book review

A Gentleman in Moscow + Dill Bread

December 15, 2020 by Megan Leave a Comment

I have had A Gentleman in Moscow sitting on my shelf for what feels like forever. I recognized it at a used book sale and scooped it up for a dollar. But then it sat there. The size really intimidated me. When I was presented with an opportunity to partner with the Book Club Cookbook for their Book Blends Bash, I knew now was the time to push myself to read it!

Well, I’m mostly just disappointed I waited so long to pick Amor Towles’ novel up! It was really quite lovely — almost a 5-star read. In it, we follow Count Alexander Rostov, who is sentenced to house arrest by the Bolsheviks in the early 1920s. The rest of the story takes place in the Metropol, where the Count will be staying; to step out onto the street would mean being shot dead on the spot.

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Show Us Your Books Reading Recap — What I Read in November

December 8, 2020 by Megan 2 Comments

This year absolutely flew by, and honestly, bring on 2021. I can happily announce that I made my reading goal this year, when I definitely thought I wouldn’t — I only read 6 books before April! At that point, thankfully, something kicked into gear and I was able to get back on track. This month was a bit of a mixed bag, but I ended on a high note. Here’s a look at what I read:

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Anxious People + Pizza Capricciosa

December 1, 2020 by Megan 4 Comments

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As I have said time and time again, I really love Fredrik Backman’s storytelling. In the case of Anxious People, his latest novel, not that much happens but you get so caught up in the story that you fall in love with it anyway. Anxious People takes place during a hostage situation in Sweden, and though we have a few flashbacks and several interrogation scenes at the police station afterward, the majority of it takes place in a single apartment.

It is not dissimilar to Bel Canto, which also takes place during a hostage situation (this one in a large mansion in South America) and which I also loved. The key here is that Backman really builds the characters — and they’re mesmerizing. With some, you meet them thinking one thing and leave them realizing you were completely wrong; with others, your initial judgements were apt from the start.

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Magic Lessons + Courage Tea Cookies

November 24, 2020 by Megan 3 Comments

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Have you had a piece of technology totally crap out on you lately? It makes you feel so helpless. My laptop completely lost its mind yesterday. First of all, it took forever to finally get it to come on in the morning, and then, it wouldn’t hold a charge. Despite being plugged in constantly (I was afraid to unplug it), it remained at a 1% charge. Oh, and the fan wouldn’t stop blowing — it blew the entire day. Yikes.

All that is to say, sorry this post is late. I had the best intentions of getting it up according to my normal schedule. And now onto the book!

When I found out yet another Practical Magic prequel was on the way, I didn’t hesitate to get my hands on it. Obviously I loved The Rules of Magic when I read and reviewed that a few years ago. (It remains my most popular post… probably because of the recipe, but regardless.) Thankfully, Magic Lessons lived up to my expectations — it was exactly the story I wanted.

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Kids Edition: You're My Little Pumpkin Pie + Pumpkin Pie Crisp

November 21, 2020 by Megan 2 Comments

One of our favorite books this fall has been You’re My Little Pumpkin Pie by Natalie Marshall. With memorable rhymes and cute illustrations, it’s sure to become a fast favorite in your house too! My son especially loves the cut-outs and reveals on each page.

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The Kitchen Counter Cooking School + Alfredo Sauce

November 17, 2020 by Megan 3 Comments

Kathleen Flinn’s The Kitchen Counter Cooking School is not what I expected. I bought it on a whim at a library used book sale (how I miss those!) because it looked food-related, and I love food-related reads. I think I thought it was fiction. Anyway, I recently picked it up as my selection for an alliterative read in my Long Distance Reading Challenge and realized it’s non-fiction.

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn

In it, Kathleen teaches nine women (apparently there was one male participant who ended up dropping out before it started) to cook. She starts by going to their houses to get a sense of what’s in their cupboards and fridges and their level of cooking skill. Then, the group meets weekly in a commercial kitchen, and Kathleen imparts her wisdom. The women make everything from simple vinaigrettes and bread to soups and braised pork. They learn knife skills and how to prepare and use a whole chicken.

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