While reading through Facebook posts the other day, I noticed that it was Holocaust Remembrance Day. It struck me how coincidental that I had just started a book that features parts of the Holocaust, and then I realized that my son and I were reading a book that also talks about the Holocaust. Yesterday while substituting in a 9th grade English class, another wonderful book that happens during the Holocaust appeared. Listed below are these books as well as two more that are well worth reading and sharing with many people.
1.
This is my current read that I just started and already has me swept up in the characters. I love that Jodi Picoult takes on such challenging topics and ties them to current times.
2.
While reading this book, my son, Reid, a 13 year old, and I have had some interesting conversations about human nature and the choices that people make. I asked him what he would do if he saw people scaring and hurting people as the Nazis did. His reply, "Well, unfortunately, to some degree, this happens every day at Middle School and as hard as it is, I would stand by the person being harmed. If I don't, then who will?"
3.
Freshman in our school district are reading the first of the Night series. I would love to be a fly on the wall and hear the discussions that will occur from this thought-provoking novel.
4.
Lois Lowry rightfully won the Newbery for this incredible book.
5.
Author and illustrator extraordinaire, Patricia Polacco shares more of her rich family history in this masterpiece. I am so grateful for her gift of storytelling through words and art. I hope I can tell her in person someday.
I will bear witness and always remember so that those that lost their lives did not die in vain! Do you have any other must reads about the Holocaust?
This week's Friday Five Book Fix is all about our family's current reads. With Spring Break in full swing, we are enjoying some quality reading time.
Rae-the 11 year old
My daughter and I have enjoyed this sweet story about a sister and brother and their cat Zook. Their lives are told through the lives of their cat who is sick and staying at the veterinarian's office.
Goodreads Summary:
n this warmhearted middle-grade novel, Oona and her brother, Fred, love their cat Zook (short for Zucchini), but Zook is sick. As they conspire to break him out of the vet’s office, convinced he can only get better at home with them, Oona tells Fred the story of Zook’s previous lives, ranging in style from fairy tale to grand epic to slice of life. Each of Zook’s lives has echoes in Oona’s own family life, which is going through a transition she’s not yet ready to face. Her father died two years ago, and her mother has started a relationship with a man named Dylan—whom Oona secretly calls �the villain.” The truth about Dylan, and about Zook’s medical condition, drives the drama in this loving family story.
Reid, a 13 year old boy, is becoming more and more curious about history. We just finished Bomb, a nonfiction book about the building of the atomic bomb. I wanted to share a WW II fiction book, and Once was featured on a fellow school librarian/blogger blog, The Styling Librarian. I loved it with its depth and sense of humor while Reid wasn't as engaged. I hope to read the other books in the series.
Goodreads Summary:
Felix, a Jewish boy in Poland in 1942, is hiding from the Nazis in a Catholic orphanage. The only problem is that he doesn't know anything about the war, and thinks he's only in the orphanage while his parents travel and try to salvage their bookselling business. And when he thinks his parents are in danger, Felix sets off to warn them--straight into the heart of Nazi-occupied Poland. To Felix, everything is a story: Why did he get a whole carrot in his soup? It must be sign that his parents are coming to get him. Why are the Nazis burning books? They must be foreign librarians sent to clean out the orphanage's outdated library. But as Felix's journey gets increasingly dangerous, he begins to see horrors that not even stories can explain. Despite his grim surroundings, Felix never loses hope. Morris Gleitzman takes a painful subject and expertly turns it into a story filled with love, friendship, and even humor.
Have you ever mourned the end of a book? Wished it could continue for another 100 pages or so? I just finished this book and LOVED it...maybe it was the setting being in a neighboring state or the time period which was the beginning of the 20th century. It totally engaged me and is lingering in my mind throughout my busy day.
Goodreads Summary:
At the turn of the twentieth century, in a rural stretch of the Pacific Northwest in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, a solitary orchardist named Talmadge carefully tends the grove of fruit trees he has cultivated for nearly half a century. A gentle, solitary man, he finds solace and purpose in the sweetness of the apples, apricots, and plums he grows, and in the quiet, beating heart of the land-the valley of yellow grass bordering a deep canyon that has been his home since he was nine years old. Everything he is and has known is tied to this patch of earth. It is where his widowed mother is buried, taken by illness when he was just thirteen, and where his only companion, his beloved teenaged sister Elsbeth, mysteriously disappeared. It is where the horse wranglers-native men, mostly Nez Perce-pass through each spring with their wild herds, setting up camp in the flowering meadows between the trees.
One day, while in town to sell his fruit at the market, two girls, barefoot and dirty, steal some apples. Later, they appear on his homestead, cautious yet curious about the man who gave them no chase. Feral, scared, and very pregnant, Jane and her sister Della take up on Talmadage's land and indulge in his deep reservoir of compassion. Yet just as the girls begin to trust him, brutal men with guns arrive in the orchard, and the shattering tragedy that follows sets Talmadge on an irrevocable course not only to save and protect them, putting himself between the girls and the world, but to reconcile the ghosts of his own troubled past.
I just enjoyed listening to this audiobook with a 12 year old girl. We laughed, cried, sat on the edge of our car seats and just enjoyed being transported into a crazy road trip told by one of my favorite authors, Gary Paulsen and his son.
Goodreads Summary:
Dad and Ben haven't been getting along recently and Dad hopes a road trip to rescue a border collie will help them reconnect. But Ben is on to Dad's plan and invites Ben's thuggish buddy, Theo. The family dog, Atticus, comes along too and the story is told by Ben and Atticus. When their truck breaks down, they commandeer an old school bus, along with its mechanic, Gus. Next, they pick up Mia, a waitress escaping a tense situation. Only sharp-eyed Atticus realizes that Theo is on the run—and someone is following them.
My daughter and my latest favorite picture book...yet another fractured fairy tale of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears. This is a modern version with some charming pictures.
Goodreads Summary:
In this award-winning author/illustrator’s witty sequel to the traditional Goldilocks story, Little Bear is all grown up and Goldilocks is a distant memory. One day, Little Bear wanders out of the woods and finds himself lost in the Big City. Will he find the city too noisy? Too quiet? Or just right? And what are the chances of him bumping in to someone who remembers exactly how he likes his porridge?
My five book fix is like me... all over the place. This week's features are a bit of this and that...something for everyone.
1.
My son, a 7th grader, and I have learned so much from this nonfiction marvel. Steve Sheinkin deservedly won multiple book awards last month for his well-researched account of how the Atomic Bomb came to be. I did not know that:
the bomb began in Germany during WWII.
Albert Einstein wrote a letter to FDR persuading him to put money and effort into the U.S. creating a nuclear bomb program.
Convicted U.S. spies for the Soviets were only given 13 years if their espionage activity happened during WWII.
Goodreads Summary:
In December of 1938, a chemist in a German laboratory made a shocking discovery: When placed next to radioactive material, a Uranium atom split in two. That simple discovery launched a scientific race that spanned 3 continents. In Great Britain and the United States, Soviet spies worked their way into the scientific community; in Norway, a commando force slipped behind enemy lines to attack German heavy-water manufacturing; and deep in the desert, one brilliant group of scientists was hidden away at a remote site at Los Alamos. This is the story of the plotting, the risk-taking, the deceit, and genius that created the world's most formidable weapon. This is the story of the atomic bomb.
2.
Yep, it is as good as all the hype. Oprah and I could be good buddies...we both love dogs, books and a good steady man. This book choice is hard to believe it is the author's first published novel...excellent writing, creative format, and leaves me wanting to know more about each of these twelve carefully crafted characters.
Goodreads Summary:
In 1923, fifteen-year-old Hattie Shepherd flees Georgia and settles in Philadelphia, hoping for a chance at a better life. Instead, she marries a man who will bring her nothing but disappointment and watches helplessly as her firstborn twins succumb to an illness a few pennies could have prevented. Hattie gives birth to nine more children whom she raises with grit and mettle and not an ounce of the tenderness they crave. She vows to prepare them for the calamitous difficulty they are sure to face in their later lives, to meet a world that will not love them, a world that will not be kind. Captured here in twelve luminous narrative threads, their lives tell the story of a mother’s monumental courage and the journey of a nation.
3.
Every once and awhile, I need a good mystery to take me away from all the wackiness of everyday life. My mom, a mystery only kind of reader, introduced me to this series which takes place in Venice, Italy. The seduction of good food, wine, scenery and the debate on who did it has me hooked.
Goodreads Summary:
There is little violent crime in Venice, a serenely beautiful floating city of mystery and magic, history and decay. But the evil that does occasionally rear its head is the jurisdiction of Guido Brunetti, the suave, urbane vice-commissario of police and a genius at detection. Now all of his admirable abilities must come into play in the deadly affair of Maestro Helmut Wellauer, a world-renowned conductor who died painfully from cyanide poisoning during an intermission at La Fenice.
But as the investigation unfolds, a chilling picture slowly begins to take shape--a detailed portrait of revenge painted with vivid strokes of hatred and shocking depravity. And the dilemma for Guido Brunetti will not be finding a murder suspect, but rather narrowing the choices down to one. . . .
4.
If you have not experienced the coconut pie from the Dahlia Bakery in Seattle, then you have not tasted heaven on earth. At one of our dear friend's wedding a few years ago, they had pie instead of cake and my life will never be the same after that taste of coconut-induced nirvana. Now, I have the recipe and I know of someone's birthday in about a month...and it's no joke. (The bane of having an April Fools birthday.)
Goodreads Summary:
When it comes to delectable, freshly baked cakes, pies, cookies, and muffins, nobody beats the world famous Dahlia Bakery of Seattle, Washington. Owner, Iron Chef, and James Beard Award-winning cookbook author Tom Douglas offers up the best loved recipes from this incomparable bread and pastries mecca in The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook--featuring everything from breakfast to cookies and cake to soups and jams and more--demonstrating why the West Coast wonder has long been a favorite of foodies and celebrities, like Food Network's Giada De Laurentiis and Serious Eats founder Ed Levine.
5.
The cover grabbed my eye due to my love of yellow houses and I am so glad that I checked it out. Hildy Good epitomizes the addict with her ability to reason away the addiction, to try and control the desire, and to deny the consequences on her and others lives. With all the frustration that comes with seeing into the mind of an addict, my heart also hurt for the struggle that she encompassed in her battle to overcome. Wonderful book well worth reading!!
Publisher Summary:
The Good House tells the story of Hildy Good, who lives in a small town on Boston's North Shore. Hildy is a successful real-estate broker, good neighbor, mother, and grandmother. She's also a raging alcoholic. Hildy's family held an intervention for her about a year before this story takes place--"if they invite you over for dinner, and it's not a major holiday," she advises "run for your life"--and now she feels lonely and unjustly persecuted. She has also fooled herself into thinking that moderation is the key to her drinking problem. As if battling her demons wasn't enough to keep her busy, Hildy soon finds herself embroiled in the underbelly of her New England town, a craggy little place that harbors secrets. There's a scandal, some mysticism, babies, old houses, drinking, and desire--and a love story between two craggy sixty-somethings that's as real and sexy as you get. An exceptional novel that is at turns hilarious and sobering, The Good House asks the question: What will it take to keep Hildy Good from drinking? For good.
FIVE BOOK FIX has a different topic every week and five books to fit it. The topic this week is Asperger Syndrome. Everyday my life is impacted by someone who has Asperger's whether it be a student, a family member, a neighbor or a complete stranger. Through the years, I have strove to stay updated through books and seminars. Fiction is a wonderful way "to get into the head of an Aspie" which is about the only way to do it ( :
1.
Goodreads Summary:
All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome takes a playful look at Asperger Syndrome (AS), drawing inspiration from the feline world in a way that will strike a chord with all those who are familiar with AS. Delightful color photographs bring to life the familiar characteristics of independent cats such as sensitive hearing, scampering at the first sign of being stroked, and particular eating habits. Touching, humorous and insightful, this book evokes the difficulties and joys of raising a child who is different and leaves the reader with a sense of the dignity, individuality, and potential of people with AS. This engaging book is an ideal, gentle introduction to the world of AS.
2.
Goodreads Summary:
SOLVING CRIME, ONE FACIAL EXPRESSION AT A TIME
Colin Fischer cannot stand to be touched. He does not like the color blue. He needs index cards to recognize facial expressions.
But when a gun is found in the school cafeteria, interrupting a female classmate's birthday celebration, Colin is the only for the investigation. It's up to him to prove that Wayne Connelly, the school bully and Colin's frequent tormenter, didn't bring the gun to school. After all, Wayne didn't have frosting on his hands, and there was white chocolate frosting found on the grip of the smoking gun...
Colin Fischer is a modern-day Sherlock Holmes, and his story--as told by the screenwriters of X-Men: First Class and Thor--is perfect for readers who have graduated from Encyclopedia Brown and who are ready to consider the greatest mystery of all: what other people are thinking and feeling
3.
Goodreads Summary:
Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow.
This improbable story of Christopher's quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for one of the most captivating, unusual, and widely heralded novels in recent years.
4.
Goodreads Summary:
Brother and sister, Ted and Kat, take their cousin Salim to see the London Eye, the city's gigantic Ferris wheel. While Ted and Kat watch, Salim gets into one of the glass pods, but thirty minutes later he doesn't get off. So the siblings set out to find their cousin. Complicating the situation, Ted's brain "runs on a different operating system" from other people's, which makes him a lot better at facts and figures than he is at reading people. Narrated in Ted's voice, this is a page-turner that brings London to life and takes readers inside a powerfully rational mind. The London Eye Mystery shows off kids' natural ingenuity and proves that difference can be a strength, as Ted and Kat work to solve the irresistible riddle of their cousin's disappearance.
5.
Goodreads Summary:
Today I moved to a twelve-acre rock covered with cement, topped with bird turd and surrounded by water. I'm not the only kid who lives here. There's my sister, Natalie, except she doesn't count. And there are twenty-three other kids who live on the island because their dads work as guards or cook's or doctors or electricians for the prison, like my dad does. Plus, there are a ton of murderers, rapists, hit men, con men, stickup men, embezzlers, connivers, burglars, kidnappers and maybe even an innocent man or two, though I doubt it. The convicts we have are the kind other prisons don't want. I never knew prisons could be picky, but I guess they can. You get to Alcatraz by being the worst of the worst. Unless you're me. I came here because my mother said I had to.
AND One Film that the entire family can and should watch...
FAMILY FRIDAY Reading Fest is a weekly update showcasing the wide variety of books our family is reading. Due to our different ages and reading preferences, I hope blog readers will find something that interests them. Enjoy a dip into the Millis home of books!
RAE--THE ELEVEN-YEAR OLD REALISTIC FICTION READER
Bloomability by Sharon Creech
My husband and daughter started this book together about a girl who moves to Switzerland to attend an international school. There is a possibility that our family might be overseas next year and our daughter's top country to visit/move is ...you guessed it-SWITZERLAND!! And as you may remember from last week, Rae's favorite author is Sharon Creech.
Goodreads Summary:
When she is whisked away to an international school in Switzerland, Dinnie Doone discovers all the "bloomabilities" that life has to offer. From Newbery Award-winning author Sharon Creech is a story about everyday joys. bloomability
Heartbeat by Sharon Creech
Yep, Sharon Creech. again. I love that Rae is searching everywhere...public library, school library, bookstores, friend's bookshelves, thrift stores, crack in the sidewalk ( : for her favorite author's books. This is her read to self book which she is devouring like that hot chocolate we had at Timberline Lodge...rich hot chocolate topped with cascade of whipped cream, caramel and fudge sauce and broken bits of a toffee bar on top. Oh my!!
Goodreads Summary:
Newbery Medalist Creech ("Walk Two Moons") masterfully weaves this story, told in free verse, about a young girl finding her identity and learning how it fits within the many rhythms of life.
Run run run.
That's what twelve-year-old Annie loves to do. When she's barefoot and running, she can hear her heart beating . . . thump-THUMP, thump-THUMP. It's a rhythm that makes sense in a year when everything's shifting: Her mother is pregnant, her grandfather is forgetful, and her best friend, Max, is always moody. Everything changes over time, just like the apple Annie's been assigned to draw. But as she watches and listens, Annie begins to understand the many rhythms of life, and how she fits within them.
Twelve-year-old Annie ponders the many rhythms of life the year that her mother becomes pregnant, her grandfather begins faltering, and her best friend (and running partner) becomes distant.
REID--THE 13-YEAR OLD SCIENCE FICTION FANATIC WITH A MOM FORCING A HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK
Fahrenheit 451 Graphic Novel by Tim Hamilton
Reid LOVES Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Graphic Novels...that's about it when it comes to books. So, while subbing at a middle school I came upon this fantastic combination. With To Kill a Mockingbird, The Hobbit and now this book, he is getting his Classic food oops book group also.
Goodreads Summary:
For Guy Montag, a career fireman for whom kerosene is perfume, this is not just an official slogan. It is a mantra, a duty, a way of life in a tightly monitored world where thinking is dangerous and books are forbidden.
In 1953, Ray Bradbury envisioned one of the world’s most unforgettable dystopian futures, and in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, the artist Tim Hamilton translates this frightening modern masterpiece into a gorgeously imagined graphic novel. As could only occur with Bradbury’s full cooperation in this authorized adaptation, Hamilton has created a striking work of art that uniquely captures Montag’s awakening to the evil of government-controlled thought and the inestimable value of philosophy, theology, and literature.
The Devil's Paintbox by Victoria McKernan
The teacher and lover of history in me chose this one for our reading time. We are both enjoying traveling on the Oregon Trail in a higher level book. A few years ago, we read Westward to Home and Apples to Apples which inspired us to follow the trail through Oregon.
Goodreads Summary:
When orphans Aiden and Maddy Lynch first meet trailrider Jefferson J. Jackson in the spring of 1865, they’re struggling to survive on their family’s drought-ravaged Kansas farm. So when Jackson offers an escape—a 2000-mile journey across the roughest country in the world—Aiden knows it’s their only choice.
They say there are a hundred ways to die on the Oregon Trail, and the long wagon journey is broken only by catastrophe: wolf attacks, rattlesnakes, deadly river crossings, Indians, and the looming threat of smallpox, “the devil’s paint.” Through it all, Aiden and Maddy and a hundred fellow travelers move forward with a growing hope, and the promise of a new life in the Washington Territory. But one question haunts them: who will survive the journey?
ED--THE LIVE VICARIOUSLY THROUGH ANOTHER ADVENTURER'S LIFE
In Search of Captain Zero by Allan Weisbecker
Our nonfiction reader is thoroughly enjoying the Outdoor Adventure book award choices. He reports that "they tell about an adventure with some soul and depth attached to it."
Goodreads Summary:
In 1996, Allan Weisbecker sold his home and his possessions, loaded his dog and surfboards into his truck, and set off in search of his long-time surfing companion, Patrick, who had vanished into the depths of Central America. In this rollicking memoir of his quest from Mexico to Costa Rica to unravel the circumstances of Patrick's disappearance, Weisbecker intimately describes the people he befriended, the bandits he evaded, the waves he caught and lost en route to finding his friend.
In Search of Captain Zero is, according to Outside magazine, "A subtly affecting tale of friendship and duty. [It] deserves a spot on the microbus dashboard as a hell of a cautionary tale about finding paradise and smoking it away."
AND ME--
Pickle: The (Formerly) Anonymous Prank Club of Fountain Point Middle School by Kim Baker
I am trying to return to my former habits of reading a kid book and then an adult book. Pickle was a quick read about some middle schoolers who join together to perform pranks. Clever storyline...would have loved to have seen some recipes for the pickle and other preserved veggies.
Goodreads Summary:
This is the story of THE LEAGUE OF PICKLE MAKERS.
Ben: who began it all by sneaking in one night and filling homeroom with ball-pit balls.
Frank: who figured out that an official club, say a pickle making club, could receive funding from the PTA.
Oliver: who once convinced half of the class that his real parents had found him and he was going to live in a submarine.
Bean: who wasn't exactly invited, but her parents own a costume shop, which comes in handy if you want to dress up like a giant squirrel and try to scare people at the zoo.
TOGETHER, they are an unstoppable prank-pulling force, and Fountain Point Middle School will never be the same.
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
I just started this book that has received tremendous reviews. I am hoping it will lead me to my serendipity!!
The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a San Francisco Web-design drone—and serendipity, sheer curiosity, and the ability to climb a ladder like a monkey has landed him a new gig working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. But after just a few days on the job, Clay begins to realize that this store is even more curious than the name suggests. There are only a few customers, but they come in repeatedly and never seem to actually buy anything, instead “checking out” impossibly obscure volumes from strange corners of the store, all according to some elaborate, long-standing arrangement with the gnomic Mr. Penumbra. The store must be a front for something larger, Clay concludes, and soon he’s embarked on a complex analysis of the customers’ behavior and roped his friends into helping to figure out just what’s going on. But once they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, it turns out the secrets extend far outside the walls of the bookstore.
It is a sad day when I look to the side of the bed and see an empty space devoid of books. Thanks to the following three web tools I can quickly find book read-alikes and books by the authors I or my loved ones adore. Then as fast as you can bake a pizza, I am to the library and back with some treasures to fill my mind and soul.
Last week, I had one of my former students' parent email me asking my opinion about the appropriateness of a book for her 5th grader. I gave her my opinion and steered her to the following, fabulous resource. In the overwhelming world of making good choices for children, this website and nonprofit gives ratings for books, games, videos, etc.
On the heels of the Goodreads Best Books 2012 Awards, I found myself reflecting on my faves of the year. Since their publication, additional best book lists have been published. Here are a few that you might find interesting...
Yesterday, I shared my all-time faves of children/youth literature. Today it is into the adult world. So, drumroll.....
Fave Adult Fiction
Two books with extraordinary characters and plots have both entertained and intrigued me this year.
The Good Dream by Donna VanLiere
The Good Dream placed me in a small town in the life of a young "spinster" who in trying to heal her heart becomes a mother. This feel-good tale reminded me of the healing powers of giving to others in one's own time of need.
Goodreads Summary-
From The New York Times bestselling author comes a poignant, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting novel about an unlikely path to motherhood, and of two lost souls healing each other
1950 Tennessee, a time and place that straddles the past and present. Ivorie Walker is considered an old maid by the town (though she’s only in her early thirties) and she takes that label with good humor and a grain of salt. Ever since her parents passed away, she has hidden her loneliness behind a fierce independence and a claim of not needing anyone. But her mother’s death hit her harder than anyone suspects and Ivorie wonders if she will be alone forever.
When she realizes that someone has been stealing vegetables from her garden—a feral, dirty-faced boy who disappears into the hills—something about him haunts Ivorie. She can’t imagine what would make him desperate enough to steal and eat from her garden. But what she truly can’t imagine is what the boy faces, each day and night, in the filthy lean-to hut miles up in the hills. Who is he? How did he come to live in the hills? Where did he come from? And, more importantly, can she save him? As Ivorie steps out of her comfort zone to uncover the answers, she unleashes a firestorm in the town—a community that would rather let secrets stay secret. The Good Dream is Donna VanLiere is at her absolute best.
A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash
A Land More Kind than Home was a favorite mainly due to the deep connection to home. Having grown up in Western North Carolina, I was able to deepen my knowledge of a culture that deeply intrigues and disturbs me. Wiley Cash's willingness to expose the dark side of religion and his development of characters has me hooked as one of his readers.
Goodreads Summary-
A stunning debut reminiscent of the beloved novels of John Hart and Tom Franklin, A Land More Kind Than Home is a mesmerizing literary thriller about the bond between two brothers and the evil they face in a small western North Carolina town.
For a curious boy like Jess Hall, growing up in Marshall means trouble when your mother catches you spying on grown-ups. Adventurous and precocious, Jess is enormously protective of his older brother, Christopher, a mute whom everyone calls Stump. Though their mother has warned them not to snoop, Stump can't help sneaking a look at something he's not supposed to—an act that will have catastrophic repercussions, shattering both his world and Jess's. It's a wrenching event that thrusts Jess into an adulthood for which he's not prepared. While there is much about the world that still confuses him, he now knows that a new understanding can bring not only a growing danger and evil—but also the possibility of freedom and deliverance as well.
Told by three resonant and evocative characters—Jess; Adelaide Lyle, the town midwife and moral conscience; and Clem Barefield, a sheriff with his own painful past—A Land More Kind Than Home is a haunting tale of courage in the face of cruelty and the power of love to overcome the darkness that lives in us all. These are masterful portrayals, written with assurance and truth, and they show us the extraordinary promise of this remarkable first novel.
Fave Cookbook
Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier by Ree Drummond
On a rainy, dreary day, I first discovered Pioneer Woman on her blog. What a delight! I was ecstatic that I had found this treasure-trove of delicious recipes and witty writing. A further testament to the power of taking your passions and talents and using them to your advantage. Due to her books and Food Network show, Ree Drummond is now a household name. Her latest cookbook has her signature photos and funny stories woven into good all American recipes.
Goodreads Summary-
I'm Pioneer Woman.
And I love to cook.
Once upon a time, I fell in love with a cowboy. A strapping, rugged, chaps-wearing cowboy. Then I married him, moved to his ranch, had his babies . . . and wound up loving it. Except the manure. Living in the country for more than fifteen years has taught me a handful of eternal truths: every new day is a blessing, every drop of rain is a gift . . . and "nothing" tastes more delicious than food you cook yourself.
"The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier" is a mouthwatering collection of the simple-but-scrumptious recipes that rotate through my kitchen on a regular basis, including Perfect Pancakes, Cowgirl Quiche, Sloppy Joes, Italian Meatball Soup, White Chicken Enchiladas, and a spicy Carnitas Pizza that'll win you over for life. There are also some elegant offerings for more special occasions at your house: Osso Buco, Honey-Plum-Soy Chicken, and Rib-Eye Steak with an irresistible Onion-Blue Cheese Sauce. And the decadent assortment of desserts, including Blackberry Chip Ice Cream, Apple Dumplings, and Coffee Cream Cake, will make your heart go pitter-pat in the most wonderful way.
In addition to detailed step-by-step photographs, all the recipes in this book have one other important quality in common: They're guaranteed to make your kids, sweetheart, dinner guests, in-laws, friends, cousins, or resident cowboys smile, sigh, and beg for seconds. (And hug you and kiss you and be devoted to you for life.)
Ahhh...the lights, the music, the eggnog, the shopping, the bustle, the CRAZINESS...time to slow down and grab a cup of tea and a good read!! These three gems all are all from a woman's perspective with love and the ramifications of loss as the main story line. This time of year brings great cheer, but also brings memories of those who are gone and missed.
Paris, a Love Story: a Memoir by Kati Marton
What a compelling memoir about Kati Marton, an AP journalist back in the 1960 and 70's! She dives back in time to share her childhood challenges of growing up in Hungary after World War II and the Iron Curtain and of losing her parents to prison due to them speaking out against the Communists. I was shocked and disappointed to read of Peter Jenning's, her first husband and my favorite anchorman, chronic depression and subsequent control and verbal abuse issues. Then, the author, after divorcing Peter Jennings, meets and marries her soul mate diplomat, Richard Holbrooke. The love and respect she describes so eloquently made the shock and loss she encounters, when he dies unexpectedly, so much deeper and sadder. Her wise words and insights are lingering...
In this remarkably honest and candid memoir, award-winning journalist and distinguished author Kati Marton narrates an impassioned and romantic story of love, loss, and life after loss. Paris is at the heart of this deeply moving account. At every stage of her life, Paris offers Marton beauty and excitement, and now, after the sudden death of her husband Richard Holbrooke, it offers a chance for a fresh beginning. With intimate and nuanced portraits of Peter Jennings, the man to whom she was married for fifteen years and with whom she had two children, and Richard, with whom she found enduring love, Marton paints a vivid account of an adventuresome life in the stream of history. Inspirational and deeply human, Paris: A Love Story will touch every generation.
Wild : From lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
From the moment I heard about this HOT book, I knew that my list of connections would be long. Dealing with the death of a parent, living through tough times, hitting the trail for solace and diving into books for answers all call out to me, as they did Cheryl, the author. Her writing took me on an emotional roller coaster ride not knowing if I'd be laughing or crying next. She described life on the trail to a T and left me pineing for summer and the dust and grit of the trail ahead of me. NEW NEWS FLASH: Reese Witherspoon has been selected to play Cheryl in a movie adaptation of the novel.
A powerful, blazingly honest, inspiring memoir: the story of a 1,100 mile solo hike that broke down a young woman reeling from catastrophe—and built her back up again.
At twenty-six, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother's devastating death, her family scattered, and her own marriage was soon destroyed. With nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life: to hike the Pacific Crest trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and to do it alone. She had no experience as a long-distance hiker, and the trail was little more than "an idea, vague and outlandish and full of promise." But it was a promise of piecing back together a life that had come undone. Gorgeously told, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild is the vivid story of a young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.
My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story (with Recipes) by Luisa Weiss
Mmm, mmm I LOVE novels that contain recipes...fulfills my double fetish of a good story and a cookbook. At first, I was drawn to this book because of the setting. I spent a lonely week in Berlin back in the mid '90's wandering the narrow streets of East Berlin wishing I could find another lonely soul to explore all the ups and downs of this historical city. The fact that this book sprang from a blog further intrigued and eventually inspired me. I hope you also enjoy the story and recipes!
It takes courage to turn your life upside down, especially when everyone is telling you how lucky you are. But sometimes what seems right can feel deeply wrong. My Berlin Kitchen tells the story of how one thoroughly confused, kitchen-maid perfectionist broke off her engagement to a handsome New Yorker, quit her dream job, and found her way to a new life, a new man, and a new home in Berlin—one recipe at a time.
Luisa Weiss grew up with a divided heart, shuttling back and forth between her father in Boston and her Italian mother in Berlin. She was always yearning for home, until she found a new home in the kitchen. Luisa started clipping recipes in college and was a cookbook editor in New York when she decided to bake, roast, and stew her way through her, by then, unwieldy collection over the course of one tumultuous year. The blog she wrote to document her adventures in (and out) of the kitchen, The Wednesday Chef, soon became a sensation. But she never stopped hankering for Berlin.
Luisa will seduce you with her stories of foraging for plums in abandoned orchards, battling with white asparagus at the tail end of the season, orchestrating a three-family Thanksgiving in Berlin, and mending her broken heart with batches (and batches) of impossible German Christmas cookies. Fans of her award-winning blog will know the happy ending, but anyone who enjoyed Julie and Julia will laugh and cheer and cook alongside Luisa as she takes us into her heart and tells us how she gave up everything only to find love waiting where she least expected it.
