Tag Archives: books

Rules of Civility: Could. Not. Stop. Reading.

10 Apr

I just finished the best book. It was phenomenal. And I’m not just saying that because I am starved for pleasure reading and thus readasmanypagesaspossiblewhenevergiventhechance.

My latest amazing read was Rules of Civility by Amor Towles.

It was one part Great Gatsby, one part Gossip Girl, and one part Girls.

The story follows two girl friends trying to make it in NYC in the late 1930s. Throw in a chance meeting with a rich bachelor at a dive bar…and the story takes off from there.

It’s not so much a scandalous story as it is a real life story. It was like reading about my early twenties, only with more fabulous clothes and jazz clubs. And let’s be reasonable – what girl hasn’t been in the tripod situation before? We all know that two girls and one guy can never be just friends, especially when girl A likes the guy who likes girl B. It just doesn’t work.

But, we have all been there, and we have all been on both sides of it – it’s just the way life and relationships go.

And the main character? Katey Kontent? Love her. She navigates up the NYC social strata and has a fabulous time doing it, all in between her secretary job and fifteen-cent gin martinis. LOVE HER.

Read this book. No, seriously, read this book.

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Book Review: Work Trip Reading

27 Mar

So I’ve been on the road for the last week for work. Which kept me away from doing things I like (i.e. writing on my blog) but it did give me some time to catch up on my reading.

I just finished Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman.

Being totally honest – this book isn’t anything mentally mind-blowing or life-changing. It’s more of a good thriller read – sort of like beach reading meets Richard Castle.

It’s set in a small town in the Adirondacks area of New York — and centers around Nora, whose husband kills himself in the opening pages of the book. Then there is an uncovered fishing hole, hidden basement rooms, the lurking police force…if you have ever been to a small mountain town, you should be starting to get creeped out…

The start of the book was a bit slow, but it picks up halfway through. I won’t give more of the story away, but I will say it has a few twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting.

It’s not as good as Gone Girl, but I would give it a solid B+.

Now, I just need a new work trip and a new book to read…

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Book Reviews: My Vacation Reads

4 Feb

One of my favorite things about traveling is that it gives me the opportunity to read things. Things I actually want to read. Like books. Opposed to what I get to read all day long, which is white papers and research reports and creative briefs and excel spreadsheets.

Here’s the list I read through on the scuba trip.

  1. The Front Porch Prophet by Raymond L. Atkins — This one had a slow start, but I loved how the story unfolded. The story is about two childhood friends, one battling terminal cancer and the other battling his friend’s request to help end his life. The story is told in a mix of present day and flashbacks, and as much as it deals with a heavy topic, it was full of humor. 
  2. The Round House by Louise Erdrich — I honestly couldn’t put this down. There’s crime, Native American politics, friendship, and a really good ending, although not necessarily a happy one. Normally I read the end first, but this time I made myself wait, and it was worth it.
  3. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain — I have mixed feelings on this book. Mostly because it was hard to read to the end, but I wanted to find out what happens. It follows a young Iraq war veteran as he attends a Dallas Cowboys football game and the accompanying halftime show. This book will make you think.

Oh, and I also read Merry Christmas, Alex Cross. Not the best Alex Cross, but it was a good, quick read for on the plane.

Right now I’m reading Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchmann. But, I probably won’t finish it until I go on my next vacation. Which, with my work schedule…looks to be never.

What is on your reading list?

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Friday Finds: Cookbooks I Love

29 Jun

Given that I’m a kitchen-cooking-appliance-tool-food junkie, I’m often asked questions about which is the best pasta maker (it depends on whether you want electric or a hand crank), what type of butter I buy (always purchase unsalted, you can always add salt in later), and what are people going to give me at my wedding, since I already own every kitchen gadget known to man (there is this green paper stuff called “cash,” as my mom says, it’s just as good as money).

But my favorite questions are always around what recipes I like and what cookbooks I own. Now, some people are all snobby and of the “I don’t cook from a recipe” persuasion, but they can go kick rocks. Cookbooks are great because the recipes have ALREADY BEEN TESTED and therefore there is less chance of YOUR FOOD SUCKING. Plus, a recipe is a great starting point and you can always change and spice it up however you like.

Here are five of my favorites. Open any one of these at my house and you’ll find the pages filled with notes, fingerprints, and turned corners marking whats really good.

  1. Dinosaur Bar-B-Que: Although Dino has been spreading to posh areas like NYC, the restaurant was born and bred in Upstate NY. Their cookbook is filled with amazing recipes for sauces and spice rubs, plus the phenomenal dishes they are known for. My loves are the ginger green bean salad and the mac & cheese.
  2. The Glorious Pasta of Italy: If I cooked from this book every day, my food life would be amazing. Sauces, pastas, casseroles, raviolis, italian grilling…just love this book. I suggest checking out the smoked mozz and eggplant twist on traditional baked ziti.
  3. The Joy of Cooking: If you don’t own this book, go buy it. Or, scour a good garage sale and you can probably find a copy. Mine cost me $1.00 at a church yard sale. JOC is a kitchen staple—each section gives you the basics of what you need to know on any topic, from baking to broiling to tin foil. My favorite recipe is the mac & cheese. (Yes, I might be slightly obsessed with anything that involves pasta and cheese…)
  4. The Big Book of Cupcakes: Betty Crocker really ups her game with this book. It has hundreds of creative recipe ideas for every possible occasion and holiday. Plus, it’s full of recipes hacks, each recipe has instructions on how to make it from scratch or how to doctor up a box of cake mix for the same effect. I’m partial to the peanut butter cupcakes.
  5. Everything Tastes Better with Bacon: I don’t think this book needs much more of an explanation. Every delicious recipe involves bacon, with recipes for breakfast foods, sauces, side dishes, main courses and desserts. (Yes, bacon desserts.) You can find this cookbook in my kitchen, my mom’s kitchen, my sister’s kitchen, my friends’ kitchens…it’s just that good. I love the bacon-vodka sauce and the bacon-spinach-parmesan mashed potatoes.

Happy Friday and happy weekend cooking!

What are you favorite recipes or cookbooks?

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When you give a girl a party…

24 Jan

She’ll have to craft everything in sight.

Old book pages + gluesticks = victory.

Well…technically I’m throwing myself a party…although it’s really not for me…its more of an excuse to get together with friends and show off try out some DIY project’s I’ve been wanting to do. I keep calling these paper pinwheels, although they’re really not pinwheels, more like flowers.

Pretty easy to make, once I got the hang of it and got over the fact that I need to make MANY MANY book flowers before Saturday. The original idea comes from a Better Homes & Gardens post which can be found here.

First, you’ll need an old book. I grabbed a copy of White Noise that an ex-boyfriend had given me. (Just like the ex, this book needed to go…) While the BHG post recommends using a vintage book with thicker pages, I like the thinness of the paperback pages better–easier for making accordion folds.

Fold, trim, tie, glue!

You need two pages (or one page cut in half) to make the book flowers. After you make the accordian fold, you can trim the edges off to give it a more flower-y look. Then, tie the two halves together (this is where had serious #fails…) and glue the pages into a circle! Luckily, the book I choose had some interesting title pages, which is what gives the light/dark effect above.

After making about eight of these, I got smart accidentally discovered that if you fold one page over the other before tying with string, it cuts down on the glueing. The picture below shows what I mean.

And then I got smart...linking the edges together eliminates glueing.

Also, depending on where you are going to hang your book flowers, you may want to leave extra string on the ties.

As for me, I have 14 of these bad boys finished and many more to go! I’m planning on glueing buttons to the centers to complete the look. Wish me luck!

Ta-da!

One of the best parts of this endeavor was that I already had all the supplies I needed–so the project cost me $0. It’s eco-friendly and a great way to recycle books into something new.

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