The Best Winter Releases for Hobbyists

Explore tons of new creative endeavors this winter

If you're a Hobbyist it's likely that you will be in charge of making the holidays more enjoyable by baking treats for your friends and family. It's also likely that you are looking to diversify and learn new skills this new year. Well, you're in luck!

We put together this list of the best upcoming winter books just for you! Cookbooks, DIY guides, books about nature, and more. We have book recommendations fit for wherever your passions lead you this winter. So, roll up those sleeves and get ready!

February New Releases

One Pot One Portion: 100 Simple Recipes Just for You

by Eleanor Wilkinson

100 simple, comforting, and special one-pot recipes that yield the perfect single serving for people who cook, eat, or live alone and want to eat well.

Cooking for one just got easier and more delicious--no more eating leftovers or washing multiple pots and pans. Here you'll find 100 easy recipes for everything you're craving, even dessert. And to solve the solo cook's dilemma of what do with the rest of that butternut squash or a half-can of coconut milk, each recipe references another that uses one or more of the same ingredients. If you've used an egg white to make the Crispy Chili Beef, you can use the leftover egg yolk to make a cozy Lemon Bread and Butter Pudding for a sweet treat.

Food for Thought: Essays and Ruminations

by Alton Brown

From Alton Brown, the New York Times bestselling cookbook author and beloved culinary food personality, a debut collection of personal essays defined by his flair, wit, and insight.

From cameraman to chef, musician to food scientist, Alton Brown has had a diverse and remarkable career. His work on the Food Network, including creating Good Eats and hosting Iron Chef America and Cutthroat Kitchen, has resonated with countless viewers and home cooks. Now, he shares exactly what's on his mind, mixing compelling anecdotes from his personal and professional life with in-depth observations on the culinary world, film, personal style, defining meals of his lifetime, and much more.

Hot Date!: Sweet & Savory Recipes Celebrating the Date, from Party Food to Everyday Feasts

by Rawaan Alkhatib - Linda Xiao

"The most sumptuous cookbook I've ever encountered.... Savor this book with your sweetheart, take yourself out on your own date: Hot Date! is a joy."--The Paris Review

The first comprehensive cookbook on an ancient superfood and the cultures that revere it. Mesmerizing and art-packed, Hot Date! features 99 mouthwatering, date-centered recipes that are the perfect mix of traditional favorites and inspired new creations.

This is not simply a cookbook about dates. It is a love song, a celebration of food and culture from a global perspective. Every page is a surprise in this highly colorful volume, with recipes ranging from Brooklyn to Babylon.

Author Rawaan Alkhatib draws inspiration from her Middle Eastern and Indian cooking background to bring a unique perspective to her topic. As a global citizen who has lived and traveled throughout the world, she explores both the significance of the fruit and its chameleon-like characteristics in cooking.

Divided into six chapters, Hot Date! features recipes that are big on flavor and low on fuss, ranging from Party Food (stuffed dates of all kinds!) to Breakfast; Mains; Soups, Salads & Sides; Sweets; and Drinks & Condiments (the Date Chili Crisp is a life changer).

Natural Yarn Dyes: 25 Vibrant and Sustainable Recipes

by Anna Bauer - Eva Zethraeus

Create a rainbow of vibrant natural yarn dyes using 25 sustainable, tried-and-tested recipes.

Achieve rich, lightfast colors from plants, lichen and fungi without compromising safety or the environment.

If you've ever dreamed of creating vibrant, natural and completely unique yarn shades for your knitting, crochet or weaving projects, then look no further.

Natural dyeing is a wonderful blend of color, chemistry, craft and nature. Here, expert authors Anna Bauer and Eva Zethraeus share with you 25 easy-to-follow recipes for a rich palette of yarn dyes, from the juicy reds of beetroot and vibrant yellows of onion to the shimmering pinks, purples and blues of red cabbage.

Crafting Leather Totes, Backpacks & Bags: Detailed Patterns & Step-By-Step Instructions for 18 Projects

by Yoko Ganaha (Pigpong)

Everything you need to know about crafting gorgeous leather bags in one place! Written for leather crafters of all levels, this book brings you 18 projects with detailed instructions for making shoulder bags, clutches, sling bags, tote bags, handbags, camera bags, backpacks, and more. Each project also includes patterns that you can photocopy and enlarge.

Sweet Nothings: Confessions of a Candy Lover

by Sarah Perry

A fun, sophisticated illustrated collection of essays that catalogs the simple and not so simple pleasures of the eclectic world of candy from the award-winning author of After the Eclipse. With illustrations by Forsyth Harmon.

A taxonomy of sweetness, a rhapsody of artificial flavors, and a multi-faceted theory of pleasure, Sweet Nothings is made up of one hundred illustrated micro essays organized by candy color, from the red of Pop Rocks to the purple Jelly Bonbon in the Whitman's Sampler. Each entry is a meditation on taste and texture, a memory unlocked. Everyone's favorites--and least favorites--are carefully considered, including Snickers and Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Cups, as well as the beloved Good n' Plenty and Werther's Originals.

january new releases

The Artist's Way Toolkit: How to Use the Creative Practices

by Julia Cameron

Experience the essential Artist's Way philosophy in this practical, accessible collection of tools from "the Queen of Change" (New York Times) author Julia Cameron.

Dive into the genius behind The Artist's Way with exclusive, never-before-published Q&A's, instruction manuals, and an Artist's Way glossary. In this streamlined edition, Julia Cameron lays out the essential foundation of her Artist's Way philosophy for anyone looking to get to the heart of her practice and begin immediately applying it to their own creative processes.

Dirtbag Queen

by Andy Corren

So began Andy Corren's unforgettable obituary for his mother, Renay Mandel Corren, a tribute that went on to touch the hearts of millions around the globe. In his brief telling of the life and legend that was Renay, a "loud, filthy-minded (and filthy-mouthed) Jewish lady redneck who birthed six kids," Andy captured only a slice of his loving and fabulously unconventional mother.

In this uproariously funny, deeply moving family portrait, readers meet the rest of his absurd clan: his brothers, affectionately nicknamed Asshole, Twin, and Rabbi; his one-eyed pirate queen of a sister, Cathy Sue; and then there's Bonus, who Andy isn't aware of until later in life since this mysterious oldest brother grew up at the Green Valley School for Emotionally Disturbed and Delinquent Children.

Eat Better, Sleep Better: 75 Recipes and a 28-Day Meal Plan That Unlock the Food-Sleep Connection (a Cookbook)

by Marie-Pierre St-Onge - Kat Craddock

What you eat directly impacts how you sleep. Science-based and easy to understand, Eat Better, Sleep Better includes 75 recipes that incorporate sleep-supporting ingredients that work with the body's rhythms and hormones to unlock quality rest--and the health benefits that come with it.

More than half of all Americans have difficulty falling or staying asleep. Drawing on the science that has made her the go-to expert on the connection between food and sleep, Dr. Marie-Pierre St-Onge pairs her comprehensive strategies for getting a good night's sleep with Kat Craddock's 75 recipes.

How to Share an Egg: A True Story of Hunger, Love, and Plenty

by Bonny Reichert

A moving culinary memoir about the relationship between food and family--sustenance and survival--from a chef, award-winning journalist, and daughter of a Holocaust survivor.

"Beautifully written, heartbreaking and hopeful."--Ruth Reichl, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Novel

When you're raised by someone who once survived on potato peels and coffee grounds, you develop a pretty healthy respect for food.

Bonny Reichert avoided everything to do with the Holocaust until she found herself, in midlife, suddenly typing those words into an article she was writing. The journalist had grown up hearing stories about her father's near-starvation and ultimate survival in Auschwitz-Birkenau, but she never imagined she would be able to face this epic legacy head-on.

Simply Jamie: Fast & Simple Food [American Measurements]

by Jamie Oliver

In five knockout chapters covering Midweek Meals, Weekend Wins, Reliable Roasting Pans, Pantry Love and Delicious Desserts, Jamie has produced a cookbook that will fit seamlessly into your life.

Simply Jamie exists to inspire you to get cooking - it's full of delicious, achievable recipes you'll love to make. Whatever your needs, you can trust that these tried and tested recipes will slot right into the rhythms of your week - from 20-minute-to-table dishes and no-time-to-shop pantry rescues to weekend wins that create smart leftover ideas, meaning mealtimes are simple in the days that follow.

Three Wild Dogs (and the Truth): A Memoir

by Markus Zusak

In this poignant, funny, and disarmingly honest memoir, one of the world's most beloved storytellers, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Book Thief, tells of his family's adoption of three troublesome rescue dogs--a charming and courageous love story about making even the most incorrigible of animals family.

There's a madman dog beside me, and the hounds of memory ahead of us . . . It's love and beasts and wild mistakes, and regret, but never to change things.

What happens when the Zusak family opens their home to three big, wild, street-hardened dogs--Reuben, more wolf than hound; Archer, blond, beautiful, destructive; and the rancorously smiling Frosty, who walks like a rolling thunderstorm?

december new releases

Inheriting Magic: My Journey Through Grief, Joy, Celebration, and Making Every Day Magical

by Jennifer Love Hewitt

When she lost her mother to cancer, everything changed for Jennifer Love Hewitt.

In the pages of Inheriting Magic, she recounts her journey, sharing memories, photographs, recipes, and the magic-making ethos of a self-proclaimed “Holiday Junkie.”

Ingrained: The Making of a Craftsman

by Callum Robinson

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2025 ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN NONFICTION

For fans of H Is for Hawk and Shop Class as Soulcraft comes a captivating literary memoir, immersing readers in the life of a Scottish carpenter as he perfects his craft, builds a business, and reflects on what inheritance and shared responsibility really mean.

The eldest son of a master woodworker, Callum Robinson spent his childhood surrounded by wood and trees, absorbing craft lessons in his father's workshop. In time he became his father's apprentice, helping to create exquisite bespoke objects. But eventually the need to find his own path led him to establish his own workshop and chase ever bigger and more commercial projects, until the devastating loss of one major job threatened to bring it all crashing down. Faced with the end of his business, his team, and everything he had worked so hard to build, he was forced to question what mattered most.

Matchmaker Matchmaker: Find Me a Love That Lasts

by Aleeza Ben Shalom

In her paradigm-shifting book, Aleeza Ben Shalom, dating coach and Netflix star, will guide readers through her highly original perspective on dating, revealing the surprising ways in which a person's dating habits directly influence their chances of finding lasting love. With her unique blend of wisdom and humor, Aleeza debunks widespread societal myths about love, inviting readers to reframe how they approach the practice of dating. Each chapter introduces the reader to a specific methodology while also sharing select clients' stories to show the theory in practice. Helpful tools, including checklists, rules, reminders, tips, hacks, and frequently asked questions, are included throughout.

Visually Speaking: Mastering Photography as a Visual Language

by Ted Forbes

Dedicated to mastering photography as a visual language, this book helps you explore what to shoot and how to understand your own work. With 21 detailed chapters on photography techniques and practices, Forbes teaches you not only to establish yourself as a photographer, but how to create a legacy

Ted Forbes produces The Art of Photography, the most popular YouTube channel on photography, providing a 360-degree look into the world of image making. Forbes' passion is to help amateurs, artists, and professionals alike gain new skills. Forbes calls on his expertise to instruct you on how to take pictures, and carefully walks readers through composition, lighting, exposure, contrast, color, alignment, balance, repetition, cameras, lenses, and more.

Composting Our Karma: Turning Confusion Into Lessons for Awakening Our Innate Wisdom

by Barbara Rhodes - Richard Shrobe - Elizabeth S R Goldstein - Dae Bong

Engaging teachings on the core Korean Zen practice of "don't-know mind" that encourage us to cultivate and apply a clear mind, improve our intuition, feel naturally at ease, and generate compassionate wisdom to face whatever arises.

Barbara Rhodes (Zen Master Soeng Hyang) offers the core Korean Zen teaching of don't-know mind as an antidote to the over-thinking, overly stimulating modern world that is the cause of so much suffering. In this collection of essays, Rhodes shows us that there are ways we can work with, or "compost," whatever we've got in front of us, digest it into energy that can get us through the rough times, and cultivate a satisfying life.
"Don't-know mind," Korean Zen's foremost teaching, points to our clear enlightened mind before suffering arises based on concepts and judgments of like and dislike. While simple, it is a lifelong exercise, with immediate benefits that get deeper with practice.

This Beautiful Day: Daily Wisdom from Mister Rogers

by Fred Rogers - Levar Burton

From everyone's favorite neighbor, a collection of heartwarming reflections to help you make each day a truly beautiful day.

This Beautiful Day gathers the most trusted advice and insight from Fred Rogers into 365 daily reflections. Every page is an invitation to generosity, compassion, and joy, infused with Fred's warm voice, his dearly loved work on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, and his timeless insight, all of which have shaped the lives of countless children and adults.

Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive

by Eliot Stein

A vivid look at 10 astonishing people who are maintaining some of the world's oldest and rarest cultural traditions.

Eliot Stein has traveled the globe in search of remarkable people who are preserving some of our most extraordinary cultural rites. In Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive, Stein introduces readers to a man saving the secret ingredient in Japan's 700-year-old original soy sauce recipe. In Italy, he learns how to make the world's rarest pasta from one of the only women alive who knows how to make it. And in India, he discovers a family rumored to make a mysterious metal mirror believed to reveal your truest self. From shadowing Scandinavia's last night watchman to meeting a 27th-generation West African griot to tracking down Cuba's last official cigar factory "readers" more than a century after they spearheaded the fight for Cuban independence, Stein uncovers an almost lost world.

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