2016 Foodies Read Challenge

Even though I didn't make my goal on the 2015 Foodies Read challenge, I still want to try again in 2016. I'm going for the Sous-Chef level (9-13 books). Looking forward to trying again this year. To sign up, go here.

2016 What's In A Name Challenge

I enjoyed the What's In A Name Challenge this year so I wanted to do it again in 2016. The categories look harder in 2016. I'll be looking for book titles with items of clothing and items of furniture. This will definitely expand my horizons! To join the fun, go here.

2016 LGBTQIA Books Reading Challenge

Every year I always want to sign up for a LGBTQ reading challenge but never find one until I consider it too late (mid year). But I found one early this time. Yay! I'm going for the Orange level (6-12 books). To sign up, go here.

2016 Graphic Novel & Manga Challenge

I had fun with this challenge this year so I look forward to trying it again next year. I'm going to stick with the Bronze Age (24 books read and reviewed). I'm going to keep the same format, reviewing the books once a month. To sign up, go here.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

Take Me With You

This caught my eye. I haven't read too many travel books.

What did you get this week? Add your link below.

Paris, He Said by Christine Sneed

I picked Paris, He Said off the library shelf because I usually like a good book about Paris. And Paris, He Said was no different. It was a well paced story about an American woman moving to Paris for her much older boyfriend. This is not chick lit but more contemplative and introspective.

Jayne has been struggling in New York when she meets Laurent. Jayne would like to have more time to paint and sketch but she has to work 2 jobs just to afford her rent. When Laurent offers to take her to Paris and allow her time to devote to art, Jayne takes the chance. The story is mostly told by Jayne but Laurent has a few chapters.

While reading Paris, He Said, I kept thinking it was like reading something you wanted to savor. The story was so well paced, not rushed at all. But there's not a lot of resolution at the end. Sneed examines Jayne and Laurent's relationship as well as those around them and their own relationships with others. She raises more questions and lets the reader make their own decisions. If you like stories that wrap up neatly, Paris, He Said isn't the book for you.

Overall I enjoyed Paris, He Said, but the lack of a solid ending left me a little sad. I would have liked the end to give me a better idea of what happened to Jayne. But I liked Sneed's writing and would pick up another of her books. I was tempted several time to book a trip to Paris. Sneed makes you feel like you are there. Others who shared their thoughts on Paris, He Said: The Bookish and The Romantic and Largehearted Boy.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

Delancey

I'm determined to finish the Foodies Read challenge. I set 14 books as my goal. I've got six to go.

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles

Another one for the Foodies Read Challenge.

What did you get this week? Claire's got the linky.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

Happily Ever After

I was pretty excited to see this on the shelf at the library. But it looks like a collection of already published novellas so there might be nothing new in here. 

When A Scot Ties The Knot

I've been enjoying this series. Looking forward to another good read by Dare. 

What did you get this week? Share your below.

Teaser Tuesday- Winter by Marissa Meyer

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"She slipped into a pair of lightweight linen pants and a loose top, then pulled on her night robe so it would look like she was wearing her bedclothes underneath, She thought of this all day, the plan taking form in her mind, like tiny puzzle pieces snapping together."
pg 21 Winter by Marissa Meyer

November Goals Update

How did I do this month on my goals?

1. Make one meatless meal for dinner a week. Still trying to figure out the wheat and dairy free meal situation.

2. Continue working on my fitness and lose another 30 lbs. I had a non scale victory the other day. I had to sprint for the bus. Usually that would have left me panting for most of the ride to work but this time, I needed no recovery time. I'm building some serious endurance.

3. Go back to meal planning. This has been happening.

4. Schedule one do nothing, stay home weekend a month. I don't think I got a full stay home weekend but I did get a couple of days to stay home.

5. Plan one trip with Tai this year. We did 2 trips this year and no more for the rest of the year.

6. Get a will and other necessary estate planning documents. This will probably wait for next year.

7. Clean and declutter one room a month. I planned to do some on Thanksgiving weekend but time got a way from me.

8. Do one things for myself a month. Nothing this month!

9. Watch one older (pre-2014) movie a month. Can't remember but I think I did watch something.

10. Learn to make 5 Japanese dishes. I just realized I completed all 5 dishes: Yakisoba, Yamatoimo, Gyudon, gyoza, and Chashu.

11. Stop complaining and start sharing my gratitude. I've been a lot better about this.

12. Take 2 cooking classes. I took 3 classes total this year. Looking forward to taking more in 2016.

November Book Tally

The Art of Baking Blind by Sarah Vaughan
Get Jiro! by Anthony Bourdain
Poison Princess by Kresley Cole
Put Up Your Duke by Megan Frampton
Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid
The Sleeper and The Spindle by Neil Gaiman
Saga vol 5 by Brian K Vaughan
Gotham Academy by Becky Cloonan
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
I See You Make An Effort by Annabelle Gurwitch

Still slowly inching to 150. House hunting plus a lot of busy weeks at work have made reading harder to do. I've got a couple of 4 weekends coming up. House hunting is on hold through the holidays so hopefully reading will make a come back.

Stats:

What's In A Name Challenge: this month: 0 (challenge complete) YTD: 6

Graphic Novel and Manga Challenge: this month: 4 (Saga vol 5, Get Jiro!, The Sleeper and The Spindle), Gotham Academy vol 1)
YTD :51

Historical Reading Challenge: this month: 1 ( Put Up Your Duke) YTD: 19

Foodies Read Challenge this month: 2 (Get Jiro! and The Art of Baking Blind) YTD: 8

Total: 143

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

I decided to browse the classics section at the library and this is whay I picked up.

True Grit

I'e been wanting to read True Grit ever since I saw the newest movie adaptation. 

Lord of The Flies

Can you believe I got through high school without ever reading this?

A Room With A View

I wanted Howard's End but I haven't read this one either. 

What did you get this week? Claire's got the linky.

November Graphic Novel Review

Saga vol 5

Still loving this series.

The Sleeper and The Spindle

Neil Gaiman does fairy tales. Just delightful. A little Sleeping Beauty, a little Snow White but all one gorgeously dark tale.

Gotham Academy vol 1
A little like Scooby Doo set in the DC universe. Not sure how it ties into Batman but cute story. 

Get Jiro! by Anthony Bourdain

I picked up Get Jiro! because a graphic novel written Bourdain sounded to interesting to pass up. I really enjoyed this very bloody romp.

Yes, this is the Jiro from Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Jiro has a small sushi bar in Los Angeles. Los Angles has become split by two rival food ideologies, the purists and the locavore. I loved how Bourdain skewers food culture.  People are waiting years to dine at some restaurants, Getting into fist fights to get into restaurants. The two heads of each faction acting like mafia bosses. It's all very funny and tongue in cheek. But it's also very bloody. It is like a mafia movie. Lots of feeding people to the pigs. It is very bloody and violent, definitely not for the squeamish.

I found the story interesting but the characters were a little flat. I need to read more by Bourdian. He;s funny. Others who shared their thoughts on Get Jiro!:Well Preserved, Kei's Kitchen, and iFanboy.
This is my eighth read of the Foodies Read Challenge.

The Art Of Baking Blind by Sarah Vaughan

I picked up The Art of Baking Blind after seeing some positive reviews. I'm really glad I did. First, it's about baking. While I like cooking more than baking, I still enjoyed hearing about the various pastries. Second, the story is told though multiple characters. Reminded me of Moriarty's books. Enjoyed seeing the story from so many angles.

Kathleen Eaden is a baking icon. The wife of a supermarket mogul, she's revered for her baking even after her death. Her late husband's store decides to look for a "heir" to the throne, a new Mrs Eaden. Five constants are chosen: Jenny, a middle aged wife who's put her family first her whole life, Vicki, a young mother who struggles to manage her only son, Mike, a father who used baking to overcome his grief, Karen, a woman who puts on a front and hides from her family, and Claire, a young single mother, struggling to provide for daughter. I loved watching the characters interact in this competition. Vaughan really allows you to get to know the characters from all sides. Even provides the view from Jenny's daughters, Karen's son, the administrator of the contest, and the judges. Sometimes I had trouble figuring out who's viewpoint we were looking at, but it usually made sense pretty quickly.

And the baked goodies. This book is set in England so many of the deserts were foreign to me. Battenburg cake, lardy cake, Maderia cake, Victoria sponge. But it all sounded delicious. Made me want to bake more often. I always shy away because it has to be so precise. Cooking is a little more liberal. But there's something about baking from scratch that sounds so adult.

Overall I enjoyed The Art of Baking Blind. I look forward to reading more of Vaughan's books. Others who shared their thoughts: Rhapsody in Books, Book Chick City, 20something Reads, and Novelcious.
This was my seventh read for the Foodies Read Challenge.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

Prelude To A Scandal

I have enjoyed Marvelle's other books. I hope I like this one too.

Hello, Goodbye, and Everything In Between

I've heard a lot of good things about Smith's books. I when I saw this one the shelf, I grabbed it.

The Wild Rose

I am determined to finish this series this year. 

What did you get this week? Add your loot below!

Teaser Tuesday-The Art of Baking Blind by Sarah Vaughn

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"She sighs and imagines how she must have been viewed by those sifting through the applications, young adults, she assumes, not much older than her three newly grown-up girls. Hair cropped in a sensible short bob: unflattering, boring, but eminently fitting for the wife of a local dentist and member of the W.I."
pg 18 The Art of Baking Blind by Sarah Vaughn

Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

A friend of mine had raved about Poison Princess so I picked it up. I haven't been reading many post-apocalyptic books lately so I enjoyed Poison Princess. I had been reading a lot more post-apocalptic books a while ago so I'm glad I took a break. That allowed me to enjoy Poison Princess.

Evie is a regular 16 year old girl. She's a cheerleader, has a hunky boyfriend, and terrifying visions of death and destruction. One day, her visions start coming true and she is thrust into action. Accompanying Evie on her journey is her gorgeous, from the wrong side of the tracks classmate, Jackson. Will Evie survive? Will more of her visions keep coming true?

Evie is no Katniss. She can't hunt or defend herself very well. She manages well just after the devastation but she's pretty spoiled and used to having things handed to her. Jackson has never had anything handed to him and has had to fight his whole life. Now that everyone else does to means Jackson has to work hard to keep himself and Evie alive. But even though Evie isn't a born leader or super crafty, I still liked her. She did want things to back to before but I think most people would. I also liked that Evie kept her wits about her when it came to Jackson. Drop dead gorgeous and looking to make Evie his bed mate, Evie doesn't let him deter her from her goal. There are definitely some steamy parts.

Overall I enjoyed Poison Princess and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the next in the series, Endless Knight. Others who shared their thoughts on Poison Princess: Love Vampires, Biblodaze, and Book Chick City.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

The Falconer

I spotted this on the shelf and thought it looked good.

Rolling In The Deep

I enjoy Grant's writing. Looking forward to this short story about mermaids.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here

I've heard good things about this one.

What did you get this week? Claire's got the linky this week.

Teaser Tuesday-Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Today Mel wore a crisp navy shirt and a red baby-doll T-shirt that probably cost half a grand and would never be worn again. Her bright Dior lipstick was a classic red to match, her auburn hair tied with a navy bow."
pg 18 Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid

I picked up Let's Get Lost because I love road trip books. I'm glad I did because it was an engaging story.

Leila's on a road trip to see the Northern Lights. Each chapter is told by a different person she meets on her trip (Hudson, Sonia, Bree, and Elliot). Each person is going through a difficult time when Leila enters their life and she tries her best to help them through it. But each person doesn't learn a lot about Leila. In fact the reader doesn't learn much about her til the very end. I thought that was clever. I wanted to know more about Leila and not just through someone's eyes. But I enjoyed Leila's road trip and I enjoyed the wait in getting to know her better. I enjoyed how she met the other characters and how she tried to help them. Hudson, small town mechanic, has the big college interview the day after Leila rolls into his life. I wasn't sure where this was going to go. Hudson falls for Leila and she turns his life upside down. Bree has a lot of family drama and Leila doesn't fall her bull and forces Bree to come to terms with her decisions. Elliot. I loved this 80's rom com loving boy. I was sad that his heart was broken but I loved Elliot and Leila's adventures in getting the girl. Sonia is greiving and thinks that running away will solve her problem. But that only complicates things and Leila and Sonia have to find a way back to Canada without a passport. By the end of the book, I wanted to her Leila's story. And I was glad I stuck around to hear it.

Let's Get Lost is a good solid read. Perfect for a rainy afternoon. While there are some deeper messages in the book, Alsaid does a great job of not making the book preachy. I'd read more of Alsaid's work. Others who shared their thoughts on Let's Get Lost:Writer of Wrongs, The Perpetual Page-Turner, and Miss Page-Turner's City of Books.

What To Eat This Week

It's been a couple of weeks since I did this and I can't remember what I made. 

Dinner Out

Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Garlic

Salisbury Steak with mushroom gravy

Skillet Chicken with Bacon and White Wine

Dinner out

Crockpot Cherry Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

 What's on your menu this week

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

The White Rose

Ever since the cliffhanger ending of The Jewel, I've been waiting to see what happens with Violet.

All That Is Solid Melts In Air

This one just sounded interesting.

What did you get this week? Add your link below.