Kitchen Remodel, Week Twenty-Five: Eency Weency Water Spout

I have eency weency spiders on my mind because Portland has been invaded by them.  You can't walk between two trees, bushes, gateposts, or any other pair of things closer than eight feet apart without getting spider web stuck to you or, worse, one of the little critters scurrying on you. Ick!

The kitchen remodel is still waiting on exterior bricks.  The word is, the bricks are now in the state of Oregon -- not at my house, but within the borders of the state.

In the meantime, I was just pleased to see this little length of copper drain pipe finally get installed.  It meant we could finally say Bye Bye to the black PVC pipe that has been hanging from our eaves since January.

Inside the kitchen was busy because yesterday was Caponata Day at my house.  Every year, I take advantage of friends' garden bounty and our local farmers market and spend one day making a huge batch of caponata.  I freeze it in smaller packages to enjoy all winter.

Part of this tradition is to try to find a caponata recipe in my Cookbook Library, get frustrated, and make it up from versions I've seen on the internet or eaten myself. Despite the number of Italian cookbooks I have and enjoy (see list below), as far as I found before giving up, only one of them has a recipe for eggplant caponata and it is a hugely simplified version -- basically sauteed eggplant with some vinegar and garlic.  

MY CAPONATA RECIPE

eggplant, with peel, in 1 1/2" cubes
yellow and/or green zucchini. with peel, in 1 1/2" cubes
yellow onion, quartered or cut into eighths, separated
celery, in 1" pieces
tomatoes, in 1 1/2" pieces or, if cherry or pear, whole
garlic cloves, peeled
pitted green olives, with or without pimento
capers
oilve oil
red wine vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

Amounts depend on what you like and have, traditionally heavy on the eggplant.  In years where friends grew lots of red or yellow peppers, I've included those too.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Separately roast eggplant, zucchini, onion, and celery with olive oil, turning occasionally, until browned and soft, but not mushy.  Do the same with the tomatoes, but they will get mushy.  Roast the garlic cloves in olive oil either in the oven, on the stove top, or in the microwave.

Once cooked, combine the vegetables with the olives and capers and stir it all together. Add vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste.  Add more olive oil if desired.

Eat warm or at room temperature.  Add more vinegar right before serving to brighten it up.  Eat as is for a side dish. Chop it up a little and serve with crackers or bruschetta for an appetizer -- very good with goat cheese.  Or chop it up a lot and use as a sauce with polenta or pasta.

Many recipes call for canned tomato sauce or canned chopped tomatoes instead of fresh, but it turns out more sauce-like, which is good if you want sauce, but not as good as an appetizer.  You can always add tomato sauce later to use it as a sauce.

MY ITALIAN COOKBOOKS

(with no caponata recipes that I found)

The Classic Italian Cookbook by Marcella Hazan

Cucina Rustica by Viana La Place

A Fresh Taste of Italy: 250 Authentic Recipes, Undiscovered Dishes, and New Flavors for Every Day by Michele Scicolone

Italian Casserole Cooking by Angela Catanzaro

The Italian Country Table: Home Cooking from Italy's Farmhouse Kitchens by Lynne Rossetto Kasper

La Cucina Siciliana di Gangivecchio by Wanda Tornabene (with the simplified caponata recipe)

Marcella's Italian Kitchen by Marcella Hazan

Naples at Table: Cooking in Campania by Arthur Schwartz

Pasta Classica: the Art of Italian Pasta Cooking by Julia Della Croce

The Splendid Table: Recipes from Emilia-Romagna, the Heartland of Northern Italian Food by Lynne Rossetto Kasper

The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces by Diane Seed

A Tuscan in the Kitchen: Recipes and Tales from My Home by Pino Luongo

Veneto: Authentic Recipes from Venice and the Italian Northeast by Julia della Croce

WEEKEND COOKING

Hosted by Beth Fish Reads

Book Beginning & DOUBLE GIVEAWAY: Cleans Up Nicely by Linda Dahl

SEE BELOW FOR DOUBLE GIVEAWAY DETAILS

LAST WEEK'S GIVEAWAY WINNERS:

Cynthia at Things You Read in Books and Juli at A Universe in Words are the lucky winners of Drive by Raymond Ahrens. Read more about this thought-provoking new book here.

BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

EARLY BIRDS: I am experimenting with getting this post up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. We'll try it this way for a couple of months to see if people like the option of early posting. If you have feelings one way or the other, please comment.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I am trying to follow all Book Beginning participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

MR. LINKY: Please leave a link to your post below. If you don't have a blog, but want to participate, please leave a comment with your Book Beginning.



MY BOOK BEGINNING

Her destination, that summer of 1977, is a luxury apartment building, upper Fifth Avenue, a slice of New York life completely alien to her.

Cleans Up Nicely by Linda Dahl. 

THE BOOK: "When twenty-something artist Erica Mason moves from laidback Mexico to Manhattan in the mid-1970s, she finds a hard-edged, decadent, and evolving art scene. Her life there leads her to a self-destructive string of affairs with men, alcohol, and drugs – but also, ultimately, to the self-respect that has long eluded her."

So far, this strikes me a gritty chick lit with an edge.  The mid-70s New York setting makes it retro-cool irresistible.

THE GIVEAWAY

Thanks to hard-working book publicist Mary Bisbee-Beek, I have TWO copies of the finished paperback edition of Cleans up Nicely to give away to TWO lucky book bloggers.  Even better, this is a LEAPFROG giveaway, meaning that both winners will get to host a giveaway of their own!

The contest is for readers in the USA only (sorry) and is open until Thursday, August 29, 2013, at 4:00 PST. There are five ways to enter and each one is worth a chance to win. To enter, do any or all of the following, but you must leave a comment for each one and you must put an email address in a comment:

1. Comment on this post. You must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner. (1 entry)

2. Blog about this giveaway. Posting the giveaway on your sidebar is also acceptable. Leave a separate comment with a link to your post. (1 entry)

3. Follow this blog with Google or NetworkedBlogs, or subscribe via email (or tell me if you already are a subscriber or follower). Leave a separate comment for this. (1 entry)

4. Tweet this post on Twitter. Leave me a separate comment with your twitter user name. (1 entry)

5. Post this on a social network. Put it on facebook, post it on Google+, pin it on Pinterest, Stumble it, digg it, reddit, or otherwise put it out there in the social network. Leave a separate comment with a link or explanation. (1 entry)

There are a lot of ways to enter (maximum of five entries), but you must LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT for each one or they will not count. I will use random.org to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is open to entries from the U.S. only. The deadline for entry is 4:00 PM, Pacific Time, on Thursday, August 29, 2013. I will draw and post the winner's name in my Book Beginning post going up at 5:00 PM on August 29, 2013.  

Teaser Tuesday & GIVEAWAY Reminder: Drive by Raymond Ahrens

The ocean lurked below him. He floored it, his tires screeching as the Impala fishtailed it dangerously close to the cliff.

-- Drive by Raymond Ahrens.

THE BOOK: "Willy Easelman, 86, born in Brooklyn and a perennial finalist in the American Dreams Sweepstakes, is committed to the Morningside Nursing Home by his daughter, Anna. Cunning, despite his dementia, Willie sneaks behind the wheel of his '86 Impala and escapes, heading north along America's roadways that paved the way for the post-war exodus to the suburbs."


THE GIVEAWAY:  I have TWO copies of the finished paperback edition of Drive to give away to TWO lucky book bloggers. Go to the GIVEAWAY PAGE for details and to sign up.

PLEASE DON'T SIGN UP FOR THE GIVEAWAY HERE. GO TO THIS PAGE.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event. 

Mailbox Monday

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday this holiday weekend! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event (details here).

Kathy at Bermuda Onion stepped in to host in August -- thanks, Kathy!

I got one book last week, thanks to author Sarah Stonich and her publicist.  They also made a giveaway copy available, which I will get posted in the next week or so.



-- Vacationland by Sarah Stonich.  Stonich's new book is a collection of interlinked stories all set at a faded vacation resort in northern Minnesota.  It sounds great and I love the paint-by-numbers cover.

Stonich is the author of two other incredibly good novels, These Granite Islands and The Ice Chorus, which I reviewed here.

Kitchen Remodel, Week Twenty-Four: Where Are the Bricks?

This is what is making me glum:

The inside of our kitchen is all but done (still waiting on the decorative tile backsplash), but the outside still looks like a constructions zone.  No bricks, Tyvek paper, a PCV pipe instead of a downspout, blue plastic, and dirt instead of landscaping.  This shows the bump out, but we've got the same look going on the other side of the exterior door.

If this was the middle of winter, I wouldn't mind so much, but this construction zone is the view from the patio, which puts the kibosh on outside entertaining, including a kitchen warming celebration.

I'm losing patience.

Luckily, I'm reading a great little mystery set in Aix-en-Provence, where the characters enjoy good food and spend a lot of time describing the wondeful meals they eat and wine they drink. Maybe more wine would make me not mind my unfinished remodel.



-- Death at the Chateau Bremont by M. L. Longsworth.

WEEKEND COOKING

Hosted by Beth Fish Reads

Book Beginning & DOUBLE GIVEAWAY: Drive by Raymond Ahrens

SEE DOUBLE GIVEAWAY DETAILS BELOW

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

EARLY BIRDS: I am experimenting with getting this post up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. We'll try it this way for a couple of months to see if people like the option of early posting. If you have feelings one way or the other, please comment.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I am trying to follow all Book Beginning participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

MR. LINKY: Please leave a link to your post below. If you don't have a blog, but want to participate, please leave a comment with your Book Beginning.



MY BOOK BEGINNING

It's an ordeal listening to a grown man cry – a cry that Haitian aides working at the Morningside Nursing Home compare to the sound of screeching tires in the instant before a deadly crash.

-- Drive by Raymond Ahrens.

THE BOOK: "Willy Easelman, 86, born in Brooklyn and a perennial finalist in the American Dreams Sweepstakes, is committed to the Morningside Nursing Home by his daughter, Anna. Cunning, despite his dementia, Willie sneaks behind the wheel of his '86 Impala and escapes, heading north along America's roadways that paved the way for the post-war exodus to the suburbs."

THE GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the magnificent book publicist Mary Bisbee-Beek, I have TWO copies of the finished paperback edition of Drive to give away to TWO lucky book bloggers.  Even better, this is a LEAPFROG giveaway, meaning that both winners will get to host a giveaway of their own!

The contest is for readers in the USA only (sorry) and is open until Thursday, August 15, 2013, at 4:00 PST. There are five ways to enter and each one is worth a chance to win. To enter, do any or all of the following, but you must leave a comment for each one and you must put an email address in a comment:

1. Comment on this post. You must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner. (1 entry)

2. Blog about this giveaway. Posting the giveaway on your sidebar is also acceptable. Leave a separate comment with a link to your post. (1 entry)

3. Follow this blog with Google or NetworkedBlogs, or subscribe via email (or tell me if you already are a subscriber or follower). Leave a separate comment for this. (1 entry)

4. Tweet this post on Twitter. Leave me a separate comment with your twitter user name. (1 entry)

5. Post this on a social network. Put it on facebook, post it on Google+, pin it on Pinterest, Stumble it, digg it, reddit, or otherwise put it out there in the social network. Leave a separate comment with a link or explanation. (1 entry)

There are a lot of ways to enter (maximum of five entries), but you must LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT for each one or they will not count. I will use random.org to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is open to entries from the U.S. only. The deadline for entry is 4:00 PM, Pacific Time, on Thursday, August15, 2013. I will draw and post the winner's name in my Book Beginning post going up at 5:00 PM on August 15, 2013.  

Review: Scout's Honor by Patrick Boyle

Scout's Honor, the original book about the problem of sex abuse in Boy Scouts, is available now on Kindle for only $1.99.

The book is a little outdated now that over 1,200 BSA "Perversion Files" have been made public and so much more has come to light. But it explains the history of child molesters targeting Scouts and how the Boy Scouts, from the beginning, tried to cover up the problem.

With example after example, Patrick Boyle shows that BSA worried more about its own reputation and defamation lawsuits from pedophiles than the welfare of the children being raped and sexually exploited by adult volunteers.

Scout's Honor will grab you from the opening page. It reads like fiction, but is not. Doyle meticulously researched court filings, pored through public records, and interviewed convicted pedophiles for his eye-opening expose of one of America's most trusted institutions.

While it may be disappointing to read negative information about the Boy Scouts, awareness and acknowledgement of a problem must come before change is possible.  


OTHER REVIEWS

If you would like your review of this book listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will list it here. 

Mailbox Monday

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday this holiday weekend! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event (details here).

Penelope at The Reading Fever is hosting in August.  Her favorites are urban fantasy, dystopia, and historical fiction -- or any combination thereof.  Stop by her fun and busy blog.

One book came into my house last week, the latest novel by one of my favorite authors, David Lodge.  This one is a fictionalized account of the life of H. G. Wells. It looks terrific.



A Man of Parts by David Lodge

Kitchen Remodel, Week Twenty-Three: Feathering the Nest

We are still waiting on brick to finish the outside of the new kitchen.  Apparently matching 100-year-old brick takes some doing. Ours is now on a train from Ohio, after baking in the brick oven for four weeks. 

In the lull, we have enjoyed using our new kitchen and are having fun filling the cupboards and adding a few festive touches.  Like the beautiful orange lantern we found at the annual arts and crafts show at the Portland Japanese Garden. 

The lanterns are made by Portland artist Margaret Gardner.  The red and green ones are going outside to use as the lanterns they are.  But we are keeping the orange on in the kitchen because, with its holes, it makes a perfect container for heads of garlic.

This is also pot luck season, so I have been making a ton of my potluck standby, Asian Cabbage Salad because it is fast, I usually have all the ingredients, and it stands up well to buffet table delays.  I made it up in my head, but there are no doubt recipes for it on line.

ASIAN CABBAGE SALAD

• 1/2 a medium green cabbage, shredded or chopped small
• 4 green onions, white and green parts, chopped small
• 1/2 or 1 whole sweet red pepper, sliced very thin
• 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds (or white or toasted)
• 1/2 cup slivered or chopped almonds (preferable roasted but not salted)

Combine all the ingredients in a big salad bowl. Add or delete at whim, depending on how much you need. Dress with:

• toasted or dark sesame oil
• rice wine vinegar
• soy sauce

I use a ratio of two to three parts oil to one part vinegar and go light on the soy because I don't like it to get too salty.  But mix to taste.  For the amounts listed above, I usually make about 1/3 cup of dressing, but I usually just pour the ingredients on the salad and toss without measuring, so it is hard to say for sure.

It is best, but not necessary, to dress the salad at least an hour before you plan to eat it, because it relaxes the cabbage a little.  The leftovers are still good the next day, so you can't really dress it too early.

WEEKEND COOKING

Hosted by Beth Fish Reads

GIVEAWAY Winner & Book Beginning: Flying Finish by Dick Francis

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

GIVEAWAY WINNER

First, an announcement of the winner of last week's giveaway, The Life List by Lori Nelson Spielman. Big thanks to everyone who left comments to participate. You can read more about The Life List here.

JC Jones from Mixed Book Bag is the big winner.  Her's was the 9th comment and the one chosen by random.org.  JC is a double winner because, in addition to her copy, she can host her own giveaway for another coy. Congratulations JC! Enjoy "this utterly charming debut—perfect for fans of Cecelia Ahern’s P.S., I Love You and Allison Winn Scotch’s Time of My Life."

BOOK BEGINNINGS

EARLY BIRDS: I am experimenting with getting this post up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. We'll try it this way for a couple of months to see if people like the option of early posting. If you have feelings one way or the other, please comment.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I am trying to follow all Book Beginning participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

MR. LINKY: Please leave a link to your post below. If you don't have a blog, but want to participate, please leave a comment with your Book Beginning.



MY BOOK BEGINNING

“You’re a spoiled, bad-tempered bastard,” my sister said, and jolted me into a course I nearly died of.

-- Flying Finish by Dick Francis.  That's a great beginning in the way it looks backwards (why is his sister mad at him?) and forwards (how how does he almost die?).  I'm a big fan of Dick Francis's novels.  This is one of his earlier ones, first published in 1966. 

Favorite Author: Vladamir Nabokov

Vladamir Nabokov was a Russian-born novelist, born in 1899, who published his first books in Russian before emigrating to America in 1940 where he wrote many more books in English.  He translated his earlier works from Russian to English himself; and translated his most famous book, Lolita, from English to Russian.  He died in 1977 while living in Switzerland.

Nabokov was a pure genius.  Yes, Lolita is about a man sexually obsessed with a 12-year-old girl.  It is unfortunate that this pop-culture crumb seems to overshadow Nabokov's brilliance.  For starters, Lolita is a literary masterpiece.  And besides Lolita, Nabokov wrote 17 other novels, dozens of short stories, memoirs, literary criticism, and other works.  He was also a distinguished entomologist and is famed for his lepidopterology.

I read Lolita and Pale Fire because they were included on the Modern Library's list of Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century.  Pale Fire went straight to my personal list of Top 10 favorites.  Part epic poem, part annotations, part wacky murder mystery, it is a comic masterpiece and literary one-off that makes me happy just thinking about it.  

Since then, I read Pnin, which remains one of my favorite Campus Novels.  And I recently read the best known of Nabokov's memoirs, Speak Memory.

My plan is to read all Nabokov's fiction.  The three I have read so far are in red; those on my TBR shelf now are in blue.

If you are a Nabokov fan, please leave a comment with links to reviews or other Nabokov-related posts.

VLADAMIR NABOKOV FICTION BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mary (1926 in Russian/1970 in English)

King, Queen, Knave (1928/1968)

The Luzhin Defense (1930/1964; also as The Defense)

The Eye (1930/1965)

Glory (1932/1971)

Laughter in the Dark (1933/1938; and as Camera Obscura in 1936)

Despair (1934/1937 and 1965)

Invitation to a Beheading (1936/1959)

The Gift (1938/1963)

The Enchanter (written in Russian in 1936 but unpublished until 1985, in English)

The Real Life of Sebastian Knight (1941)

Bend Sinister (1947)

Lolita (1955; self-translated into Russian in 1965)

Pnin (1957)

Pale Fire (1962) (reviewed here)

Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle (1969)

Transparent Things (1972)

Look at the Harlequins! (1974)

The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov (1995)

The Original of Laura (fragmentary; published posthumously in 2009)


NOTES

Updated on July 25, 2013.

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Book Beginnings

This is only me second time participating in the very popular blog event, Top Ten Tuesday.  I like it because it makes me think about the books I read and why they appeal to me -- or don't.

This week's prompt is: Top Ten Favorite Beginnings/Endings In Books (talk about books that started or ended just perfectly or with a bang OR you could do specific opening lines or last lines -- however you want to do it!)

This is a great one for me because, for the past several years, I've been keeping track of the opening sentences in books I read.  I host Book Book Beginnings on Fridays so that others can share the opening sentence(s) of the books they are reading -- please join us!

In culling my Book Beginnings list to find my ten favorites, I see that I like opening sentences that are long, complicated, and either hint at a whole story in themselves or give a real sense of location.

In no particular or and without care as to whether the book is fiction or non-fiction, my (current) Top Ten favorite book beginnings are:

The blade of Napoleon's sword scythed air redolent of roasted meat as the man who would one day be emperor severed at the top of the cheese before him. 

 -- The Whole Fromage: Adventures in the Delectable World of French Cheese by Kathe Lison.

In early times, say the Icelandic chronicles, men from the Western Islands came to live in this country, and when they departed, left behind them crosses, bills, and other objects used in the practice of sorcery.

-- Independent People by Halldór Laxness.

Late-summer sun streamed into the dining room, turning every westward surface gold – French gilt mirrors on ivory plaster walls, red wood trim, oak floors and flea-market oak chairs, mismatched flea-market china and flatware on red-and-white-checkered tablecloths, one great base of flowers with a white-linened table all to itself.

-- Alice Waters and Chez Panisse: The Romantic, Impractical, Often Eccentric, Ultimately Brilliant Making of a Food Revolution by Thomas McNamee.

Early this morning, 1 January 2021, three minutes after midnight, the last human being to be born on earth was killed in a pub brawl in a suburb of Buenos Aires, aged twenty-five years, two months and twelve days.

-- The Children of Men by P. D. James.

Clete Purcel had heard of people who sleep without dreaming, but either because of the era and neighborhood in which he had grown up, or the later experiences that had come to define his life, he could not think of sleep as anything other than an uncontrolled descent into the basement where the gargoyles turned somersaults like circus midgets.

-- Swan Peak by James Lee Burke.

On a December morning of the late 1960s, I was sitting by the windows of the Gran Caffé in the piazzetta of Capri, doing the crossword in The Times.

-- Greene on Capri: A Memoir by Shirley Hazzard.

When Henry Mulcahy, a middle-aged instructor of literature at Jocelyn College, Jocelyn, Pennsylvania, unfolded the President's letter and became aware of its contents, he gave a sudden sharp cry of impatience and irritation, as if such interruptions could positively be brooked no longer.

-- Groves of Academe by Mary McCarthy.

In a town called Happy Camp, beside a river that he had known all his life, a man drove into the deserted parking lot of an abandoned lumber mill, sat for a while in the cab of his pickup truck, and then blew his brains out.

-- Light on the Devils: Coming of Age on the Klamath by Louise Wagenknecht.

In the latter days of July in the year 185__, a most important question was for ten days hourly asked in the cathedral city of Barchester, and answered every hour in various ways -- Who was to be the new Bishop?

-- Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope

I never really warmed to Clovis -- he was far too stupid to inspire real affection -- but he always claimed a corner of my heart, largely, I suppose, because of the way he instinctively and unconsciously cupped his genitals whenever he was alarmed or nervous.

-- Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd.

I saved the best for last. 

Teaser Tuesaday & GIVEAWAY Reminder: The Life List by Lori Nelson Spielman

Brightly colored rugs cover the oak floors, and wooden bookshelves span the walls. In every available space and cranny I find interesting paintings and artwork, all from places John visited when he was a traveling musician..

-- The Life List by Lori Nelson Spielman.

THE BOOK: "In this utterly charming debut—perfect for fans of Cecelia Ahern’s P.S., I Love You and Allison Winn Scotch’s Time of My Life — one woman sets out to complete her old list of childhood goals, and finds that her lifelong dreams lead her down a path she never expects." 

Spielman's new novel is gaining in deserved popularity.  It is the perfect summer read -- a charming "bucket list" story with a weird twist: in order to inherit her mother's estate, the heroine must complete a list of life goals that she wrote when she was 14 years old.  The list includes perfprming on stage, buying a horse, and (particularly confusing for a woman about to take over as CEO of her mother's cosmetic company ) becoming a teacher.

THE GIVEAWAY:  I have a finished paperback edition of The Life List to give away to one lucky book blogger. Go to the GIVEAWAY PAGE for details and to sign up.

PLEASE DON'T SIGN UP FOR THE GIVEAWAY HERE. GO TO THIS PAGE.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event. 

Mailbox Monday

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday this holiday weekend! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event (details here).

Tasha at Book Obsessed is hosting in July. Please stop by Tasha's busy blog, where she focuses on romance novels, with some mystery and suspense thrown in.

The cover of this new cheese book caught my eye when I first saw it a couple of weeks ago.  Isn't it terrific? I got my copy last week and can't wait to learn all about the tradition of local cheese making here in the Pacific Northwest.



Pacific Northwest Cheese: A History by Tami Parr, published by OSU Press.

A friend of mine from my San Francisco days was in Portland for work and came over for an overdue visit.  She was very sweet to bring me a couple of cool old books she found at Thea's Vintage Living.

The Thackeray is an old copy of Vanity Fair, which would be fun to read in this antique edition.   The housekeeping book is a real hoot, and perfect for our new kitchen.

Kitchen Remodel, Week Twenty-Two: Pots & Pans

We are down to the little, final details in the kitchen. This week, the pot rack went up, which makes my husband particularly pleased because his mother gave it to him decades ago. 

I finally read Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain. I read it with my ears because he reads it himself and I like audiobooks best when they are read by the author. It was a little name-droppy at times, but I got a kick out of it. He is so enthusiastic. Even when he complains about things, he has such enthusiasm for his gripes.

WEEKEND COOKING

Hosted by Beth Fish Reads

Flashback Friday: The Stories of John Cheever

The Stories of John Cheever, which won the National Book Critics Circle award in 1978 and the Pulitzer in 1979, is a chronological collection that spans Cheever’s short story career, from pre-WWII up to 1973. To read this collection – just shy of 700 pages – is to live in Cheever’s head, tracking his artistic and personal development in a way that a single novel or volume of stories doesn’t allow.

These are not happy stories. The earlier pieces are particularly bleak and raw. While the later stories are deeper and more nuanced, they are still pretty dark. Precious few have cheerful resolutions. The best Cheever’s characters seem to achieve is contentment despite imperfect circumstances.

Cheever’s is a world of commuter trains and cocktail parties, where everyone wears hats, has a cook, drinks martinis at lunch, summers, sails, and commits adultery. Not everyone is rich; in fact, money problems are a continuing theme. But the trappings, however tarnished, of a mid-century, Northeast corridor, upper crust way of life hang on all the stories. And that is Cheever at his best. He can bring us so deep into that world that it feels like living it.

NOTES

I read this book back in 2006 or so, before I started this blog.  I can't say I enjoyed all the stories, but the collection left a powerful impression that has stayed with me.

This is the first time I've participated in Flashback Friday, but I like the idea and hope to participate more often.

Flashback Friday

hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies

Pick a book from your reading past to highlight -- something you’ve read yourself and wish everyone would read, preferably that is still in print, but was originally published five or more years ago.

Book Beginning & Giveaway: The Life List by Lori Nelson Spielman

SEE GIVEAWAY DETAILS BELOW

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

EARLY BIRDS: I am experimenting with getting this post up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. We'll try it this way for a couple of months to see if people like the option of early posting. If you have feelings one way or the other, please comment.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I am trying to follow all Book Beginning participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

MR. LINKY: Please leave a link to your post below. If you don't have a blog, but want to participate, please leave a comment with your Book Beginning.



MY BOOK BEGINNING

Voices from the dining room echo up the walnut staircase, indistinct, buzzing, intrusive.

-- The Life List by Lori Nelson Spielman

THE BOOK: "In this utterly charming debut—perfect for fans of Cecelia Ahern’s P.S., I Love You and Allison Winn Scotch’s Time of My Life — one woman sets out to complete her old list of childhood goals, and finds that her lifelong dreams lead her down a path she never expects." 

This debut novel is already catching a lot of buzz. It is a quirky take on the whole "bucket list" idea. Here, the heroine is perfectly happy with her life, but when her mother dies, her inheritance is contingent on completing a list of life goals that she wrote when she was 14 years old -- Including having a baby, buying a horse, and (particularly confusing for a woman about to take over as CEO of her mother's company ) becoming a teacher.

THE GIVEAWAY: Thanks to book publicist Mary Bisbee-Beek, I have a finished paperback edition of The Life List to give away to one lucky book blogger. The really cool thing about the giveaway is that the winner will get to host another giveaway, as will the winner of that contest. It is a triple leapfrog giveaway for a total of three copies of Laurie Nelson Spielman's new novel.

The contest is for readers in the USA only (sorry) and is open until Thursday, August 1, 2013, at 4:00 PST. There are five ways to enter and each one is worth a chance to win. To enter, do any or all of the following, but you must leave a comment for each one and you must put an email address in a comment:

1. Comment on this post. You must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner. (1 entry)

2. Blog about this giveaway. Posting the giveaway on your sidebar is also acceptable. Leave a separate comment with a link to your post. (1 entry)

3. Follow this blog with Google or NetworkedBlogs, or subscribe via email (or tell me if you already are a subscriber or follower). Leave a separate comment for this. (1 entry)

4. Tweet this post on Twitter. Leave me a separate comment with your twitter user name. (1 entry)

5. Post this on a social network. Put it on facebook, post it on Google+, pin it on Pinterest, Stumble it, digg it, reddit, or otherwise put it out there in the social network. Leave a separate comment with a link or explanation. (1 entry)

There are a lot of ways to enter (maximum of five entries), but you must LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT for each one or they will not count. I will use random.org to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is open to entries from the U.S. only. The deadline for entry is 4:00 PM, Pacific Time, on Thursday, August1, 2013. I will draw and post the winner's name in my Book Beginning post going up at 5:00 PM on August 1, 2013. 

Review: Care of the Soul by Thomas Moore

 

Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life

by Thomas Moore

When Thomas Moore talks about caring for the soul, he does not mean in a religious, save your soul for the eternal hereafter sense. He is talking about the soul in the sense used by psychiatrists like Jung, poets like Keats or Rilke, Renaissance philosophers, or Greek playwrights. He means that part of our self connected with genuineness, depth, imagination, ambiguity, mystery, myth, and ritual.

Moore’s book, Care of the Soul, is difficult to get into because his concept of soul is so hard to grasp for a busy, contemporary reader, distracted by the buzz of daily life. His whole point is that the soul is not something that can be scientifically defined and examined, fixed or fine tuned. As he says, “Soul is the font of who we are, and yet it is far beyond our capacity to devise and to control.”

Moore’s thesis is that our lives are fuller, richer, and deeper, with a greater recognition of our individual selves the more we cultivate and care for our souls. Conversely, ignoring and starving our souls leads to disillusionment, loss of values, ugliness, and even neuroses.

He explores his thesis first by looking at common issues in everyday life that he argues “offer the opportunity for soul-making, once we stop thinking of them as problems to be solved.” Some of his scenarios and explanations are confusing – for instance, how the myth of Narcissus builds the soul, while the psychological condition of narcissism demonstrates a week soul dominated by the ego. Discussions such as this seem to pre-suppose a familiarity with classical psychoanalysis beyond that of a general reader.

But Care of the Soul has a lot to offer the reader willing to dig in and give due consideration to Moore’s message. In particular, the later sections comparing the soul and the spirit and on tending the soul through artful living are worth pondering and re-reading. For instance, this passage inspires closer attention to day-to-day ritual:

To live with a high degree of artfulness means to attend to the small things that keep the soul engaged in whatever we are doing, and it is the very heart of soul-making. From some grand overview of life, it may seem that only the big events are ultimately important. But to the soul, the most minute details and the most ordinary activities, carried out with mindfulness and art, have an effect far beyond their apparent insignificance.

OTHER REVIEWS

If you would like your review of this book, or any other book by Thomas Moore, listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

NOTES

I've read a couple other "soul" books by Thomas Moore, but this one has been on my TBR shelf forever. I finally read it now as one of my books for two of the TBR challenges I am doing this year, the MT. TBR CHALLENGE (hosted by Bev on My Reader's Block) and the OFF THE SHELF CHALLENGE (hosted by Bonnie on Bookish Ardour).

List: Campus Novels

The Ivory Tower has never tempted me. I have no interest in being a college professor. I wasn't even particularly fond of being a college student. But I absolutely love novels with an academic theme, featuring college professors, set on college campuses. The Campus Novel is my favorite genre.

So this is my list of Campus Novels -- those I have read or want to read. Suggestions for additions to this list are always welcome.

I followed David Lodge's distinction between "Campus Novels" primarily featuring college professors and other faculty, and "Varsity Novels" primarily featuring students. The later don't appeal to me much. There may be a few on here that could cross over, but I think they all fall on the professor side of the line.

Those I have read are in red, with links to reviews if I wrote one. Those on my TBR shelf are in blue. If you have reviewed any of these books, and would like me to link to your review, please leave a comment with a link either here or on my review post and I will add it.

Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber

Jake's Thing by Kingsley Amis

Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis

One Fat Englishman by Kingsley Amis (reviewed here)

Death of an Old Goat by Robert Barnard

End of the Road by John Barth

The Dean's December by Saul Bellow

More Die of Heartbreak by Saul Bellow

Herzog by Saul Bellow

Ravelstein by Saul Bellow

The Morning After Death by Nicholas Blake

Eating People is Wrong by Malcolm Bradbury

The History Man by Malcolm Bradbury

Possession by A. S. Byatt

The Professor's House by Willa Cather

Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon

Falconer by John Cheever

Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee

The Archivist by Martha Cooley

Holy Disorders by Edmund Crispin (and rest of his Gervase Fen series)

Dreaming of the Bones by Deborah Crombie

In the Last Analysis by Amanda Cross (and the rest of her Kate Fansler series)

The Rebel Angels by Robertson Davies (reviewed here)

What's Bred in the Bone by Robertson Davies

The Lyre of Orpheus by Robertson Davies

White Noise by Don DeLillo

Death is Now My Neighbour by Colin Dexter (from his Inspector Morse series)

The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn by Colin Dexter (from his Inspector Morse series)

The English School of Murder by Ruth Dudley Edwards

The Trick of It by Michael Frayn

Death at the President's Lodging by Michael Innes

The Weight of the Evidence by Michael Innes

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood (reviewed here)

Redback by Howard Jacobson

Pictures from an Institution by Randall Jarrell

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova 

My Latest Grievance by Elinor Lipman (reviewed here)

The British Museum is Falling Down by David Lodge

Thinks by David Lodge

Deaf Sentence by David Lodge (reviewed here)

Changing Places by David Lodge (reviewed here)

Small World by David Lodge

Nice Work by David Lodge

The War Between the Tates by Alison Lurie

A New Life by Bernard Malamud

All Souls by Javier Marias

An Oxford Tragedy by J. C. Masterman

The Groves of Academe by Mary McCarthy (reviewed here)

Irish Tenure by Ralph McInerny (and the rest of his Notre Dame mystery series)

The Search Committee by Ralph McInerny

Prisoner in a Red-Rose Chain by Jeffrey Moore

Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov

Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov

The Lost Journals of Sylvia Plath by Kimberly Knutsen

Blue Angel by Francine Prose

Japanese by Spring by Ishmael Reed

Letting Go by Philip Roth

The Professor of Desire by Philip Roth

The Breast by Philip Roth

The Dying Animal by Philip Roth

The Human Stain by Philip Roth (reviewed here)

That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo

Straight Man by Richard Russo

The Small Room by May Sarton

Gaudy night by Dorothy L. Sayers

Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher

Porterhouse Blue by Tom Sharpe

Moo by Jane Smiley

On Beauty by Zadie Smith (reviewed here)

The Masters by C.P. Snow

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey

Memories of the Ford Administration by John Updike

Stoner by John Williams

The Hair of Harold Roux by Thomas Williams (reviewed here)

Anglo-Saxon Attitudes by Angus Wilson


NOTES

Updated on January 6, 2019.

If you have suggestions for additions to this list, please leave a comment!

Top Ten Tuesday: Turn-Offs

This is my first time participating in the very popular blog event, Top Ten Tuesday. Not sure I can keep up with weekly participation, but it is a fun event, so I'll give it a try.

This week's topic is the "Top Ten Words/Topics That Will Make You NOT pick up a book." I get a kick out of the topic, because it does only take a word or a phrase to turn me off a book, no matter how popular. And I realize that my bookish turn-offs are just the things that a lot of people look for between the covers.

If I see any of these, the book stays on the shelf:

• vampire
• serial killer
• werewolf
• YA
• erotic
• World War I
• coming of age
• fantasy
• paranormal
• horror

The World War I thing is temporary. I'm just burnt out on muddy trenches, mustard gas, and snipers, even as the backdrop of the most touching love story or any other compelling plot. Right now, I feel the same way about Civil War novels. But I could only put ten on the list.

How about you? What words turn you away from a book?

Teaser Tuesday: Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain

But my low opinion of the Food Network actually went back a little further in time. Back to when they were a relatively tiny, sat-sack start-up with studios on the upper floors of an office building on Sixth Avenue, a viewership up about eight people, and the production values of late-night public-access porn.

-- Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook by Anthony Bourdain.

I get a kick out of anything Anthony Bourdain writes, and this latest collection of essays is no exception. I am listening to him read the audio book edition, which makes it all the better. I have been barking with laughter.

The only thing that catches me off guard is his blue language. We swear a lot in my house -- to the point where I don't hear swear words in ordinary conversation. But hearing the same words in a "production" like an audiobook brings them to my attention. I've learned a couple I plan to incorporate.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.