626 ratings | 18 reviews | avg rating:4.42

Cynthia’s Year In Books

Cynthia’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Cynthia’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

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Cynthia D. Bertelsen’s Followers (11)

Cynthia’s Bookshelves

to-read (86)
currently-reading (674)
read (736)
did-not-finish (0)
art (1)
biography (3)
cookbooks-modern (13)
essays (2)
fiction (33)
food-essays (5)
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Cynthia’s Friends (122)

Jane Ward

31 books | 115 friends

J. Elliott

1,332 books | 65 friends

Linda Sacco

480 books | 291 friends

Crystal King

1,878 books | 3,716 friends

Jacqueline Renee

1,253 books | 39 friends

Jacopo Quercia

49 books | 3,935 friends

Julie

672 books | 1,813 friends

Lindsey

606 books | 83 friends

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Cynthia D. Bertelsen

Goodreads Author

Website

https://cynthiadbertelsen.com

Twitter

gherkinstomato

Genre

Nonfiction, History, Cookbooks

Member Since

April 2009

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/cbertel

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Cynthia D. Bertelsen’s books include Mushroom: A Global History, A Hastiness of Cooks: A Handbook for Deciphering Historic Recipes and Cookbooks, In the Shadow of Ravens: A Novel, Wisdom Soaked in Palm Oil: Journeying Through the Food and Flavors of Africa, and Meatballs & Lefse: Memories and Recipes from a Scandinavian-American Farming Life. “A Hastiness of Cooks” won Gourmand World Cookbooks Awards 2020 for Best in Culinary History category for the U.S. and the world. Meatballs & Lefse placed as a finalist in the 2020/2021 New Generation Indie Book Awards. She writes and cooks in Florida, loves Mexican food, and wants to go back to France someday!

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Cynthia D. Bertelsen’s books

Average rating: 4.08 · 65 ratings · 18 reviews · 15 distinct works • Similar authors

	Mushroom: A Global History 3.87 avg rating — 39 ratings — published 2013 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Hastiness of Cooks: A Practical Handbook for Use in Deciphering the Mysteries of Historic Recipes and Cookbooks, For Living-History Reenactors, Historians, Writers, Chefs, Archaeologists, and, o by Cynthia D. Bertelsen (Goodreads Author), Courtney Nzeribe (Illustrator) 4.30 avg rating — 10 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stoves & Suitcases: Searching for Home in the World's Kitchens 4.75 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2021 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	In the Shadow of Ravens: A Novel 4.50 avg rating — 4 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Meatballs & Lefse: Memories and Recipes from a Scandinavian-American Farming Life it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wisdom Soaked in Palm Oil 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mangoes & Roosters: Stories and Tales of Haiti it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Season of the Wolf: A Riveting Saga of World War II France really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wisdom Soaked in Palm Oil: Journeying through the Food and Flavors of Africa 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mangoes & Roosters: Stories and Tales of Haiti 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Cynthia D. Bertelsen's Blog

Cooks, the Forgotten Characters in Fiction

A few days ago, I spent an hour in the local Barnes & Noble. There’s only one other bookstore in town, indie, focused on banned books and so on. Nothing wrong with that, but their inventory isn’t as large as B&N, and I was looking for mass market paperback crime novels. Yeah, I do read […]

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Published on May 27, 2026 04:40

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Cynthia is Currently Reading

Cynthia Bertelsen is currently reading

Magpie Murders (Susan Ryeland #1)

by Anthony Horowitz (Goodreads Author)

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8 hours, 13 min ago

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The Maidens

by Alex Michaelides (Goodreads Author)

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May 24, 2026 06:23PM

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Benediction

by Kent Haruf

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May 14, 2026 06:17PM

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Cynthia Bertelsen is currently reading Magpie Murders (Susan Ryeland #1) by Anthony Horowitz (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8 hours, 13 min ago · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Cynthia Bertelsen is currently reading The Maidens by Alex Michaelides (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 24, 2026 06:23PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Maidens by Alex Michaelides. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Maidens by Alex Michaelides <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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Cynthia Bertelsen is currently reading Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Cynthia Bertelsen is currently reading To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 12, 2026 06:35PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Cynthia Bertelsen is currently reading The Resistance Knitting Club (Threads of Resistance #1) by Jenny O'Brien (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Cynthia Bertelsen is currently reading Plagues Upon the Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History (The Princeton Economic History of the Western World) by Kyle Harper	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Cynthia Bertelsen is currently reading The French Kitchen by Kristy Cambron (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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