Chris vs Martha: Molasses Cookies

These Chewy Molasses-Spice Cookies from Martha Stewart are the best I've ever made. Not only are they buttery and delicious, the bake up beautifully. The recipe makes up quite a few but there are none left now. We eated them all up! Nom-nom!

Looking at Martha's photo on her site, mine look a lot thicker. That's okay with me. I like a fat cookie. They were so good right out of the oven but still had their chewiness a day later.

They're also fun to make with kids. My daughter enjoyed rolling them into balls and dipping them in the sugar.

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I've been watching Canada Reads online all week. I don't think I've ever been as interested in the debates as I am this year. It might be because of social media. People can Twitter their thoughts before and after the show. It makes me, at least, feel involved in the process. Both Generation X and Fall On Your Knees are out of the competition. Roland and Perdita did a terrific job defending them but it was not to be. Can't wait to see who goes next.

*I want to live in California and not just for the weather: Largest Vintage Paperback Show and Sale.

*Hilary Duff to write YA novels. Well, at least it isn't another tell-all.

*Another Jane Austen biography, Jane's Fame. I did find the interview in the Globe and Mail interesting.

*Two Atlantic Canadian writers named as contenders for the Commonwealth Writers Prize.

*Arielle Ford tells authors what not to say when they're on national TV.

*With all the talk about book cover designs, take a look at how they do it.

*A "funner" way to learn grammar. Visit Grammaropolis.

*Aw, sweet! A bookstore proposal.

*Just when you thought they were out, it appears they are back in. Ottawa might give in to Amazon.

*Etsy Love: So cute! From Trafalgars Square's Shop, sweet prints called Book Buddies or My Favorite Book is Blue.

Finally with New Moon out on DVD on March 20, the Twilight folks have offered up the Eclipse Trailer for your entertainment.

Have a great weekend!

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Looky-Looky! New Booky!

See what I bought? Isn't it purdy? And it's lavender! I wasn't intending to buy a book yesterday but when I saw this edition of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte I couldn't resist. My own copy is a 30+ year old paperback so I thought it might be time for a new one. This one was $9.99 at Coles bookstore (Chapters-Indigo) and published by Prospero Books.

The only problem is I don't want to read it and get it dirty.

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Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll: Review

With all the Alice in Wonderland talk as of late, I decided to read the original by Lewis Carroll. I chose to listen to it via audiobook while I was doing other things around the house. There are several free online versions so it's not hard to find.

If you don't know, and I think you do, Alice falls down a rabbit hole and encounters many strange creatures. The story is of her adventures there and how she interacts with those creatures. It's pretty weird. I read the tea party part to my daughter and she said, "What are they talking about?" which is about how I felt as I listened to it. It was especially disconcerting to hear a grown woman singing a nonsense song in a silly voice.

So, I don't know. It's a silly story full of nonsense and some clever word play. I thought some of it was fun and sympathized with Alice. What a crazy place to end up.

I became interested in Alice in Wonderland recently after reading Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin (click for my thoughts). Benjamin tells the story of the real Alice, Alice Liddell, and her relationship with Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll). I recommend reading it.

Of course, there are numerous films adaptations. I remember the Disney version from my childhood and now there is the Tim Burton version, which I plan on seeing. But one of my favorite versions, believe it or not, my daughter got free in a box of cereal! It's from 1999 and has some pretty big stars in it. Take a look at the trailer:

I don't know how I couldn't recommend this classic story. Just know that it's totally ridiculous.

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Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens: Review

Whew!I finished it. All 826 pages of Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. I didn't give up even when I wanted to. Why? Because this was a book club selection and I've bee terrible at quitting book club books lately. I used to be so good at finishing all the book club books but somewhere along the way I fell off the wagon. I'm happy to say I conquered Little Dorrit.

So what is Little Dorrit about? Little Dorrit is actually Amy Dorrit the youngest daughter of a debtor imprisoned in the Marshalsea. She was born there and has known no other life. Her father, however, is a proud man who thinks himself better than he is. Amy sneaks away to work as a seamstress in order to feed her family. When the son of the woman she works for returns from China, he gets involved in Amy's life and changes it in surprising ways.

The reason I nearly gave up on Little Dorrit is because I could easily put it down and forget about it. Not much happens for much of the book that you can't see a mile away. In fact, the last 100 pages or so are the most exciting. Then there is a "Soylent Green is people!" moment and back to the predictable. It really felt as if Dickens was phoning it in.

There are the standard numerous characters: the humble heroine, the damaged hero, the badies, the goodies and the harpies. The rich and poor get entangled in each others' lives and by the end we see how it all plays out. But I wasn't all that interested. It was all a bit dull. What I came away with was that jerks are jerks whether they are rich or poor. Le yawn.

I guess you could say that this was not my favorite Dickens. I would recommend Bleak House over this one.

Bought this one from Bookcloseouts.

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The Friday Bookish Buzz: Curiouser and Curiouser

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I had a really good birthday last week. We went out for dinner then had homemade cheesecake. My husband gave me an itouch and guess what the first app I downloaded was? An audiobook app. I'm listening to Alice in Wonderland this week. After her grandmother came over, the girl went to bed and  husband and I went out to a movie: Shutter Island. It was freaky. When they say "an ending to keep you guessing," they weren't joking. My husband are still in disagreement over it.

*Darwinism and romance titles? 2 researchers here at home think they're onto something.

*Imagine. A bookshelf with no books. So sad.

*But fear not! Ikea creates the world's longest outdoor bookcase- on the beach!

*Could you go a week without books? Cold turkey?

*Amazon is coming! Amazon is coming! (to Canada)

*Place your vote for Canada Also Reads.

*More not-quite-so-true-stories: Is the Hiroshima book a sham?

*Here's a positive review of Alice in Wonderland. My girl really wants to see it.

*Etsy Love: Speaking of Alice, new Etsy seller Le French Circus creates her interpretation of Alice in Wonderland with a print of Sleepy Alice and Drink Me Alice. Beautiful work!

Any big plans for the weekend? What are you reading?

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Pretty In Ink by Karen E Olson: Review

Things at The Painted Lady have gotten back to normal, or as normal as things can be at a Vegas tattoo shop. That is until Brett Kavanaugh and her crew take in a drag queen show that ends in one of the stars, Britney Brassieres, getting popped with a champagne cork.

Britney recovers only to die suddenly a day later. Brett's new employee Charlotte, a good friend of Britney, is on the run and she wants to know why. What was Britney involved in to make someone want her dead and what does Charlotte know about it? The answers may revolve around a tacky Queen of Hearts broach, a piece of jewelry everyone wants to get their hands on, especially the people with the matching tattoos.

It's hard for me to convey the plot of a Karen E Olson mystery to people and Pretty in Ink is no exception. Things start with an odd occurrence that ends up with someone dead and things just snowball from there. There are twists and turns that I never see coming.

I did have one problem with Pretty in Ink. I enjoyed getting to know Brett in The Missing Ink and I expected more from her in this book, I guess. She lost some of her oomph for me. There was another character (a potential mate?) I liked getting to know more of and hoped that he and Brett would get it on. Maybe next book? I hope Brett finds time for a little bit of romance.

Pretty in Ink is a lot of fun with a plot that keeps you guessing. I recommend it for a quick and entertaining read.

After reading the Tattoo Shop Mysteries, I end up thinking about the kind of tattoo I'd get if I were brave enough. Something literary, I think. How about you do you have a tattoo? If you don't, what would you get?

Once again the cover art is gorgeous!

Disclosure: Karen E Olson sent me Pretty in Ink for review.

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Blogging for Book (Deals)

There's a trend in publishing that is starting to bug me. Blogs into books. It's kinda of like when reality shows were new. First, there was one or two and before you knew it every second program was a reality show. Does every popular blog have to become a book? Can't we just enjoy a blog as a blog?

It's not sour grapes because I do not believe my blog could ever be a book and that's okay with me. I actually love some of these blogs but I'm never going to buy the book. They are funny and entertaining. I just don't understand this jump to make blogs into books.And to be clear there are bloggers who write beautifully or are experts in their field and have information to share. I have no problem with their book deals. They just had an undiscovered talent. But if I decided I was going to photograph my dryer's lint trap leavings for a year and blog about it, should I get a book deal? It's especially irksome when I think of all the struggling authors out there writing spectacular prose getting passed over because the publisher resources went to the Lint Trap Blog book.

Also if you've done something for a year (like mooching gym passes), should you write a book about it? Just because you've done something for a year doesn't make it interesting enough to be a book.Who is buying these books? Is it you? (points finger at screen)

Anyway, I'm off the photograph my lint. Stay tuned.

Do you have a recent trend (book or not) that bugs you?

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Challenge Roundup for February

 

I skipped Challenge Roundup last month. I had other posts planned, and let's face it, my challenges were abysmal. I did much better in February.

I'm flying along with The 3rd Canadian Books Challenge. In January, I read one book: Generation A, but in February I read 4. The most in one month yet! the four books were Grow Great Grub, I Never Liked You, The New Moon's Arms and Fish for Dinner. That brings me up to 10 out of 13 books read.

For the All About the Brontes Challenge, I've read 2 of my 4 picks: The Life of Charlotte Bronte and a graphic novel version of Jane Eyre. I have Agnes Grey for my online book club for March, so I'll have at least 3 read by the end of next month.

I've completed the Graphics Novel Challenge. I picked the entry level reader which required 3 books. I've read Jane Eyre, I Never Liked You and The Adventures of Blanche. That was a fun challenge. I'll continue playing along with it even though I'm finished.

Other than reading The Custom of the Country for the Women Unbound Challenge back in January, I haven't read anything else. I will pick up the pace for that one in March.

So not too shabby. I'm thinking of joining another challenge: The Classics Challenge. It's one I can handle.

How about you? Write your own Challenge Roundup post and leave a link in the comments.

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Weekly Geeks: Commenting on Comments

 

Commenting has been on my mind lately, which is why I chose the topic for this week's Weekly Geeks. You may have noticed that I've installed Intense Debate as for my blog. Back when I participated in Bloggiesta, I began looking into a new system for comments. I looked at a few but ended up chickening out. Then a few other bloggers installed Intense Debate and I decided to take the plunge. I'm crossing my fingers that people will like it and use it.

Spam has been an awful problem for me the last month. Every night I'd go to bed with an empty inbox and wake up to a dozen messages- all of them spam. It's disheartening to see all those comments and realize they aren't legitimate commenters. And some of them are just bizarre or head-scratching. As much as I hate word verification, I had to enable it. I'm not the only blogger frustrated with spammers. Heather from The Library Ladder wrote a letter to her spammer this past week.

Other than spam, I haven't had many problems with commenters. Everyone who comments is polite, even when disagreeing. The couple of authors who've visited my blog have left lovely comments. So far all my experiences there have been positive (knock on wood).

I try to reply to my comments here on my blog. I'm much better at replying on the day I published the post. I tend to get lazy after that. I apologize for that. 

If you have any comments on my commenting system, please comment!

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