The Book Signing Chronicles

One of my besties, Misti and I have this thing.  We love books.  We love talking about books, deciding which books to read, discussing what we like and don't like about the books we are currently reading.  And we've discovered that we love meeting people who write books.  There is something exciting about seeing the typically anonymous person behind your favorite book. 

Sunday we headed out to meet James Dashner, author of The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, and The Death Cure (among others).  Don't panic when you read the titles...they aren't full of death and dying...well, a little...oh, never mind.  Misti and I read The Maze Runner a while ago and were both intrigued. 

James Dashner is actually from Georgia, and he was really pretty funny during his signing "discussion".  All of his books are geared to younger audiences so there were quite a few pre-teens in the audience which was pretty entertaining in itself.  (Cue two thirty-something girls trying to not be embarrased to be sitting next to twelve year olds who are FAR greater fans than they are.) 

It was really encouraging to see these kids, though.  I always worry that newer generations won't get the whole reading thing.  The love of it all, the smell of a freshly printed, a never-cracked spine. (cue this thirty-something referring to kids a the younger generation - gosh, I feel old).

Cue two thirty-something girls embarassing themselves in the middle of Barnes & Noble.

Favorite Things Friday

I have a bit of a commute to work.  I typically spend 2 hours in the car every weekday, and that's if I don't have errands to run or somewhere special to go in the evening.

Believe me, music is amazingly helpful when you are in the car for so long, but even that can get annoying.  Books on tape save me.  I love reading, and this is as close to reading as I can get while still be able to operate my car safely  :)

My library has just recently started adding to their e-library and I can download books directly to my iphone.  The selection is pretty limited so far, so I've been listening to a lot of books I've already read, but it's an entirely different experience to hear someone else read it! 

I have found that I have to listen to things that are pretty "light".  Mostly books that don't require a lot of thinking or translation in my head.  Otherwise, I am entirely too distracted. 

Here's what I've been listening to.

Do you have any "easy listening" recommendations?

What I've Read - May 2011

Mercy by Julie Garwood

Bestselling author Julie Garwood has a new calling--contemporary romantic suspense fiction. While longtime fans of Garwood hope she won't forsake the historical romance genre that has been so successful for her, this versatile author is coming into her own as a creator of amazingly complex and detailed suspense novels. In Mercy, Theo Buchanan, the brother of FBI agent Nick Buchanan from Heartbreaker, Garwood's first foray into suspense fiction, meets surgeon Dr. Michelle "Mike" Renard when he throws up on her designer dress at a New Orleans gala. Dr. Mike saves Theo's life with an emergency appendectomy, enabling him to return to Boston and his job as a federal prosecutor.

This was a re-read for me.  But this entire series is really good.  4 stars!

The MacGregors: Serena & Caine by Nora Roberts

Serena MacGregor had been looking for a little independence and some much-needed adventure, but Justin Blade was not what she had in mind. The stakes were high, and Justin was betting on changing Serena's mind about him. But when this fiery heiress upped the ante on the cool Comanche gambler, steamy didn't begin to describe the results.…


Apparently, May is re-run week.  These are older books, republished, but still classics.  Nora Roberts is one of my most favorite authors.  4 stars!


I also read "The Perils of Pursing a Prince" by Julia London and "Someday My Prince" by Christina Dodd.  Both were pretty unassuming.  I'm not sure I would recommend them.


What did you read in May?


All photos and descriptions from amazon.com

What I've Read - April 2011

Well, I’ve come down from the Inspired high, had a visit with my Mom and aunt and gotten back to work. Which means it’s time to get back to blogville, too!

To say that Inspired was good would be an understatement. I’m working on getting photos of our projects and will post them soon! Laurel has already posted hers here. Check it out.

The name of this post really should be “What I’ve NOT Read”. Seriously. I was going to catch up with my book posts….only to discover that I didn’t read anything in April. Wait, that’s not true. I’m positive I read at least three books, but for the life of me, I can’t remember their names. Pooh. It’ll come to me.

Which brings me to a little dilemma. I’m embarrassed by myself. I guess I better back up to explain that statement. I read a lot. And by a lot I mean, I start to get a little sweaty if I realize I’ve left the house without a book. Even if I never have the opportunity to read during the day, I always have a book in my purse or in my car. That being said, I go through a lot of books. Here’s the part I get embarrassed about…..they aren’t always intellectual, heart-rending, mind-bending, life-altering books. There is a lot of chick lit, mystery, and, dare I say it, romance.

I never felt this way before I joined a book club. I l.o.v.e.d my book club. We read intellectually stimulating books. We had hugely interesting conversations about those books, full of personal introspection, comparisons of those fictional worlds to the real world, character analysis and threw out terms like “undeveloped characters”, “beautiful prose” and “plot development”. It was intensely gratifying and it brought about an entirely new thought process for me when it came to books. And somehow I began to believe that any book that didn’t bring about those types of conversations or thoughts was inappropriate. That somehow I wasn’t as intelligent if I read anything else. Granted, I never stopped reading the books that shall not be named, I just stopped talking about them.

Those four books in April? They weren’t books we’d ever consider reading in book club. And so I’ve conveniently forgotten them. But I enjoyed every moment I read them. In secret. Oh dear. This is all so sordid.

So, the question is….should I list them in my roundup posts? And get over my embarrassment? Does anyone else suffer from the same affliction?

Please say yes – even if it’s not true. I’ll send you a romance novel if you do! ;)

What I've Read - March 2011

Catching up on my reading lists....March was a tough month.  I worked a lot, which didn't leave time for much reading.  I'm still reading a book I started in March.  The only two books that happened in March are mindless, not even worth mentioning here books.  Pure entertainment and forgettable.  Don't know whether that is a good thing or a bad thing :) 

April can only be better!

What I've Read - February 2011

Hooking up with Misti for "What I've Read".  Join us!

I'm a month behind.  Sorry charlie, but this still counts, right?

 

A Fierce Radiance: A Novel by Lauren Belfer

Claire Shipley is a single mother haunted by the death of her young daughter and by her divorce years ago. She is also an ambitious photojournalist, and in the anxious days after Pearl Harbor, the talented Life magazine reporter finds herself on top of one of the nation's most important stories. In the bustling labs of New York City's renowned Rockefeller Institute, some of the country's brightest doctors and researchers are racing to find a cure that will save the lives of thousands of wounded American soldiers and countless others—a miraculous new drug they call penicillin. Little does Claire suspect how much the story will change her own life when the work leads to an intriguing romance.

So far the best book of the year. I was drawn to the book cover – I’m a sucker for vintage photography and anything to do with epidemics and pandemics. I blame it on my 8th grade research paper on the pandemic of 1918. That aside, though, this was an excellent book. I highly recommend it. Intelligent, romantic, mournful and full of intrigue. And good insight into how the world operated during that time. Five stars!

Whiplash by Catherine Coulter

Yale professor Dr. Edward Kender's father is undergoing chemotherapy when the supply of a critical accompanying drug, Culovort, suddenly runs out. Unwilling to accept the drug manufacturer's disingenuous excuse of production line problems, Dr. Kender hires private investigator Erin Pulaski to prove that something more sinister is going on at Schiffer Hartwin. Meanwhile, in Maryland, married FBI agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich are investigating a rather unusual case: Senator David Hoffman is experiencing a ghostly apparition with possible malicious intent. The case is baffling, and Sherlock and Savich are not sure what to believe, even after witnessing the disturbing specter for themselves. They're no closer to cracking the case when a call comes in from Connecticut: A top foreign Schiffer Hartwin employee has been found murdered behind the drug company's U.S. headquarters.

So remember January’s list? When I actually typed “As always, I was sucked in....but I swear I won't read or listen to another one of this series.” Yeah. I did it. And still feel the same way. I think my library branch is out to get me. One star.

The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels – A Love Story by Ree Drummond

"That's when I saw him—the cowboy—across the smoky room."

I'll never forget that night. It was like a romance novel, an old Broadway musical, and a John Wayne western rolled into one. Out for a quick drink with friends, I wasn't looking to meet anyone, let alone a tall, rugged cowboy who lived on a cattle ranch miles away from my cultured, corporate hometown. But before I knew it, I'd been struck with a lightning bolt . . . and I was completely powerless to stop it. Read along as I recount the rip-roaring details of my unlikely romance with a chaps-wearing cowboy, from the early days of our courtship (complete with cows, horses, prairie fire, and passion) all the way through the first year of our marriage, which would be filled with more challenge and strife—and manure—than I ever could have expected. This isn't just my love story; it's a universal tale of passion, romance, and all-encompassing love that sweeps us off our feet. It's the story of a cowboy. And Wranglers. And chaps. And the girl who fell in love with them.

PDub at her best! For those not familiar with the Pioneer Woman – click now to go directly to her blog. She’s awesome. I’m a fan, can you tell? She wrote a cookbook last year and this year she’s also coming out with a children’s book, but this one….it’s the best. I had read a large chunk of the book on her blog, so I thought I wouldn’t be terribly interested in re-reading it. But I was immediately hooked. It’s light, easy reading, but don’t be fooled, there’s some real emotion in there, too. Four and a half stars!



What I've Read - January 2011

I'm being a copycat.  But it's just such a good idea, I had to copy.  Misti recently started writing each month about the books she's read and I'm joining the bandwagon.

Heat Wave by Rick Castle
A New York real estate tycoon plunges to his death on a Manhattan sidewalk. A trophy wife with a past survives a narrow escape from a brazen attack. Mobsters and moguls with no shortage of reasons to kill trot out their alibis. And then, in the suffocating grip of a record heat wave, comes another shocking murder and a sharp turn in a tense journey into the dirty little secrets of the wealthy. Secrets that prove to be fatal. Secrets that lay hidden in the dark until one NYPD detective shines a light.


I read this one just because I love, love the television show Castle.  This book has been released in conjunction with the show and there are several to follow.  The book itself was just better than okay and even had some of the same witty banter that I've come to expect from the tv show.   I'd give it three stars.






Virgin River by Robyn Carr
WANTED: MIDWIFE/NURSE PRACTITIONER IN VIRGIN RIVER. POPULATION SIX HUNDRED. MAKE A DIFFERENCE AGAINST A BACKDROP OF TOWERING CALIFORNIA REDWOODS AND CRYSTAL-CLEAR RIVERS. RENT-FREE CABIN INCLUDED.
When the recently widowed Melinda Monroe sees this ad she quickly decides that the remote mountain town of Virgin River might be the perfect place to escape her heartache, and to reenergize the nursing career she loves. But her high hopes are dashed within an hour of arriving: the cabin is a dump, the roads are treacherous and the local doctor wants nothing to do with her. Realizing she's made a huge mistake, Mel decides to leave town the following morning.  But a tiny baby, abandoned on a front porch, changes her plans-and a former marine cements them into place.  Melinda Monroe may have come to Virgin River looking for escape, but instead she finds her home.


Here's where you discover I'm a sucker for romance.  Not necessarily the type where all you read is "heaving bosoms" and well, other things.  More so the romance that makes me sigh a little.  The Virgin River series is one of my all time favorites.  I've read almost all of them and this is the first one in the series....my turn finally came at the library.  I'd give it four stars.

Knock Out by Catherine Coulter
Starred Review. Bestseller Coulter's riveting 13th FBI thriller (after TailSpin) opens with a bang as psychic FBI agent Dillon Savich thwarts a gang of gun-totting robbers attempting to hold up the First Union Bank of Washington, D.C. Three days later, seven-year-old Autumn Backman, who sees Dillon on TV, sends him a telepathic message that she's in danger. Though eager to help Autumn, Dillon is busy tracking a bank robber who escaped, a teenage girl now leaving a trail of bodies in her wake. Meanwhile, in Titusville, Va., Autumn's mother reports her daughter missing to sheriff Ethan Merriweather. After finding Autumn, Ethan discovers her sinister uncle, Blessed, has evil designs on his psychic niece. Before Dillon and his fellow FBI agent and wife, Lacey Sherlock, can get to Titusville, Autumn and her mother flee. Well-developed characters and an expertly paced plot that builds to a breathtaking conclusion make this one of the best in this paranormal suspense series. 


I've read several in this series as well and each time I swear I won't read another....until I saw this one in CD.  I have a long commute, so give me a little break :)  As always, I was sucked in....but I swear I won't read or listen to another one of this series.  One star.

Ape House by Sara Gruen
Gruen enjoys minimal luck in trying to recapture the magic of her enormously successful Water for Elephants in this clumsy outing that begins with the bombing of the Great Ape Language Lab, a university research center dedicated to the study of the communicative behavior of bonobo apes. The blast, which terrorizes the apes and severely injures scientist Isabel Duncan, occurs one day after Philadelphia Inquirer reporter John Thigpen visits the lab and speaks to the bonobos, who answer his questions in sign language. After a series of personal setbacks, Thigpen pursues the story of the apes and the explosions for a Los Angeles tabloid, encountering green-haired vegan protesters and taking in a burned-out meth lab's guard dog. Meanwhile, as Isabel recovers from her injuries, the bonobos are sold and moved to New Mexico, where they become a media sensation as the stars of a reality TV show. Unfortunately, the best characters in this overwrought novel don't have the power of speech, and while Thigpen is mildly amusing, Isabel is mostly inert. In Elephants, Gruen used the human-animal connection to conjure bigger themes; this is essentially an overblown story about people and animals, with explosions added for effect. 


I was excited for this one.  Water for Elephants is one of my all time favorites.  And this one did not disappoint, but it wasn't quite on the same par as its predecessor.  Four stars.

Private by James Patterson
The police can't help you
Former CIA agent Jack Morgan runs Private, a renowned investigation company with branches around the globe. It is where you go when you need maximum force and maximum discretion. The secrets of the most influential men and women on the planet come to Jack daily--and his staff of investigators uses the world's most advanced forensic tools to make and break their cases.
The press will destroy you
Jack is already deep into the investigation of a multi-million dollar NFL gambling scandal and the unsolved slayings of 18 schoolgirls when he learns of a horrific murder close to home: his best friend's wife, Jack's former lover, has been killed. It nearly pushes him over the edge. Instead, Jack pushes back and devotes all of Private's resources to tracking down her killer.
Only one place to turn: Private 
But Jack doesn't have to play by the rules. As he closes in on the killer and chooses between revenge and justice, Morgan has to navigate a workplace love affair that threatens to blow the roof off his plans. With a plot that moves at death-defying speeds, Private is James Patterson sleekest, most exciting thriller ever.


The cover of this one caught my eye at the library.  And so I picked it up, expecting it to lack in personality.  James Patterson hasn't always been my favorite.  But Private was surprising.  I won't automatically turn away when I see this author anymore.  I give it three stars.




Whew - if you made it to the end of that one - you are a superstar!!!  What have you read recently?  Share with me!


All pictures and excerpts from Amazon

We went...we waited...we saw....Marlboro Man?

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time you know I'm a big fan of Ree Drummond a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman.  Her new book, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, is out and she was in Atlanta for a signing this Friday.  So, of course, Misti, my book signing bestie, and a couple of newbies went out for the big event.

We talked about this a little while we were waiting in line, but in all honesty, Ree is a sincere and genuine "celebrity".  She took time to talk with everyone.  And seemed truly happy that we were there, thankful, even.  I would have loved the entire thing even more  if she had read an excerpt from the book.

And wouldn't you know it....she brought Marlboro Man.  He too spent a lot of time with everyone.  We even got to talk about his nickname and how he feels about it...not the name he would have chosen...but I think mostly because his fellow cowboys use it to give him a hard time. 

Another book signing under our cowboy belts....and the best one so far.

The 19th Wife

I was on a mission to find Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese at the recommendation of Elisabeth of Babbette's Book Blog right before vacation. It ended up being on the "Buy 2 get 1 free" table, so of course I picked out a couple more. And I stumbled upon David Ebershoff's The 19th Wife. It was one of the most intriguing books I've read in a long time. *One note here - I've read only a little about these belief systems and have only a small understanding. If you are a Morman, or a member of the Church of Latter-Day Saints, I ask for your patience and kindness if I write something here that you may or may not believe to be true.* One thing I especially enjoyed is the huge amount of historical information that the author managed to cram into a work of fiction, including what seems like a full history of how the Morman religion was founded and the events that shaped it's beliefs, movements and geography. I did a little research while reading the book and found everything I researched to be true and confirmed through historical documents.

Whew - that was a lot of technical stuff. Let's get the nitty-gritty. This book is one of those crazy ones (I call them crazy, there may be a technical term out there somewhere) where there are two different story lines. One follows Ann Eliza Young in the late eighteen hundreds, the so-called 19th wife, through her birth, marriage and divorce of Brigham Young, leader of the Morman Church. The other follows Jordan Scott in modern times, an outcast of his fundamentalist Morman sect. The two stories run parallel, especially as you read more of Jordan's story. He's been abandoned by his family, and his religion, but has created a new life for himself when he discovers his mother has been charged with the murder of his father. The connection here is that his family are polygamists, and his mother is his father's nineteenth wife. He thinks his mother has been framed, so he sets out to find his father's true killer. To do this, he has to return to his hometown and to the bureaucracy and beliefs that ostracized him.

Ann Eliza Young's story is so much of the same. She has been ostracized because of her divorce from the prophet. And she endeavors to show the truth about polygamy.

I find it extremely difficult to describe the complexity and richness of Ann Eliza's story, the description of her family's conversion to Mormonism and their eventual belief in polygamy and the events that led to her marriage and divorce to Brigham Young. The historical information alone is amazing. And the writing allows the reader to experience just a small portion of the emotion, and even contradictory motives of both Ann Eliza and her enemies.

If I have two negative thoughts about this book and they both stem from Jordan's story. I think the author wanted so badly to portray the youth of his characters, that he did them a disservice. Their story, dialogue and emotion is not strong enough. Superficial, even. Secondly, the announcement of Jordan of his homosexuality, and the introduction of a relationship to another man is unnecessary. Particularly when his homosexuality isn't the reason for his excommunication from his church. Compared to Ann Eliza's story, the development of Jordan's is weak, but no less important.

I completely understand the influence of a dynamic leader, so while I disagree with the belief systems portrayed in the book, but after reading this one I am certainly more understanding of those who choose the Morman religion, and even of those who choose polygamy. And my sympathy is strong for those who have been manipulated, excommunicated or abandoned.

I highly recommend The 19th Wife.

On a side note - Ann Eliza Young wrote a book called Wife No. 1. It can be downloaded from David Ebershoff's website.

Pioneer Woman

So, I’ve spent a good part of today waiting to have Ree Drummond aka Pioneer Woman sign her new cookbook. 
Misti and I arrived at Border’s around 1pm to pick up our wristbands and found out that the signing had been moved up to 6pm – which was great, except it meant the powers-that-be had decided to cancel the discussion and q&a session – boo.  Oh well.  I would have loved to hear her speak, but it was super nice to be able to meet her and take a quick photo. 
We stood in line for an hour and forty-five minutes once the signing started.  It really wasn’t bad at all.  I was pretty impressed by how friendly everyone was.  I didn’t notice anyone with a snarky attitude.  We made friends with several people and had fun looking at all of the books on the shelves while we traveled down the line. 
One of the funniest moments was seeing this guy meet Ree and have his photo taken.  He was there to have his Mom’s book signed – super cute!

When Misti and I finally got to Ree – she was amazingly warm and seemed genuinely happy to meet us!  Amazing, considering she had already been through the same routine with about 200 people and there were many, many more after us.  And she’s even more gorgeous in person!

We even chatted with Hyacinth (on of P-dub’s besties) after moving through the line!.
So happy that we went – and another book signing memory!  Hope there are more just as wonderful to come!

Book Review #2 - The Glimmer Palace

So, I said  I was going to start reviewing a few more books and then I suddenly got nervous!  What if my reviews don’t have enough depth?  What if they are too simple?  I almost decided right then and there to not post another review.  But, I’m going to keep going….and push past my insecurities….

The Glimmer Palace is the story of Lilly Nellie Aphrodite’s journey from abandonment to silent film star.  The story itself spans the surrounding events of both World War I and World War II.  Throughout the story, the reader gets a wonderful glimpse of German life.  And not just the cookie cutter German life, but the seedy, dirty parts as well. 

This book was beautifully written, poignant and while it doesn’t come across as charged with emotion since the main character herself is rather detached, the depth of feeling is amazing. 

To me, the best part of this book was the chapter introductions.  Each one reflects a “historical” moment in film that alludes to a portion Lily’s life.  Here’s the first one:

“Berlin, a word that chimes in your chest like a bell. Berlin, a place so bright it pulls down the stars and wears them around its neck.  Berlin, a city built on the scattered sand of circuses and the scuffed floorboards of theater spectaculars.  Roll up, rollup to see the living photographs.  Max Skladanowsky and his brother Eugen, still wearing black around their eyes, out of habit rather than necessity, present their electromechanical effects.  The spectacle of the year, the highlight of 1895, guaranteed.

The houselights dim, and the air is filled with the sour taste of hot celluloid and blue smoke form a hundred burning cigarettes.  A blond girl looms up suddenly on a white sheet.  She laughs, a flickery shiver on the taut cotton; she seems to speak but her voice is mute, until quite unexpectedly, a black patch appears where her heart should be and she disappears into the burning hole in seconds.

The audience gasps, and one child chokes on his chewed-up ticket.  The couple in the front row insist it is a trick with mirrors; a woman in a red heat peeks behind the sheet but finds no one there.  And all the while, trickles of kohl from India fall down Eugen’s ashen face as he comes to realized he’ll never again see the girl he left behind in Lubbenau.”

Hope you enjoy!  I’d love to hear what you think of the book!

Book Review #1

For those who know me well, I like to read. A lot. And I’m constantly searching for a good book. One of my besties, Misti, and I try to read one book around the same time so we can discuss. And I was in a book club for a long time. I miss it. So, every once in a while I hope you’ll amuse me and let me post my opinion about a recent read here.

I’m currently listening to a book on tape called Chesapeake Blue by Nora Roberts. Nora Roberts is one of my favorite writers. Her work falls into three categories. Gratuitous romance novels, crime drama with a little romance thrown in (mostly written under her pseudonym, J.D. Robb) and the occasional beautifully written story about a family and their dynamics. Montana Sky is one of those, and the first book I ever read by Nora Roberts. Chesapeake Bay is one of her newest. It is the fourth book in the Quinn Brothers series, and while the other three were great this one is the best. I’ve read the book itself, and love listening to the audio book.

The imagery is beautiful, there are times when I swear I can smell the ocean. Her point of view varies from character to character, and each is developed in a way that allows the reader to experience the true emotion of the character. There’s a little heartbreak. And a little love. And a picture of a family I’d love to be a part of. While some readers may find the story skims the surface, if you really think about the issues that are addressed, it isn’t surface. It deals with rejection, making changes in your life for the better, regaining trust in human nature, regardless of your history, and ultimately the never yielding love of family.

I give this one 5 stars!

I’m trying to keep my shelfari list (on the left sidebar) up to date. If you have a book you love, tell me about it!

Twilight

Well, it's official. I have become a Twilight fan. Misti loaned me a copy of the first book in the series. I started reading it Monday night. And stayed up last night till about 1am to finish it. Yikes. And, I read the preview for the next book New Moon. I am so pumped to read it. I had originally requested that they be transferred to my local library, and got an email from them saying they had the next book ready for me, but they don't. They have the last book in the series waiting. ARGH! I refuse to go out and buying the middle one, but I am desperate! Whatever will I do??

Link of the Day - All About Books

Hi all! I am supposed to be scrapbooking, but got sidetracked with entering books on www.goodreads.com and www.paperbackswap.com

Oh well, I've been wanting to do this for a long time, so I finally got it all updated! Sooooo - those are the links for today. Goodreads is a great place to create lists of books you've read, want to read....it also includes group discussion forums. Paperbackswap is a site for trading books. It's a fantastic idea. When you buy a book and don't want to keep it (instead of being a good little girl and going to the library), you can post it on this website. Others can request and you simply mail it to them via media mail. You then receive a credit to order a book from another member. No money is exchanged and you get brand new book (well, new to you) for about $1.50. Yay! I posted 66 books and within just an hour or so, I've had requests for 29 of the books. That means, I can potentially order 29 new books all for myself! I love this site!

Well, the laptop monitor is still on the fritz and I can see, but I can't see any images at this point - and it's slowly getting darker and darker. I better finish up and turn it off so I can use the computer tomorrow night. :)

More soon!

Day Two - Link of the Day

I'm staying with my Mom in Decatur for a few days so a little out of the loop...this will be super short, but at least it's happening!


Link of the Day - ScrapHappy

This has got to be one of my favorite blogs, especially since Laine is a fellow reader, and she creates podcasts once a week with reviews of scrap related and non-scrap related books. In past podcasts she has also interviewed some of the "big" names in scrapbooking like Ali Edwards, etc.


She has just started a book discussion on "Plain Truth" by Jodi Picoult. I have just recently finished it at Misti's suggestion and I am excited to be a part of the discussion. Here's where you can find it on GoodReads.

Have fun - more soon!

LaLit Book Club Mini Album

Here's the mini album I worked on this Saturday!

Vietnamese Coffee

I belong to a wonderful book club called LaLit. We’ve been meeting for a few years now and read the oddest assortment of books. But, in the past couple of years, I have read such a variety of books that I would never have even considered. Last night we were discussing “Fragrant Palm Leaves: Journals 1962-1966” by Thich Nhat Hahn. This was a completely fascinating journal written by a Buddhist monk who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Even better than the book was the food (a common occurance with our little club). We went to a restaurant called NAM. The food was excellent. I had claypot chicken and it was delish!. Let’s just say that the juice in the pot was boiling when it arrived at the table. I was a happy camper as there is just nothing better than hot food!

At the end of the meal we had Vietnamese iced coffee. Just think of really thick espresso (probably the equivalent of 3 shots) with condensed milk at the bottom of the cup. It comes out hot with this cute little strainer on the cup – you stir it up, then pour over ice. The only downside of the whole thing was that I couldn’t go to sleep last night….all of that yummy espresso.

I’ve been looking on the internet for recipes and one of those strainers. I am so going to get myself one of those things. I could totally make it at work. Yummmmyyyy!

Step #1 Add condensed milk to your cup

Step #2 Add coffee to the little strainer thing

Step #3 Let steep for about 4 minutes

Step #4 Enjoy!!!!!