Six Degrees of Separation: Sandwich to Agnes and the Hitman

Welcome to this month's edition of Six Degrees of Separation, which is a monthly meme hosted by Kate from Books Are My Favourite and Best. The idea is to start with a specific book and make a series of links from one book to the next using whatever link you can find and see where you end up after six links. I am also linking this post up with The Sunday Salon, hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.

This month's starting point is Sandwich by Catherine Newman.

I thought I would do things a little bit differently this month. Whereas normally this is an exercise in word and thought association. This time, I am going to make....a sandwich

When you are making a sandwich you need to start with bread. In this case, I am choosing a collection of short stories called Bread and Chocolate by Philippa Gregory. I had completely forgotten about this book until I recently revisited the first few book reviews I ever wrote and this was one of them.

Next, I am going to add Butter by Asako Yuzuki

I then need to decide what protein. Will it be ham, or turkey or something else. Maybe chicken, using the book Mr Chicken Goes to Paris by Leigh Hobbs. I read this book many years ago to my nephews  when we were visiting the State Library and I have never forgotten it.

Next up tomatoes. I am choosing Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe by Fannie Flagg, although I probably wouldn't normally fry them!

The next filling was a little trickier. In the end I have chosen a book about Lettice Knollys, cousin and rival to Queen Elizabeth I. I first read about her in high school in a book called My Enemy, the Queen by Victoria Holt, which is a pseudonym of the prolific author Jean Plaidy.

The final link was even trickier. If I was making a chicken, lettuce and tomato sandwich I would want to add mayonaisse, but there aren't many books where this fits. I am therefore choose a book that was co-written by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (Mayer/mayo is close right?) called Agnes and the Hitman.

So there you have it, my chicken, lettuce and tomato sandwich!

Next month, which will also be next year (!!!) the starting point is Orbital by Samantha Harvey, which is a new book to me.

Top Ten Tuesday: Back to the beginning

 

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is a Thankful/Thanksgiving Freebie

I recently celebrated my 18th anniversary of blogging. 18!! Happy Blogiversary to me!

To celebrate, I finally decided what I am going to do about Instagram and now I have an Insta account specifically for bookish goodness. Yes, I am committing to Bookstagram. I am always very late for any trends but better late than never!

You can find me @intrepidreaderandbaker and I would love it if you added it, and I will follow back!

For this week's TTT post, I thought I would go back and share the first 10 books I reviewed here on my blog. Best not to look at the reviews themselves because let's just say those early reviews would look very different if I was to write them today.

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant - I had been thinking about starting to write book reviews, but this was the book that I had to write something about and, in effect, started it all. (link)

Sugar Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke - Apparently this was my first review of a book I didn't love! I stopped reading this series soon after because the love triangle annoyed me. If I heard correctly it is still unresolved although I could be wrong. (link)

Chronicals of Narnia by C S Lewis - Not really reviews as such, but this kind of covers the first two books in this series (link)

Dreamland by Kevin Baker - I was trying to recall the book I first read about the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. Maybe it was this one. (link)

The Dragon and the Jewel by Virginia Henley - I do not remember this book at all!! And I am pretty sure it is a book I wouldn't pick up these days as I can't remember the last time I read a medieval romance. (link)

Bread and Chocolate by Philippa Gregory - At the time, I really loved Phillipa Gregory's books. Wouldn't read them now, but still. (link)

Bubbles Unbound by Sarah Strohmeyer - This was a fun series that I haven't thought about for a long time. Think Stephanie Plum but with an author who knows when it is time to end the series. This was the first book in the Bubbles Yablonsky series.

Last Chance Saloon by Marian Keyes - I would still read Marian Keyes, if I could fit it in my reading schedule. (link)

Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C S Lewis - I was reading this series with my son who was 8 at the time! (link)

A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg - The first second Christmas book I read for this blog, but definitely not the last. (link)

We recently had a topic where we talked about how our reading habits have changed. This post showed that again for me!

Top Ten Tuesday: Chocolate anyone?

 

 

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the topic is  Books with [___] On the Cover (Pick a thing (a color, an item, a place, an animal, a scripty font, a sexy person, etc.) and share covers that have that thing on the cover.) My thing is chocolate! Originally I was thinking about posting this last week in honour of Easter but then I saw that this was the next theme it seemed perfect for this week!

I'll start with the chocolate themed books I have read, then a few that I want to read.

Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith - The second book in the Isabel Dalhousie series set in Edinburgh (review here)

Bread and Chocolate by Philippa Gregory - I read this short story collection more than 15 years ago. I don't remember a thing about it though! (review here)

The Chocolate Run by Dorothy Koomson - I read several Koomson books and then haven't read another for years. I do remember really liking this one

The Chocolate Thief by Laura Florand - Laura Florand has an entire series of books with chocolate titles, and then a couple of others. If you love foodie romances, especially set in France, then this series is for you. (review here)

The Chocolate Tin by Fiona McIntosh - This book was chock-full of chocolate history, set just after the end of WWI.

Chocolate Cake for Breakfast by Danielle Hawkins - I've been known to have chocolate cake for breakfast on occasion! (review)

The Chocolate Chip Murder by Joanna Fluke - This ws the first book in the Hannah Swensen cozy mystery series. I read about 8 books in the series until I got annoyed with the love triangle. There are now 28 books in the series, many with chocolate titles, but I won't be going back seeing as it appears that the love triangle thing is still going.

The Chocolate Promise by Josephine Moon - Last year I read The Jam Queens by this author, and I still have this on my Kindle to read at some point.

The Chocolate Maker's Wife by Karen Brooks - I have this book sitting on my Kindle for a while too.

The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris by Jenny Colgan - I have read a number of books by Jenny Colgan over the years, but this one is still on the TBR list.

Have you read any other chocolate themed books?

The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

The latest of Philippa Gregory's Tudor novels to be released, The Constant Princess concentrates on the early life of Katherine of Aragon, the first of Henry VIII's wives. I have to say that it was so refreshing to read a novel about this time in history that wasn't about all the usual suspects. For example Elizabeth I doesn't even get a mention, although Henry VIII does, and there is even a brief cameo by Anne Boleyn towards the end of the novel.

I learnt so many new things from this novel. I hadn't really ever paid a lot of attention to the backgrounds of Henry's wives other than Anne Boleyn so it was a big surprise to me to learn that Katherine was actually the daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain...the same Isabella and Ferdinand who financed Christopher Columbus' journeys to the New World and instituted the Spanish Inquisition.

The description of Katherine's early life in the Alhambra Palace was beautifully described, and made me want to pack my bags to go to Spain to see the places mentioned. I love it when a book does that to me..even though I can't just pack up and go!

We see Katherine in her early life, then as she gets used to marriage with Arthur, dealing with her subsequent widowhood, and waiting to see if she will be married to Henry or not. In effect we watch her mature from being a girl to a woman, all the while remaining a princess of England and Spain.

If I had one criticism of this book, it was that the ending felt very rushed, however having thought about this for a couple of days, maybe the idea behind that was to show Katherine at one of her points of greatest triumphs, and then at one of the lowest points in her life as a kind of contrast. Most fans of English history and historical fiction already know what happens to Katherine, and the end of this book leads quite nicely into the beginning of The Other Boleyn Girl as well.

Gregory writes in a very readable style, and for the most part, manages the changes between first and third person narrative employed in this book quite smoothly. There are however a couple of changes that weren't quite as smooth as they could have been.

Overall, an enjoyable read! I am already looking forward to the next Tudor novel from Philippa Gregory, to be titled The Last Boleyn. This book should be out next November.

Rating: 4/5


Other Bloggers Thoughts:

The Bookworm - Naida

Bread and Chocolate by Philippa Gregory

I have previously read and enjoyed several books by Philippa Gregory, so when I saw this collection of short stories at the library on audio book, I just had to pick it up and listen to it.

The collection of stories were varied, with only one historical setting. Some were whimsical, some heart rending, some surprising. All in all a good mix!!

The short stories were:

Bread and Chocolate - a brother from a monastery is discovered by the producers of a TV food show. He is brought on to make bread, and one of his co presenters is a wildly sensuous TV cook who makes a wicked chocolate cake.

Coo-ee - A guest lecturer on a cruise through the Aegean meets a larger than life Yorkshire lady who leaves quite an impression.

The Favour - The only one of the short stories set in historical times, a young girl rejects her suitor on the day of a jousting tournament, and then has to deal with the consequences when he is fatally injured.

Theories about Men - Having been the perfect wife for many years, Stephanie finds that her husband has been having an affair and gets to put her theories about men to the test. You can read this story on Philippa Gregory's website Click here

Lady Emily's Swim - What goes through the mind of spritely Lady Emily as she completes her regular 20 lap swim. You might be surprised!! I was!

The If Game - A married newsreader plays the if game with a colleague - If you were my mistress, we would be incredibly happy, if I got a job in London we could live together during the week. Problem is, he can't seem to stop playing the If game.

The Conjuring Trick

The Wave Machine - One of the highlights for me. A young girl is sent to stay with her artist uncle for the summer. They spend most of the summer looking for the Wave Machine that powers the ocean waves.

The Magic Box - A pregnant photographer whose husband has previously been unfaithful has given up much of her former life. Then, she comes to own a very special old camera, housed in a beautiful box.

The Garden - A repressed housewife gets revenge over her overly controlling husband.

The Last Swan - A young girl joins a sychronised swimming team and goes off to the national championships.

The Bimbo - A bimbo comes to work in a London office...but could she be smarter than she looks.

The Playmate - A plain young woman, who has always been overshadowed by her glamorous mother is reunited with the one person she has always valued for loving her for herself.

Going Down River - a scientist has spent nearly a year with a formerly undocumented tribe. As he nears the time to return home he shares his thoughts in a diary form for us.

The Other Woman - A wronged wife takes step to find out about the other woman, and ends up getting closer than she intended.

The Visitor - A yuppy couple who live in a minimalistic apartment in London recieve an unexpected visitor for the holiday season, who causes mayhem in their lives.

Catching the Bus - A young girl's mother has been saving for years to send one of her children to the local comprehensive school to give them a chance to get a better life.


Overall this was a really enjoyable read, and it was great to read stories from Philippa Gregory that weren't so focussed on the past - particularly on Tudor times!

Rating 4/5