Weekend Cooking/Cook the Books: The Language of Food by Annabel Abbs

 

When I saw that this book was the selection for February/March for Cook the Books, I wasn't 100% sure if I would read it or not as it would be a reread for me and I don't generally do rereads. However, FOMO is real and so I did end up reading it again, and I am glad I did.

I have a potted history with this book, which is also published under the title Miss Eliza's English Kitchen. Originally I tried to read it on an Easter road trip back in 2022. I struggled to keep interested so I put it down, only picking it up again 6 months later. I had to start reading the book again, and this time I thought it was quite good! However, I think it is a book that grows on you because when I started it again for this post, I struggled to be able to put it down. It's a book that seems to get better each time you read it!

The Language of Food tells the story of Eliza Acton and her assistant Ann Kirby as they developed what is credited as the first cookbook targeted at domestic cooks. She was also the first person to include a precise list of ingredients as part of the recipe, although she had it at the bottom rather than at the top.

It is a shame that Eliza Acton is not more well known, as her story is interesting and she has left a  lasting legacy. Interestingly, she started as a poet but when her poems were rejected she was tasked with writing a cook book. At the time, she couldn't cook at all. However, when her family fortunes are decimated, she and her mother find themselves running a boarding house for respectable people in the town of Tonbridge. Eliza is determined that she can do better than the cookbooks that were available at the time, and so she starts to teach herself to cook and write the recipes, testing the recipes for preciseness and taste.

Ann's story is also interesting, albeit almost opposite to Eliza. She came from a very poor background with a father with a penchant for drinking and a mother who is demented. Her local priest finds her a place with the Actons. She soon shows that she not only is a hard worker but she has a good sense of taste and cooking skill. Soon Eliza is talking about her book as "our book" with Ann, which suggests a closeness but both of them are keeping very big secrets from each other.

When I read a book for Cook the Books, I am always on the look out for what it is that I am going to cook so I take note of all of the mentions of food. I am glad I didn't keep a list for this book because there are SO many mentions of food the list would have been more than a page long. However, as soon as I got to a particular section, I knew that I at least had a direction, partially due to the fact that I have recently visited India.

At one point in the book, Eliza has a suitor named Mr Arnott who is a spice merchant, which seems an ideal match for her. Mr Arnott loves curry, and there is a mention at one point of egg curry, and that was my decision made.

Last year, I wrote about a cook book called Everything is Indian. I previously shared a recipe for delicious Curried Sausage Rolls, but one of the other recipes we have tried from the book was an Egg Curry, and so today, that is the recipe that I am going to share today.

The next selection for Cook the Book is called The Call of the Camino by Suzanne Redfearn. I see some Spanish food in my future!

This book counts for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host here and Foodies Read hosted at Based on a True Story.

Rating 4.5/5

Egg Curry (Anda Tarkari) - Justin Narayan

6 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 to 1/3 cup (60-80ml) light olive oil
1 large brown onion, thinly sliced
15-20 fresh curry leaves
2 bird's eye chillies, halved lengthways
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
1 large ripe tomato, roughly diced or 1/2 x 400g (14oz) can diced tomatoes

Pour some iced water into a bowl. Bring a saucepan of water to a gentle boil, then add the eggs. Boil for 6 minutes, then immediately transfer them to the iced water. Once cool enough to handle, peel the eggs.

Line a plate with paper towel. Heat the oil in the frying pan over medium heat. Fry the boiled eggs until golden brown al over, about 1-2 minutes. Drain the eggs on the paper-towel lined plate.

In the same pan, add the onion, curry leaves, fresh chilli and whole spices and cook until the onion is golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Add the powdered spices and a pinch of salt and mix. Add the garlic and tomato and cook until the tomato has completely broken down, about 5-6 minutes. Return the eggs to the pan and simmer for 2-5 minutes so all the ingredients get to know each other. 

Taste and adjust with salt. Garnish with coriander and serve with roti and rice. 

Tip: If you don't have fresh tomato, use half a can of tomato and you'll get the same result. Use the whole tin if you want it to be saucier. 

Weekly meals

Saturday - 
Sunday - Chicken and Chorizo Orzo
Monday - Bacon, mushrooms and zucchini pasta
Tuesday - Eggs on Toast
Wednesday - Beef and Broccoli Noodles
Thursday - Egg curry
Friday -

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: 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?

Vintage: The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

Recently I saw that Susanna Kearsley, one of my all time favourite authors, was doing a webinar about her latest book The King's Messenger. I have this book, but I haven't read it yet. As she was talking I looked at my bookshelves to see which of her books I had to hand, and there was The Winter Sea! This was the first book I ever read by Kearsley and it made me an instant fan. I thought I would just read a couple of chapters, but you know how that goes. I ended up rereading it again. Given that I don't often reread, and this is the fourth time I have read this book, I guess you would have to call it a favourite book too. 

I wanted to make sure that I counted this as a contribution towards the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge, so I thought I would post my original review of this book from 2009

Interestingly, if I was to write a new review today, it would be pretty much the same. I still got sucked in within a couple of pages, I still love the history and the characters and it is still a 5/5 read for me. Since reading this the first time I have bought it, and I have also listened to it on audio. Oh, and I have read and loved a lot more of her books!

Now I need to find some time to read her latest book, The King's Messenger.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Every now and again you are lucky enough to pick up a book that fits your reading tastes perfectly. For me, this was one of those times. Within the first two pages I knew that I was going to love this book. The big question was could the enjoyment be maintained all the way to the end, and the answer was a resounding yes.

Carrie McLelland is a best selling historical fiction author. When the story opens she has been living in France trying to research a little known character in history (to most of us anyway) who was involved in some of the early Jacobite attempts to restore the Stuarts to the Scottish throne. She is however struggling a little. On her way to visit her agent in Scotland she finds herself drawn to an old castle ruin called Slains.

As a result of the visit, Carrie decides to make two significant changes. The first is to add a fictional female character to her book to give her a different perspective through which to view the events as they unfolded. She decides to name this character after one of her own family members that lived around the same time.

The second is to relocate to the small town near the castle, and to live in a rustic cottage there whilst she writes. This is not really unusual for Carrie as she lives a some what nomadic life style, moving from place to place in order to enable her to research the stories she is writing.

As soon as she is there, the story really picks up momentum. At first Carrie thinks that she is only dreaming her story, but as more and more things happen, and she is able to discover that her ancestor really was there, she realises that it is more than a dream, more like having shared memories. As she learns more about the events that happened during the events of 1708, the present begins to eerily echo the past.

In the past, Sophia is a young orphan who has been sent to stay with distant relatives at Slains after the death of her guardian. Little does she know when she arrives there that her influential family members are Jacobite sympathisers who are playing a direct role in a plan to bring King James to Scotland to try to reclaim his throne, and to stop the Union between England and Scotland. Among those who visit her new home are two men - one a captain in the navy and the other an outlaw sent to Scotland to drum up support for the cause.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about this novel was the fact that it was set in the earlier events of the Jacobite uprisings. Through my reading of other books and more famous incidents in history, I was relatively aware of the events that led up to the carnage at Culloden, and I vaguely knew that that wasn't the first attempt to bring the Stuarts back to the throne, but I really didn't know much more than that.

In her own life, Carrie soon feels comfortable in the town with the assistance of her landlord and his two sons who have very different temperaments. If I had to choose which of the romantic story lines I enjoyed more, I would say it was Carrie's story but I am not going to say not much more than that so that if you do choose to read this book you will discover it for yourself.

Normally if I am reading a book which has these two different time frames it will be the historical setting that I am most anxious to revisit, but with this book I was as engrossed in both settings. When I was with Sophia in 1708 I found myself wondering about Carrie, and when I was with Carrie I was wondering what Sophia was getting up to!

The ending is possibly a little too convenient, but not enough to impact my enjoyment. It isn't often that I do this, but I am seriously considering buying this book. Normally if I read a library book I don't go out and buy it, but I suspect that this is going to be a book that I might want to immerse myself in more than once.

I hope that I have been able to convey just how much I loved this book. I had not previously read any Susanna Kearsley, but you can be guaranteed that I will be reading more, and I will be making every attempt to read everything on her back list and looking out for anything coming out in the future as well.

Please note that in some places this book is published under the title Sophia's Secret. This book was also nominated for the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year 2009 which was eventually won by East of the Sun by Julia Gregson which I really enjoyed as well.

It is not very often that I give a book full marks, but I have no hesitation in rating this book as a 5/5 read. Loved it, loved it, loved it!

Countdown to 2025: Day 11

 This year I am participating in Countdown to 2025 hosted by Lynn from Lynn's Books. Today is day 11 and the prompt for today is Mistletoe – a little bit of romance

Now, I read quite a bit of romance, so the question of whether this means a book with just a touch of romance or a full on one one took a bit of thought. In the end though, at the last minute I decided to go with an old school romance.

I listen to this book, Sylvester by Georgette Heyer, every couple of years because it is narrated by Richard Armitage. It is, to put it mildly, aural bliss. He also narrates Venetia, so maybe next year it will be that books turn for a re-listen.

Tomorrow's prompt is Holly and Ivy – a book with great world building

Sylvester by Georgette Heyer

When Sylvester, the Duke of Salford, first meets Phoebe Marlow, he finds her dull and insipid. She finds him insufferably arrogant. But when a series of unforeseen events leads them to be stranded together in a lonely country inn, they are both forced to reassess their hastily formed opinions, and begin a new-found liking and respect for each other. Sylvester calls to mind the satirical genius of a Jane Austen novel and is adored for its wit and a fast-paced plot that ranges across a myriad of settings

I first listened to this book just under 3 years ago, but I never did post anything about it, which was remiss of me but I think not really unexpected. After I finished The Passage and then another audio book, I was trying to decide what to read next. I do have a few books that I have already purchased but not yet listened to, as well as a list of books I'd like to get to someday, but none of them really tickled my fancy. And then I hit on the idea of listening again to a Georgette Heyer novel as narrated by Richard Armitage, mainly because it is my idea of aural bliss to listen to him read anything, but he does seem to be particularly suited to narrating Heyer novels.

He has the right tone in his voice that lends itself to upper class accents and his characterisation is so good that it doesn't matter whether the character is old or young, or female or male, each character is individual and recognisable.

Now, I should mention up front that this is an abridged audiobook, but it is a well done abridgement. I don't think I have missed anything through the story so it might be interesting to read in full one time to see what was cut out. That's not always the case. Years ago I listened to a novel where the abridgement wasn't quite so good. At one point the main character was regretting having kissed someone other than her husband and I was like wait...what.

What about the book itself. It is Heyer, so it is all Regency ballrooms and dukes abound, but it is a fun read. I don't want to recap the plot as such because I don't want too start to feel like I should write a full review, rather than just commentary. I will see that I did find myself wondering how much of the language that Heyer used was made up. I am sure that I heard somewhere that she did.

I fully expect to listen to more of the Heyer books Richard Armitage has narrated. It is a totally enjoyable treat.

The Boat by Nam Le

I don't often reread books but every now and again I will do so. It might be because I want to reread the story or it might be some other form of obligation. Over the last few days I reread The Boat by Nam Le because it was the October book for my book club.

I thought it might be fun to revisit my review of the short story collection that I wrote over three years ago and see what has changed and what has stayed the same.

I thought I would repost my original comments about each story and then add my further thoughts. If you just want to reread my original thoughts without all the added extras then the original review can be found here.

In Love and Honor and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice, the voice is that of a writer in his late 20s who is struggling to meet the deadline for an essay that is due, and with the visit by his father. Despite being of Vietnamese our writer has chosen to try and avoid telling the refugee stories that he knows, but during this visit by his father he gets to hear at least one more story of how his dad came to be living in Australia.

I actually didn't reread the first story in the collection because I had already reread it earlier this year when it was released as a Penguin Shorts e-story. I wrote a whole post on it at that time which you can read here.

Having read that first story, it was something of a surprise to realise that the next story, Cartagena, is told from the point of view of a 14 year old hit man from the barrios of Columbia who needs to face up to the consequences of at least some of his actions.

I am going to talk a little bit about memories of reading a collection a bit further in relation to one of the other stories. This was probably the story that I remembered most about when I started rereading it. One of the things about reviewing is trying to get the heart of a story or a book without giving too much away. When I look at that sentence above, I couldn't help but think at how inadequate that sentence was. Whilst it does cover a portion of the story, there was so much more that could be said. In that one sentence I could have included that it was about friendship and loyalty and betrayal and violence (good job Le came up with a more succint title than that, unlike the first story that I mentioned above!)

Meeting Elise is another complete change of pace. This time the story is written from the perspective of an older man who is fast coming face to face with his mortality. He is hoping to meet up with his estranged daughter, but there is nothing at all certain in the arrangements.

Of all the stories in the collection, I think this is one that I struggled with the most this time around. Nam Le goes from a meta type narrator in the first story, to a young boy in the second story. In this story, we meet an old man - a famous artist who is facing his own demise. He has been separated physically and emotionally from his daughter but now he has just one chance to reconnect.  I am not sure why I found it difficult to warm to the main character. Maybe it was his obsession with his younger lover or his unpleasant behaviour but it was something. And yet, the author still managed to have me empathising with him as the story came to its end.

The fourth story is probably my favourite, Halflead Bay. The main character is a young boy who is trying to deal with his mother's serious illness, and with the budding attraction he feels to Alison, who just happens to be connected with the town bully. My teaser from Teaser Tuesday came from this story.

It is interesting that I chose this one as my favourite of the collection the first time around. It is the biggest story in the collection. As I was reading this I found myself thinking that I couldn't possibly have read this story because I didn't remember a single thing until we got to very near the end. Memory is a funny thing - you would have thought that if it was my favourite then that would make me more likely to remember this story but not the others, but apparently not! I also didn't find myself as moved by this story as I did some of the others. Is that a sign of being in a different mood this time around when I read it, or perhaps even something that has changed within me over the last 3 years. I am not sure but it is interesting to contemplate.

If I had to pick my least favourite of this collection it would probably be Hiroshima. Le once again assumes a female voice, this time a young girl who is living in Hiroshima in the days before the end of WWII. Despite saying that it was my least favourite it was still a very poignant story, especially as the young girl comments about being able to differentiate between a squadron of planes flying overhead, and the war time slogans such as "do without until victory". One question that this story did make me think of is whether there are any historical fiction novels that are out there that speak about the Japanese WWII experience. There are a few that are set in Germany, but I don't know of any set in Japan about the normal Japanese persons experience.

My reaction to this story was similarly very different to my reaction the first time around. Far from being my least favourite I would say that this time it was up there with my favourites. Whilst it was a story that was still difficult to read, I found it incredibly moving and very interesting. It was also the story that prompted nearly all of the bookclub discussion. The discussion talked a lot about WWII prisoner of war experiences that one of the members had heard from her father who was a POW, as well as a pretty in depth discussion about the differences between that war and the current situation that our soldiers find themselves in in places like Iraq. One of our members had actually lived in Hiroshima for a while so it was fascinating to hear her talk about her experiences there, the conversations that she had with people who lived through the dropping of the atom bomb and so much more. 

In Tehran Calling, a young woman is trying to escape her broken romance and goes to visit her best friend who is now living in Tehran, and who is agitating for women's rights. Sarah and her friend Parvin had been somewhat estranged, but Sarah sees this as a chance to rectify that, but her visit to Tehran surprises her in many ways.

Not much to say about this one. I guess I don't really get what the point of it was, especially the ending!

The final story in this collection, The Boat, is the story of a young girl who is trying to escape from Vietnam as one of the boat people. The boat is barely seaworthy, and very overcrowded, and it isn't long before the journey becomes perilous in many ways.

This time reading the collection, this was my favourite of the stories. In a few short pages, Nam Le manages to tell us of the harrowing journey a young girl takes on a boat from Vietnam. In addition to what I noted above, there isn't enough food or water and when a storm damages the engine, the boat drifts aimlessley for days. On the overcrowded boat, illness soon becomes the biggest danger, but it isn't the only problem that these people who are desperately seeking a better life face.

I think part of the reason why this story has resonated so much more this time is that over the last couple of years there has been a lot of focus on refugees here. This has been both in terms of those who want to 'stop the boats' but also in terms of programs like Go Back Where You Came From which have attempted to show the kind of dangers that people have experienced in their lives that makes getting on a leaky boat that may or may not make it to countries like Australia a better option than staying in their homelands.

In summary, Nam Le's chameleon like ability to write different characters and settings once again shone brightly, easily standing up to a reread. I did however find myself wondering when we might see a new collection from this author, or maybe a novel, or just something really! I haven't seen anything about any new works but I will be sure to be reading whatever he decides to come out with next.\

Last time I read this I gave it a rating of 4/5 and that hasn't changed this time around!

I also read this book for the following challenge:

Storm Front Readalong Part 3

Harry Dresden--Wizard
Lost items found. Paranormal investigations.
Consulting. Advice. Reasonable rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, Parties, or Other Entertainment.


Harry Dresden is the best at what he does. Well, technically, he's the only at what he does. So when the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal creativity or capability, they come to him for answers. For the "everyday" world is actually full of strange and magical things--and most of them don't play too well with humans. That's where Harry comes in. Takes a wizard to catch a--well, whatever.


There's just one problem. Business, to put it mildly, stinks. So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, Harry's seeing dollar signs. But where there's magic, there's a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry's name. And that's when things start to get... interesting.


Magic. It can get a guy killed.

This is the last week of the Storm Front readalong which is being hosted by Carl as part of RIP IV. If you want to see the previous week's readalong post then click on the Storm Front Readalong label below.

1. Were you disappointed that we didn't get see any more of Bianca and Harry together?

Not really. For me the more interesting relationship that I think has the most potential going forward is the uneasy relationship between Harry and Murphy.  I suspect that we haven't seen the last of Bianca in the series though.

2. We finally get to see Harry go on the magical offensive in this section of the book. Any favorite action moment?

I think my favourite scenes were in the elevator and then when he used the broom at the lake house. My main reasons for liking these scenes is that Harry was down to his last options in terms of his power. It really was just Harry against the world. No staff. No rod. Just Harry drawing from deep within himself to fight to stay alive. I also thought that even within the storm of action, Butcher still managed to infuse humour into the situation, particularly in relation to the use of a cleaning spell in the big crescendo scene at the house!

3. How did you feel about where Harry and Murphy's relationship was at when the book ended?

For me, this is the most interesting dynamic in the book. Murphy needs Harry's expertise and his information, Harry needs to protect the paranormal secrets as much as he can and so really can only give her information on a need to know basis which pisses Murphy off. In addition though, Harry really needs the income that working for the department provides. So they both need each other, but they both also protect themselves from the other as much as they can.

4. (This question morphs somewhat into Jeff's 'Harry and Murphy' question, but) How did you feel about the wrap up after the climax, the brief mentions of various characters as part of Harry's closing narration?

I guess all the loose ends have to be tidied up! I tell you that  I would love to read some short stories of what exactly it is that Bob gets up to when he gets out of the skull! They would obviously have to be a little censored because I think he likes to party very hard, but they would be really fun to read!

5. Now that you've seen Harry in all three acts of a story arc, what are your thoughts about him as a character, particularly in light of this being a debut novel for the series.

Harry seems like a great character to hang a series from, a fact that seems to have been born out by the longevity of the series. This book was published in 2000 and the 13th novel was published this year, not mention that there are several short stories in various anthologies.

I think this passage really shows us about Harry's character and innate honour. How could you not like a guy like this (from page  291):

I took deep breaths, struggling to see clear of the anger, the hate, the deep lust that burned within me for vengeance and retribution. That wasn't what magic was for. That wasn't what magic did. Magic came from life itself, from the interaction of nature and the elements, from the energy  of all living beings, and especially of people. A man's magic demonstrates what sort of person he is, what is held most deeply inside of him. There is no truer gauge of a man's character than the way in which he employs his strength, his power.

6. Any finally, a two-parter: Discuss your overall experience with the book and/or the group read and will you be reading the next book in the series?

This was a reread for me, and I have to say I enjoyed reading the book a bit more this time around. I am not sure if it was the questions that made me think things through a bit more, the fact that I didn't rush through it  as I tried really hard to keep to the reading schedule, or perhaps even the fact that I knew what to expect having read the next couple of books in the series as well.

I will be rereading Fool Moon as well and I hope to continue on with the series. I meant to keep reading the series before but I kept on borrowing Summer Knight but never actually getting to read it! This time, I will (probably).

Having read the first book I hae also been prompted me to watch the Dresden Files TV series. It's different to the books and the jury is out, but it's not too bad a way to spend some time.

Thanks to Carl for running the read along and to his friends for coming up with the discussion questions.

Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas

A devil's bargain

Easily the shyest Wallflower, Evangeline Jenner stands to become the wealthiest, once her inheritance comes due. Because she must first escape the clutches of her unscrupulous relatives, Evie has approached the rake Viscount St. Vincent with a most outrageous proposition: marriage!

Sebastian's reputation is so dangerous that thirty seconds alone with him will ruin any maiden's good name. Still, this bewitching chit appeared, unchaperoned, on his doorstep to offer her hand. Certainly an aristocrat with a fine eye for beauty could do far worse.

But Evie's proposal comes with a condition: no lovemaking after their wedding night. She will never become just another of the dashing libertine's callously discarded broken hearts -- which means Sebastian will simply have to work harder at his seductions...or perhaps surrender his own heart for the very first time in the name of true love.

I am finding it somewhat curious that my reading patterns seem to be changing a bit. How you may ask? Well, this is a reread, and I don't really do rereads as a rule. Last year, I only reread one book and that was Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie. The only reason I reread that one was because the library had it on audio book and I wanted something to listen to, so I picked that up. I didn't reread anything in 2008 or 2007, and in 2006 there was only one book - The Summer of My German Soldier, which I had originally read when I was back in high school - some twenty years before.

Every now and again in the past I have thought about rereading other books, and even a couple of times I have reborrowed a book, but in the end I never got around to reading it. At the moment, I have one book out from the library that I read and loved last year and I am intending to read again soon, and I just finished one book last week, and I am already listening to the author read it which counts as a reread.

I originally read this book about two and a half years ago, when I was madly glomming anything I could find by Lisa Kleypas. These days I have to wait for each new book from Kleypas, as there are only two books from her backlist that I haven't already read because they are a bit hard to get hold of here. I read this book in one sitting and loved it, with just a small issue in terms of the suspense subplots. This time, instead of racing through it, I took a little bit more time to savour the relationship that develops between Sebastian and Evie, and to take note of the little things in their relationship development. Whilst I still remembered the big scenes in the book (the billiard room scene and the scene where Evie makes Sebastian lose their bet for example), there were many smaller scenes that were the stepping stones to those marquee moments in the book that were worth revisiting.

Even though I think that I enjoyed different things this time around, the book itself still stood up well to the reread, and I still rated it at 4.5/5. Evie and Sebastian still go through the wringer (d'uh - the events in the book haven't changed at all!) but I didn't mind so much this time around. If there was one scene that seemed redundant this time around it was the scene between Daisy and Cam Rohan. It was a fun scene and all, but given that I have now read both of their books it didn't seem to need to be there. It is but a minor quibble though.

Now I can go back to just revisiting the 'good' bits until it is time to reread the whole book again.

Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie

Turn left at small town secrets...

Sophie Dempsey is content living a quiet life filming wedding videos until an assignment brings her to Temptation, Ohio. From the moment she drive into town, she gets a bad feeling; Sophie is from the wrong side of the tracks and everything in Temptation is a little too right. And when she has a run-in with the town's unnervingly sexy mayor, Phineas Tucker, making a little movie turns out to be more than a little dangerous.

Yield to oncoming desire...

All Sophie wants to do is film the video and head home. All Phin wants to do is play pool with the police chief and keep things peaceful. They both get more than they bargained for when Sophie's video causes an uproar and the proper citizens of Temptation set out to shut them down.

Welcome to temptation...

As event spiral out of control, Sophie and Phin find themselves caught in a web of gossip, blackmail, adultery, murder, and really excellent sex. All hell breaks loose in Temptation as Sophie and Phin fall deeper and deeper in trouble...and in love.

If you have read my blog for a fair while one thing you might notice is that I don't normally do rereads. Having said that, I was browsing through the online catalogue for the library not so long ago to see if Jennifer Crusie's next book had been added to the catalogue yet when I noticed that they had this book on audiobook. You know how sometimes you just NEED a certain type of book. Well, as soon as I saw it, my immediate reaction was I need to listen to a great romance with lots of humour, and so I borrowed it.

As I mentioned previously, I had read this book before, but I had forgotten many of the details. When I think of Jennifer Crusie's books I think of smart and funny, but I don't often think of how sexy her love scenes are, or of the swearing that is in the book. I am not sure if it is because I was listening to the book instead of reading it but it really jumped out at me this time around. Now, that doesn't bother me, but when I thought about my work colleague listening to it, I did wonder how she would react. By the way, I went into work the next day after making that post and mentioned to her that I wasn't sure how she would react to it, and to be honest her initial reaction was to be a bit hurt - she asked me if I thought she was a prude. I am however glad that I did say something to her. I am not sure if she is going to give it a go but if she does at least she will be forewarned.

I loved the way that this book is never exactly what you think it is. For example, when Sophie and Phin meet it could be a straight romance novel, but then there is the body and it turns more into a mystery, but then the victim appears to be the man who died a thousand deaths, so is it really mystery. Regardless of all those things, the one thing this book is, is a really good reads.

There are laugh out loud moments, there are sexy moments, and there are the poignant moments. The narrator did a pretty good job at getting all the different tones and moods. A couple of the character's voices were a little bit weak, but other than that I have no complaints. Some of the scenes, for example at the town council meetings about the water tower and the pool game between Phin and Sophie, are comedy gold!

Now I just wish my library had more JC books on audiobooks that I could listen to again. I especially wish that they had Bet Me and Faking It, but I guess if worse comes to worse I could actually try reading a reread instead of listening to it!

Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene

I first read this book when I was about 13 or 14 for school. Kailana was talking about it to me one day during a conversation that we were having and as soon as she mentioned it I was like I have to reread this book!!

The summer that Patty Bergen turns twelve is a summer that will haunt her forever. When her small hometown in Arkansas becomes the site of a camp housing German prisoners during World War II, Patty learns what it means to open her heart. Even though she's Jewish, she begins to see a prison escapee,
Anton, not as a Nazi, but as a lonely, frightened young man with feelings not unlike her own.

In Anton, Patty finds someone who softens the pain of her own father's rejection and who appreciates her in a way her mother never
will. While patriotic feelings run high, Patty risks losing family, friends -- even her freedom -- for this dangerous friendship. It is a risk she has to take and one she will have to pay a price to keep

I did have some recollection of the basics of the story when I started reading it, but I have to say that I was very surprised by how vicious Patti's father really is to her, and the reasons why Patti isn't really loved by her family is never explored or answered. I don' t remember thinking about this when I read it the first time around at all (of course that is a LONG time ago!)

The Bergen's are the only Jewish family in their small Arkansas town and Patti has always known that she is different. Her father runs the local store, and Patti tries to help out when she can to try and gain some approval from her father. One day she gets to serve a young German POW when a group of them come in to the store to buy some hats.

When the same young man escapes from prison, Patti sees him running along the railway tracks, Patti gives him a hiding place, and starts to befriend him, feeding him and spending time with him in his hiding place.

This is not only a look at the unlikely friendship between a young Jewish girl and a German POW, but also between Patti and her family's African-American servant, who is the only person apart from Anton who seems to value Patti.

I was left with an overwhelming feeling of sadness for this young girl who was living in an abusive family, and wondered how she would ever get to a point in her life where she could be successful and happy. There is a sequel to the book, but I haven't been able to locate it anywhere here.

Reading it did, however, make me think about rereads in general a little. This is the first reread for me this year, and it was a book that I read over twenty years ago. That doesn't mean to say that I haven't tried to reread other books this year. I have tried to reread two of my favourite books and the thing that seems to happen is that I really enjoy the book, and then I put it down, and something that I haven't read calls my name and that is it! Maybe I am just not cut out for rereads.....at least not whole books! I do reread the good bits of certain books though!!! So why do I keep all of these books? Maybe a just in case thing I think.

Rating for this book 4/5

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