Review: 50 Great Appetizers by Pamela Sheldon Johns

I have to confess a secret: I've never reviewed a cookbook before, and I'm not really sure how to do it. This book was sent to me through LibraryThing Early Reviewers and the publisher, Andrews McMeel. The physical book is gorgeous. It is separated into four sections of appetizers: Topped & Dipped, Grilled & Skewered, Stuffed & Rolled, and Plated & Sauced. Each section features many full-color photos of the appetizers described. The book also contains tips for preparing for a party, several sample menus for themed get-togethers, and helpful prep tips for making these treats.

There are many of the recipes I'd like to try, when I get a little extra money in my pocket and have a chance to entertain again: Marinated Mushrooms; Papaya-Avocado Salsa; Tea-Smoked Chicken Wings; Mozzarella, Basil & Cherry Tomato Skewers; Grilled Scallops Wrapped in Pancetta; Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Crumbled Stilton; Fried Spring Rolls; and Orange-Broccoli Salad. The only quibble I had with the book is that most of the foods are a tad...pretentious? Fancy? I don't know what word to use. They're quite a bit more upper-crust than my taste and my friends' tastes tend to be. We're potato skins and chicken wings people, and these recipes are for a bit more elegant a palate. However, as I noted, several of the recipes sound delicious, so I'm sure I'll find a way to sneak them in amongst the hot wings and spinach-artichoke dip at our next party.

Overall, three out of five Whatevers. A good, solid array of appetizers to try out, if they are a bit on the haughty side.

It Never Ends

Well, despite being about 10 days from the end of the year, the trials and tribulations of 2009 have not ended. Last Thursday, my husband and I decided to go out to dinner, to celebrate our last dinner-time alone together before I leave for the holidays. Even though it was raining, we decided to go anyway. I mean, this is Florida...it rains all the time! While we were inside eating dinner, about a foot of rain was dumped directly on us. When we finished and went to get the car, there was about three inches of standing water inside it. Panicked and just trying to get us HOME, I drove through a large puddle in the parking lot. And my car quit running. My beautiful, barely-two-year-old car is most likely dead. I've calmed down some since Friday morning, when I was in absolute hysterics. But I'm still worried. What if we're not covered? If we are, things are fine. We have gap insurance, which will cover the difference between what we owe on the car and what it's worth. I'm just worried that the flash flooding and/or puddle driving accident are not covered losses. Then we would be SCREWED. We can't afford to take on an additional car payment, while still paying off a car we don't even own anymore. We don't have enough in savings to outright purchase a used vehicle. This year has been terrible finance-wise, what with the wedding and moving. Add to that the need to purchase a new car, which we weren't expecting to have to do for another year or so? I just don't see how we can do it. I AM taking on a second job (teaching an online class for the local college), and we'll have Ricky's bank loan paid off in February, and our friends have been WONDERFUL, offering the loan of an "extra" car that they have if we need it...but...I'm just SO ready for 2010. There's no way it can be as stressful as 2009.

I'm heading up north to my parents' house in a few hours. They have dial-up, so I probably won't be around for the next ten days or so. I did get a new book from LibraryThing, and I finished Now It's My Turn, but I'll deal with all that when I get back from the holidays. You all have a wonderful holiday yourselves! See y'all in 2010!

Mailbox Monday

It's been a while since I've had anything to report on Mailbox Monday. But this past week, I received another review book from LibraryThing. Moonlight in Odessa has me very excited to read it. I received a gorgeous hardcover from Bloomsbury...unfortunately, there are quite a few review books in line in front of it. The story takes place in the Ukraine and involves plot points like quid pro quo sexual harassment (i.e., sleep with me and you'll get promoted), matchmaking services, and a decision to follow one's heart or choose the safe route. Sounds like a winner!

Sometimes We're Always Real Same-Same by Mattox Roesch

FINALLY! A review book I actually LIKED! I've felt kind of bad that the last two LibraryThing Early Reviewer books that I reviewed got lukewarm responses from me. I even considered leaving the program, since I didn't like the books I was receiving. However, then I received my copy of Sometimes We're Always Real Same-Same by Mattox Roesch. And, despite my other obligations, I couldn't put it down.

The book tells the story of Cesar, an LA kid who had gotten into gangs through his older brother Wicho. Wicho was now in prison for life for killing two teenagers. Cesar's mom decides enough is enough and she moves Cesar away from the gangbanging LA life that he's known to the remote Alaskan village of Unalakleet, where she grew up.

Cesar has to adjust to not only a new place to live, but a new way of life. Village life is almost the polar opposite of his life in LA. He gets to know his cousin, Go-Boy, and his adopted cousin, Kiana, with whom he pursues a relationship. Tragedy strikes, fairly early on in the book, and Go-Boy's mental illness becomes apparent. Cesar has to learn how to deal with that, as well as continuing to adjust to Alaskan life. Will Go-Boy's "good conspiracy" come to pass? Will Cesar stay in Unalakleet or go back to LA?

I realized, partway through the book, that I had read Mattox Roesch's short story "Humpies," upon which the book is partially based, in last year's Best American Non-Required Reading. And I was glad to get the chance to revisit the story, get the FULL story, of Cesar and Go-Boy. I think Roesch did a great job with the voice of the novel. He captured the Native voice well, along with Cesar's bewilderment at being trapped somewhere between the Native and the modern.

I thought a lot about Wicho, Cesar's brother, in prison for life for shooting and killing two kids, and Go-Boy, Cesar's cousin, with his "good conspiracy" and his efforts to see and bring out the best in everyone. I think they were good foils for one another, two opposite ends of the spectrum, each encouraging Cesar which way to go, in a sort of spiritual tug-of-war. They were each an older brother of sorts to Cesar. I liked the conflict they created.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed this book, more than I even expected to when I first read the description. Four out five Whatevers. Recommended for those who want some exposure to the frozen North.

Mailbox Monday

Well, it's once again time to list our new arrivals for the week. I haven't participated in a while, what with the move and everything being so crazy around here, but I'm trying to get back to regular posting.

I received three books this week. One I've already posted about, an advanced readers' edition of Sometimes We're Always Real Same-Same by Mattox Roesch, received from Unbridled Books by way of LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. I'm going to be part of a blog tour for the book in September, so stay tuned!

From BookMooch, I received the first two Mrs. Murphy mysteries. A cat solving mysteries with her owner's help...sounds perfect for me!!! I thought it was a tad cute for my tastes at first, but I've seen multiple reviews posted around the internet that seem to indicate that I needn't worry. Ah well, I got a good deal (um, free) on the books, so if I decide I don't like them, they can always be re-Mooched.

That's it for me this Mailbox Monday. What did you get in your mailbox this week?

My First Blog Tour!

I'm excited to be a part of my very first (and hopefully not last) blog tour, starting in September. I received Mattox Roesch's Sometimes We're Always Real Same-Same from LibraryThing and Rachel at Unbridled Books. You may have seen some of their other titles around the blogosphere: In Hovering Flight, Shimmer, and Last Night in Montreal are a few titles I recognized. ANYWAY...I agreed to do a special blog tour review of the book for publication on my blog in September. Which means I need to get off my duff and start reading!!! This is very exciting for me, as I've never participated (or even been ASKED to participate) in a blog tour before. I am looking forward to reading Roesch's story of a transplanted Los Angeles gangbanger and his adventures in what sounds like a Northern Exposure-esque small Alaskan town. I hope the book lives up to what sounds like a promising premise!

Can't...Stop....POSTING!

Okay, the Read-a-Thon is officially over, I've had more hits on my blog than ever before, and I've read and blogged my little heart out, but there are a couple of loose, book-related ends that I still need to catch up on.

First of all, I have been negligent when it comes to Mailbox Mondays. For a few weeks I wasn't getting anything, but last week I did get a Mooched book that I didn't mention. I Mooched and received Andre Norton's No Night Without Stars. This is some serious sci-fi right here. I haven't read much sci-fi, but that's something I'm looking to remedy.

Also, last week I received, via LibraryThing (too tired to put in links...Google it, if you don't already have it bookmarked), Richard Currey's Fatal Light, a story about Currey's experiences in the Vietnam War. Not sure if it's more memoir, or just based on his time there, but this is a newly reissued printing on the book's twentieth anniversary. LibraryThing has been sending me a lot of war books lately...wonder why. These things seem to go in cycles, though. For a while it was cookbooks, then books about the Jewish experience during the Holocaust. So, to LibraryThing, I'm a cooking, Jewish war fanatic? HA!


Finally, while reading through my new Bookmarks magazine, I came across a book that I've never heard of and am strangely fascinated by: Amberville by Tim Davys. It's rare that I peruse the pages of Bookmarks without having heard at least some buzz on my friends' blogs about a novel as innovative and, let's face it, downright strange-sounding as this one. Amberville is, and I am not kidding you about this, a teddy bear noir mystery. Yes, you heard me right...TEDDY BEAR NOIR. It is quite possibly the weirdest genre I've ever heard of and I WANT TO READ IT. I think I'm going to have to put everything on hold and go to the library to see if I can find this book.


Have any of you read it yet? Has anyone even HEARD of it? It's getting pretty good reviews. Let me know if you know anything else about it, including who the mysterious Tim Davys might be.

Edited to Add: Damn! My library doesn't have it! Guess I'll just have to keep a weather eye out for it. Oh, and Harper Collins? If you want to send me a copy? I'll drop everything to read and review it.

Recently Received

From Heather, at The Library Ladder, the first of the Night Watch trilogy...can't wait to get a chance to start in on these!

Also, from Random House and LibraryThing, Loon by Jack McLean. Another book on the for-review pile!

Sorry I've been away so much. It's been a long couple of weeks. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back into the swing of things this weekend...

Mailbox Tuesday?

Well, today is my Monday, since I was off work yesterday. And I forgot to post my Mailbox Monday then, so I'm posting it now...

Coming in to my house this week were two LibraryThing acquisitions. I was awarded a bound galley of Ivan G. Goldman's The Barfighter from the folks at The Permanent Press. About all I know of it is that it's the story of a boxer...doing something. The flap copy is not really very clear. But it sounded like something outside of my normal reading sphere, and, since I'm always looking to expand my horizons, I thought I'd check it out.

The super awesomely awesome part is that The Permanent Press ALSO sent me a bound galley of another new novel, The Disappearance, which is another of the "missing child" genre that Wendy posted about at CaribousMom the other day. So now I have two for the price of one review books to check out. Which are going on my shelf, and I will get to them soon, I hope.

What books joined your library this week?

Mailbox Monday!

Only one lovely book to report this week (we're trying to save money). Through the lovely folks at McBooks Press and LibraryThing, I received a copy of The Jewish Princess Cookbook. Now, I am neither Jewish nor a princess (although the Fiance' might disagree on that second point), but I do LOOOOOVE to cook. Trying new recipes is one of my favorite things. This cookbook looks so cute that I can't wait to try something out of it...something that my Kosher friends can eat too!

Hour 4 Update and a Review

Title of book(s) read since last update: FINALLY finished The Empress of Weehawken
Number of books read since you started: 1
Pages read since last update: 25
Running total of pages read since you started: 113
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1 hour
Running total of time spent reading since you started: (keep track of this one to be eligible for a prize!) 3 hours
Mini-challenges completed: Still just one
Other participants you’ve visited: Jessi, Dewey, Iliana, Angela
Prize you’ve won: None yet...

But I forgot to say that the other day I DID win a copy of Joshua Henkin's Matrimony from Megan at Leafing Through Life!!! I'm so excited, since I've been trying to snag a copy of this book for ages.

Okay, so. This book. It was sent to me by the publisher, Picador, through LibraryThing. A couple of months ago. I don't feel SO bad, since it was already released in the U.S. before I even received it, but here, finally is my review.

Overall, I have to say I'm ambivalent about this book. I didn't HATE it, but I didn't LOVE it, either. It was an interesting read, once I got into it, but there was nothing about it that drove me to seek it out. It was a solid 3 out of 5.

The story is narrated by Elisabeth Rother, wife of Dr. Carl Rother, a Jewish convert to Catholicism. It starts during the years just prior to World War II. The book is fiction, but the narrator does have a granddaughter with the same name as the book's author...hmmm.

Frau Doktor Rother is rather opinionated. Her opinions were ones I generally disagreed with, so maybe that's why I didn't love this book. I appreciated the sort of "insider" look at WWII through the eyes of one who lived through it in Germany, but wasn't a Jew. She did suffer some of the same indignities that German Jews did, since she was married to a former Jew, and eventually Dr. Rother did have to flee Germany for the United States.

The book does a good job of examining the relationships between the three generations of Rother/Dische women: Elisabeth, Renate and Irene. I found the way Elisabeth and Renate each chose to interact with her daughter to be strange: not the way I'd do things if I had a daughter. But those were different times, too.

Again, I didn't find the narrator to be terribly sympathetic, which I believe to be part of the reason I didn't jump for joy over the book. There is a lot more I could delve into (the book provides discussion questions at the end, so it might be a good choice for a class or book group), but I'm anxious to get back to my reading. I think I'll pick up a magazine now to let the last book soak in...

Happy reading to all!!!

Mailbox Monday Once Again!

It's Mailbox Monday again, and I actually have some acquisitions to report! From the folks at LibraryThing and Andrews McMeel Publishing, I received a new cookbook, Pamela Sheldon Johns' 50 Great Appetizers. I LOVE COOKBOOKS! And I love to try new recipes. I wish I cooked more often, but our office is having a Halloween party at the end of the month, so I'll be trying out one of these appetizers on my unsuspecting guinea pigs. Heh.

I also received Leaving Cold Sassy, the sequel to Olive Ann Burns' Cold Sassy Tree. I Mooched this from the same lovely lady at BookMooch who sent me the first book. I'm looking forward to reading these classics that I've yet to get to.

Finally, I received November's Glamour magazine. I still love Glamour, despite the fact that I cannot afford any of the clothes and no longer really need the makeup tips (since I hardly ever go out anymore) and find it all just a little...repetitive. I've subscribed for YEARS, at least since college, and it's a habit I don't think I can break at this point. I do enjoy their articles on world events and the political coverage, and there are definitely still other "fluff" articles that I enjoy. It's kind of like brain candy for me. And I'm ready to dive in once again this month.

So, a fruitful harvest, overall this week. It could be a while before I receive many more books, as I'm topped out on BookMooch and the Fiance' and I are "saving money." But we shall see, we shall see. I have a feeling, like any good bibliophile, that I will find a way to bring more books into the house, regardless.

Mailbox Monday

I received several books this past week, most of them from BookMooch. Last Tuesday, I received an Advance Reading Copy of Any Given Doomsday by Lori Handeland, through St. Martin's Press and LibraryThing. On Tuesday, I also received a Mooched copy of
The Eight by Katherine Neville, the prequel to The Fire, which I received last week from the publisher (totally unsolicited, ROCK!). I wanted to read the first book first, because I am OCD like that.

On Wednesday, I received a Mooched copy of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, which I plan to re-read soon.

And on Thursday, I received ANOTHER Mooched book, Beloved by Toni Morrison, which I have, shockingly, never read. This is yet another book in my attempt to read more "classics" and "modern classics."

These new books go onto my already stuffed and bulging To Be Read shelves. Sigh. So many books, so little time.

Mailbox Monday

So, I've decided to participate in Mailbox Monday, hosted by Marcia at
The Printed Page. I think it's a great way to round up the week's new arrivals.

This week, I received a copy of The Great Gatsby, which I ordered from BookMooch. I also received a really nice surprise...the lovely folks at Random House sent me an Advance Readers' Copy of The Fire by Katherine Neville, through LibraryThing, apparently. I realized that it was the second of a duo (or series?), so I also Mooched the first book, The Eight. That should be arriving soon.

In addition to those books, my new Glamour is here, and I'm currently engrossed in the latest issue of Bookmarks. I have a lot of reading ahead of me, so I'm off to dive in.

Oh, P.S. Happy first day of Book Blogger Appreciation Week!!! Head on over to My Friend Amy to see what's happening during this exciting week.

Survivors

Well, we made it safely through Tropical Storm Fay, with no more damage than some puddles and a broken umbrella. I got to miss work on Tuesday and Wednesday, which SHOULD have made for more reading time, but instead made for more play-drunken-board-games-with-friends time. And the Olympics. They are killing my reading time! And, pretty soon, it will be a new TV season, which means there will be new shows to watch and old favorites to get back into. I can't wait for Heroes and Chuck, particularly, to start back up, as well as The Office and 30 Rock. (I swear, not all of my TV-watching is on NBC, but you wouldn't know it from this post!)

This week I've received Barbara Taylor Bradford's
A Woman of Substance from BookMooch, as well as a copy of The Empress of Weehawken from Picador and LibraryThing. Now I just need to read and review it!

Hope everyone has a great weekend for reading!

Finally Saturday Again

It's been a long week. I've been bummed, work has been rough, we have no money, and I don't get paid till Thursday. The best thing I can say about this week is that it's over.

The good news is that I have a couple of Mooched books on the way. AND......I am getting a copy of The Empress of Weehawken from LibraryThing as part of the Early Reviewers program. That was a surprise, since I've never reviewed anything for them before.

My newly rekindled obsession with reading is even wearing off on the Fiance'. He's bought a few new books and is taking reading material to work with him. I'm excited that he's falling in love with reading now too. We don't really share the same taste in books (I tend to gravitate towards classics, general fiction, and mysteries, whereas he prefers humor and memoirs), but it's nice that we are both into having some quiet reading time...