I really enjoyed reading the intro and all of the information about Halal cooking and Halal versions of different cuisines. That part of My Halal Kitchen was really interesting. The recipes, however, were a little boring. I mean, if you wanted to eat Halal, then I’d recommend this cookbook. I was just looking for recipes that seemed unusual, different, surprising, or like they’d be exceptionally tasty – but none really did. Standard recipes and common sense substitutions.
Woot. I didn’t even know about #Readathon Bingo until I woke up this morning and loaded all of the Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon links I like to keep open when I do #Readathon, so I’m pretty pleased that I was able to adjust my TBR plan (who am I kidding, I didn’t have a plan) and get a Blackout!
To get it, I had to read the short stories/essays I mentioned earlier today and track down a book with a male protagonist… TW’s Comic Con LGBTQ Mystery Box to the rescue (thanks, Momal!) In it was The World’s Greatest Love: Vol. 1. and that fit the bill nicely!
Speaking of The World’s Greatest Love… typical Manga. I kind of wish it had been written by a man, I think it might have been slightly different… the best part was the information about the world of Manga publishing. That was really interesting.
Besides that book, I also finished Dinner Illustrated and found a lot of recipes I’d try. I’m almost tempted to buy it. I wonder what TW thinks of the book.
After that, since I was waiting for the dogs to come in, I read two children’s picture books about gender/non-binary. Both were well done. I’d recommend them: I’m a Girl and Introducing Teddy.
TW asked me to reserve Power Plates at the library. Only problem with that was that it wasn’t at our library and it wasn’t on order at our library. So, I did what I always do, I suggested our library buy it. And they did.
Aside: It’s actually kind of cool to suggest a book for your library and have them take you up on that suggestion. You get to be the first one to read it and then any time you see it on the shelf, you get to say “Hey, I’m the one who suggested that book!” It’s really kind of cool. I’ve suggested four books since we moved back to this area and the Alachua County Headquarters branch has bought them all.
Back to the book… it’s the perfect vegan cookbook for our vegan foodie. Lots of different flavors, lots of different ingredients but not TOO MANY ingredients (not that too many ingredients ever stopped that kid.) It didn’t really make me happy because I don’t like things like fennel or kale or sweet potatoes for breakfast but I certainly saw recipes that interested me, particularly when the vegan kid is here for a visit. Definitely a cookbook worthy of the bookshelves at my library.
Power Plates: 100 Nutritionally Balanced, One Dish Vegan Meals Read More »
I’m a sucker for 5-ingredient cookbooks, which explains why I picked up The 5-Ingredient College Cookbook from the new arrivals shelf at the library. It was a bit of a disappointment because it’s a 5 FRESH ingredient cookbook, not just 5 ingredients. Hmph. It was also what you’d expect from a cookbook for college students. Pretty basic. That’s not a bad thing but I didn’t see anything that really grabbed me. (The Oberlin kid was here and flipped through it and found a recipe for a vegan… enchilada (I think that’s what it was) that sounded good, though.)
The 5-Ingredient College Cookbook Read More »
First, the cookbook My Two Souths that Sassymonkey told me about. I liked it. TW was not as impressed with it, which is troubling since we thought she’d really like it. I really want the tomato pie/tart. That would be yummy right about now.
Next, Gardens of South Florida was fine. An over-sized book full of fancy gardens. If you like fancy tropical gardens, this is your book.
Last, but not least, The Art Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained. To be honest, I’ve been reading this book for awhile. I just leave it open on the breakfast bar and read a couple of pages while I eat dinner or lunch or whatever. And then I finished off my readathon by reading the rest straight through. It’s a great book and I’m interested in the other books in the series. I’ll probably get some of those in the future. I might even like to own a few.
And that’s a wrap… seven books, mostly non-fiction, 17 hours of reading and a $50 donation to the #readathon charity. No great snacks and I have a messy kitchen and I didn’t take part in a single mini-challenge (except the opening survey), which was weird. I just wasn’t feeling it. BUT, I very much enjoyed my #readathon and am looking forward to the fall event. (I hope it’s not GHC/birthday weekend… gah.)
#Readathon Books Five, Six & Seven: All Non-Fiction Read More »
I’ve liked all of the Thug Kitchen cookbooks so I was looking forward to Thug Kitchen 101. But, for some reason I had it in my head that this was going to be about fast food or road trip food but it’s not. It’s definitely a “101” style cookbook and I was disappointed. I didn’t see anything that I really needed to make, which is sad since our vegan will be here in a couple of weeks and it’s always nice to have a new dish for her to try. Blah.
And then there is Chrissy Teigen’s Cravings. I’ll admit it, I do follow her on Instagram and LIKE her but I wasn’t especially interested in her cookbook. I didn’t pre-order it and I didn’t even reserve it from the library. If it hadn’t just been sitting on the new arrivals shelf last weekend, I probably wouldn’t have thought to check it out.
Turns out, it’s good. Even though I don’t eat bacon and she loves her some bacon — and I don’t eat seafood or soup and she’s got her fair share of those recipes, too, I found myself saying over and over again that I’d make that. I even, for a minute, was sad that I don’t eat bacon because her garlic bacon sounds pretty darn good to me. In theory. I’d even make it for my bacon lovers but TW says it sounds yukky. She’s weirder than I am, by far.
I might actually want to BUY this cookbook… that’s saying something.
The #fakereadathon turned into a #fakereadathonweekend and I knocked out four non-fiction books for the occasion. Woot!
First, I finished The Bridge Ladies and really enjoyed it. I don’t know squat about bridge but when I was a kid I used to peruse the bridge column in the newspaper every Sunday and try to figure out what the heck they were talking about. Too much math for me but this memoir was pretty excellent. Moms, daughters, bridge and stuff. Go read it.
Next, I read Urban Sketching. I was overwhelmed by it. Too many words, too many sketches. I mean it’s a good book for urban sketching, I’m sure. It’s just too much. I need more white space.
More my speed, Drawing Lab for Mixed Media Artists. I want to own this book. Seriously. I wonder how much is is for Kindle… oh, hah. Cheaper in paperback. I’m pretty sure I will own this some day.
Last but absolutely not least, The Aunt Jemima Code. Super interesting and I was tempted to go dig through TW’s cookbooks to see just how many of the featured books were on our shelves. I’m pretty sure quite a lot. (though it’s also possible that she Kondoed a bunch, too.) Really good book.
Whenever my work or home life get busy, I reach for non-fiction because they’re often quick and easy to read. So, here are the five I’ve read in the last week or so… some pretty good, some not so much.
Lovable Livable Home is the newest Young House Love book and I liked it so much better than their first book. I mean, I really enjoyed it. A lot.
Next, Backyard Farming on an Acre (More or Less) is Angela England’s book and I could have sworn I’d already read it. I mean I’ve followed her blogs/twitter/facebook forever, how could I have not read her book. But, apparently I hadn’t. I enjoyed it. It’s a nice look at how you can have a backyard farm with not a lot of land.
The New Christmas Tree was an impulse pick up from the library shelf because it’s Christmas, after all. Some of the trees were really cute. I kind of want a snack food tree. But, I totally stressed over all of the lit candles in the trees. Don’t do that. Gah.
My Cool Kitchens was… not cool. Yes, there were some nice kitchens but I didn’t like the structure of the book itself. Ho hum.
Heartlandia was a nice enough cookbook but not really my thing, though it did make me want fried chicken (and maybe to go to their restaurant should I ever find myself in Portland.
Tis the Season for Non-Fiction Read More »
I enjoyed Thug Kitchen so much that I reserved Thug Kitchen Party Grub. This is a good cookbook, though I didn’t find it quite as good as their first book. Not quite as many, “Oh I want to try that” moments but still a very good book.
I enjoyed Bound: Over 20 Artful Handmade Books though it wasn’t quite what I’d been looking for when I picked it up. Still, I have some old books that I might just use to create a new book, someday.
Two Non-Fiction Books Read More »
Weird. I thought I blogged these weeks ago, but apparently not. Oh well, it will pad my November numbers since my October numbers didn’t need padding. 😉
Healthy Happy Vegan was ok. I didn’t love it. I don’t think there’s any recipe in there that I was dying to make.
Thug Kitchen… As expected, I love this cookbook. Which is probably why I love their site. Or maybe it’s the other way around? Whatever. I have reserved their party book from the library and plan to make all of the vegan things.