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Sunday Salon: Oh, Beautiful Rain

It’s been a while, now, hasn’t it? I’ve been working on Sundays and I find when I work on Sunday I really don’t have time to read and get online. The past few Sundays I’ve been reading after work and then going to bed late into the night… I also haven’t touched Twilight of the Superheroes since the last time I posted under this heading.

When I started doing these Sunday Salon posts I thought it was a brilliant idea to dedicate each Sunday to a short story, then write about that story with my post. I’m starting to think that I’d prefer to do what other people do - read a bit from the book I’m already reading anyway, then share my ideas on my progress so far. For one, it means I don’t get stuck reading something I’m probably not in the mood for anyway (*cough*).

So what have I read since the last time I posted? Gosh, it’s almost been a full month! I finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, which was one I couldn’t put down… Sort of like how I couldn’t put down Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. Those young adult authors clearly have something going that I’d like to get into. I also read the first two Lords of the Underworld novels by Gena Showalter; I’ve loved JR Ward’s Blackdagger Brotherhood books and I wanted to read something else mythologically appealing (if inaccurate), so The Darkest Night and The Darkest Kiss both spoke to me. Actually, they giggled at me, and I giggled right alongside them. Lately, though, I’ve been reading The Castle in the Forest by Norman Mailer which has been on my wishlist since it came out in hardback and on my TBR pile since the day it came out in paperback. It’s a good sign - I’m finally making an etch in those bookshelves I reserve specifically for “not read yet” books!

A few Sundays ago, Katrina’s Reads posted a meme specifically for the Sunday Salon and today I’m going to steal it.

The author I always meant to read is Evelyn Waugh. I have some of his books (this is true for a lot of authors I haven’t read, though) and just haven’t seemed to have gotten around to them yet.
The author I always meant to read more of is Philip Roth. I have seven of his books in my collection already but I’ve only read one of them. I really enjoyed it so I’m not sure what’s keeping me back from reading the rest…
The genre I always meant to try is political/spy thrillers, actually. I don’t think I’ve ever read any from this section of the store. I mean, I usually enjoy political thriller movies so why wouldn’t I like the books?
The book on my TBR pile I always mean to read next always manages to be by Haruki Murakami. I have tons and tons of his books and one of my 101 Things in 1,001 Days goals is to read all of his books that I currently own. So I’m in the middle of a book and I glance in the direction where I keep his books on my shelf and think, “I’ll read one of those next.” I always mean to… But it doesn’t seem to quite turn out as planned.
The book I always meant to try again is The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa. Well, there are a lot I’d like to read again, but this one in particular because while I was reading it for a class in college, people kept comparing it to The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner. Now I’ve read that, and others by Vargas Llosa, and I’d like to go back and re-read this book which I loved so much, if not just to get more out of it.

I don’t have a lot else to say, unfortunately, because (as I hinted) I’m not really in the mood for Twilight of the Superheroes. But! I did read some Castle in the Forest and I’m starting to get into the book much more. It had a very slow, rather drawn-out and confusing beginning, but now it’s one of those books I randomly think about in the middle of the day and yearn to read even though I can’t because I’m at work or driving or doing some other menial, obviously unimportant task. Like writing this post, for example.

It’s been raining a lot lately, I should mention, since it’s my subject line and all. I really enjoy reading when it’s raining - I can’t sit on the porch and listen to it, because my apartment is crooked. (Basically the rain very easily gets onto the porch, even though we have a covering, and large puddles start to build and attempt to drown us if we sit out there.) However, I can crack a window and listen to it, smell the musky breath of the wind while I dive into another world. The sounds of rain are so soothing; even the thunder never frightened me.

Today is another promised rainy day so I hope to get a lot more reading done later, but now it’s time to make cookies.

July Book Blowout Challenge

I’m joining the July Book Blowout challenge because it only lasts for a month and I’m going to be reading a lot in July anyway. Why not feel some accomplishment among a group of people? The point of this challenge is to read as many books as you can in July. Reviews not required, which is a big plus, as I don’t generally review every book I read. Sometimes I get into what I call “mass market reads,” books in genres I don’t normally enjoy as much as others (paranormal romance, for example - I love select few, but I’m not about to go diving through the entire section of the store), and it takes me perhaps a day or two to get through those books. For some reason, I don’t find them particularly interesting enough to write up reviews.

In any case, I have a lot of those on my TBR pile so why not kick them out in July, rather than continuing to hold them off?

So, let’s see. July hasn’t generally been a good month for reading it seems. In 2005 and 2007, I only read 4 books; in 2006, there were just the 3. This year I am reading a lot more anyway, but as July seems to be a particularly busy month for me, I’m going to set my goal to read at least 8 books. I know that doesn’t seem like a lot, especially to all you readers out there who generally get into 10 or 15 books per month, but I’m being realistic based on all the projects I have planned for next month! Anyway, it’s more than I’ve read any other month this year so far.

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

This is one of those books that I’ve been meaning to read for quite some time and now having read it I can’t figure out why I put it off for so long. (This, I suppose, is something you could say about all the books I read, because I have quite a large TBR pile and I rarely ever pick up books as soon as I buy them.) However, this book is all about escaping into the story, or rather, accidentally letting the story escape into your life, and I’ve lately needed a distraction. I’ve been trying to read two other books but they didn’t draw me in the way this one did; this one I couldn’t put down until I was done, and now I can only think of all the things I shouldn’t have recently purchased so I’d have enough money to buy the sequel! Anyway, suffice to say that this one was very well written.

There were only slight few things I didn’t like about this book. One, the quotes from other books at each chapter head. I’m not a big fan of this thing that authors like to do, whether it’s because they feel the quote explains a bit more about a theme in the chapter or because they derived some inspiration from that particular quote for a scene that would follow. I don’t mind if there are a few quotes starting or summing up a book, but to have them at every turn started to get rather annoying. Some of them didn’t even seem to tie into the following words, and I started to feel like they were only there to encourage younger readers to pursue the books being quoted. Of course, I am all for spreading the literary love, but it was distracting and, in my opinion, unnecessary.

Continuity errors abounds in this book! Most of them were towards the end, though, so I can’t explain them without giving anything away, but I did have to go back and read a few things and still didn’t find why that backpack was still there or where that character suddenly disappeared to (and it wasn’t one of the ones that fell into a book, else I’m sure the characters would have mentioned it as they did every other time). It’s frustrating to have to go back two steps and read something I’ve already read, especially in such an engrossing book. I felt I was inside this one, right there on the sidelines watching as Dustfinger did, but that every so often time had to reverse so that events could be played out again for more clarity. It definitely took away from the experience.

All that said, however, Inkheart is full of loveable (and hateable) characters, each of whom touches the reader in some way. Meggie, the daughter of Mo/Silvertongue, who loves her father so dearly that she would do anything to be close to him. Mo, the bookbinder who possesses a special gift - when he reads aloud, characters and objects jump out of the pages. Even Dustfinger, who I understood much better at the end but was completely unsure about throughout the book, was a man who loved his pet marten with the horns Gwin even if the little rascal bit him one too many times. He was slippery and silvery in this book, sometimes hated, pitied, and loved, but in the end found himself a special place. Others included Farid, a boy sprung from One Thousand and One Nights, Elinor, a strong-willed and equally bold-hearted woman who finds value in more than just her old books, and the mysterious Teresa, Meggie’s mother who disappeared into Inkheart the day that the villains came out of it.

The villains, of course, were as strongly developed characters as the heroes. Another thing to be admired about this book is how strongly woven the characters were. Some extras were included who didn’t have quite interesting backstories, but those who mattered were clearly thought out and brought into the world as kicking, screaming, perfectly functional characters. Capricorn was the main villain, a man so full of evil that he cared for nothing and no one but his own rise to power - not even his mother mattered to him, though he mattered very much to her. Basta, the oddest character in my opinion, was a heartless killer who was also very superstitious. I say he was ‘odd’ because I inevitably found him to be one of my favorite characters, even though I generally agree with the masses and like the “good” characters more than the “bad” ones. There was something spectacular about him that I can’t quite put my fingers on, though I suppose I have all of the next book to explore that.

The most intriguing part of this book was the inclusion of the author of Inkheart. No, I don’t mean Cornelia Funke; there is a book within a book here - the book Mo reads from called Inkheart from which springs Capricorn, Basta, and later more henchmen, and thus there is an author within the book as well. Fenoglio is a funny sort of old man, “turtle-faced” as the book describes him many times. He initially doesn’t think any of his characters can harm him, but quickly changes his mind once he is face to face with his most dreaded characters. What a strange twist to bring the author into all of this - there are plenty of books about books, books about the characters within the books, but when does the author ever appear? Do you meet the author in The Neverending Story? It does make one wonder about the authors of such books. I hope they’re all quirky old men.

Inkheart was overall extremely satisfying and I realize that’s not very descriptive. At the moment, it’s hard for me to put into words everything I liked about it without having to quote passages from it. One moment I felt my heart constrict, the next my mouth was watering for some apricots, then I found myself feeling extremely triumphant as one of the characters defeated her demons and shone brightly. It was engaging, thoughtful, and very significantly full of books. I love books about books, and so far this one takes the cake. Books are everywhere you turn in Inkheart and I can’t wait to get my hands on the next one.

New Layout!

The new layout is here, finally. I know I said it would be just like the old one, but I ended up going in a different direction entirely. I love it, though, and have so far gotten pretty positive comments.

Should look something like this, hopefully:

As always, if you notice any errors please let me know. You can comment on this post or use the form.

You may notice (though probably not) that the art section has disappeared. It has moved to Dear Friend Productions, which is just a gallery website. (It’s called that because on the back of the cards I make for my friends, it always says, “Made for you by a dear friend.” Just made sense.) My fiction is still here as well as those things I call “articles,” but I’ll still be tweaking content somewhat. Also, all the “domain” stuff has moved to “about.” If your curious about it, you can read more about the layout on this page.

I Like Food, Food Tastes Good!

I Like Food, Food Tastes Good, a cookbook with recipes from some of my favorite bands (and not so favorite bands) compiled by Kara Zuaro, has been sitting in my various kitchens since last year. (I say “various” because I’ve had three since I got the book.) I purchased the book as soon as I saw it; the appeal, of course, being that I’d actually heard of the cooks. It’s all well and fine to buy a Food Network star’s cookbook, but since I only watch cake competitions on the Food Network, Rachael Ray doesn’t really do much for me.

When I saw the Soup’s On challenge, I knew that this would be the first cookbook I’d use. It’s not the one I’ve had the longest, nor does it seem like it’d be the most fun (not much baking in here), but it is one of the more “well rounded” ones, offering recipes for breakfast, soups and starters, sandwiches, main courses for meateaters and vegetarians, drinks, and desserts. All from bands I admire! I also expected the ingredients relatively inexpensive to gather and the recipes quick to whip up, as I am not sure a lot of bands have tons of money and time to make dinner.

Before I continue on to what I made and what I enjoyed, I’m going to get something out of the way for this review and all others concerning cooking: My boyfriend is a picky eater. He won’t eat seafood, he hates most things that are green, and tofu is not even an option. (Seriously, even though tofu only tastes like whatever you’re eating it with, he won’t touch the stuff.) That in mind, I was unlimited in choices for what I’d try, but I had to be very particular about sharing this experience with him.

So! “I like food, food tastes good” is a lyric from a song by the Descendents called, appropriately, “I Like Food.” It’s a short song without a lot of flavor, but it’s catchy. Actually, it mostly consists of greasy things and ketchup, maybe a teenage girl here or there… But I was happy to see that overall the book named after the song was not full of such disgusting habits. I found quite a few recipes to be healthy and appealing, full of protein and just the right about of veggies, though the book is lacking in various fruit-related dishes (there are a few, but as I tend to like my reds and oranges more than my greens, I had hoped for more).

My first recipe was a breakfast selection, which I actually ended up eating for lunch. It was delicious and filling; I may have used too much tofu and not enough spinach, but I don’t have a lot of experience cooking. In fact, this is sad - I had to look up the word “saute” to see what the hell I was supposed to be doing with all those diced onions and squash. I’m hoping that this cookbook challenge will help me familiarize myself with cooking terms so I can some day be a good wife. Anyway, my Tofu Scramble recipe was submitted by Calexico, whom I’ve never heard, but who are a Tucson-based band that “zigzag” between indie rock, Latin music, country, blues, and jazz. I had to take out some of the ingredients I didn’t like (like the red bell pepper) and thus took out some of the color I’m sure this recipe would have flourished with, but overall I was pretty satisfied with it. Took about 20 minutes to prepare, though now that I know what “saute” means it’ll probably take less time when I make it again. Yellow onion, tofu, squash, zucchini, garlic cloves, and spinach all combine to make what the book calls an “alternative to scrambled eggs,” but which I call a very yummy meal. The recipe serves 2-3 people, but since I am only one person it was more than enough for a day or two of leftovers.

I made another selection just for Richard, because as I said, I didn’t want him to miss out on the fun of me actually cooking stuff. Well, I only kind of cheated on his, because it didn’t require doing anything which we don’t normally do – cooking Ramen. Suggested by a member of the band Strung Out, a band which I listened to for one or two minutes in the mid 90’s, the Rock’N’Ramen dish had a lot of appeal due to its name. It also involved two different kinds of Ramen, and it made Richard’s day. A winning combination! I didn’t eat any of it (it has pepper and Tabasco sauce, which are among the few ingredients I won’t eat) so I can’t give a personal account, but he wouldn’t have been able to put it down if I begged him after he took that first bite! Combining Creamy Chicken Ramen, Roast Chicken Ramen, Tabasco sauce, butter, pepper, garlic powder, parmesan cheese, and just a bit of milk apparently makes something worth ignoring your girlfriend!

From the dessert menu we tried the Oatmeal Cake suggested by Pelican. I wasn’t sure about this one - I like oatmeal and I like cake, but would I like them together? (Note: I am one of those sorry folks who does not think mixing great things always makes even greater things.) However, from years of experience in eating dough and batter, I knew it was going to be delicious once I had licked the spatula. It’s been ages since I’ve made a cake from scratch (ages, literally - I was probably about 10 the last time) but the effort was definitely worth it. It’s definitely a different texture in a cake than I’ve ever had - it’s gooey and soft and very thick. I whipped some cream cheese frosting on the top; there was a recipe for a topping but it involved coconut and evaporated milk, both ingredients which I didn’t happen to have lying around and thus couldn’t use on a whim. The cream cheese frosting complemented it quite well, though. This is a new favorite!

Though I only tried three recipes from this book, it was overall a rewarding experience. The food was good, I learned a bit about each band and why they recommend the recipes, and better yet - I had a successful first try at cooking meals that don’t come from a package! (Don’t mention the one that had Ramen in it, beacuse it also had other stuff, okay?) Just from browsing through I can see that the foods in this book will be relatively inexpensive and effortless, quick and easy, and most important of all - flexible. I made my Tofu Scramble into a Boca Scramble after my leftovers were gone and loved it almost just as much. I’ll be making fine use of this cookbook and I only have high hopes for the next.

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