
My favorite reads of 2022! Just in case you missed it – https://stacyalesi.com/2022/12/30/best-books-of-2022/
Book News
There are always tons of best books of the year lists, so I thought I’d share a few. These are some of the books that appear on list after list:
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (debut novel)
The New York Times Best Romance Novels of 2022: The genre has had an exceptional year — one of its best of all time.
The 10 Best Books of 2022 (New York Times)
Readers share their favorite audiobooks of the year (Washington Post)
The 10 best books of 2022 (Washington Post)
The best books of 2022 (The Guardian)
Best Books of 2022 (Library Journal) LJ offers their lists by genres – here are a few:
Best 20 Books of 2022 (Publisher’s Weekly)
Best Fiction Books of the Year (Kirkus)
The Best Books of 2022 (The New Yorker)
PEOPLE Picks the Top 10 Books of 2022
The best books of 2022 (Entertainment Weekly)
The Best Books of 2022 (Vulture)
Amazon’s book editors announce 2022’s best books of the year
Best Books of the Year (Barnes & Noble)
Best Books for Adults 2022 (The New York Public Library)
Best Books of 2022 (Goodreads)
Other Book News
The Murky Path To Becoming a New York Times Best Seller (Esquire)
How Will BookTok Change Publishing in 2023?
Creators on TikTok are fighting for a more diverse book world — and running into some deep-seated problems in the industry
We’re drowning in old books. But getting rid of them is heartbreaking.
‘They’re more like friends than objects,’ one passionate bookseller says. What are we to do with our flooded shelves?
Food News
Most years we make pizza for New Year’s Eve, so I was tickled when my son asked for a recipe for pizza sauce; I was happy to see him continuing our tradition! If you’d like to try making your own pizza, my favorite is Robert’s Pizza Dough recipe, courtesy of the NY Times, for Neapolitan-style pizza. King Arthur Baking has you covered for a Crispy Cheesy Pan Pizza; Detroit-Style Pizza; Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza; Grandma Pizza; or one of my favorites, The Fastest Homemade Pizza Ever – great for busy weeknights! KA also has a free newsletter you can sign up for called Pizza School, that I highly recommend.
This is my standard pizza sauce recipe, good with any kind of pizza, even English Muffin pizza, and it’s my beautiful grandson Jonah-approved!
28 oz can whole Roma tomatoes, preferably packed in puree*
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
pinch oregano
few basil leaves, rolled up and sliced thinly or torn
salt & pepper
Heat olive oil on medium in a saucepan. Toss in garlic for about 30 seconds – you should smell it but it shouldn’t brown. Add the entire can of tomatoes with the puree or juice into the garlic, then add the oregano and basil. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Sometimes I throw in a pinch of dried red chili pepper if you want a bit of heat. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, just to meld flavors. Use an immersion blender to puree the sauce, but if you don’t have one, you can dump the sauce into a food processor or blender. Pizza sauce is usually fairly smooth rather than chunky, but you do you – enjoy!
*My favorite canned tomatoes are Nina, which Costco sells in a three pack. Other brands I like are Cento, Tutorosso, and Redpack. And if you want to spring for it, San Marzano tomatoes are beautiful but pricy, so make sure it says D.O.P. on the can or you are paying extra for no reason.
Wishing you all a very happy, healthy new year filled with love, joy, success, and good books!
As always, thanks for reading and stay safe.
*Thanks to The New York Times and The Washington Post for allowing me to “gift” my readers with free access to these articles, a lovely perk for subscribers.