I am currently 9 days into Whole30 so I won’t be celebrating this 14 Juillet like I usually do- at a restaurant with other Francophiles, French food, and wine. Even though I’m mostly staying home for the day, I thought I’d share what I’ll be up to and a few other ideas for those of you who don’t want to or can’t go to a Bastille Day fest. Most of these are free and can be done in the comfort…
This book is about a really dumb girl who makes terrible choices that cause really bad things to happen. It’s a shame because aside from the main character, this is a fantastic story. Well, mostly. The world and other characters are interesting but Heloise… Heloise! There is nothing good about you. The choices she makes are so bad that if this were not a book there isn’t a chance that she would have lived to age 16. All throughout the…
I read The Paris Wife earlier this year for a book club and really enjoyed it, so when I found out the same author was writing another book about another one of Hemingway’s four wives I knew I had to read it. In addition to learning about Martha Gelhorn’s life and her relationship with Ernest Hemingway in Love and Ruin, I love that the reader also learns so much about history and the way of life at that time. Marty…
Paris, June 2014 Bonjour Mercredi! It has been a topsy-turvy few months for me. I’m transitioning into not working outside of the house. I hesitate to use the words “homemaker” and “housewife” because the former I don’t like and the latter, well, I feel like it is different today than it was in the mid-20th century. So I’ve been exploring what this new life of mine is going to look like. Mostly, cat nanny. On to the French things this…
I almost didn’t get through this one. I received Unbury Carol from a giveaway at ECCC and it was one of several that I really looked forward to reading. I’m conflicted because there were several good qualities to this book but overall it really didn’t do it for me. As you can tell from the description, Carol has these spells in which she appears to be dead but she isn’t. Her husband decides to bury her alive because she makes…
It’s April 8th and Spring temps aren’t anywhere in sight in Seattle. From what I can tell it is still in hiding across the country. Maybe soon?
Strange Practice is about Greta Helsing, descendent of the Van Helsings and doctor to the undead, and three of her friends trying to find the person (or persons) terrorizing London. Overall, I really liked this book. It has unique characters and I’ve discovered recently that I really enjoy a book with a medical or scientific theme that is written so that the non-scientifically inclined can understand and enjoy it. However, I did have several issues with the book. Until the…
When Clotilde Dusoulier announced that she was coming out with her fifth book I may have lost it a little. In a good way. I have all of her books, love her blog (Chocolate and Zucchini, which is one of the first blogs I ever read), and even hired her for a food tour of Montmartre when we were in Paris in January 2017. She has such a healthful and unique approach to food, using and combining ingredients I never…
Bonjour and happy Wednesday. I spent last week recovering from ECCC and going to even more author events. On Monday I went to see Anne Bishop and Patricia Briggs at the University Bookstore and on Wednesday I went to see Zack Davisson, who did a presentation on the supernatural cats of Japan. This week I had a new book club meeting on Monday and tonight I am going to see Leslye Walton (I know her from The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows…
Bonjour and happy Wednesday. And happy March! Where did February go? That month was pretty uneventful for me and then March kicked off with Emerald City Comic Con and four author events to follow throughout the month. It’s a great month to be into books.BookI am so excited to have made it on to the launch team for Clotilde Dusoulier’s new book, Tasting Paris. It will feature 100 recipes to make me (and you) feel like I am one step…