The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope

This was my pick for book club this year.  I picked it because someone recommended it.  I liked it, most in the book club liked it too.  It's a tad bizarre but that made for an interesting discussion:)

Kathleen Grissom’s Molasses Cake

This was September's book choice and 9 out of 10 LOVED it.  The other one liked it:)  We had a great discussion and a yummy dinner.

 

And, then dessert was served.  There is a recipe in the back for Molasses Cake.  It reminded me of a gingerbread cookie and needed a little more sweet in my opinion so I made a yummy fresh whipped cream with powdered sugar instead of regular.  The bonus was that my house smelled like Christmas:)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter softened

• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup milk ~ I used skim

• 1 cup molasses ~ I used mild flavor

• 2 cups flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 2 dashes ground cloves

• 1/4 teaspoon salt ~ I did not add salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan or use a mini cake pan.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg. Add the milk and the molasses. Add the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and cloves.

Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Bake for approximately 45 minutes for the 8 inch square pan or 25 minutes for the mini cake pan, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I double the recipe and baked in a 13x9 pan for about 40-45 minutes.

To make the whipped cream

Small container of Whipped Cream
1 t Vanilla extract

Whip it until it's firming up. Add 3/4 Powdered Sugar and whip until stiff. It's PURE heaven

Beautiful Ruins

Book club for July was this book.  I enjoyed the beginning, middle got a little bit slow for me but I LOVED the end.  It was a perfect book for summer.

Book Club Pick

Book club picked a winner last month.  It's a modern classic according to Wikipedia.  And, Alfred Hitchcock made a movie about it years ago.  It started out a little slow but her style of writing drew you in and it was a page turner by the end.  It was also the best book discussion I think we've ever had.  So many different things to discuss and I thoroughly enjoyed it so I thought I'd pass it on.  OH and the bonus is, the library has several copies if you live locally.



Thanks Amazon for the photo.

Book

I started my summer with a good book and I'm ending my summer with one too. Easy read and a glossary in the back to help.

You can order it from Amazon for as little as $1.89 used. Thanks Amazon for the image:)

The Hunger Games

Borrowed the photo from Amazon


I was sucked in almost immediately. It's a triology and I read all the books in a week. I believe they were written for the "Tween" generation but I thought they were PERFECT summer reading!

Minding Frankie

Last day of school so I thought I'd kick off summer with a good book.

You know my rule...I don't give you a book report, I just tell you that I liked it. There is one chapter where I needed kleenex but you'll know it's coming.

I think this is the best book I've read this year. I bought my copy used from Amazon and that's where I grabbed the photo from too.

Book that makes you say Hmmm

I received Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter as a gift. I finally got around to reading it on my vacation and let me say, hmmmmmm. They had random "facts" throughout the book to validate their claim that Abe Lincoln was a Vampire Hunter.

Kristen had already read the book and about half way through I asked, "Did you Google any of this"?

"Yep and it's true".

That made me say HMMMMMM a little louder. It's a quick read so give it a go and let me know what you think. Was our 16th President a Vampire Hunter??


Thanks Amazon for the photo.

Easy Cheesy Book 2

I was cleaning out a cupboard and came across a book that I completely forgot about from a couple of years ago. I read it while waiting for my son to come out of the rink or a game to start. Pretty Little Mistakes by Heather McElhatton
Thanks again Amazon for the image.

This book is a choose your path book...college or travel and then it goes from there. You make a choice after reading a few pages, turn to the page that coordinates with your "choice". The path you choose can be anything stupid, to funny to a bit disturbing. Each "story" line only takes about 20 minute maximum to read through, sometimes it ends abruptly in a few minutes. I don't recall many "Happily Ever After" endings but maybe I made bad choices, lol. There are over 150 different endings. So, if you missed it when it was all the rage, pick it up now for a good discount:)

A Christmas Memory

My book club opted to not read a book this month since everyone was so busy. However, it was suggested we might want to pick up A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote.

It's 38 touching pages that I'm glad I spent the time to read.

Thank you Amazon for the image.

Easy Cheesy BOOKS

My Mom turned me on to this series. I guess they aren't really "cheesy" but they are great for waiting for your kid to get out of the rink reading. You can pick it up and read a few pages and be good to come back to it when you get a chance. They have some giggles, they have some adventure, that are easy to read and don't require any hard thinking or remembering.

They have them at the library, you don't have to read them in order but you can if you want and so far there are 16 books in the series.

Check out Stephanie Plum the Bounty Hunter by Janet Evanovich.
Thanks Amazon for the photo.

Books

As you know I love a good book. I avoided this one for awhile because I heard mixed reviews. But, I kept seeing it EVERYwhere I went and then there it was at the library, so I gave it a go. For me, it was tough to get into. It took me about 100 pages before I was sucked in and yes, I was sucked in. There are three books total and I admit, I ran to the book store to buy the second one and then the third.


The second book was actually my favorite of the three

And, finally the last one.

Book Club

My life detours usually involve food or books. I've given you a bunch of my favorite recipes and have more to come. But, I thought I would also mention three books that I have recently read and enjoyed.

I won't give you a book report because "I" prefer for people to say, "I liked it" or "I didn't". BUT, you can tell me if I will need tissues. I don't like to be caught off guard at the pool or hockey rink bawling my eyes out.

I think when you read a book, it depends on your frame of mind whether or not you'll like it. There is the exception of the horribly written book that you should save a friend from purchasing but 99% of the time, I think people should form their own opinion as to if they like a book or not. With that said, here are a few of my recent favorites.

The first one is The Help by Kathryn Stockett

January's assigned book was The Help and I had absolutely NO idea what it was about when I picked it up. I wasn't expecting it to be a book that I would fly through. It is a book about the maids and their employers in the south in the 1960s. I laughed, I was horrified...I really enjoyed it.

The next one is The Art of Racing in The Rain by Garth Stein

This is June's book. I started it Friday night before bed and finished it Saturday afternoon. It is a dog telling the life story of his owner. The book kept my interest as I read it and I really liked the ending.

And, last is Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

This was my choice for August. A friend told me that she loved the book and we typically like the same type of books so I gave it a try. I really liked it but I would read the last 75 pages in the privacy of your own home. Lots of emotions going on and I was very glad I wasn't at the pool reading it.