holiday

The Adults + Christmas Morning Muffins

November 26, 2018 by Megan 3 Comments

Caroline Hulse’s debut novel The Adults is like a Christmas comedy (Four Christmases comes to mind) meets Big Little Lies. Though Claire and Matt are divorced, they decide it’s best for their daughter Scarlett to experience a “normal” family Christmas. So, they book a weekend away at a woodsy resort and bring their current partners along for the ride! What could go wrong?

Claire’s boyfriend, Patrick, couldn’t be any less like her ex, Matt. Patrick spends much of the novel secretly training for an Ironman, at one point even racing through a lazy river to practice his swimming. Matt takes a different approach to life. He has a laissez faire outlook, often “forgetting” important details and preferring recreational drugs to exercising. His girlfriend, Alex, is smart, extremely patient and would probably be friends with Claire in another life. The characters were almost caricatures of real people and weren’t exactly likable, but they were entertaining.

International Women's Day + Strong Women in Fiction

March 8, 2018 by Megan 6 Comments

I am very excited to be back at it again - collaborating with my fellow book bloggers, this time in recognition of day very important to me, International Women’s Day. March 8 is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It also marks a strong call to action to accelerate gender parity. We wanted to come together to share our book recommendations in recognition of female authors and the stories they are uniquely qualified to tell.

We each chose books and authors suited to our own reading styles and tastes. If you’ve stopped by The Hungry Bookworm before, you’ll know that I consider myself to be a feminist and often read works that bring women and the issues they face to the forefront. My list includes selections from female authors, but I chose these books more for the stories they tell than anything else.

Valentine's Day + A Trio of Unexpected Love Stories

February 7, 2018 by Megan 6 Comments

Valentine’s Day is just one week away, and while I’m usually not much of a romance gal, I do love a good love story. As it so happens, I’m not alone in that! In honor of the holiday, I’m collaborating with four other book bloggers to bring you plenty of romantic inspiration from some of our favorite books.

We each chose recommendations suited to our own reading styles and tastes. If you frequent my blog, you may not be surprised to see that I opted to share some of my favorite unconventional love stories. (If you’re stopping by The Hungry Bookworm for the first time, welcome!)

My True Love Gave to Me + Chex Mix

December 19, 2017 by Megan 1 Comment

It's the most wonderful time of the year! With Christmas and New Years just around the corner, if you're looking for that special holiday-themed book, I recommend seeking out the YA short story collection My True Love Gave to Me. I don’t often read short stories (I’m not sure why), but this was exactly what I was looking for. It was quick with a wide range of stories, perfect to put me in a holiday mood.

I didn’t love every story in the collection but there were several that made picking this book up worth it. The first one I enjoyed was “Angels in the Snow” by Matt de la Peña which follows Shy, who’s at NYU on scholarship and cat-sitting for a professor because he can’t afford to go home for Christmas. A blizzard strands him in the apartment building with a neighbor, Haley, and the story can’t help but turn romantic. Still, it remains realistic and ends up being heartwarming. I also liked Jenny Han’s “Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me” about Santa’s adopted daughter, a human living among the elves. It was like the beginnings of a less goofy version of Elf, had we hung out with Buddy the Elf as a teenager.

“It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown” by Stephanie Perkins was probably my favorite. Marigold Moon lives across the street from a Christmas tree lot and it’s there that she heard the perfect voice for a video she’s producing; it happens to belong to a boy named North. In trying to get him to agree to narrate her video, Marigold walks away with a Christmas tree and ends the night a lot more hopeful than she started it.

Gayle Forman’s “What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth?” was also charming. Sophie is stuck alone at a school where no one else is celebrating the last day of Hanukkah. As she tries to fit in, she stumbles into fellow outcast Russell and they embark on a memorable evening together. The surprisingly titled “Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus” by Myra McEntire reminded me a bit of one of my favorite novels, A Walk to Remember. Bad boy Vaughn’s antics land him a job helping out with the church nativity play, whether he wants to or not. He brings a unique point of view to the task, something both the pastor and his daughter are thankful for. Though both of these were a bit cliche, the combination of a little romance alongside a little something deeper made them satisfying reads.

Lastly, “Welcome to Christmas, CA” by Kiersten White about a Californian town that takes the meaning of its name to a whole other level. The story’s originality was an unexpected breath of fresh air in this collection. A diner in the middle-of-nowhere isn’t the most likely setting for a holiday story, but White managed to infuse it with plenty of holiday spirit and it definitely left me feeling Christmas-y!

I didn’t make a recipe today but wanted instead to share a recipe my mom’s been making for years. She makes it every year around Christmas, often giving it as an extra gift to friends and family. It always tastes delicious when you want a snack on New Years Eve, if it lasts that long. I thought it would work well with this short story collection because it’s mentioned on literally the first page in the first story:

Now, no offense, to Alicia’s mom - who I’m sure makes a fine Chex Mix (certainly better than the store bought bagged stuff) - but I like to think my mom makes the best Chex Mix. My mom claims her recipe is straight from Chex cereal itself, but when I tried looking it up, I couldn’t find one that matched exactly.

So, without further ado, here is my mom’s version of Chex Mix… the actual best Chex Mix.

Chex Party Mix

Servings: 20 (½ cup servings)
Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Print

Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) butter
1¼ teaspoon seasoned salt
4½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2⅔ cups corn Chex
2⅔ cups wheat Chex
2⅔ cups rice Chex
1 cup salted mixed nuts
1 cup pretzel rods

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Heat butter in large shallow roasting pan in oven until melted (or melt in microwave and add to pan). Remove.
Add seasoned salt and Worcestershire sauce to butter and stir. Add cereal and nuts. Mix gently until all pieces are coated.
Heat in oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Spread on absorbent paper towels to cool. Once cooled, store in airtight containers.

From: Mom’s recipe, based on Chex Mix Original Recipe

Notes: You can use whichever combination of Chex “flavors” (or Crispix or similar cereal) you prefer, as long as they add up to 8 cups. You can also reduce Chex by 1 cup and add in 1 cup of Cheerios instead if desired.

This post contains affiliate links. Full disclosure here.

Naughty or Nice List - Bookish Blogmas 2017

December 14, 2017 by Megan 1 Comment

I thought it would be fun to participate in a quick Christmas-y book tag, this one the “naughty or nice list” of all things bookish. Thanks to Emily from Always Opinionated Girl for the tag! The original post Bookish Naughty List Tag | Blogmas was created by Jenniely.

The Rules:
1. Credit the person who tagged you and link their post
2. Tag the original creator and their post
3. Check the ones you’ve done
4. X the ones you haven’t
5. Tag more bloggers!

The List:
- Received an ARC and not reviewed it ❌

In the past, I rarely received ARCs, something I’ve recently remedied by checking out NetGalley (thanks for the tip, fellow bloggers!).

- Have less than 60% feedback rating on NetGalley ❌

Not exactly sure how to answer this as I have no rating on NetGalley right now, but I’m counting no news as good news!

- Rated a book on GoodReads and promised a full review was to come on your blog (and never did) ❌

I actually never rate anything on Goodreads until I’ve finished a review on my blog, since writing my blog is typically how I formulate my thoughts. I don’t post reviews/links to my longer reviews on Goodreads as much as I probably should, but it’s something I’m trying to work on.

- Folded down the page of a book ✔️

Yes, I’ve definitely done this in a pinch, but mostly just when I was younger. Now I have so many bookmarks there’s really no excuse!

- Accidentally spilled on a book ✔️

I don’t know 100% if I have or haven’t spilled on a book, but with all the reading I’ve done while eating and drinking, I think the odds are that I have.

- DNF a book this year ✔️

A few come to mind. Nothing wrong with setting aside of book in favor of something I’ll enjoy more! Reading shouldn’t be a struggle.

- Bought a book purely because it was pretty with no intention of reading it ❌

I don’t usually buy books I haven’t already read (and love), so can’t say I’m guilty of this one.

- Read whilst you were meant to be doing something else (like homework) ✔️

Ha, absolutely. Though mostly I try to read at “appropriate” times.

- Skim read a book ✔️

Mm hmm. I don’t think I’ve ever skimmed an entire book, but I’ve been known to skim parts of books when I’m bored in an attempt to get through it more quickly. I also tend to skim through books at the end when I’m super into them but can’t wait to see how it all turns out. (Looking at you, Harry Potter, which is why I had to go back and re-read 7 almost immediately… once the excitement calmed down.)

- Completely missed your GoodReads goal ❌

Ever since I’ve started setting goals in the reading challenge, I’ve met them. I try to be realistic in my goal setting - I don’t want reading to be stressful - so sometimes I do adjust them higher if I meet them too early.

- Borrowed a book and not returned it ❌

Having had this done to me a few times, I would never do this. It’s infuriating. If you can’t return a book, don’t borrow it in the first place.

- Broke a book buying ban ❌

As I said before, I don’t buy a lot of books to start with, but I would never have such a ban. To be cliche about it, books are food for the soul, and you shouldn’t stop yourself from buying the nourishment you need.

- Started a review, left it for ages then forgot what the book was about ❌

Not really, though on occasion, I have had to refresh my memory on the finer points of characters/plots as I’m working through blog posts.

- Wrote in a book you were reading ❌

I don’t like writing in books - I never even marked up school books! I would love some sort of note-taking system for physical books, but for now, I settle for taking pictures of passages that speak to me.

- Finished a book and not added it to your GoodReads ✔️

No! In fact, I update my Goodreads status pretty religiously. It also helps to make sure I meet my goals each year. 🙂

I’ll tag some of my fellow bloggers on Twitter, but if I don’t tag you and you’d still like to get in on the holiday cheer, here’s the list to copy/paste and make it your own.

Received an ARC and not reviewed it
Have less than 60% feedback rating on Netgalley
Rated a book on goodreads and promised a full review was to come on your blog (and never did)
Folded down the page of a book
Accidentally spilled on a book
DNF a book this year
Bought a book purely because it was pretty with no intention of reading it
Read whilst you were meant to be doing something else (like homework)
Skim read a book
Completely missed your Goodreads goal
Borrowed a book and not returned it
Broke a book buying ban
Started a review, left it for ages then forgot what the book was about
Wrote in a book you were reading
Finished a book and not added it to your Goodreads

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Readathon Wrap-up

November 27, 2017 by Megan 6 Comments

What a whirlwind 5 days this Thanksgiving Readathon has been! I set a loose goal to read 5 books in 5 days (read my announcement/sign-up post here), since this “challenge” is supposed to be less of challenge and more of a conscious effort to set aside some time for yourself to read in a stress-free way while interacting with other book bloggers and bookworms on social media.

I don’t think I actually expected to get through the entirety of the stack of books I lined up to read during the readathon, so maybe that’s why I stayed un-stressed. Somehow, though, I did it, and I’m super excited about it. I also finished my 2017 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal in the process (with book number 4), which means I’ll also be less stressed next month because I’m already set for the year. Woo hoo!

Here’s a brief overview of the books I read, some of which I’ll write longer reviews of in future posts (with book-inspired recipes, of course!):

Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak

I expected this to be a bit like The Family Stone, as I mentioned in my kick-off post, but it wasn’t. Even though it took place over Christmas, the story was more about the family dynamic and the fact that they were stuck together in a seven-day quarantine, which just happened to take place over the Christmas holiday. I’m going to do a longer post on this one, so I won’t go too deep here, but I did enjoy it for the most part. It was a solid read, and it led to an interesting back-and-forth with the author, which was a wonderful bonus. (I didn't include some of the conversation, which was a bit spoiler-y.)

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

I was sure this would sustain me through a readathon, since it’s one of my favorite faux-genres, books about books. Alas, it was my least favorite of the long weekend; it was also the longest. I’m not sure what to say about it, though I suppose I’ll have to formulate some thoughts, since my book club is discussing it next week… The characters were all a bit one-dimensional and sometimes felt a bit mixed up, as though the author got them confused.Above all, it took much too long to get to the charming-bookstore-turns-the-town part of the plot, and that didn’t really land for me. I’m not sure the bookstore changed the town at all! Mostly, it was just disappointing.

It also lacked descriptive food mentions, and though it prompted a brief discussion about mini dogs versus sloppy joes - sadly, the only foods relevant to the story - I’m left feeling too underwhelmed to be inspired to do a longer post on this one.

A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg

I have been listening to Molly’s podcast Spilled Milk for a few years now, and though it’s one of my favorites, I had yet to read any of her (or her co-host Matthew’s) books until this weekend. I am delighted I did! I loved this food memoir so much; it was definitely my favorite of the readathon. It is full of rich descriptions of every food that ever made an impression on Molly, and of course, the recipes for most of them. I’m going to have a lot of trouble deciding what to make for my review post on this one, guys. Has anyone else read it and made the recipes? Any suggestions?

The End We Start From by Megan Hunter

At 160 pages, I expected this environmental dystopia to be a quick read. That was an understatement. I don’t think I spent more than an hour with this book, which read more like lyrical or poetic meeting notes. The only character that was named was Zeb, the main character’s son, but he was primarily called Z as all the other characters were only called by their first initials as well. I’m not sure I’ve completely processed it, but it didn’t haunt me like dystopias usually do. The characters as initials felt distant to me, and in the end, the immediate threat (which wasn’t well-outlined to begin with) seemed to disappear, or at the very least lessen.

How to Behave in a Crowd by Camille Bordas

My final read, which I started on the way to a football game Saturday (lest you thought I curled up in my reading chair all weekend!), was a quirky novel about a brilliant French family. It’s told through the eyes of eleven-year-old Isadore - who prefers Izzie though everyone calls him Dory - the youngest of 6 children. As he figures out how exactly to be a normal adolescent in a family of overachievers, he makes sharp and amusing observations about those around him. It struck me as a sort-of The Family Fang meets This Is Where I Leave You and ended up being a wonderful note on which to end the readathon.

Aside from the football game, I spent a lot more time not holed up reading than I had initially thought I would. I enjoyed most of Thanksgiving Day with family (not reading); scored some shopping deals and celebrated a birthday with family on Friday; wrote and cooked for Saturday’s blog post; and even got in a little yard work (ugh) and holiday decorating (yay)!

I loved participating in the Thanksgiving Readathon because not only did I surprise myself by reading so much, it was fun following along with everyone else on social media and being a part of those interactions too! Most importantly for me, though, it made me realize that I probably can squeeze in more reading each day if I just make the time for it. 🙂

This post contains affiliate links. Full disclosure here.