What I'm reading...

I finished Fatal Error early on the morning of Memorial Day. It was a good entry in Jance's Ali Reynold's series. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives and location changes in the book, and the mystery was well-constructed. This isn't a "great literature"-type read, but certainly enjoyable for Jance/mystery fans.

I read several chapters in A Girl Named Zippy, but it was just a little too mellow - I wanted something with more tension. So I picked up See No Evil by Allison Brennan.

I've read several other Allison Brennan books, which generally seem to share the common traits of having decent mysteries but tend to the grisly and lascivious side.  In my opinion she relies too heavily on sexual tension (and escapades). Really, her mysteries are well-enough designed that she needn't go for the tawdry. Oh, well these are books for mass-market consumption and entertainment. BTW, if you happen to read Brennan, this book is part of the Kincaid family saga/series.

After See No Evil I pulled another of Wombat's paperbacks off of the pile. This one was Blind Spot by Terri Persons. It looks like there are at least two more in the series (according to Amazon), and I know I have at least one on the shelf. I actually ended up liking this quite a bit, despite the contrivance of the main character having "special powers" (the ability to see through the killer's eyes). Publisher's Weekly didn't give it a very good review, but it held my attention and I'm certainly willing to read another in the series.

I went to the main branch of the library on Saturday to pick up Shanghai Girls by Lisa See (I have Dreams of Joy on hold - the library doesn't have its copies yet) and of course scoped out the new books section. My Name is Mary Sutter (by Robin Oliviera) caught my eye - I'm definitely a sucker for good historical fiction! So far Mary Sutter is good with regard to historical detail and ambiance; the character development is growing in complexity and the plot is picking up as the war (the Civil War, that is) gears up. I'm about a third of the way into it, and mostly enjoying the story. I'll probably pause at the mid-point and read a gory mystery and then come back to it (as if the Civil War weren't gory enough, but....). Look for a longer review next week, probably.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Nearly Wordless Wednesday 6/8/11

Can we have 's'more?



Niece and Nephew, waiting for the flames to die die a bit before roasting marshmallows.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Mmmmm, coconut caramel!

Coconut Caramel Cake

Not the greatest picture, but the CAKE... oh, the CAKE was HEAVENLY!  Definitely check out this great blog Mrs. Igor turned me on to, and make the Coconut Caramel Cake recipe - DIVINE! The recipe is at Jamie Cooks It Up.

Now, we're kinda in to the calorie-counting thing at the moment, so I did my best to come up with nutrition info for this delicious cake. I figured we could get 20 small servings out of the pan I used, and having had a piece, I know that the cake is plenty rich and a small-ish serving is completely satisfying.  So here's the info for the recipe (20 servings):

 

Nutrition facts generated by http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php

We be jammin'

I just made strawberry freezer jam for the first time! If it turns out I'll post the recipe ( which isn't difficult OR a secret).

Recipe: Banilla FroYo

We've been trying out some frozen yogurt recipes lately, both because fro-yo is less expensive to make than premium ice cream, and because it's lower in calories.  I've collected a variety of recipes from the interwebz, and last night combined a few to come up with a very yummy banana-vanilla frozen yogurt.

Banilla FroYo

Ingredients

• 3 medium bananas
• 2 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt
• 1 cup 2% milk
• 1 can (14 oz) fat-free sweetened condensed milk
• 1 small box (3.4 oz) Jell-o French vanilla pudding mix

Directions

1.  Puree the bananas in a blender.
2. Add remaining ingredients to pureed bananas and blend until combined.
3. Pour contents of blender into pre-frozen bowl of ice cream maker (we have a CuisineArt that we LOVE).
4. Run ice cream maker for amount of time recommended by manufacturer (ours takes 25 - 30 minutes).
5. Transfer frozen yogurt to freezer-safe container and freeze for several hours or over night.

Serving size: 4 ox (1/2 cup)
Number of servings: 14

Nutrition data from http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Quickie: 'S'mores

We had 's'mores on the patio tonight, thanks to Mr. Mamie's ingenuity! He got the little Smokey Joe camping BBQ from the backyard, bought some wood at the store at the corner of the highway, and voila! Summertime happiness!












Note the marshmallow on my face - sign of a good 's'more!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

What I'm reading...

I finished Courting Trouble yesterday. Getting through it had become a bit of a chore, unfortunately. Definitely NOT Scottoline's best effort in the "Rosato & Associates" series. There were a few good twists and surprises, but overall it was too far-fetched with regard to the main character's persona and actions.

Happily, on Thursday I picked up four books at the library that I had requested: A Girl Named Zippy and She Got Up Off the Couch, both memoirs by Haven Kimmel that were recommended by Wide Lawns; Freakonomics, which has some wacky and controversial ideas but which for some reason rivets me every time I read bits of it while at Barnsie; and the newest book in the Ali Reynolds series by J. A. Jance, Fatal Error.  I'm already a third of the way through it and so far it's a very satisfying read. More comments on this later, I'm sure!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Quickie: Zion on Sunday

We spent our Sunday at Zion, the best place on Earth! Here's Mr. Mamie headed up the Watchman trail.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Current trashy mystery novel...

 

I have a LARGE number of paperbacks taking up space in my living room and dining room, 95% of which were passed on to me by the Wombat.  I really want to get them cleared out, so I'm going to start listing them on PaperbackSwap.com. First though, there's a fair number I want to read. And, it's EIGHTY DAYS until school starts, so I've got a little time! 

This is the one I grabbed yesterday. It's okay, not spectacular, but there's enough of a plot that I'm hooked. If you're familiar with any other Lisa Scottoline mysteries, it's from the "Rosato & Associates" series.  If it seems worth it, I'll do a quick review when I finish.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

What I'm reading...

Well, more like "What I Just FINISHED Reading..."

Last weekend I started my mental vacation a little earlier and tore through these  three easy-reads:

Unfortunately, The Penny Pinchers Club wasn't as good as I thought it would be. It was kinda shallow and not all that realistic. The lack of depth and my inability to feel a real connection with the main character mad this book kind of a waste for me. Too bad.

I try to read the Newbery nominees each year, and I had high hopes for this book, given the number of awards it's won. Having lived in Oakland/Berkeley for over ten years, I was looking forward to making some connections with the setting of the One Crazy Summer, and I was interested to read a young-adult novel take on the Black Power movement of the late 1960s.  Again, though, I was disappointed. While the protagonist had some depth to her character, the book overall lacked the kind of depth I had hoped for.  I'm not sure how much a young reader would take away in terms of understanding the historical period through narrative. More details and some additional information via and afterward of "historical notes" would have helped.

 

Turtle in Paradise  was by far the best of last weekend's reads. I felt a good connection with the main character, the historical details were plentiful but not pedantic, and the plot moved along well enough to keep a young reader engaged. There's an afterward with some additional details that as an adult I found especially interesting.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Nearly Wordless Wednesday 5/26/11 #2

Twilight tiki torch on the patio.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone