Tag: Review

Boo by Rene Gutteridge

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)4 Comments

Wolfe Boone, known as “Boo”, is why Skary Indiana is even on the map.  A horror novelist who keeps pumping out the best sellers and drawing in the tourists.  The town, adores him and does everything they can to draw in the additional revenue of the tourists by playing up to the “scary” theme…. the local restaurant is called the Haunted Mansion Restaurant, famous for it’s bloody fingers (fires splattered with ketchup) and bookstore is Spooky’s Books (where employees dress like the walking dead).

There is one person in Skary however that does not adore the famous Wolfe Boone.  Ainsley Parker, daughter of the local Sheriff, is not a fan.  Ainsley works at the Haunted Mansion Restaurant and has to put up with the gory menu and the vampire teeth when she works.  Ainsley feels her town is ridiculous, all catering to one man’s awful novels.

But, when Wolfe suddenly finds faith and decided to quit writing horror novels, Ainsley finds a side to the man she never knew before.  Genuinely funny, and honest, she may even be falling for them. 

Yet the residents of Skary can have none of that!  If Wolfe stops writing the horror novels, what will happen to the tourism?  Their town?  Soon, a scheme is plotted to put the fright back into Skary–and get their most famous resident out of love and back into the thrill business.

Ok.. ok… this book (audio) was a bit funny.  But last year when Hannah at Wordlily ran a feature on the author, Rene Gutteridge.  I proceeded to read Snitch and Listen last March, and really enjoyed it and meant to get back to the author before this – but as you know… life happens… books happen…

Last week in my library as I browsed the audio section, I came across the Boo series.  Remembering my experience with Rene Gutteridge in the past, I quickly grabbed this first audio.

Listening to Boo, was a great choice.  A funny story, great narration, and all around a great break from heavier, deeper reads. 

Ok… and a confession.  When I would picture the Ainsley dating discussions with her over protective father the sheriff… I could not help but picture Bella and Charlie from the Twilight series over there discussion about Edward… errr, in this case…. Wolfe. 

This could just as easily be a picture of Wolfe, Sheriff Parker, and Ainlsley instead of Edward, Charlie, and Bella.

If you are looking for a light hearted fun audio, I recommend Rene Gutteridge’s Boo series… great characters and a narration that will have you smiling… all through the audio.

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

Loaned from my local library

Folly Beach by Dorothea Benton Frank

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)39 Comments

Cate Cooper has had quite the year.  She had built up quite a life with her husband of twenty-six years, Addison Cooper.  And what a whirlwind it had been, an insane love for each other in the beginning… and then it all began to unravel.

As Cate stood over Addison’s casket, she had to wonder where it all went wrong…

Life can be funny that way, as Cate soon finds out that Addison’s death is only the beginning of surprises for her.  Quickly (really minutes) after the funeral Cate discovers that Addison was not at all who she thought he was.  Within 48 hours… she is out of the home she had grown to love, and finds herself heading back to Folly Beach, the place of her childhood, looking for scraps she can accumulate into a new life.

But Folly Beach is not only the place where Cate grew up… it is also the memories of another woman from another life time… memories of a marriage that was like a symphony, the Heyward’s spirit lives on within the breezes of Folly Beach.

Can Cate go home again and start anew?

Folly Beach, South Carolina

Take it from someone who did return to her childhood home, yes, you can go home again. Folly Beach took me a bit by surprise.  I was expecting it to be a good story, I wasn’t expecting some of the great humor!

“Everything was a sheet of ice, the temperature around 20.  It was only by God’s holy grace that we had all managed to make it to the cemetery without flying off the highway and into a ditch.  I was pretty sure the ditches were filled with mangled bodies.”

And that’s just in the early pages, as Cate’s story unfolds it is not only one of a backdrop of historical (?) fiction, a little romance in the mix and a lot of family drama too… it is also one of finding your own fit in this world.  I enjoyed going along with Cate as she did just that.

The reason I question the historical fiction above is that while the scenes in the book referring to the Heywards may be fiction, the Heyward’s were not.  Dorothy Kuhns Heyward and her husband Dubose Heyward were real people and real playrights.  Dorothy was also a novelist and assisted her husband in turning his novel Porgy, based on Negro life on the waterfront of Charleston, South Carolina, into a play.

Truly fascinating to see them woven into this book.

As I write this review I sit at the antique round kitchen table that was my mother’s. If you lean on it, you will find it to be not quite level, but as far as I am concerned, no other table will grace my home. It connects me to her. 

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

You can find Dorothy Benton Frank at website: www.dotfrank.com, and she’s also on Facebook.

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

I received this book as part of the TLC Book Tour

Also – I happen to have an extra copy of this book and would love to give it to one of my readers!  Please leave a comment here letting me know where you would like to escape for a time of relaxation and renewal?

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)46 Comments

In this later world society (what was once known as Chicago), when one turns sixteen years of age there is an annual Choosing Day where each teen will choose one of five factions in which they will devote their lives.  These factions are:

DAUNTLESS:(the brave) fearless, undaunted.  Undaunted: courageously resolute, especially in the face of danger or difficulty; not discouraged.

 

ABNEGATION: (the selfless) 1. to refuse or deny oneself (some rights, conveniences, etc.); reject; renounce. 2. to relinquish; give up
ERUDITE: (the intelligent) characterized by great knowledge; learned or scholarly.  The word “erudite” focuses on knowledge rather than intelligence– intelligence being something you’re born with, and can’t necessarily control, and knowledge being something that you acquire.

CANDOR: (the honest) 1. the state or quality of being frank, open, and sincere in speech or expression; candidness.

2. freedom from bias; fairness; impartiality.

AMITY: (the peaceful)  1. friendship; peaceful harmony.  2. mutual understanding and a peaceful relationship, especially between nations; peace; accord.  3. cordiality

and the one that no one is supposed to talk about (like “He who shall not be named in the Harry Potter Series…)

 

DIVERGENT: 1. diverging; differing; deviating.  2. pertaining to or causing divergence.  3. (of a mathematical expression) having no finite limits  Diverge: 1. to move, lie, or extend in different directions from a common point; branch off.  2. to differ in opinion, character, form, etc.; deviate.  3. Mathematics . (of a sequence, series, etc.) to have no unique limit; to have infinity as a limit.  4. to turn aside or deviate, as from a path, practice, or plan.

 

A teen may choose to stay in the faction they were born into… or after a series of tests may find that they are better suited for a different faction.  The point of the factions is form a “perfectly balanced” society… all working in their areas for the greater good.

Hopefully you are still with me…

When Beatrice Prior goes to her Choosing Day, she has every intention of staying in her families faction and continuing on with the life she has always known… but when it comes time to make the choice…

she chooses differently.

Beatrice (Tris) now finds herself in a world she really does not know, instead of the one of peace and meekness that she is used to, suddenly he is being trained to be a fighter, learning to fend for herself and doing surprisingly well with it.  Of course, she makes a few friends as well as a few enemies along the way.  And inside holds a secret that not only gives her an edge, but could also destroy everything.

The 2nd book, Insurgent is due out May 1, 2012

Every year I like to pick a book I really have been wanting to read for a while for my first book of the year.  It’s a quirky tradition but one I enjoy!  This year, I had it narrowed down to three books, and I made my final decision on New Years Eve…

Divergent.

I chose well. 😀

Divergent was everything I love in a great read… a fast start to the book, amazing characters, a captivating story line, fresh and new topics, and a satisfying ending.

 I picked this one up in the early morning hours of January 1 and finished around 11 pm that night.  I did little more than read all day.  It was BLISS.

Divergent falls into the dystopia genre that I have really come to enjoy.  I have no idea the attraction other than I think I really enjoy reading about survival more.  In all of these books, survival is the goal… food usually a luxury, housing is not what we have today, and the evil of this new world seems to be every where….

In Divergent’s case the evil is within the division of the people in the first place.  The segregation is very real…. once a teen has chosen their faction, if it is other than their home one, they will leave their family immediately and start a new way of living.  Communications between factions is frowned upon, each looking at the other as weak, or the enemy – seriously it is mind boggling.

I think what amazes me most about a read like this is that it is all fiction.  Author Veronica Roth has taken a world and divided it, making up rules, and people, and diseases, and manipulation…. and I love that it is all new, not done before. 

It’s hard to put Divergent into words other than to say it blew me away.  I will be anxiously awaiting the opportunity to purchase the second in the series, Insurgent, which is due out May 1. 

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Rating

I purchased this book from Amazon

The Dead and The Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)14 Comments

 

When 17 year old Alex Morales knows life has changed forever, he was working at Joey’s Pizza.  His major concerns at the time was getting elected for senior class president and keeping his grades up to get into the college of his choice.  His family owned an apartment complex and along with his two younger sisters, Alex lived there with his mom and dad.

Who knew that an asteroid would hit the moon knocking it closer to the earth and causing life as he knew it to change forever.  His father who was away at his grandmothers funeral never returns home.  His mother who was working at the hospital is not heard from either.  Suddenly Alex is fighting for the survival of himself and his sisters in what fast turns Manhattan into a deadly wasteland.

Alex tries to hold it together and make the best choices while he waits hopefully, for one of his parents to return…. but time keeps on going by and life… is not getting any easier.

 

This follow-up book to Life As We Knew It is told during the same time frame as Miranda’s story was.  The difference is Miranda was in Pennsylvania when the meteor hit, and Alex was in New York.  By reading this story you find that New York, was much worse.

A much darker tale of the human need for survival, Alex’s story is haunting.  New York is in a panic.  While Alex has food in the apartment, it quickly runs out.  No stock piling from grocery stores happened like it did in Miranda’s story.  Alex instead finds food by checking the abandoned apartments, and eventually doing a little something he calls “body hunting” with his friend Kevin where they find the fresh dead (sorry, but there it is) and take anything of value from them… shoes, jewelry, clothing, wallets… to barter for food. 

Alex’s sisters are younger, Julie is extremely needy and panicky, Bri has health issues and needs a lot of attention.

While this can leave a gruesome image (and did), I had to think what would life be like if we only had ourselves to count on.  All outside sources as gone – no stores, no hospital…Life As We Knew It and I applaud Susan Beth Pfeffer’s vision to recreate the story but this time, there are no parents to turn too, and this is not a safe community.Alex and his family have a strong Catholic faith which wavers throughout the book – but never is set aside, not even in the worst of times.

If you enjoy Dystopia, this is a series you much check out.

 

I listened to this on audio checked out from my local library

The Black Shard by Victoria Simcox with a SIGNED giveaway!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

As if Summer for a girl without many friends is not hard enough, Kristina’s parents are thrilled when Hester’s parents invite Kristina along to spend time at their horse camp.  Yes, Kristina adores horses… but everyone seems to not be getting the clue to is that Kristina and Hester pretty much loathe each other.

When a cruel prank goes wrong… Kristina finds that somehow she has found her way back to Bernovem, the magic land she has experienced before but was beginning to think that perhaps it had all been a dream.  Her friend, Prince Werrian is there to take her hand and show her around and when a chance to sail with Werrian to his homeland of Tezeral, Kristina thinks maybe this summer will not be so bad after all…

 

 

It has been over two years since I read The Magic Warble, the first book in this series.  I remember I was excited by Victoria Simcox’s writing and enjoyed her book very much.  When Victoria contacted me to read this second book I immediately said yes. 

There are several things I like about this book.  One is that immediately I get a sense of Narnia.  What I mean is I get that “other world” experience as Kristina and Werrian connect again to share an adventure.  Werrian is very “Prince Caspianish” and that.. is a good thing.  😀  I also enjoyed the story behind the Black Shard, a mysterious stone that gives off images of things happening in other places… And of course I am a sucker for the talking horses, mice, dogs and more that make this an overall delight to read. 

When I finally did get the time to sit down and read this book in the midst of the busy season, I only meant to read a little of the book.  What actually happened?  I sat down and read it from beginning to end in one sitting… finding no place safe in the book to stop reading as something was always happening ad I had to know why…

Why was Kristina constantly feeling ill?

Why was Hester so mean ALL THE TIME?

What was going to happen once they arrive in Tezerel?

WHAT is up with that crabby gnome Elzwur???

If you were ever a fan of Narnia, these books will take you back.  Be warned… I believe there is another book (there must be!) coming.  In the end – all is not resolved and while it was a fulfilling read… I find myself wondering excitedly what will happen next.

Author Victoria Simcox has graciously offered a signed copy of The Black Shard to be given to one of my readers!  Leave a comment here and you will be entered into the giveaway.  I will choose a winner later this week.

Amazon Rating

Goodreads review

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading map has been updated to include The Black Shard

 

I received this book from the author

The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman (and giveaway!)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)36 Comments

As per a well designed tradition, Marnie looks forward to the annual Christmas Cookie exchange with eleven of her dearest friends.  The first Monday of December, every year… the ladies gather, coming from near and far with thirteen dozen cookies in cute containers… one dozen for each of the ladies in the group and an additional dozen to be given to a local nursing home, children’s group, or homeless program.  Besides cookies they are to bring an appetizer to share and a bottle of wine.

Oh and there are a few rules….

  1. No Chocolate Chip cookies… one year 5 people brought them
  2. No bars, they stick to each other and crumble
  3. No paper plates covered in Saran wrap and bows.  Try carrying 12 paper plates filled with cookies.
  4. No more than twelve women in the group
  5. You can’t miss a year, if you can’t come, send your cookies or you forfeit your place.  There are women waiting to get into the group
  6. It’s always the first Monday in December.  Put it on your calendar.
  7. Bring a copy of your recipe for each person.

As each lady passes her cookies, as per tradition, they are to share the story behind the cookie. Is it traditional?  Where did it originate from?  Why this cookie? 

And each year, more that cookie stories are shared as the evening moves on, there is laughter and tears, glorious triumphs over sickness, and heartbreaking confessions of loss and struggles.  The Christmas Cookie Club is more than the sugary residue of cookies and scents of gingerbread… it is the bonding of friends through all else. 

It’s no secret that I am not a fan of Christmas books.  Mainly too fluffy, too over the top perfect, I am left with a sugary after taste that is not appealing.  Yet, I am still drawn to covers and titles… and this one had me at both. 😀

Still… I entered this book cautiously reserving the right to stop reading if after a few pages I decided it wasn’t for me.  And then I entered Marnie’s world… seeing a man she was hoping may be permanent, having two daughters – Sky who has tried and tried to have a baby and time after time the baby would not make it to term and today Sky would get news from the doctor about her current pregnancy.  And then there is Tara, her daughter who became pregnant at 18, rebellious and young, jet black hair with blue chunks foiled in and due soon… not wanting to get married as that is soooo outdated, and seriously, what does that ensure anyway?  Divorced due to a cheating husband,  Marnie couldn’t argue with that…

Each chapter starts with a cookie recipe and then the story of one of the women, the one bringing that cookie.  AND (also cool) the chapter end with the history of one of the spices in that said cookie, and that was interesting too.

I was actually quite impressed with the Christmas book.  It was a nice read and not too overly sweet and neat and all tied with a bow.  Lives are messy, and in Ann Pearlman’s book she reminds us that we all come with baggage…. broken people like a broken cookie…. are still a delicious treat to be with!  😀

I wish I would have started this book two months ago… then I would have had time to create my own Christmas Cookie Club.  I love the idea of friends gathering over food, friendship, eats and wine.  I love that each woman takes a turn to share the story of the cookie, but there is also conversations, and catching up.  The whole thing… is awesome.

I am giving my copy of this book away!  To enter this giveaway leave a comment here telling me your favorite cookie of the season.  😀  I will announce the winner Sunday morning and send the book as soon as I have the winners address.

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include The Christmas Cookie Club

I purchased this book from our local library book sale

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (AUDIO LOVE!)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)19 Comments

I am hoping that you all have experienced this fictional GREATNESS by now so my telling you about it would be a total waste of my time and yours…

but…

in the event that you have just entered to the planet earth after orbiting for the last few years I give you this:

Welcome to the Nation of Panem, the world after the final world war and now what is left is a world broke into twelve districts.  Panem is a hard place to live, food is minimum, and each year a teenage boy and a teenage girl from each district is chosen to enter the Hunger Games… a televised arena (think Super bowl audience) of a fight to the death. Only one may stand as winner of the Hunger Games.

16-year-old Katniss Everdeen is the sole provider for her mother and young sister Primrose.  They live in district 12 and this years Hunger Games are about to be announced.  As district Twelve gathers to hear who will be chosen this year, the girl’s name is announced: “Primrose Everdeen.”  Katniss feels her mind go blank as she watches her little sister, first year to have her name in the Games, and does what she knows she must do…

steps in place of her sister.

I read this book two years ago, even thought the synopsis freaked me out a bit.  Kids fighting to the death?  But the blogs were raving and I went in to the read cautiously… and never looked back. 

Now, this coming March 2012 The Hunger Games will be a movie!  (Insert SSSQQQUUUEEEEEE here 😛 )  and in honor of that, I thought it was time to explore Panem again, but this time around in audio.  narrated by a fantastic Carolyn McCormick, it did not take me long to get back into the rhythm of the Hunger Games.  In fact, while baking most of the afternoon and evening on Tuesday I listened to almost the whole audio in one listen!  (It really was a lot of baking…)

It was nice to revisit this book and if you have not experienced this yet I recommend you take some time before the movie release and do so!  Here is a little movie clip to get you motivated:

I purchased this audio from audible.com

Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe (Two Thumbs Up!)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)19 Comments

 

 

At age 15, Rob Lowe found himself as one of the first teen idols at a time when actors under the age of 20 were not a big deal.  Young and naive Rob learned the hard way about life as a star and struggled through many movies in his early career days such as starting with a couple after school specials, then onto The Outsiders, Class, ST Elmo’s Fire, Young Blood, Masquerade, About Last Night, Wayne’s World, Tommy Boy, The West Wing, and Brothers and Sisters just to name a few.

Rob’s story is multi layered as he opens up Pandora’s box and shares the excitement of the first big break, to the pain of poor choices, bad publicity, and then finally… finding himself among the wreckage and pulling himself out. 

The cover shoot of controversy - right before John Kennedys death

 

I came into knowing Rob in the mid 80’s.  I would say if you were to ask me what he is known for I would immediately gush out something like “St. Elmo’s Fire!”  (I don’t think I have ever even seen The Outsiders.)  Basically, no, I was not a groupie. 😀

When this book came out I confess mild interest… I had heard through the years of his struggles with alcohol, but nothing that made me run out and grab the book.  Then when I seen the audio was narrated by Rob, I was a little more interested, and finally went ahead and picked it up.

 

Here is what I expected from this audio:

Tales of a child star, movies and tv show connections, crashing and burning at an early age, how he pulled himself together, and a little info about his current life.

 

I did not expect:

Connections to powerful people at a very young age, long before he made a name for himself, painful revelations into his early acting career, behind the scenes play by plays to such movies as The Outsiders where most of Rob’s parts never make it to the screen, a loss of many friends to drugs at a young age, an incredibly life shattering experience and connection tot he events of 9-11, and a couple times where I just openly wept as I listened.

 

Never sounding braggy, or conceited, in a very calm and amazing narration, Rob Lowe shares the stories of his career.  The early days of hanging out with the likes of Shawn and Chris Penn, Charlie Sheen and Emelio Estevez, this was his original brat pack. 

His early childhood was one of hardships, parents were divorced by age 5, and his mom struggled with mental health issues…yet Rob finds himself in amazing situations!   Once while doing a little theater he encounters a heart to heart talk with Liza Minneli and another time has a conversation with Tally Savalis.

While this may all sound like yeah, yeah, yeah…. stuff, when Rob gets into talking about the auditions surrounding the well known movie The Outsiders, you really feel for him.  In great detail you hear about the painstaking readings of any part at random.  How he struggled and eventually succeeded to get the part of Pony Boy, only to be shocked when he is not invited to a big pre screening and again when the movie is finally on the big screen and much of what he has done is cut out.

And Rob talks about death.  It seemed to be all around him even at a young age.  He names friends who overdosed, others – suicide.  As Robb listed name after name I was amazed, and this follows him all the way through his life.  At one point he talks about shooting for the cover of George Magazine, the magazine ran by his friend John Kennedy, after Rob had completed the shoot, John, his wife, and sister-in-law were on their way to connect with Rob when their plane went down… the rest… is history.

And story after story is like this.  Through his struggles with addiction and eventually rehab, to scandals that cost him much, Rob is never finger-pointing, never accusatory.  Instead, he is … humble.  He is quick to accept his blame.

At times I laughed,  Rob does a funny impression on Chris Farley (shoot, he does many great voices!) eating pieces of steak with butter on it, and at times I cried, when once again Rob shares the loss of yet another actor.

I can’t tell you how much this audio this moved me.  I had no big crush on Rob as a teenager, if anything… I found him a little too pretty.  I listened to this audio, myself being an outsider, I looked in to a soul that made me look around the room and wonder why I had not gathered friends to listen to this with me.  This is an audio I want to share.  It may very well be the best audio memoir I have listened to this year.

If you were a fan – or not, I HIGHLY recommend you treat yourself to this audio.  Days after finishing it, I am still moved. 

 

I picked this up from audible.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maman’s Homesick Pie by Donia Bijan

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments

Donia Bijan grew up in a family that appreciated good food.  Food to her was a language all of its own, it was used to celebrate as well as substantiate, is was used in times of great joy, and n times of sorrow.  Growing up in Iran, Donia was surrounded by foods that were a part of her families life… loaves of bread were sliced in thick slabs and covered in fine cheeses and tomatoes, roasted duck, leg of lamb, homemade jams and fresh brewed teas were a breakfast staple.  Her father, a doctor, would not have his family wasting money on foods they could buy on the streets when they could make their own mouthwatering delicacies better than any thing purchased.  Her mother a nurse, would share her time between her family, the kitchen, and the hospital.  Many childhood memories were in that kitchen as vegetables were cut for thick stews, and batters stirred for mouth watering baked goods.

Then in 1978 when the Islamic revolution threatened their safety, Donia’s family fled to California, where the food of then and now formed a bridge to the life they had left behind.  Donia grew into a love for creating foods that created togetherness, and to her fathers disappointment (he wanted her to go into medicine) yet her mothers unending support, Donia took the steps needed to become the award winning chef she is today.

From the Persian world of her youth, to her new life in America this book walks up through Donia’s time at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris to apprenticeships in France’s three star kitchens, back to San Francisco where she opened her own now famous bistro. 

Recipes I made this afternoon... Orange Cardamom Cookies and the Persian cardamom Tea

My review for Weekend Cooking hosted over at Beth Fish Reads:

For a girl who does not really like to cook, I sure do read a lot of cooking related books.  😀  Honestly that baffles me a bit too… but as I type this and really think about it, I am mesmerized by those who can cook…those who can take a table full of ingredients and create a master piece. 

I don’t think it is so much that I do not like cooking, as I have yet to find the patience it takes to do it right. 

From the moment I laid eyes on this book I knew I wanted to read it.  It sounded like the just the type of story I enjoy reading.  Donia family brings to the table a memoir of family and traditions, and foods that would make the strongest of readers salivate page to page.

Along side Donia’s story of growing up surrounded by an appreciation for fresh foods, and wholesome meals, she leaves us with trails of recipes sprinkled throughout the pages.  While some looked delicious but I felt I was not skilled enough to put it to the test, others sounded down right doable, and I put my basic skills to the test today of placing ingredients together to make the delectable  Orange Cardamom Cookies along side the Persian Cardamom Tea…

the results were delicious.  I think I now know what is going into my Christmas goody bags…. 😀

Donia’s story is an incredible journey that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a wonderful memoir filled with a family that feels like you are sitting at their glorious table.

Orange Cardamom Cookies

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

grated zest of 2 oranges

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1 Tablespoon poppy seeds

Beat butter in a bow with an electric mixer until it whitens.  Add the sugar and blend well.  Add teh egg yolk and orange zest.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt, cardamom, and poppy seeds.  Once mixed, add to the butter mixture and mix until a dough like consistency. 

Form the dough into two logs, roll in waxed paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Using a sharp knife, cut the chilled dough into 1/2 inch rounds and place on cookie sheet 1 inch apart.  Bake 12 – 15 minutes until edges of cookie are golden brown.  This dough will keep well in the freezer up to 3 weeks.

 

Persian Cardamom Tea

Bring kettle to a boil.  Swirl some of the boiling water into teapot to warm it then dump water back into kettel.  Measure 2 heaping teaspoons of Earl Grey tea leaves and 1 crushed pod of cardamom and place in tea pot.  Add the boiling water to pot and let steep for ten minutes.

Pour a cup of tea and then pour tea pack into tea pot to to warm cup and to make sure color is even.

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include Mamans’ Homesick Pie

I received this book as part of the Linus’s Blanket

and Devourer of Books Book Club

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)30 Comments

Imagine…

If one day you and your family are outside your home ready to witness a significant event… a meteor about to hit the moon.  You are all excited as thought you are going to witness an eclipse, but then… when the meteor does hit, the moon is pushed closer to the earth. 

Suddenly… people are in a panic, due to the moons pull, tidal waves start taking out cities near the coast, earthquakes and intense storm patterns make up the days and the nights.  Electricity is on again off again and the grocery stores have been cleared out and closed.  What is left of the gas is now $9 a gallon and nothing is open anymore – not even McDonald’s.

Life as we knew it…

is no more.

This is what happens to Miranda, her two brothers, and her mother when the meteor hits the moon.  Suddenly the most important resource of all…

is hope.

 

 

Ok… so funny story.  About a year ago my friend Amy and I were driving to my cabin up North.  On the way Amy started talking excitedly about this book… “It was so real,” she says excitedly, “everything comes to a stop… no longer did the world have use of computers, cars stopped along the roads, stores closed – basically the world comes to a screeching halt!”

I agreed, it did sound like a fascinating book and had been in the back burner of my mind ever since that conversation. 

When I started reading Life As We Knew It I knew what she meant… all a little too real, and I had the second and third books in hand ready to go on to them.  Upon seeing Amy recently I told her, “I am finally getting into that book, Life As We Knew It, that you recommended so long ago to me.  I am loving it, why did I wait so.   long?”

“What was it called?” she asked, looking confused.

“Life As We Knew It,” I replied, “you know the one you recommended to me about a year ago while we were going to the cabin.”

Amy thought for a moment.  “Oh, you must mean One Second After.  That’s the one I read about all the computers and everything stopping and sending the world back into the dark ages.  I have never read Life As We Knew It.”

Me:  “oh.”

LOL

SO anyway, I read the wrong book – for the right reasons and I have to say it was a wonderful read. 

Life As We Knew It is all to real.  When the meteor knocked the moon closer to the earth causing all these repercussions (tidal waves, earth quakes, volcanic eruptions, and of course, wide-spread panic) I could imagine all to easily that happenings. 

Grocery stores quickly empty, vandalism becomes huge, and as days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months, people are afraid to leave their home.  If you are lucky enough to have a wood stove – AND lucky enough to have fire wood, that wood is kept inside your home.  Rooms are blocked off to conserve heat in one main area and food is rationed to the point of days of fasting and choosing which one meal you want a day – breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

In a world of overabundance, where I almost daily stop by a store to pick up something I need to make dinner, run into a gas station for a diet Dr Pepper, or Twizzlers, and occasionally have to hit the local book store for that “must read”, the idea is down right frightening. 

Looking around my own home I wonder how long I would last with the canned goods in the cupboard, blocking off our windows with sheets of plywood so people could not see in at what we have…

Life As We Knew It is written wisely from 16 year old Miranda’s point.  I think a book like this being written from the point of view of a young adult is wise because while obviously the situation is unbelievably hard, the voice of Miranda keeps it from being too heavy.  She of course, mourns her dreams of dating, loss of school friends, and the swim team. 

The book is very realistic as this family goes through the “what if’s”, as things seem to go from bad to worse, food becomes low, electricity is a thing of the past, there is fear of running out of firewood to keep the house warm, and then… the well runs dry… no more water.

I am currently listening to the second in the trilogy, The Dead And The Gone on audio.  Interestingly enough it is being told from the exact same time frame, but this time it is told from a teenage boys perspective in New York, where Miranda is in Philadelphia.

And uh yes, at some point I guess I do need to read One Second After 😛


In closing, I want to leave with you with this song.  I love the song anyway, but now find it very fitting for this book:


The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading map has been updated to include Life As We Knew It

I purchased this book from Barnes and Noble