Review of "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" [39]

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Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Back Bay Books, ISBN  978-0316204262
April 2, 2013, 352 pages

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Once again, it seems I am the last person in Blogland to read a book.
I read the reviews, and they were all good.
Maybe that is what scared me.
If everyone loves it, I just know I will hate it.
Ok, I was wrong about that, yet once again.

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she’s a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she’s a disgrace; to design mavens, she’s a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.
Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette’s intensifying allergy to Seattle–and people in general–has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.
To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence–creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter’s role in an absurd world.

When they say a book is funny, I get nervous.
Humor rarely translates to the written word for me.
But honestly, this book is laugh out loud funny. And sad and touching and sweet and satire at it's best.

Hey, Bernadette has problems, an issue or two, but don't we all? She doesn't really do well with people..I totally get it. The helicopter parents at her daughter school drive her mad...maybe literally, according to their version. Her husband is so obsessed with his job at Microsoft that she appears not to see that their house is falling down around their ears and his wife is dealing with daily life in some rather odd ways.
Like getting a virtual assistant...in India. Less than $1 an hours! Wow, I wanted one of those, at least until things turned a little bad. Suggestion- do not give your virtual assistant power of attorney.

Most of the book is written as a series of e-mails, letters, faxes, emergency room bills, police reports, FBI investigations, petitions of commitment to a mental institution, which might seem like a bit of a stunt at first, but Semple totally makes it work. One character is better than the next, good and 'bad', they are all so wonderfully and believably painted. The book is fast paced, will garb your attention as we race from rainy Seattle to the frigid land of icebergs and penguins, Antarctica.
Really, how can you not love a book that makes fun of the Microsoft, McMansion culture, has penguins and a sweet story about the love and strength of a pretty quirky family?

If you are the one person out there that has not read this one, I really recommend you grab yourself a copy and get ready for a great read.

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Wordless Wednesday...Orange

This week...orange.

Or close enough. 

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...as always, for more Wordless Wednesday, 
check these out.

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Musing Monday..Not an Open Book

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 Another Monday, so let's Muse!! Here are the questions from  Should Be Reading...

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Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits.

• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!

• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.

• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!

• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

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Since we were talking about libraries...

We were last week, and it seems that many of us have fond memories of the local library as a child and probably as an adult as well. Most likely we are thinking about our local branch. However, if you live in a city or a large community, how about your central library. You know, like the place in NYC with the lions outside. Whatever the future of our local outlet in this digital age, what about those places with stack after stack of 'real' books? Are they needed in the modern world, the digital information world?
Well, according to another article from the WSJ, The Library's Future Is Not an Open Book....what can I say, they have good articles!...that future is not as clear.

Branch libraries have long served as community hubs offering book clubs and after-school story times. But central libraries, dedicated to the care and maintenance of weighty collections within ornately crafted and lofty spaces, are having to recast themselves. Thanks to the shift of emphasis to online resources over hard copies, the prevalence of mobile technologies and changing approaches to studying and learning, libraries have a different social purpose.

These day, these central libraries are not about books, those stacks often being moved to other places. No, now it is about 'information', it is about being 'relevant'! The problem is no one is really sure what that means. And if they can determine what it means now, today, and shape the library for that use, what will it mean in a year or 5 years. Timeless this is not.

Librarians themselves don't talk about "books" much anymore. The library today, said Michael Colford, the director of library services in Boston, "is more of a platform launching you in all different directions."

Launching you in different directions...
Is that how people learn? Personally, I know I need guidance, direction. If not, why just not give everyone a laptop and launch them out there. In fact, lets close the schools altogether and let kids just decide what is revelant themselves.

I fondly remember my days in my local branch library, but I also fondly remember my trips downtown to the central Newark Public Library, an impressive old building, to work on some school project. Yes it was full of stacks of books, and microfiche for newspapers article and rooms full of cabinets with illustrations and prints. There were librarians to help me and guide me and get me to pull my scattered ideas for a project into some sort of order, to guide me to where and for what I might need to look.
But maybe most of all, the building, the atmosphere, convinced me that learning was an important thing. Look at this beautiful building built to its honor, in honor of knowledge. There was a timeless quality to it, something way bigger than me, Big Things and Big Ideas. These beautiful buildings, these..

structures still serves the function for which it was created—to hold books—and inspires awe through the ideals expressed in its architecture and the intellectual resources housed within.

Inspire awe..what a nice idea!

Weekend Cooking...A Happy Birthday Two-Fer

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Step right up folks!
Two Recipes for the Price of One!

The Niece had a birthday this week, and since I was off work for the big day, I volunteered to make dinner for the Sil and Bro and Niece and Niece's Fiancee.
Am I not the nicest Aunt ever??
This and a present! Wow!

On the birthday, the Birthday Boy or Girl gets to choose the menu and the Niece picked Shrimp Scampi. So Shrimp Scampi it was, with a nice salad of red leaf lettuce and arugula, with pecans and chopped dried cherries and a nice vinaigrette and some Italian bread.
Off to the cookbooks I went, taking an idea here, an idea there.

Actually, they are all pretty similar, but each..and I think I looked at a dozen online..had a little something different.
My beloved American Test kitchen had no wine in theirs..what is with that?! They think it adds too much acid, so I used a slightly sweeter Riesling. But the idea they have of cooking at a lower heat, sort of poaching rather than browning, seemed like a good idea, creating more shrimpy liquid for the sauce.
Pioneer Woman adds onion..I don't see the need really, but you could. And I like red pepper flakes better than the hot sauce she uses, if just for looks. A little red, a little green. And speaking of green, I do like her addition of both basil and parsley. And lemon zest. Don't waste that zest!
I would suggest getting all the ingredients measured and prepped before you start, because once you start cooking, it goes fast. No time to stop and chop.
Have everyone ready to eat, waiting with forks in hand, because once that water boils it is 10 minutes until dinner.
If I do say so myself, it was delicious. Easy, quick and delicious.

 Shrimp Scampi

• 3 tbs butter 
• 3 tbs olive oil 
• 4 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 
• zest of 1 lemon 
• 1/2 cup white wine 
• 2 pound  peeled, deveined, tail-on shrimp 
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste 
• 2 tbs finely chopped parsley 
• 2 tbs shredded basil 
• 2 tbs fresh lemon juice 
• 1 pound of a long pasta 

Boil the water for the pasta.
As the pasta cooks, start cooking the shrimp.

Heat butter and olive oil in a skillet over high heat until butter foams. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until garlic starts to color. Be careful not to burn.
Add the shrimp, zest and the white wine, tossing everything and spread shrimp into one layer, reducing heat to medium, stirring to cook all evenly, until pink and opaque, about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat, toss in parsley, basil, lemon juice, pepper and salt to taste.

Put cooked, drained pasta into pot with shrimp and toss, adding a little of the pasta water if needed to loosen up the sauce.
Top with 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

So, it was a birthday, right, so there must be a cake!

A Happy Birthday Cake!

The Birthday Girl requested Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Icing, so Chocolate it would be!
Off to find a recipe, again. Consulted America Test Kitchen...consulted King Arthur Flour...took something from one and something from the other and came up with...

Chocolate Layer Cake with Chocolate Raspberry Cream and Chocolate Cream Icing 

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup boiling water

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon instant coffee or expresso powder

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup milk

1 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour 3 8" cake pans (can also use one 9" x 13" pan, two 9" round pans or the wells of two muffin tins.)
Mix cocoa and coffee in a small bowl and add the boiling water, mixing well. When cool, add vanilla and milk and mix well and set aside.

Beat butter with electric mixer about 30 seconds, until smooth and shiny. Add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Then add eggs, one at a time, and beat 1 minute.

Place a strainer over a large mixing bowl. Measure in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Sift/shake the dry ingredients through the strainer into a mixing bowl, to eliminate any lumps. 

Add 1/3 of the dry mix to butter mixture, followed by 1/3 of the chocolate. Continue until done. Stop mixer, scrape down bowl and mix another 30 seconds, until batter looks satiny. 

Divide between the three pans and bake for 23-25 minutes, until cake springs back to touch, cake is pulling back from pans and skewer comes out clean. Cool pans on wire rack 10 minutes, then remove from pans and COOL TOTALLY before you frost. 

Chocolate Cream Frosting 

1 cup heavy cream
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped fine (Do not use chips, use bar chocolate)
1/3 cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

Bring cream to boil. Pour over chocolate and stir until chocolate melts. Add corn syrup and whisk until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Refrigerate 1- 1 1/2 hours, stirring several times until reaches spreading consistency.

Chocolate Raspberry Cream Filling 

Whip 1/2 cup heavy cream to stiff peaks. 
Add in 1/2 cup of the chocolate cream frosting. 

To assemble cake, spread 1/4 cup raspberry jam on one layer cake, topping with half of the cream filling. Top with another layer, spread on the rest of the jam and the rest of the filling and top with last layer.
Ice sides and top with remaining frosting.

OK, this was delicious too! I am on a roll!
I put sliced almonds on the side of the cake..it makes it look pretty and is so easy. Then I used a fork to make some swirls on top. Very nice. Personally, I loved the filling, a nice contrast to the frosting and a great raspberry taste.

Winner, Winner, Birthday Dinner!

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This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

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Review of "Sacrifice" [38]

Sacrifice by S.J. Bolton
Minotaur, ISBN  978-0312381134
May 27, 2008, 384 pages

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"Moving to remote Shetland has been unsettling enough for consultant surgeon Tora Hamilton, even before the gruesome discovery she makes one rain-drenched Sunday afternoon... Deep in the peat soil of her field she's shocked to find the perfectly preserved body of a young woman, a gaping hole in her chest where her heart has been brutally removed. 

Three rune marks etched into the woman's skin bear an eerie resemblance to carvings Tora has seen all over the islands: in homes she has visited, even around a fireplace in her own cellar. But, as she uncovers disturbing links to an ancient Shetland legend, the police, her smooth-talking boss and even her own husband are at pains to persuade her to leave well alone. Is their concern genuine? Perhaps, for when terrifying threats start rolling in like the cold island mists, it seems someone wants Tora out of the picture, once and for all...

Sacrifice will grip readers from start to finish. It is a bone-chilling, spellbinding debut set on a deceptively beautiful island."

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I am a fan of S.J. Bolton's books, especially her DC Lacey Flint series. Lacey Flint is one excellent character, certainly not your average London copper. But in addition to the Flint series, Bolton has also written a great standalone or two. Somehow it seems I missed her first book, Sacrifice. Happily, a recently corrected that and I am very happy I did, because I think it is a great book, one I totally enjoyed.

Yes, it is set in the Shetland Islands, a setting I have been very partial to since reading Anne Cleeves excellent Shetland Island quartet. It is a wild and rugged place with a mysterious, legend filled past, perfect for a rather creepy plot. And this book has a very good and not a little creepy plot.

This book is also full of great characters, first among them a great, strong female protagonist in Dr. Tora Hamilton. She is smart and brave, lonely and very bad with people, totally in love with her husband but not beyond believing he may be part of something very evil going on in the Shetlands. In short, she is very believable. But she is not the only great characters..this books is full of them, including a great policewoman who will reappear in some of Bolton's future books.

OK, yes, the plot is maybe a bit over the top, something that usually bothers me. Just read my review from yesterday if you don't believes me. But here, it seems totally right and believable somehow. Part of that may be because of the setting, with tales of gray men living under the bridges and a violent and nasty past..and maybe a rather nasty present as well. It seems reasonable and I was totally happy to go along for what is an exciting ride, just like Tora dashing ride on her horse, across the moors in the dead of night to escape those who would do her in. Hold on to those reins!

A very good debut, from an author with several more very entertaining books to her name since then. So, when you finish this one, you have four more novels, a novella and a new book coming out in June in the US to await you. Let me tell you, I read a brief preview of the beginning of the new book, Lost, and all I can say is "Wow!"

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Review of "If You Were Here" [37]

If You Were Here by Alafair Burke
Harper, ISBN 978-0062208354
June 4, 2013, 384 pages

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Ex-prosecutor McKenna Wright was forced to resign as an assistant DA years ago over an accusation she made against a cop. She tried to get him indicted for shooting a young man, dropping a gun and claiming self defense. But someone else came forward and said he had sold the dead man the gun he was found with, so the cop went free and McKenna looked like she had failed to do her homework before she accused the cop. Her name is mud with the police department these days.

Now she has moved on, is in a happy marriage, wrote a not very successful book, and is working as a rather successful magazine journalist, always on the search for an exciting story. And she thinks she has found one. A teenage boy falls on to the subways track and is rescued by an attractive, blond woman, who grabbed the boys hand and lifted him up by herself to the platform...and then disappears in the crowd. Who is this mysterious..and quite athletic..lady?
When McKenna gets a hold of someones iPhone video of what happened..the only video, since the camera in the station was not working...she wants to see if she can track the rescuer down. What she never except to find is that the woman in the video is her friend Susan, who disappeared 10 years ago and was presumed dead.

When she starts to look into the possibility that Susan is still alive, things start to go very bad. The video disappears, computers are hacked, false e-mails planted, another scandal blows up that gets McKenna fired. Again. And how is this all related to a house explosion where someone died and a mysterious group of Eco-terrorists?
It seems that if Susan is really still alive, someone very much wants her not to be found.

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There is much I liked about this book...and a couple of things I did not.
McKenna is a good character, although I wish she would learn her lesson and not jump to conclusions so often. It got her fired once, but still she does it, again..and again. And again.
But don't jump to conclusions yourself. In fact, that was not one of the things I disliked about the book. No, McKenna is smart and, by in large, thinks things out before she acts, trying to solve this mystery. That jumping part just makes her seem a bit less perfect and a bit more realistic. I also like the character of her husband Patrick, and how their relationship is depicted. Sadly, he is drawn right into the middle of a very dangerous situation... or was he already a part of it from the start? Is he good or is he bad? The book keeps you guessing and that is good too.

Then what was my problem?
Well, it is a complex plot, which is fine, but in the last quarter of the book or so, it just get out of hand. Twists are fine, but when you get one slight unbelievable event on top of another improbable event, the whole house threatens to collapse. It doesn't, but it is too close for comfort.
My greatest issue with the plot however is a decision Susan made before her disappearance, a decision that is key to the entire story. When it comes out at the close of the book..well, I just could not buy it. Susan is presented as a very smart woman, a West Point graduate, someone who served in the army as an officer with success and made the transition to private life with equal success. This key point of the plot, something she bought into, is just beyond belief. Which is a shame because it rather spoiled the ending for me of a book that, up until then, I was rather enjoying.

All in all, for me it was a good book, flawed by an overly complex, rather unbelievable ending. But still I enjoyed it and am glad I got the chance to read it...

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...So my thanks to Amazon Vine and the publisher for providing a review copy.

Wordless Wednesday....Green

I am running out of colors...but fear not, this week we have GREEN!

 

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Isola di San Michele, the cemetery island

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...as always, for more Wordless Wednesday, 
check these out.

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Musing Monday...Beg, Steal or Borrow

I think it was on Shelf Awareness that I saw this link to a cute article, How to Shop at a Bookstore: An Easy 20-Step Guide for Authors.
Even though I have never seen a bookstore through the eyes of an author, as a reader, bookstores are certainly places I  enjoy going to. So I enjoyed reading this list...until I got to number 18... and it gave me occasion to pause.

18) As you cross the street with your bag of new books, remember the first time your mother took you to a bookstore and told you to pick something out. To keep, not borrow. You were overwhelmed by choice and wonder. Remember how you pulled things off the shelf at random because every book was equally unknown and fresh and promising.

Mother...bookstore...why does that not ring a bell?
In fact, why to I have no memory of bookstores when I was a kid.
Actually, what was the first time I ever went to a bookstore?
Gosh, I have no idea!

I have written before, perhaps ad nausem, about my happy memories of wee caite going to the library with my mom, a great book lover and a great reader. My memory of going upstairs to the kids floor, picking out the books I would take out. My memory of how happy I was to finally be old enough to get my own library card. Happy days...
Ok, I will stop. But still, libraries, yes, bookstores, no.

There were many stores in our neighborhood in Newark, NJ at the time. Jewelry stores, and shoe stores and two supermarkets and drug stores and a florist and an ice cream and candy store and several banks..but no bookstore that I remember. And even in downtown Newark, then the home of a great big Bamberger, later Macy's, department store and lots of other stores, I remember no bookstores. Was there a bookstore?
How odd is it that I have no memory of going to a bookstore until maybe I got a drivers license and could drive to the then new mall maybe a half hour away. Honestly, I do not remember going to a bookstore there either, but I must have. Right? Maybe the Bro will remember and post a comment.

Libraries were always the center of my book reading world when i was a kid. And oddly, now that our local Borders shut down and there are no independent bookstores nearby, libraries are once again playing a big part. That, and the Evil Amazon and Nookbooks from Barnes and Noble for the Evil E-reader and of course, that towering pile of review copies.

Do you have fond childhood memories of bookstores..maybe your first trip to a bookstore?
I would love to hear them!
Because it seems I don't!
!

Weekend Cooking..Doce de Mayo

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You might remember..ok, you don't...but for Christmas we had a Mexican dinner that included some Mexican Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas. Well, when I bought that pork shoulder at my local Sam's Club there were actually two in the package. So before it turned to a big hunk of ice in the freezer and I had to toss it, it was time to cook it! Last Sunday, being Cinco de Mayo, it was time for some more Carnitas. A lot of carnitas...then I had the leftovers for a few days, perfect for some toasty, cheesy quesadillas. Some pork, some salsa, some cheese, some cilantro...

fold you up and...into the frying pan with you!

We had rice and black beans as well that evening, and of course some delicious guacamole. But when I bought the avocados, one was not quite ripe, so I put it aside.
Yesterday it was ripe.
Very ripe, so what to do with one lone avocado? A wee bit of guacamole...or how about this deconstructed guacamole from this weeks America's Test Kitchen newsletter. Yes, indeed, I made a half batch, with one avocado and one pepper..an it went very well with that pork quesadilla! Fresh and just a little spicy and a great way to celebrate the 12th of May!

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Avocado Salad
from America's Test Kitchen

Why this recipe works: Tasters liked the consistently sweet taste of grape tomatoes compared with other varieties. Tasters also liked the flavor of minced garlic present in many guacamole salad recipes, but thought raw onions were just too harsh, so we used scallions instead. Steeping the garlic and scallions in lime juice for a few minutes before combining them with the avocados mellowed their flavor. We wanted plenty of peppers for crunch and bulk, but a large quantity of jalapeños made the salad too hot to eat. Milder poblanos, with just a hint of heat, were a better choice. If you can't find poblano peppers, substitute an equal number of Anaheim chiles, or a large green bell pepper mixed with up to 2 tablespoons of minced jalapeño chile.

Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:

• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• Salt and pepper 
• 4 scallions, sliced thin 
• 1 garlic clove, minced 
• 1 tablespoon grated lime zest 
• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice 
• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• 2 poblano chiles, seeded and sliced into 2-inch matchsticks 
• 2 ripe avocados, pitted, skinned, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro 

Instructions:

1. SALT TOMATOES Toss tomatoes and ½ teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Transfer to paper towel-lined baking sheet and let drain 15 minutes.

2. MAKE DRESSING Combine scallions, garlic, lime zest, lime juice, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in large bowl. Let sit 5 minutes, then slowly whisk in oil.

3. TOSS SALAD Add chiles, avocados, cilantro, and drained tomatoes to bowl with dressing and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

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This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

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Review of "Matinicus" [36]

Matinicus by Darcy Scott
Maine Author Publishing, ISBN  1936447231
May 10, 2012, 252 pages

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"Steeped in Maine island lore, this century-spanning double mystery pits a renegade fishing community against an unhappy child-bride of the 1820s, a defiant twenty-first-century teen, and a hard-drinking botanist—Dr. Gil Hodges—who escapes to the island of Matinicus to avoid a crazed ex-lover and verify a rumored 22 species of wild orchid, only to find himself hounded by the ghost of a child some two-hundred years dead.

If Gil’s hoping for peace and quiet, he’s clearly come to the wrong place. Generations of infighting among loose-knit lobstering clans have left them openly hostile to outsiders. When a beautiful, bed-hopping stranger sails into the harbor, old resentments re-ignite and people begin to die—murders linked, through centuries of violence, to a diary whose secrets threaten to tear the island apart."

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When I received a chance to review the author's second book in her Island Mystery series, I though I should go back and read the first, Matinicus. Turns out it is not really necessary, since the second, Reese's Leap, easily stands alone. But I am happy I did, because I very much enjoyed this book.

Yes, I admit it, I have a weakness for books set in Maine, especially along that rocky coast. But that is only part of why I liked this book. It is very well written, the dialogue always believable to my ear. And yes, the setting is great. Gil is a botanist, and the parts about all the different sorts of trees and wild berries and wild flowers as he explores the island, is great. But Scott does not paint an all pretty, idealized picture of these islands. The residents are hard living, with maybe a bit too much alcohol and not a few drugs and certainly not beyond taking the law into their own hands. What happens on Matinicus, stays on Matinicus..and believe me, a lot of things are going to be happening on Matinicus!

I will admit I did not totally buy into the ghost thing at first, but Gil's reaction, made it totally acceptable. No silly Woo Hoo here! Also the jumps back and forth, from the doing generations ago that Gill is reading about in an old diary, and then back to the present, and a few switches from first to third person is a tiny bit confusing. Really, the different time periods need to be labels a bit more clearly, but yes, it is only a minor issue.

Gil is a great character, very likable, but also far from perfect, as he well knows. Sometimes he just needs to keep it zipped up and I do not mean his mouth. And it might be easier to see what is really going on if he was not so often hung over from his beloved single malt. But he is not the only good character in this book. It is full of them,  and so very well described that you will think you know them in real life and you will care when they are in danger. But unlike Gil, I was not drunk and, to tell you the truth, I had it all pretty wrong. The present day mystery and the ones reaching back centuries. You might think you have it all figured out and then your read those last few pages and...wow. No, a dare say, you did not see it coming..and neither did Gil, poor fellow.

I have already read the second book in the series, Reese's Leap, but the review will not be out until the book's blog tour in August. Still, I will let you in on a secret...it was quite good as well, and it was a pleasure to see the charming, unlucky in love Gil back again. A beautiful island with a mysterious past and a violent present, great characters and a twisty-turny plot with tons of red herrings and an ending that will leave you surprised, certainly makes Matinicus a book I would recommend.

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Review of "The Burgess Boys" [35]

The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout
Random House, ISBN 978-1400067688
March 26, 2013, 336 pages

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Bob Burgess has little interest in returning home to his small Maine town from NYC, where he now works as a legal aid lawyer. Neither he nor his brother, who he idolizes, could get out of there fast enough when they were younger. But his sister, who still lives in their hometown, has called that her son is in trouble and needs some help, so Bob goes. She would really have preferred that her much more successful brother Jim, also a lawyer, would have come, but he is too 'busy', about to set off on a vacation, so she will have to make do with second best.
Bob, it seems, is always second best.

Her son Zack has committed a nasty prank, throwing a bloody pig's head into a mosque attended by the town's immigrant Somalis. And now, instead of a common misdemeanor, it is being considered a hate crime and he could be in very serious trouble. But when these three come together, all still haunted by some degree by their father's death in a tragic, horrible accident when they were just young children, things are not going to be a bed of roses.

Although I have not yet read it, I heard wonderful things about the author's previous book, Olive Kitteridge, so when I got a chance to read this one, I happily grabbed it.
I am sorry to say, that while I did not hate this book, I certainly did not love it.

The plot, what there was of it, just sort of meandered pointlessly along for me.
But the real problem, the deal breaker, was the characters, not a good thing in what is certainly a character driven novel.
On the one hand, I did not really feel like I was given enough to really know them, to really get a handle on them, but on the other hand, what I did get to know, I didn't like. It is an issue that comes up from time to time when reading a book, but I will ask it again..is is possible to like a book when you do not like any of people in it, do not feel any empathy for them, ultimately do not care much what happens to them? Maybe, but not for me.

The siblings, the Burgess boys and their sister....well, one is worse than the other. Successful, high flying attorney Jim is a nasty piece of work, just so full of himself and someone who treats his younger brother like dirt. Which is particularly reprehensible when we find out, near the end of the book, a particular fact about their history when they were children. The sister Susan, hanging around in this town, Shirley Falls, Maine, which she hates, is annoying and angry. We have Bob, maybe the most likable of the group but he is just so pitiful, such a punching bag, that I want to yell at him to stand up for himself.
And finally, we have Susan's son Zach, the teenager who committed the very stupid act that got this all started, and caused his uncles to come and help him. Well, we see little of him and never get any real idea of way he did what he did, which seems like an important issue to me. In fact, everything we are told about him makes it seem unlikely that he would do such a thing. So way did he? We are just suppose to accept it I guess.

The book touches upon a number of topics...the complexities of rural, small town life, issues of immigrants assimilating in a new and often hostile community, tension between siblings, hate crimes, marriage and divorce...perhaps too many topics, because I finished the book not feeling I had a better handle on any of them.
Maybe I am just not up for another rambling, rather depressing story of yet another dysfunctional family.

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My thanks to Amazon Vine and the publisher for providing a review copy.

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Wordless Wednesday...Blue

Someone requested blue, so blue it is this week.

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...as always, for more Wordless Wednesday, 
check these out.

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Musing Monday..."Con Te Partirò"

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 It's Monday and which question should we answer from Should Be Reading...

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Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits.

• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!

• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.

• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!

• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

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What does the title of this post say? Well, it is the name of a song that is translated into English as Time To Say Goodbye. And that is what I want to take about. The issue is, when should an author say goodbye to a series?

Now I like series, and my favorite genre, mysteries, thriller, suspense and police procedurals..which in my mind are all part of one Big Genre...has many, many series. You create a great character, a great cop or a great detective and a good setting and you are off to the races. But if the series is a success and people are buying the books, publishers and authors are making money and fans are happy, is it possible at some point to call it quits? My answer would be, not only is it possible, but sometimes it is necessary, both for the reader and for the author.

The reason this issue came to mind was an article in the Wall Street Journal a couple of days ago called How To Kill A Vampire (Series). I hope that link works..one was locked except to subscribers only but this seemed OK, because I though it was an interesting article..
But bottom line, it seems that after 13 books, and inspiring the HBO show True Blood, the author Charlaine Harris has decided to end her very popular Sookie Stackhouse vampire series.
To say the least, fans are not happy.
She has received thousands and thousands of negative posts and e-mails, there are people who have threatened to kill themselves if she ends the series.
She has received death threats.
Really.

Ok, can we all say some people needs to get a life.
Some people need to get a grip on reality.
Some people are just a little too vested.
Folks, it is only a book.
If you don't like the series ending, just make up your own and pretend that is how the book ended.
Because this stuff is all made up..it is all pretend.

This from someone who LOVES books.

Personally, I admire Ms. Harris's decision. She said she was getting bored, wanted to do some other things. Another series, a project with another author, are in the works. And she felt the whole thing was getting out of hand, having to deal with too many new characters and creatures to keep it fresh. Blow them all up I say!! A massive explosion of vampires and werepeople and shape-shifters! Or they could all be sucked into a Black Hole, never ever to reappear. Woo Hoo!!

I am sure it is not easy.
First, let's just be practical. I am sure these books made her a great deal of money, more as the series became more popular and she could easily dragged it out for book after books. There is certainly no guarantee she will be able to have such success again.

But I am a great believer that almost every series has some sort of natural life. Then it should die. To be replaced, by the talented author I have liked all along, by a fresh, new idea, fresh, new characters, fresh, new stories and fresh, new situations. Or honestly, you are most likely going to lose me as a reader anyhoo. Because I, as a reader, seem to have a limit. I am not sure there is a magic number but I think at about 10 books you should be giving it some serious thought.

I am sure all of us can think of an author or two that we once loved but who lost us when the series just went on long after the great ideas ended. Patricia Cornwell and her Dr. Kay Scarpetta series is one that comes to mind. I checked Wikipedia..seems there are 21 books in the series including a new one this year.
Yes, I loved the first few. They were well written, different, great plots, good books..and then things went quickly downhill. 7 or 8 would have been a great place to stop Patricia.
Really.

Do you have a favorite series that comes to mind, one that should soon, or long ago, died?
Or do you have one that you love and hopes goes on forever and ever..and you think I am just full of hot air?
I am pretty sure I am right! At some point it is just Time To Say Goodbye.

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Now, if you like, you can hear Bocelli and Sarah Brightman sing it.

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Weekend Cooking..Italian Pot Roast

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Last week, I decided to make pot roast.
Now that might not seem like a big deal, but I don't really like pot roast. Or at least I didn't.

My mother used to make pot roast on a regular basis when we were kids, in her cast iron dutch oven. And while I loved the gravy, which was wonderful on some noodles, which I also love, the meat, however, I was not that fond of. Sorry mom, God rest her soul, but I thought it was rather dry and tough. But so long as there was that gravy and noodles, who could complain?

Then I was reading one of my favorite cookbooks, Slow Cooker Revolution by America's Test Kitchen.
Yes, them again. Get over it. :-)
And they had a couple of pot roast recipes. But here was the different. They used chuck roasts, not the round roast my mother used. So I tried it.
And I liked it.
A lot.
Fall apart tender. Tasty. With a rich gravy.
And in the slow cooker, very easy.

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Italian Pot Roast
adapted from Slow Cooker revolution
Ingredients 
2 (2 1/2-3 pounds each) boneless chuck roasts, tied  with butcher twine
2 medium onions, chopped
4-6 carrots, cut in 2 inch pieces
3-4 parsnips, cut in 2 inch pieces
6 garlic cloves
1 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
2 bay leaves
1 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
6 small red skin potatoes, cut in half
3/4 cups low sodium beef broth

Directions
Season roasts with salt and pepper. Brown roasts in a skillet on all sides in 1 tablespoon of oil. Put roasts in slow cooker.  In your skillet, add remaining tablespoon of oil. Cook onions, carrots, parsnips, tomato paste and garlic until lightly browned. Add wine, scraping up any brown bits in pan, then red pepper flakes, oregano, and bay leaves. Turn the heat to high and simmer until wine is reduced by half. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil.

Pour over the roasts in slow cooker pot. Add beef broth and the . Cover and cook on low for 8 - 9 hours or high for 6 - 7 hours, until meat is tender. Remove meat, skim fat from liquid, and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with mashed potatoes, noodles or polenta. 

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There is meat in there with the noodles, believe me.

Yes, I made some changes from the original recipe, mostly because I did not want to go to the store again. They soaked and added porcini mushrooms...and they cooked 8 ozs. of bacon, used the fat to brown the meat and veg and added the bacon into the pot.
Now I love bacon and I love mushrooms, so if I had remembered to get them, they would have been in there. And if you check the original recipe, you will see I reversed the amount of the liquids, more wine, less broth.

Also, I added more vegetables. Which, with the lack of porcini, might make it less Italian but my mom always added potatoes, so I did too. And I had a few parsnips in the frig and they seemed perfect to add, so in they went. If I had not forgotten them too, I would have added some baby onions too..a shame.
Yes, I need to start making a list.
And take it with me.

Most important of all, I think, is that I cooked it in two parts.
I followed the directions above and set it to cook overnight in the crock pot. Then in the morning, I removed the meat and veggies and poured the remaining liquid into a separate container and put them all in the fridge. Then come dinner time, I could take the fat off the top of gravy, so it was not at all greasy, poured it in back into a big pot, thickened it with some flour if needed , test the seasoning and put the meat and veg back in to reheat for a couple of minutes.
The ultimate comfort dinner...and even best left over the next day.

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This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

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Review of "The Redeemer" [34]

The Redeemer by Jo Nesbo 
Knopf, ISBN 978-0307595850
May 21, 2013, 416 pages

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In the latest Jo Nesbo book to be published in English, it is Christmas time in Oslo, Norway, but don't be looking for any holiday cheer. As shoppers mill about, enjoying a Christmas concert, a man walks up to a Salvation Army worker, pulls a gun and shoots the man in the head. Enter Harry Hole, one of our favorite screwed up policemen, but as usual it will not be an easy case. There are no clues, no apparent motive and no one able to give a description of the shooter.

But he is not the only one with a problem. For the hired hitman, this was suppose to be an easy job and, in fact, his last job. But things have gone wrong and he has killed the wrong man and now several more will die before it is all over. Hopefully Harry, always fighting that drinking demon, can stay sober long enough to figure it out, because the hitman, nicknamed as a child warrior in his native Yugoslavia during the war as the 'little redeemer' is a man obsessed with completing his 'mission'. Throw in a rape from decades ago that opens the book and we are in for one rather dark and disturbing holiday season.

I will admit that while I like the Harry Hole series, I do not love it.

Why is that? Not to harp on the issue, but I blame the publishers who decided, in their warped wisdom, to translate this series into English out of order. Sometimes it might not have been a huge issue but here I think here it was. If you have not read any of Nesbo books yet, you may be lucky. I think the first two are going to be translated soon and then you will be able to read them in order, at least to some degree. Harry is a complex character, with a troubled history that has made him the man he is, and to have to jump into the middle of his story, as you have if you have read the books as they were translated, is not idea.
Also, I must add that perhaps, with this one, 100 pages could have been cut from this overly long book with no negative effect. Sometimes less is indeed more.

But that being said, this is actually one of my favorite books of the series so far!
Maybe I am finally getting a handle on Harry. Maybe I just like the complex and convoluted plot, with some great twists and turns and a few scenes I will not soon forget. For example, I will never look at Christmas tree decorations in quite the same way again...you will have to read the book to find out why. Maybe it is also because, for the most part, Harry's addiction plays a smaller role in this than in some of the other books, and his 'issues' have become just a little tiring for me.
But there are enough other issues in this book to keep the reader engaged...junkies, rape victims, homelessness, greed, the horror of war and of course, murder.
And as always, we have the ever enigmatic Harry Hole, always an interesting character.

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My thanks to Amazon Vine and the publisher for a review copy of this book.

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