100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know

100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know Cindi Leive and the Editors of Glamour

read November 2011

I picked this up at the library this morning and flipped through it this afternoon. I'm not too impressed with the recipes. I love Glamour magazine and the recipes that they feature. They showcase quick recipes for entertaining. I am so glad I didn't buy this cookbook! Bottom line: probably best for a 20-something career girl with limited time and not-so-much cooking experience. That just made me sound REALLY old, didn't it?

Yes, I Have Been Reading

Okay, I had great intentions at the beginning of 2011 to blog on a regular basis. On my "regular" blog and here on Readin' and Bloggin'. Kinda didn't happen. But, yes, I have been reading. Quite a lot. In the beginning of the year, I stuck to mostly book club books and wedding books. But then I discovered George R R Martin, and he took a lot of my time this year. I've also been trying to rediscover the classics. For example, I just read "The Old Curiousity Shop" by Dickens. What I haven't been doing is keeping track of what I've been reading. But I am going to make an effort to improve!

A Feast for Crows

A Feast for Crows by George R Martin

read November 2011

This is book #4 in the "Song of Ice and Fire" series by Martin. Here's a little background info on the books. You may have seen the HBO series "Game of Thrones". Yes? Well, that show mirrors book #1 in the series. (Side note: The HBO show is quite good!) These books were recommended to me last year by one of my employees, who is an avid reader. I downloaded the first book to my Kindle but just couldn't get into it at first. There are A LOT of characters in these books. It's almost overwhelming. And each chapter is told from the viewpoint of a different character. I read the first 2 chapters and then put it down....for a year. But something possessed me to give it another go and I am SOOOO glad that I did! The books take place in the land of Westeros, which is suspiciously similar to medieval England. Various members of the Seven Kingdoms all bicker and squabble for control of the Iron Throne. That's probably as detailed as I should go, or I may give away some good information. I am not a fan of fantasy at all, but these books have an air of historical fiction that appeals to me. Very much so.

So now to book #4. Great book. Long, but well worth the effort. This book introduces us to a TON of new characters. There is a lot of detailed character development in this book, but it barely mentions some of the other main characters that I've grown to love. Like Tyrion (aka The Imp) and Dany. Apparently Martin realized that his book was going to be too big for one book so he just hacked it in half! Fortunately, book #5 was published this year, so I have it on hold at the library. Can't wait for it to come in, but I'm #68, so it may be a while. I cannot wait!

Book Update

Wow - I can't believe it's been nearly 5 months since I posted a book update! I have been reading plenty lately. Here's a recap of some of the books (the ones that I can remember) that I've read over the fall and holiday season:

1) "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova. This is a GREAT book! I read it a year or so ago and picked it up again in October. Thought it would be a good Halloween read. It's the story of a girl (late teens) who discovers that her father secretly has been studying Dracula. She finds this super old book (like from the Middle Ages) in his study one day and a package of letters. Is it possible that Dracula has lived on in the modern world? It's a big book, but not tough to read at all.

2) "The Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" by Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Barrows. This was our November (I think) book club book. At first, I absolutely hated it. So much that I couldn't even finish it. But I carried on.... And, admittedly, ended up really enjoying it.

3) The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward. So far I've read books 1, 2 and 3. They're kind of trashy, but oh-so-good. Mandy turned me on to this series and I can't put them down! They're kind of a unique twist on a vampire story. The Black Dagger Brotherhood is a group of ultra tough vampires who protect their race from a group called "the lessers", whose goal in life is to kill vampires. Very good.

4) "Dracula" by Bram Stoker. I got a kindle from Tommy for Christmas! Love, love, love it! There are a TON of free books available for download, and this was one I downloaded on Christmas night. I can't believe I've never read it! Great read, but not one to read when you're home alone at night.

5) "The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the Periodic Table" by Sam Kean. Okay, it might SOUND nerdy, but this book all about the elements REALLY is fascinating! There is a weird or sordid tale behind the discovery of a lot of the elements. This is another kindle download. I'm glad I read it, but I wish I wouldn't have purchased it! Should have gotten it from the library.

6) "Emily Post's Wedding Etiquette" by Peggy Post. Wedding plans start in earnest this month. Now I'm an expert! :-)

7) "Water for Elephants" by Sarah Gruen. This was another Book Club book. Either September or October.... SOOOO stinkin' good! Here's what the review on barnesandnoble.com says:

As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.

That sums it up quite nicely, don'tcha think?? Great book. I just started reading "Ape House" by the same author.

8)"Candy Freak: A Journey into the Chocolate Underbelly of America" by Steve Almond. This guy is obsessed with candy. Obsessed with it. And this book is all about candy and the people who make candy. Interesting.

9) "At Home: A Short History of Private Life" by Bill Bryson. SOOOO interesting. The author moved into this old parsonage (if I remember correctly, built in the 1850s), and started to question the rooms and things in the house. This led to this lovely book. If you ever wanted to know everything there is to know about the history of homes, this is the book for you. I found it fascinating! I got a previous book of his, "The Short History of Nearly Everything", but didn't find it nearly as good as this one. In my opinion, this is a must read!

I believe there are more books that I've read, but I'll need to make an additional post at a later time. I need to return to scrapbooking! Happy New Year! Happy reading!

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik

read August 2010

This is our August book club book. Lori, my BFF, came with me last month to book club and recommended this as a good read. Being open to new ideas like we are, we went with it. I'm so glad that we did. This is a great book. Set in a Minneapolis, MN suburb, it is the story of 5 neighbors who form a book club in the 1960s. The book follows them over the course of 30 years. I found it a little tough to keep track of all the women in the beginning, but as the story progressed it became a little easier to get. Two thumbs up.

East of Eden

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

read July 2010

This was our bookclub book for July, which I didn't finish in time! I did finish it a couple of weeks ago, however. I really, really didn't think I would like this book. At all. I don't love anything else I've read by Steinbeck. This one was different. Loved it.

Keeping Faith

Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult

read August 2010

For some reason I keep getting sucked back into the world of Jodi Picoult. I've learned that people either love her work or hate it. You should read the reviews at goodreads.com and you'll see what I'm talking about! Although I have fought it for a long time, really do enjoy her books. Last month I read "House Rules". After reading that I thought, "Ugh, why do I read her stuff...". However, I picked "Keeping Faith" up at my mom's house last week and couldn't put it down. I really liked it.

In a nutshell, it's the story of a little girl (who's a non-practicing Jew, by the way) who suddenly develops a stigmata, begins quoting the bible, and even heals the sick. Her parents are in the middle of a pretty messy divorce when all of this begins. Oh, and by the way, God is a woman.

This one definitely kept my interest. Easy reading, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Enough to make me want to revisit one of my old faves of Picoult - "Salem Falls". My only issue with this is that there are way too many unanswered questions at the end of the book.