Hello All!
I can't recommend this book enough! I read it in one sitting! Saving CeeCee Honeycutt will be available in January, and if you received that bookstore gift card for the holidays, save it for this book.
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is the story of a girl who cares for her mother as she descends into madness, and her father is constantly away on business. CeeCee escapes as best she can into reading. Her mother is killed one day, and CeeCee finds out about the Southern branch of her family; her father lets her go to them easily, almost immediately after her mother's funeral. Her great-aunt Tootie takes her to Savannah, and envelopes CeeCee into the warmth of Southern hospitality, and into a community of women. CeeCee sees all their strength and all that they can do, all the while learning how to deal with her grief of essentially losing both her parents.
This is a warm, lovely book, and one feels as if one is in the beauty of the South, the gardens, the old homes, and the healing power of a community of women.
Happy Reading!
Patti
(who wrote this at midnight & hopes it is coherent)
Disclosure: I became acquainted with Beth Hoffman by following her on Twitter, and she, in turn, checked out this blog, and had her publisher send me a copy of this book.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Progressive Dinner Party
Hello All!
This will be a different post than usual. I'm participating in a blog progressive dinner with other bloggers, so I need to post my recipe for my participation. I hope to collect other recipes from other participants, but if I don't actually cook/bake anything, I won't gain anything :). Or, I can cook/bake one thing at a time.
My contribution is a coffee cake from a recipe I got from my mom, Toby Cheney; I don't know where she got the recipe:
CINNAMON STREUSEL COFFEE CAKE
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
1 1/1 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of soft shortening
2 large eggs
1 cup of milk
3 cups of sifted flour
4 tsp. of baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
Streusel Mixture
1 cup of brown sugar, packed
4 Tbsp. flour
4 tsp. cinnamon
4 Tbsp. melted butter
Mix sugar, shortening and eggs thoroughly.
Stir in milk.
Add vanilla.
Sift dry ingredients together, and add to first mixture a little at a time.
Spread 1/2 of batter in greased 9x13 pan
Add 1/2 of streusel mixture
Add remaining batter, and top with remaining streusel mixture
Bake at 375 for 25 to 35 minutes.
Enjoy! This is one of my favorite things!!!
Happy Holidays & Happy Reading!
Patti
Link to next dessert: Medieval Bookworm - www.chikune.com/blog - Colored Sugar Cookies
Friday, November 20, 2009
Whale Talk for Countdown Challenge
Hello All,
Yes, this review is contained in the previous post, but it needs to be by itself to be posted to the Countdown Challenge. Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher is the title I read for 2001.
This is a terrific YA title that is all about the underdog. TJ, the main character, is a mixed race adoptee in a very white area of Washington state, and is not the underdog in this story. It starts with TJ defending a mentally handicapped fellow student who wants to wear his dead brother's letter jacket, and the jocks who torment him. TJ decides that Chris should earn his own letter jacket, and eventually puts together a 5 man swim team of misfits. TJ leads the team to all improving their skills during the swim season, and all but one earn a letter jacket. TJ has several other situations in his life, and there is a surprising twist toward the end. This is a strong book, and TJ is a strong character.
Happy Reading!
Patti
Yes, this review is contained in the previous post, but it needs to be by itself to be posted to the Countdown Challenge. Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher is the title I read for 2001.
This is a terrific YA title that is all about the underdog. TJ, the main character, is a mixed race adoptee in a very white area of Washington state, and is not the underdog in this story. It starts with TJ defending a mentally handicapped fellow student who wants to wear his dead brother's letter jacket, and the jocks who torment him. TJ decides that Chris should earn his own letter jacket, and eventually puts together a 5 man swim team of misfits. TJ leads the team to all improving their skills during the swim season, and all but one earn a letter jacket. TJ has several other situations in his life, and there is a surprising twist toward the end. This is a strong book, and TJ is a strong character.
Happy Reading!
Patti
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Finished Three in One Evening
Hello All!
Once again, I cleverly worded my title--I did not read 3 books this evening, only finished them.
The first was Devil's Food by Kerry Greenwood. Greenwood is an Australian author with two series she's currently writing, this one featuring Corrina Chapman, a bakery owner and amateur sleuth. She is overweight, but proud of what she can do with her body, such as lift and carry heavy sacks of flour and vats of dough and stew for her shop. She has created a family of friends, including a witch who runs an apothecary; Jason, her apprentice and former drug addict; two aspiring models who run the front side of the bakery for her; and volunteers for the Soup Run, a food/medical/law van that services the homeless of Melbourne. Corrina also has a wonderful boyfriend, Daniel, who works undercover and for the Soup Run. This series, including this title, are a little light on the mystery, but wonderful in the storytelling and with the characters.
The second I finished was Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher. This is a terrific YA title that is all about the underdog. TJ, the main character, is a mixed race adoptee in a very white area of Washington state, and is not the underdog in this story. It starts with TJ defending a mentally handicapped fellow student who wants to wear his dead brother's letter jacket, and the jocks who torment him. TJ decides that Chris should earn his own letter jacket, and eventually puts together a 5 man swim team of misfits. TJ leads the team to all improving their skills during the swim season, and all but one earn a letter jacket. TJ has several other situations in his life, and there is a surprising twist toward the end. This is a strong book, and TJ is a strong character.
The final book I read this evening, from start to finish was Damage Control by JA Jance. This is the first of her Joanna Brady series that I have read since I moved to Tucson; the series takes place in Bisbee, AZ. As one of the cases in the book bring the sheriff and her officers to Tucson, it was very interesting to me to read a book set here now that I live here. Damage Control is definitely a page turner, and an exhausting one. Not only is there a somewhat high body count, Joanna and her husband have a 4 month old baby who is not yet consistantly sleeping through the night--it was exhausting to read about how tired Joanna was! A good story and entry into this series.
As it is getting close to 11:30 PM, I will wish you all
Happy Reading!
Patti
Once again, I cleverly worded my title--I did not read 3 books this evening, only finished them.
The first was Devil's Food by Kerry Greenwood. Greenwood is an Australian author with two series she's currently writing, this one featuring Corrina Chapman, a bakery owner and amateur sleuth. She is overweight, but proud of what she can do with her body, such as lift and carry heavy sacks of flour and vats of dough and stew for her shop. She has created a family of friends, including a witch who runs an apothecary; Jason, her apprentice and former drug addict; two aspiring models who run the front side of the bakery for her; and volunteers for the Soup Run, a food/medical/law van that services the homeless of Melbourne. Corrina also has a wonderful boyfriend, Daniel, who works undercover and for the Soup Run. This series, including this title, are a little light on the mystery, but wonderful in the storytelling and with the characters.
The second I finished was Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher. This is a terrific YA title that is all about the underdog. TJ, the main character, is a mixed race adoptee in a very white area of Washington state, and is not the underdog in this story. It starts with TJ defending a mentally handicapped fellow student who wants to wear his dead brother's letter jacket, and the jocks who torment him. TJ decides that Chris should earn his own letter jacket, and eventually puts together a 5 man swim team of misfits. TJ leads the team to all improving their skills during the swim season, and all but one earn a letter jacket. TJ has several other situations in his life, and there is a surprising twist toward the end. This is a strong book, and TJ is a strong character.
The final book I read this evening, from start to finish was Damage Control by JA Jance. This is the first of her Joanna Brady series that I have read since I moved to Tucson; the series takes place in Bisbee, AZ. As one of the cases in the book bring the sheriff and her officers to Tucson, it was very interesting to me to read a book set here now that I live here. Damage Control is definitely a page turner, and an exhausting one. Not only is there a somewhat high body count, Joanna and her husband have a 4 month old baby who is not yet consistantly sleeping through the night--it was exhausting to read about how tired Joanna was! A good story and entry into this series.
As it is getting close to 11:30 PM, I will wish you all
Happy Reading!
Patti
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Happily Reading
Hello All,
I've got myself into a good reading streak right now; I posted about how good The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly was; after that, I moved onto Death in High Places by Donna Leon. That was a reread for me, and I think I'm almost caught up to where I was when I stopped reading the series. I own most of them, and love that I can pick one up anytime and go to Venice.
I finished The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer last night. Wow, it's been years since I've read one of her books, and I had forgotten how good her books are. I incorrectly posted that this book was a Regency novel (set in the time period approximately between 1805-1820); The Black Moth is set earlier, sometime in the mid-1700s. I read in the introduction to this new edition that Heyer didn't start writing only Regencies until a little later. I look forward to reading all of her historicals, and am so glad Harlequin has been reprinting them.
I am currently reading Devil's Food by Kerry Greenwood, set in an Australian bakery in Melbourne, Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher, a YA novel that's part of my Countdown Challenge, and started Carolyn Hart's Ghost at Work for my bedtime reading.
Happy Reading!
Patti
I've got myself into a good reading streak right now; I posted about how good The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly was; after that, I moved onto Death in High Places by Donna Leon. That was a reread for me, and I think I'm almost caught up to where I was when I stopped reading the series. I own most of them, and love that I can pick one up anytime and go to Venice.
I finished The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer last night. Wow, it's been years since I've read one of her books, and I had forgotten how good her books are. I incorrectly posted that this book was a Regency novel (set in the time period approximately between 1805-1820); The Black Moth is set earlier, sometime in the mid-1700s. I read in the introduction to this new edition that Heyer didn't start writing only Regencies until a little later. I look forward to reading all of her historicals, and am so glad Harlequin has been reprinting them.
I am currently reading Devil's Food by Kerry Greenwood, set in an Australian bakery in Melbourne, Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher, a YA novel that's part of my Countdown Challenge, and started Carolyn Hart's Ghost at Work for my bedtime reading.
Happy Reading!
Patti
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Used vs New Books and Bookstores
Hello All!
This will be only my opinion on what can be a controversial subject in the book world. I purchase used books. The reasons why are that it makes book purchasing more affordable for me, and that I can find out-of-print books. A reason that would make me sound ecological is that it could be construed as recycling. I know that when I purchase used books that the author doesn't get any royalties, and this is the biggest thing that bothers me, and can make me feel guilty. I want to support authors and the publishing industry, and having books published in PRINT as opposed to just digitally (something that seems to be looming in the future...). So I try to support my favorite authors, and up-and-coming authors by buying them new, and supplement my book collection with decent copies of used books. To me, this is a great help also when trying to fill in series that have been around for awhile, and the series may not be in print in its entirety.
I support used bookstores also--doing so can help the local economy, and while this also sounds good, it's not the only reason I do it. Aunt Agatha's Mystery Bookstore in Ann Arbor, Michigan is one of my favorite places to shop, and its owners, Robin and Jamie Agnew, have become very close friends. They are like me, love to connect people with books, and if you've finished one series, they will find another series to keep you going and interested in mysteries. Now that I live 2000+ miles away, I still get their newsletter, and I still buy books from them. Additionally, their store is very cozy, sells new and used books, and holds frequent booksignings.
More local to me now is Bookman's, an Arizona institution, more formally known as Bookman's Entertainment Exchange. Bookman's has 1 store in Flagstaff, 2 in the Phoenix metro area, and 3 in Tucson. They not only sell every kind of book, but also comics, manga, magazines, video games, movies and music. They are wonderful places to spend a short or a long period of time, and come away with some special things that you were looking for, or maybe a surprise that you didn't know you were looking for.
Happy Reading (and shopping)!
Patti
This will be only my opinion on what can be a controversial subject in the book world. I purchase used books. The reasons why are that it makes book purchasing more affordable for me, and that I can find out-of-print books. A reason that would make me sound ecological is that it could be construed as recycling. I know that when I purchase used books that the author doesn't get any royalties, and this is the biggest thing that bothers me, and can make me feel guilty. I want to support authors and the publishing industry, and having books published in PRINT as opposed to just digitally (something that seems to be looming in the future...). So I try to support my favorite authors, and up-and-coming authors by buying them new, and supplement my book collection with decent copies of used books. To me, this is a great help also when trying to fill in series that have been around for awhile, and the series may not be in print in its entirety.
I support used bookstores also--doing so can help the local economy, and while this also sounds good, it's not the only reason I do it. Aunt Agatha's Mystery Bookstore in Ann Arbor, Michigan is one of my favorite places to shop, and its owners, Robin and Jamie Agnew, have become very close friends. They are like me, love to connect people with books, and if you've finished one series, they will find another series to keep you going and interested in mysteries. Now that I live 2000+ miles away, I still get their newsletter, and I still buy books from them. Additionally, their store is very cozy, sells new and used books, and holds frequent booksignings.
More local to me now is Bookman's, an Arizona institution, more formally known as Bookman's Entertainment Exchange. Bookman's has 1 store in Flagstaff, 2 in the Phoenix metro area, and 3 in Tucson. They not only sell every kind of book, but also comics, manga, magazines, video games, movies and music. They are wonderful places to spend a short or a long period of time, and come away with some special things that you were looking for, or maybe a surprise that you didn't know you were looking for.
Happy Reading (and shopping)!
Patti
Books Purchased, Not Finished and Finished
Hello All!
Doesn't it sound like I'm busy? The word "books" applies to one each of those above catagories.
I went to Bookman's yesterday (probably one of the best used media stores in the country!) looking for one book, and even without my list, found another that I was looking for--don't you love that? I found Nancy E. Turner's These Is My Words, the first of her Sarah Prine novels. The challenge has been with this book is that 1) Nancy Turner lives in Tucson, and 2) These is My Words was the One Book/One AZ title in 2008. My personal opinion about why it's been so hard to find used is that lots of copies were bought at that time (and other times, it's probably a great book group book too), so every copy that's turned into Bookman's gets sold right away, and also that many own signed copies that they don't want to get rid of. Yes, I've read it, but I do want to read it again now that I live in Tucson, and I wanted to own it.
Based on my own disinterest, and opinions of friends about Alexander McCall Smith's books set in Scotland vs those set in Botswana, I've decided not to finish 44 Scotland Street. I gave it more than 50 pages, but I just didn't care about the characters, so I'm going to find something else for my bedtime reading.
I finished Michael Connelly's The Lincoln Lawyer, and it was very good. I wasn't sure I'd like the main character, but Mickey Haller is a sensible person about being a lawyer--he knows it's a job, a tough one, but he does it well and he's the one you want on your side. Haller has done the one thing he hoped never would happen in his career as a defense lawyer; he let a truly innocent man go to jail. In this book, Connelly gives you hope in relationships, a picture of how hard everyone works both sides of cases, and shows you the worst in criminals. Read it.
Happy Reading!
Patti
Doesn't it sound like I'm busy? The word "books" applies to one each of those above catagories.
I went to Bookman's yesterday (probably one of the best used media stores in the country!) looking for one book, and even without my list, found another that I was looking for--don't you love that? I found Nancy E. Turner's These Is My Words, the first of her Sarah Prine novels. The challenge has been with this book is that 1) Nancy Turner lives in Tucson, and 2) These is My Words was the One Book/One AZ title in 2008. My personal opinion about why it's been so hard to find used is that lots of copies were bought at that time (and other times, it's probably a great book group book too), so every copy that's turned into Bookman's gets sold right away, and also that many own signed copies that they don't want to get rid of. Yes, I've read it, but I do want to read it again now that I live in Tucson, and I wanted to own it.
Based on my own disinterest, and opinions of friends about Alexander McCall Smith's books set in Scotland vs those set in Botswana, I've decided not to finish 44 Scotland Street. I gave it more than 50 pages, but I just didn't care about the characters, so I'm going to find something else for my bedtime reading.
I finished Michael Connelly's The Lincoln Lawyer, and it was very good. I wasn't sure I'd like the main character, but Mickey Haller is a sensible person about being a lawyer--he knows it's a job, a tough one, but he does it well and he's the one you want on your side. Haller has done the one thing he hoped never would happen in his career as a defense lawyer; he let a truly innocent man go to jail. In this book, Connelly gives you hope in relationships, a picture of how hard everyone works both sides of cases, and shows you the worst in criminals. Read it.
Happy Reading!
Patti
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