Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Books Set on the Beach

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic from The Broke and the Bookish is Top Ten Books with X setting.  Since I didn't get to the beach this summer I thought I'd visit the beach using books instead! In a way it's better because I don't have sand on everything I own and don't have a sunburn!

1.  Deception Island by Brynn Kelly - Okay this isn't really a beach I would want to go visit with all the kidnapping and human trafficking but there was a little bit of time in the middle were they had time to just relax on the beach and that seemed pretty nice!

2.  Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts - The beaches that I'm the most familiar with are more Gulf Coast beaches with white sand and warm water so I couldn't really relate to the rough icy cold beaches in Whiskey Beach but it did set a great mood.

3.  We Were Liars by E. Lockhart - Another beach where I'd rather the people in the book not be there.  But if I don't have all the family drama to worry about having a private island where I can layout and read sounds pretty great!

4.  The Cape Cod Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor - This is an entertaining murder mystery set on the beach in the 1930s.  Just hearing all the descriptions of what people were wearing (full suits and long dresses with all kinds of slips and stuff) along with no air conditioning made me very grateful for shorts and A/C!

5.  Me Before You by Jojo Moyes - Okay, yes most of this book takes place in a rather chilly seeming little town in England but there is a part where they're all sitting on the beach in Mauritus looking out at the Indian Ocean and it sounded like absolute heaven!  Granted their budget is a little bit bigger than mine but I'm sure I can work around it somehow.

6.  Silenced in the Surf by Kate E. Dyer-Seeley - When we do get to the beach I'm more of a relaxing on the sand or maybe jump in the waves kind of person.  So this look at some of the more active sports was pretty fun even though I'm quite sure I'll never go windsurfing.

7.  The Wanderer by Robyn Carr - While on a different coast than Whiskey Beach (Oregon vs. Massachusetts) this was still very different from what I'm familiar with.  The beaches seemed to be little coves surrounded by cliffs and there was an air of privacy that I liked.

8.  Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey - I loved the beach trips the family went on to their summer cottage which was really a hodgepodge of lighthouses and cottages.  They spent a lot of time there in Belles on their Toes which was also interesting and the girls were hotly debating what was too scandalous and too old fashioned when it comes to bathing suits.

9.  The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost - So the cannibals and the sex lives are at a minimum in this books but there all kinds of other fun when Troost moves to Tarawa, a tiny island in the South Pacific with his girlfriend Sylvia.  There are lots of beaches, fish, creatures, and very little beer.

10. Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie - One doesn't tend to automatically think beach when Agatha Christie comes to mind and even less so when discussing Poirot but this murder does in fact take place at a beach resort for the rich and famous and Poirot with his mustaches and patent leather shoes is right in the middle!

What are your favorite books that take you to the beach or another vacation spot?

Ramblings from the Stacks - My Back to School Reading List

Ramblings from the Stacks is a monthly feature here at the library where on every 3rd Monday I talk about the bookish things that bounce around in my head.  At some point I will have a link here so you can go check out my previous Ramblings but today is not that day!

I love making lists and I have really been wanting some kind of reading list this year.  I lowered my Goodreads goal mostly because I wanted to challenge myself more on the WHAT I was reading and not worry so much about the amount I was reading.  I have done some more out of my comfort zone reading but I still feel like I want to make more of an effort to be more mindful of my out of comfort zone reading.  But whenever I thought about it I felt like was just spinning my wheels and couldn't get an idea to really stick.  The other day while listening to one of my favorite bookish podcasts, The Readers, I finally had my eureka moment.  Someone had written in wanting a reading list for summer - the kind of list that they had gotten back in school.  Now I'm not planning to do a summer reading list because the second school lets out and it gets above 90 my brain turns to mush and reading anything but romantic suspense and cozy mysteries just isn't going to happen.

So instead I'm doing a Back To School list!  But, I realized that one of the reasons I tend to stick in my comfort zone is because I really don't know where to start in genres I'm not as familiar with.  So I'm borrowing some inspiration from the Tell Me What to Read series and I hope you'll help me make some choices!

I've divided the list into categories that I know I want to tackle and have listed a few of the books I've thought of reading for each one.  I'm also open to suggestions!

Chunksters:

One of the primary reasons I lowered my Goodreads Challenge number was because I wanted to take the risk with some longer titles and these 2 come to mind.  I'm considering a chunkster to be a book over 600 pages.

Middlemarch by George Eliot (904 pages according to Goodreads) - I read the Mill on the Floss in high school and loved it.  I always meant to go back and read more Eliot but never did.

Or:

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James (656 pages according to Goodreads) - I've never read Henry James but I've wanted too and I've heard that this is wonderful.

Middle Grade:

Matilda by Roald Dahl - I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last year and enjoyed it but felt like my enjoyment was tempered by my familiarity with the very vivid movies.  Since I've never seen this one I think this book might be even better.  Plus, it's bookish!

Or:

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum - I heard a really interesting podcast on Baum and how his career got started and I've always wanted to read this.  I know it's very different from the movie so it might be fun to do a comparison.

YA:

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - This is one I feel like I should read because it was EVERYWHERE and people who didn't even particularly like Green liked this one.

Or:

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith - This one has been on my radar for YEARS but somehow I've never actually taken the initiative to pick up a copy.  

Science Fiction:

1984 by George Orwell - Can you believe I never read this one?  It was on the reading lists in high school but always under the choose 2 column and I always ended up going with other choices.

Or:

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne- This is one of those books that I had heard of before I really even knew it was a book and I just feel it's time I should read it.  Plus, I found a really pretty copy at Barnes and Noble the other day.

Fantasy:

This is probably the genre I need the most help in.  I'm not 100% sure that I really know the difference between Science Fiction and Fantasy when I'm just reading through lists of books.  These are 2 authors that I've been wanting to try but I'm more than willing to go a different direction if there is another book or author that I really need to read!

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - I know nothing about this book other than it's the first in a series and I've heard some good buzz about Rothfuss' books.

Or:

The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey - I know Lackey is one of Lark over at the Bookwyrm's Hoard's favorites and I love fairy tale connected stories so this one sounds really fun.

So what do you think?  Any suggestions?  Books I simply must read?  Do you plan on making any changes to your reading this year?

This Week in Reading - August 14

It's Sunday Post time!  This is hosted by the awesome Caffeinated Book Reviewer and gives us all a chance to recap our week.

What I Got:

The Underground Culinary Tour: How the New Metrics of Today's Top Restaurants are Transforming How America Eats by Damian Mogavero and Joseph D'Agnese - I'm fascinated by food trends and their constant changing so this looks like a book I'd really enjoy! (NetGalley)

Last Chance Rebel by Maisy Yates - I've enjoyed the other Yates books I've read and I'm looking forward to this one.  I love a good second chance love story!  (NetGalley)

Miracle on 5th Avenue by Sarah Morgan - Okay we're going to pretend that I've read the 2 previous books of this series (trilogy?) that I actually possess and that it's entirely logical for me to have requested this one.  But this one includes house sitting, a crime writer, a snowstorm so of course I couldn't pass it up!  (NetGalley)

Currently:

Reading: A Child's Garden of Death by Richard Forrest and Hometown Girl by Mariah Stewart

Listening:  Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan.  So far I'm really enjoying it though it is definitely not what I was expecting!

Watching:  J and I watched Jack Reacher the other night and really enjoyed it.  I've been catching up on NCIS.  I have the whole last season on my Tivo but didn't watch any of it so I'm binging now.  We've been watching some Olympics but not nearly enough!

Off the Blog:

We just finished our first full week of school and I think things are going well.  I'm starting to adjust to the early wake up time but there are mornings where it's still a struggle.  The Tornado seems to have had no problem getting used to a bigger and more regimented school which isn't a huge shock as he's pretty adaptable but it's still a big relief.  Car line in the afternoon is still a little rocky but we're getting there.  I'm enjoying having time in the middle of the afternoon where I'm stuck in the car and can get some reading time in without feeling like I have to do something else.

Paul has adjusted to being home and has enrolled in the university here and planning on going into nursing.  We're really excited!  I think it will be a good fit for him and the career is so flexible about what you can do and where you can go.  With my husband's job it's very location specific as there are just not that many areas that have aerospace work so that amount of freedom seems like a great perk.

We're moving Emma into her apartment this weekend.  Well apartment may be a stretch.  More like a room with an attached bathroom.  However, the location is great and she's really excited.  This is one of those times I wish she was closer because I'm not looking forward to hauling her stuff all that way. I don't know what we'd do if she was more than a driving distance away.  

On the Blog:

What Happened:

Monday: Cracked to Death - Cozy Mystery Blog Tour Review + Giveaway

Tuesday: Top Ten Popular Authors That I've Never Read and the Books I Want to Start With

Wednesday: Whispers in the Mist - Mystery Review

Thursday: Beyond the Books - My First Job

Friday: Friday Linkups with Excerpts from After the Fall
Saturday: Happy Cooking - Cookbook Review + Recipe

What's Coming Up:

Monday: Ramblings from the Stack - Back to School Reading List

Tuesday: Top Ten Tuesday - Books with a Beach Setting

Wednesday: A Child's Garden of Death - Mystery Review

Thursday: Le Tote, Stitch Fix and Rent the Runway - Review

Friday: Linkups with Current Book

Saturday: TBD

Have a great week and happy reading!

Happy Cooking - Cookbook Review + Recipe

Happy Cooking by Giada De Laurentiis

When I first was learning how to cook Giada De Laurentiis was one of the first chefs I "met" through Food Network.  She balanced out the heavier cooking of Paula Deen who was also big at the time and plus who doesn't love pasta?  The more I've cooked and experimented the less fond of Giada I got.  She has lots of cookbooks and lots of recipes but frankly most of the ones I made were on the underwhelming.  "Fine" and "okay" are not how I want dinner described!

But every once in awhile one of her recipes will be amazing and become an instant favorite and that is what keeps me picking up Giada's books - though I tend to pull them off library shelves than bookstore shelves now.

Happy Cooking is a little bit of a departure from her usual cookbook.  While her previous books leaned more toward more either family style meals or cooking for entertaining this book feels more personal.  This is the food you want to make at home when you need to detox a bit from a spell of really rich food.  The recipes lean towards the simpler side in terms of preparation.  Most foods are steamed or baked or sauteed in just a drizzle of olive oil.  There's even a chapter on eating clean

There are a ton of recipes in this book.  2 or 3 on every page along with tips, suggestions, and anecdotes from Giada's own life. The photography is lovely but it's mostly Giada herself about to take a bite of something and not much of the actual finished product of the recipe.  The chapters range from breakfast, to main dishes with different levels of preparation times, snack and small plates, soups, salads, sweet treats, and the usual pasta chapter that is always in her cookbooks.  Some of the recipes that caught my eye are Orzo Salad with Fresh Citrus and Red Onion, Corn Fritters with Cherry Tomato Salsita, and a pizza crust that sounds delicious.  There's even some heartier dishes that I think my whole family would like such as - Italian White Bean, Pancetta, and Tortellini Soup, Skirt Steak with Pistachio Gremolata, and Stuffed Chicken Parmesan.  But there a lot of recipes I don't think I would get much use out of.  A lot of recipes are centered around mussels or clams and there is a lot of fish.  There is also a LOT of swiss chard and the darker greens which while good for you aren't necessarily a crowd pleaser.  There is also risotto in every imaginable form.  I could probably go 2 weeks and not repeat a risotto recipe.

So like I usually am with Giada, I'm torn on this book.  It's pretty to look at and there are a number of recipes that sound appealing but there's also a lot that are definitely not for me.   And even the ones that I find appealing aren't necessarily recipes I would consider family friendly.  This would be a book I'd definitely get if J was on a business trip for a couple of weeks and I would indulge myself with risottos and orzo salads but not one I'd use much if he was here.  It's definitely a cookbook worth checking out but I think the intended audience is pretty specific so you may want to go check it out at the library before purchasing.

There are a couple of recipes I'm planning on trying and interestingly enough they both involve tortellini!  The Tornado who is currently in the running for pickiest eater is in love with tortellini and it's one of the few foods he'll not only eat willingly but looks forward too.  Today I thought I'd share Giada's recipe for Brown Butter Tortellini because brown butter is just delicious!

Brown Butter Tortellini

1 (9 oz) package fresh cheese tortellini

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (the higher the fat content the better it tastes)

3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed (I'll probably leave this out and just serve it with a a salad)

1/3 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh dill

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus more from serving

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.  Add the tortellini and cook for 1 minute less than the package directions, about 7 minutes.  Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water.

Heat a medium skillet over medium heat.  Melt the butter, then cook until the solids begin to brown, 2 to 3 minutes.  You may have to scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release the brown bits from the bottom; keep an eye on it.  It should smell nutty and appear golden brown, not black.

When the butter is browned, add the cooked pasta, the peas, and salt to the skillet and toss gently to coat in the butter.  Add about 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water, the dill, lemon zest and juice, and cheese.  Cook for another minute, stirring gently to coat the pasta evenly and adding the remaining 1/4 cup pasta water if needed.  Serve topped with more cheese if desired.

Sounds pretty good right?  For me this is the kind of recipe that Giada really excels at.

I'm linking up with Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads

Friday Linkups: Before the Fall

It's Friday linkup time!  I'm linking up with the Book Blogger Hop hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer, Book Beginnings of Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, and the Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice

This Week's Book Blogger Hop Question:
Do any of your book club members have a blog?  Do you compare notes if they do?

My Answer:
I'm not part of a book club but when I was no one else had a book blog.  I do have a friend who has a book blog and we do sometimes compare notes though mostly we just talk about books.

Have you ever had a book throw itself at you?  Like you're going along with no plans to acquire anymore books because you know your stacks are towering with books you already own and haven't read and then suddenly there's a book just sitting there staring at you and you must pick it up?  That's pretty much what happened with Before The Fall by Noah Hawley.  I had stopped by my mother's house and there it was sitting on the coffee table.  Her husband had just finished it and when I asked about it he said it was great and offered it to me.  Now this is a book I wanted to read but was planning to at some point in the future and not right now.  But I just couldn't turn it down and thtat is why I'm reading this book and ignoring all the books I've had for years that are sitting there staring at me.  And so far so good!

The Beginning:
A private plane sits on a runway in Martha's Vineyard, forward stairs deployed.

My Thoughts:
This instantly brings JFK Jr. to mind.  I remember turning on the television and seeing the breaking news about the disappearance of his plane.  I know that this isn't connected to him at all and that the plane is bigger but maybe because going in I know this plane isn't going to reach it's destination?

The 56: 
Because at the end of the day, Cunningham was right and David knew it.  TV newsman tried so hard to appear objective when the truth was, they were anything but.  CNN, ABC, CBS, they sold news like groceries in a supermarket, something for everyone.  But people didn't want just information.

My Thoughts:
I haven't gotten this far so I'm not sure what's going on but since we're in the head of a TV news guy I'm thinking we're dealing with the press coverage of the crash.  I can't say I disagree with the 56!

So what do you think?  Keep reading?  Any books just insist that you take them home lately?

Beyond the Books - My First Job

This week I'm linking up with KissinBlueKaren for Beyond the Books.  This is a meme where we all answer a non-bookish question.  It's always so fun to see everyone's answers and get a peak at the blogger beyond the books.  This week's topic is - My First Job.

I was pretty lucky when it came to first jobs because like so many other people that I knew I never worked in food service!  In between the summer of 9th and 10th grade my mother insisted (for reasons I didn't understand at the time but so do now) that I find a volunteer position.  She even brought home a handy list of places looking for volunteers that she had picked up somewhere.  I stalled and stalled because I was much more on board with spending my summer sleeping late and not doing much of anything but finally she badgered me enough and I got to work calling the places on the list.

Since I had gotten a late start a lot of the places were full or had made other arrangements but finally I got to this one local museum and talked to a woman who said they really needed help both in the office and in the newly opened store and could I start the next day?  The answer was yes and I showed up there bright and early the next day.

Lisa and me - probably spring of 2002 at work.  Ignore the early '00 jeans and hair

Long story short that volunteer position turned into a part time job that I kept from 1995 until shortly before I graduated from college in 2002.  My position and responsibilities changed as time went on but that museum that had always just been a field trip location became woven into my life.  I learned how to work a cash register, answer phones, deal with crazy tourists and crazier wedding guests, brides, brides mothers, and one very belligerent groom.  I learned book keeping, small talk, how to polish silver, a massive amount of local history, how to lean forward with your body and not step forward with your feet when working parking lots for events (because people will run over your toes if you're not careful), and that kids on a field trip will inevitably call 911.  Unfortunately, I never did figure out how to wrap presents in a way that looked like I wasn't drunkenly throwing wrapping paper at boxes or count money without making a mess.   I also made some really good friends - including Lisa from Books, Lists, Life who then decided to move to South Dakota but that was later!

For awhile in college I worked as a runner for a law firm.  It was an entertaining job and I liked knowing my way around the courthouse and the downtown.  Plus the building I worked in was an old house that was haunted which is a story for another time.  But the boss was awful, I was working 7 days a week and taking 18 credit hours and about landed myself in the hospital with pneumonia so something had to give and it ended ended up being the runner job.

So that was my first job!  What was yours?  Did you learn anything that you still use or think about today?

Whispers in the Mist - Review

Whispers in the Mist (A County Clare Mystery) by Lisa Alber

Rating:  Good
Source: NetGalley

Description:  There's a whisper in the mists in Lefenora, Ireland, a strange fog has rolled off the Atlantic.  Along with the fog comes tales of Grey Man, a predatory faery of local lore who snatches innocent souls into his deadly gloom.  And with the mists come murder.  When a teenage boy dies in Detective Sergeant Danny Ahern's arms, Danny finds himself pursing his own grey man, a killer who becomes more elusive  the closer Danny gets to the truth.  A mute woman may be the key to solving the murder and helping Danny heal his own broken life, but first she must unlock the memories from her past.  Part psychological suspense, part mystery, Lisa Abler's haunting tale of family secrets and broken love won't let you go until the final twist.  (from Goodreads)

Genre: Mystery

Why I Picked This Book: Mysteries, Irish setting, family secrets, plus a good dose of psychological suspense.  And then that cover!  How could I resist this one?

My Impression: I didn't realize this was the 2nd book in the series when I picked this one up.  While I think it might have helped to have read the first book going in so I could understand exactly what everyone's problem with Merritt is and just why Liam being a matchmaker is so important.  However, since neither of those really had much to do with the mystery itself I don't think not having read the first book affected my enjoyment either way.
This is more of ensemble cast than most mysteries.  We do see a lot of Danny Ahern, the Detective Sergeant who is in charge of a murder investigation but we also see from the POV of his estranged wife Ellen, town outcast Merritt, pub owner Alan, and Gemma, a mysterious young woman whose words seem stuck in her mind by a post trauma.  At first it was a little difficult to keep track of everyone - especially Danny and Alan - but it didn't take long before their personalities became clearly distinct and that problem disappeared.  I also liked that while the narration itself did some head hopping the story continued to progress so the primary mystery never feels like it is put on hold. I enjoyed getting to know the characters themselves.  They all had flaws and drama but it didn't seem like it went to much to dark and angst and instead going for a more realistic (and more readable) weighted down feeling.  The constant fog adds to a weighted down and claustrophobic feeling which added atmosphere but never felt too heavy.
The mystery itself is more classic mystery than the thriller I expected from the cover.  Who murdered the teenager and how does it relate to the mysterious brother and sister who have appeared in town?  The mystery unravels slowly and with each page I felt like I knew just a little bit more and felt a little more connected to the residents of Lefenora.  While I didn't feel like this was the most compelling read - not that it was a slow read it just wasn't one that pulled me in and had me reading hours past my bedtime - it was a good read.  Not only was the mystery interesting but it also had very real feeling characters and a gorgeous if spooky at times setting.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Definitely!  I'd like to go back and read the first one in this series and will be looking for the next one.

Would I Recommend this Book?: I would.  I think most mystery readers would like this one.  It's dark enough for those who enjoy regular mysteries but not gore-y or overly violent for cozy lovers.