October (2016) Books – All these books can be found in your local library!
As many of you know, I try to alternate fiction and non-fiction books. I am always looking for new ways to stimulate my mind and not get caught up in the fiction world. Not that a really good fiction book can’t be stimulating, but if I didn’t restrict myself that would be all I would read!
Cook It in Cast Iron: America’s Test Kitchen, Google Books, 2016.
For many reasons Cook’s Country is huge in the public libraries. We subscribe to the monthly magazines and they usually fly off the shelf. Cook’s Country contains easy to follow recipes that have been tested in commercial kitchens. The testers follow the recipes as stated and then make suggestions on how the recipe could be improved. The new instructions would most likely be easier to follow instructions or a healthier version of the same recipe. The cookbook I read was a compilation of such recipes but all the recipes were cooked or created in a cast iron pan or skillet. 
On page 8 the testers review the best cast iron skillets in the marketplace. They tested dozens of skillets and offer their honest comments on each. The book also contains many appealing recipes that I could see myself making, A scrumptious potpie recipe is listed below. I have not gone out to buy a new skillet but am considering asking for one for Christmas, the kids are always wondering what to buy me and this would be a good gift that wouldn’t cost too much. 👍
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| Cast Iron skillet Chicken Pot Pie recipe |
Cooks Country website has lots of tips and recipes.
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah, St. Martin’s Press, 2010.
The novel is about two sisters who need to care for their aging parents. Each sister, Meredith and Nina, deal with their parents differently. One tries escaping and one tries ignoring the reality. They grew up in a cold home without much conversation between the sisters and the mother. If it were not for each other, and their father, they would have had a very lonely childhood. When the father gets sick, the mother must take on a more active roll and it is then that the sisters learn to appreciate their mother.
I did not enjoy this story. I thought is was strange. I never felt any sympathy for the characters and I didn’t like the plot. I forced myself to finish the book because a patron said she thoroughly enjoyed it. Probably won’t read another Kristin Hannah book again. I tried reading Nightingale last year by the same author and didn’t like that one either. 👎
Don’t Try to Find Me by Holly Brown, William Marrow Publishing, 2014.
After completing a Google search on books similar to Girl on the Train, I came up with a list of contenders. I chose this one to read because the reviews were good. I dove in and was not disappointed. Marley, a 14 yr. old run away is trying to find her way in the world. She meets someone on Facebook who makes many promises to her and she soon finds out that people sometimes are not what they say they are- a tough lesson to learn at any age. Marley’s parents turn to Social Media to locate their daughter. Many secrets are revealed once the spotlight is turned on them; as they become under suspicion from the police. A true page turner and one I highly recommend. 👍
Next month I will include a review on The Girl with No Past, by an English writer Kathryn Croft. …so far very good! And a new book I picked up at the library last night, a memoir written by Frances Stroh called Beer Money. The title caught my eye 🙂
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