Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their home last week.

Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. The May host is Marths’s Bookshelf.
 

For review from HarperAudio:

The House of Velvet and Glass
by Katherine Howe

Katherine Howe, the author of the phenomenal New York Times bestseller The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, returns with an entrancing historical novel set in Boston in 1915, where a young woman stands on the cusp of a new century, torn between loss and love, driven to seek answers in the depths of a crystal ball.
 

For review from the publisher:

The Sandcastle Girls
by Chris Bohjalian

This spellbinding tale travels between Aleppo, Syria, in 1915 and Bronxville, New York, in 2012—a sweeping historical love story steeped in the author’s Armenian heritage, making it his most personal novel to date. When Elizabeth Endicott arrives in Syria, she has a diploma from Mount Holyoke College, a crash course in nursing, and only the most basic grasp of the Armenian language. The First World War is spreading across Europe, and she has volunteered on behalf of the Boston-based Friends of Armenia to deliver food and medical aid to refugees of the Armenian genocide.

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Share what you read last week and what you are currently reading.

Last week summer arrived in Chicago with several days in the 90s and a few 80s. These are the kind of days I like to sit in the shade with a cool drink, relax and read a book. Instead I was sweating my way through my garden and landscaping project trying to get everything finished before it got too hot to put it new plants. Sigh… the best laid plans… Anyway, I did finish a few books and 18 hours flew by listening to The Shoemaker’s Wife.

Finished Listening/Reading Last Week:

I finished listening to The Shoemaker’s Wife in only a few days. A wonderful story that was difficult to break away from, so I just kept listening.

My reivew of Year of the Gadfly will be posted on Thursday and I have a copy to give away to one of my readers.

Reading/Listening This Week:

I’m reading The Secret Garden as part of the read-a-long hosted by Book Journey. My review will be posted on May 31st as part of the read-a-long garden party.

Insurgent is going to be a fast listen. It picks up right where the first book, Divergent, left off and I’m already flying through it. I’m just starting Taste of Tomorrow, which is about the future of our food.

What Are You Reading?

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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.

Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publish Date: March 2012
Format: Paperback | 336 pages

What would you do if your best friend, with whom you were enjoying a 40th birthday celebration, excused herself for a bathroom break, walked out of the restaurant and never returned? In Whole Latte Life, that’s what Sara Beth did to her best friend Rachel. She left a note with the waiter and vanished. This was supposed to be a special weekend in Manhattan and now it was turning into a disaster.

The note begins: “Please don’t tell Tom about this. I really need some time alone, Rachel, to sort things out.” Rachel is now in an impossible situation. Honor her friend’s wishes or contact her husband, Tom, back in Connecticut.

The story alternates between the point of view of the two friends. Rachel, with the help of a police officer, tries to find Sara Beth and make some sense out of what happened. Meanwhile Sara Beth is out on the streets of New York running away from her life. Triggered by her mother’s sudden death, Sara Beth has plunged into a mid-life crisis, second-guessing a lifetime of choices.

When we first meet Sara Beth she is not a very likeable or even sympathetic character. She doesn’t see how her behavior is hurting her friends and family, the people who care about her the most. At times I wanted to knock some sense into her, but gradually I realized her behavior was stemming from unresolved grief and the unconscious need to stay connected to her mother. In contrast, Rachel has also experienced a loss with the recent death of her husband, but handles her grief in an entirely different manner.

This is an emotional story about the importance of good friends, understanding and forgiveness, personal growth and discovery. Often the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, and what we want may already be in our own backyard. Sometimes we just have to go on a journey to find it.

Overall an easy, enjoyable read for fans of women’s fiction.

About the Author

Joanne DeMaio is an author of contemporary women’s fiction, blending family, coffee and friendship on the page. Her novel Whole Latte Life is an Amazon best seller in Women’s Fiction-Friendship as well as a Kirkus Reviews Critics’ Pick. In addition, her music essays have appeared in literary journals, celebrating her passion for song, in print. Joanne lives with her family in Connecticut, where the coffee and stories are always brewing.

Connect with Joanne on Twitter, Facebook or goodreads.

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Source: Review copy.
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

In a small bowl combine above ingredients. Whisk in the oil until smooth.

You can vary the ingredients according to taste. A 3 or 4 to 1 ratio of oil to vinegar is best. Start with that and add more vinegar if desired.

The dijon mustard is an emulsifier, it keeps the oil and vinegar from separating. I only use a small amount because too much mustard will overpower the dressing.

For a less garlicy taste, instead of crushing the garlic clove in a press, pierce it with a knife and let it sit in the oil for about an hour and remove before adding the oil to the ingredients. Another option is to add a teaspoon or two of minced parsley, which will cut the intensity of the garlic.

The dressing will keep in the refrigerator for a few days.

I poured this over my home grown lettuce and it was delicious. The fresh basil and the baby greens are readily available in most grocery stores and farmer’s markets, however they are simple to grow and don’t require a lot of space. Even though I have a yard, I grow my lettuce and herbs in barrels outside my back door. Mostly because of bunny problems, but it’s also nice to have them right off the deck.
 

Although the Brown-headed Cowbird is native to North America, many people consider them a nuisance bird. They can be found in open fields, parks and backyards. They will show up at feeders, although no one I know puts out seed to attract them. They are noisy birds and the male makes a whistling or chattering sound.

Male Cowbird

Interesting Facts:

• Cowbirds are promiscuous, there is no pair bond. Males and females have several different mates within a single season.


Female Cowbird

• A female will lay up to 40 eggs in a season and spends her day searching for nests.
• Cowbirds will lay eggs in the nests of more than 220 species of birds.
• Cowbird eggs hatch faster than other species eggs, giving cowbird nestlings a head start in getting food from the parents.
• It is theorized that cowbirds became parasitic because at one time they followed roving herds of bison and had no time to stop to nest.
• Cowbirds do not “imprint” on their foster families and will join the flock of cowbirds once they are grown.

© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.

Genre: Fiction, Baseball
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Publish Date: December 6, 2011
Format: Audio, 16 hours
Audio Listening Level: Intermediate
Rating: 4½ of 5

I usually write my own summary but I was having trouble with a concise description so I gave up and used the synopsis, above, from the publisher.

While the backdrop of the novel is baseball, and the title says baseball, there is a lot more going on than just sports; call it a literary sports novel. The plot is driven by five well-developed, engaging but ultimately flawed characters. It’s the individuals and their relationships with one another that will grab your interest and keep you reading/listening hour after hour.

Henry wants the American dream, to be a big league baseball player. He is ambitious, devoted to practicing hour after hour, long after everyone else’s day is finished. But when a single throw goes wrong, and a player is injured, Henry begins to doubt himself and his confidence is shattered. Mike Schwartz has subconsciously sabotaged his own career; he’s applying to law schools he won’t be admitted to, has succumbed to an addiction to pain pills and now faces an uncertain future. Meanwhile Owen and Guert have begun a dangerous liaison and are toying with disaster, and Pella needs to tie up some loose ends, put the past behind her and start fresh.

In the end a few things wrapped up a little too conveniently but I can overlook that because the rest of the novel was so good; and the very end was quite satisfying. Holter Graham’s narration was superb, a joy to listen to. I flew through the audio in only a few days never growing tired of his voice.

For me, as a baseball fan, it was obvious that the author knows the game, which only enhanced my enjoyment. But even if you know nothing about the game, I recommend giving this one a try. It’s that good.

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Source: Borrowed from the library
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.

WordPress has finally acknowledged the changes made to the commenting system. The follow-up comment box will stay checked by default on the global WordPress.com platform. They are not changing it back and will not give individual blogs the option to turn it off. But, there is a way around it for some of us.

Commenters Can Set the Default to Opt-Out

If you have a WordPress account, that is, you can change the default so that the box is not checked when you visit a WordPress.com blog. The option is hidden away on the global settings page under the “reader” tab. (WordPress bloggers: It is NOT on your dashboard where you would expect it. You must go to the global page).

Click to enlarge

No WordPress Account?

If you don’t have a WordPress account and don’t want emails, you will still have to uncheck the ‘notify me of follow-up comments’ box everytime you comment on a post. Or, per WordPress, you can create an account. And that, for me, is the bigger problem. This move and the previous commenting change seems to be designed to force more account creation, not to enhance the commenting experience. But that’s a rant for another day.

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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.

Almost wordless: A family of House Sparrows left their nest a few days ago. They have been entertaining me with their curiosity and attempts to fly.

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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.

I’m tired of looking through landscaping books. My front garden project is starting to take shape in my mind and I’m ready to start digging. The only way to do it is to “do it”!

This morning I looked through my stack of review books, glanced at the blurb and the first few paragraphs, and decided that The Taste of Tomorrow would be my next book.

The Taste of Tomorrow by Josh Schonwald

Publication Date: April 10, 2012
Publisher: Harper

What’s It About?

In The Taste of Tomorrow,  journalist Josh Schonwald sets out on a journey to investigate the future of food. His quest takes him across the country and into farms and labs around the globe… a rare, behind-the-scenes glimpse at what we eat today—and what we’ll be eating tomorrow.

First few paragraphs:

Prologue: Gastropub 2035

Imagine that you are extremely hungry. You want a burger and a beer, and you will be sating your appetite in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Also, please consider that the date of this beer and burger quest is not now, or next year, but July 25, 2035.

You choose to go to Moby’s, a pub on Tejon Street.

You sit down in a booth. You check out the menu on your 10G iPhone.

Moby’s has a Real Beef Burger special tonight – a quarter pound of grass-fed, free-range, antibiotic-free Hereford; char-grilled, topped with coarsely ground Balinese long pepper, slathered with white cheddar and homemade papaya ketchup, with a side of cassava fries and choice soup or salad. Sounds fine. It’s sixty dollars – it’s by far the most expensive thing on the menu.

The waitress, detecting your price point discomfort, notes that “its real meat”. She suggests another burger – that’s almost as good – and is only ten dollars. “We have cow meat, bison, chicken, and port – all fresh out of the bioreactor. We have an excellent meat-grower.”

Would you want to continue reading?

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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.