Welcome to Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia of To Be Continued, a place where readers share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.
After several years of being on tour with different blogs as the monthly host, the Mailbox Monday Blog is now the permanent home for the meme.
It has been a gloomy, cloudy week, and with 48 days still remaining until spring, a gardening book filled with beautiful flowers was just what I needed in my mailbox.
New Arrivals
Garden Flora: The Natural and Cultural History of the Plants In Your Garden by Noël Kingsbury from Timber Press.
This lushly illustrated survey of 133 of the most commonly grown plants explains where each plant came from and the journey it took into home gardens.
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Almost wordless: This is Sky Blue Aster in my wildflower garden. I leave the non-invasive plants standing during the winter and cut them back in early spring. The birds appreciate the seeds and the plants add some interest to an otherwise barren garden.
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2017 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Welcome to Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia of To Be Continued, a place where readers share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.
After several years of being on tour with different blogs as the monthly host, the Mailbox Monday Blog is now the permanent home for the meme.
I received a nice variety of books last week — a thriller and a humorous non-fiction book about books. Plus audiobooks on two of my favorite topics — gardening and birds.
Speaking of gardening, a burst of warm air arrived in Chicago on Saturday giving me the opportunity to get outside and re-pot a few of my plants that I had hastily brought in before the frost last fall. It was invigorating to breath the fresh, spring-like air. If only it would stick around.
New Arrivals
A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell from Harper.
A remarkable tale of psychological suspense—a clever and twisting free-fall of a ride filled with betrayals and reversals, twists and turns, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty, murder and revenge.
Printer’s Error: Irreverent Stories from Book History by Rebecca Romney from Harper.
A funny and entertaining history of printed books as told through absurd moments in the lives of authors and printers, collected by television’s favorite rare-book expert from HISTORY’s hit series Pawn Stars.
New Audiobooks
The Thing with Feathers: The Surprising Lives of Birds and What They Reveal about Being Human by Noah Strycker from Tantor.
Drawing deep from personal experience, cutting-edge science, and colorful history, Noah Strycker spins captivating stories about the birds in our midst and shares the startlingly intimate coexistence of birds and humans.
Unearthed: Love, Acceptance, and Other Lessons from an Abandoned Garden by Alexandra Risen from Audiobook Jukebox.
In this moving memoir, a woman digs into a garden and into the past and finds secrets, beauty, and acceptance.
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Publisher: Fair Winds Press
Publish Date: December 2016
Format: Hardcover | 176 pages
Rating: 4 of 5
This is a fun, colorful cookbook filled with enticing recipes. Visually pleasing with lots of photos, the text is also cheerful and consists of several different fonts and colors. There are arrows and scripted notes off to the side which are made to look like they were added by hand. Many of the recipes have a photo of the finished dish and scattered throughout the book are photos of the author.
The book is divided into categories such as breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and drinks along with an introductory chapter about the author. At the end of the book there is a list of power food ingredients, their active properties, and interesting facts on each. Also, a section on food as medicine plus an index.
Healthy recipes using natural ingredients
All of the recipes in Power Food are healthy, tasty, and use natural ingredients. Most of the recipes are not too complicated, and many of them use familiar, common ingredients, although a few use ones that may be difficult to find, even if you live near a large city. I have never seen Laos Powder or Lucuma Powder at my grocery store.
Preparation time, ingredients, supplies, and yield are clearly listed along with directions for each recipe. However, I found the directions to be vague at times. Experienced cooks will have no problem with this, but new cooks might have a few questions.
Easy-to-make pesto
An example: For pistachio ice cream we are told to toast a handful of chopped pistachios in a dry frying pan. No mention of how hot and for how long. From personal experience I know it is low heat, about 2 minutes, and move the pan every 20 seconds of so.
Another example: The directions for Pesto say, “Finely grind all the ingredients in the blender or food processor.” That’s it; that’s all we are told. Do I grind them all at once, or do I grind them separately and then combine? And for how long do I grind them?
Nutritional information is not given for each recipe, although it is discussed for individual ingredients in the author’s list of power food ingredients at the end of the book.
I also noticed we are not offered any substitute ingredients. When the grocery store doesn’t have that odd ingredient, when I can’t find Lucuma Powder or when pine nuts are priced sky high, what else could we use for a similar taste. Yes, I know there is google, but it would be nice to know what the author would do.
Zucchini Boats look delicious
Despite the few flaws, I really like the recipes in this cookbook. They are, for the most part, quick and easy with tasty ingredients. There are yummy noodle and pasta dishes plus many healthy snacks and spreads. The Guacamole is on my list to try, and Lasagnette, a vegetarian lasagna, and Stuffed Zucchini Boats sound wonderful for main dishes.
This post is linked to Weekend Cooking, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.
Participation is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs.
Source: Review copy provided by the publisher through AmazonVine.
© 2017 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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A Rapid Review
Publisher: Redhook | April 2014
Format: eGalley | Rating: 3 stars
Genre: Science Fiction
No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before. Nothing ever changes.
Until now.
What’s it about . . .
The story has a great premise — Harry and a small number of others like him are destined to live their lives over and over again. No matter how they die, they are reborn and live the same life. Nothing ever changes … until someone in their group begins interfering.
What did I think . . .
The book was promoted as a time travel story, but it really isn’t. It’s more like Groundhog Day, only Harry remembers and repeats an entire life instead of just one day.
A lot of people loved this book, but I had a difficult time getting into it. It was a slow read for most of the book, probably because I had trouble caring about Harry’s lives. Plus his lives are presented out of order making it a little more confusing than necessary to follow the timeline.
The mystery of who is changing things and why kept me interested enough to keep reading. The last quarter of the book does pick up and we finally find out what is happening, but it was an arduous journey to get there.
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Source: Review copy provided by NetGalley.
© 2017 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Welcome to Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia of To Be Continued, a place where readers share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.
After several years of being on tour with different blogs as the monthly host, the Mailbox Monday Blog is now the permanent home for the meme.
A variety this week . . .
January is Vintage Scifi Month, and when I saw that The Lathe of Heaven, a classic scifi novel that I never got around to reading, was being re-released in audio, I just had to request it.
Even though I have a backlog of NetGalley reads, I couldn’t resist adding two more. I’ll just have to read a little faster.
New Arrivals
Dragon Springs Road by Janie Chang from William Morrow.
From the author of Three Souls comes a vividly imagined and haunting new novel set in early 20th century Shanghai—a story of friendship, heartbreak, and history that follows a young Eurasian orphan’s search for her long-lost mother.
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin from Recorded Books.
A classic science fiction novel by one of the greatest writers of the genre, set in a future world where one man’s dreams control the fate of humanity.
From NetGalley
The Wanderers by Meg Howrey
Station Eleven meets The Martian in this brilliantly inventive novel about three astronauts training for the first-ever mission to Mars, an experience that will push the boundary between real and unreal, test their relationships, and leave each of them—and their families—changed forever.
Ill Will by Dan Chaon
Two sensational unsolved crimes—one in the past, another in the present—are linked by one man’s memory and self-deception in this chilling novel of literary suspense from National Book Award finalist Dan Chaon.
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I know, this is a bit late. I intended to post this the last week of December, and then life got in the way.
I read only 52 books this year, down a bit from previous years. Blogging was also down. My additional roles at the bird shelter have taken up a chunk of my previously “free” time. In addition to working on the adoption committee, I am also the Treasurer and administrator of our Facebook page. (Feel free to like and follow us. We encourage people to adopt, not shop!)
Two Favorites That Stood Out
I usually don’t rank my favorites but rather just list them. This year two stood out as especially memorable: The Never Open Desert Diner and Dark Matter.
The Never Open Desert Diner by James Anderson.
A surprise hit for me; a literary noir mystery with the desert as a main character. This is an original, well-plotted tale, both haunting and beautiful, that left me thinking about it long after I’d finished the book.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch.
I had a feeling I would like this book before I even started it, and I was right. I loved it. It’s a fascinating journey through alternate realities that becomes more and more complex as our protagonist attempts to make his way back to his own timeline. Yes, there is science and physics involved, but the author does a wonderful job of making it understandable. Even if one is not into the science, there is a great mystery and adventure story here.
Three More Favorites
Version Control by Dexter Palmer.
This is a time travel story but not the action-adventure type. I would call it literary science fiction. There is character development and a complex plot. The device causing the time travel isn’t even referred to as a time machine — it’s a causality violation device. It’s set about 10 years in the future, but it’s very relatable to the present day with our technology and social media. I listened to this in audio, and there were a few times I had to back up to be clear on the details — events keep changing as we travel back in time — but it was worth the extra work.
Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton.
An aging astronomer and an astronaut tell their stories in alternating viewpoints after an unknown catastrophic event causes all communications on earth to shut down. I enjoyed the parallel stories of these two scientists that gave up their families for the work they loved. A thoughtful, haunting, and at times beautiful look at what the end of the world as we know it might feel like.
The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth J. Church.
In the 1940s, one woman’s dreams of becoming an ornithologist are interrupted when she falls in love with a physicist working on the atomic bomb. From the cover of the book one would think it is about birds — it’s not, although they do play a role in the story and those who enjoy reading about birds will find the references interesting. What I enjoyed about the story was the beautiful writing and the way it captured the essence of mid-century America and women’s roles, expectations, and evolution.
Non-Fiction Favorites
Both of my non-fiction favorites were books chosen by my book club.
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson.
I had not heard of this book until it was chosen for my book club. It is a memoir by a young, idealistic lawyer who founded a legal practice dedicated to defending the unjustly convicted and those most desperate and in need. This is a chilling account of just how broken our justice system is and the difference one person can make in the lives of so many.
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson.
This is a thoroughly researched, fascinating history of the Lusitania. While filled with facts and details, there is nothing dry or boring here. The book is written like a novel and is narrative non-fiction at its finest. You don’t have to be a history buff to enjoy it. This is a story that many of us think we know but we really don’t.
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