Fix, Freeze, Feast: The Delicious, Money-Saving Way to Feed Your Familyby Kati Neville with Lindsay Tkacsik | Cookbook Review

(Warning: the cover images are the only images in this cookbook.  :/  I prefer my cookbooks with lots and lots of photos.)

Overall, I'm going to give this cookbook 3.5 of 5 stars.  No pictures.  Over 50 recipes, and I only found three to try out.  The instructions are clear and concise, so that's a plus.   This would definitely be worth looking at if you're interested in freezer cooking, but I've also seen better.

I picked a couple of things to try out of this cookbook.  As I write this, I'm eating a breakfast burrito!  It's pretty good, but I'm not overly excited.  However, that could be because I followed almost none of the directions properly.  It was late at night when I was assembling them.  You're supposed to start with scrambled eggs (did that) and then add in diced boiled potatoes (I subbed in thawed frozen Ore-Ida hash browns) and a cup of sour cream and salt and pepper.  So far, so good: only one substitution and all instructions followed.  Then you're supposed to start assembling the burritos: 1/2 cup of the egg/potato mixture on each tortilla, topped with diced ham and some shredded cheddar.  Here's the second substitution: I'm not that into ham so I subbed in cooked crumbled sausage.  And I didn't read the instructions in full, and mixed it plus the shredded colby jack (turns out I didn't have cheddar in the house) into the egg/potato mixture.  So now everything is one big mixture and I ladled that out onto each tortilla and wrapped them up.  I don't think this made any difference at all.  The thing is, the ratio of potato to egg feels pretty "off" to me.  And I only used 2/3 as much potato as the instructions called for!  There's a lot of potato in this.  I like the concept enough that I'm going to try again with a second batch of burritos, but I'm going to double the eggs, half the potatoes, leave out the sour cream, and increase the shredded cheese.  

Oatmeal Cookies with Coconut and Mango: while descriptive, that cookie name is a mouthful! I re-named them Jungle Cookies. :) No disrespect to the authors. I made them and froze most of them, but couldn't resist baking 1 dozen immediately. I served them to my parents & hubby & all four of us gave them 2 thumbs up! Yay! And I have another seven dozen in the freezer!

And last but not least, I also tried Mexi-Stuffed Peppers.  We LOVED LOVED LOVED these!  They're like regular stuffed peppers, but with taco seasoning mixed in, and fiesta cheese sprinkled on top.  I'll definitely keep my freezer stocked with this one.

Top Ten Tuesday

This is a neat weekly feature over at a blog I really enjoy, The Broke and the Bookish.  They read books similar to some that I've been reviewing, and they're fun and they write well.  Totally worth checking out!

Top Ten Books on My Summer TBR List

I think I mentioned this in a previous post, but this summer I'm doing a massive re-read of all nine existing Mitford books by Jan Karon in preparation for the release of the new book in September.  So those books definitely have priority.  I've read three; just six more to go!

1. Out to Canaan by Jan Karon

2. A New Song by Jan Karon

3. A Common Life: The Wedding Story by Jan Karon

4. In This Mountain by Jan Karon

5. Shepherds Abiding by Jan Karon

6. Light From Heaven by Jan Karon

After all that, or in between... I need to get back to some of the ARCS I've been receiving!  Here are four that I'm most excited for, in no particular order:

7. Kid Presidents by David Stabler.  I think this is actually late elementary/middle grades, but I do love some good presidential trivia.  I've never read a book from this angle before, the telling of the Presidents' childhoods!

8. Messenger of Fear by Michael Grant.  I haven't read a single Michael Grant book yet, but all I hear is praise for his work.  I felt like I was too far behind to go back and read the whole Gone series, so I'm glad he's started a new series, and that I can get in on the ground floor.

9. Dancing for the Devil by Anny Donewald with Carrie Gerlach Cecil.  This is adult nonfiction, but I'm super interested in the story.  The book is the memoir of Anny, who was a stripper and then she got saved, literally and spiritually, from that lifestyle.

10. Rich Kids of Instagram by The Creator of Rich Kids of Instagram with Maya Sloan.  I'm intrigued by this book:  it's a novel, but it's based on a popular Tumblr blog that's based on an Instagram hashtag.  Is your mind a little warped by that sentence?  Yeah.  That's why I'm intrigued.  I've also got an ARC for Tween Hobo: Off the Rails, a graphic novel based on a popular Twitter account.  Hmm.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes | Book Review

(No one could complain that this cover gives away any plot points or influences the reader's thoughts in any way, could they?)

I finished reading this book over a week ago and have been procrastinating on the review.  I have a pretty big moral problem with part of the plot that I'm afraid would tinge a review.  There will be a spoiler at the end of this review, but I'll put a big warning in front of it.

Me Before You is told primarily from Lou's point of view.  Lou knows that she loves her job at The Buttered Bun Cafe and she knows the bus schedule and she knows that her sister is the smart one and she's pretty sure she loves her boyfriend, Patrick.  

Will Traynor knows how to flip corporations and he knows that he loves traveling and he knows that he loves adventure, like bungee jumping and sky diving, and he's pretty sure he loves his girlfriend.

What neither of them knows is how quickly a life can be turned upside-down.  For Will, it's when he's in an accident and ends up a complete quadriplegic, suddenly utterly dependent on others for everything from bathing and dressing to changing a catheter to feeding him.  For Lou, it's the loss of her job at The Buttered Bun and the acceptance of a job as Will's companion.  Another thing that neither of them knows:  how Lou's six month contract as his companion will change them both and bring them closer to each other than either expected.

So, just looking in the shallow end of the pool here, the book itself is well-written.  The pacing and character development were spot on.  By the end of the book I was so wrapped up in the story that I think my heart was literally racing.  I remember there was one day that I was reading Me Before You on my lunch break and I got within 20 pages of the end and my lunch break ended and I was so upset that I had to wait to find out what happened!  So it's very well written, and I would definitely pick up another book by Jojo Moyes.

*Spoiler Ahead*

So... I had a pretty big moral problem with the main conflict in the book, and the ending.  In this paragraph I'm going to reveal the ending, so read on at your own risk.  The main plot conflict is revealed about halfway through the book, and it's this:  turns out Will's mom has hired Lou to try to convince Will that life is worth living.  Will has decided that he's going to this clinic in Switzerland where he will end his own life in six months' time.  Lou finds out about this about two months into her contract.  She starts to plan all kinds of outings and trips and experiences for Will, to try to get him to change his mind.  You see, she's begun to care for him immensely.  The ending is NOT what I wanted.  I don't know... this is such a huge case-by-case argument, you know?  About how to officially define suicide vs euthanization.  And whether a place that provides the means is legal or not.  I can only speak for myself, and I do not agree with it at all.  No matter what.  Everyone can have their own opinion, but this ending just did not sit well with me at all.

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Team Tynga's Reviews.  You can find their blog here:  www.tyngasreviews.com.  This weekly meme, which Tynga's team posts on Saturdays, is all about sharing the books that you received or purchased over the previous week.  This week's Stacking the Shelves covers last week and this week... because I'm forgetful.

ARCs and egalleys

Fish by Bianca Bagnarelli

Remember Me by Romily Bernard

I Want to Live These Days With You: A Year of Daily Devotions by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

No Place to Fall by Jaye Robin Brown

Top Ten Clues You're Clueless by Liz Czukas

A New Darkness by Joseph Delaney

Dancing for the Devil: One Woman's Dramatic and Divine Rescue From the Sex Industry by Anny Donewald with Carrie Gerlach Cecil

The Jewel by Amy Ewing

Empire of Shadows by Miriam Forster

Blue by Lisa Glass

The Spiritglass Charade by Colleen Gleason

Messenger of Fear by Michael Grant

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

The Accident by Kate Hendrick

Rhyme Schemer by K.A. Holt

Catalyst by S.J. Kincaid

Winterspell by Claire Legrand

Perfectly Good White Boy by Carrie Mesrobian

Clariel by Garth Nix

Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes

Deliverance by C.J. Redwine

Willie's Redneck Time Machine by John Luke Robertson with Travis Thrasher

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

Lark Ascending by Meagan Spooner

The Perilous Sea by Sherry Thomas

Beetle Boy by Margaret Willey

Crashland by Sean Williams

I am the Mission by Allen Zadoff

Falling Into Place by Amy Zhang

Library

(Who doesn't love free books?  Go use your local library!)

A People's History of the Peculiar: A Freak Show of Facts, Random Obsessions and Astounding Truths by Nick Belardes

Lost Animals: Extinction and the Photographic Record by Errol Fuller

Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr

Book Art: Creative Ideas to Transform Your Books-Decorations, Stationary, Display Scenes, and More by Clare Youngs

The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian | Book Review

(The cover of my copy is "hardcover" but sort of squishy.  Does that make sense?  I don't care for those covers... they remind me of board books for toddlers.  But my copy was a gift, so no choice.)

The Power of a Praying Wife walks the reader through 30 areas in which one could/should pray for their husband.  Each chapter is laid out identically: an introduction to the topic, about 2-3 pages in length, and usually containing an anecdote or two from Stormie's life; a prayer; and 3-5 Bible verses (Stormie calls them "Power Tools") relating to the topic.

I read the entire book through, cover to cover, in May.  I'm now on my second trip through, so that says something about the book's use and effectiveness!  On the first read-through, I read (and chuckled a little at) the topic introductions; on this second read-through, I'm just praying.  I really do think that the topics suggested for prayer are sound, and I appreciate that Stormie wrote guideline prayers for them.  I often go off the prescribed prayer to add a little more, specific to whatever the hubby and I are facing that week.  

As I mentioned above... the little bit of chuckling.  I think maybe Stormie needs to be taken with a little grain of salt sometimes.  There's a chapter where she says that no matter how tired we ladies are, no matter what our day has been like, we should doll ourselves up and make ourselves *ahem* available to our hubbies... Yeah.... so that's something that this slightly more modern gal doesn't necessarily agree with 100%.  But that little bit of advice is found within the chapter that ends with a prayer for our hubbies to not fall under any temptation from any other lady than his wife.  That's a good prayer!  To sum up: take the anecdotes with a grain of salt; take the prayers for serious.

To wrap up, I think this book is pretty ok!  The introduction explains this better than I can, but setting aside time each day to specifically pray for a certain area of the hubby's life is not only for his benefit.  This has also made me more aware of ways in which I can support him day to day, through prayer and through communication and action.  In our house, the hubby has the companion book The Power of a Praying Husband, but I'm not exactly qualified to review that one, am I?  Overall, I give The Power of a Praying Wife three of five stars... the prayers, the basic principle are sound but the advice... eh, not so much. 

Pure by Julianna Baggott | Book Review

(Such a pretty cover for such a horrifyingly bleak book!  (But so well-written!))

Throwback Review!

According to Goodreads, I read Pure in April 2013 and gave it 3 of 5 stars and couldn't be bothered to actually write a review.  :/  Yet I jumped at reading Fuse and considering paying for Burn.  Hmm.  I don't make sense even to myself sometimes.

I do remember being confused when I started reading it because I thought I was reading a YA award-winning book and it is pretty gruesome.  Like, Stephen King level of terrifying.  But so, so, so well-written and you really get inside the characters and get super invested in finding out what happens to them.  Anyway, turns out it is a YA award winner:  Alex Award.  So it is definitely a grown-up book, but supposedly with teen appeal.  I guess I can see that.  The main character is a teen.

And don't get me wrong:  now that I've finished the trilogy I highly recommend it.  In fact, someday I'd like to do a re-read straight through without having to wait a year between each book.

Here's the Goodreads synopsis/review for your plot summary:

We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . . 
Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.

Burn a Pure and Breathe the Ash . . . 
There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked. Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss-maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it's his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her. 

When Pressia meets Partridge, their worlds shatter all over again.

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers | Book Review

A couple of weeks ago the husband and I watched Saving Mr. Banks and we loved loved loved it!  We highly recommend it, and I'm afraid we may have become annoying, as we're still telling all of our friends and family to go watch it.  The movie shows the period of time when P.L. Travers travels to LA to work with Walt Disney and his team to create a movie version of her book, Mary Poppins.  The movie honestly shows that Miss Travers is not exactly easy to work with, and also shows her devotion to keeping the movie as true to the book as possible.  As we were watching the movie, I jumped on my library app and put in requests for Mary Poppins (I had never read it!) and for Mary Poppins, She Wrote (this is a P.L. Travers bio that I'll review later).

I'm so glad I finally read Mary Poppins!  It's such a wonderful little book.  I might just have to get a copy to gift to a nephew next Christmas.  This is a great book read straight through, like I did, and I feel like it would also be a great read-aloud.  The first chapter sets the scene, introducing the members of the Banks family and showing the arrival of Mary Poppins.  The final chapter has the departure of Mary Poppins on the east wind.  But all the chapters in between could feasibly be read in any order.  They're all mini-stories!  I love that.

Mary Poppins of Mary Poppins is a bit different from Disney's Mary Poppins.  She's not cheery.  I don't think she smiles or laughs once in the book.  It's interesting, though, because she makes magic happen and she comforts the Banks children and the reader can tell that she cares about the Banks children... but she constantly denies it all.  For instance, in one story she takes the older two Banks children to visit her friend Mr. Wigg.  When Mr. Wigg laughs and it's his birthday and it's a Friday, he floats in the air up to the ceiling and he can't get down again until he thinks of something sad or it's Saturday.  Mary Poppins the children arrive at his home to find him floating at the ceiling and Mary Poppins continues to tell him how ridiculous he is and scold him for his behavior... yet she herself floats up to the ceiling (by magic, not by laughter) and brings up the tea table and refreshments with her!

As an adult reading the book, I can see the true meaning in the book.  Mary Poppins isn't at the Banks house to create meaningless fun and whimsy; she's there to rescue the family, to help them rekindle their love for each other and to find joy in life again.  As soon as the family has begun to mend, she's off again.

This book is so well-written.  The amount of emotion and magic and character development that P.L. Travers manages to squeeze into so few pages is amazing.  The author herself has been quoted as saying that she does not write children's books.  She writes books for everyone, including but not limited to children.  So true.