Topol (Deep Medicine), a molecular medicine professor at Scripps Research, presents an exhaustive and occasionally exhausting resource for understanding the factors that shape how people age. Delving into how certain lifestyle choices tax one’s health over time, he cites research showing that eating ultra-processed foods increases risk of heart disease, that regular exercise decreases the likelihood of developing cancer, and that getting less than six hours of sleep per night raises one’s chances of getting dementia by 30%. He explains the science behind dangerous chronic conditions, describing, for instance, how uncontrolled high blood pressure leads to the buildup of plaque inside arteries that can eventually result in a heart attack. “Stopping our bodies from attacking themselves” is crucial to achieving longevity, Topol argues, discussing how one University of Calgary researcher recently found a way to deactivate inflammatory antigens with iron oxide nanoparticles. Elsewhere, Topol examines how a decline in cells’ ability to clear faulty proteins contributes to neurodegeneration, and how music has shown promise treating Parkinson’s disease in elderly patients. The expansive collation of studies features the most up-to-date science on aging, but the dry presentation and technical language are a drag (“A discovery in inflammatory bowel disease of intraepithelial lymphocytes with specific T cell receptor antigens tied to loss of self-recognition is one path to developing immune tolerance”). It’s a mixed bag. Agent: Katinka Matson, Brockman, Inc. (May)

Reviewed on 04/18/2025 | Details & Permalink

In this edifying study, neurosurgeon Tracey (Fatal Sequence) extols the health benefits of stimulating the vagus nerve, which connects the brain with various organs to coordinate breathing, digestion, and other vital functions. Tracey discusses how he found that activating the vagus nerve with pulses of electricity can suppress production of the molecule TNF (tumor necrosis factor), which “signals the mobilization of other cells that kill invaders” but sometimes also cause inflammation by mistakenly attacking the body itself. Contending that stimulating the nerve has shown promise in treating depression, epilepsy, and type 2 diabetes, among other conditions, Tracey describes how one patient’s severe rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease left her unable to walk or work until doctors implanted a small electronic device under her collarbone to deliver electric pulses to her vagus nerve, resolving her inflammation and other most serious symptoms. Evaluating therapies theorized to involve indirect vagus nerve stimulation, Tracey notes research supporting meditation’s efficacy in lessening inflammation, even as it remains uncertain whether this is due to vagus nerve activation, as some scientists speculate. Tracey has a knack for explaining the complicated biological phenomena in an approachable style, and his measured outlook on vagus nerve therapies highlights their noteworthy potential without overselling them. The result is a robust introduction to a promising area of scientific inquiry. (May)

Reviewed on 04/18/2025 | Details & Permalink

Cocktail lounge meets juice bar in photographer Cabrera’s chic debut. The 60 elegant mocktails come in four categories—“Chill,” “Uplift,” “Celebrate,” and “Explore”—each meant to evoke a different mood. Nonalcoholic takes on classic cocktails include a sherbet paloma and a cosmo riff garnished with edible dandelion. Fusions of flavor abound, drawing partly from the author’s childhood in Teotihuacán, Mexico, as in halva horchata and jicama yuzu juice. A cantaloupe, jasmine tea, umeboshi, and ginger shooter might inspire a health elixir happy hour, while the green tea, celery salt, and lemon sorbet smoothie served with a side of pop rocks makes for a sophisticated sugar rush. Gorgeous photography helps the colorful drinks—including a frothy purple blackcurrant smoothie and an herbaceous green martini—pop off the page. Each section also begins with tips for creating appropriate ambience, with suggestions for specific lighting, seating, music, and scents to accompany the drinks. These tips likely represent a bit more work than most home bartenders are willing to put in, but they add to the collection’s stylish aesthetic. The result is a pretty and playful work that’s sure to inspire those hoping to skip the hangover. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 04/04/2025 | Details & Permalink

“My romance with pasta has been my longest and best relationship,” writes comedian Lane in the introduction to his uproarious debut, which surrounds 30 mostly classic, mostly pasta recipes with witty quips, campy banter, and heartfelt tributes to family and friends. An opening chapter, “Family,” includes his great-grandmother’s braciole (which eschews breadcrumbs and incorporates pine nuts), classic meat sauce, and Pasta della Mamma, a “Frankenstein version of carbonara, cacio e pepe, and alfredo” that, Lane contends, is also a work of “culinary genius.” Other chapters cover his travels through Rome and Sicily, offering up recipes for pistachio pesto and pasta al Limone alongside tips for how to create the startchiest pasta water, a “mystical potion that makes almost any pasta dish better.” A short final chapter, “Found Family,” amps up the in-jokes as Lane pays homage to his “gay family” with transcribed dialogues and a mocking recipe for a hapless friend’s instant mac-and-cheese. While this section may lose readers unfamiliar with Lane’s brand of comedy, there’s plenty of more accessible humor throughout (penne alla vodka in Italy is “as rare as a straight Disney villain”) and, though the recipes are few, thorough instructions offer real value for newer chefs. Readers are in good hands with Lane as their funny and authentic host. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 04/04/2025 | Details & Permalink

In this practical program, Azadi (Keto Flex) draws from his podcast of the same name to provide advice on how to help the body generate energy more efficiently. Examining the biology behind metabolic dysfunction, Azadi writes that eating lots of carbohydrates produces large amounts of glucose, the burning of which “generates toxic by-products that cause inflammation around cells.” Fat is a “cleaner, more efficient energy source,” Azadi contends, asserting that adopting a ketogenic diet—which forces the body to draw on fat stores instead of glucose—helps with regulating blood sugar levels, losing weight, and reducing fatigue. The 30-day “reset” offers pragmatic guidance on transitioning to keto, urging readers to lower carb intake over the first week, reduce mealtimes to a six-hour window during the second, and boost protein consumption for the third. Azadi explains the science with easily digestible analogies (“When your body breaks down fats for energy, it’s like driving a sleek Porsche compared to burning sugar, which is more like driving a beat-up Pinto”), and the recurrent focus on the benefits of gratitude distinguishes this from other keto guides. For instance, Azadi notes research that found people who regularly reflected on what they’re grateful for had lower blood pressure and healthier mitochondria, which generate energy for cells. The keto-curious will find all they need to get started. (May)

Reviewed on 04/04/2025 | Details & Permalink

Ichikawa, publisher of Quilt Diary Japan magazine, and art historian Wong (Sewing and Survival) serve up an enchanting celebration of kawaii (“small and cute”) quilts, which are characterized by their intricately detailed scenes featuring tiny, cartoon-like figures. Delving into the history of the kawaii sensibility, the authors explain how 18th-century laws meant to discourage extravagance by banning large dolls, among other goods, led toymakers to specialize in meticulously crafted miniatures that became wildly popular. Ichikawa and Wong profile quilters who incorporate the kawaii aesthetic into their work, discussing, for instance, how Yoko Sekita’s background as a manga artist shines through in the paneled scenes that decorate her designs (one quilt depicts the bustling preparations for a traditional wedding in each room of a house). Projects show how to make simplified variations on the quilters’ work, as when the authors describe how to create a strip of pastoral cottages in the style of Reiko Kato and incorporate it into the sides of a fabric basket. The cultural history illuminates, and the profiled artists’ elaborate work stuns (Akiko Yoshimizu’s quilts feature as many as 1,500 panels, each displaying a three-inch-tall girl with her own unique look and outfit). Crafters will marvel at this. (May)

Reviewed on 04/04/2025 | Details & Permalink

Diedricksen (Tiny Houses) highlights the versatility of tree houses in this enjoyable guide. Among the simplest structures are a narrow box with transparent plastic walls for bird watching and a “truck bed and cap held aloft on a tree stump,” but it’s the most complex edifices that make the biggest impression. These include a luxury Vermont tree house with a bathroom, loft bed, and back porch; an elevated pirate ship with a below-deck crawl space, a crow’s nest, and tree limbs in the place of masts; and a “floating” yurt suspended by “an upgraded version of padded cargo straps.” On the prescriptive side, Diedricksen walks through how to build an A-frame house, detailing how to set support posts in concrete, erect cross beams, and assemble the walls and ceiling. He also outlines general construction tips and principles, suggesting that maple, oak, and other hardwoods provide the most durable foundations and warning that “collaring” trees too tightly with decking or flooring restrains their ability to sway during storms and widen as they grow. The basic guidance won’t be enough for novices to recreate the most dazzling edifices, but it will help get more modest projects off the ground. This will inspire readers to take to the trees. (May)

Reviewed on 04/04/2025 | Details & Permalink

Shields explains how to create bracelets, pendants, and other jewelry from wire and gems in this gorgeous if challenging debut manual. The overview of tools notes that flat-nose pliers are well-suited for creating prongs, a butane torch is essential for soldering metals, and that texture hammers feature interchangeable heads with different patterns for giving metals extra flair. For materials, Shields reports that copper is her first choice for its malleability, but it can stain skin green or black, and that aluminum is easy to manipulate, but doesn’t hold its shape well. The projects make use of a variety of techniques. For the Khepri pendant, Shields shows how to create a sunburst wire weave around a large central bead, and for the “heady bracelet,” she details how to artfully coil wires of different gauges around each other. The hammered butterfly earrings require using fine-tipped pliers to bend shepherd’s hook ear wires into shape, and the “tama pendant” involves crafting numerous tiny prongs for a gallery wire stone setting. The intricate pieces are uniformly striking, characterized by delicate spiral coils and swooping wire flourishes, but even the “beginner” projects are dauntingly complicated, and the photos and written instructions leave readers to figure out some steps on their own. Experienced jewelers will get the most out of this. (May)

Reviewed on 04/04/2025 | Details & Permalink

In the intro to this energetic, loosely themed “collection of fun dishes,” The Chef Show presenter Choi (L.A. Son) explains how he overcame compulsive behavior that led him to overindulge in food, drugs, and gambling and developed a healthier relationship with food. Even when doling out nitty-gritty practical advice (like when to use a blender versus a food processor), he writes in a cheeky, profanity-laced voice. A chapter on vegetables aims to make eating them less of “a chore,” with funky options like carrot pancakes made with tempura batter and Nicoise salad bibimbap that replaces boiled potatoes with chips alongside a “big fucking salad” that contains everything but the kitchen sink. Fusion fare is Choi’s specialty: shakshuka meets baked ziti, naan mates with scallion pancakes, and tuna melts (on lettuce leaves rather than bread) incorporate kimchi. Recipe introductions reference the chef’s early days in a food truck serving Mexican fare with a Korean twist and cite the influence of his family: the recipe for a single-serving bowl of rice with eggs, for example, comes from his father. Choi’s endearing vulnerability punctuated with bouts of foul-mouthed bravado results in an authentic-feeling collection that both educates and entertains. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 04/04/2025 | Details & Permalink

“The truth is that seafood ingredients are some of the easiest in the world to work with,” asserts chef Kolender in this dynamic debut. A lengthy opening section provides advice for buying, handling, and storing fish and shellfish, advising home chefs that fillets wrapped in paper towels and placed in an airtight container can last up to four days in the fridge and that shrimp with any black spots shouldn’t be purchased. The recipes themselves are organized by cooking method, starting with a “Chilled, Raw, and Marinated” chapter that features scallop tostadas, mussels on the half shell, and spot prawn aguachile. A chapter on fried fish and sandwiches (dubbed “Breaded and ‘Bread’-ed”) includes blackened mahi mahi sandwiches, lobster rolls, and cornmeal-crusted triggerfish. The “Stovetop” chapter showcases clam chowder, shrimp scampi, and other staples, as well as regional fare from Kolender’s native South Carolina, including low-country fish stew, and crab rice. Throughout, helpful step-by-step instructions with illustrative photos demystify intimidating seafood prep techniques, such as how to clean soft-shell crabs and how to shuck oysters. This confidence-boosting volume will excite beginners and veteran home cooks alike. Agent: Alison Fargis, Stonesong. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 04/04/2025 | Details & Permalink