by Chris Sharman
Best Easy Day Hikes: Syracuse
Best Easy Day Hikes: Rochester, New York
Randi Minetor
Falcon Guides, Rowman & Littlefield Publishing
minetor.com
2024, 2021
Rochester author Randi Minetor has added two more titles to the Best Easy Day Hikes series. The guidebook to 20 best Rochester hikes was written during the 2020 quarantine. “The opportunity to get out and explore one park or preserve after another for weeks turned out to be critical for my well-being during a dramatic time in our history,” she writes.
The book is organized into best spots for birders, water views and panoramic views. It adds an additional category of “best hikes for history buffs.” Birders are encouraged to visit Mendon Ponds, while those seeking water views might opt for the Erie Canal Heritage Trail or the waterfalls of Letchworth State Park.
The latest guidebook is a collection of 20 hikes around the Syracuse area. Similarly organized into the categories of best hikes for birders, waterfalls, water views, fall views and panoramic views, Minetor writes compelling short descriptions of easily accessible scenery.
Birding areas include Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge and Howland Island. Waterfall seekers will find descriptions of Chittenango Falls and Fillmore Glen State Park. The author highlights Highland Forest for its beautiful fall foliage. She invites us to hike Stone Quarry Hill Art Park and Chimney Bluffs State Park for the panoramic views.
The author has published more than 90 books, many with her husband and nature photographer Nic Minetor. Other titles include Backyard Birding, and Birding New England, and Historic Rocky Mountain National Park among many others.
Ithaca Farmer’s Market: A Seasonal Guide and Cookbook Celebrating the Market’s First 50 Years
Michael Turback and Izzy Lecek
North Country Books – Globe Pequot – Rowman & Littlefield
michaelturback.com
2024
Nearly every weekend, you’ll find the Ithaca Farmers Market in full swing. This book celebrates the 50th anniversary of this institution with a guide to drinks, appetizers, main courses and desserts. The recipes are grouped by season, with some set aside for year-round enjoyment.
The spring section has drink suggestions like rhubarb gin sour, and dishes including slow poached eggs and stinging nettle soup. The summer section tempts us with strawberry milkshake with basil whipped cream, cucumber picnic salad and Dr. Baker’s Cornell barbecue chicken. How about maple-apple French toast or pumpkin pie pancakes with cinnamon butter for favorite fall dishes? You can then ward off winter with an old wives tale hot toddy and vegetable pot-au-feu as your entree. Recipes like toasted walnut farm cookies are a great year-round dessert option.
The book is illustrated with color photographs showing fresh, locally produced food and many long-time vendors. It highlights the many benefits of locally sourced food. “Farmers and growers engage in sustainable practices to produce healthy food for those of us who are concerned with not just what we eat, but how and where it’s produced…eating locally is better for our health, the environment and the economy,” the authors write.
Turback operated Turback’s of Ithaca for nearly three decades where he combined local ingredients with inventiveness to create unique dining experiences. He helped spark the “locavore” trend now seen throughout the food industry. He is the author of many previous titles ranging from cocktail recipes to histories and local guidebooks. Lecek is also part of Ithaca’s vibrant food culture. Her experience includes Ithaca Youth Farm and Moosewood Restaurant.
100 Things to Do in Ithaca Before You Die
Amanda Jaros Champion
Reedy Press
amandakjaros.com
2024
Looking beyond food for things to do in and around Ithaca? This new guidebook covers the additional categories of music and entertainment, sports and recreation, culture and history and shopping and fashion.
Under music and entertainment, the author guides us to Hangar Theater, encourages us to “meet the Bard” at Ithaca Shakespeare Company and enjoy the annual Grassroots Festival of Music & Dance. Outdoor enthusiasts will learn about the Cayuga Waterfront Trail or be directed to Cornell’s Botanic Gardens.
Ithaca abounds with culture. Champion tells us how to get involved with Ithaca’s Pride March, held rain or shine each June and to support local artists by exploring the Greater Ithaca Art Trail. No visit to Ithaca is complete without a walk on The Commons to experience its shops, and restaurants. Browse the stacks at Buffalo Street Books or mark your calendar for the Tompkins County Library book sale held each spring and fall.
This compact guidebook doesn’t skip over Ithaca’s many food offerings either. Ithaca Bakery and College Town Bagels are listed as must-visit spots. Readers will also find an overview of the amazing international cuisine offered throughout the Collegetown neighborhood.
With so much to do in Ithaca, the author admits the difficulty of creating such a list. “In a list of 100 things, there is no way to capture all the amazing artists, volunteers, activists, entrepreneurs, businesses, events and icons of Ithaca, ” she writes.
In 2000, Champion arrived in Ithaca and soon learned all the area has to offer. The author’s newest book was released this February, In My Boots: A Memoir of Five Million Steps Along the Appalachian Trail.
The Lucky Six
Gordon Cooper
Preston Woods Publishing
gordoncooper.com
2025
This newly published book is a work of historical fiction, though the author took great pains to base the setting and characters on the “real world” of 1874. By that time, Watkins Glen had become a tourist attraction served by the growth of railroads that connected our young country. The setting and time frame for Cooper’s historical mystery also allowed for the inclusion of events from the Civil War and the Elmira Prison Camp.
The plot centers on Annie Anderson, a recent graduate of Elmira Female College, home for the summer and sorting through the limited life choices open to women of her age. Our protagonist then discovers a dead man lying on her mother’s grave. She calls for the sheriff, though the body disappears before he arrives. Annie decides to investigate the mysterious murder herself with the goal of finding the body and identifying the killer.
The novel has the look and feel of a book printed in the 1870s. The author picked fonts, layouts and illustrations to achieve this effect. Throughout the novel, readers will find wood block illustrations from and inspired by our region. The hard copy edition contains a detailed list of the illustrations and their origins.
Cooper’s first book was Watkins Glen Tour Guide in 2009, a history and travel book dedicated to the region that he first experienced at the age of three. His guidebook includes five self-guided tours in and around the village.
