Audiowalking is one of my favorite things to do. Now more than ever I need my walks to stay sane. Weather has been icky this week. Our walks have been the forced kind, but we always feel better when we get back. Here’s what I’ve been listening to and seeing this week.
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The Complete Italian Cookbook by Manuela Anelli Mazzocco hit all of my quarantine food longing buttons just right. This is a great book for browsing, with enough every day recipes that you probably have ingredients for even during Covid-19 lock downs.
The soup section in particular kept me dreaming of big bows of deliciousness served with bread. I can’t wait to cook my way through the chapter. I also appreciated the dessert and drinks chapter. I always feel cheated when I get a cookbook and the author says they didn’t include a dessert chapter because they feel just as satisfied with a piece of fruit after dinner. That is definitely not me.
I made the Hunter’s Chicken Stew with just a few adjustments to make it a pantry meal. It was so good! Even my picky eater ate two plates. I’ll be returning to this feel good cookbook often.
Note: The publisher sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Audiowalking is one of my favorite things to do. Now more than ever I need my walks to stay sane. We’ve been noticing more and more wildlife on our walks. In the absence of people it seems the turtles and squirrels are taking over. Luckily we have a neighborhood cat to chase the squirrels away before they destroy my garden. Here’s what I’ve been listening to and seeing this week.
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I guess I’ve been looking at too many Covid-19 trackers because last week I got it in my head that I should track my books read in the same way. Now instead of saying I finished a book I say I flattened that book’s curve.
Audiowalking is one of my favorite things to do. Now more than ever I need my walks to stay sane. Last week was “Spring Break” for us, but obviously all walks were local. Here’s what I’ve been listening to and seeing this week.
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Channeling my inner Pete The Cat
Just another average reading month for me. Nothing exciting happening. How about you?
Most of my March reading took place before social distancing took place. You would think that staying at home most of the time would lead to an increase in reading, but my brain is scribble scrabble. Obviously 2020 isn’t turning out to be the year to care about reading goals or challenges. In the mean time I’m doing puzzles, making bread, and working in the yard.
Here are a few things I did manage to finish:
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - This is the one book I did manage to finish in the first few weeks of staying at home. The world of Anne is so comforting, and I can’t wait to read the rest of this series. I feel lucky to just be discovering this series now.
The Day The World Came To Town by Jim Defede - It was inspiring to me to read about how people came together during another time of crisis.
Finding Mrs. Ford by Deborah Goodrich Royce - Mrs. Ford is living the good life until the FBI shows up. If you like the twists of Ruth Ware books I think you’ll like this one too.
Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips - This one is getting a lot of good reviews, and I think they’re deserved. It starts with an abduction of two sisters in Russia, but the book itself is only slightly related to the abductions. Instead we get a story each month about others in the community which of course includes mention of the missing sisters. It’s very interesting how it all comes together. I had to return it to the library, but if I hadn’t I would have read it again right away once I knew how it all fit together.
The Grace Year by Kim Liggett - Good, old-fashioned girl power YA dystopia. Give it a try of you like that kind of thing.
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April is National Poetry Month!
Among other things April is National Poetry Month, and this year we need it more than ever. When my head is spinning from the news, and I feel like I can’t think after a long day of working, teaching, foraging for food that no one likes anyway, and generally acting as my family’s Corona Cruise Director I may not be able to curl up with a book, but I can always manage a poem. Poems have been my balm and my escape this month.
I’m not a natural born poetry reader. I only started a year or two ago when a book of poems was on some book challenge list I was trying to complete. Thank goodness for book challenges!
If you’d like to start reading poetry, but aren’t sure where to start try these five:
(Just a note- I usually don’t concern myself with how you get your books. I provide amazon links for information, knowing that very few people will ever buy on that site. (But I am very grateful when you do. Those little payments go towards paying fr my domain each year.) Because of the circumstances I did provide a little more information than usual about where you can get these books.)
The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur - These are poems about heartbreak and love. They’re lovely and relatable. (This is available for free on Kindle Unlimited)
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost - Most people have read poems by Robert Frost, but his genius goes way beyond The Road Not Taken. My favorite is Gathering Leaves, a celebration of a bountiful but mostly useless crop. The version I linked to is an old book from a relative’s college class, but there are many other versions available.
the princess saves herself in this one by Amanda Lovelace - Poems about fairy tales meets real life. So, so relatable and emotional. This one is only $.99 on Kindle right now.
Devotions by Mary Oliver - I’ve been reading a few of these poems each night before bed, and I think they’re perfect for this time of shrinking worlds. No, you can’t go on vacation, but there’s a whole world in the birds and trees right in your backyard. Devotions is a anthology of her best works, and a great introduction if you’ve never read Oliver before. I got this one from Libby trough my library.
Hang in there my friends!
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Audiowalking is one of my favorite things to do. Now more than ever I need my walks to stay sane. Here’s what I’ve been listening to and seeing this week.
Note: Links to amazon.com are affiliate links. Thanks for your support.
In the last days of the reign of King Henry VIII Bianca Goddard makes medicines across the River Thames while her husband is in Scotland fighting for the King’s army. When the body of a young boy is found hanging from a church Bianca must put her medicines aside to help Constable Patch find the killer. Time grows short when another body is found, and her young friend Fitch goes missing. Bianca has two clues, a cloth with a mysterious odor and the rosary beads found wrapped around the necks of the victims. As the expected date of the next murder approaches Bianca must rely on her detective skills and her superb memory to find the killer before it’s too late.
The Lost Boys of London was a satisfying escape to another time when medicine was considered the same as witchcraft, and religion was ruled by the king. The mystery was a good one, and the ending was pleasing. Bianca Goddard is my kind of lady- independent but cares about the people around her.
These days we all need some extra comfort, and this is the kind of book that delivers it. It’s perfect for reading on a cozy afternoon with a bowl of soup and a beer. This is the fifth book in a series, and I’m excited to go back and read some others featuring Bianca Goddard.
The Lost Boys of London will be published on April 28, 2020 and is available for pre-order now.
Note: Links to amazon.com are affiliate links. Thanks for your support! A copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Potato bread from Kneadlessly Simple topped with avocado and tomatoes
I first reviewed this cookbook back in 2016, but wanted to bring it back up again. If my grocery store is any indication people are baking up a storm. For anyone who has not baked bread before Nancy Baggett’s method is really user friendly. I don’t think it’s available in print any more, but you can get it on kindle. (Note: Right now it’s free for Kindle Unlimited members!)
Some recipes are also available on her website. Look for anything that says no knead or kneadlessly simple.
Here’s my original review from 2016:
This time of year things start to get crazy, but we still like our freshly made bread. Enter one of my favorite cookbooks, Kneadlessly Simple by Nancy Baggett. In between swim camp and trying to get everything ready for back to school I was able to knock out 4 loaves of bread with about 20 minutes active work.
This is a great book for reading too. The varieties and instructions are interesting. Baggett really goes into the science behind her bread.
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Audiowalking is one of my favorite things to do. I tend to stick to the same routes, but each day I see something new. Here’s what I’ve been listening to and seeing this week.
Note: Links to amazon.com are affiliate links. Thanks for your support.
My daughter thought she could fool me into thinking she was working on her math
I’m sure I’m not alone in noticing how this crisis has brought out the best in some leaders and the absolute worst in some others. I was talking about it with a friend who has the complete opposite political views as me, and other than agreeing that Woodrow Wilson was no good the conversation didn’t get very far. So as usual I turned to a book.
The first page of this book is a layout of FDR’s second floor family quarters in the White House during WWII. Every room on that floor was filled with staff and friends, and right next to his bedroom FDR had a study where he could work from home. Since I’ve been struggling with telecommuting with a full family in the house, I wondered if I could pick up a few tips from FDR.
Every morning at 8 am Roosevelt started his day with breakfast in bed- oj, eggs, coffee, and toast. While he ate he prepped for the day by reading the papers. He then reviewed his schedule with his advisors.
FDR had a method that drove some of his generals crazy. He liked to solve problems through conflict. He called everyone by their first names from his butler to Winston Churchill. There was often confusion around FDR, but he knew what worked for him and he went with it.
Have you heard the phrase “Social distancing doesn’t mean social isolation.”? Roosevelt couldn’t travel as much as he would have liked due to his disabilities. Instead he relied upon his wife’s observations and regular communications with his contemporaries. He told Winston Churchill “I shall at times welcome it if you will keep me in touch personally with everything you want me to know about. You can always send me sealed letters through your pouch or my pouch.”
A big struggle for me is feeling like the work day never ends since my home office is also my dining room table. After about a week I realized working every minute I wasn’t helping the kids with school or cooking our meals wasn’t going to last. FDR kept a cocktail hour every day when talk of politics and war was banned. It was a time to rest and recharge. I don’t have the stamina to drink like FDR in the middle of the day, but a quiet hour with tea and a book helps me out a lot.
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Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez is a deep dive into how we are analyzing data wrong when it comes to men and women. I listened to it last week, and was all up in arms about clinical trials not even looking at how drugs impact men vs women. I work with data for a living and we study things that are way, way lower risk that harmful drug interactions and we always look at the gender spllt.
Then my kids’ schools closed. And my office closed. And I’m here working more hours than usual and home schooling, and foraging for food (and toilet paper), and cleaning like a mad woman. And I wondered is anyone going to look at what this crisis is doing to women? Or will we keep on assuming that when it comes to data the default human is a man? Will the story of the corona virus tell the whole story?
If you are at home this month and need something to think about I highly recommend this book.
Audiowalking is one of my favorite things to do. I tend to stick to the same routes, but each day I see something new. Here’s what I’ve been listening to and seeing this week.
Note: Links to amazon.com are affiliate links. Thanks for your support.
My reading garden is finally starting to take shape
One of my goals this year was to create a reading garden. It was hard work clearing out all of the bushes and ivy that were in this corner, but I’m so happy with the result. I can’t wait to spend the summer reading on that bench!
Audiowalking is one of my favorite things to do. I tend to stick to the same routes, but each day I see something new. Here’s what I’ve been listening to and seeing this week.
Note: Links to amazon.com are affiliate links. Thanks for your support.
Flowers from my walk
What a week. I’m sure I’m not alone in saying my reading life has taken a turn while I have been busy building contingency plans for my contingency plans. As of now I am telecommuting full time for the next month while I am homeschooling my two kids. It’s a lot, but I know I’m really lucky to have a good telecommutable job.
The one reading goal I did get done last week is to start a buddy read for Anne of Green Gables. I only have time for about five pages a day, but any really enjoying those five pages. Anne Shirley is new to me, and I can say for sure that she is a kindred spirit!
Audiowalking is one of my favorite things to do. I tend to stick to the same routes, but each day I see something new. Here’s what I’ve been listening to and seeing this week.
Note: Links to amazon.com are affiliate links. Thanks for your support.
I have a ridiculous amount of books out of the library right now. I’m not sure what happened. I had been doing such a good job of keeping on top of my holds.
February was a good reading month for me. I’m doing a #AuthorAMonth challenge on Litsy, so took a deep dive into Colson Whitehead. Also, current events seem to be strongly impacting my reading choices.
Here are the best books I read last month:
(One fiction, one non)
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead - I think most people know what this book is about by now, so I won’t re-tell the synopsis. After reading two other books by Whitehead earlier in the month I didn’t think I would like this, but it really is a masterpiece. I’m so glad I finally read it.
On the Clock by Emily Guendelsberger - My co-worker suggested this because she knew I had liked Nickel and Dimed. Sure enough I was fascinated by this updated version where a woman works at Amazon, a call center, and McDonalds. This book seems especially powerful in light of all the conversations we’ve been having lately about lack of paid sick leave.
(Where my Twitter feed and the daily news subliminally impacts what I read.)
The Stand by Stephen King - Stephen King’s plague book. My copy is an old, beaten up paperback that doesn’t include the expanded versions from the 1990’s. Sorry King purists, but I prefer it that way. I think it’s a better, cleaner story for the editing.
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice - This book was interesting- a total breakdown of society as experienced by a First Nation tribe. When phone, internet, and services are cut off they think it’s a normal interruption and go about living as they normally would. Eventually they find out it’s something more.
Zone One by Colson Whitehead - This is Whitehead’s zombie apocalypse book, although I read it as more tongue and cheek. Maybe I’m just not deep enough, but I kept feeling like there was more to the story than I was getting.
Vox by Christina Dalcher - This dystopian novel had an excellent premise. In the not too distant future the US has become extremely conservative to the point where women and girls are only allowed to speak 100 words a day. Unfortunately after a impactful opening the book just kind of fizzled. However this book did give me the momentum to finally get my real ID, renew my passport, and check on my voter registration. So there’s that.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel - My second post-plague book of the month, I read this as part of my project re-read. This book gets a lot of hype for good reason.
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson - Another book for project re-read. I think I said this last month too, but more and more I’m really starting to appreciate books that feature older people having lives and maybe even falling in love.
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell - This one was a ROLLER COASTER. A girl inherits a house and a whole lot of baggage. Read this if you’re a fan of Ruth Ware.
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi - Again, I feel like I’m probably the last person to have read this so I won’t re-tell the plot. I’ll just say the world building and magical realism in this YA chunkster were great fun. I’ve read that the next book in the series isn’t as good, and I’m bummed. I’ll still give it a try though.
We Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg - One of my favorite themes in books is families we’re born into and families we make. This book had that in spades, and was just the feel good palate cleanser I needed during the doom and gloom of last month.
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This week I read my latest Early Reviewers book from LibraryThing, Malnourished by Cinthia Ritchie. I had a lot of trouble with it, and I finished it with an overwhelming feeling of why. Why do people write with such detail about their lives? Am I the only one who jut feels icky about reading about a person’s really intimate history?
I was really happy to see an article in National Review that expressed a lot of my feelings better than I could. If you’re feeling icky about memoirs give it a read: Educated - Tara Westover Shares Too Much Too Soon.
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