A Late September Sunday Salon

Time // 8:00 Sunday morning

Place //  my favorite chair

Drinking //  black coffee and trying to wake up

Reading //  I finished two books this week, The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart and The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. The Ivy Tree  was a good introduction to Stewart's work, but I loved The Age of Innocence  and can't stop thinking about it. Will share my thoughts soon.

Yesterday I started Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo for book club. We have been considering this for the past year, but the time is finally right. The author is giving a reading at Colgate University next month, so we'll all attend and then go out for dinner!

Listening //  I seem to be on a roll with nonfiction audiobooks. This week I finished (and thoroughly enjoyed) JFK's Last Hundred Days: The Transformation of a Man and the Emergence of a Great President by Thurston Clarke.

On impulse, I purchased Wheat Belly by William Davis when it was offered as an Audible Daily Deal last week. This book is quite compelling. Twin B has some GI issues and I'm considering a wheat-free trial for both of us.

Watching// Thanks to a twitter tip from Brona, I borrowed the 1993 movie adaptation of The Age of Innocence from the library. Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer,  and Winona Ryder, it was a feast for the eyes and very true to the novel.

Making //  It was mussel week in the kitchen. I enjoy them in restaurants, but have never attempted to prepare them myself.... it may deserve a Weekend Cooking post.

Today I'm in charge of dessert for our family dinner and will try the Apple Pie Cake recipe Diane posted on Friday. It looks delicious and she promises it's very easy, too.

Blogging //  I've been experimenting with shorter, more journal-like book reviews and plan to continue this format at least until I've made it though my review backlog.

Enjoying// Extra-long walks... bright, sunny mornings, cool temperatures, changing leaves, and a good audiobook. It doesn't get much better than that!

Anticipating //  Trish is hosting an October Pin It and Do It Challenge and you all know how much I love Pinterest. Sure, there will be recipes, but there are plenty of book, movie, travel, and home decor pins I'd like to try. Who knows... I may branch out into fitness, too, and finally figure out what to do with this kettlebell!

Happy Sunday, friends!

The View From Penthouse B by Elinor Lipman

The View From Penthouse B

by Elinor Lipman
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013
272 pages
Source: borrowed from the library

Motivation:  Recommended by Audrey

One line summary (from amazon):
Two sisters recover from widowhood, divorce, and Bernie Madoff as unexpected roommates in a Manhattan apartment

Brief thoughts:
I really enjoyed this novel! Set so firmly in 21st century Manhattan, it even had me googling various restaurants and adding them to my NYC list. Lipman's characters are strong and well-developed; their dialogue is smart, true, and, at times, very funny. I look forward to reading more of her work and think The Inn at Lake Devine  may be next.

My rating:

Wordless Wednesday: September 25

On my walk...

Fall is here!

Tuesday Intro: Among the Janeites by Deborah Yaffe

Chapter 1

-------------

DRESSING THE PART

The bottom drawers of Baronda Bradley's dresser are filled to overflowing with kid gloves, ballet slippers, stockings, feathers, lace collars, nineteenth-century coins, smelling salts, period playing cards, drawstring reticules, a vintage sewing kit - all the accessories with which she augments the breathtaking Regency outfits she wears to each year's Annual General Meeting of the Jane Austen Society of North America. A walk-in closet holds her thirty size 6 gowns - the green-and-orange with striped silk overlay, which premiered in Seattle in 2001; the flowered silk brocade day dress, from Los Angeles in 2004; the square-necked pale-pink georgette with hand-embroidered bodice; the dark red with cutout sleeves and matching long velvet coat; the lace and silk confection so daringly low-cut that, at the Vancouver ball in 2007, she armed her friends with a code word ("Shakespeare!") to deploy if they noticed a hint of areola peeking out.

Among the Janeites: A Journey Through the World of Jane Austen Fandom
by Deborah Yaffe
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013
277 pages

Today I'm featuring a review book I plan to begin later this week. Even though I don't dress in costume or attend JASNA events (yet), I still consider myself a Janeite and identify with the publisher's target audience:

For anyone who has ever loved a Jane Austen novel, a warm and witty look at the passionate, thriving world of Austen fandom. 

They walk among us in their bonnets and Empire-waist gowns, clutching their souvenir tote bags and battered paperbacks: the Janeites, Jane Austen’s legion of devoted fans. Who are these obsessed admirers, whose passion has transformed Austen from classic novelist to pop-culture phenomenon? Deborah Yaffe, journalist and Janeite, sets out to answer this question, exploring the remarkable endurance of Austen’s stories, the unusual zeal that their author inspires, and the striking cross-section of lives she has touched. 

Along the way, Yaffe meets a Florida lawyer with a byzantine theory about hidden subtexts in the novels, a writer of Austen fan fiction who found her own Mr. Darcy while reimagining Pride and Prejudice, and a lit professor whose roller-derby nom de skate is Stone Cold Jane Austen. Yaffe goes where Janeites gather, joining a pilgrimage to historic sites in Britain, chatting online with fellow fans, and attending the annual ball of the Jane Austen Society of North America—in period costume. Part chronicle of a vibrant literary community, part memoir of a lifelong love, Among the Janeites is a funny, touching meditation on the nature of fandom.

Do you consider yourself a Janeite? Does the opening paragraph appeal to you? I think this book sounds like a lot of fun.

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the opening paragraph (sometime two) of a book she decided to read based on the opening. Feel free to grab the banner and play along.

Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner

Hotel du Lac
by Anita Brookner
192 pages
Vintage, 1995
(originally published in 1984)

Source: personal copy

Motivation:
Ali's  Brookner Reading Month
I actually finished just under the wire on July 28, but never managed a post.

Quick thoughts:

Patience is a virtue (at least that's what my mother always says), and that virtue was certainly rewarded during this reading experience. Switzerland's  Hotel du Lac was "known as a place which was unlikely to attract unfavourable attention, a place guaranteed to provide a restorative sojourn for those whom life had mistreated or merely fatigued."  As the novel slowly unfolds, the history and circumstances of each guest at this luxury hotel is gradually revealed as they go about their daily routines and interactions with one another.

The writing is lovely and full of insight. This is my second Brookner novel... I wonder if all are so well- suited to a contemplative mood.

Hotel du Lac  is a quiet gem!

Favorite Quotes:

"The beautiful day had within it the seeds of its own fragility: it was the last day of summer."

"Good women always think it is their fault when someone else is being offensive. Bad women never take the blame for anything."

"In her last months, she lay in bed, wearing the silk peignoir my father bought her on their honeymoon in Venice, not caring, perhaps not noticing, that the lace was torn, the pale blue faded to grey, and when she raised her eyes from her book, her eyes too were faded from blue to grey, and full of dreams, longings, disenchantment. My mother's fantasies, which remained unchanged all her life, taught me about reality. And although I keep reality in the forefront of my mind, and refer to it with grim constancy, I sometimes wonder if it serves me any better than it served my mother."

"She knew from the outset what some unfortunates never learn; she knew that the best is there to be taken, although there may not be enough to go round."

My rating:

This Week in the Kitchen #1

It's been a strange week weather-wise. Monday and Tuesday's cool days and downright chilly evenings forced my book club meeting indoors, but by Friday we had the windows open and were dining on the patio again.

During the brief cold snap, I was craving more Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup, but Wegmans was out of boneless chicken thighs. I bought the bone-in variety with every intention of doing the de-boning myself, but by the time I got home that seemed like too much work and I decided to search for an alternate recipe.

Slow Cooker Latin Chicken from allrecipes.com looked pretty good. I didn't have quite enough chicken, but slow cooker recipes are pretty loose so that didn't deter me. Everything else was prepared strictly by the recipe... except for the cooking temperature. I didn't think the sweet potatoes would be fully cooked after four hours on low, so I set my crock pot to HIGH.

We were pleased with the outcome. The chicken disappeared quickly (we only had four small pieces) and there was enough leftover black bean/sweet potato mixture to use in another meal. My daughter suggested serving ground turkey or beef over rice and topping it with the warmed leftovers. I think that's a great idea!

Since I forgot to take a picture, the above photo is from the allrecipes website. We did not serve the Latin Chicken over rice. I made a green salad instead.

This morning I was still craving soup and decided to try Quick and Easy Tortellini Soup from the baker chick,  a recipe I pinned earlier in the week. I followed the recipe exactly as written and chose to use Wegmans fresh beef-stuffed tortellini. My sample was delicious. I can't wait to serve it up with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and Italian bread for lunch!

What's cooking in your kitchen this week?

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, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams

A Hundred Summers
by Beatriz Williams
ebook, 396 pages
Penguin Group USA, 2013
source: purchased

Quick Thoughts:

An utterly perfect, totally engaging summer read!

I loved this book from the opening paragraph to the  very last line. The setting (1930's Manhattan and coastal Rhode Island), characters, story, and structure added up to my most satisfying reading experience of the summer. I was surprised when amazon offered such a new release as a "kindle daily deal" - this book is worth the full price.

Read the plot summary and more reviews at goodreads.

My rating:

Note: Amazon is offering the kindle book for $2.99 again today.... not sure how long this deal will last.