A Poem for Halloween

Theme in Yellow
by Carl Sandburg

I spot the hills
With yellow balls in autumn.
I light the prairie cornfields
Orange and tawny gold clusters
And I am called pumpkins.
On the last of October
When dusk is fallen
Children join hands
And circle round me
Singing ghost songs
And love to the harvest moon;
I am a jack-o'-lantern
With terrible teeth
And the children know
I am fooling.

*photo credit

Literary Overdose: Is Four Too Many?

It's Family Weekend at Twin A's college and we're hitting the road again. I wanted to write a quick Sunday Salon-type post before leaving, and last night's twitter conversation provided just the spark I needed.  It began as an impromptu meeting of the Stewart O'Nan fan club (@LitHousewife, @mattviews, and I seem to be the charter members), then several others joined in and our conversation broadened. At some point during the rapidly flying tweets, someone mentioned that they usually read three books by an author before moving on. I thought that was very interesting....why three instead of two? What happens if you read four in a row - author burnout?

Soon I began thinking about my own reading habits and notorious lack of structure and rules. Looking back over the past year, I have spent extended periods with two authors - Richard Yates and Stewart O'Nan. In both cases, strangely enough, it would appear that I followed the same three book rule.

A couple of years ago, I read Revolutionary Road. I thought it was brilliant and have been meaning to return to Yates ever since. I finally did last spring - in a big way. My personal Yatesfest began with The Easter Parade and continued with Disturbing the Peace and Cold Spring Harbor. The grand finale was A Tragic Honesty: The Life and Work of Richard Yates by Blake Bailey. Several short stories were also scattered along the way. I plan to read the remainder of Yates work, but after three novels and a biography, a break from his tragic reality was in order.

My author 'discovery' of the year, Stewart O'Nan, was next.  I absolutely love his writing style and characters. A stormy Labor Day weekend was spent reading Wish You Were Here. The lakeside setting provided an ideal end-of-summer read. Emily, Alone featured many of the same characters and was the perfect follow-up. In total awe of O'Nan, I headed to the library and came home with Last Night At the Lobster... also stunning. That was three and, just as with Richard Yates, I decided to take a break.  O'Nan's new novel will be released in January and is already in my amazon shopping cart for pre-order. This break will end in just a few months.

So that's twice this year I've unintentionally followed the 'three book rule'. Is it some sort of intuitive reading reaction, or simply coincidence? Now I'm curious. When you delve into an author's work, how deep do you go before taking a breather? Is there such a thing as literary overdose?

On to my current reading...
After Tuesday's Two-for-One Intros, it appears that Her Fearful Symmetry has 'won'. It's perfect for the season and, after 100 pages, I'm really enjoying it. However, On Chesil Beach has not been totally abandoned. I'll get back to it as soon I'm done.

I finished the audio version of Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach and must say it is totally unlike anything I've ever read... in a weird but totally interesting kind of way. For our road trip today, I have downloaded Travels with Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck and hope my husband and Twin B will agree to listen.

We had our first snowfall of the season yesterday. Although I'm not really looking forward to winter, the snow in the trees and mist rising from the lake made for a beautiful view this morning. Have a wonderful weekend!

A Literary Friendship: Henry and Edith

From today's Writer's Almanac:

It was on this day in 1900 that Henry James wrote his first letter to the budding novelist Edith Wharton, beginning a long friendship. Wharton was an admirer of James's work, and she sent him one of the first short stories she ever wrote. He wrote back to say that he liked the story but that she shouldn't write about Europe if she didn't live there. He said, "Be tethered in native pastures, even if it reduces [you] to a back-yard in New York." His advice inspired her to write about the New York society she'd grown up in, and the result was The House of Mirth (1905), which became her first big success.


They remained friends for the rest of James's life, but while Wharton became more successful, James's novels sold less and less well. When he learned that she'd used the proceeds from a recent book to buy herself a new car, he joked that he hoped his next book would provide enough money for him to buy a new wheelbarrow. But he always appreciated her friendship, and once wrote to her, "Your letters come into my damp desert here even as the odour of promiscuous spices ...might be wafted to some compromised oasis from a caravan of the Arabian nights."

Two-for-One Tuesday Intros

I don't usually do this. One book at a time is my rule - physical book, that is. Audiobooks are different. I have no problem with two audios on the go, since each has its own place - one in the car and another on my iPod. Over the years I've experimented with reading two and three books at once. Selections typically included one fiction and one nonfiction title, plus a classic or long-term read. The trouble began when one book really captured my attention and I read it exclusively. In my mind it became the 'winner', and the 'losers' were left to languish on my nightstand. Clearly the other books weren't exactly losers, but I had a hard time getting back to the growing pile on the nightstand. Reading monogamy seemed to be the answer.

Fast forward two years....

"They were young, educated, and both virgins on this, their wedding night, and they lived in a time when a conversation about sexual difficulties was plainly impossible. But it is never easy. They had just sat down to supper in a tiny sitting room on the first floor of a Georgian inn. In the next room, visible through the open door, was a four-poster bed, rather narrow, whose bedcover was pure white and stretched startlingly smooth, as though by no human hand. Edward did not mention that he had never stayed in a hotel before, whereas Florence, after many trips as a child with her father, was an old hand. Superficially, they were in fine spirits. Their wedding, at St. Mary's, Oxford, had gone well; the service was decorous, the reception jolly, the send-off from school and college friends raucous and uplifting. Her parents had not condescended to his, as they had feared, and his mother had not significantly misbehaved, or completely forgotten the purpose of the occasion. The couple had driven away in a small car belonging to Florence's mother and arrived in the early evening at their hotel on the Dorset coast in weather that was not perfect for mid-July or the circumstances, but entirely adequate: it was not raining, but nor was it quite warm enough, according to Florence, to eat outside on the terrace as they had hoped. Edward thought it was, but, polite to a fault, he would not think of contradicting her on such an evening."

On Chesil Beach
by Ian McEwan

I started On Chesil Beach a few days ago. After fifty pages of beautiful writing and engaging characters, my mind began to wander. Last night, I allowed myself to start Her Fearful Symmetry too. Halloween week seems like the perfect time to read it!

"Elspeth died while Robert was standing in front of a vending machine watching tea shoot into a small plastic cup. Later he would remember walking down the hospital corridor with the cup of horrible tea in his hand, alone under the fluorescent lights, retracing his steps to the room where Elspeth lay surrounded by machines. She had turned her head toward the door and her eyes were open; at first Robert thought she was conscious. 

In the seconds before she died, Elspeth remembered a day last spring when she and Robert had walked along a muddy path by the Thames in Kew Gardens. There was a smell of rotted leaves; it had been raining. Robert said, "We should have had kids," and Elspeth replied, "Don't be silly, sweet." She said it out loud, in the hospital room, but Robert wasn't there to hear."

Her Fearful Symmetry
by Audrey Niffenegger

Do either of these first paragraphs appeal to you? I'm also wondering, if you read more than one book at a time, how you keep one title from 'winning'?
Tuesday Intros is hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea.

A Lovely Reminder of Paris in July

...thank you, Karen!

Weekend Cooking: Pumpkin Latte Coffee Cake

My love of fall is no secret. Every year I look forward to the vibrant foliage, apple picking, football games, breaking out my sweaters, and, of course, the return of pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks (always with a nod to Book Psmith).  Fall is also the time of year I head back to the kitchen.

Knowing of my particular fondness for pumpkin spice lattes, Audrey sent a recipe for Pumpkin Latte Coffee Cake. Better Homes & Gardens recipes are usually a success, and this looked like the perfect seasonal treat to bake for my next book club meeting. A 'test bake'  on Thursday confirmed it.

PUMPKIN LATTE COFFEE CAKE

Makes: 12 servings
Prep: 30 mins
Bake: 350°F 45 mins to 50 mins
Cool: 45 mins

Ingredients

5 eggs
2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder or instant coffee granules
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk*
1 recipe Streusel - see below
1 recipe Coffee Drizzle  - see below

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a small bowl stir together two of the eggs and the espresso powder; set aside. In a medium bowl beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in the 2/3 cup sugar, the 2 tablespoons flour, and the vanilla until smooth. Beat in egg-espresso mixture; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl stir together the 3 cups flour, the baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds; gradually add the 1-1/2 cups sugar, beating until fluffy. Add the remaining three eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in pumpkin. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to pumpkin mixture, beating after each addition until combined. Spread half of the batter in the prepared baking pan. Spoon half of the cream cheese mixture by small spoonfuls on top of the batter. Add the remaining batter in spoonfuls; carefully spread over the cream cheese mixture. Top with spoonfuls of the remaining cream cheese mixture. With a knife, swirl batter to marble. Sprinkle with Coffee Streusel.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 45 minutes. Spoon Coffee Drizzle over coffee cake in a lacy pattern. Cool completely on wire rack.

Streusel:
In medium bowl bowl combine 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1/3 cup rolled oats, 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, and 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice. Using a pastry blender, cut in 1/4 cup cold butter until crumbly.

Coffee Drizzle:
In a small bowl, stir together 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon light-color corn syrup. Stir in enough cooled espresso or strong-brewed coffee (1 to 2 tablespoons) to make drizzling consistency

Make Ahead Directions: Prepare as directed. Cool baked cake completely but do not spoon Coffee Drizzle over coffee cake. Wrap in foil; overwrap in plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. To serve, top with Coffee Drizzle.

*Test Kitchen Tip: To make 1 cup sour milk, place 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar in a glass measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 1 cup total liquid; stir. Let stand for 5 minutes before using.
_______________

This cake was delicious! The coffee/pumpkin flavor combination is amazing. Be forewarned though, this recipe uses a lot of bowls. It's also very filling, so cut pieces on the small side... you can always go back for more. My mother thought the cake might taste even better with nuts. I'll add pecans or walnuts next time and find out.

When I mentioned the cake on twitter, @sugarbakingblog sent a link to another pumpkin spice coffee cake with walnuts. I'll try that recipe later in the week and then decide which to serve at book club. I'll keep you posted...

Weekend Cooking, hosted at Beth Fish Reads, is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up over the weekend.

Wordless Wednesday: Fall