Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Books for Armchair Travelers (Submitted by Laurie C @ Bay State Reader’s Advisory). I love armchair travel and books where people make a new start. I can and have done posts about specific destinations like Paris and Greece. My take on the theme this week is choosing books where the travelling is an integral part of the story, and I am using all different forms of transport!
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells - I have gone big with my first form of transport - space travel! And the transporter is actually a key character in the book.
Everyone on this Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson - I have read a number of books where travel on the Ghan is featured. The Ghan is a train that runs through central Australia from Darwin to Adelaide and vice versa. (my review)
Last Stop on the Winter Wonderland Express by Rebecca Raisin - This is another train book. This time the train goes through Europe ending up in Lapland
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles - This book probably have a bit of a different feel to most on this list, but at it's heart this is a road trip as a young man travels from Nebraska to New York.
The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary - This is the story of an uncomfortable road trip to Scotland when two sisters give on their exes and his mate a ride to a wedding.
A Wedding in the Sun by Leonie Mack - Speaking of road trip to weddings, this book features the ex wife and the ex husband of the happy couple who are thrown together at the last minute and have to make it to the wedding in Spain in time! (my review)
The Croatian Island Library by Eva Glyn - Our characters spend the summer sailing between Croatian islands providing a library service. (my review)
The Arctic Cruise by Caroline James - I have read a couple of books set on cruise ships by this author. This was my latest and saw the characters chasing the Northern Lights. (my review)
Golden Girls on the Run by Judy Leigh - When two older women borrow one of their grandson's red Ferrari, they travel from Ireland to the south of England. (my review)
Where the Birds Call Her Name by Claire van Ryn - The modern part of this dual timeline features a mother and daughter travelling from far north Western Australia to Tasmania (my review)
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Favorite Book Quotes (You can pick your favorite quotes from books, or about books! You can set a theme like quotes from books about love, friendship, hope, etc. or you can just share quotes you loved from your recent reads!). I don't often keep note of quotes so I am going rogue again this week .... yes, again!!!
A couple of weeks ago there was a theme which was Unread Books on My Shelves I Want to Read Soon. I chose to focus only on the books that are on my Kindle. At the time, I said I could easily do this topic again, so I am going to! So here are ten more books that have been languishing on my Kindle that I would buy again!
You Had Me At Hello by Mhairi McFarlane - I actually have a couple of her books on my Kindle
The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth - I feel like it is a bit sacrilegious to have not read any of Sally Hepworth's books
The Familiars by Stacy Halls - Stacy Halls writes such interesting sounding books!
The Pearl of Penang by Clare Flynn - I have all three of the books in this series. I am keen to read these because of the setting.
Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley - To be honest I am a bit shocked that this book is on my list. I love Susanna Kearsley, and was very excited when she announced a new book just this week, only to realise that I still haven't read this book.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles - I read Lincoln Highway a while ago, but haven't managed to read this one yet.
The Pretty Delicious Cafe by Danielle Hawkins - I really must read this.
The Naturalists Daughter by Tea Cooper - I actually have a few Tea Cooper books to read.
Clap When You land by Elizabeth Acevedo - I loved With the Fire On High so much when I read it, I pre-ordered this book....and still haven't read it!
The Lost Girls of Devon by Barbara O'Neal - I have a few books by this author too!
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is May Flowers - Pick your own title for this one to reflect the direction you choose to go with this prompt (books with flowers on the cover, flower names in the title, characters whose names are flower names, stories involving flowers/gardeners).
Here are some flowers that I have received this week!
Back in April, the theme was April Showers and rather than do showers, I thought I would share 10 years worth of April reads. I thought I would do the same with this week's theme. So here are 10 books I read in May over the last few years.
2024 - The Shakespeare Sisters by Juliet Greenwood - I am currently reading this book. I have the second book in the series to read soon too.
2023 - The War Nurses by Anthea Hodgson - I really liked this one when I read it last year.
2023 - A Taste of Italian Sunshine by Leonie Mack - The first book I read by Leonie Mack was set in Paris, this one in the vineyards of Italy, and the last one in the mountains of France. I already have the next book to read by her and this one is set in Spain
2022 - The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles - This was a long, but enjoyable read.
2021 - The Dressmakers of Yarrandarah Prison by Meredith Jaffe - this one is a 5/5 read for me!
2021 - All Systems Red by Martha Wells - I don't read a lot of sci-fi but this series is a lot of fun!
2020 - The Postmistress by Alison Stuart - Australian historical fiction set in a fictitious town inspired by an actual town a few hours away from me that I would love to visit
2020 - The Good Turn by Dervla McTiernan- I do mix things up a little bit genre wise! This is crime fiction!
2019 - The Flat Share by Beth O'Leary - Still the best book by this author that I have read.
2018 - Templar Silks by Elizabeth Chadwick - This is one of my favourite historical fiction authors and yet I don't often read her. Must rectify that!
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Movies/TV Shows That Would Have Made Amazing Books (Submitted by Sabrina @ Notes From a Paper Plane Nomad) but I am going to do the most recent examples of where I have seen a movie or TV series based on a book or read a book associated with a series, or a couple of can't wait for the TV series.
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas - I have recently watched two French movies based on the books. They were really good adaptations
One Day by David Nicholls - I started watching this series a few weeks ago. I need to get back to it.
Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn - I am looking forward to season 3 coming out soon very soon
Masters of the Air by Donald Miller - We just finished watching this series last week.
Lessons in Chemistry - I read the book late last year and then watched the TV series
No 1 Ladies Detective Agency - I am very close to finishing my current audio book which is book no. 10000 in the series of the same name. I watched the TV adaptation many years ago and very much enjoyed it!
All the Light You Cannot See by Anthony Doerr- We watched this TV series recently.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles - I have read another of Amor Towles books, but not this one yet, but I will be watching this!
Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa - The movie is just called Sweet Bean
Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams - This is a bit of a curve ball because whilst I did watch this it was a play rather than on a screen!
As I read books, I often highlight quotes about food, books, places and Christmas that I save to share at some point.
Today, I am sharing a quote from The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. This isn't a book about food at all, but there were several quotes which caught my attention. There were several book related quotes too!
I remember reading it and thinking it's definitely a fair question! Enjoy!
Coriander! said Woolly to himself with enthusiasm
For while Duchess was showing Billy how to properly stir a sauce, Woolly had set about alphabetizing the spice rack. And it didn’t take long for him to discover just how many spices begin with the letter C. In the entire rack there was only one that started with the letter A: Allspice, whatever that was. And Allspice was followed by just two spices that began with the letter B: Basil and Bay Leaves. But once Woolly moved on to spices that began with the letter C, well, it seemed there was no end to them! So far, there had been Cardamom, Cayenne, Chili Powder, Chives, Cinnamon, Cloves, Cumin, and now, Coriander.
It certainly made one wonder.
Perhaps, thought Woolly, perhaps it was like the matter of the Ws at the beginning of questions. At some point in ancient times, the letter C must have seemed particularly suitable to the names of spices.
Or maybe it was at some place in ancient times. Some place where the leter C had more sway over the alphabet. All of a sudden Woolly seemed to remember from one of his history classes that many moons ago there had been something called the Spice Route – a long and arduous trail along which tradesmen traveled in order to bring the spices of the East to the kitchens of the West. He even remembered a map with an arrow that arced across the Gobi Desert and over the Himalayas until it touched down safely in Venice, or some such spot.
That the C spices originated on the other side of the globe struck Woolly as a clear possibility, since he didn’t even know what half of them tasted like. He knew Cinnamon, of course. In fact, it was one of his favorite flavors. Not only was it used in the making of apple and pumpkin pie, it was the sine qua non of the cinnamon bun. But Cardamom, Cumin, and Coriander? These mysterious words struck Woolly as having a distinctly oriental ring.
-Aha! Said Woolly, when he discovered the bottle of Curry hiding behind the Rosemary in the second-to-last row of the rack.
For Curry was most definitely a flavor from the East.
Maybe this caught my eye because I don't mind alphabetising herbs and spices. Or labelling the jars, although a lot of them come with the name on top now!
Weekly meals
Saturday - Out for dinner
Sunday - Pot Roast Chicken
Monday - Pork chops, mash, beans, gravy
Tuesday -
Wednesday - Birthday dinner
Thursday - Mexican chicken and rice
Friday - Out for dinner
Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. 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
March 14 is Pi Day, as in the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. This is not to be confused with National Pie Day which is January 23, but it is a good occasion on either day to make, or at least talk about pie!
I don't know about you but when I think of pie, I think of sweet pie, but to be honest we cook far more savoury pies than we ever make sweet ones. One of our favourites is this Green Curry Chicken Pie and another is making a pie out of this Steak and Pepper casserole.
I have decided that this is the perfect opportunity to share a quote I have been saving for a while now. Last year I read The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. Whilst this wasn't necessarily a foodie book there were several passages in this book that I wanted to share as I did enjoy the way that Towles wrote about food, and other things too, but for the purpose of this post let's concentrate on the food. I do have another quote saved somewhere. There was another passage that lovingly described eating Fettucine Mio Amore at Leonello's, an Italian restaurant. This dish isn't an option on the menu so you have to be in the know to ask for it, and another passage was about cooking this same recipe, but I don't know what I did with that quote. I might have to reborrow the book!
This week though, I am going to share a passage about why we spend time and effort cooking for the people we love. I hope you enjoy the quote too!
The character speaking here is Sally, a young woman in 1950s country America.
From a man's point of view, the one thing that's needful is that you sit at
his feet and listen to what he has to say, no matter how long it takes for him
to say it, or how often he's said it before. By his figuring, you have plenty
of time for sitting and listening because a meal is something that makes
itself. The manna, it falls from heaven, and with a snap of the fingers, the
water can be turned into wine. Any woman who's gone to the trouble of baking an
apple pie can tell you that's how a man sees the world.
To bake an apple pie, you've first got to make the dough. You've got to cut
the butter into the flour, gather it with a beaten egg and a few tablespoons of
ice water, let it bind overnight. The next day, you've got to peel and core the
apples, cut them into wedges, and toss them with cinnamon sugar. You've got to
roll out the crust and assemble the pie. Then you bake it at 425 for fifteen
minutes and 350 for another forty-five. Finally, when supper's over, you
carefully plate a slice and set it on the table where, in midsentence, a man
will fork half of it into his mouth and swallow without chewing, so that he can
get right back to saying what he was saying without the chance of being interrupted.
And strawberry preserves? Don't get me started on strawberry preserves!
As young Billy pointed out so rightly, making preserves is a time-consuming
venture. Just picking the berries takes you half a day. Then you have to wash
and stem the fruit. You have to sterilize the lids and jars. Once you
combine the ingredients, you have to set them on simmer and watch them like a
hawk, never letting yourself stray more than a few feet from the stove to make
sure they don't overcook. When they’re ready, you pour the preserves, seal the
jars, and lug them into the pantry one tray at a time. Only then can you start
the process of cleaning up, which is a job in itself.
And yes, as Duchess pointed out, the canning of preserves is a little
old-fashioned, hearkening back to the era of root cellars and wagon
trains. I suppose the word preserves is bygone when compared to the blunt
precision of jam.
And as Emmett pointed out, it is, above all, unnecessary. Thanks to Mr.
Smucker, at the grocer there are fifteen varieties of jam selling for nineteen cents
a jar, season in and season out. In fact, jam has become so readily available,
you can practically buy it at the hardware store.
So yes, the making of strawberry preserves is time-consuming, old-fashioned,
and unnecessary.
Then why, you might ask, do I bother to do it?
I do it because it's time-consuming.
Whoever said that something worthwhile shouldn't take time? It took months
for the Pilgrims to sail to Plymouth Rock. It took years for George Washington
to win the Revolutionary War. and it took decades for the pioneers to conquer
the West.
Time is that which God uses to separate the idle from the industrious. For time
is a mountain and upon seeing its steep incline, the idle will lie down among
the lilies of the field and hope that someone passes by with a pitcher of
lemonade. What the worthy endeavor requires is planning, effort, attentiveness,
and the willingness to clean up.
I do it because it's old-fashioned.
Just because something's new doesn't mean it's better; and often enough, it
means it's worse.
Saying please and thank you is plenty old-fashioned. Getting married and
raising children is old-fashioned. Traditions, the very means by which we come
to know who we are, are nothing if not old-fashioned.
I make preserves in the manner that was taught to me by my mother, God rest
her soul. She made preserves in the manner that was taught to her by her
mother, and Grandma made preserves in the manner that was taught to her by
hers. And so on, and so forth, back through the ages all the way to Eve. Or, at
least as far as Martha.
And I do it because it's unnecessary.
For what is kindness but the performance of an act that is both beneficial
to another and unrequired? There is no kindness in paying a bill. There is no
kindness in getting up at down to slop the pigs, or milk the cows, or gather
the eggs from the henhouse. For that matter, there is no kindness in making
dinner, or in cleaning the kitchen after your father heads upstairs without so
much as a word of thanks.
There is no kindness in latching the doors and turning out the lights, or in
picking up the clothes from the bathroom floor in order to put them in the
hamper. There is no kindness in taking care of a household because your only
sister has the good sense to get herself married and move to Pensacola.
Nope, I said to myself while climbing into bed and switching off the light,
there is no kindness in any of that.
For kindness begins where necessity ends.
Weekly meals
Saturday - Zucchini, Parmesan and Tomato Rissotto
Sunday - Roast chicken, rolls and potato salad
Monday - Warm steak salad
Tuesday - pork sausages, chips and gravy
Wednesday - Pressure cooker spaghetti bolognaise
Thursday - Mexican chicken parma, mash and beans
Friday - Takeaway
Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. 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 quick glimpse at my post last week tells me that I was intending to finish The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles and then I was going to read Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore. One out of two ain't bad right? I did finish The Lincoln Highway and I enjoyed it. I can now see why so many people love his writing and I am definitely intending to read more by him.
I did read a couple of chapters of Birdcage Walk but in the end I realised that it wasn't the book for me right now, so I ended up returning it to the library unread and I started reading The Lost Valley of Stories by Vanessa McCausland. It's early days but I can see myself getting stuck into this one.
I'm watching....
This week I finished watching both Bridgerton and Picard and didn't start anything new! I am already looking forward to the next season of both of those shows.
Actually, we did kind of start something. My husband loves sailing and the third season of Sail GP started this weekend, so we watched some of that tonight. I have a bit of a plan to try and get to Christchurch in New Zealand for one of the later rounds in the season. We'll see how that works out.
Life
I was still crook last week but unlike the week before I actually worked all week! It took until Friday for me to have a day where no one said shoudl you be here.
Luckily, I was recovered enough to be able to go and see Hamilton again! So good! And I then listened to the soundtrack again today.
We also went to dinner last night with three of our four kids and their respective partners (well, the two that have a partner) because it is my husband's birthday today. I think he was happy with that as a celebration! A bit of sailing on the telly, a bit of rain on the roof, some cake and he's a happy man. Or at least he says so!
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the topic is Bookish Characters (these could be readers, writers, authors, librarians, professors, etc.)
Here are my choices, which re possibly more accurately described as bookish books or having bookish characters.
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles - One of the central threads in the book revolve around a book called "Professor Abacus Abernathe's Compendium of Heroes, Adventurers and Other Intrepid Travellers" that the youngest character in book carries around with him everywhere he goes
Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran - This book is all about the life stories of these characters and how the past continues to shape us. One of the key characters also moonlights as an author, albeit under a pen name.
The Beautiful Words by Vanessa McCausland - Another ode to words and books, with an author as one of the main characters.
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr - Doerr brings us mutliple stories, all connected through one fable
The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley - When an author finds herself living in a cottage in Scotland, the voices of the historical characters from her story come to life (and another excuse to sneak a Kearsley book into a TTT post!)
The Great Passage by Shion Miura - A nice story telling about the creation of a dictionary.
Beach Read by Emily Henry - Two authors who write in different genres end up living next door to each other.
The Tolstoy Estate by Steven Conte - During WWII, the German army use Tolstoy's country house as a base.
Aria's Travelling Bookshop by Rebecca Raisin - Books and France! Yes please.
The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan - Books and Scotland. Yes please!
Well, after last week's post where I said I needed to finish one of two books for book club on Saturday. In the end, I didn't finish either of them, and I didn't go to book club because I have been sick all week. I have only got 100 pages to go of The Lincoln Highway so I will definitely finishing it today.
The next read-on-a-theme choice is "family". I am pretty sure I will find at least one book on my real or virtual foundations which will suit that theme.
I have already decided that my next read is going to be Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore. Or rather, the library told me that the book must be returned soon so I have to read it.
I'm watching...
Lots of time feeling crook over the last week has given me plenty of TV viewing time in contrast with previous weeks where we have watched very little.
I finally finished watching The Parisian Agency season 2 so I am going to have to find some other Paris porn to watch. I do really enjoy watching this show with the amazing houses that the very wealthy quite often look at and think it isn't quite enough or just right! I really the family dynamic between the family who run the agency.
We are big fans of the British show, The Repair Shop and so we were very please to start watching the Australian version. One episode in and we are happy with it so far.
I also started watching a Korean reality show called The Hungry and the Hairy. The idea is that two celebrity friends head out on their motorbikes and visit some of South Korea's famous sites and eat some amazing food. It's a premise that has been seen around the world before, but I don't recall ever watching much set in South Korea. I will watch a bit more and I am thinking that maybe it will be a Weekend Cooking post at some point.
I have a number of shows on my list that I want to watch including shows like Outlander, Julia, Reacher and more, but this week I started season 2 of Bridgerton. I think I am just over half way through so hopefully will watch more this week.
Finally, we binged a few episodes of Picard on Saturday night
Life
We had a few plans over the weekend but none of them happened.
We really are getting to crunch time in relation to this house. We need to get this house to a point where it is ready too start showing people through. To say I am starting to stress and get a bit anxious about this whole selling and moving thing is an understatement. Luckily every time we go to the new house we are pleasantly surprise by the progress that has been made. Just have to keep the end goal in mind I guess.
Erm...not a lot! I mean I have to finish one of the two books that I am reading for bookclub by Saturday. I am still reading Lincoln Highway but I also started Gallipoli Street by Mary-Anne O'Connor on my kindle as I caught the train to the city on Friday because I didn't want to be carryng such a big book around.
I'm watching....
Who has time to watch TV??
Life
Friday I was a lady who lunches at one of the top restaurants in Melbourne called Vue de Monde (and you might be able to see why). I was then also a lady who dines, with a few wines in between. It was an unusual event for me but so much fun. Only downside....one of the guests who was part of the small client group we were with has now tested positive to Covid.
I had to work most of Sunday, but we also had tickets to see Robbie Williams perform. He is filming a biopic here in Melbourne, so they put on two concerts so they could film concert scenes for the movie. He is such a great showman and even though it wasn't a normal concert it was so much fun. I am, however, a little weary tonight.
Here's just a taste, although to be fair this is more the crowd than Robbie!
Last week I was intending to finish reading The Language of Love, and I still intend to do so but I found myself getting side tracked by a completely different book, mainly because I coudn't renew the library loan. That book was Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran and I really enjoyed it. I originally picked it up as I thought it might be a good book for Weekend Cooking, and the cover and title sounded good.
Whilst there was plenty of talk about food in the book, it was really a book about much meatier topics, including the lasting legacy of trauma, racism, the power of our individual stories and so much more.
I also started reading The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. The theme for our read on a theme bookclub this month is a type of road. For example, the title could include the word street, avenue, road, court or something like that. I did have another book that I was intending to read, but I have been meaning to try Amor Towles for a while now so this seemed like a good opportunity. I was a bit surprised to see how chunky the book was. Once upon a time I would buy a book based on how thick it was but not so much anymore. Hopefully I can get through the nearly 600 pages before our meeting in a couple of weeks.
I did also make some progress on my current audiobook, Love Stories which was written and narrated by Trent Dalton. I am going into the office for a few days this week so that will give me a fair bit of listening time.
I'm watching...
Our binge watch over the last week was Clarkson's Farm thanks to it being mentioned at Sam Still Reading last week. Jeremy Clarkson is known for being a co-host of Top Gear and The Grand Tour. We really enjoyed this series. It was funny and it really shone a light on the life of a farmer..
We are also very pleased that Masterchef Australia is back! This season it is a fans vs faves series, so half of the contestants are from previous series and half are new to the show.
We also started watching Moon Knight, a new Marvel series. I was a bit confused by the first episode but after watching the second episode I think it makes a bit more sense now. We'll see!
Life
Today is Anzac Day and so it is only right that I start my recap of the last week with an acknowledgement of the day and for those past and present who have served to protect our country.
We went to Bendigo today, taking advantage of the public holiday and the nice weather. We caught the end of the Anzac Day service and wandered through the gardens. Our main reason for going to Bendigo today was to see the Elvis: Direct from Graceland exhibition. It was an excellent exhibition, and it certainly bought back memories of when we visited Graceland itself around 3 years ago.
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