan Pizza. Finally, there is a chapter on meat and poultry pizza and includes New York Pizza and Chili Pizza. All in all, this is a great little book with lots of information and some really great recipes for pizza.

A military base transforms into a different place when the soldiers are deployed. Fort Hood in Texas is a world onto itself – large, bustling and self contained.  When the men are gone, however, the base is altered.  Oh, the daily household routines remain similar for the wives, but things are just  different.    Once the families are reunited, those differences don’t magically evaporate,  which can lead to major drama.  As the sign by the base exit warns “You survived the war.  Now survive the homecoming.”

This series of interrelated stories spotlights the loneliness, the self reliance, and the midnight terrors of military families.  Siobhan Fallon is herself an Army wife, having maintained a household at Fort Hood while her husband was in Iraq. Her experiences lend authenticity to her writing.  Her descriptive skill brings them heartbreakingly to life.

When the concrete canyons of Manhattan palled for Wall Street Journal editor Phillip Connors, he wrangled a job as a solitary fire lookout in New Mexico’s  Gila National Forest.  Fire Season is a meditation on one summer in the tower.  He touches on many topics,  ranging from the beneficial role of fire and predators to the wonders of solitude.  His life,  however,  is not completely alone – he meets through hikers, wildlife, and most importantly,  his wife-to-be Martha.  Fire Season is beautiful book, perfect for outdoor lovers and dreamers (but not those looking for high energy excitement.)  Its main problem is that you will want to buy a ticket immediately to New Mexico!

Set in coldly beautiful Ontario, this is a tender love story of a couple married 44 years.  Fiona and Grant Anderson are happily retired and begin to notice signs of Alzheimer’s disease when Fiona becomes increasingly forgetful and disoriented.  Over Grant’s objections, she makes the decision to check herself into Meadowlake, a long term care facility.  After the ‘no-visit’ 30 day adjustment period, Grant is anxious to reunite with his wife after their first separation in over 40 years. Much to his surprise, Fiona not only doesn’t remember him, but she has a new companion…Aubrey.  On subsequent visits, Grant mourns for the wife he remembers as he interacts with the woman who has become a polite stranger who must rush back to Aubrey, because he ‘needs’ her. Grant’s despair is lightened through interactions with Marian, who is Aubrey’s wife and with Kristy, who is a nurse at the center. Kristy helps him understand the routines at the center and the progress of the disease, but cannot help with his grief.  The cinematography in this film is absolutely beautiful and filled with feeling. The movie is based on the short story “The Bear Came Over the Mountain” by Alice Monroe.

Karen, Huber Heights