My March 2015 Reading report looks like I went a little crazy with the book buying, but Amazon had another one of their Sale Days when a multitude of Paleo e-books were not only on sale, but free! What a deal!
Books Bought March 2015
| Title | Author |
|---|---|
| Death in Sicily: The First Three Stories of the Inspector Montalbano Series | Damon Runyon |
| The Italians | John Hooper |
| Paleo Gluten Free Slow Cooker Recipes | Beth Gabriel |
| The Flavor Bible: Paleo Sauce and Dip Recip | J.S. West |
| 10 MInute Paleo Slow Cooker Cookbook | Derek Doepker |
| Paleo Breakfast | Angelina Dylon |
| Paleo Cookies | Angelina Dylon |
| The Art of Frugal Simplicity | Jessica Jacobs |
| The Paleo Comfort Foods Cookbook | Martha Drummond |
| Death at La Fenice: A Commissioner Brunetti Mystery | Donna Leon |
| The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry | Gabrielle Zevin |
| The Hundred-Year House | Rebecca Makkai |
| From Wahnsinnig to the Loony Bin: German and Russian Stories | Henry Whittlesey |
The sale was also good timing with Passover right around the corner. I find that many Paleo recipes are perfect for Passover since they avoid flour all together. Paleo Cookies has many good recipes, but I haven’t made any yet. (I ended up making Paleo Fudge Bites for Passover, which were delicious!)
I looked through the Paleo Comfort Food book because I made the worst meatloaf ever the other night! I used almond meal instead of bread crumbs and while I did eat it that night, I could not bring myself to eat the leftovers. It usually tastes better the next day…not this time! Too bad, how disappointing! I am hoping for a better bread crumb replacement from this book.
Books Read March 2015
| Title | Author | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| The Italians | John Hooper | Did not like; Did not finish |
| Paleo Cookies | Angelina Dylon | Will come back to make the recipes! |
| The Paleo Comfort Foods Cookbook | Martha Drummond | Good selection. |
| Death at La Fenice | Donna Leon | Fair to Good |
| The Hundred-Year House | Rebecca Makkai | Still Reading |
| What Alice Forgot | Liane Moriarity | Trite. Could not get into it. |
| The Girl in the Flammable Skirt | Aimee Bender | Disappointing |
| Every Day in Tuscany: Seasons of an Italian Life | Frances Mayes | Okay, did not finish. |
| All my old knitting magazines | Vogue, Interweave, KnitSimple, etc. | Great! |
My friends and I are planning a trip to Tuscany in the Fall so that led to a renewed interest in Italy-related books. The Italians was disappointing. The description “John Hooper’s entertaining and perceptive new book is the ideal companion for anyone seeking to understand contemporary Italy and the unique character of the Italians. Digging deep into their history, culture, and religion, Hooper offers keys to understanding everything from their bewildering politics to their love of life and beauty. Looking at the facts that lie behind the stereotypes, he sheds new light on many aspects of Italian life: football and Freemasonry, sex, symbolism, and the reason why Italian has twelve words for a coat hanger, yet none for a hangover,” sounded so engaging, but so far I haven’t made it past the 40th page! I will try again later.
Death at La Fenice was good even though I guessed the answer around the middle. This is the first in a series, so I think I will read more and hope they will get harder to solve.
Every Day in Tuscany is the sequel to Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes. I couldn’t get through the first but decided to try the second book anyway. Same result. They’re just not that engaging. A friend and I are going to have wine and watch the movie before we go to Italy. I think the wine will definitely help!
Another friend has asked me to knit her a poncho/ruana so I have been looking through my magazine and book (and of course online) materials to come up with ideas. This has given me the opportunity to also bookmark other exciting patterns. Even patterns from magazines that are ten years old (or more) would be so pretty with the luscious yarns available today!
I am two-thirds of the way through The Hundred-Year House by Rebecca Makkai, the author of The Borrowers. I loved The Borrowers when I was young! I would say that even though I haven’t finished it yet, I liked The Hundred-Year House best of my March selection. It’s about the inhabitants of a house, and how their stories evolve over the years. It’s told backwards which is kind of annoying, but also makes me think about the story when I’m doing something else. When I get to the end, I wonder if then I’ll have to re-read the beginning?
