They Bake Cakes

As I try out my new format, I've been trying to consider what ties my recent reads together and how to group them for review. This batch was easy, as they all focus on baking (and life).

Set in post-genocide Rwanda, Baking Cakes in Kigali: A Novel by Gaile Parkin is the story of cake baker Angel. Everyone around comes to her for her brightly colored cakes (it's funny that the characters think our traditional white wedding cakes are BORING!) when they have a special event. Parkin tells her story through Angel, she is a natural sounding board for her clients and we get to know the various characters and how their lives have changed since the atrocities. Parkin has the ability to write about horrible subjects with a light hand, making this an accessible book. It is simply a novel, one that happens to be set in Rwanda. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it. Many thanks to Bantam Dell for this review copy.

Confections of a Closet Master Baker: One Woman's Sweet Journey from Unhappy Hollywood Executive to Contented Country Baker is Gesine Bullock-Prado's memoir of how she left the Hollywood rat race (she worked for her sister...get it...Bullock) to open a small bakery in Vermont with her husband. I enjoyed Bullock-Prado's voice, her straight talking, no-nonsense style appealed to me and made for a quick and fun read. While the greatest appeal of this memoir is probably for those who enjoy time spent in the kitchen (there are recipes!) , Bullock-Prado speaks to all who wonder if they dare to follow their dreams. Many thanks to Broadway Books for this review copy.


Fellow blogger, pastry chef, and Paris resident David Lebovitz has written a funny and charming book, The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World's Most Glorious - and Perplexing - City, encompassing a few of my favorite subjects - food, cooking it, eating it, shopping for it, and Paris. I've read a number of 'American moves to Paris and is surprised by how different things are there!' books, and had high hopes that this one would cover some new ground. I was happily satisfied. I loved Lebovitz's dry sarcasm and stories of his adventures in Paris, foodish or not. Lebovitz has included recipes at the end of each chapter and I'm looking forward to trying his dulce de leche brownies and chocolate yogurt snack cakes.

These folks are not the only ones who bake cakes! I do too. We have a birthday coming up next week, number 8, and The Girl wanted Molly's lemon yogurt cake. That's my girl. But. Can you imagine if I serve this to a bunch of second graders and they !gasp! didn't eat it and I had to throw it away? I would cry. So we have agreed on cupcakes for friends and lemon cake for the household. Good plan.

Pssst...

Hello there.

I didn't expect to be gone quite so long. I've been up to a few things since my last appearance here.

I've been on a fabulous trip to Boston. Oh, how we loved Boston. It fit us to a T. And we rode the T. Ha! If you get a chance to go to Boston you won't want to miss taking a tour with this gentleman. He works for the Freedom Trail Foundation.



We ate A LOT of seafood. Here is the rundown for me (my goal was to have seafood for lunch and dinner every day):

cod
lobster roll x 2
swordfish
crazy good lobster bisque
clam chowder x 2
shrimp
crab
my first raw oyster (I don't think I get the appeal)
some whitefish

Yum! And The Girl discovered that she loves mussels. Who knew? I mean, she wouldn't try a hush puppy but she eats mussels.

I spent a lot of time volunteering at school.

I did quite a bit of cooking; here is a sneak peek. This was one of my proudest moments as a home cook. I even told my husband to 'be more effusive'.




I went to the farmers' market. I never got to take photos some weeks but here is my most recent trip:




Isn't that kale pretty? Too bad it went to waste. I never did figure out what to do with it (that my family would eat).

I did a fair amount of reading.

Last week I met my new best friend.



Come here, lover.

I also spent some time thinking. Thinking about this space and what to do with it. Thinking about what has been bothering me about blogging and the like. Being put off by the popularity-contest aspect of it all. You know what I mean.

In addition, I am not a writer. I don't want to be a writer and writing is not why I'm here. I'm here because I love books. I came across a brilliant post last week at Kiss a Cloud. I identified with so much of what Claire wrote, especially this:

I would really rather spend more time with my children, read my books, read your thoughts on your books, than write.

Ahhhh. So true.

So what to do? I decided I wanted to come back to this space but I think it will be in a slightly different way. I think most books I read will get more of a 'blurb' and less of a review, and the really special books that stand out to me will perhaps get a highlight post. Or something like that. We'll see. Most of all, I know that if I'm going to do this it needs to be for me, a journal for ME. Not to please someone or to advertise for anyone. Not to generate traffic or more followers. Just for me.

I feel quiet.

I'm not sure why. Perhaps the change of season is sending me within. Maybe the fact that I have a busy few weeks ahead and a trip coming up. Could it be that I am dreading a long and exhausting 6 months ahead at work due to flu season? I just know that right now the thought of putting something coherent in this space is stressing me out. And that is not what this space is for. So I am going to move back for a short time. I am going to warm the house by cooking. I am going to try to persuade The Girl to read more chapter books. I am going to visit my favorite blogs for relaxation. I am going to read good books and drink tea with honey. I am going to walk The Freedom Trail and eat heaps of fish. And then I will be back. See you then.

Pageturners

I had the good fortune to read two excellent books in the past week that grabbed me and didn't let go.

This first was Little Bee: A Novel by Chris Cleave. The publisher's description is unusual; basically we can't tell you anything except that it's about two women and a terrible choice. That's it. I am such a sucker for things like that, but in this case I'd say it paid off. This is the story of two women. One is a teenage refugee from Nigeria who has been living in what is basically a jail for people trying to immigrate. The other is a typical British woman, working mother and wife. They first met two years ago under horrific and unbelievable circumstances and now they meet again in the present. This was an intense and serious read and I thought the author did an excellent job conveying the issues in Nigeria and the disturbing way people trying to flee their countries are treated. He also excelled at giving each woman a distinct and unique voice. I would certainly recommend this book.

The other book I finished in about a day was The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Wow, what a ride! I think everyone knows what this is about, right? It's life in the future, and teenage contestants are forced to participate in a televised 'game show' in which everyone must die - except for one. Talk about compelling reading! And this despite the fact that I sort of assumed the ending from the beginning - this is the first of three in a series - after all. If you like some sci-fi with your reading along with great characterization read this! I now really want to get my hands on the follow up, Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games). I'll be waiting awhile; I'm number 24 on the library waiting list.

Have a great weekend! We are expecting freezing temperatures and flurries! Lucky us. I can never belive that I moved here.

Unremarkable

My book club met on Monday night to discuss Those Who Save Us. This was the first book all year that we all finished and that we all liked - quite an event for us. The enjoyment of the book ranged from those who thought it was 'fine, readable, maybe missing something' to those who 'really liked it'. All in all, it was a success. A good discussion of an atypical holocaust book, one in which we see the point of view of the German civilians.

**********************************************

Does this ever happen to you? You finally get around to reading a book by an author praised by critics and fans alike and find yourself...totally underwhelmed? That's what happened to me when I read P.D. James' Innocent Blood. P.D. James is well known for her detective series and since I don't generally gravitate toward those sorts of series I chose to read this stand alone novel.

The premise is intriguing. Philippa is an adopted British woman who upon turning 18 seeks to discover the names of her birth parents. What she discovers about her parents and their involvement in a murder is horrifying. Phillipa's story is juxtaposed with that of a man hungry for revenge who creeps around London hunting his prey. It sounds interesting, yes, but in actuality I found this book very...dull. There is great description of place, but the characters were one dimensional. Oh the characters! Never has a more unlikable group of people appeared in one book! The 'bad' people were utterly void of morals, and the 'good' or shall we say 'better' people were not much better.

I think Innocent Blood would have worked well as a short story. This format would have given the reader more of feeling of tension. As it is, the story plodded along until the last 75 pages which I found satisfying. Except for the very creepy and corrupt event that happened in the epilogue. Ugh.

Someone told me, 'If you're looking for a good mystery, you can't go wrong with P.D. James.' For me, that hasn't proved to be the case, but I'm willing to give her another try one of these days.

Guily Pleasures

Emily Barr's books are guilty pleasures for me. I first came across her writing when traveling in London in 2001 and it seemed every other woman riding on the tube was reading Backpack. You could hardly blame anyone wanting to read a book with a beach on the cover in the middle of February.



Over the years, I've read most of Barr's books. It was helpful that they were being published here, but the more recent ones have not been.



Barr's latest book, The Life you Want, picks up the story of Tansy, the main character in Backpack. Travel-lover Tansy is living a life she never expected, an ordinary existence, mothering two boys, wife to a man who works late, lusting after her son's teacher, and drinking too much to get through the day. Tansy hears from an old friend in India who needs her help and lucky girl that she is, she is off. After spending a few days alone, Tansy travels to see her friend. Soon, she is spending her days enmeshed in life at the 'center' where her friend lives. But all is not as it should be and Tansy finds herself in the middle of big mess.

I would probably classify Emily Barr's books as chick lit with a twist. She generally writes of women with a secret or as here, women who get in over their head. Some heavy topics, but written with a light and humorous hand. The Life You Want is a fun, escapist read. I could see where the story was going but that didn't spoil any of the fun for me since I was curious to see how Tansy would sort things out. Lots of implausibility in the story, but heck, it's all in good fun.

If you haven't read Emily Barr I certainly do recommend her books.

I probably won't be around again until sometime next week . I have a visitor coming from Florida - good thing I caught him in time to tell him to unpack his shorts, and ask him if he owns any long sleve shirts. I broke down yesterday and turned on the heat. Is that a record?

Those Who Save Us

I'm freezing! Brrr. I feel bound and determined NOT to turn on the heat in September, however at the moment my bedroom is a brisk 62 degrees. We'll have to see how I feel when I arrive home from work at midnight.

My bookclub has had its fair share of duds this year. At our next meeting we'll be discussing Jenna Blum's Those Who Save Us. Here was something I could finally sink my teeth into.



Those Who Save Us is the story of Trudy and Anna. Anna is Trudy's mother, a German immigrant who was never really accepted in the small town of Minnesota where she lived. Trudy is her daughter, a professor of German studies, who has lived her life wondering why her mother won't talk to her about her father and her past. Thanks to a photograph she found with her mother's things, Trudy believes she is the child of a Nazi officer.

Told in alternating story lines, we learn Anna's past and Trudy's present. I think I enjoyed Anna's storyline more, desperate as it was. Anna's story feels unexpected and it is no wonder that she has chosen to remain silent. Though free during WW2, she suffered and paid a price for survival. Trudy embarks on a video project with a colleague who is recording stories of Jewish survivors. Trudy in turn begins recording stories of Germans who lived through the war. The tales she hears vacillate from greatly disturbing to life affirming. The ending comes as a bit of a shock, we know that Trudy will eventually discover what her mother went through, and the end is positively gripping as things are revealed.

As I mentioned above, this story takes place in Minnesota. When I read a book set in a place where I live or have lived, I never fail to wonder if because I am familiar with the place, the details of place stand out so much to me. I cannot tell from Blum's biography if she has ever lived here, but I can tell you that she has the details spot-on. When she writes about the cold, and how it seems your lungs are going to shatter when you breath in, well, I know she knows how cold it really is here.

This was an absorbing read for me and one of the highlights of our bookclub in 2009. I can't wait to hear what everyone else thought.