Saturday, June 29, 2013

Fromage et Le Vin

Reading books about cheese making and wine making can inspire you.

Start with a couple of loaves of fresh, crusty bread.

Bring home Kroger's best French (ish) cheese selections.

Sadly, Kroger has no French (ish) wine.
A box of California chardonnay will have to suffice.

And...voilà! Croque Monsieur (ish)!


Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. 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. For more information, see the welcome post.
Saturday Snapshot is now hosted by West Metro Mommy ReadsTo participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky below. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Best Books I've Read So Far in 2013



In no particular order...Here they are, the top ten (well, eleven) books I've read so far in 2013:







What are your favorites so far? Any thoughts about these? Any suggestions for me?




Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.


Monday, June 24, 2013

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?!


WHAT ARRIVED IN THE MAIL LAST WEEK




The Whole Fromage: Adventures in the Delectable World of French Cheese
by Kathe Lison

From Amazon:   "With writing as piquant and rich as a well-aged Roquefort, as charming as a tender springtime chèvre, and yet as unsentimental as a stinky Maroilles, The Whole Fromage is a tasty exploration of one of the great culinary treasures of France."





How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare
by Ken Ludwig
From Amazon: "In How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare, 
acclaimed playwright Ken Ludwig provides the tools you need to instill an understanding, and a love, of Shakespeare’s works in your children, and to have fun together along the way."





The Falcon and the Glass
by Susan Fletcher
From Karen Cushman: "Falcon in the Glass  is a spine-tingling adventure with a tender heart. Imagine dangerous secrets, cloaked assassins, and midnight rides through the murky canals of Venice. Do read it. You'll be glad."






Pi in the Sky
by Wendy Mass

From Amazon:
"Joss is the seventh son of the Supreme Overlord of the Universe, and all he gets to do is deliver pies. That's right: pies. Of course these pies actually hold the secrets of the universe between their buttery crusts, but they're still pies."






Ask My Mood Ring How I Feel
by Diana Lopez

From Amazon:
"It's summer before eighth grade, and Erica "Chia" Montenegro is feeling so many things that she needs a mood ring to keep track of her emotions."






WHAT I READ LAST WEEK




The Vast Unknown: America's First Ascent of Everest
by Broughton Coburn


Review coming soon!







The Road to Burgundy:
The Unlikely Story of an American Making Wine and a New Life in France

Review coming soon!





It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from! I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme Book Journey loves to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. Book Journey offers a weekly contest for those who visit 10 or more of the Monday Meme participants and leave a comment telling BJ how many you visited.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Bonjour! Enchanté! Bienvenidos! from The Literary Blog Hop





WINNER ANNOUNCED!

I am happy to announce that
is the winner of my Literary Blog Hop Giveaway,
a copy of Cloud Atlas!





 Let me introduce myself.
Bonjour! Enchanté! Bienvenidos!


I am Debnance at Readerbuzz.
I love to read.
I especially love children's books,
travel memoirs,
 literary fiction
creative nonfiction,
and books about happiness.


I'm happy to be joining in the Literary Blog Hop again. 
It's a hop taking place from Saturday June 22nd until (and including) Wednesday June 26th. 
It is hosted by Judith at Leeswammes' Blog and 
it's designed for participants who read primarily literary works. 




I'm giving away your choice of either Cloud Atlas or East of Eden 
or any other literary selection.*
(*Rationale: I'm planning to read these this summer,
and perhaps you might like to read along....
If you've already read one or both of these, 
I'd love it if you could share your encouragement in the comments section. 
You can choose Cloud Atlas or East of Eden or any other literary selection 
with a $15 gift card from Book Depository.)

The giveaway is open to anyone anywhere in the world.
To enter the giveaway,
simply leave a comment below
with your e-mail address,
(disguised, of course, to thwart the wicked.)



 And I'd love to visit your blog. 
If you like, follow me and leave a comment
and I will hop over and follow you.

I also invite you to:
Befriend me at Goodreads.
Follow me at Twitter.
 Befriend me at Facebook


Thank you for coming by!
Hope you will stop by and visit others in our hop!

  1. Leeswammes
  2. Ciska's Book Chest
  3. The Book Garden
  4. Sam Still Reading
  5. Ephemeral Digest
  6. Curiosity Killed the Bookworm
  7. Rikki's Teleidoscope
  8. The Things You Can Read (US)
  9. Seaside Book Nook
  10. The Relentless Reader (US)
  11. Under a Gray Sky Blog
  12. Exurbanis
  13. Candle Beam Book Blog
  14. Booklover Book Reviews
  15. Books in the Burbs (US)
  16. Babyboomerwrites
  17. River City Reading (US)
  18. Lakeside Musing (N. America)
  19. Read Lately (US)
  20. The Book Diva's Reads
  21. A Place That Does Not Exist
  22. Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book (US)
  23. A corner of the library
  24. Roof Beam Reader
  25. The Misfortune of Knowing
  26. Girl Vs Bookshelf
  1. heavenali
  2. Love at First Book
  3. The Little Reader Library
  4. The Siren's Tale
  5. Musings and Ramblings
  6. The Readers Realm (US)
  7. Lost Generation Reader
  8. Readerbuzz
  9. Literary Meanderings
  10. Book Clutter
  11. Bay State Reader's Advisory
  12. Love, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity
  13. Nose in a book
  14. Audios & More
  15. Laurie Here
  16. Mythical Books
  17. Books in the City

Friday, June 21, 2013

In Which I Relish Relish and In Which I Reveal the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe


I'm late to the show for Relish; I've seen it in the past couple of weeks on half a dozen blogs. And rightly so. It is a worthy read.

Lucy Knisley draws the story of her life as seen through the food she eats and cooks and...well, relishes.

Here are a few of my favorite pages:


Spaghetti with (yum!) bacon.


Her recipes are really easy to follow,
like this one for Huevos Rancheros (exploded view).


Whoa! 

The recipe that intrigued me most is the (self-described)
Best Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. 
Ha. 
And double Ha.
Sorry, Lucy Knisley. 
But I'm afraid I already have created the 
Best Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.
I have worked on it for over twenty years,
tweaking it here and there,
and finally adding a secret ingredient 
you will never guess and I will never reveal.



Relish inspired me to mix up a batch of my
Best Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe for my face-to-face book group.
(After all, tonight we are bringing a mystery,
and my cookie recipe has a mystery ingredient.)


It is humbling to see that Lucy has used many of the same ingredients I have:
eggs, white sugar and brown sugar, butter, salt, flour, baking soda.
But I use milk chocolate chips, while she chooses semi-sweet chips.
And, of course, there is my secret ingredient.
Which I can never reveal.

What do you think? 




Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. 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. For more information, see the welcome post.

Saturday Snapshot is now hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky below. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.


Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: When Printing an Online Ruler Doesn't Work


For more wordless photos,

At The Top Of My Summer TBR List




Two books.
Cloud Atlas.
East of Eden.
 
What are you hoping to read this summer?


Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.


Monday, June 17, 2013

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?






What I Finished Last Week
(Reviews Coming Soon)

Summer is my favorite time of the year to read. It is so wonderful to wake up in the morning and know that you can sit in the same chair all day long and read a whole book. Or two, if you want. My Books Read numbers always go up dramatically in the summer. Here's what I finished last week:


Spiderwick: The Field Guide                      Hold Fast                                   Doug Unplugged 


Bad Boy                                       Sorted Books                               Duel With the Devil



What Came in the Mail This Week

The Last Dogs: Dark Waters
(How's this for a story:  
All the people in the world have disappeared!
Dogs are the only creatures left!)



What I'm Reading Now

The Vast Unknown                    The Road to Burgundy 

And, happily, I have about forty library books awaiting me, too!



                                            
                                              What are you reading today?!



It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme Book Journey loves to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. Book Journey offers a weekly contest for those who visit 10 or more of the Monday Meme participants and leave a comment telling BJ how many you visited.