Top Ten Tuesday: Most Vivid Worlds/Settings In Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme started at The Broke And The Bookish.

This week's topic is the most vivid worlds/settings in books. I thought this one would be simple but I could only come up with eight. 

Across the Universe and A Million Suns-Revis does an excellent job of making you feel like you are on a ship in space. But that ship feels so real from the fields to the solar sun.

Incarnate-I loved the world that Meadow’s created for Ana. I enjoyed how everything flowed in Heart and how the world made sense to the characters.

The Newsflesh series-Georgia and Shaun live in a futuristic United States. There are plenty of similarities to our current world. I love the pop culture references that make it so much easier to relate to a world where the dead rise.

Ready Player One-Again a book filled with pop culture references is going to make me very happy. But I loved the Oasis and the other planets that exist. Sign me up for the Wheadonverse!

The Wicked Lovely series-Marr created such an enchanting world filled with fairies. I enjoyed every minute with those characters.

The Books of Faerie series-Another series I want to just crawl into and live. Stiefvater does a brilliant job of drawing you into the faery world and making magic real.

Y: The Last Man series (Graphic Novel)-Brian K Vaughan is my favorite graphic novel writer. His post apocalyptic world is amazing. I remember the first time I read Y: The Last Man. I was blown away by the details.

The Strain series-Of course de Toro, a wonderful film maker, is going to be able to make a realistic world where vampires attempt to take over the world. The story just jumps off the page.

The Girl With The Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross

After really enjoying The Girl With The Steel Corset, I was eager for the next in the series, The Girl With The Clockwork Collar. Again, Cross did not disappoint.
Jayne and her friends are headed to America to save Jasper. The whole gang-Griffin, Sam, and Emily-head across the Atlantic, bringing some of their toys and plenty of mischief. I did miss Jack Dandy but it was ok. The burgeoning romance between Griffin and Jayne gave me plenty to swoon over. Plus there's a lot more of the rest of the gang. I really enjoyed learning more about everyone. Cross did an excellent job of weaving everyone's story together and making sure the story moved along. I was super excited that Telsa made an appearance.  And who doesn't love the Greatest Geek Who Ever Lived.
I loved this part of the journey and can't wait for next installment. Others who shared their thoughts: Reading Extensively, Read. Breathe. Relax, Nocturne Romance Reads, ReadingDiva, and Reading In Winter.

Weekend Cooking: Crispy Cheddar Chicken

Or quite possibly the best chicken ever.

I pinned this chicken recipe because it sounded easy and delicious. I will warn you. It's not low calorie and it uses Ritz Crackers and canned soup. I happened to have both on hand so it was super easy for me.

I followed her recipe pretty closely. I did substitute chicken thighs for chicken breasts of course.

This was definitely a winner. The sauce tasted rich and decadent and the chicken was simple to make. I wound up with leftovers and it reheated well the next day. I keep the sauce and the chicken separate so the crunchy outside wouldn't get soggy.

In case you missed it, I posted about my awesome kitchen tricks yesterday.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Awesome Kitchen Tricks

I'm going to share with you my favorite kitchen tricks. These tricks save me time and money. Two very important things.

You might notice I cook a lot with fresh ginger. No I don't have a ginger farm in my backyard. I used to waste a lot of ginger. Buying a whole piece of ginger and only needing an inch of it. I threw away a lot of moldy ginger. One day I was at my friend, Jennifer's house and she was cooking something that called for ginger. That day she showed me her secret which I will share with you today.
She freezes her ginger.
Seriously she wrapped her ginger in foil and froze it. Now I buy ginger by the pound, wrap each piece in foil and freeze it all in a bag like this:

Instead of chopping it which is a pain when the ginger is frozen, I grate it. Rarely do I need to chop it so grating has worked for me. Yay for no trips to the store for ginger! Yay for not wasting ginger!

I stopped buying chicken breasts. Gasp! What? No more chicken breast? Yup, I only buy chicken thighs now. Boneless chicken breasts are usually around $7.99/lb. Boneless chicken thighs are usually around $5.99/lb. I find the thighs have more flavor and stay juicier than the breasts. There's a small nutritional difference and a lot of people don't like dark meat but neither of those are factors for me. Price usually wins with me.

I like to buy in bulk. When buying in bulk people think cereal or dried beans. But I like to buy meat in bulk. If I come across a good deal, I buy as much as I can afford and freeze it. At the recommendation of one of Tai's coworkers I bought a Foodsaver vacuum sealer. At the time I didn't think I'd really use it. But it was $10 (on sale) so I figured why not try it. I definitely got my money's worth. I vacuum freeze fresh fish and when I cook it later there is no taste difference between fresh and frozen. I also cook meals for Dad and freeze them with the vacuum sealer in individual portions so he can heat what he needs. The vacuum sealer bags are microwaveable so it makes things simple for him.
If you are interested I bought a mini FoodSaver. Mine didn't come as part of a kit which is why it was so cheap. I use mine about 2 times a month for the past six months and I've gone through 3 rolls of bags. FoodSaver tends to run deals frequently (50% percent off) so keep an eye out for a deal.

Do you have any kitchen tips to share?

Awkward & Awesome Thursday

Awkward:

-Sleeping with the window open leads to allergy attacks in the AM. Not fun.

-My library loot pile. Working is getting in the way of my reading time.

-This happened in front of my office Tuesday.

Awesome:

-Related to the last bullet point above, I was totally impressed with the people that flocked to help the postal worker and chase down the fleeing motorist. Nicely done, Seattle.

-Today is my Friday. Yay for a 3 day weekend. 

-Totally free clothing at Old Navy thanks to a gift card I won through Swagbucks. 

The Most Awesomest:

-Today's our 4 year wedding anniversary! I love you sweetie!

Library Loot

 Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader 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 Am The Messenger

I think Zusak has another book coming out and I realized I haven't read everything he already wrote.

Better By Mistake

I spied this one on someone else's Goodreads feed. Sounded interesting.

Blonde

From my Fill In The Gaps List. 

From Here To Eternity

Also from my Fill In The Gaps list. I didn't realize that this and Blonde were huge. I doubt I can read both in a month.

The Fairy Godmother

I spied the latest in this series on shelf and the series intrigued me.

What did you get this week?

Sixes

I've seen this meme around and wanted to participate. I changed a couple of the categories to suit my needs. I believe this meme was started by The Book Jotter.

Six New To Me Authors
Joe Hill
Nancy E Turner
Beth Revis
Jessica Spotswood
Jo Walton
Veronica Roth

Six Favorite Authors
Mira Grant
Kelley Armstrong
Gail Carriger
Melisa Marr
Maggie Steifvater
Colleen Gleason

Six Series That I'm Working On
Riders of The Apocalypse by Jackie Kessler Morse
Divergent series by Veronica Roth
Across The Universe series by Beth Revis
Women Of The Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong
Steampunk Chronicles by Kady Cross
Firelight series by Sophie Jordan

Six Books That Were Published in 2012 That I Enjoyed
The Selection by Kiera Cass
Faery Tales & Nightmares by Melissa Marr
Fever by Lauren DeStefano
Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Blackout by Mira Grant

The Last Six Books I Added To My To Be Read List
This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers
Belles by Jen Calonita
Wake by Robert J Sawyer
Made From Scratch by Jenna Woginrich
The Dirty Life by Kristen Kimball
Lust by Charlotte Featherstone

Six Books That I Want To Read In The Second Half of 2012
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Plenty by Alisa Smith
A Year In High Heels by Camilla Morton
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Clara and Mr Tiffany by Susan Vreeland
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

Weekend Cooking: Cold Soba Noodle Salad

Ignore the fact that people have been making soba noodle salads forever because mine is the bomb diggity.

One day I was trying to think up something for lunch that involved a package of sukiyaki meat.  I didn't want to make sukiyaki. I wanted something quick, so I "invented" this soba noodle salad.

Sukiyaki meat is thinly sliced beef, chicken or pork. I usually buy it at my local Asian market but I have seen suitably thinly sliced meat at the regular grocery store. I've also made this tofu instead of meat. It works well too.

I love this dish cause it can be prepared with what you have on hand. And it's fast.

This is my usual method.

Linda's Cold Soba Noodle Salad
(serves 3)

1lb of thinly sliced meat (sukiyaki preferably)
1 9.5oz package of soba (buckwheat) noodles
2 (or more) cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbs of grated fresh ginger
1/2 tbs (or more) Korean hot chili or cayenne pepper powder
2 tbs oil
sliced assorted veggies (I like cucumber, onion, carrots, peppers, water chestnuts, or radishes)

Boil water for noodles. Soba noodles only need to cook for 4 minutes so I save the boiling of the noodles to the end.
In a pan over medium heat, pour the oil. Add garlic, ginger, and chili powder. Stir so they will flavor the oil.
Be careful with the chili powder. Inhaling too much will hurt your throat and lungs. If it really bothers you add the chili after the meat has been added.
Once the garlic, ginger and chili powder are fragrant, add beef. Stir to coat the meat with oil, chili powder, garlic, and ginger. Flip meat until cooked.
While meat is cooking, slice up your preferred veggies. I always include onion (either regular or spring) and usually just one or two other veggies.
Once meat has cooked and noodles are done, rinse the noodles in cold water. I plate each portion separately, so I can make sure everyone gets an equal share of veggies. I layer the noodles first, then the veggies and top with meat.
We love this dressing I bought at the Asian Market:

I suppose you could whip up your own ginger dressing but I'm partial to this one.
I have made this for dinners, lunch. It's great any time. I've prepared it ahead of time and eaten cold the next day. Delicious!

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Blackout by Mira Grant

I have been enjoying the Newsflesh series and I was anxious to complete the series. Blackout is the last in the trilogy. I couldn't wait to see how Grant was going to wrap the whole thing up. But I was a little sad to be leaving Georgia and Shaun behind. While things didn't turn out as I expected, it still was a thrilling ride.
Blackout is all Georgia and Shaun but I enjoyed hearing more about the secondary characters. I didn't think I could like anyone as much as Buffy but I actually liked Becks in this one. She wasn't my favorite in Deadline but I understood her character a lot more. Same with Maggie, Alaric, and Mahir. I felt all of these secondary characters got fleshed out more and added to the overall story. I had complained about not getting to know Shaun better in Deadline. I kind of understood him better after Blackout. But my favorite character is still Georgia. I like how the twists and turns played out. Especially since one of the twists led them to Seattle and the Microsoft campus (a scant mile my from my home). I enjoyed hearing how Seattle faired during the zombie apocalypse. Blackout is definitely full of adventure and zombie filled excitement but also has a lot of the conspiracy theory stuff that Deadline had. To me it was a perfect blend of scary thrill ride and the government's trying to kill us. I've seen books and movies get that blend wrong, so I can safely say Grant got it right. You will be on the edge of your chair with this one.
Overall highly recommended, great end to a wonderful series. I will miss Georgia and Shaun! Others who shared their thoughts on Blackout: The Mad Reviewer, My Friend Amy, and The Quiet Voice.

The Maid by Kimberly Cutter

I picked up The Maid after hearing about it. I do enjoy historical fiction based in Medieval France. I didn't know a whole lot about Joan of Arc but I looked forward to learning more. While I did learn more about Joan of Arc, The Maid fell flat for me. 

The Maid starts towards the end of Joan's journey when she's imprisoned, looking back over how she got there. I enjoyed the parts when Joan was younger before she led the French army against the English. Cutter did a great job of creating a lot of authentic detail. I just didn't connect with Joan. I almost did give up on The Maid but I had a hundred pages left and felt silly quitting so close to the end.   I'll definitely be looking for more books on Joan of Arc.

I would skip The Maid. Others who shared their thoughts on The Maid: Devourer of Books, Luxury Reading, and Historical Fiction Notebook.

Library Loot

 Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader 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!

Quinoa 365

I read about Quinoa 365 on One Hundred Dollars A Month's blog. I love quinoa and am always looking for new ways to use it. I'm really excited for this book.

Shiver
I'm really excited to start the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy.

Bound By Honor
There was an excerpt of this book in the back of As Shadows Fade. I don't read much erotic fiction but I love Robin Hood legend so I thought I'd try it.

What did you get this week?

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books I've Read This Year...So Far

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created  at The Broke and the Bookish. 

Today's Top Ten are the books I've enjoyed best this year so far. Links are to my posts about the books.

 Ready Player One by Ernest Cline-What you didn’t think this would be first on my list? I’m still talking about this book. And still slightly obsessed. Why aren’t you?

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater-Fantastic. I’d like to reread this one.

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows-Still recommending this one to people.

Across the Universe by Beth Revis-Amazing.

The Selectionby Kiera Cass-Couldn’t put this down.

An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler-I’m going to need to read this one again. Especially in winter when I seem to struggle with cooking.

Insurgent-Loving the Divergent series! Looking forward to the next one.

Anna and The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins-Adored this book.

These Is My Words by Nancy E Turner-Great historical fiction. I really felt like I was there with Sarah.

Faery Tales and Nightmares by Melissa Marr-Anything that lets me visit the Wicked Lovely world again is tops in my book!

What are your favorite reads so far in 2012?

Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink, PhD.

After reading about Mindless Eating on The Rich Life (On A Budget), I immediately put it on hold at the library. She mentioned as part of her weight loss journey. I was impressed by her results and how she said the book helped her shed pounds regardless of how she was eating. Mindless Eating is not your typical weight loss/ diet book. It also appealed to my love of research.
First off there are no recipes, no tips on how to lighten your meals, no encouraging stories of people who have lost hundreds of pounds. What there is a lot of research about why you eat, how you eat and how you can control what you eat. You might think you are in complete control of everything thing that you eat but you probably aren't. Advertising, smells, colors, other people affect what you eat. I buy Cheetos a couple of times a month. I "buy them for Jeff". When he comes over he likes to snack on chips especially Cheetos. But in reality I buy them for me. I like Cheetos but I want to feel like a good hostess so I make sure I have Jeff's "favorite" snack on hand. I bought these Applegate hot dogs based on advertising. We all buy things based on other factors besides hunger and good nutrition.
Here are some "tips" I learned from Mindless Eating:

• Use salad or dessert plates for your meals. The smaller plate will make your meal appear larger.
• Resign from the clean plate club. Try to leave a little behind from each meal.
• Plate your meals and leave the leftovers in the kitchen. No serving meals family style.
• Move snacks away from you. If you can reach it, it'll be easier to eat. When candy dishes were moved six feet away from office workers, people ate less.
• Similarly, find ways to create a pause before you eat. It might deter you from eating or eating too much.
• Wait 20 minutes before getting that second helping. It takes that long for our stomachs to signal to our brains that we're full. 

I also especially loved the chapter on eating out and the study on Subway. Just because Subway seems healthy doesn't mean that you can eat 2 footlong sandwiches and lose weight.
Mindless Eating doesn't promise to help you lose a lot. But by making some small changes this book can help you lose 10-30 lbs less a year. I really enjoyed learning how I am affected by so many outside factors. I've adopted some habits. I've been doing the salad plate trick for years and recently stopped serving food family style. I'm going to create more pauses in my snacking and find healthier snacks to serve my friends :) Regardless where you are on your weight loss journey, I think you will learn something new and find ways to make small changes that will help you in the long run. Others who shared their thoughts on Mindless Eating: Mark Larson, Our Fight Now, Watermarked One, and Deligted.

Weekend Cooking: Asian Cucumber and Red Onion Salad

This salad is one of those staples in our house. Sometimes I like to make some to enjoy as a snack but it's terrific to take to potlucks and BBQs. With the coolness of the cucumber and the tartness of the rice vinegar it helps break up the heavier foods. Plus since it has no mayo, it doesn't have to be refrigerated.

Asian Cucumber and Red Onion Salad

3 cucumbers
1/2 red onion
2/3 cup rice vinegar
2/3 cup simple syrup

Slice cucumbers and red onion into thin slices. I recommend using a mandoline to get them thin enough. Just watch your fingers. I don't think fingers would improve this salad.
Pour the rice vinegar and simple syrup over the cucumbers and red onion. Stir to combine. You might want it a little sweeter or a little more vinegar-y. Feel free to play with the liquid to get it right for you. I like to start off equal and add tbs of either until it's right for me.
Let salad sit for at least an hour before serving. The longer it sits the better the flavor will be.


Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Bought by Anna David

I don't know how Bought wound up on my tbr list. It's the kind of book I like to read though. A thinly veiled fiction about Hollywood and high end mistresses/call girls. Chick lit with a message. While I liked the message, the story didn't really do it for me.
Emma feels like she is stuck interviewing celebs as they enter parties and movie premiers. She became a journalist because she wanted to right hard hitting stories, not get quotes about what designer someone is wearing. While at a party, Emma meets Jessica, her ex-boyfriend's date. Emma finds out that Jessica is a girl for hire. Men pay Jessica for sex, companionship, you name it. But unlike a hooker, Jessica doesn't take cash. Jessica gets her rent paid for, new computers, high end jewelry and clothes. These gifts are Jessica's payment. Emma decides that Jessica and women like her are where her next story lies.
Honestly I had a hard time relating to Emma. I couldn't tell you much about her. If this was nonfiction and Emma was the reporter, that would be a good thing. You'd want Emma to let her subjects shine though. Since this is a novel, I wanted to understand Emma. Instead I got a characterture. Emma spends a lot of time being sad about her ex-boyfriend. Emma's angry at her married friends. Emma feels that her parents think her younger sister is better than her. Thank goodness she didn't complain about her weight because then she would have every other female in most generic chick lit. Emma had none of her own defining characteristics. Jessica on the other hand was a little bit easier to understand. She was a manipulative bitch but the kind who cries about not having female friends. I understood Jessica and kind of liked her character. She was transparent. 
Overall, I was meh on this one. The story had an interesting premise but the execution fell flat for me. Others who shared their thoughts on Bought: S. Krishna's Books, Books Are Fabulous, and Chick Lit Reads.

Awkward & Awesome Thursday

Awkward:

-Seattle's new plastic bag ban. I went to Macy's on Tuesday and bought 3 new bras. The saleswoman denied me a free small paper bag after seeing my backpack. I asked for the bag since my backpack had my leftover lunch in it and I wasn't anxious to mingle my new bras with leftover Indian food. But the saleslady insisted and almost shoved my bras into my backpack. Remember to bring own bags to Macy's. 

-A holiday in the middle of the week. Today's going to be rough.

-Ordering a hot chocolate at Jamba Juice and being told to go to Starbucks. Uh, it's on your menu. A sorry we no longer carry that item would have sufficed.

Awesome:

-Tomorrow's Friday!

-Summer has arrived in Seattle. Hello dresses!

-My free burger and drink at Red Robin on Tuesday. Yay for their loyalty club.

-JCPenney's new pricing and $4 clearance rack. Hello new clothes for cheap.

What's awesome and awkward for your week?

Library Loot

 Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader 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 wasn't planning on having any library loot this week. But I had a book to drop off at the library and I had some time to kill so I browsed the shelves. And I found some books I'm really excited about it.

A Million Suns

I was super excited to spot this one on the shelf. I really wanted to continue this series.

The Fault In Our Stars

I've heard nothing but good things about this one. 

Gone Girl

I've read both of Flynn's other books and enjoyed them. I've heard good things about this one too. 

What did you get this week?

Happy 4th of July to all my American readers.

These Is My Words by Nancy E Turner

I picked up These Is My Words after reading about it on The Sweetest Bookshelf's post on 10 books she considers the new classics. Her enthusiasm for These Is My Words along with the statement that "women everywhere should read it" made me put it on hold at the library. I have to thank Mary at The Sweetest Bookshelf for sharing about this wonderful book. I really enjoyed the story.
These Is My Words is told in diary format. At the beginning Sarah and her family are leaving their home in the New Mexico Territories and heading to San Angelo. Sarah is seventeen when the story starts and goes til she's in her late twenties. We see Sarah travel back and forth through the Arizona Territories and New Mexico Territories. The family goes through many hardships and we see Sarah grow from a child to a young woman. I could see how hard it was for folks back then. Traveling on a dusty road for months trying to get to their new homes. There was plenty of fear, fear of getting sick, running into Native Americans or bandits, fear of losing what you brought with you. But there was camaraderie among the travelers. Often people would share supplies or barter for supplies. Others would help when a child fell ill. I enjoyed the stories about Sarah's time on the road the most. Although I also enjoyed hearing about when her family settled and how they built their home.
Not only is a coming of age story but a romance as well. I enjoyed how that romance developed so I'll be vague about the gentleman in question. I enjoyed how the romance built up throughout the book. Everything took time which I appreciated. Even when Sarah turn eighteen she's still very much a child. She grows up slowly, partly due to all the traveling but also because Sarah's got a gentle soul. Sarah loves her family and does everything she can to make sure they are safe. Even though I thought of her a child for much of the book, Sarah does some unchildlike things to make sure those she loves are safe. I loved watching Sarah develop. Sarah was definitely a character that will stay with me.
If you haven't had the pleasure of reading These Is My Words, please find time to change that.  This is the first in a trilogy that I will be continuing. Others who shared their thoughts on These Is My Words: Reading for Sanity, A Book Blog. Period, and One Librarian's Book Reviews.
This was my second read for the Western Genre Challenge.

June Book Tally

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by NK Jemisin
Amulet vol 2 by Kazu Kibuishi
Threads and Flames by Esther M Friesner
Stopping by David Kundtz
Poser by Claire Dederer
The Selection by Kiera Cass
These Is My Words by Nancy E Turner (review coming this week)
Locke and Key vol 1 by Joe Hill
Locke and Key vol 2 by Joe Hill
Bought by Anna David (review coming soon)

Best month of the year with ten read this month. Tough to pick a favorite. I really did enjoy all of them this month. I'm well on my way to a 100 books of the year!

Stats:

Fill In The Gaps YTD: 0 (None this month)

War Through The Generations YTD: 2 (None this month)

The Western Genre Challenge YTD: 2 (These Is My Words)

Foodies Read 2 Challenge YTD: 5 (None this month)
Total to date: 52