From cookbooks to children’s books, we have great titles to add to your “To Be Read” stack this month!

1. HONEY, IF IT WASN’T FOR YOU BY BARRON RYAN

Don Feagin wrote the words and Barron Ryan wrote the music. But this wasn’t your average collaboration. That’s because Don died in 1981—six years before Barron was even born. As a young songwriter and composer, Don Feagin wrote music that would be heard around the world. But his favorite person to write for was his wife, Linda. The two were building a beautiful life together, but Don was living on borrowed time. They both knew that his disease, cystic fibrosis, would take him from this world far too soon. When Don died, Linda thought she had heard all the songs he would ever write…until a chance encounter paved a path to bring his lyrics and legacy back to life. Honey, If It Wasn’t For You is a love song, written for a wife, that a husband could no longer sing. It’s also a poignant tale of love and loss that shares the power of music to connect us with the ones we cherish—even after they’re gone.

Read more about Barron Ryan. Order Honey, If It Wasn’t For You via Amazon.

2. THE MODERN PIONEER COOKBOOK BY MARY BRYANT SHRADER

In The Modern Pioneer Cookbook, Mary helps you master the basics of a traditional foods kitchen and shows you how to make over 85 delicious recipes that are simple and incredibly nourishing. Her recipes use whole ingredients that make use of every last kitchen scrap—with the goal of creating a no-waste kitchen, just like our ancestors. Learn how to make your own bone broth, cultured dairy, sourdough and no-knead bread, render animal fats, soak and sprout grains—and master the perfect roasted chicken! Mary will also show you how to stock your pantry with homemade staples, including probiotic beverages, “perpetual” vanilla extract, dehydrated and oh-so-handy mirepoix, and even condiments made from scratch.

Read more about Mary Bryant Shrader. Order The Modern Pioneer Cookbook via Amazon.

3. SIDELINE CONFIDENTIAL BY BROOKE BENTLEY

When young sports journalist Blake Kirk lands her dream gig – working as a reporter for her hometown’s pro football team – she anticipates many of the challenges that accompany the gig – long hours in the office and on the field, many days of travel, immense pressure to succeed as a woman in sports journalism. What she doesn’t expect are the double standards and old-school entitlement that trip her up at every turn. As suggestive notes appear on her desk and a consensual celebrity hookup is weaponized against her, Blake’s dream devolves into a nightmare, and she is forced to choose between her dignity and her career.

Read more about author Brooke Bentley. Order Sideline Confidential via Amazon.

4. TO WALK IT IS TO SEE IT BY KATHY ELKIND

What happens when two empty nesters decide to take a “gap year” and trek 1,400 miles on Europe’s GR5? Some serious challenges, incredible experiences, and the adventure of a lifetime. In To Walk It Is To See It, we follow Kathy and her husband Jim on their 1400-mile walk along Europe’s GR5—a journey that took them through The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. With raw vulnerability, Kathy shares with readers her struggles growing up with dyslexia and not learning to read until the 7th grade; the joy and frustration she feels with Jim during their journey, knowing this trip could either draw them closer together or push them apart; her evolving relationship with food and the role shame has played in the ways she has shown up in her life. 

Read more about author Kathy Elkind. Order To Walk It Is To See It via Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org.

5. ADELAIDE AND THE COSMIC RESCUE SQUAD BY ZOE TWITT

After watching her young son struggle with anxiety, Zoe Twitt created an adventure series that introduces kids to important calming tools like meditation that will help ease their anxieties and better understand their mental health. In the first of the series, Adelaide and the Cosmic Rescue Squad, it’s Halloween, and Adelaide and her friends are going trick-or-treating. As it gets dark, Adelaide’s stomach begins to hurt and her heart starts beating faster. Suddenly, a tiny witchlet named Zara appears in a golden bubble with some good advice for Adelaide and her friends: She tells them to imagine themselves inside a glittering golden bubble. She shows them how to spread the golden light all around, to help others who are also scared of the dark.

Read more about author Zoe Twitt. Order Adelaide and the Cosmic Rescue Squad via Amazon.

Looking for more book recommendations? Check out:

• 5 Books to Add to Your TBR Stack in May
• 5 Books to Add to Your TBR Stack in June
• 5 Books to Add to Your TBR Stack in July