Things I Read 'N' Things I Thought 2014: Part 1

Annual blog post! I don't care if no one reads this, it just needs to be done because it's fun. Here we go - books ahoy!

• A Golden Web by Barbara Quick - Innards are fascinating, don't let anyone tell you you can't look at them just because you're a lady.
• A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith - Mind blown! Heart full! How have I never read this before!?
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman - Neil Gaiman does not disappoint. The gods and myth characters are still around and they're awesome.
• Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - Precious.
• Another Little Piece by Kara Karyus Quinn - A bit gorier than I expected. Not mind-blowingly good, but pretty ok, not obnoxious.
• Ash by Melinda Lo - Cinderella retelling.  It was fine I guess.
• The Best Horror of the Year (Volume somethingorother) by various - Short stories.  Some I hated, some I didn't care, some creeped me the hell out and were rad.
• Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist - I want to have people over for dinner in my cozy home. It's important.
• Christy by Catherine Marshall - I forgot how GOOD this book is. I forgot how human Christy and the other characters are.
• Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist - She makes me feel better about my desire for a "small" life.
• The Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd - Meh. Her journey was interesting, but I really felt no connection to this book.
• Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz - She continues to be awesome.  I had no idea she came from a rich, conservative So Cal family.
• East by Edith Pattou - Love. Always love.
• Emperor Mage by Tamora Pierce - Love. Always love.
• The Face on the Milk Carton, Flash Fire!, The Ransom of Mercy Carter,  and Flight #116 is Down by Caroline B. Cooney - Oh man, the books of my youth! I'll give it to her, she's good at writing teenagers who aren't Mary Sues but aren't evil villains, either. 
• Frog Music by Emma Donoghue - Awful people being awful to each other. It was awful. One Goodreads reviewer put it best: "Lacking a fire, I put it in the recycle bin."
• The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt - Art: it sort of has to do with it. A little depressing in a way, but pretty honest. Excellent descriptions. Described a girl as having something of a "bitchy cheerleader or mean babysitter" about her. Yes.
• The Good Mother Myth by Avital Norman Nathman - Vignettes and perspectives on motherhood from various authors. Interesting at the time, but I don't remember anything about it, so...
• Greenwitch by Susan B. Cooper - Always great.
• God is Disappointed in You by Mark Russell - The Bible, only much shorter and hilarious.
• Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon - Creepy. Also enraging.
• The Hallowed Ones and The Outside by Laura Bickle - Amish teen vampire books! I was very pleased.
• Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey - Sometimes it got a tad eye-rolly, but overall pretty cute. Some fun, witty dialogue.
• Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix - Damn, this was a well-made book! Makes you think differently about a weekend trip to Ikea!
• In the Tall Grass by Stephen King & Joe Hill (short story) - DO NOT EVER leave the road and wander into the grass.  It WILL end badly.
• Innocence by Dean Koontz - Another long, slow, detailed story with an oddly brief, disconnected feeling wrap-up. Apparently I'm just going to reread Watchers and Lightning for the rest of my life.
• The Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell - Still good. Again, survival books.
• It by Stephen King - Still creepy, still great.
• Jackaby by William Ritter - Adorable.  Monsters, ghosts, detectives. I really enjoyed it. I'd read more.
• Jesus Feminist by Sarah Bessey - Sarah Bessey makes you feel loved and important.
• Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton - Still good, but it's goofier and less suspenseful than I remember.
• Just As Long As We're Together by Judy Blume - I remember this one, Judy Blume rules. 
• The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness - Some people are AWFUL. Interesting premise.
• Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy by Karen Abbott - High five to these ladies (I mean, besides the helping of the confederates...). Dudes: keep it together, they're SO lucky you treated them like fragile idiots.
• The Light of the Oracle by Victoria Hanley - Decent. Not mindblowing, but not hideously bad or boring.  Thought it squandered some great potential, though.
• Locke & Key, Vol. 6 by Joe Hill - IT IS FINISHED. IT IS GOOD.
• The Lost World by Michael Crichton - I shouldn't have re-read it. Not as good as I remember.
• Mile 81 (short story) by Stephen King - Meh.
• Mirrorsight (Green Rider #5) by Kristen Britain - Went in a direction I totally did not see coming. Weird, but good.
• Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King - Fun, detective-y romp.
• My Cousin Rachel by Daphne DuMaurier - I HATE THE NARRATOR. He's an idiot and I wanted to punch him for most of the book.  Dang, Ms. D's a good writer :)
• Naya Nuki and Pathki Nana by Kenneth Thomasma - Childhood favorites. Survival books (a la Hatchet) are the best.
• O Pioneers!  by Willa Cather - Damn, but I love Willa Cather. She's so human and funny and yet complicated.
• Our Great Big American God by Matthew Paul Turner - Interesting, fast, easy read. Doesn't go very in depth, but gives a great overview of how America has adapted God over the years.
• Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint by Nadia Bolz-Weber - Such a human.  I want to be better.
• Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier - I love the way she writes. Still good the second time.
• The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion - Just freakin' adorable and funny.
• The Ruins by Scott Smith - It really should have been a quick, tight, mean little short story instead of a rambly, annoying novel.
• The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd - Fab. Hugs and high fives all around.
• Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty - So very interesting. Please don't embalm me.
• Snowblind by Christopher Golden - How did this get good reviews? How was this book so boring? There's an entire subplot through the whole book that I have NO IDEA why it was there. Severly disappointed.
• Sold for Endless Rue by Madeline E. Robbins - Healers and midwives are interesting. Complicated mother/daughter relationships. Misogyny blows.
• The Stand by Stephen King - Snuggles in my heart. Post-apocalyptic, horrific snuggles.
• Summer of Fear, Locked In Time and Daughters of Eve by Lois Duncan - Fondly I recall reading Lois Duncan as a kid - I've always loved creepy. They're goofy now, but they still live in my heart.
• Swan Song by Robert McCammon - I slogged through this entire book and still didn't know if I liked or disliked it until well after I'd finished it. Verdict: WHY DOES EVERYONE SAY IT'S SO GOOD? IT'S NOT GOOD. So many reviews say it's dark and terrifying. Nope. And they say it's one of the most beautiful, hopeful books they've ever read. Nope. And that it's full of loveable, memorable characters. Nope. It felt completely lifeless to me. And full of characters/plot points/objects that really don't add much other than word count - WHY DID THEY SPEND SO MUCH TIME ON THE JOB'S MASK? THERE WAS NO RHYME OR REASON TO WHO IT AFFECTED. Oh, great, now their faces match what's inside, but there was never any doubt right from the start who was a villain and who a hero so what was the damn point? I was hoping to have another massive post-apocalyptic novel to love right along with The Stand but I guess I'm out of luck. SO DISAPPOINTED. I've been lied to.
• Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta - A good yarn, that's what I'd call it. Some graphic violence, though, if that bothers you. 
• Through the Woods by Emily Carroll - Illustrated comic-like stories. So. Effing. Creepy. Love.
• The Troop by Nick Cutter -  Gross but not scary. I didn't ever experience suspense or horror. Sturdily meh. Could have been better, but I liked the bleak ending.
• Unashamed, Unspoken, and Unveiled all by Francine Rivers - I remember reading and really enjoying Francine Rivers as a teen. A lot of her underlying messages about men and women kinda creep me out now. But I still enjoy the Ruth & Boaz one.
• Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead - Yes, I read this. Pretty fun actually.
• Watchers by Dean Koontz - I will never stop re-reading this goofy book.
• Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts - It's a snuggle in book form.
• Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Sempel - So entertaining. Done in an afternoon.
• White Crow by Marcus Sedgewick - Could have been much better, creepier.
• The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon - So much eerie, skin-crawling potential! It was pretty good, but could have been better. At least it wasn't as bad as The Graveminder. Ugh.
• Zita the Space Girl by Ben Hatke - A-frickin-dorable comic.
• The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey - Pretty good. A brave, does what she has to main character.

Biggest winners, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes; A Tree Grows In Brooklyn; Liar,Temptress,Soldier, Spy; Through the Woods; and The Rosie Project. All great for different reasons, but I had a blast with them.

Biggest losers, Swan Song, Snowblind, and Frog Music.  All so very disappointing based on what I'd heard and was expecting, I was actually angry at them a few times. Save yourselves.

Overall 66% new, which is better than I thought.  Horror/Fantasy/Sci-fi was my biggest genre with about 23% (YA H/F/S at 22%). Sounds about right for me! General fiction was the next biggest category.  I just love creepy stories, I guess. Unfortunately, upon review it also looks like the theme of 2014 was disappointing horror stories, so I hope I can correct that in 2015.  

Happy reading, y'all!

Things I Read 'N' Things I Thought 2013: For Reals

So I thought I'd found and posted an old 2013 reading list, but it was really 2012 (so behiiiind...).  This is what I really read in 2013:

• A Dance With Dragons and A Feast for Crows, both by George R.R. Martin - "Welcome to Westeros: Horrible Death Awaits You!"  I threw one of them at my husband, I was so mad. I love these books.
• A Practical Wedding by Meg Keene - from one of only 2 websites I regularly looked at while planning my wedding.  Know what the point of your wedding is and stick to it.
• Insurgent  and Allegiant by Veronica Roth - I'm pretty disappointed in the wider world she creates when they venture outside the fences. But points for a surprising end.
• Bootstrapper by Mardi Jo Link - A woman's attempt to keep her farm and family together in the wake of divorce.  I like her.
• Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu - A well-done retelling of the Snow Queen that's surprisingly complex, thoughtful and downbeat for what seems to be middle grade fiction.
• Dark Places by Gillian Flynn - Most people are awful in her books but it's hard to put them down.
• Doctor Sleep by Stephen King - I THINK I liked it?  I was really shocked by the lack of terrible things happening to the main characters. 
• Drop Dead Healthy by A.J. Jacobs - From the man who brought us The Year of Living Biblically and The Know-It-All, comes more entertaining reading about a guy doing things you'd never want to do.
• Evolving in Monkey Town by Rachel Held Evans - Her personal faith journey. Dang, I'm impressed by this lady.
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - As I said, her people are awful, but so readably awful.
• How To Be A Woman by Caitlin Moran - God, I laughed so hard. Women!
• Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris - I just imagine it all in his voice and it's wonderful.
• Light by Michael Grant - The mutant teen wars are over! A pretty good ending that even covers some of the "yes, but what happened AFTER!?" stuff I always long for.
• Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel - I was probably supposed to like it. I didn't
• Locke & Key Vol. 5 - Just keeps being damned good.
• Monsterous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama - A mermaid tale that gets pretty dark. Irritating teen ghost romance.
• NOS4A2 by Joe Hill - Horrible child murders! Fantastic Powers! Damn I loved this book.  It also made me glad I'm the type of person who reads the font info at the end of the book (hint hint hint best decision EVER).
• Ramona Quimby, Age 8 - Wonderful for always.
• Room by Emma Donoghue - One of the most amazingly uniquely written books I've ever read.  Daaaang, girl!
• Snow in Summer by Jane Yolen - Appalachian Snow White. Pretty good.
• Spindles End by Robin McKinley - Sleeping Beauty retelling. Probably my 5th or 6th rereading.
• The Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 3 edited by Ellen Datlow -  Short horror stories. 30 percent awesome, the rest ok, some made me very uncomfortable.
• The Different Girl by Gordon Dahlquist - Read it. READ IT NOW!!!! Slow yet intriguing. So. Well. Written.
• The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman - Heartbreaking story written in her usual glorious, I-want-to-roll-around-in-it-forever prose.
• The Far West by Patricia C. Wrede - Final book in the Frontier Magic Trilogy. Keeps up the good work.
• The Little Women Letters by Gabrielle Donnelly - Cute chick-lit that imagines the Marches were real and these are their eerily similar descendents. The ending was a bit too much for me, but rather pleasant overall.
• The Meaning of Marriage by Timothy Keller - He seems pretty smart. I don't necessarily agree with every word, but overall valuable.
• The Mists of Avalon by Marian Zimmer Bradley - Oh my God, it's the longest book in the world. Also, let's all go punch Guinevere in the freaking FACE.
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - Oh Lord a-mighty I wish I could go to this circus.
• The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman - He continues to delight.  The ladies, they are wonderful (except for the evil lady, she's evil).
• The Other by Thomas Tryon - Well written. Pretty awful stuff. I liked it.
• The Reason for God by Timothy Keller - Again, he seems like a pretty smart guy.
• The Red Tent by Anita Diamant - I liked it much better than when I read it back in college.
• The Shining by Stephen King - Alcoholism. Ghosts. Murder. This is one of my safety blanket books.
• The Shining Girls by  Lauren Beukes - Solid. Pretty fascinating use of time travel.
• The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie by  Wendy McLure - I love the Little House books, but apparently not as much as this lady.
• Torn by Justin Lee - Good God, whatever you feel about homosexuality, can't we be more decent to people? Justin Lee: solid guy.
• Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell - So weird. So good. PRESIDENT HORSES!
• Wild Magic and Wolf Speaker by Tamora Pierce - I will love these forever.  Thanks, 12 year old me, for discovering the Immortals series.

88% New, 12% reareads. My highest "new" percentage ever! Adult (in the grown up, not dirty sense!) fantasy/sci-fi/horror takes the biggest chunk of my reading. After that, a fairly even distribution of non-fiction, fiction, and YA fantasy/horror/sci-fi. 

Things I Read 'N' Things I Thought 2012

UPDATE: Oh my God! LIES! This is actually 2012 reading!  Dude, I was REALLY behind...

I haven't been on this blog in literally years, and that's okay. I'm not really a blogger, I think I just really like summarizing what I read each year. Even if it doesn't get read, it's fun. Annual blog? It would seem so. Heck, maybe I should just take up Twitter (I'm old. I don't tweet.) since my "reviews" are mostly pretty short anyway :)  I found this 2013 Things I Read 'N' Things I thought that I apparently never posted, so here goes. The 2014 summary isn't too far away.  

 The Reads

• The Woman in Black by Susan Hill - Pretty definitely creeptastic. I'm a fan. Also, never live in a marsh that floods and traps you daily.
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - It's always charming and always makes me glad I don't have to sit on my husband's knee and show him my account book so he can see how thrifty a little homemaker I am.
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs - Odd children, odd home, odd photos, oddly enjoyable. To say more is to spoil the plot.
• The Magicians; and The Magician King by Lev Grossman - Cynical Narnia for grown ups.  I highly recommend it. (The third book, The Magician's Land, just came out and I'm excited.)
• Brandwashed by Martin Lindstrom - Really don't remember anything except being depressed and horrified.  Carl's Jr. is going to own our kids someday.
• 11/22/1963 by Stephen King - Really enjoyed it. His writing is so familiar now it's like settling down on a comfy couch.  Even if I don't end up liking one of his books, I just like hanging out with Mr. King.
• Stay Awake by Dan Chaon - Like a companion to The Lottery. As I read from story to story, I thought, "Something seems familiar..." and would scramble back through and realize certain characters or similar situations were casually linked in different stories. Cool, and a little unsettling. I like it.
• Would it Kill You To Stop Doing That? by Henry Alford - Etiquette. It was amusing and I read it it a day and I don't remember much more than that.
• The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey - First: Awesome author name. Second: Great book, excellent characters, like a very quiet, non-magical fairy tale.
• Fear by Michael Grant.  The mutant-human-good-evil-stuck-in-a-dome teen wars continue.
• Carrie by Stephen King - Plug it up! Plug it up!
• Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal - Jane Austen with magic.  I liked it until it got eye-roll-y.  Use of magic as an every day socialite skill? RAD.  Annoyingly bland romance? BLAND.  Confusing/pointless/blink-and-you-miss-it "villain" "climax"? FACEPUNCH. 
• Green Rider by Kristen Britain - Still good.
• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo - I think I liked it? One of the least vomit/rage/facepalm inducing YA books I've read in a long time.  Magicians in a sort of alt-universe fantasy Imperial Russia? I liked that twist.  Usual "oh-I'm-so-small-and-bland-and-ugly-but-suddenly-I'M-MAGIC-and-special-and-the-boys-love-me-so-it-MUST-be-a-trilogy" framework was acceptable because she was actually a pretty likeable character and the world was interesting.
• Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart - OH MY GOD, SHE'S AMAZING. She's capable! She's practical! She's earthy! She's hilarious! Read of her homesteading adventures and envy her (in an abstract, she's-great-but-I-totally-love-modern-medicine-and-sanitation kind of way).
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - Fiance was appalled I had never read it. We audiobooked it on a long road trip. HI-larioius perfection.
• Bossypants by Tina Fey - I want to go to there.
• The Rich and the Rest of Us by Tavis Smiley and Cornel West - Oh man, I live such a privileged life, I should really be helping to bring more justice to the world.
• A Game of Thrones; A Clash of Kings; and A Storm of Swords; and  by George R. R. Martin - So much death.  Everyone you love dies. NO ONE IS SAFE!
• The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin - Beautiful writing, sad story.
• Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts by Les Parrott - I totally want to save my un-started marriage! I'm pretty confident.
• Crazy Love by Francis Chan - Francis Chan face-slaps you for 10 chapters and you love him for it.
• A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans - I love this woman. I. Love. This. Woman.  I want to be a woman of valor! Also, I love my parents.

The Stats
New books 88%
Rereads 12%

Fantasy/Sci-fi/Horror 38%
Non-fiction 30% 
General Fiction 20%

YA Fantasy/Sci-fi/Horror 12%

Boy, I am proud of myself, mostly new books! Of course, if I'd read more total books that might have changed. I did a lot of start-but-not-finish books this year, which I hate doing but am trying to come to terms with. Woman, you DON'T HAVE TO FINISH IF YOU DON'T WANT TO.  It's not like wasting food, the books are still perfectly legible and accessible if you don't finish them; other people can read them or you can even try again later if you feel like it.

Things I Read 'N' Things I Thought 2011: Part 2

Onward, friends and neighbors, to Part 2 of Things I Read 'N' Things I Thought 2011.  See 2009 here, 2010 Part 1 here,  Part 2 here, and 2011 Part 1 here.

Starting with #36...

36. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein - Damn but that's one awesome dog.

37. The Betrayal of Maggie Blair by Elizabeth Laird - Ugh, religious persecution is the pits.

38. Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken - I didn't realize how much this book bothered me until I started writing this.  This what I get for reading random YA fiction. I shouldn't get so upset, but I can't help it!

• Grrr #1: You can't have a character say, "I'm not the man I was before" if your novel never actually has any character development.  
• Grrrr #2: Please, authors, PLEASE stop trying to cram so much "interesting" crap into your story that you can't do justice to ANY of it.  It's just annoying and a disservice to the few good ideas you might have that are overlooked and cowering in the shadows, terrified by the crowd.   
• (Grr #3): This book is called Brightly WOVEN.  The main girl is a WEAVER and a SEAMSTRESS.  The male lead does magic using multiple colored CLOAKS.  She has the ability to work with MAGIC in her weaving/sewing and she thinks, "What if I could make him a cloak with all the colors so he doesn't have to switch?" (I guess it's a revolutionary idea?).  The cloak design is described in detail.  She carries a fucking LOOM around for the entire book, working on the cloak.  She shows up at the castle, makes friends with the weavers, and uses their loom to finish the damned thing.  Then she ties it onto the magician and the cloak!.....looks...nice?  Very dashing?  WTF!?!?! NOTHING HAPPENS WITH THE CLOOOOOOOAK!!!!!!! NOTHING!

39. Bright's Passage by Josh Ritter - His words make my heart happy.  

40. Dealing with Dragons; Searching for Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Books 1-2) by Patrica C. Wrede - Eff, I love this woman.  So smart, so funny.  "None of this nonsense, please."

41. Dreamcatcher by Stephen King - Aliens, I guess.  I just like Jonesy, Henry, Pete and Beaver.

42. Graveminder by Melissa Marr - The Great Disappointment of 2011. 

43. Hunger Games; Catching Fire; Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, Books 1-3) by Suzanne Collins -Daaaaaaaaamn.  Horrible circumstances that actually seem to scar the characters!  Prickly, complicated, ultimately sympathetic female lead!  Attractive teen love triangle that didn't make me want to vomit and tear out my hair!

44. Legacy; Beguiled (The Sharing Knife, Books 1-2) by Lois McMaster Bujold - Slow-paced but mildly pleasant general fantasy.  The sharing knife concept is interesting.  Somehow the male lead, Dag, was only ever Christopher Eccleston in my head.  Go fig.

45. Powers (Vols. 4-8) by Brian Michael Bendis -Still rad.

46. The Princess and the Hound; The Princess and the Bear (Princess, Books 1-2)by Mette Ivie Harrison - Princess and the Hound: meh.  Princess and the Bear: like a very long German fairy tale.  Good, solid, subtle romance between flawed but decent and willing-to-work characters.  None of this twirly-skirt-fake-"sassiness"-and-perfunctory-plot-that-still-ends-in-a-vomity-luuuuuuuuurve-fest bullshit.

47. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin - 1960's style house parties sound rad.  Also, it sucks when Satan impregnates you, but I guess it's hard not to love your kid even when they are literally the devil's spawn.

48. The Thirteenth Child; Across the Great Barrier (Frontier Magic, Books 1-2) by Patricia C. Wrede - Little House on the Prairie with magical spells.  NOT a thrill-a-minute roller coaster ride. Best if you're interested in characters and the world-building skills of an author.

49. Why We Hate Us: American Disconnect in the New Millennium by Dick Meyer - Stop being an isolated, self-centered ass hole, it's not making you happy.

Reading Stats

I've had a definite fantasy/sci-fi/horror leaning, and this year it was also skewed toward YA level f/s/h.  I guess I needed a fun, easy year?

36% YA fantasy/sci-fi/horror

23% fantasy/sci-fi/horror

18% general fiction

11% general YA fiction

7% comic books

5% non-fiction

Plus side, DEFINITELY a good year for new vs. repeat readings - 89% new books! good for me! 


Note: PLEASE read something by Patricia C. Wrede if you haven't - Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Mairelon The Magician and The Magician's Ward; Snow White and Rose Red; the Frontier Magic books, anything!  Her stories and characters are just full of wit and intelligence and humor and sensibility and she writes about the use and working of magic in her worlds in such a wonderfully thought-out, practical and interesting way.

Minimalism Quotes

Well, shoot.

http://www.becomingminimalist.com/2011/04/01/minimalism-quotes/

Let the next holiday BEGIN!

Thanksgiving is over, so it's officially Christmas season!  (I fight valiantly against the terrors of Christmas Creep).  Time for Christmas music (I've updated my iPod!); egg nog (I really need to go to the grocery store); Christmas lights (they're up! my apartment looks festive and I'm no longer in danger of tripping on my stairs in the darkness and killing myself!); and, of course, a review of Christmas comics from my beloved Kate Beaton over at Hark! A Vagrant.  Enjoy.

"You guys gotta see this baby, it's crazy..."

The Good Lamp Post

"She was right about your father, though..."

Everything Makes Me Hungry Always

As you well know, I am basically a stomach shaped like a human being.  I. Love. Eating.  Everything makes me hungry.  If something random pops out of my mouth, chances are pretty good it was something like, "I really want a taco!" in the middle of a conversation having nothing to do with tacos.  I also love reading.  And I absolutely love it when authors describe the food and even preparation methods.  My sister and I agree that Farmer Boy is one of the best books in the Little House on the Prairie series and this is due largely in part to the massive quantities of food that are described in such a delicious fashion that you WANT IT ALL NOW when reading (mmmmm, flapjacks covered in butter and melting brown sugar; hand made ice cream; pies! pies! pies!).  Now I've discovered (thanks to the AMAZING www.io9.com) a website called Fictional Food, "a blog dedicated to both cooking fictional food and posting about fictional food around the internet."  It's currently mostly food from The Hunger Games and includes recipes for some of the items.  Most notably, the lamb stew with plums that made repeated appearances in the series as Katniss' favorite Capitol food.  I REALLY wanted to try it when reading about it, and here it is!  It's nice to know that other people get as hungry as I do when they're reading, and also that they've got WAY more initiative than me.