Into the Earth: A Wine Cave Renaissance (Panache Partners, 240 pages, $50, hardcover) written and photographed by Daniel D’Agostini with Molly Chappellet. This is an overview of Napa Valley’s wine caves. The magic, mystery, and magnificence of the region—from the rich history and unique character to the classic architecture and delectable cuisine—is fully captured in this stunning guidebook. Molly Chappellet is the cofounder of Chappellet Winery and author of Gardens of the Wine Country, The Romance of California Vineyards, and A Vineyard Garden, which received the James Beard Award. She has appeared on The Home Show, Martha Stewart Living, and The Regis and Kathy Lee Show. She lives in St. Helena. Daniel D’Agostini is a photographer who has shown and published in numerous exhibits and publications. He lives in San Francisco.
The Best American Short Stories 2009 (Mariner, 347 pages, $14, soft cover) with guest editor Alice Sebold and series editor Heidi Pitlor. The name says it all—this book features a collection of the best short stories of the year, many of which originally appeared in the New Yorker, as well as Santa Monica Review, Ploughshares, New England Review, among others.
Gluten-Free Italian (Da Capo Press, 228 pages, $18.95, soft cover) by Jacqueline Mallorca. This book presents contemporary and comforting Italian food that is within easy reach for everyone who needs or wants to avoid wheat or gluten. Bay Area–based Mallorca has written or collaborated on twelve cookbooks to date; she was the former West Coast editorial assistant to culinary legend James Beard and a food columnist for the SF Chronicle.
Hold Still (Dutton Juvenile, 304 pages, $17.99, hardcover) by Nina LaCour. This teen fiction novel is Bay Area–based LaCour’s first. The story follows a year in the life of sixteen-year-old girl, who’s devastated by the suicide of her best friend.
Rooms to Remember: The Classic Interiors of Suzanne Tucker (Monacelli Press, 256 pages, $65, hardcover) by Suzanne Tucker. Beloved and revered San Francisco interior designer Suzanne Tucker presents her timeless creations in this beautiful coffee table book filled with pages of gorgeous photography featuring her inspired designs.
URBANbuild: local global (William Stout Publishers, 464 pages, $60, hardcover) by Ila Berman and Mon El Khaff. This book, written by SF–based Berman and Khaff, documents the work of UNBANbuild, a comprehensive two-year program at Tulane University School of Architecture initiated to actively support the rehabilitation of the city of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Good Mail Day: A Primer for Making Eye-Popping Postal Art (Quarry Books, 128 pages, $19.99, soft cover) by Jennie Hinchcliff and Carolee Gilligan Wheeler. Learn to create decorated and illustrated envelopes, faux postage, and find pen pals, make an art kit, and more! Gilligan Wheeler is a teacher at the SF Center for the Book; Hinchcliff produces the quarterly mail art zine Red Letter Day; she teaching book arts and binding at AAU.
Secret Society (HarperTeen, an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 343 pages, $16.99, hardcover) by Tom Dolby. An intriguing and suspenseful novel about a group of New York City teens who join a secret society; once inducted as members, life becomes filled with perfection, until a body is found in Central Park. Tom Dolby was raised in San Francisco and is author of The Sixth Form and The Trouble Boy; this is his first book for teens.
Carville-by-the-Sea: San Francisco’s Streetcar Suburb (Outside Lands Media, 144 pages, $35, hardcover) by Woody LaBounty. SF author LaBounty recalls the forgotten “car town” at Ocean Beach, created when obsolete horse and cable cars were sold to civilians by SF transit companies in the mid-1890s and turned into bars, restaurants, houseboats, and other public venues. This book features never-before-published books and stories about one of the city’s least remembered fascinating bits of history.
A Community Organizer’s Tale: People and Power in San Francisco (Heyday Books, 320 pages, $21.95, soft cover) by Mike Miller. This book, by SF born-and-raised Miller, recounts the rise and fall of the multi-issue Mission Coalition Organization, a finely detailed story about people power in San Francisco’s Mission District.
Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer (Penguin Press, 288 pages, $25.95, hardcover) by Novella Carpenter. A lover or cities, but drawn to the idea of backyard self-sufficiency, Oakland-based Carpenter shares this charming memoir about her experience exploring urban farming in inner-city Oakland. Starting out with a few egg-laying chickens, Carpenter moves on to turkeys, geese, and ducks. Which are soon followed by rabbits and then two three-hundred-pound pigs. Novella Carpenter’s corner of downtown Oakland is populated by unforgettable characters. Carpenter tracks this experimental journey with humorous tales of what happens when you bring country life to the middle of the city.
