Top Ten Tuesday: Green book covers

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Green Book Covers (In honor of St. Patrick’s Day today!)

To be sure, to be sure, to be sure! Green book covers. Maybe not as easy to find as some other colours but I found enough!

Before We Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - This is the fifth book in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series by this Japanese author!

A Bakery in Paris by Aimie K Runyan - A dual timeline set in 1890s and just after WWII Paris! (my review)

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley - I have read this a couple of times, most recently for Cook the Books. (my review)

Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees by Aimee Nexhukumatathil - This was another Cook the Books selection (my review)

The Bellbird River Country Choir by Sophie Green - the cover is green but so is the author name!

Sunbirds by Mirandi Riwoe - This book is set in WWII Indonesia and talks about the struggle for independence (my review)

The House of Lost Whispers by Jenni Keer - a sliding doors book set in the aftermath of the sinking of the Titanic and during WWI. (my review)

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan -  I had to have at least one Irish author in my list! 

The Secrets of the Huon Wren by Claire van Ryn - This cover is so pretty! It had to make the list. (my review)

A Secret Garden in Paris by Sophie Beaumont - I have enjoyed both the Sophie Beaumont books I have read which are set in Paris! (my review)

Top Ten Tuesday: Cooking the Books

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Genre Freebie (Pick a genre and build a list around it. You could do historical fiction featuring strong female leads, contemporary romance set in foreign countries, mysteries starring unreliable narrators, lyrical fiction books in verse, historical romance featuring pirates, Gothic novels with birds on the cover, etc. There are so many options!)

Recently I was honoured to be asked to co-host one of the Cook the Books selections later in the year. Cook the Books is an online book club where you read the chosen selection, but you also cook something inspired by the book. When I was looking through the books that have been chosen over the last few years I was surprised to see that I have been doing this for a while now so today I am sharing the last ten books I read for Cook the Books, as well as what I was inspired to make!

Before that, you might be curious about what book I chose? I couldn't see many Japanese books on the list, so I have chosen The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai. My selection will be up in October/November. You can see all the upcoming selections in this post

Bite by Bite by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. - I made Hummingbird cakes with cream cheese frosting. 

Maame by Jessica George - I made Jollof Chicken and Rice

A Bakery in Paris by Aimie K Runyan - I made Raspberry Clafoutis

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson - I made Chocolate Eclairs

Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang - I made Japanese Strawberry Shortcake (which I enjoyed much more than I enjoyed the book!)

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner - I made Midnight Kimchi Fried Rice

Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd - I made Honey Sponge Roll

Family Tree by Susan Wiggs - I made Maple Butter Date Loaf

Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge - I made Boeuf Bouguignon

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley - I shared lots of biscuits/cookies I have made over the years. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Rereads

 

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Books I’d Like to Re-read (Share either your favorite books that you enjoy re-reading or books that you’d like to read again!) (Submitted by Becky @ Becky’s Book Blog)

I am not normally a re-reader so originally I was thinking that I would do something different this week and actually have a post started on a different theme where I have got 10 books selected. Then when I thought about it some more I did wonder if I could make it to a list of 10 books that I have re-read, and I could! I guess that means my next freebie post is pretty much already done! Yay for me!

Here are 10 books I have re-read.

Virgin River by Robyn Carr - I could actually include most of the Virgin River series in this post, with the exception of the last book which I still haven't read yet. I read all the original books in the series back in 2010-2011, and then proceeded to re-read the first 7 books in the series over the course of two weeks in 2012. Here is a post about the whole series and how it made me break several of my own rules

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley -  I have re-read this book three times so far, twice by reading the book and once on audio with the most recent time being earlier this year, and I still loved it! Note the words so far. There is every chance I will read this again at some point. It is a bit odd though. I have other Kearsley books that I have loved but I haven't re-read any of those. Maybe I should. Here is my most recent post about this book 

Hogfather by Terry Pratchell - Listening to this in the lead up to Christmas has become one of my Christmas traditions over the last four years. I first read it back in 2007 which means that so far I have read it 5 times. 

The Secret History of Christmas by Bill Bryson - This is now part of my Christmas tradition too. I first listened to in 2023. I enjoyed it so much that I forced my husband to listen to it too so in the end I listened to it twice in a week. My original post about this book is here

Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas - Ah, Sebastian and Evie! What a book. What an author! I wish she was still writing. (my review)

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta - Ah, Thomas Mackee, you break my heart. I have actually read a few of Melina Marchetta's books a couple of times but my favourite thing is to listen to the audiobook of The Piper's Son. I have listened to it five times now, including three times in about a month. It just affected me that much! I haven't listened to it for a few years now, but I have thought about listening to it again. 

Sylvester by Georgette Heyer - If I had to describe my idea of aural bliss it is Richard Armitage narrating Georgette Heyer's books. I have relistened to Venetia three times and Sylvester four times after initially reading it! (original review)

Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie - I had forgotten that I had re-read this one until I was searching through my blog looking for inspiration for this post. (My review)

Relish by Lucy Knisley -  I had read this years ago and then it was selected for Cook the Books a couple of years ago. I did enjoy revisiting it! (My Cook the Books post)

Poison Study by Maria V Snyder - Years ago I read and loved the first three books in the series. A couple of years ago I decided that it was time to read the whole series. I started by rereading the first two book and never got any further. One day I will read that whole series. One day! (my original review)

Are you a re-reader?

Top Ten Tuesday: Not new!

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Oldest (aka Earliest Published) Books On My TBR (submitted by Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits)

As I have a tendency to do, I have twisted this week's topic just a bit. Like most of us, I have a tendency to read new books, so my post this week is all about the books I have read this year that were published before 2020.

The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai - originally published in 2013. I have the follow up book ready to read on my Kindle. (review)

Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - originally published in 2018. Seeing this author at Melbourne Writers Festival is one of my highlight for this year. (review)

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa - originally published in 2010. Interesting that the first three are all Japanese books.

Sylvester by Georgette Heyer - originally published in 1957. One of my all time favourite audiobook experiences is listening to Richard Armitage narrate the books of Georgette Heyer. I tend to listen to them every couple of years ago. Audible bliss!

Relish by Lucy Knisley -  originally published in 2013. This was a Cook the Books selection and a re-read for me. (post)

The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine by Alexander McCall Smith - originally published in 2015. It had been a good few years since I had listened to or read one of the Precious Ramotswe books. Highly recommend the audio versions. Might be time for the next one.

Family Tree by Susan Wiggs - originally published in 2017 - Another Cook the Books selection (review)

Song of the Sun God by Shankari Chandran - originally published in 2017. I loved the first Chandran book I read so I decided to give this one a go on audio.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd - originally published in 2001 - This is another Cook the Books selection. (review)

The President's Hat by Antoine Laurain - originally published in 2012 - I did do a bit of a Antoine Laurain binge this year. Another book I read by him was published on 4 January 2020 so just missed out on being counted for this purpose 

So, what have I learned from this? I am likely to read older books thanks to Cook the Books. I am also likely to read older books in translation or to listen to them on audio. And it must just be a coincidence that so many of the surnames of these authors start with a K right?

Weekend cooking: What I baked (In My Kitchen) in March

The first Saturday of the month is when I share all the things that I baked in the previous month. This month there is very much an Easter theme, which I suppose isn't that surprising.

My first bake in March was Figolli which is a Maltese Easter treat.

I wrote a post last weekend all about going to a cooking class to make Figolli, but I had a blogging disaster over the weekend.  I had been so tired on Thursday night that I didn't just finish off my Saturday post so I thought I would just use the Blogger app to just do the last bit while we were away for the weekend. That was a mistake. That removed all the photos and added in about 50 paragraph lines for each time I wanted a break. So above is a picture of the finished product, but I will repost about my experience of making figolli next week!

I also attempted to make Hot Cross Buns. I made them a few years ago but they were more like hot cross rocks. This time I used a different recipe, and they were better, but still not perfect. Maybe next year.

Last month I mentioned that I had bought a new cookbook, Meliz's Kitchen, and one of the key ingredients in many of the recipes is something called tatlı biber salçası which is a Turkish sweet red pepper paste. We tried a new recipe with it this week and now we are thinking about all the other things that we could use it for!

I am including a curveball this month.  A couple of weeks ago I shared about my reread of Relish by Lucy Knisley. When I first read it around 10 years ago. I shared an image of how to make carbonara. Given that today is National  Carbonara Day I thought I would share the image again

New recipes 

We only tried one new recipe this month which was a Baked Chicken Breast from Dinner by Nagi Maehashi. This is part of the section where she says what she would do with a pork chop, a chicken breast or a piece of fish. It was really simple, and really delicious! We will definitely make this again.

I have already tried two new recipes this week so will have more to share in this section next month.

My Weekend Cooking posts over the last month:

A Weekend in Sydney

Ready, Steady, Cook

Cook the Books: Relish - My Life in Food by Lucy Knisley

Figolli 

I am sharing this with In My Kitchen hosted at Sherry's Pickings

Weekly meals

Saturday -  

Sunday -  

Monday - chicken, onion, parsley wraps 

Tuesday - Pork Chop, mash and broccoli

Wednesday - Tomato and Halloumi Pasta 

Thursday - Takeaway

Friday - Spatchcock chicken and rice

Here

Weekend Cooking/Cook the Books: Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley

It's not often that I reread a book, with notable exceptions, but when this book was announced as the current selection for Cook the Books I was more than happy to revisit. I mean, last time I reviewed this book I used words like charming and delightful more than once!

When it came to creating this post, I thought that I had some thoughts to share but it turns out that the things I wanted to highlight were things that I highlighted last time, so I am going to re-share the majority of the review, and then add something new at the end.

This foodie memoir is a delight. Whilst there is still a hint of the precocious Lucy that we met in French Milk, it is much less of an obstacle to enjoyment, or at least it was for me. I think it also helps that rather than focusing on just one place (albeit Paris) for a very short period of only five weeks, this is an exploration of  a life long obsession with good food.

Knisley makes no apologies for the fact that she was introduced to really good food from a young age. Her mother is a chef and her father a foodie from way back and she spent her childhood years in the kitchens of restaurants. She remembers other kids bringing cupcakes to school for their birthdays but her mother would turn up with a blow torch to give the creme brulee a perfect crunchy top.

Lucy lived in New York with her parents until they divorced and Lucy and her mother moved to rural upstate New York - quite the shock to city girl Lucy. It wasn't long before Lucy's mother was involved in food again through farmers markets, catering companies and more, and therefore so was Lucy!

As well as talking about more exotic food and adventures, the author tells of her parents mortification at the fact that she still enjoys junk food like Maccas (McDonalds just in case you didn't get the Aussie vernacular), batches of chocolate chip cookies instead of anything more gourmet, of her shock at finding bits of marshmallows in breakfast cereals (I must confess I find this a bit shocking still!) and more.

We follow Lucy from New York to the country, to Japan, France and Mexico (which was a really fun story), to Chicago and then full circle back to New York. The one thing that stays constant is Lucy's love of good food, of being willing to try new foods, and of trying to recreate those foods. I loved the chapter where Lucy tried to recapture the elusive taste of a croissant that she bought in Venice to the point of being obsessed!

The thing that pleased me most as I was reading was how much it made me smile. In nearly every chapter there was some little quirky addition to the drawing or some tale that just made me happy to read. In one of the chapters, the author talks about going to Japan to visit friend and at the end of that chapter she gives a pictorial demonstration of how to make sushi rolls. In a very small corner, there are three pictures - one of a sushi mat furled, then unfurled and then worn as a hat. They are all tiny pictures, but it is the kind of detail that makes it worth the time to look at all the images closely!

As another example, there is a chapter about why Lucy Knisley doesn't feel guilty about eating foie gras. Let's just say it involves an incident with very aggressive geese. There were echoes of this story in my own family. My sister has a terrible fear of birds which has evolved over the years after being chased up a tree in our backyard by chooks, and then on another occasion being attacked by a black swan!

Now, I was somewhat determined to not cook something sweet to share with this review, but ... that's what ended up happening. I had asked my husband what he wanted to bake one weekend recently, and he said cookies. I had a new cookie recipe to try! So it was meant to be. 

Last time I reviewed this book I shared an image of the recipe for Carbonara. Today, I thought I would share an image related to Cookies, and then I would share what cookies would appear on this page if it was my story. Fair disclosure. I cannot draw to save myself so I am using photos instead. 

I've made....

Fudgy chocolate cookies from Nagi Maeheshi and Sugar Cookies

Melting Moments (Granny's recipe) and Chocolate and Pistachio Sable from Around the Table by Julia Busitil Nishimura

Ricciarelli from The Italian Pantry by Theo Randall and Giant Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies and Weekender Cornflake Biscuits

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies and Snickerdoodles

Soft Chocolate Gingerbread Biscuits and Florentines

Do you like the sound of any of these?

Finally, in case you are now in the mood for cookies, here is Lucy Knisley's recipe for her Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

I now have two more of Lucy Knisley's books out from the library. I am looking forward to reading them soon!

Weekly meals

Saturday -  

Sunday -  Smash Burgers

Monday - Pork Chops, mash and beans

Tuesday - Spicy Pork and Beans Stirfry

Wednesday - Mexican Chicken and Rice

Thursday - Beef Stroganoff

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

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on my Autumn TBR

 

  

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Books on my Spring 2024 TBR. As I am in Australia, this means I am looking at Books on my Autumn 2024 TBR

So these first 4 books are upcoming new releases that I will be reading for blog tours.

Summer at the Santorini Bookshop by Rebecca Raisin - I have read a number of Rebecca Raisin's books set in various locations. I am looking forward to visiting Greece.

Making Memories at the Cornish Cove by Kim Nash - Looking forward to returning to Driftwood Bay.

 

A Single Act of Kindness by Samantha Tonge - A new Samantha Tonge book. Yay!!

The French Cookery School by Caroline James - A cooking school in France. I'm in!

The remainder are books that I have on my TBR for a variety of reasons:

The Chocolate Factory by Mary-Lou Stephenson - I just started reading this yesterday!

Something New by Lucy Knisley - I borrowed 3 of Knisley's books at the same time!

The Other Bridget by Rachael Johns - One of the few paper books I have bought recently

At the Stroke of Midnight by Jenni Keer - I just finished reading another Jenni Keer

The Shakespeare Sisters by Juliet Greenwood - I am hoping to read the second book on the Shakespeare Sisters series.

The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons - I have heard many good things about this book!

Have you got any of these books on your TBR list?

This week...

 I'm reading

I mentioned last week that I started reading a book because it was calling to me. Unfortunately, a different book started calling my name and so I ended up reading No. 23 Burlington Square by Jenni Keer instead. I really enjoyed it, so no regrets, but now I need to try and fit the other book in.

I also finished reading Relish by Lucy Knisley. I will have a review up for my reread of that book on the weekend.

Now I need to decide what to read next. Should I read  one of my upcoming blog tour books even though I have about 3 weeks, or just a normal review book, whatever I feel like from my TBR list, or one of the 3 library books I have out. Decisions, decisions.

I also finished listening to Richard Armitage whisper sweet nothings in my ear. Actually he was narrating the book Sylvester by Georgette Heyer. Alway such a treat to listen to one of these books

I wasn't sure what to listen to next. However, last week I tried a new post out called Time Travel Thursday and I was reminded that 10 years ago I was reading one of the books in the No. Ladies Detective Agency and so I decided to listen to The Woman Who Walks in Sunshine, the next book for me in the series. It will also count for my Read on a Theme bookclub as well, so I will have read two books for this month.

I'm watching

We finished a couple of things this week. Firstly, we finished Bake Off : The Professionals which is a show that we love.

We also finished watching Masters of the Air, which is the story of the 100th Bomber Group from WWII. After finishing the last episode, we also watched a documentary called The Bloody Hundredth which features interviews with the actual men who lived the story from the TV series.

Last week, we watched the first part of The Three Musketeers, which was called The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan. This weekend we went and watched the sequel, The Three Musketeers: Milady. Interestingly, both of these movies were filmed at the same time. The end of the movie definitely lends itself to another movie. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a third movie.

Finally, I felt the need for something a bit fun so I watched Irish Wish on Netflix, which stars Lindsay Lohan. It wasn't bad. Here's the trailer.

Life

Last Tuesday night we went to see Pink in concert. This is the third time I have seen her live. The first two times it was in an arena, but this time it was in a stadium, so just Pink, her band and dancers, and 59998 other people! She always puts on an amazing show.

I also did a cooking class for a Maltese Easter treat called Fogilla. I am looking forward to sharing that experience with you all in a couple of weeks.

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Read on a theme bookclub

Time Travel Thursday 

Blog Tour: The Bordeaux Book Club by Gillian Harvey

Weekend Cooking: Ready, Steady....Cook

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

This week....

I'm reading

Our current theme for our read on a theme book club is Crime: Fact or Fiction, so I decided it was time for me to see what all the fuss is about and read Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club. I can see why people enjoy it. There are a lot of fun elements in it, and I love that we are only just getting to know all of the characters, especially Elizabeth. Can't wait to find out more about her past.

Speaking of book clubs, my next read was The Bordeaux Book Club by Gillian Harvey which I am need to review for a blog tour this week. I have always enjoyed this author's books and this was no exception.

Just this morning I started a book called The Lost Letters of Aisling by Cynthia Ellingsen. It was one of Amazon's First Read books this month and it was calling my name.

Finally I thought I better actually start reading Relish by Lucy Knisley which is this month's Cook the Book selection. This is actually a re-read for me but it was a VERY long time ago.

I'm watching

You know I love a foreign film festival and make an effort to see at least one film from each festival during the year. If I had to pick a favourite film festival though, it would be the French Film Festival and it is on right now! Hooray!! Looking at the list of films, there are at least 5 or 6 that I would like to see.

I occasionally gently encourage my husband to come with me to see festival films, so I thought I would start this year's festival viewing with a film he should really like. On Saturday night we went to see the The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan and it was a lot of fun. There have been so many version of The Three Musketeers over the years, and this one was a very good version. There were sufficient levels of buckle and swash, derring do and fair maidens! It was a lot of fun. We are planning to try and see the follow up movie, The Three Musketeers: Milady next weekend! 

Here's the trailer for D'Artagnan

Life

It's a long weekend here as we have Monday off for Labour Day, it is hot hot hot. We have 3 days in a row over 38 degrees. Now, in other parts of Australia they will scoff because they have that every second weekend, but here in Melbourne that is the longest streak we have had since 1942. We are therefore keeping a very low profile this weekend and not doing a lot. We went to the movies on Saturday night and today we are going to my sister's for dinner and maybe a swim!

In other news, I have been thinking about a blog redesign for years, and it is actually happening! Watch this space...literally!

Max and Nala

We did put the clam shell out for the dogs yesterday, although I do think we need a bigger pool for them! lol

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Sir Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction longlist

Blog Tour: A Villa with a View by Julie Caplin

Weekend Cooking: A Weekend in Sydney

Sunday Salon: Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - February stats

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Set in Paris

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week is a freebie topic.

A couple of months ago, I did a TTT post all about books set in places I would like to visit. The surprising thing was that there were no books set in Paris on that list, but there as a reason for that. I already knew that for this freebie topic I was going to combine Top Ten Tuesday with Paris In July and feature books I've read set in Paris.

Die for Me and Until I Die by Amy Plum - These are the first two books in a YA paranormal series set in Paris. This is one of those cases where the cover gods smile on an author not once or twice. I did enjoy the books but haven't read any more.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins - This is another YA book but no vampires or werewolves in sight. In this book a young girl moves to Paris to go to school. A while ago someone on a TTT post mentioned that there is going to be a special edition cover so I just had to buy it.

For the King by Catherine Delors - I read this book years ago and enjoyed it. It is set in Paris when a police inspector must investigate a failed assassination attempt against Napoleon.

Paris, My Sweet by Amy Thomas - A New York girl moves to Paris for a year and goes on the hunt for the perfect dessert! This is one book that made me yearn to go to Paris.

The Chocolate Kiss by  Laura Florand (or really any of her books)- I mentioned The Chocolate Thief last week, but all of her books are set in France and often feature lots of food. If you like a bit of romance featuring hot French guys with delicious food, this is an author for you!

French Milk by Lucy Knisley - This is a graphic novel about a young woman's trip to Paris with her mother. It's not my favourite Lucy Knisley book but it did make me want to visit. Then again, you're possibly noticing that is a theme for all the books in this post!

The Little Bookshop on the Seine by Rebecca Raisin - A bookseller swaps her life in small town America for a busy bookshop in Paris. This was my first novel by Rebecca Raisin, but I have read another couple since, and will read more.

Almost Paris by Sarah Turnbull - An Australian woman makes an implulsive decision to move to Paris to live with the French man she has just met. This book explores the cultural differences that she encountered. (review here)

The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B by Sandra Gulland - Sandra Gulland has written a number of historical fiction novels set in France. This is the first in the trilogy focussing on the life of Josephine Bonaparte.(review here)

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo - I am not sure what I need to say about this book other than it is a story of the French revolution.