Slow Recovery

So, I just finished "World Without End" by Ken Follett, the 1014-page sequel to "The Pillars of the Earth". A book that size requires a sizable investment of reading time. I actually finished it early this week and I just haven't been able to bring myself to pick up a new book. It is hard to follow stories that span 1000+ pages with one of C's Jr. Fiction books that I need to read, or almost anything else. So, I'm not quite sure what will be next.

It will likely be next month's book club book...which is being chosen at book club tonight...which I am not at...sad. I had to travel for work this month, which is preventing me from taking part in what I am sure is a great discussion about Princess Di's life. I'm looking forward to hearing what book we'll be reading this next month (and actually got to cast my vote early).

Other possibilities for the next book to be read: Sabotage by Margaret Peterson Haddix, The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns or...? Anyone have any suggestions?

The Book Box

The book box was filled with good things. Here's the quick recap:

• Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
• Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
• Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon
• A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg
• The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
• Perfect One-Dish Dinners by Pam Anderson
• Barefoot Contessa: How Easy is That?

I've got some good reading ahead of me in 2011. Right now, on my nightstand: The Diana Chronicles by Tina Brown (January book club) and Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

I added a list on the sidebar of this blog to track what I read during 2011. See that for my most recent reads.

Fall into Reading Recap

Well, winter has officially arrived and with it, the end of the Fall into Reading challenge.

How did I do? Well, I lost a little steam at the end. The end of the list is much too restrictive for me. I never "feel" like reading the few things that are left. So, the three remaining on my list were "The Catcher in the Rye", "The Whole Life Adoption Book" and "The Hole in our Gospel". Shame on me. I abandoned the non-fiction once again. These three books will definitely be high on the list for 2011.

Now let's talk about what I did read. I just looked back at my list, and it seems like I read some of those books a long time ago. There were lots of great ones in this list. Without a doubt, the best read was "The Book Thief". I also really enjoyed Francine River's new duo, "Her Mother's Hope"/"Her Daughter's Dream". Ted Dekker's Circle Trilogy (Black/Red/White) was different from anything else I've read and absolutely captivating. "Green" will definitely be on my 2011 list.

In my defense, I did read some non-fiction, including "A Homemade Life" and "My Life in France". I like reading about food obviously. In fact "A Homemade Life" made my Christmas list because of the delicious-sounding recipes at the end of each chapter.

I threw in a few extras as well, Dave Rosenfelt's new one, "Dog Tags" and a free book I had on my Kindle, "Mossy Creek", plus some library books "Winter Garden, "Innocent", "House Rules" and "A Rule Against Murder"...and maybe a Percy Jackson. Total books read this fall = approximately 22.

This is a great challenge! Thanks to Callapidder Days for hosting.

What's left?

I realized today that I needed to check what was left on my Fall into Reading list. I feel like I've made some pretty good progress. Here's what needs to be in my to be read pile for the next month:

"The Confession" - finally available for me to pick up at the library
"The Catcher in the Rye"
"Brooklyn"
"My Life in France"
"Ape House"
"Half Broke Horses"
"A Hole in our Gospel"
"The Whole Life Adoption Book"
December's book club pick

Well, that's a few more than I thought it was. I have obviously left the non-fiction for last again. Oops. I think this list is doable. Especially if I ignore the 3 books I picked up at the library that are calling my name:
"The House at Riverton" by Kate Morton
"House Rules" by Jodi Picoult
"The Scent of Rain and Lightning" by Nancy Pickard

I like to list them here so that if I do have to return them unread, I can find them again.

October Book Club

October was my month to host book club. The books on my list were "Great American Classics" and included "The Catcher in the Rye", "A Farewell to Arms", "Grapes of Wrath", and "To Kill a Mockingbird". As you may have noticed from my Fall into Reading list, "A Farwell to Arms" was the chosen book.

One of my favorite things about book club is that we eat. And, the host tries to make something that relates to the book in some way. In "FTA" there were actually quite a few references to food. Since they were in Italy, I knew some kind of pasta was in order. At one point, they had pasta but no red sauce, so I opted for Spaghetti Carbonara (recipe below). We also enjoyed a variety of cheeses. It was my first time to put together a cheese tray - Drunken Goat, Brie, Sartori (a combination of Parmesan and Cheddar), Emmentaler, and Red Leicester Cheese. We had apple slices, bread and salted almonds. The grand finale was a pumpkin bread pudding. I'll post that recipe soon over at What's Cooking. I don't want to leave out that Anne brought the most delicious chocolate cupcakes for my birthday.

Let's just say that the food went over better than the book did. But, some of us can now say we've read Ernest Heminway. I really doubt another one of his books ever makes it on a list.

Now for the recipe. The ingredients are fairly simple, but my method is a little more involved. The night of book club, this actually turned out drier than it had in the past. I changed my method. Here I will post what I did on previous attempts:

Spaghetti Carbonara
adapted from Gimme Some Oven
1 lb spaghetti
1/2 lb bacon, diced
1/2 lg. onion, diced
5 eggs
1/4 c. milk (I did about 1/2 milk, 1/2 cream)
1/4 c. - 3/4 c. grated fresh Parmesan
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Boil water for the pasta. Salt it liberally (1-2 TB).

While the water is coming to a boil, cook bacon in large skillet. When the bacon is nearly crispy, add the onion. (I discovered once that if I added the onion too soon, the bacon wouldn't get crispy and then the onion would burn...not good). So, you want the bacon almost as cooked as you want it. Once you add the onion, cook until translucent.

In a large bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, Parmesan and pepper.

Cook pasta 9-11 minutes or until al dente.

When the pasta is ready (here's where my method may sound a little strange but it works), remove it from the pasta water with tongs or a pasta spoon and put it in the bowl with the egg mixture. When you're doing this, you'll likely get a little pasta water with it. That's okay. Once you get that all added, stir, stir, stir. (Actually I stir after each addition) It should thicken a little. Next, I dump the pasta water out of the pot, and put the mixture into the hot pot. Stir, stir, stir again. (The goal is to keep the eggs from scrambling but heating them up gradually.) Then, I usually put the pot on a burner over low heat and stir, stir, stir. It's easy for the eggs to end up cooking on the bottom of the pan. It's not the end of the world. Just don't scoop that part out. It still tastes delicious. Just warm it up until the sauce thickens and clings to the spaghetti. I promise it's not as complicated as it may sound. And it's so very worth it.

Sorry it took me a month to post this. Enjoy!

Catching Up

Okay, a quick catch up post from the last one -

I read:
"A Mother's Hope" -Loved this!
"Winter Garden" - Entertained by this.
"Innocent" - Good for something different after two emotional dramas.
"Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" - Really enjoyed this one, too and would definitely recommend it.

I decided not to read:
"South of Broad" - I probably didn't give myself enough pages to adjust to his writing style, but there was just too many other books to read.

I had to return:
"Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" - I'll check this one out again.

I still have:
"Brooklyn"

Next post: A recipe from last month's book club

2,694 pages

So, I went to the library today (seems like many of my posts start like this)...

I came home with 2,694 pages of reading. How did that happen? Let's just say that I shouldn't even stop at the new release shelves. I should go straight to the checkout when I have a book on hold. But, today I had a few extra minutes and just couldn't help myself.

Many times I walk away empty-handed. But, today the titles were just jumping off the shelves. Were any of them on my Fall into Reading (FIR) list? No. That would be too easy. And, of course, 6 of the 8 books that I left with are 14-day loans. I'm pretty sure some will be returned unread. Oh well. I did grab a couple that are on my list...they just weren't on the new release shelves.

So, what's in the pile?
Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers (the book on hold that I went there to pick up)
South of Broad by Pat Conroy - Not FIR but on my "to be read" list for some time
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah - Her books are super fast, easy reads...nothing life changing here, just fun, not FIR
Innocent by Scott Turow - Also not on the list, but something a little different
Brooklyn - FIR
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - FIR
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - I've seen this on a number of FIR blogs and it looks interesting.

I can't start any of these just yet though. I'm now flying through The Book Thief. What an incredible book! I highly recommend it. More about that later...back to reading.