Recent Reads

As I mentioned, I've been going through books like a maniac. I tend to read on a theme. For a while it was all food non-fic. It's been a lot of quick novels lately.

Here are some thoughts on the better books on the list, in no particular order:

The Center of Everything &The Rest of Her Life (Laura Moriarty)

SIL Caryn had "The Center of Everything" on her nightstand when we passed through on the way to vacation. I went looking for it in the bookstore immediately. I really enjoyed it as a great quick novel. I actually chose it for book group next month, knowing that people would identify and could blast through it quickly in the BTS mayhem.

Moriarty's latest book I found to be very Jody Piccoult-ish. A sad story about mothers and daughter after the daughter runs over a classmate in a tragic accident. Worth reading, though there was a certain sameness between both novels.

Vineyard Chill
Phil Craig has been writing these mysteries for years. They also are variations on a theme, but I met him years ago and would often see him in the A&P in Edgartown. Yes, I peered into his cart to see what he would be cooking! Biggest surprise was that the author died last May, and the book was published posthumously. Even though we haven't been to the Vineyard in 5 years, I miss it, and like the books because they remind me of the Vineyard in months other than July & August. Kind of like the Janet Evanovich of Martha's Vineyard.

The Nasty Bits & Kitchen Confidential
Bought these two Bourdain books for vacation, but didn't read them until I got home. Both worth reading. I preferred "The Nasty Bits" but did get a little fatigued of Bourdain between the books and Travel Channel.

World Without End
"Pillars of the Earth" is one of my favorite books. I re-read it every year or so. This is a great continuation of the first book, set several centuries later in the same village.

The Secret Life of Bees
This was on the shelf in vacation house, and I read it in a day. I guess I missed the hype when it first came out, but I really enjoyed it. I've not read "The Mermaid Chair" or her other writing.

The Cold Moon
I am waiting for the new Deaver book to come in on my library request list. I realized that I had missed this one in 2006. His books are pretty formulaic, and always have a double-twist in the end. But I like the Lincoln Rhyme stories.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
My friend Laura gave me this. I had a hard time getting started with it, but actually enjoyed it very much; certainly much more than I thought I would at the first chapter! The fictitional story of Lily's life in 19th century China had more twists and turns than I expected. To me, I found it to be kind of a cross between "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "The Joy Luck Club," as technically impossible as that is!

These I didn't enjoy as much:

Comfort Food eh. Don't know if I would try more Kate Jacobs ("The Friday Night Knitting Club") or not.

Carpool Diem was reviewed in our local paper. Working mom becomes stay-at-home mom, teenage daughter draws family into local soccer league. Sounded better than it was.

I read Marley & Me: Life and love with the world's worst dog for book group. Not bad, but I wouldn't have read it otherwise, though.

I first started to read Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany in the spring. Got so far before I fatigued of it. Read a little further this summer, but there's only so much interest I have in Mario Battali personally.

The Hills of Tuscany Ward gave me this for my birthday. Very much akin to Peter Mayle's "Year in Provence" books. Except those, I love. I was disappointed with myself when I struggled to get into it, then struggled to get through it. A nice book, I'm sure that people who have been to Italy would get more out of it than I did.