curated by Dana Leilehua Yuen
Cookbooks by Geraldine
Children
The best children’s books are enjoyed by adults as much as by children.
The Wind in the Willows
I selected this edition of The Wind in the Willows because Geraldine loved, as I do, the illustrations of Arthur Rackham. This book makes an excellent gift, and will be cherished for generations.
The Books of Thornton Burgess
When Geraldine was a girl, these books were among her favorites, and when I was a girl she introduced them to me, and they were among my favorites as well. I adored them. I had what was called at the time, “weak lungs,” asthma. Without the modern treatments now available, I spent many nights sitting up in bed with a flannel cloth holding a plaster of Vicks-Vapo-Rub to my chest. The Merry Breezes, Mrs. Redwing, Reddy Fox, and all their friends kept me company.
Thornton Burgess was a naturalist and wrote children’s stories for 50 years. They remain worthy reading today.
The Hobbit
The Hobbit was the very first book “no pictures” I read. I remember Geraldine giving me a copy for my birthday. I think I was seven. As I flipped through it, I remarked, “This is a grownup book! There are no pictures!” My mother replied, “You are old enough to read grownup books now.”
Young Adult
McCall Initiative
If you want to engage young adults in politics and the environment, I highly recommend Lisa Nowak’s McCall Initiative series. Engaging and fast paced, somewhat post-apocalyptic. Lisa truly “gets” the myriad of emotional responses possible from humans in extreme circumstances, and her characters rise to their challenges in believable ways.
Full Throttle
The same author is a former drag racer and her love of cars shines through her Full Throttle series.
Mystery
Geraldine was a huge fan of the mystery genre, and also wrote culinary mysteries. A stack of her unpublished mysteries has been found (as well as some amazing children’s books!) You can support the work of transcribing and formatting them by subscribing to The Questing Feast Patreon page.
The Adventures of Kamaka Holmes by D. Leilehua Yuen
This first in The Adventures of Kamaka Holmes was partly written while I was staying with Geraldine during her last three months. I was so pleased that she, so knowledgable in Victorian and Edwardian culture, enjoyed my reading it to her in the evening.
Sherlock Holmes
If you need a refresher on the canon of Sherlock Holmes, here you go!