Shelf Indulgence Book Club

Adult Program 

2/6/2026 edit - Two things...

On Wed 2/25 when we meet to discuss Praisesong, all are invited to prepare a recipe from this memoir/cookbook or from your own family traditions to share. We'll have the coffee cart available for drinks and can enjoy sampling while we chat. If you bring along the recipe, I can share them afterwards.

Also on Wed 2/25 (or even before), please send me/tell me 2-3 titles you would like to suggest for our next round of balloting. We have books chosen through May, but I will need to determine our future titles soon, at least June by March 10. I love that our selections so far have covered a variety of genres. Keep in mind that it is not ideal to choose titles which are new releases as it can be difficult to get enough copies of popular stuff. I'll send out the ballot by the end of February.

Join as we discuss Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks by Crystal Wilkinson. (details below)

This book will be available in limited physical quantities at the library circulation desk about a month before we meet. E-book and audiobook formats are available in Libby. Please register so we can prepare seating, send discussion questions and a Zoom link in case you decide to attend virtually.  This is a hybrid event - attend in person or virtually via Zoom. You must have a valid email address to use Zoom.

A lyrical culinary journey that explores the hidden legacy of Black Appalachians, through powerful storytelling alongside nearly forty comforting recipes, from the former poet laureate of Kentucky.

People are always surprised that Black people reside in the hills of Appalachia. Those not surprised that we were there, are surprised that we stayed.

Years ago, when O. Henry Prize-winning writer Crystal Wilkinson was baking a jam cake, she felt her late grandmother’s presence. She soon realized that she was not the only cook in her kitchen; there were her ancestors, too, stirring, measuring, and braising alongside her. These are her kitchen ghosts, five generations of Black women who settled in Appalachia and made a life, a legacy, and a cuisine.

An expert cook, Wilkinson shares nearly forty family recipes rooted deep in the past, full of flavor—delicious favorites including Corn Pudding, Chicken and Dumplings, Granny Christine’s Jam Cake, and Praisesong Biscuits , brought to vivid life through stunning photography. Together, Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts honors the mothers who came before, the land that provided for generations of her family, and the untold heritage of Black Appalachia.

As the keeper of her family’s stories and treasured dishes, Wilkinson shares her inheritance in Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts. She found their stories in her apron pockets, floating inside the steam of hot mustard greens and tucked into the sweet scent of clove and cinnamon in her kitchen. Part memoir, part cookbook, Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts weaves those stories together with recipes, family photos, and a lyrical imagination to present a culinary portrait of a family that has lived and worked the earth of the mountains for over a century.