Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2007

Genre: Mystery

My Rating: B+

Summary (from the author’s website):

Isabel Spellman, the uncompromising—okay, obstinate—twenty-eight year-old San Francisco private eye in Lisa Lutz’s riotous debut novel, THE SPELLMAN FILES has her share of problems. And those problems all happen to be named Spellman.Her parents, Albert and Olivia, co-owners of Spellman Investigations, think nothing of placing their daughter under 24-hour surveillance simply to find out if she has a new boyfriend.

David, her perfect older brother, who escaped the family business by becoming a lawyer, is hypercritical of just about everything Isabel says, wears, or does. Fourteen-year-old sister Rae lives on sugared snacks, considers recreation surveillance her favorite hobby, and believes that life is one endless opportunity for intra-familial blackmail. And good-natured Uncle Ray, a former cop and health food nut, now embraces gambling and drinking; and when he’s not in battle with his niece Rae over the whereabouts of his favorite shirt, must be rescued from “lost weekends.”

My Thoughts:

The reason I wanted to read this book was because I had a chance to meet the author at a panel discussion at the  Santa Rosa Book Fair last Fall. She was so charming and funny and a little sarcastic that she had the audience chuckling a lot.

I had a hunch the author’s personality would come through in her stories. It certainly did. In my opinion she was the main character, Izzy. I could imagine the expressions on her face and the sparkle in her eyes. On top of that, Izzy tells the story in the fiirst person, so it’s even easier to see Lisa Lutz as Izzy Spellman.

The Spellman Files is the first book in the author’s series. It was an excellent introduction to the family of investigators. I enjoyed meeting everyone and learning about Izzy’s background. It was also fun tagging along with Izzy as she followed people and conducted her investigations. There was no big mystery throughout the book. I’m assuming that will come in the next few books. If you’re looking for a fun series set all around San Francisco, check out the Spellman Files.

Author

Publisher: Dodd, Mead, & Co, 1938

Genre: Mystery

My Rating: A-

Summary:

A lovely cruise down the Nile River is the perfect trip for honeymooners unless the wife’s former best friend, who is also the husband’s ex-fiance, is also on board, determined to spoil the fun. The honeymoon is definitely over when the wife, also one of the richest women in England, is murdered.

In addition to those three, there are about 15 other passengers on board. Each one has something of interest to offer to the story. Fortunately, two of the passengers are well known for the detective work: Colonel Race and Hercule Poirot. Together they begin a thorough and orderly investigation of all the facts. As they proceed they are thrown a few surprises and additional challenges.

My Thoughts:

This is now my 29th book in my goal of reading all of Agatha Christie’s 87 novels. I’m reading them in order, as she wrote them. Within the last four or five books I’ve begun to see the value of reading them this way. By now the author is confident in her writing abilities and in the public’s acceptance of her books. It shows.

As I read this one, my overwhelming thought was that Agatha Christie must have had so much fun writing this book. The fun just came through loud and clear. In the beginning she took her time setting up all the characters and laying out the plot. The murder doesn’t occur until almost the mid-point of the book.

Here are some of the other things I really liked about Death On the Nile:

• Each one of the characters on board the ship were interesting. I always the feeling that each one was possibly more than what they appeared on the surface. That added to the mystery.
• Ms. Christie did an excellent job of describing the people on board. She seemed to take more care with the details.
• Hercule Poirot was much more lighthearted in this story. He actually made little jokes about himself. I was glad the other “official” along on this trip was Colonel Race. I always imagine him as the classically handsome man-of-the-world who always knows the right thing to do. He’s a great partner for Poirot.
• I liked the romances allowed among a few of the characters.

I only have a couple of disappointments in the book, and they are small disappointments. For one thing, I thought she waited too long to stage the murder. I knew who was going to be killed and I kept expecting it to happen at the start of each chapter. Did Ms. Christie want the reader to be happy when she was finally murdered? Again, this is a minor complaint, and probably due to my impatience.

Something I would have liked in the book was a drawing of the ship. It would have helped a lot in understanding the movements of all the passengers. Plus, I had to keep reminding myself the definitions of stern, aft, port, and so forth.

All in all a fun, interesting, and compelling mystery. The final outcome and “who-dun-it” could only have come from the pen of Agatha Christie.

For more Agatha Christie, check out the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge at Mysteries In Paradise.

Author

Publisher: Bloomsbury, 2007

Genre: Adult fiction

My Rating: A

Summary:

Jane Hayes is single, thirty-three-years-old, with a successful career as a graphic illustrator. Jane can also be described as a devotee of Jane Austen, although it’s hurting her love life. That’s because she compares every man to Mr. Darcy – the Colin Firth version.

Jane also tries to keep this obsession a secret but her great aunt discovers it. When her great aunt dies, Jane learns she has been given a three week trip to a vacation destination in the English countryside. It’s purpose is total immersion into Jane Austen’s world.

When Jane arrives at Pembrook Park she finds a manor house, horses and carriages, and actors in clothing of the period. Everyone plays a part, including the guests, and the events are typical of the Regency time period. Jane learns to play Whist, the gentlemen go pheasant hunting, and the only books available are the books that were around in Jane Austen’s day.

Most of the guests are women hoping for an Austen-like romance. The gentlemen present at Pembrook Park appear to have come out of one Jane Austen’s novels. The only problem is this: When you start falling in love with one of these men, are you falling in love with the character or the actor playing the part? How could this experience help Jane’s future love life? Is this what Jane’s great aunt was hoping for?

My thoughts:

I thoroughly enjoyed Austenland. I was able to immerse myself in Jane Hayes’ world, even when I wasn’t reading the book. It gave me some fun things to think about. It wasn’t heavy reading yet it had substance to it.

I especially enjoyed the dialogue between the characters at Pembrook Park. They all did such a good job of talking and behaving “in character,” even when Jane tried to challenge them. There were a couple of characters who didn’t exactly stick to the script, but they were easily forgotten.

I kept thinking about how difficult it must be to recreate the total Regency era experience. For instance, how do you keep airplanes from flying over, and how do you justify modern plumbing and other items that modern travelers expect? I put myself in Janes’s spot and thought it would be nearly impossible to not check on friends and family, or work, or keep up on current events. I would have to have an iPhone!

For me the fun of the book was the struggle between being in both worlds. I fixated on that. I wasn’t so concerned with the romance side the story. I was pretty sure Jane Hayes could figure things out on her own – and she did.

This was a good book for Jane Austen devotees as well as lovers on contemporary romance. This was my third Shannon Hale novel. Now I’m on to the next one. Several have recommended Princess Academy. I also saw a review yesterday on BookFan Mary’s blog for Midnight at Austenland. It sounds like a good follow up to Austenland.

About the author:

Shannon Hale is the author of five award-winning young adult novels, including the bestselling Newbery Honor book Princess Academy. Austenland is her first book for adults. She and her husband are co-writing a series of graphic novels, and live with their two small children in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Publisher: Pinnacle Books, November 2011

Genre: Historical Fiction, Western U.S.

My Rating: C-

Summary (from the publisher):

It’s December 1890. A Texas rancher named Big Ben Conyers has a deal with Scottish-born, Wyoming cattleman named Duff MacAllister. Along with Smoke and Matt Jensen, the party bears down on Dodge, Kansas, to make a cattle drive back to Forth Worth. But before they can get out of Dodge, guns go off and a rich man’s son is killed. Soon the drive turns into a deadly pursuit, then a staggering series of clashes with bloodthirsty Indians and trigger-happy rustlers. And the worst is yet to come – the party rides into a devastating blizzard, a storm so fierce that their very survival is at stake. From America’s greatest Western author, here is an epic tale of the unforgiving American frontier and how, amidst fierce storms of man and nature, miracles can still happen.

My Thoughts:

That summary from the publisher above sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, that was only the last part of the novel. I’ll tell you right from the beginning – I was disappointed in this book. I love Texas, the 1890′s, and cowboy stories. Well, it was in Texas in the 1890s and featured ranchers, their families, and cowboys. But the way in which it was told wore me down.

There were so many characters spread out all the way from Texas to Wyoming. The first part of the story started out so well. I was getting caught up into the story of Rebecca and the mysterious Tom. Then the authors started introducing loads of new characters and places that it left me confused. I didn’t think it was necessary to go in depth with every single character. It was too distracting.

What I did like was the story of the introduction of black angus cattle to replace the traditional Texas longhorns. Likewise the reverse cattle drive from Dodge City to Fort Worth.

I picked this book because, looking at the cover, I thought this would be a nice comfy “cowboy-Christmas” story. My first clue that it wasn’t a Christmas-style story should have been when the first few chapters started in May. We didn’t even get close to Christmas until the last few chapters. I wanted to count this book toward the Christmas Spirit Challenge, it doesn’t fit my requirements. In fact, just my telling you about this story doesn’t fit into the idea of the Christmas Spirit.

If you like historical fiction and the Western genre, this novel is an okay read. Be prepared to spend time in Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Be prepared to me a lot of characters. But, if you are looking for a Christmas tale in the Western genre, skip this one.

Christmas dinner is perhaps the one meal of the year where even the most relaxed cook feels the pressure of perfection – and, although few menus can be more familiar, it’s probably the one we all feel the least confident about. The context, of course, can be stressful – small children high on pilfered tree decorations, squabbling relatives proffering hindering help – but, rest assured, the cooking really shouldn’t be. Remember, a  turkey is nothing but an outsized chicken . . .

Thus begins food writer Felicity Cloake’s new (December 2011) combination essay/cookbook. It might be subtitled 15 Essential Recipes but it’s so much more than that. It’s charmingly chatty, as if I were having a one-way dialogue with the author. (She is the one talking and I am the one with raised eyebrows and other facial expressions.)

Ms. Cloake tested a variety of recipes from some of the greatest British food writers (Nigella Lawson, Simon Hopkinson, Delia Smith and Mrs Beeton). She compared the recipes and decided to pick the best ones or the best parts. She tells us how and why she decided on her particular favorites for her Christmas menu.

Her menu is indeed a glorious listing for the ultimate Christmas feast. She begins with mulled wine and then blinis, stilton souffle and prawn cocktail. The main course features turkey and gravy with sage and onion stuffing. Side dishes include pigs-in-blankets, cranberry and bread sauces, roast potatoes, brussels sprouts, and nut roast. For dessert there is a trifle, mince pies and brandy butter.

The menu sounds like something out of a Dickens novel, doesn’t it? I think that’s what made it so delightful for me. It’s not what we serve for Christmas dinner, but yet, it was so much fun to read about someone else’s dinner.

Ms. Cloake’s style of writing is also quite pleasing and, well, just plain fun to read. Here’s a sample from her chapter on Nut Roast:

Pity the poor nut roast. The very name has become a byword for the privations of a vegetarian diet – the unfortunate diner may as well don a hair shirt and a napkin woven from barbed wire before tucking in.

Isn’t that fun? The  whole short novel is just like that. She goes on to say how she tried varios recipes until she found exactly the best one. She of course, serves nut roast at her Christmas dinner. Felicity Cloake is a columnist for the UK’s Guardian and Perfect Christmas Day was based on those columns.

This menu for Felicity Cloake’s perfect dinner made me stop and think about what I consider the perfect Christmas dinner. I don’t have a standard menu for Christmas. Thanksgiving yes, but not for Christmas. In the past we’ve had ham or a standing rib roast with various side dishes. We’re with my daughter’s family this year and I’m hearing about ham. Let me turn it around and ask you the question:

What is it that makes the perfect Christmas dinner at your house?

This post is linked to Weekend Cooking and the Christmas Spirit Challenge.

Author

Publisher: Penguin, 2008

Format: Audiobook, Narrated by Jonathan Davis

My Rating: A

Summary (from the publisher):

The Red Lobster perched in the far corner of a run-down New England mall hasn’t been making its numbers and headquarters has pulled the plug. But manager Manny DeLeon still needs to navigate a tricky last shift with a near-mutinous staff. All the while, he’s wondering how to handle the waitress he’s still in love with, what to do about his pregnant girlfriend, and where to find the present that will make everything better.

My Thoughts:

JoAnn from Lakeside Musing “talked me into” reading this book. She started reading one Stewart O’Nan novel and couldn’t stop herself from reading three more. She highly recommended the author and suggested Last Night at the Lobster was a good place to start. I did exactly what she said. I discovered an audiobook version at the library and set out to see what JoAnn was raving about. (JoAnn’s review of this book is here.)

Stewart O’Nan took me right into the heart of this Red Lobster.  It was it’s last night of operation, which also happened to be the night of an extreme snow storm. He helped me see the restaurant from a variety of angles: the kitchen, the dining room, the back door where the smokers hang out, the storage closet, the outside parking lot and even it’s place next to the shopping mall.

What I liked best in Last Night at the Lobster were the people. The story is told through the eyes of Manny, the restaurant’s manager. I actually felt very sympathetic to him. He cared so much about doing all the right things for the good of the restaurant – even on the very last day. Through Manny I met the crazy kitchen staff as well as the waitresses and busboys. They were quite a contrast to the  rude and demanding customers.

Manny was fighting a losing battle. He wanted to end the night on a high note with the restaurant looking good, but things were stacked against him. Some of the employees abandoned him, one in a very cruel way. The snow storm kept customers away, making his numbers look even worse. In spite of all that, Manny continued to do the right – the thing he believed a good restaurant manager should and would do.

Stewart O’Nan was spot-on in his assessment of people who work in the service industry. He has obviously been around enough restaurants to understand all the people involved, including the customers. His dialogue was very realistic.

JoAnn, you were right about Stewart O’Nan and this book. I can’t wait to start my next one.

The narrator for this audiobook was Jonathan Davis. He did a superb job with all the accents in this dialogue-heavy novel. I’ve added him to my list of narrators to watch for.

Check your local library and/or your local bookstore for a copy of this book. Last Night at the Lobster is also available at Amazon. (I am an Amazon Associate.)

I’m going to attempt to do a couple of things differently in 2012. I want to concentrate on challenges that are really challenging. That means I’m not going to join a challenge if I know it’s something I’d be doing anyway. The only exception will be the Support Your Local Library Challenge. I like joining that one to show my support for public libraries everywhere.

So, you will see less challenges from me in the coming year. I’m telling myself to concentrate on quality, not quantity. As of today, here are the ones I’m committing myself to:

1. What’s In a Name 5, sponsored by Candace at Beth Fish Reads. This has been tough for me to meet each year, which is exactly why I like it. In 2012 the goal is to read six books that meet these requirements:

• A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title
• A book with something you’d see in the sky in the title
• A book with a creepy crawly in the title
• A book with a type of house in the title
• A book with something you’d carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title
• A book with something you’d find on a calendar in the title

Visit Beth Fish Reads for more information.                                     _________________________________________________________

2.  In the European Reading Challenge I’ll read my way around Europe. “The idea is to read books by European authors or books set in European countries (no matter where the author comes from). The books can be anything – novels, short stories, memoirs, travel guides, cookbooks, biography, poetry, or any other genre.” My goal is to read at the Five Star level. This means I’ll read at least five books by different European authors or books set in different European countries. There are some “alternate arrangements” and I thought I would combine two of them by reading some European foodie books and some European award-winning books.

For more information, visit Rose Citu Reader.

____________________________________________________

This past year I dipped my feet into the waters of award-winning books. I review them over on the group blog, Quirky Girls Read. I need to push myself to seriously tackle the tougher prize winners. So I’m committing to three challenges for this purpose.

3.  First in the Reading the Awards Challenge, sponsored by Tanya at xoxo. The goal is to read award-winning books that won their awards in 2011. My goal is the Silver level which is 6 to 9 award winning books.

For more information visit Tanya at xoxo.

_________________________________________________________

4.  Next is the American Battle of the Prizes. In this challenge I’ll be reading books that have won the Pulitzer and the National Book award. I’ll also read at least one of the six books that “double-dipped” which means they won both prizes.

This challenge is sponsored by Rose City Reader.

________________________________________________________

5.  The third is the British Battle of the Prizes which is the same as the American, only this one is British. I’ll be reading books from the English Man Booker Prize and the Scottish James Tait Black Medal. Brtish Battle of the Prizes is also sponsored by Rose City Reader.

_______________________________________________________

I’ll also be participate in my own challenge, the Foodies Read 2. If you, like me, love to read food books. I hope you’ll consider joining in.  Click here for all the information. The Quirky Girls will also sponsor some short term challenges in 2012. Stay tuned for more details.

If you’d like to stay on top of all the challenges available to book bloggers, visit A Novel Challenge. This website is excellent for announcing chalolenges, memes, and other blogging events. Click the button below.

Author

Publisher:

Genre: Christmas Tale

Format: Audiobook, Narrated by John Dossett

Source: Public Library

My Rating: B

I’m sure you are familiar with Scrooge, the star of Dicken’s A hristmas Carol. He was a ruthless, hateful man until he met the Ghosts of Christmas’ Past, Present, and Future. His meeting with the ghosts helped him take a good look at his life, as well as what his future would be if he continued.

The author of The Christmas List has done the same thing with his main character, James Kier. This modern day scrooge was a wealthy real estate developer who had hurt and alienated so many people. His son didn’t want anything to do with him. He abandoned his wife when he learned she had cancer. The only person who was his “friend” was his lawyer who was payed handsomely to do so.

One weekend he agreed to meet his girlfriend (also not a nice person) at an inn in the mountains. The snowfall kept her from coming and water killed his cell phone. James was alone at the inn and with no cellphone coverage. On Saturday he saw a newspaper headline announcing his death.

When he went to the newspaper’s webpage to correct the story but discovered a lot of comments from people who were happy he was dead. The only commenter who was sad about his death was his wife. James decided to let everyone think he was dead for a few days while he decided what to do. He, like Scrooge, took a serious look at himself and didn’t like what he saw. He knew he needed to make amends. His long-time secretary helped him develop a list of those he had hurt. This he called his Christmas List. He set out to set things right before Christmas.

My thoughts:

From the first time I heard the story of Scrooge, I’ve been skeptical about a person’s ability to change the way he or she lives, especially so quickly. My mind tells me that our personalities are formed early on and they tend to stay that way until we die.

Stories like The Christmas List and A Christmas Carol tell my heart something different. I still want to believe that it’s possible, that anyone who wants to, can change their behavior. My faith tells me the same thing. I think that change is what God had in mind that very first Christmas.

So I’ll stifle my urge to be skeptical and open my mind to this story. It made for a nice addition to my Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge.

If you are new to a food/reading challenge, you may be wondering – what is a “food book”? A food book is a book which is centered around food and/or drinks. That could be a cookbook, a food biography or memoir, a non-fiction book focused around a specific food, wine, chef or restaurant. Also allowed is a fictional story in which food plays a major role.

Here’s how the challenge works:

1. Decide how many food books you want to read in 2012. Pick one of the reading levels below. Remember, this is a challenge, so try pushing yourself. Participants from last year, please notice I’ve pushed the numbers up a bit. Levels:

• Short-Order Cook: 1 to 3 books
• Pastry Chef: 4 to 8 books
• Sous-Chef: 9 to 13 books
• Chef de Cuisine: 14 to 18
• Cordon-Bleu Chef: More than 19

2. Grab the challenge button and write a post on your blog so we can spread the word. No blog? That’s okay. Sign up in the comments section.

3. After you read each book for the challenge, come back here and tell us about it. On January 1st I’ll provide pages so you can post links for your reviews. We’ll use the same categories as last year: Cookbooks, Memoirs/Biographies, Fiction, and Nonfiction. I’ll also include a page where you link up your Challenge Wrap-Up post.

Guidelines:

• The challenge runs from January 1 through December 31, 2012.
• You don’t need a pre-selected list of books.
• It’s okay to cross over with other challenges.
• Any book format is allowed (print, audio, ebook)

Sign Up Here: Visit the dedicated blog for this challenge here: Foodies Read 2

Subtitle

Author: Mennonite Central Committee

Publisher: Fox Chapel Publishing, October 1, 2011

My Rating: A

I’ve contributed to and helped publish church cookbooks over the years. Those books usually contains favorite recipes from the congregation’s best cooks. Well, here’s one that is the mother, no make that grandmother, of all church cookbooks.

Over six hundred recipes from the best cooks among Amish and Mennonite congregations is an amazing set of recipes. Because many of the church’s members raise their own food, the recipes reflect that background. There are the standard chapters like main dishes, side dishes, breads and desserts. But there are also chapters on cheesemaking, pickling, jams, fruit butters and even soap making.

There are two chapters I think are unique. One is “Traditional Classics” and the other is “Grandma’s Remedies.”

In “Traditional Classics” the chapter starts with the social events that are standard within the community: Weddings, Funerals, Quilting Bees, Barn Raisings, and Threshings. What made it fun for me was to see what was on the menu at these events and the enormous quantity of food that was prepared. Keep in mind they do not call in professional caterers. This is do-it-yourself with help from friends and family. Here’s an example from a typical Barn Raising for 250 men:

24 loaves of bread; 5 pounds butter; 21 crocks potatoes, boiled and riced; 4 large roasters of gravy beef; 8 crocks carrots, boiled and buttered; 3 crocks carrot and cucumber pickles; 45 large jars applesauce; 12 crocks sweet apple schnitz and prunes; 350 Amish doughnuts; 5 gallons maple syrup; and 45 lemon drop pies.

There is usually enough left over to feed all of the women and children, usually numbering anywhere from, 50 to 90.

In “Grandma’s Remedies” there are recipes for a bread and milk poultice, lots of uses for honey, vinegar, and teas, hair tonic, liniment, mustard plaster and so forth. Here’s an interesting one:

Lily Whiskey

Fill a jar with the petals of the Madonna Lily. Get a bottle of good quality whiskey. Fill the jar so the petals are all covered. As they settle down, add more whiskey. This is especially good for burns and sores.

Scattered throughout the book are quotes about food and sometimes life in general. For example,

“Courage is fear that has said it’s prayers.”

I know I’ve said it before but my favorite cookbooks are those that read like a good novel. Treasured Amish and Mennonite Recipes makes for great reading. I’ve been on a roll lately reading about the Amish and this was a very nice fit. I’ll recommend this book to foodies who love the old-fashioned recipes from an area of the world devoted to the simple life.

About the Author:

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) works alongside local churches and communities in more than 50 countries, including Canada and the United States, to carry out disaster relief, sustainable community development, justice and peace-building work in the name of Christ. MCC also seeks to build bridges to connect people and ideas across cultural, political and economic divides.(from the publisher)

This post is linked to Weekend Cooking, a weekly feature at Beth Fish Reads. Click the button below and it will take you there.