HONESDALE AND HAWLEY, PA — Nikolai Burlakoff, author of “The World of Russian Borsch,” invites you to visit the Hawley Public Library or the Wayne County Public Library to answer all your borsch questions. He will share his borsch odyssey from a hogweed plant-based soup to its presence in outer space on Tuesday, November 12. The author will visit the Wayne County Public Library from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. and the Hawley Public Library from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. He will talk about his times in Shamokin where the idea for the book was born, a book filled with reminiscences, history, insights into cultures, religious traditions, and nearly 100 recipes for, and related to, borsch. Copies will be available for purchase and signing.

Did you know that borsch, also known as borscht, is perhaps the best know Eastern European food dish worldwide, but was not originally cooked with beets? Did you know that the first experiment in transmitting the human voice from orbital flight involved the broadcasting of a borsch recipe?

Burlakoff is of Russian heritage and a graduate of Harvard. His first publication about borsch was “Erol Beet and the Borsch Angel: How the Borsch Angel Got Her Name,” a children’s book illustrated by Roland Hale, which will also be available.

Visit www.waynelibraries.org, or call the Wayne County Public Library, 1406 N. Main St., 570/253-1220, or the Hawley Public Library, 103 Main Ave., 570/226-4620. Registration is not required, but appreciated.