Books Brought to you by NPR (and NYT)

Posted on May 9, 2012 by

I have to be honest with you, I haven’t had much time for reading lately. I’ve reviewed nearly everything I’ve read this year and now I am lacking in material. I am currently in the middle of two books that I haven’t been able to devote serious time to so they sit unfinished. I am working on finding time for some more challenge related baking so I can write the reviews that go with the SAA books I have finished. In lieu of a review today, I’m going to share some more books that I would like to get my hands on.

Image of Book Cover: How to be richer, smarter, and better looking than your parents

How to be Richer, Smarter and Better Looking Than Your Parents by Zac Bissonnette

I heard the author interview on NPR a few days ago and it intrigued me. The cheeky title caught my ear, but listening to the author talk about student loans and what life is like for students coming out of college, made me want to pick this up. Sometimes I forget that college is closer to ten years away. I’m part of the ‘a generation ago’ that Bissonnette refers to. I’m on pretty good financial footing so I’m not sure if I’d like to learn something new, but the author piqued my curiosity.

Image of Book Cover: Rather Outspoken by Dan Rather

Rather Outspoken: My Life in the News by Dan Rather

Before listening to this interview, I wasn’t very familiar with Dan Rather’s work. I knew his name, of course, who doesn’t? But I don’t watch news shows and it’s only been in the last couple of years that I started reading a national newspaper daily. Also, I didn’t start listening to NPR until mid-January of this year. All this to say that everything Dan Rather spoke about was news to me. I was fascinated and curiosity duly piqued.

Book Cover Image: The First 20 Minutes

The First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals How We Can: Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer by Gretchen Reynolds

This is not a title I heard about via NPR. I became aware of it in this past Sunday’s New York Times. I have been reading Reynold’s Well Blog articles with avid interest the past few months. She writes a lot about what living a sedentary life does to our bodies. Reading her articles has made me more committed to finding ways to combat the effects of my desk job. In short, her articles have freaked me out. I know sitting all day is bad for me. I can feel it in the way my body feels achy, and not in a good way. My body feels unused, I can literally feel my muscles atrophying, and guess what? That is exactly what is happening, not to mention a score of other unpleasant things. When I discovered she had compiled all of her research into a book? Yes, please. This may very well be the first exercise book I ever read. And according to the reviews, it’s not really an exercise book, per se. I can’t wait to dive in.

So there you have it. I may not actually be reading much right now, but I have plenty of books to look forward to in my future.

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Posts by Jehara | Tagged | Leave a comment

Book Review: Girl Reading by Katie Ward

Posted on May 4, 2012 by

Title: Girl Reading

Author: Katie Ward

Published by: Scribner, a Division of Simon & Schuster

Copyright Date: 2011

Pages: 337

Score: A

The Gist: Seven stories about seven pieces of art-Ward explains it best in her last, rather meta, story: The photo came to life as it were; it started to reveal its story-a story, at any rate.  The history of the picture was shown to me as if it had always been there, waiting to be discovered.  It appeared in fragments and glimpses, at first.  There were echoes of conversations between these people, hints as to their relationships and tribulations.  It was like I was alone in a theater, and the ghosts were putting on a play just for me.

My Thoughts: I used to be good about going to the museum.  I confess, of late, that I haven’t gone nearly as much.  But I used to love it.  I would fixate on a painting here, a sculpture there and imagine the story behind it, because as people who like to read know, there’s a story behind everything.  In Girl Reading, Katie Ward writes seven stories about seven different paintings, vividly creating small time capsules, moments frozen forever on canvas.  Her stories span from 1333 to 2060 and all feature one central commonality: a girl caught reading.  They are remarkably feminist stories, even the 1333 Annunciation piece by artist Simone Martini.  More importantly, the themes are fully relatable-every woman can identify.  I Google searched the paintings on-line after finishing the book, and was pleased to find that Ward had told the stories so well, the paintings were completely recognizable.

Ward makes a specific stylistic choice in her story-telling, which I confess, put me off at first.  Without giving too much away, she forces you to pay close attention to each moment, to truly study the canvas, not just to view it casually and depart, none the richer or wiser for having spent a moment in the company of a piece of art.  In essence, she forces the reader to slow down.  I should probably be ashamed that I needed the reminder.  Her final story ties all the thematic elements of all the short stories together and reminds the reader why art is important; why it is relevant to each of us, individually and as a society; and she does so without resorting to precious techniques or preaching.

Bottom Line: Completely engaging and has me contemplating my next trip to the museum.

Posted in Fiction, historical fiction, Posts by Izzy | 1 Comment

Book Review: Vegan Pie in the Sky

Posted on May 3, 2012 by

Book Cover Image: Vegan Pie in the SkyName of Book: Vegan Pie in the Sky
By: Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero
Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books
Copyright Date: October 2011
Format: cookbook
Reason for Reading: because I <3 Isa and Terry
Source: it was gifted to me
Rating: A++

 

The Gist:

Isa and Terry complete their trifecta of pint-sized dessert books with a pie edition. It has fruit pies, harvest pies, cheesecake pies, and chocolate pies, not to mention cobblers and tarts. Isa and Terry strike pie gold, not that I’d expect anything less.

My Thoughts:

I was delighted to find this little sucker in my stocking. As B and I observe both Solstice and Christmas, I was able to put this book to immediate use for the holidays. The first recipe on the list was the pumpkin pie cheesecake. The picture looks absolutely delectable. And I will admit to having big doubts that my efforts would live up to my expectations. I am very much a novice pie baker. I can barely get a cobbler together. My efforts at pies usually are somewhat disappointing. However! Isa and Terry guide the novice with a well practiced hand, laying out all the handy tools and ingredients in a section of their own, and peppering little tips and tricks throughout. Who knew the key to preventing cheesecake cracking was a pan of water in the oven with the pie. (Who knew, for that matter, that cheesecake was in danger of cracking?)

I devoured all the recipes in mere spaces of time, wanting to try every.single.one. I was excited about hand pies! Cheesecake pies! Fruity pies! I promptly ordered mini cookie cutters, a tart pan and pie weights. In hindsight a pie shield should have been included in that list.

Brownie Bottom Peanut Butter Cheesecake

The recipes themselves  have lived up to the Isa and Terry standard. They are fantastically delicious. The pumpkin cheesecake? It turned out almost exactly like the picture and tasted divine. It was a hit at Christmas dinner, even with my lemon-loving father-in-law. The second pie recipe I tried was the blackberry brambles pie. Seriously, this was my first time EVAR making my own pie crust FROM SCRATCH. Usually I cheat and just buy one and pour in my handmade filling.  I admit to feeling very intimidated and perhaps a bit petrified, but I did it. I had to make some substitutions since I didn’t buy enough blackberries nor did I have blackberry liqueur on hand, however, I did have some white chocolate liqueur and strawberries hanging around. My pie crust (barely) held and I managed to cut out cute star shapes. And the pie? Seriously, this is the best pie I’ve ever eaten. It was sooooo good. The crust was buttery and flaky and so freaking tasty. The fruity interior was decadent paired with the nommy crust. (I’m not gonna lie, B and I ate half the pie, half the pie, in one sitting). After that outstanding achievement I was ready to fully flex my pie making muscles. I made the brownie bottom peanut butter cheesecake for B’s birthday. It was so vulgarly good that I made it again a week later in addition to the Café Mocha Cheesecake for the SAA Challenge.

This book has brought all my pie making dreams come true. So, um, if I haven’t made it clear, Isa and Terry are amazingly awesome. This book is a must have for anyone wanting to create their own delicious confections at home.

Last Words:

It’s pie heaven, people! PIE HEAVEN contained in a cute tiny, portable volume. Isa and Terry strike gold, per usual, raising the bar yet again in the world of vegan baking.

Blackberry-Strawberry Pie

Posted in Cookbooks, Posts by Jehara | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Review: Rebecca

Posted on May 1, 2012 by


Book Title: Rebecca
Author: Daphne du Maurier
Original Publication Date: 1938
Edition Read: 1956 Doubleday & Co.
Total Pages: 357
Genre: Classic Gothic Mystery
Reason Read: Found this musty hardcover at the library sale and couldn’t resist
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

“He had the face of one who walks in his sleep, and for a wild moment the idea came to me that perhaps he was not normal, not altogether sane. There were people who had trances, I had surely heard of them, and they followed strange laws of which we could know nothing, they obeyed the tangled orders of their own subconscious minds. Perhaps he was one of them, and here we were within six feet of death.” – Chapter 4

One of the perks of working the local library sale is that you get first dibs on the books set out for sale. Kind of like when I worked at the shoe store back in high school. I would unpack the new shoe arrivals and set aside my size right away before anything even hit the shelf. This led to a very large and unnecessary shoe collection for a teenager. Working the library sale stacks could also lead to a mammoth book collection, but they frown upon hoarding over selling, so I only have time to snag a handful here and there. I always poke around the Classics table because, of course, I love them. I especially love all of the old hardcovers laid out. Without vibrant book jackets, they require more effort to look into. But I love picking them up and catching a whiff of the dusty and yellowed pages within. My imagination starts going haywire and next thing you know, I’m creating lives for the authors and characters and former owners of the books before I’ve even discovered what the real story is all about. Which is hard to do without actually reading the pages themselves when there isn’t a book jacket providing a plot summary.

Most of the time, the Classics you find at my library sale are quite obscure. So when I came across the familiar title of Rebecca, I couldn’t resist and snapped it up. Having only seen the movie, many moons ago, I was pleased to give the book a go and see how I found it. I didn’t remember much of the plot – more the sense of the story than anything else. From the very beginning I felt like someone was narrating the movie in my mind as I read along. I could see Hitchcock’s images playing in my head and was happy for it.

The book starts off very descriptive of the scenery which may have bogged me down a bit had I not already had all of the images flooding in from my movie memory. There is certainly a detailed scene set within the pages so that you can feel the ocean spray on your face, smell the fragrence of the spring flowers blooming throughout the grounds and feel the tingles on the back of your neck whenever a certain Mrs. Danvers appears around the corners of the Manderley estate.

A naive, plain young dreamer with an active imagination is rescued from her unpleasant job and life by an older, suave and rich gentleman trying to forget his wife’s tragic demise within the past year. This bout of puppy love leads to an unexpected and sudden marriage and then she is whisked away to the famous Manderley estate to be installed as the new Mrs. De Winter.

Unprepared, alone and timid our narrator arrives and tries to make sense of her new life and find her way, all the while living with the constant reminders and comparisons to the wife who’s place she has taken – the beloved Rebecca.

Trouble ensues with lots of twists and turns. There is much foreshadowing by du Maurier but she holds her biggest surprises closest to her sleeve. Just when I thought I had figured out the way it would go, she made me look silly. I enjoyed the story and although the narrator and her husband at times frustrated me with their personalities, I know that they needed to be the way they were for this wonderful tale of suspense to succeed. And that it did. Now I need to go rent the movie and see the images come alive again. Maybe my library has a copy!

Posted in Classics, Fiction, Mystery, Posts by Molly | 6 Comments

Bookshelves are like footprints

Posted on April 30, 2012 by

Papyrus Tree with books

“A bookshelf is as particular to its owner as are his or her clothes; a personality is stamped on a library just as a shoe is shaped by the foot.”    -Alan Bennett, British playwright

photo: papyrus plant with books at The Eden Project, Cornwall from Jehara’s personal collection

Posted in Posts by Jehara, Quotations | Tagged | 1 Comment

Book Review: Saturday

Posted on April 26, 2012 by

Author: Ian McEwan

Publisher: Jonathan Cape

Copyright date: 2005

Pages: 308

Genre: Literary Fiction

Rating: A

Award Won: James Tait Black Memorial Prize, 2005

Summary:

On February 15, 2003, Henry Perowne, a neurosurgeon, urbane, privileged, deeply in love with his wife and grown-up children, plans to play a game of squash, visit his elderly mother, and cook dinner for his family. But after a minor traffic accident leads to an unsettling confrontation, Perowne must set aside his plans and summon a strength greater than he knew he had in order to preserve the life that is dear to him.

My Thoughts:

What Ian McEwan did in this award-winning novel was so simple yet an act of genius. What he did was take a look at one day in the life of a good family man and balance it against the backdrop of political and cultural activities in London on that Saturday. This allowed the author to explore several issues.

This particular Saturday was the day of an anti-war protest against the Iraq war. As Henry compares his satisfaction with his past and current life, he feels that life has gradually changed after the events of 9/11. The world around him has become violent and unsettling. How can he keep his family at peace with chaos all around him?

This novel is a good evaluation of modern concerns. Of course, it’s beautifully written. My only [slight] complaint was the intensity of the main character’s thought process. After a while I was exhausted by it all. Saturday was quite thought provoking. I recommend it to anyone wishing to have your thoughts provoked.

About the Author:

McEwan’s works have earned him worldwide critical acclaim. He won the Somerset Maugham Award in 1976 for his first collection of short stories First Love, Last Rites; the Whitbread Novel Award (1987) and the Prix Fémina Etranger (1993) for The Child in Time; and Germany’s Shakespeare Prize in 1999. He has been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction numerous times, winning the award for Amsterdam in 1998. His novel Atonement received the WH Smith Literary Award (2002), National Book Critics’ Circle Fiction Award (2003), Los Angeles Times Prize for Fiction (2003), and the Santiago Prize for the European Novel (2004). He was awarded a CBE in 2000. In 2006, he won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel Saturday, and his novel On Chesil Beach was named Galaxy Book of the Year at the 2008 British Book Awards. McEwan has been named the Reader’s Digest Author of the Year for 2008, the 2010 Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award, and in 2011 was awarded the Jerusalem Prize.

McEwan lives in London. His new novel is Sweet Tooth. It will be published in late August by Jonathan Cape, in November by Doubleday and, first, in Brazil in July by Companhia das letras.”  (Photo and info from the author’s webpage.)

Posted in Award Winners, Fiction, Posts by Margot | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Book Review: A Touch of Ice

Posted on April 25, 2012 by

Product DetailsTitle: A Touch of Ice (an Everly Gray Adventure)

Author: L.J. Charles

Format: Kindle

Reason for Reading: It was free, to begin with. And then it was good, so that’s why I kept reading it.

Cold, bony fingers dug into my shoulders, shaking me. “Everly? Everly Gray?”

The old woman? Panic zinged through me and my eyes popped open. Shelly Summers. Client. Young. Coaching appointment. “What the hell–?”

Shelly’s breath whooshed out, drowning me in the scent of peppermint and apprehension. “You’re okay, right? It was just a spell of some kind, like an epileptic thing? You should have told me this could happen, that you flipped out sometimes. A girl likes to be prepared for something like this, you know.”

I’d reduced my client to a babbling heap of nerves. And then there was me. No telling how long it would take me to recuperate from …whatever the hell that was. I reached for my bottle of water, the trembling in my fingers visible. Client session. Professional. Get. It. Together, Everly. I chugged several gulps of the life-giving liquid, knowing I had to act normal and complete Shelly’s session. “I’m fine, Shelly. Honestly, it was just one of those deja vu moments. We were discussing your–”

 

Everly Gray has the magic touch. Literally. When she touches people, she sees what they have been doing, what they’re thinking, what they’re planning. Her best friend Violet knows about her gift, but so far she’s managed to keep it a secret from everyone else. She uses it carefully, to help her clients, but otherwise, well, no one knows. Then one morning at the beach she deliberately stumbles into the arms of a really hot photographer. That decision leads her to earth-shattering events, say, getting involved in murder and the mob, and narrowly escaping with her life. But escape she does, and her life is forever changed.

My thoughts:  I love the whole getting free books for my kindle. I hope that it pays off for the authors as much as I theorize it does. Here’s the thing. See, if I “buy” a book for free, and I like it, then I go see what else that author has written, and I buy follow-up books for money. But if I don’t like it, I’m not out anything but a little time. This means that I know there is a follow-up novel, A Touch of TNT (An Everly Gray Adventure), because I just bought it and am eagerly waiting to read it. Maybe a nice long session in my tub? I’m just saying.

I loved the book. I’m not much on romance, as anyone who knows me can attest, and I definitely appreciate that Charles didn’t go into great walloping details about teh sex. I know people have sex, but I don’t go watching them, and don’t enjoy reading them. I’m perfectly content to know that the characters are all hot and bothered, and then they go into the room and shut the door, and what they do is their business, not mine.  Charles handled it beautifully, for someone like me.

Grade: A+

Posted in Fiction, Posts by Faith, thriller | Tagged , , | 3 Comments