Rancho Gordo: Experiments from my mostly New World kitchen and gardens

Deborah Holtz: La tacopedia. Enciclopedia del taco (Spanish Edition)
In Spanish but it's easy to understand and muy fun. (****)

Anthony Boutard: Beautiful Corn: America's Original Grain from Seed to Plate
It's rare to find a book so poetic and so practical. I dare you not to grow corn next spring after reading this book. (*****)

Jose Garces: The Latin Road Home: Savoring the Foods of Ecuador, Spain, Cuba, Mexico and Peru
I love this book. It has a clear point of view that makes great sense and Garves has great taste and very good recipes. You'll have trouble deciding whether to travel or cook. (*****)

Maricel E. Presilla: Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America
Huge, glorious volume covering a lot of ground. I think it would have been better without Mexico because it can only be superficial, even with a book this size, but there's lots to love and admire and almost every night I take it to bed with me, fantasizing about what I'll make next. (****)

Hugo Ortega: Hugo Ortega's Street Food of Mexico
A lot of familiar territory is covered but the recipes are really good, concise and clear and the photos are great. Much better than I ever expected. (****)

Marilyn Tausend: La Cocina Mexicana: Many Cultures, One Cuisine
Fun and quirky volume with lots of recipes from Tausend's travels over the years. I found lots of new things and plenty of inspiration to go into the kitchen and cook. (****)

Alfonso Morales: Paul Strand in Mexico
A beautiful, huge book that includes a DVD of his film made in Mexico. (*****)

Katherine Gustafson: Change Comes to Dinner: How Vertical Farmers, Urban Growers, and Other Innovators Are Revolutionizing How America Eats
It all started with beans! A great book about food that's an enjoyable read with great topics. And Rancho Gordo figures prominently in the story. (*****)

Kris Hoogerhyde: Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones: 90 Recipes for Making Your Own Ice Cream and Frozen Treats from Bi-Rite Creamery
Recipes from my favorite ice cream shop. It's great when nice people do great things and get acknowledged for it. You deserve this book! Get it and David Lebovitz' Perfect Scoop and your ice cream library will be complete. (*****)

John Coe Robbins: Maya Lord
Great read. Historical fiction about Gonzalo Guerrero and Jeronimo, a stranded soldier and priest, who become slaves in pre-conquest Yucatan and how their perceptions change. I love the comparisons of Mayan sacrifice to the Spanish Inquisition. A super story and a super storyteller. This should make a great movie. (*****)

Douglas Woods: The California Casa
HUGE celebration of Spanish Revival architecture. Not all the examples work but when they do, my heart breaks a little.

Andrés Reséndez: A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca
A great book about the journey of Cabeza de Vaca. You couldn't make this stuff up. I love it because it's shared history of the US and Mexico.

Ioan Grillo: El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency
An easier and less depressing read than you'd think. It's a good overview of the scene in Mexico and brings home how much of this is our problem as well as Mexico's. Anyone who thinks there's an easy solution is nuts. (****)

Gary Paul Nabhan: Desert Terroir: Exploring the Unique Flavors and Sundry Places of the Borderlands (Ellen)
My favorite writer writes what is possibly my favorite book. It's hard to not want to go for a hike after reading this. (*****)

Dolores Cakebread: The Cakebread Cellars American Harvest Cookbook: Celebrating Wine, Food, and Friends in the Napa Valley
Another great book from the kitchens of Cakebread Wineries. (*****)

Patrick Dennis: Little Me : The Intimate Memoirs of that Great Star of Stage, Screen and Television, Belle Poitrine (as told to Patrick Dennis)
I think this is my desert-island book. Ten times as funny as Auntie Mame, especially if you love old Hollywood. (*****)

Edna Kimbro: The California Missions: History, Art and Preservation (Conservation & Cultural Heritage)
First rate mix of coffee table book and well-written history. (*****)

Mourad Lahlou: Mourad: New Moroccan
Every page seems to beg me to come to the kitchen. It's so nice to see someone talented hit a home run. (*****)

Tangos De Discepolo
LILIANA FELIPE: Tangos De Discepolo (****)

Mujer Divina
Natalia Lafourcade: Mujer Divina (****)

Papitwo (Deluxe)
Miguel Bose: Papitwo (Deluxe) (****)

The Complete Recordings of the Father of Western Swing 1932-1937
Milton Brown: The Complete Recordings of the Father of Western Swing 1932-1937 (*****)

A Buena Vista: Barrio de la Habana
Soneros De Verdad: A Buena Vista: Barrio de la Habana (*****)

Long Live Boogaloo
Various Artists: Long Live Boogaloo (*****)

Original Album Series
Tom Waits: Original Album Series (*****)

Pure Genius: Complete Atlantic Recordings 52-59
Ray Charles: Pure Genius: Complete Atlantic Recordings 52-59 (*****)

Softly
Wanda De Sah: Softly

Evolucion: 20 Anos De Toto La Momposina
Toto La Momposina: Evolucion: 20 Anos De Toto La Momposina (****)