Library News

A graphic of an orange cookbook with a measuring cup and a wooden spoon.
Posted on:

Recipe Club and Potluck: February 2026

From decadent peanut butter cup cheesecake to cozy vegetable casserole and nacho dip, our foodie friends from this month's Recipe Club & Potluck program brought wonderful recipes to share!

Read More
A look at Kanopy's homepage.
Posted on:

Winter Resource Spotlight: Kanopy Video Streaming!

From fairy tales to rom-coms, documentaries, dramas, horror, and more, Kanopy Video Streaming is an online resource with a huge variety of films-- and you can access them anytime, for free, with your Cromaine Library card!

Read More

New at Cromaine

Book cover for "Dare to Think Differently"

Dare to Think Differently

A Harvard Business School professor's guide to thinking about thinking, using the creative power of the unconscious.

Gerald Zaltman's pioneering research methods for understanding the unconscious desires of customers are used by companies around the world. Dare to Think Differently draws on the same groundbreaking methods to explain the deep and innovative thinking used by highly successful executives. Reflecting emerging viewpoints in neuroscience, Zaltman contends that multiple forces, not just a brain, collaborate to produce a mind. Highly effective decision-makers are able and willing to go beyond their conscious thinking and surface powerful, creative, unconscious thoughts and feelings. They candidly ask whether what they feel they "know" is actually warranted, opening their minds to new alternatives.

With this book, Zaltman presents six techniques to tap into the creative power of the unconscious: serious playfulness, befriending ignorance, asking the right discovery questions, chasing your curiosity, panoramic thinking, and using the "voyager outlook." These research-based techniques improve decision-making and go beyond the existing literature on "thinking smarter." This book's insights emerge from a large number of one-on-one in-depth interviews with senior leaders around the globe, reinforced with research findings from scientific literatures.

Mirroring Zaltman's Harvard Business School classroom practice, each chapter opens with a practical-thinking exercise that helps readers surface the mental processes and biases that unconsciously close minds and constrict thinking. This creative surfacing is the crucial foundation for any leader operating in a complex, uncertain environment, who needs unconventional solutions to challenging problems.

Book cover for "I Told You So!"

I Told You So!

An energetic and impassioned work of popular science about scientists who have had to fight for their revolutionary ideas to be accepted—from Darwin to Pasteur to modern day Nobel Prize winners.

For two decades, Matt Kaplan has covered science for the Economist. He’s seen breakthroughs often occur in spite of, rather than because of, the behavior of the research community, and how support can be withheld for those who don’t conform or have the right connections. In this passionately argued and entertaining book, Kaplan narrates the history of the 19th century Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis, who realized that Childbed fever—a devastating infection that only struck women who had recently given birth—was spread by doctors not washing their hands. Semmelweis was met with overwhelming hostility by those offended at the notion that doctors were at fault, and is a prime example of how the scientific community often fights new ideas, even when the facts are staring them in the face.

In entertaining prose, Kaplan reveals scientific cases past and present to make his case. Some are familiar, like Galileo being threatened with torture and Nobel laureate Katalin Karikó being fired when on the brink of discovering how to wield mRNA–a finding that proved pivotal for the creation of the Covid-19 vaccine. Others less so, like researchers silenced for raising safety concerns about new drugs, and biologists ridiculed for revealing major flaws in the way rodent research is conducted. Kaplan shows how the scientific community can work faster and better by making reasonably small changes to the forces that shape it.

Book cover for "Everything's Good"

Everything's Good

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Find joy in the kitchen with 100 recipes for nostalgic, flavorful comfort food from the creator of The Moody Foody

Toni Chapman is a social media star who shares easy recipes for the homey classics you crave. Toni grew up in a family that loves to cook, and her homestyle cooking speaks to the beautiful intersectionality of food and family. Her dishes are inspired by the multicultural community she grew up in, with flavors from all over the globe. The 100 recipes she shares in Everything's Good are approachable and weeknight-friendly, dialed in with her relentless attention to detail and brought to life by her bold and flavorful style. 

In Everything's Good, Toni offers a treasure trove of brand-new recipes (and some viral favorites) with tips and tricks to set you up for success. Toni’s dishes are soulful and cozy—several recipes have been passed down from her family, like Pollo Guisado (Puerto Rican Chicken Stew); some are inspired by the Southern staples she grew up eating, such as Honey Butter Corn Bread; and others are Toni’s takes on the classics, like Creamy White Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde. Her irresistible, foolproof recipes include: 

  • Start with Something Special: Juicy Red Sofrito Chicken Empanadas; Spinach, Crab, and Artichoke-Stuffed Shrimp; Cheesy Chicken Alfredo Bread
  • Soulful Soups: The Very Best Pozole Verde; Spicy Lasagna Soup; The Ultimate Loaded Baked Potato Soup
  • On a Lighter Note: Goes with Everything Salad; Lemon-Butter Cod; Good Vibes Rum Punch
  • Take-Out Classics: General Tso's Chicken; Jamaican-Style Oxtail with Rice and Peas; Straight-Fire Smash Burgers
  • What’s For Dinner?: Creamy Shrimp and Crab-Stuffed Shells; Cola-Braised Short Ribs; Cheesy Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas
  • Family Style: Mofongo con Camarones de Ajillo; Cajun Butter Turkey; Louisiana Red Beans and Rice; Sausage and Gravy Bake
  • Life is Sweet: Strawberries and Cream Croissant Bake; Biscuit-Top Peach Cobbler; Cookies and Cream Tres Leches
  • Sauces: The Perfect Sauce for Everything; Abuelita's Green Sofrito; The Real MVP Ranch Dressing

    For Toni, food is a source of solace. Everything's Good is a reminder that no matter what life throws your way, you can find comfort in preparing and sharing a delicious meal.
Book cover for "Eight Million Ways to Happiness"

Eight Million Ways to Happiness

A Japanese cultural historian shares a path to joyful living drawn from her nation’s unique approach to spirituality and nature, offering a “fascinating” (Wintering author Katherine May) blend of memoir, cultural reporting, and practical guidance for anyone struggling to find balance in our turbulent modern world.

Everyone’s in the pursuit of happiness, but few know how to attain it. Millions around the world have turned to Japan for advice on finding their Ikigai, or summoning The Courage to Be Disliked. Japan’s spiritual traditions hide in plain sight, forming the basis of so much of what we love about the country’s culture. Without Japan’s spiritual sustenance, Jiro wouldn’t dream of sushi; Hayao Miyazaki’s films wouldn’t spirit us away; and Marie Kondo wouldn’t spark joy.

In her book Eight Million Ways to Happiness, Hiroko Yoda offers the culmination of her decade-long odyssey into the spiritual heart of her homeland. Readers follow Hiroko as she trains as a Shinto shrine-dancer, partakes in Buddhist funeral rituals, ascends holy mountains with Shugendo ascetics, and meets one of Japan’s last living itako, a traditional mystic. Her stories—personal, cultural, and historical—offer life lessons for readers of any background.

Hiroko awakens readers to the idea of a traditional spiritual flexibility that seamlessly coexists with the modern secular world, fortifying us through life’s inevitable ups and downs. We are all subject to forces beyond our control, but we are also part of a bigger natural system that can strengthen us—if we learn how to reconnect with it.