Cooking And Reading From Morocco

Last month’s #FoodAndLit challenge was Morocco. I thought I would love Moroccan food, but didn’t really, sorry. But! My kids loved it.

I started with herb and yogurt spread from the cookbook Mourad: New Moroccan by Mourad Lahlou. I tried it once on a sandwich and the next day spread on crackers with honey. I just didn’t like it. It contained both cucumbers and nutmeg, and I think that combination wasn’t my favorite.

Next I made briouats and kefta from Jamie Oliver’s Food Escapes. My kids LOVED this meal, but again I was turned off by the savory foods with nutmeg in them thing. I did love the harissa and yogurt though. Harissa is going to become a go-to condiment for me.

While all this cooking was going on I read The Caliph’s House by Tahir Shah. This was a light memoir about a family that buys and restores a house in Casablanca. It was billed as a Moroccan Under The Tuscan Sun which is fair I think.

Next month we’re on to Pakistan!

I Haven't Read A Book In Two Years, What Should I Read Next?

I was looking at my analytics the other day, and I was thrilled to see that someone had found me by searching the phrase I Haven't Read A Book In Two Years, What Should I Read Next? Searcher, I hope you found an answer!

Ever since then I was imagining having a conversation with this person over a cup of tea trying to talk them into a stack of my favorite books. Would I send them home with Devotions by Mary Oliver since short approachable poetry might lend a sense of accomplishment or with something that they could immerse themselves in like Stephen King’s 11/22/63? Or maybe something more popular like The Martian by Andy Weir or A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman would be better.

The possibilities are almost endless. What would you recommend?

Show Us Your Books July 2021

Is anyone else reading more now than ever because you know your quarantine time is coming to an end? It looks like my office is opening back up in the fall and the kids will be going back to school, and I am appreciating my cocoon time in a way that I couldn’t before when it seemed like I would be trapped here forever. I don’t know. Life is strange. Anyway, June was another very prolific reading month, and the pools opened so I got to go back to my favorite hobby- poolside reading. My son asked me if I get a pool pass just so I’ll have a nice place to read. PRETTY MUCH.

Four Star Reads

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell - Grief through Shakespeare‘s wife‘s eyes. This was an incredible book.

The Gunslinger by Stephen King - One of my goals this summer is to re-read the first three books of the Dark Tower series. I just finished the first and this is one of those books that‘s better the second time through because you know what happens with the rest of the series. “Go then. There are other worlds than these.”

Backpack by Emily Barr - Tansy decides to take a year off after the death of her mother to backpack in Asia. Everything is great until a serial killer starts killing people who look like her, and leaving them with her belongings.

The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline - Compelling historical fiction about women sent to Australia as convicts.

No One's Home by D. M. Pulley - A great summer ghost story with a satisfying ending. Recommend. (Right now this is free on Kindle for Prime members if you’re interested.)

All Adults Here by Emma Straub - I liked this family saga more than I thought I would. Straub somehow made the characters likable even as they messed up over and over.

Three Star Reads

People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry - I liked this romance meets armchair travel. Perfect summer fun.

The Cookbook Club by Beth Harbison - This wasn‘t earth shattering groundbreaking Literature, but it was a nice happy story I read in a day.

Aunty Lee's Delights by Ovidia Yu - This murder mystery set in Singapore was a ton of fun. I can‘t wait to read the rest of the series.

One Life by Megan Rapino - I picked this audiobook because my daughter is really getting into soccer and I wanted to understand it better. I still don‘t understand what offsides is, but I liked Megan.

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Food And Lit June: Russia

June was a really busy month for me with school ending, and all of my kids’ activities suddenly wanting to have an end of year party JUST BECAUSE WE SUDDENLY COULD. So I did a lot of cupcake baking instead of experimenting with Russian food.

Russian food sounded surprisingly excellent judging from the cookbook Please to the Table by Anya von Bremzen and John Welchman. I was able to try two recipes- mushroom caviar and the herb omelette. Both were good although there were grumbles at the table about green eggs for dinner. Something along the lines of I am glad I’m a kid in America not Russia.

This cookbook also had some fabulous sounding sweets and bread that I’m dying to try. Just because things are opening up again does not mean we should abandon the restaurant appropriate quantities of yeast we purchased last year, my friends! Just as soon as the heat index goes back below 90 degrees that is.

Russian Reading

I did slightly better on the lit part of Russian Food and Lit. I read three books and liked them all.

Mud and Stars by Sara Wheeler - This was part travelogue, part Russian literature review, and part food diary. I wasn‘t sure if I would follow it because I‘m not a Russian literature expert, but I enjoyed it quite a bit despite my reservations. Sara Wheeler has a dry sense of humor, and a spirit of adventure that I like.

Stalin's Daughter by Rosemary Sullivan - This chunkster was a fascinating look at the life of Svetlana Alliluyeva, a.k.a. Stalin‘s daughter. It took me all month to read, but it was worth the time.

A Gentleman In Moscow by Amor Towles - This is my 4th time trying to read this, and I even thought about bailing again. Then I got to the end and wow, I want to read it again.

In July we’re on to Morocco. I’m super excited to be back in Northern Africa.

Past months of Food And Lit:

Israel

Ethiopia

Vietnam

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2021 Best Reads So Far

2021 has been an interesting reading year. There’s still a half of year for things to go crazy, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up reading more this year than I ever have before. I’ve even enjoyed a healthy stack of chunksters. I’m not sure if this is me settling into a post-Covid world or if my efforts to move away from my phone are working. Probably a combination of both.

So far I’ve rated 8 of my 114 reads as 5 stars. Five were new to me, and 3 were re-reads. I’m sharing them here in no particular order. I can’t wait to see which of these end up on my best reads list at the end of the year.

5-Star Reads That Are New To Me

World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil I absolutely loved this book of nature essays and accompanying illustrations. Loved it. I read a library copy, and now I need my own copy so I can flag and highlight.

I put off reading Pachinko by Min Jin Lee forever, and I can’t figure out why. I absolutely loved this chunky story about a Korean family in Japan. It was everything I want in a book: sweeping, multi-generational, wistful, and touching.

Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese - This was such a beautiful book. It was a chunkster - 23 hours on audio - but there’s not a second of it I would cut out. In Ethiopia Marion and Shiva Stone are the twins of a mother who died in childbirth and a father who ran away. They are adopted by hospital staff and come of age surrounded by medicine.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson This memoir in verse was amazing. What took me so long to read a book by Jacqueline Woodson? (This was also the book I read while I was waiting for my second vaccine side effects to go away, so I will always remember it fondly for that.)

Gone Crazy In Alabama by Rita Williams-Garcia - When I found out I would be driving from Cleveland to DC with my kiddos I knew I had to have this audiobook to get me through. We all love this series about three sisters just trying to grow up. This is the third and final (for now?) book in the series, and I think it was the best. You can tell kids what it was like for African Americans in the 60’s but these books show in a way that is humorous and engaging for them, and powerful and sobering for adults. I can’t recommend these books enough no matter what your age.

5 Star Re-Reads That Held Up

Emma by Jane Austen - I love the small town and all of the CHARACTERS in this book. I really feel like this is Jane Austen at her best. I remain #TeamEmma

The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng This book has so much: WWII from a non Western perspective, gardening, tea, grief, forgiveness, and so much more. It starts in the highlands of Malaysia where former war prisoner Yun Ling approaches Japanese gardener Arimoto to help her create a garden in memory of her sister who didn‘t survive the war. It‘s a beautiful book and I highly recommend it.

The Pearl That Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi - Two women separated by 100 years in Afghanistan. This book will punch you in the gut. It’s long, but I could have kept reading for another 200 pages.

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June 21st - Don't Miss It!

“Do you ever wait for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always wait for the longest day of the year and then miss it!”

— The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Book Recommendations For Visiting The National Parks This Summer

Arches National Park Stock Image

Like so many other Americans I plan on visiting a National Park or two this summer. We have an incredible array right here in our area, and I might even take advantage of my vaccination status and fly somewhere.

If you’re visiting the parks this summer and reading up ahead of your trip here are some books I recommend.

The Best Books About National Parks

Cataloochee by Wayne Caldwell - Between the Civil War and the government’s creation of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park lives were lived in Cataloochee, a town in the mountains of North Carolina. The book begins with gunshots. In the chapters that follow we go back and learn the story of Ezra Banks, and the years of hard work and darkness that brought the shots on. This book is everything I love in a novel. It’s a slow build of a multi-generational classic.

The Road To Paradise by Karen Barnett - I love a book about mountains, and when you combine mountains with historical romance you really can't go wrong. Margie went to Mt. Rainer both to indulge her love of nature, and to escape her shady ex-fiance. Of course there's a hunky ranger on the mountain. I'm telling you; it's everything good for a cozy day of reading.

A Solitude of Wolverines by Alice Henderson - This thriller was fast paced from the beginning, and then 3/4 of the way through something totally bonkers happens. I really loved it.

Grandma Gatewood’s Walk by Ben Montgomery - Grandma Gatewood hiked the Appalachian Trail in her late 60's. Part of the time she couldn't see due to broken glasses, and she kept going any way. I don't even go to the bathroom in the middle of the night if I can't find my glasses. Plus her equipment was lacking. She hiked from Georgia to Maine with little more than some food, a shower curtain, an umbrella, and a pair of Keds on her feet. Her amazing athletic accomplishments don't even account for the serious abuse she had to overcome before she hit the trail.

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Show Us Your Books May 2021

May was an excellent reading month for me- three five star books, a Hemingway binge, and tons of solid reads about all sorts of things. I usually only talk about the highlights here, but this month I’m just going to list them all.

Five Star Reads

World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil I absolutely loved this book of nature essays and accompanying illustrations. Loved it. I read a library copy, and now I need my own copy so I can flag and highlight.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson This memoir in verse was amazing. What took me so long to read a book by Jacqueline Woodson? (This was also the book I read while I was waiting for my second vaccine side effects to go away, so I will always remember it fondly for that.)

The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng This book has so much: WWII from a non Western perspective, gardening, tea, grief, forgiveness, and so much more. It starts in the highlands of Malaysia where former war prisoner Yun Ling approaches Japanese gardener Arimoto to help her create a garden in memory of her sister who didn‘t survive the war. It‘s a beautiful book and I highly recommend it.

Four Stars

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway I didn‘t think I liked Hemingway, but I checked this out of the library after watching his PBS special and it‘s quite good, actually.

The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner This was a roller coaster of a story that had me guessing wrong all the way through.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer I‘ve read this several times, but this was my first time on audio. Other than scandalizing myself during morning car pool after an unfortunate timing of the f word it was just as great as in print. Even though I know what happens I‘m on the edge of my seat every time.

Eat The Buddha by Barbara Demick I have always been aware of the issues in Tibet, but until I read this modern history I had never understood them. This was a fascinating book. I recommend it.

Three Stars

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner This was a good light read, but wasn‘t total fluff. It reminded me a lot of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi This was a pleasant audiobook set in 1950‘s India. Likable characters with a pleasing ending. I enjoyed it.

Buttermilk Graffiti by Edward Lee I enjoyed this travelogue from a chef who went around the country eating all sorts of delicious food. I did audio but want to find a print copy as a reference for random road trips.

The Lobster Kings Alexi Zentner The characters in this book kind of drove me nuts, but I‘m glad I finished it. It‘s part King Lear and part sea monsters, and is set on an island that sometimes belongs to Canada and sometimes to the US. It has a very unique sense of place.

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain I had to re-read this after reading A Movable Feast. I think I‘m now officially obsessed with 1920‘s Paris.

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Summer Reading Plans

It’s summer reading season!

I am so excited for summer reading. There’s nothing I love more than reading a book outside on a hot summer afternoon. Of course, me being me, I already have stacks and stacks of books picked out to read. I don’t really gravitate to the the new best sellers. Instead I like to re-read, concentrate on the back list titles I have at home, and dip my toes in a little bit of romance- something i don’t usually read the rest of the year.

A Few Titles From My (Very Long) Summer Reading List:

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I Feel You Emma

In Emma Mr. Knightley complains about Emma and her long, well developed reading lists created at the expense of actual reading:

“Emma has been meaning to read more ever since she was twelve years old. I have seen many a great lists of her drawing-up at various times of books that she meant to read regularly through- and very good lists they were- very well chosen, and very neatly arranged- sometimes alphabetically, and sometimes by some other rule.”

— Emma by Jane Austen

For me summer is a great season of drawing up lists of books I will never read. There is so much temptation with summer reading guides stuffing my mailbox every day. But what Mr. Knightley will never understand is that for some of us making these lists is almost as much fun and nearly as rewarding as doing the reading itself.

Here I sit in my office with my shelves literally overflowing with books I bought last summer that I still haven’t read wondering what’s new this summer. And you know what? Mr. Knightley probably wouldn’t like it, but it sure makes me happy.

Show Us Your Books April 2021

Unread books…

April was a prolific reading month for me, but I ended up with a lot of dark titles. I’m hoping for lighter reads in May. Here are my stats:

Beginning TBR: 852 Ending TBR: 839
20 books read in total, 8 audio 12 print
#AuthorAMonth2021 1 book
#ReadingAsia2021 3 countries: Nepal, Israel, Palestine
#FoodAndLit Isreal 1 book read, much pita bread eating
#BookspinBingo 1 real bingo, 2 if you count bails
#ChunksterChallenge 65% done with Les Miserables

(Hashtags are from Litsy.)

Favorite of The Month

Salvage The Bones by Jesmyn Ward - The content of this book was heartbreaking and hard to read, but that doesn‘t stop it from being a masterpiece. Wow. I will hold this family in my heart for a long time.

Memorable Memoirs

Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson - Interesting insight into what it takes to become a master chef.

After The Wind by Lou Kasischke - There have been so many books about the 1996 Everest disaster, but I‘ll never get tired of them. This one is a worthwhile addition to my collection.

The Honey Bus by Meredith May - I have mixed feelings about this one. The writing was beautiful, and the parts about bees were fascinating. However the parts about her childhood were frustrating and hard to read. Also I felt like she totally absolved her father. It was the times I guess.

Non-Fiction That Left My Brain Spinning (In A Good Way)

A World Without Email by Cal Newport - A World Without Email is a catchy title, but I feel like the real take away here is to figure out what‘s sucking up your time. If that‘s email then you should figure out a way to make it less painful. If you‘re good at your job you can get away with doing what it takes to control your time. Poor Cal Newport. I feel like some of this will already be dated in a post Covid workplace.

The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan - A history of Israel and Palestine from the 1940‘s on with vignettes of the lives of Bashir and Dalia throughout. This book gave me a lot to think about.

Shakespeare In A Divided America by James Shapiro - This book explored Shakespeare as a canary in a coal mine for American politics. I loved it as an audiobook, and plan on buying a paper copy so I can underline.

Fabulous Fiction

She Would Be King by Wayetu Moore - This book was sad and depressing so I can‘t say I liked it, but it was so well written it is a pick. I have so much to think about after reading this book, and I will definitely be reading more about the history of Liberia. I ended this book with a similar feeling to the one I had when I read Salvage The Bones even though the subject matter was much different.

Murder At Mansfield Park by Lynn Shepherd - This was a fun retelling of Mansfield Park as a murder mystery. It worked since the characters in Mansfield Park weren‘t particularly likable. Shepherd could do what she wanted without ruining the memories of any beloved characters.

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant - A really good book that tells some of the stories from the Book of Genesis from a woman‘s perspective. I’m probably the last one on Earth to read this, but I’m including it anyway.

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My Jane Austen Year

Virginia State Arboretum

Sometime last year I joined a group that reads a chapter of Jane Austen a day. We started with Sense and Sensibility and kept going. Now we’re all the way to Emma, my favorite. But even the books I didn’t love I loved reading because isn’t the Jane Austen life the quarantine life we all wished we were living? Having tea with our bubble, taking walks in the shrubbery, and everything turns out okay in the end?

It has impacted my life too. Now every time Zoom tells me I have a poor connection I don’t rage about my WiFi, I hear it in a Jane Austen voice. “Poor connection.” And I think yes, all of these people on Zoom are poor connections. I should be doing something better.

When I walk with my kids in a beautiful location like the one pictured above I have been know to walk ahead of them while they talk about Minecraft so I can think about Mr. Darcy or whatever. I imagine getting dressed up in my petticoats and muslin and walking through the paths, and the worst thing that can happen to me is that it rains and I need to spend a week at Netherfield recovering.

Thank you Jane Austen for writing those books all those years ago that have kept me company this year. You made a bleak year seem a little less bleak.

COOKBOOK REVIEW: Shuk: From Market to Table, the Heart of Israeli Home Cooking

Last month’s #FoodAndLit challenge focused on Israel. I got Shuk by Einat Admony and Janna Gur out from the library. I really enjoyed this cookbook. I loved the focus on fresh vegetables and the market highlights. I cooked four recipes from this and liked them all but my favorites were Israeli salad and pita bread.

May TBR

I know there’s still ten days left in April, but I’m already thinking about May. Summer reading season is almost here so I’m going to take the month of May to catch up on all my TBR read books from the winter and spring that I haven’t been able to get to.

Show Us Your Books March 2021

I can’t believe it’s mid-April already. I know I say this every year, but this year really is going uncomfortably fast. That said I’ve weirdly been staying on task with my reading goals and lists. I always spend so much time in December coming up with goals, lists of books I’ll read each month, and signing up for challenges. I last until about halfway through January until I forget all about it. This year I’ve appreciated the time my past self has put into finding these books for me and have been sticking to my schedule. Will it last? Who knows.

Best of the Best In March

Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese - This was such a beautiful book. It was a chunkster - 23 hours on audio - but there’s not a second of it I would cut out. In Ethiopia Marion and Shiva Stone are the twins of a mother who died in childbirth and a father who ran away. They are adopted by hospital staff and come of age surrounded by medicine.

What The Heck Just Happened?

The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell - Eventually I’m going to need to read this one again because I got to the end and it totally wasn’t about what I thought it was. But that was the beauty of it. I’m still not even sure what happened. Rose Baker’s job as a typist at the city precinct takes a turn when the mysterious and beautiful Odalie comes on board.

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier - March must have been my month for unresolved endings because this was another book that left me with more questions than answers at the end. Philip’s uncle has died in Rome shortly after marrying the mysterious Cousin Rachel. Was it just bad luck, or something more…

Three More Good Books I Recommend You Read

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters - This one had so many of the themes I loved: motherhood, found families, and the role of women. It deserves the hype.

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty - My reading friend at work has been telling me to read this fantasy trilogy for years, and I’m so glad I finally did. I can’t wait to read the rest.

A Woman In The Polar Night by Christiane Ritter - The fascinating account of a woman who spent a year in the Arctic just before WWII. I really enjoy this type of memoir.

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Walking Wednesday

It’s easy to walk and walk when you have interesting things to look at! We took a very weird, isolated, socially distant road trip last week. It was different and fun!

We saw:

We listened to:

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March Reading Stats

Mabry Mill

March was a great reading month. We had a few days that were perfect for reading outside, plenty of audiogardening, and a short road trip that supported my reading habits. I noticed I was quick to bail on books that didn’t grab me right away. I have mixed feelings about bailing on books, but overall I do think it allows me to read more books that I like.

Total Read: 17 books read - 6 audio and 11 print. As I mentioned I bailed on five others.

TBR: Started at 849 and ended at 852. Could I have really added 26 books to my TBR? I guess so. I really need a month off to read.

Challenges: Reading Asia -1 (Nepal), Food and Lit - 1 (Ethiopia), Bookspin Bingo - 5 Bingos!, Reading Canada - 1, Chunkster Challenge - 52% done with Les Miserables

April should mean warmer weather for gardening and reading outside, but it also means spring sports for the kids so we’ll see. I have some good books planned for the month, so that should keep me motivated!

Walking Wednesday

Spring is really here now. I love how this time of year every time you go out the landscape has changed drastically. Flowers that weren’t out of the ground the day before are suddenly half a foot tall and in full bloom. Glorious.

Here’s what I’ve been looking at while walking:

And here’s what I’ve been listening to:

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Cooking Ethiopian Food At Home

This month’s #FoodAndLit theme was Ethiopia. Before this month I had eaten Ethiopian food exactly once in my life, and didn’t really know a thing about it. I was really grateful that my library had a copy of Ethiopia: Recipes and Traditions From The Horn of Africa by Yomanis Gebreyesus. This book is a beautiful education in the subject of food and traditions in Ethiopia. The pictures are gorgeous and the recipes all look delicious. I made chicken with tej sauce. The chicken was coated in the berbere spice seasoning, and I loved the heat. I also made Ethiopian Honey Bread that I saw posted on Litsy. That was amazing with coffee at breakfast.

While I was cooking all this I listened to the glorious audiobook Cutting For Stone. This was an amazing book that I’ll read again.

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Walking Wednesday

I haven’t done one of these in a while. I was still walking, but everything always looked the same. Finally though it’s spring and things are starting to bloom. Yay!

Here’s what I’ve been looking at on my audio walks:

And here’s what I’ve been listening to:

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