Every Day Matters

Salon Sunday: Bookish Things about Me

                                   

                                Twenty Bookish Things About Me

1. I read fast, but not as fast as I used to, and like books that immerse me immediately and carry me along.

2.  Although I’ve always loved to read and write and think about stories, I majored in Elementary Education in college.

3.  I have met Anne Lamott, Elizabeth Berg, John Gilstrap, and Esmeralda Santiago.

4. I love libraries.

5. A few years ago, I began “allowing” myself to abandon books that did not grab me in the first 50 pages. This has been very liberating.

6. I like audiobooks and never listen to anything else in the car. 

7. I rarely re-read books. Some books that I have re-read are really old favorites like Desiree by AnneMarie Selinko and Valley of Decision by Marcia Davenport

8. Frances Parkinson Keyes is just about my favorite author of all time. I discovered her in my early teens.

9. When I am in a new place, I love to find independent bookstores.

10. Reading a good book is the best thing I can think of doing.

11. When my children were young, I read a lot of mysteries and now I rarely ever read them.

12. I dislike and distrust most memoirs.

13. I like “foodie” fiction and essays. My favorite writers in the food essay genre are Laurie Colwin and Nigella Lawson.

14. If I do not see books in a person’s home, I wonder about that person.

15. I do not read books about the Nazi/Holocaust experience, nor do I read science fiction, fantasy, time travel, memoirs, mysteries (although I do read some thrillers).

16. Even though I just said I do not read fantasy, I have been a fan of Nick Bantock’s for 20 years and own almost everything he has written, even his children’s pop-up books. And I like the type of magical realism in Alice Hoffman’s earlier novels.

17. I rarely read BFB (big fat books) because I find that most of them are overwritten and the authors could have used an editor who was not afraid to say this.

18. I love to talk about books and authors, and have a fascination with the publishing business

19. Although I do not think I have ever read a book that did not teach me something, my main purpose for reading (novels) is entertainment. Thus, I have little patience with those novelists whose writings are convoluted and esoteric. I like forthright and linear writing/stories.

20. Epistolary novels are my favorites.

Salon Sunday: Not-Yet-Published Books.....

......that I am looking forward to reading.

*** Too Much Money by Dominick Dunne  - December 15

*** Amy Bloom's Where the God of Love Hangs Out "interconnected stories illuminate the mysteries of passion, family, and friendship"   - January 12

*** Bohjalian, Chris. Secrets of Eden. February 2, 2010.

Alice gets baptized and goes home to her husband, who kills her and then himself. Her minister understandably suffers a spiritual crisis. But is Alice's death what is seems?

*** Allen, Sarah Addison. The Girl Who Chased the Moon. Bantam. March 16, 2010

After her mother's death, 17-year-old Emily goes to live with her grandfather in Mullaby, NC, where the dead drop little notes and the wallpaper remakes itself daily. Can’t wait – loved this author’s other two books.

*** Lamott, Anne. Imperfect Birds. Riverhead: Penguin Group  April 6, 2010.

Smart, beautiful, and a star athlete, 17-year-old Rosie is every proud parent’s dream. But it turns out that she’s been lying to her parents and is in danger of drifting into the darkness of drugs and alcohol. Lamott should do this well as she has lived this life.

*** Berg, Elizabeth. The Last Time I Saw You. Random. April 27, 2010.

After 45 years, a woman returns to her first high school reunion. Promises to be good for discussion. I just had my 45th reunion so this really should “speak” to me.

Isaac is no Dewey

I saw this post in a blog that I read:

Win a book if your kitty's a Dewey look-alike

so I sent in this photo of him with some biographical info - which you can see by clicking on the above link:

Got the bad news today....Isaac was edged out by a pretty girl with a sad story:

The Dewey look-alike contest: We have a winner!

We are not going to tell Isaac this news.....he is still a winner to us!

Sunday Salon: Bestsellers 50 years ago

                           

                        BEST SELLERS 50 YEARS AGO LAST WEEK

The first three novels are among my favorite books of all time. I just re-read "The Ugly American" last year - for about the 5th time, and I do not re-read many books. I think I read every book that Drury ever wrote - wonderful novels about politics and Washington. "Exodus" was powerful and I read many more books by Uris (my favorite was "Trinity", about Ireland). I discovered Frances Parkinson Keyes in sixth grade when a friend of my mother's gave me a copy of "Steamboat Gothic".....and went on to read almost everything she wrote - and she wrote a LOT of books. Her novels are set in New England, Virginia, Louisiana, Normandy and South America.....she traveled extensively and lived all over.

                                    FICTION

1. Advise and Consent, Drury (1)*
2. The Ugly American, Lederer and Burdick (3)
3. Exodus, Uris (2)
4. Dear and Glorious Physician, Caldwell (5)
5. The War Lover, Hersey (8)
6. The Cave, Warren (4)
7. The Thirteenth Apostle, Vale (9)
8. Station Wagon in Spain, Keyes
9. The Lotus Eaters, Green
10. New Face in the Mirror, Dayan

                                NON-FICTION

1. Act One, Hart (3)
2. Folk Medicine, Jarvis (4)
3. The Status Seekers, Packard (1)
4. For 2 Plain, Golden (2)
5. The Elements of Style, Strunk and White (6)
6. This Is My God, Wouk (7)
7. How I Turned $1,000 into $1,000,000 in Real Estate, Nickerson (5)
8. Groucho and Me. Marx (10)
9. The Ape in Me, Skinner
10. Mine Enemy Grows Older, King (9)

( ) Position on previous week's list.

Charlie's Weekend Highlights

For Halloween Charlie was dressed as the Ohio State football coach, Jim Tressel - love the headphones. (Ken is an OSU fan)

 

Tonight he joined us for dinner...first time with the tray on his highchair, which is a space-saver that sits on a chair - what a great idea! Sitting up high gives Charlie a whole new perspective. He did not care about food as long as he could put his toys in his mouth.

Then he played in his new ExerSaucer that I brought him....looking at it in the store, I developed ADHD. It takes 12 AA batteries for all the things that light up and/or make noise. This lets him stand up, which he loves to do, but without the dangers of a walker ---- and he loved it. I call these photos "where's Charlie?" His little self is lost amid all the color and busy-ness!

Sunday Salon : Reading Lite

This week I read Brilliant by Marne Davis Kellogg, a book that instantly drew me  into the story, mainly because of the intriguing main character, Kick Keswick. I just love it when a book "hooks" me on the first page!

 

This would be classified as "reading lite", I suppose, but it was smart, interesting, entertaining, and what more could I ask for than a book about a high-end auction house, jewelry, antiques, wine, and food - and set in London and Provence?

Kick is a not-young American, elegant and refined, who has worked at the renowned and reputable  Ballentine auction house in London for 30+ years. Her expertise encompasses art, antiques, and especially jewelry. She prefers to lead a very private life which protects her illegal secret activities and her distant past as a juvenile offender in Oklahoma.

The best part about this book is that Kellogg has written three more Kick Keswick books which I intend to read ASAP. The next one takes place in Provence and I cannot wait to "visit".

Charlie and Uncle Brendan

Brendan was in town for a couple of days and Laura took these photos of him with Charlie.

 

We do not think this is a pout, but Charlie rubbing his gums with his lip....

 

Mustard Chcken with Shredded Potatoes

This is a family favorite that I have been making for 20+ years..... and it is fairly low fat....just a bit of olive oil.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4 boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves
1/4 c. dijon mustard, mixed with 2-3 t. smashed garlic

Spread the mustard mixture on both sides of the chicken pieces. Pour 1 T. olive oil in an 8” square glass baking pan and put the chicken pieces in it.

Grate 2-3 large potatoes very thin (I use the Cuisinart shredding disk), then soak them for 5 minutes in ice water. Drain and pat dry very well. Mix potatoes with 2-3 t. olive oil, 1/2 t. lemon juice, salt and pepper. Pack the potatoes on top of chicken.

Bake at 450 degrees for 45 minutes.

Serve with a salad or vegetable - a fairly easy meal.

Charlie, then and now

Same baby, same onesie (in different sizes), same background.... photos taken at 5 days and at 5 months.

High School Reunion Weekend......Still recovering......

Still recovering from my busy and  looooooong weekend, with high school girlfriends here before and after our 45th reunion. I am very tired. We had three reunion events including the dinner on Saturday night which was wonderful. We had such a great class and everyone who was there was so happy to see everyone else. It really is heart warming.Here are four of us, going into the dinner, holding a photo of our absent friend Grace, who lives in Provence.

We also had a fabulous tour of our high school (now a middle school) which underwent a recent $44 million renovation/restoration. It was built in the early 1930s and is an architectural gem. I wish I had realized how lucky I was to go there, at the time I was attending! Our tour was conducted by the current principal, who was born the year we graduated. He was so impressive and so enthusiastic. Here is a photo of the school, which takes up three city blocks and is sent on many acres of land.

More photos to come later this week!