The Orchid of Lost Souls
by Nadifa Mohamed (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Mohamed (“Black Mamba Boy”), who as a little girl fled Somalia with her family to London, sets her new novel in the 1980s civil war of her homeland. She weaves together the lives of three women — 9-year-old Deqo, who’s left the refugee camp she was born in for the city; elderly widow Kawsar, who’s homebound after a police beating; and Filsan, a soldier from Mogadishu who’s come north to battle rebels. And the results are, unfortunately, all too realistic.
The Sugar Season: A Year in the Life of Maple Syrup, and One Family’s Quest for the Sweetest Harvest
by Douglas Whynott (DaCapo)
Raised pouring Aunt Jemima’s on our pancakes, Required Reading came to maple syrup later in life — making it that much sweeter. While focusing on New Hampshire’s Bascom family, who’ve been producing maple syrup since 1853, Whynott details a multimillion-dollar industry with its own hall of fame, a black market and an OPEC-like organization. And if you’ve ever wondered how reverse osmosis figures in maple syrup, you’ll find out here.
Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire: A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival
by Peter Stark (Ecco)
Who knew? Astoria is more than just a burgeoning neighborhood in Queens. Montana writer Stark tells us it was also the first American settlement on the West Coast. New York businessman Astor, with support from President Jefferson, launched two expeditions in 1810 — overland and by ship. Astor envisioned a trade outpost, while Jefferson was thinking of a democracy from sea to shining sea. And Stark recounts the perilous journeys.
A King’s Ransom
by Sharon Kay Penman (Marian Wood Books/Putnam)
One of England’s most popular kings spent a lot of time in prison. Now, from well-loved historical novelist Penman, a thrilling account of 1192 — and a sequel to 2010’s best-selling “Lionheart.” As the story opens, charismatic King Richard I is heading home from the Third Crusade. Then rival rulers capture, imprison and hold him for ransom. Just when it seems like things can’t get any worse for the wily warrior, they do — both at home and abroad.
A Garden of Marvels: How We Discovered That Flowers Have Sex, Leaves Eat Air, and Other Secrets of Plants
by Ruth Kassinger (William Morrow)
Forget “Fifty Shades of Grey.” There are parts of Kassinger’s informative and entertaining tome on plants that would make Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele blush. Writing about blooming anthurium — which “come in every color of the L’Oréal nail polish display” — Kassinger says her husband likens her conservatory to “a bordello with the customers caught in flagrante delicto.” (Can’t wait for the movie!)