Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Friday Five’ Category

Friday Five – Entering Slow-Down (I Hope) Season

Posted in Books, Friday Five, Fun, Mental Health, Spiderweb on November 17, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I spent last Friday driving up to Broken Bow to hang out with my art collective and make plans for the upcoming year. We stayed a few days and returned on Monday. It was relaxing and wonderful and good to just do one thing at a time for a minute. I forgot how grounding that is. I should do more of that in my regular life – slowing down enough to focus on each thing.

Here are some things I’ve read in the last couple of weeks. Hope you enjoy!

  • I stole this right out of Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Links I Love this week because I love this idea. I typically assume “I mean this genuinely and with no subtext” with most texts, but sometimes there IS subtext and I miss it because my brain is very face-value in its interpretation. That can cause issues. The thought of having confirmation of my assumption in writing is comforting.
  • At Midnight: 15 Beloved Fairy Tales Reimagined compiled by Dahlia Adler – I love a good fairytale retelling. I enjoyed most of the ones in this book, and I found a few new-to-me authors I want to read more from. I enjoy that the end of the book included the original fairytales for readers who want to compare and contrast. 
  • Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin – I started this one a couple of months ago when one of our book clubs at work discussed it, and I just finished it this weekend. It lived up to the hype for me, even though it’s on a topic I know next to nothing about. I especially recommend it to people who enjoy video games, particularly online RPGs. I don’t want to spoil anything, but suffice it to say my favorite part is the saddest part. I love how the author wrote that plot point so much that if I were teaching a writing class, I would have them read this book so we can analyze the way it was crafted.
  • The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood – I think this was another Modern Mrs. Darcy recommendation, and my book club loved it. It has themes of grief, estranged relationships, healing, chosen family, and redemption. One member said it was probably her favorite book she’s read all year. The characters are endearing, and even if you don’t like one of them, it’s easy to see why they act the way they do because they’re well-written and well-developed. I don’t think I would have picked it up based on the description or the cover, so I’m glad I saw the recommendation.
  • I’m pondering my theme for next year, and as is often the case around this time of the year, I have been noticing a certain word standing out among the crowd. It keeps popping up in the newsletters I’m subscribed to, and it is often the subject in social media reels or podcasts that meander across my feed. Susan Cain’s new community sounds like it would be a great way to explore the theme that’s currently in the running for first place. If it’s at all cost-effective, I am definitely interested. 

I hope you all have a good weekend!

Read Full Post »

Friday Five – Fun Reads From Last Month

Posted in Books, Friday Five, Fun, Joy, Nostalgia on November 3, 2023| 2 Comments »

Since October’s blog was full of foodie joy, today I’m sharing a few of the other things I read last month with you. Some magical cozies and books about spooky houses or other scary things. 

  • The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna – I loved this book. So many people recommended it to me, and it did not disappoint. It’s a cozy fantasy in which the main character is a witch who gets hired to train three young witches. Except she was raised to believe it was dangerous for witches to be together for long periods of time, so as you can imagine, some angst ensues. It’s not just a cute story, though. It’s also a wonderful treatise on the residual effects of chronic loneliness and one of the best explanations of the difference between “nice” and “kind” (spoiler – kind is far better) that I’ve ever read.
  • Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – I liked this book a lot. I think there could have been more buildup in the beginning, but it was a great concept and solid execution. I love any book where the house or the place itself acts as one of the characters, and this story did not disappoint in that regard. 
  • The Book Woman’s Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson – I was introduced to the original book woman and the Blue People of Kentucky in the first book of this series (duology?). This is why I love my book clubs. I probably would not have picked either of these books up on my own, but because someone recommended them for discussion, I got to read them and learn something new. This book started a little slower for me than the last one, but it was still an enjoyable read.
  • The Enchanted Hacienda by J.C. Cervantes – Jenny Lawson was right. It really was like Encanto and Practical Magic had a baby. I loved this story and the way family connections were woven together. There were enough surprises that it kept me interested, but nothing particularly stressful or jarring. Just what I needed last month. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author.
  • Holly Horror by Michelle Jabès Corpora – I ordered this book because I grew up with Holly Hobbie accessories for my room – my first bedspread was Holly Hobbie themed, and I had a tea set as well. The quilt that my Great Aunt Edna made me that I still use today has a Holly Hobbie-esque pattern. This story is a dark twist on the character, turning her into a girl who mysteriously disappeared years ago and now haunts her old house. I enjoyed the descriptions and the way the author introduced all the essential characters. I will definitely read the next in the series!

And finally, I offer you this excerpt from Samantha Irby’s new collection of essays, Quietly Hostile. When someone rains on your parade or tries to grade your taste, a simple “I like it!” is indeed a sufficient response. When you find joy – wherever you find it – in this world, it’s yours. You get to have it, even if you can’t articulate exactly why you like it (or, frankly, just don’t want to explain). 

I hope you get to do a lot of things you like this weekend!

Read Full Post »

Day 27 – The Last Friday Five of the Series

Posted in 31 Days, Books, Food, Friday Five, Fun, Home, Mental Health, Nostalgia, Seasons on October 27, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Tomorrow, our Rise and Shine book club is discussing spooky reads and there’s a Halloween party in the evening. On Sunday, there is a book fair at a local bar and our annual Spiderdead show in the afternoon, and then I have an RLA interest presentation (the last one I’m giving this year!) early that evening. I’m definitely taking Monday and Tuesday off for what will be some much-needed and long-overdue downtime. 

Here are five food-related/adjacent ponderings I’ve had this week:

  • I especially love this time of year because, while I do enjoy some spooky things and darker themes, I mostly just love how much cozier everything is. Cool weather (actual cool weather, not the “it’s no longer in the triple digits must be a cold front ha ha” phenomenon) is on its way in the next 48 hours. I will wrap up in a blanket with a cup of tea and a bowl of popcorn while I settle in to re-watch a soul-soothing show or movie any time of the year, but cool weather means I can do that without cranking up the A/C. Tonight I’m probably going to watch something hygge/homey/foodie from this list. My regulars are Chocolat or Under the Tuscan Sun, but the list reminds me of quite a few I haven’t seen in a while, and also how did I miss A Good Year?
  • Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree – I think I’ve found the genre I want to write. Cozy fantasy. This one was especially lovely to me because the main character is an Orc who decided to leave the mercenary life to open a coffee shop. I WANT TO LEAVE THE MERCENARY (I mean, Student Affairs, but sometimes it’s basically the same) LIFE TO OPEN A COFFEE SHOP. It’s like The Hobbit, but if Bilbo had just said, “No, thank you, but would you like another spot of tea?” instead of going on the adventure. It taps into my deep-seated desire to have a home that is so cozy and welcoming that I never want to leave and is also a place where I can feed people and watch their faces as they have those little moments of joy that a really good cup of coffee or delicious pastry can bring. 
  • The main thing I like about joining Tertulia is all the discounts I get (and also I enjoy their co-op vibe). Another thing I like is that I get curated lists like this one in my inbox with recommendations to add to my home foodie collection. Alice Feiring’s To Fall in Love, Drink This has been on my TBR for a while. That may be my next Tertulia purchase.
  • I’m pretty good about keeping my pantry and freezer (and to a lesser extent, my fridge – sometimes some questionable things linger in there) reasonably stocked and cleaned out. When space is limited, it only takes a little swerve in the direction of either sparse or out of control to have me ordering takeout more often than I (and by I, I do mean my budget) would like. But occasionally, I get a wild hair and end up buying way more of one item than I need. Right now, I have so many canned beans in my apartment. I mean, as overages go, shelf-stable ones are my preference, but dang. I guess I’m having beans in just about everything I cook at home for the foreseeable future. 
  • I really could have used a list like this when I was first starting out as a new-ish home cook. There’s lots of great advice and resources linked in here. It also sparked a bit of nostalgia through several moments when I thought, “I remember when I learned that!” It took me so long to figure out that “What are your favorite flavors and textures?” is such an important question for me when it comes to a meal plan that I’ll actually use (rather than one that I feel is a good plan I should want to use – very different things). 

My long weekend is so close I can taste it. I hope your weekend is nice!

I’m writing about food and home this month.

Read Full Post »

Day 20 – Free Friday Five

Posted in 31 Days, Books, Food, Friday Five, Fun, Home, Joy, Mental Health, Roots, Work on October 21, 2023| 2 Comments »

I love having a free day. I was off work today, and my car is fixed, and I had cookbook club tonight, and it was just a great day.

Here are some foodie things I enjoyed reading this week.

  • And we’re right out of the gate with some controversy, but I really need to get something off my chest. Sweet potato pie is superior to pumpkin pie. Discuss if you must, but I said what I said.
  • We had a whole discussion about favorite holiday foods and favorite sides at staff. There were divisions, alliances were formed, shots almost fired. It was glorious. Best staff meeting ever. In related news, I need cranberry salsa in my life. 
  • When I find a foodie book I really love, I often re-read it. In fact, of all the genres, foodie memoir or fiction is what I’m most likely to re-read. We are discussing Lessons in Chemistry in a book club at work on Monday, so I’m listening to it again this weekend. It may be my favorite book I’ve read this year. It’s so good. I’m also re-reading Love, Loss, and What We Ate by Padma Lakshmi, and I love it just as much as I did the first time. The stories people tell about food, its place in their lives, and its impact on culture are meaningful to me. It’s one of my favorite ways to get to know someone.
  • The Modern Proper: Simple Dinners for Every Day by Holly Erickson and Natalie Mortimer – I adored this cookbook from the beginning when one of the authors was talking about her grandma teaching her the “proper” way to dice. What little culinary education I gleaned during childhood was learning the proper way (i.e., Mom’s way) to do something. My mom and I once had an argument because I was adding water to the pie crust recipe wrong (my point was that I had seen several bakers doing it a different way and their pies turned out ok…to which she responded “But they weren’t baking in my kitchen.” Welp, they sure weren’t. She had me there.). Conversations like this one were why, while most of my formative memories of food stem from the place I grew up, most of my actual cooking skills were developed when I had a kitchen of my own. Like the authors of this cookbook, I have great memories of observing Mom, Aunt Gale, MeMaw, and (later in adulthood) Dad in the kitchen, but my workable knowledge is the result of experimenting and creating my own sense of the proper ways to do things. It’s how I learned that the way I add water to a pie crust is just fine and also that if you replace half the water with vodka (or gin), you get a flakier crust (the dough puffs as the alcohol evaporates). Sometimes learning new ways to do things is good.
  • And this has absolutely nothing to do with food, but it has everything to do with home, and also I love Jenny Lawson, and maybe someone here might benefit from reading it, and plus…I do what I want. Actually, looking at the drawing, I can picture myself curled up in a blanket, drinking something warm and eating something comforting in that little house. So it IS sort of food-related after all (if you really want it to be). Read all the way to my favorite line at the end – “Sometimes the mistakes are beautiful. Just like you.”

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I hope you’re enjoying this series on the food that reminds me of home this month!

Read Full Post »

Friday Five – In Praise of Perfect Evenings

Posted in 31 Days, Books, Church, Denton, Food, Friday Five, Home on October 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I’m so happy it’s Friday. I’ll be even happier when tomorrow is over, because it’s UNT Fall Preview Day, and we are in for a long, busy day. I’m going to have to move comfort food night to tomorrow and sleep in on Sunday.

But right now, it’s 8:00 on Friday night. I’m on my second glass of wine, after having watched a couple of Gilmore Girls eps and eaten a mountain of popcorn, air-popped and then lightly buttered and salted. Today was hectic, and tomorrow will be…whatever it will be…and I am without a working vehicle at the moment…but tonight I don’t have anywhere to be or anything pressing to do, and the wine is good. I’m having the perfect evening.

Here are some foodie things I enjoyed this week:

  • How To Read a Recipe (Joy the Baker) – I appreciate it any time someone breaks a process down that, on the surface, seems like a no-brainer. Turns out, very few things are no-brainers. I need my brain for most things, including reading a recipe. As always, Joy’s advice is spot on and useful and touches on things that are not immediately obvious to me, even as someone who has been successfully reading and using recipes for decades. And there are other things that are so immediately obvious to me that I do them without consciously thinking of it, and thus forget that other people haven’t learned that yet, which is good to keep in mind when writing my own recipes. 
  • My friend Shadan, leader and host of our cookbook club, has a cookbook coming out soon. If you want a sneak peak of the kind of delicious things you can expect when you buy it, check out her new blog!
  • The Comfort Food Diaries: My Quest for the Perfect Dish To Mend a Broken Heart by Emily Nunn – I am listening to the audio, but I think I would have enjoyed the print version more. In fact, I feel like that’s a theme with foodie books, especially if they have recipes. It’s also possible that this is a busy month full of many expected and also unexpected stressors, and thus the ability to focus that usually helps with reading via audio is just not there. Anyway, I am enjoying the book so far. She’s telling a lot of stories about how her friends and family rallied around her during a rough time and what she ate, so it’s right up my alley. 
  • Equal Exchange chocolates are among my favorites. Support small farmers and get great treats for Halloween. [This is not a paid advertisement; I just really, really love them.] Speaking of great things to support this weekend, our annual Empty Bowls fundraiser is tomorrow. For the price of a ticket, you get all the soup you can eat and get to pick out a handmade bowl crafted by a local artisan. And you can even buy tickets at the door. If you’re local (Denton), go to Harvest House tomorrow any time from 12p-2p, and tell them I wish I was there. 
  • And finally – I’m staying home all day Sunday to recuperate from this week. I’m going to make a big mess of pasta, maybe some soup. Maybe I’ll take a long walk to the library (the branch I go to is almost exactly two miles from me) to pick up the books I have on reserve. Or maybe I’ll just read what I have here and watch more episodes of The Bear. Or more Gilmore Girls, with their diner and their chef and their Friday night dinners. Even the fictional characters I love are obsessed with food.

I hope your weekend is restful and good, and I hope you eat something wonderful.

I’m talking about the food I love and its effect on my life this month.

Read Full Post »

Day 6 – First Friday Five

Posted in 31 Days, Books, Food, Friday Five on October 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I am so excited to share some of my favorite latest foodie reads/listens with you today. I found something inspiring in each one of them, and I hope you do, too!

  • A Table in Venice: Recipes From My Home by Skye McAlpine – This love story of Venice and its vibrant smorgasbord of flavors was a joy to read. There are a lot of recipes in here that I have absolutely zero interest in making myself (looking at you, duck and fish recipes), but I did enjoy learning about them, and the pictures are so beautiful. It makes me want to bake, and I heartily approve of the habit of decadent pastries for breakfast. Also, I’m 100% on board with any cookbook that has multiple recipes for risotto. This is one I want to add to my own collection.
  • A Literary Tea Party: Blends and Treats for Alice, Bilbo, Dorothy, Jo, and Book Lovers Everywhere by Alison Walsh – I need this book, too, if for no other reason than it has given me some great ideas for my Alice-in-Wonderland 50th birthday party in a couple of years. As the title suggests, it has decadent recipes for all types of tea parties, only with a literary twist. I was especially fascinated with the section on making your own tea blends – perhaps I’ll give that a whirl at some point. 
  • Giada’s Italy: My Recipes for La Dolce Vita by Giada de Laurentiis – I like the way the recipes are divided up between amazing things that don’t take a lot of time to make and more complicated recipes that are definitely worth the effort but maybe something to save for when you have a whole afternoon and easy evening. This book works really well with my own eating rhythms and rituals, so I think it’s another one I’m going to need to buy. I’m most excited about trying the apricot mostarda as a delicious addition to my next antipasti plate.
  • Go-To Dinners: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten – I looooove Ina Garten. I love her signature kind of pickiness (“If you can’t make your own ___, store-bought is fine”), but I also appreciate how much she has mellowed over the years, and that really shows in this cookbook. It still contains well-tested recipes with high-quality instructions (e.g., notes that “The batter will look curdled” are much appreciated for second-guessers such as myself), but with a more relaxed feel. She still includes some of her more finicky tastes but also gives alternatives. The recipes in this volume are easy; in fact, some are just assembly and require no cooking at all. I love the different boards (i.e., breakfast board, dessert board, etc.) she includes. The recipes I’m looking forward to trying the most are the potato fennel soup, chipotle cheddar crackers, and easy eggs in purgatory.
  • Wiser Than Me – Julia Louis-Dreyfus interviews Ruth Reichl. I did not even get past Julia’s introduction before I was tearing up. I knew it would be special. I grew up in a family that built memories around food, but it was Ruth Reichl who actually inspired me to write down my own. I don’t remember which of her memoirs I read first (see below), but it was my first experience of food writing. Combining food and story in such a tangible way forever changed the way I see both. I may never meet her (and if I ever do, be prepared for me to never shut up about it), but I am so grateful for the impact she has had on my life, and I highly encourage you to start with this interview and then proceed to read everything she’s ever written.

I don’t remember if it was in Comfort Me With Apples or Tender at the Bone where Ruth Reichl shared Danny Kaye’s lemon pasta, but I have been playing around with my own version of it ever since. Here is how I make it (currently).

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • Juice and zest of one lemon
  • As much minced garlic as you want (normal people would suggest something like “2 cloves” but that just doesn’t seem like enough to me)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 pound pasta (I like orecchiette or shells, but a flat pasta like fettuccine is traditionally what is recommended for cream sauces)
  • ½-1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (Who am I kidding – I grate a bowl of Parmesan to stir into the pasta dish and snack on the chunks that didn’t quite get grated while cooking. I don’t measure it. Buy a block of good Parmesan and just use it all. Save the rind to make soup stock.)
  • Fresh herbs such as parsley or basil for serving

Instructions:

  1. Put a large pot of water on to boil. Salt generously.
  2. In a large skillet (I use a 10- or 12-inch), warm oil, butter, lemon juice, and zest on medium heat until butter is melted. Add garlic and cook for about 2 minutes.
  3. Reduce heat to the low side of medium and add cream and pepper. Stir occasionally throughout the cooking process.
  4. While the cream sauce thickens (keep stirring occasionally), add pasta to boiling water. Allow to cook until al dente (8-10 minutes, depending on the type of pasta).
  5. Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet with the cream sauce. Add cheese and stir to coat.
  6. Sprinkle with fresh herbs to serve.

One of my favorite things about this recipe is that, on days when I want this but am not doing dairy, I just leave out the butter, cream, and cheese. If you do it this way, you don’t need to substitute other ingredients but wait to saute the garlic with the oil and lemon until after you add the pasta to the pot of water, as that part of the process won’t take as long without the cream. It’s not quite as decadent as the creamy version, but it’s still delicious. You can’t mess it up.

I hope you have a good weekend and get time to enjoy some of your favorite recipes!

I’m writing about the food that reminds me of home – both past and present – this month.

Read Full Post »

Friday Five – September Home Edition

Posted in Books, Friday Five, Home, Mental Health, Music, Nostalgia, Work on September 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Today is National Coffee Day, so I am celebrating appropriately (i.e., I am WIRED). Coffee is the scent that greets me any time I walk into my home, so it just makes good sense that today is also the day that I share other things I’ve found that help me ponder what home means to me. Enjoy!

  • I adore the whole vibe of Apartment Therapy’s guide to staying in (although I do ruffle at the idea of staying in or taking care of yourself as being “lazy.” I mean, I get that the guide is basically a long commercial for LazyBoy recliners, so they’re using the term in that context, but still). My favorite title within it is the one about the Instagram captions for your “homebody era.” I feel like homebody is more of a solid personality trait for me than an era, but it made me happy nonetheless.
  • I want to read all the books about mothers and daughters on this list. This year, I’ve been reflecting in my private journal on the family I grew up in and how that shaped me as a person. My relationship with my mother has been particularly on my mind lately. She has been having some accelerated memory loss in the last few years, and that’s been hard. The last time I was home, however, I played some hymns on our old piano, and she sat next to me the whole time, singing the alto parts she still remembers from all her years in choir. I enjoyed it so much. 
  • How badly do I want Stanley Tucci’s GreenPan line? So, so badly. Look how beautiful (and the cookware isn’t bad either).
  • One of the ways that I’m working on being at home with myself this year is learning to accept my neurospiciness as a whole, both the great and challenging parts. I’ve taken on the role of co-president of UNT’s Neurodiversity Professional Network, and we just finished reading The Neurodiverse Workplace by Victoria Honeybourne. It was so refreshing and informative. If I were the highlighter sort (I am typically not), I would have a lot of highlights in this book. The best thing I got out of it was a lot of tips on how to reframe conversations about better ways to do things in the context of customer service and universal design/practice. Also, the format of the book is visually pleasing and thus easy to read – lots of bulleted lists and checklists and a summary of the main points at the end of each chapter. I recommend it for any managers of people in general but ND folks especially.
  • I am trying to branch out with my media choices, so I started listening to Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s podcast Wiser Than Me, recommended to me by my friend Sarah. It usually takes me about 14 years to make it through a whole episode of most podcasts (audio conversation/monologue…especially when they skip around, talk over each other, or there is music or other random sounds…which happens a lot in most podcasts…challenging for me to focus), but this one seems easier to follow. The first episode is an interview with Jane Fonda, whom I love. I am inspired by the idea of consistently waking up each day and thinking about what we’re doing to make a positive mark on the world, which she talks about a bit. As podcasts go, I like this one, as I enjoy gleaning wisdom from those who are older and wiser. I think I’ll listen to more!

I hope you get a discount (or freebie) on your favorite coffee today. Have a good weekend!

Read Full Post »

Friday Five – Friday, Finally

Posted in Books, Food, Friday Five, Fun, Music, Writing on September 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Half the office was out sick earlier this week. It was madness. I’m so tired, and despite all the work I’ve done every single second when I’m there, I still feel behind. Also, I have ingested about a vat and a half of Emergen-C. So…come at me, germs (actually, please do not come at me. Just continue staying far away, germs. That goes for you, too, allergens. Do not want.). 

But I got to go to Molten Plains on Wednesday and I get to go to cookbook club tonight in my pajamas. So the week is pretty decent overall.

  • Speaking of Molten Plains, the second Molten Plains Fest is going to be at Rubber Gloves on December 8-9. You can see a list of artists and sign up for updates here. It’s going to be amazing!
  • My friend Shadan (host of cookbook club) is writing/has mostly written a cookbook, and her publisher wants her to have a more solid social media following. Highly recommend – I’ve learned so much about food from her. Follow @shadankp on the Instagram and TikTok.
  • As is my custom every autumn, I am reflecting on my resolutions to see how far I’ve come and how much I have left to do (and also whether I still want to do them or if I’ve come up with an even better plan ). One thing that is helping me with my weekly creative goal-setting (and goal-meeting) is DIY MFA. The information on this site is solid, and it helps me organize and prioritize in a way that makes sense to my brain rather than just dumping everything into one big to-do list that never fully gets done.
  • The Booker Prize shortlist is out! I haven’t read any of these yet, but I am most excited about Sarah Bernstein’s Study for Obedience. 
  • Finally, I’m calling it. It’s officially Cozy Reading Season (™). If you love mysteries with lovable characters, ACF Bookens would be right up your alley. 

I hope you’ve had a good week, but even if it’s been a mess, I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Read Full Post »

Friday Five – Book Love

Posted in Books, Friday Five, Joy, Seasons on September 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »

It’s been a little cooler here this week, and I am freaking out about it (in a good way). I even broke out the tall boots. Is it still too warm for tall boots? Of course. Do I care? Not even a little bit. It’s already autumn in my head. No take-backs.

Here are a few things I enjoyed this week. Hope you enjoy them as well!

  • I just got a new mattress this week, and I love it. Best sleep I’ve had in years. I have been hesitant to try a memory foam option because the topper I had long ago felt stifling, but the technology has clearly come a long way. 
  • Last night was Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Fall Book Preview, and it was so much fun. I enjoyed hearing about the books she’s excited about this season.
  • In fact, this whole week has been full of bookish events. I had two book club meetings on Tuesday (one at work, one in the evening), and I always enjoy those. Emily Henry’s Happy Place was the topic of discussion with my work folks, and it was fun to take a little break from our serious jobs to dish about this rom-com and all the miscommunication between the characters. “Just talk to each other!” was definitely exclaimed at least four times. I love meeting new people who are as passionate about reading a wide variety of books as I am.
  • Another book I finished was the audio of Mycroft Holmes, written by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse. It’s the first in this particular series, and I enjoyed their spin on this classic character. I’m in the middle of listening to the second one, Mycroft and Sherlock, and I think I like it even better (which makes sense, as Sherlock Holmes is one of my favorite literary characters). They also bring out some key points in history and weave them into the stories really well, and the overall tone is not identical but includes a few nice nods to the original. 
  • Companion Piece by Ali Smith goes with her seasons series, and it’s the perfect…end? Each of the other books had a seasonal theme, but this one centered on an expanded view of the concept of season with characters encountering both the impact and continuing aftermath of Covid. She also played with time in this one by reverting to the days of the Black Plague with one section of the story, drawing parallels between the two sections. The language was beautiful and there was a wealth of absurdity throughout, which are two of the things I adore about Smith’s writing in general. 

I hope you have a good day and a good weekend!

Read Full Post »

Friday Five – Yay September

Posted in Books, Food, Friday Five, Reading Challenges on September 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I was traveling last week to do some field recordings with Sarah and visit the folks over the weekend. I’m happy it’s September. A lot of things that I’m excited about are happening this month, and I am hopeful that I’m going to emerge from my seasonal funk soon so that I can enjoy them with the gusto that they deserve.

Here are five things that I found/read this week(ish) that you might enjoy:

  • Oliver James is teaching himself how to read as an adult and documenting it. Go give him some love and encouragement!
  • Get last Wednesday’s moon a cape! It definitely lived up to its supermoon status. I hope you had a good view to go outside and gaze at it lovingly that night. In related news, get you a friend who will text you “Go outside and look at the moon!” Thanks to all my friends who did that. 🖤
  • Hard same to this ode to summer peaches from Joy the Baker. I, too, find myself falling into the pattern of neglecting them until it’s almost too late, assuming they’ll be there forever. Then it’s August and time to make good with what is left. Fortunately, there are a lot of good ways to use peaches.
  • The Write Escape by Charish Reid – This was a book I picked up a while ago to use up an Audible credit and just never got around to reading it. It was a swoony (because who doesn’t want to vacation to Ireland and meet someone?) meet-cute story with some good dialogue and a couple of very satisfying telling-off scenes. The audio was…not great. The inflection and pacing were OK, but the Irish accent veered a little bit off quite a few times. I mean, my Irish accent is no better, but I’m not a professional reader. Anyway, it was distracting.
  • My Life With Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues by Pamela Paul – I love books about books, and this was one of the better ones I’ve read. It is part memoir but told through the stories she kept track of in her book of books (her Bob, if you will). As someone who also has kept a Bob for several years, I was inspired to go back through and discover some of the patterns that my reading takes on in certain seasons. Highly recommend to anyone who loves books and enjoys reflecting on what they read.

Have a great weekend!

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »