Saturday, April 20, 2019

The Flavor Thesaurus, the Texas Library Association Conference, and A Lemon Bread Disaster





  

Circe by Madeline Miller is about the world's most famous witch. I can't remember when I felt so much compassion for a character. Those gods are horrible parents and siblings and friends. Olympus is not a place you'd want to grow up. Or live. The complete review is here.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green is a brand new, yet classic John Green novel about a teen and her friend who try to find a missing person for the reward money. Of course, both teens have mental health issues and both meet boys who have a few issues of their own; it's a John Green novel, folks. The complete review is here.

Lost and Wanted: A Novel by Nell Freudenberger is science fiction and mystery and romance, but it's really the story of highly-esteemed physicist Helen Clapp and the clueless way she handles relationships. The complete review is here.

Please don't tell me you have no interest in reading The Flavor Thesaurus by Niki Segnit. I honestly don't have words for how much you need to read this book. It's for those of us who love to cook and bake, of course, but it's for you, too, even if all you do is order in restaurants. It is absolutely mesmerizing. The complete review is here.








The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (for which Wharton was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, making her the first woman to receive this award)
Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse by Timothy P. Carney (a book I brought home from the Texas Library Association Conference)









The Texas Library Association Conference was last week. I will be sharing my wonderful experience at the conference on Wednesday's post here.




Woo hoo! I've finished all ten books in My Own Books Reading Challenge set by Anne of My Head is Full of Books. Are you doing this challenge? How are you doing? The challenge ends on May 15th. 


I posted a list of Books for a Rainy Day on Tuesday. Like books about rain? Storms? Take a look at my lis here.








The lemon bread I made last week was not Instagram-worthy, I'm afraid. I have made several successful loaves of lemon bread over the last few months, and I decided to make some modifications to my recipe. Let's just say I may need to rethink substituting lemon yogurt for milk and adding lemon juice to the batter. I will not let this discourage me from my baking adventures.







The Sunday Salon 

I hope each of you will stop by Readerbuzz each weekend and post a link to your blog. I would encourage you to visit other blogs and share your thought with others. The Sunday Salon was created twelve years ago to spark conversations. My dream is to host a Sunday Salon each week with opportunities for conversations about books and book-ish things.

Other places where you may like to link up are below. Click on the picture to visit the site.



My linkup for Sunday Salon is below. If you wish to also post a link at Facebook, you can also do that. 







41 comments:

  1. Turtles All the Way Down wasn't my favorite John Green novel but I liked it a lot. You've made me very curious about The Flavor Thesaurus.

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    1. Not only was it fascinating for me to read about flavor combinations, but the author is a clever and sharp writer. I bought it as a Kindle book and I'm glad I did. I think I will refer back to it often.

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  2. I have Turtles on my shelf and though I really like John Green's novels, I haven't gotten around to it yet. I don't know why. I also have read all the books that I set out to read for Anne's challenge, but I am going to continue because it feels good to see fewer books on my shelves.

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    1. I had Turtles for over a year before I finally got to it. Thank goodness for Anne's challenge. It inspired me to get busy and read books of my own.

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  3. I am curious about Alienated America...and Turtles All the Way Down. Enjoy your week!

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    1. Alienated America is absolutely riveting. It explains so much about the current state of America, especially our recent political decisions. I'm flying through it, and I want others to read it.

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    2. I suspected the book would illuminate what is happening now, just like Hillbilly Elegy did.

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  4. I have Turtles All the Way Down but have yet to read it. Not sure why though. Lemon bread sounds yummy.

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  5. Yes, you are right. Baking is very much trial and error. I just wish it was trial and success.

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  6. As always, I look forward to your photos from the library conference.

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  7. The Flavor Thesaurus isn't something I'm looking for at this time but I've passed along the recommendation to someone who will probably love it.

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    1. I don't think I've ever been so surprised to discover a good book.

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  8. I hadn't previously heard of The Flavor Thesaurus, but it looks perfect for me! I'll take a closer look, thank you for your recommendation!
    Sorry the lemon bread tweaks didn't work out for you this time around? Hopefully the taste was still good even though the loaf crumbled a bit?

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    1. This lemon bread loaf tasted better than any other loaf I've made, but it looked awful.

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  9. The Flavor Thesaurus has me curious. I used to make everything from scratch. Not much time for cooking anymore and miss it. I'll be watching for your post about the conference. Have a lovely Easter Sunday:)

    My Sunday Post

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    1. We all go through times when we are busy and less busy. I've just finished a fourteen year very busy stretch. I'm grateful to have more time.

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  10. We are having a quiet Easter with no grands this week. We are also trying to get my new computer set up. Hope you have a wonderful week!

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    1. Good luck with the new computer! That is always a challenge, I think.

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  11. I haven't read any of those books, but they do sound interesting. I hope you have a great week!

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    1. I liked Circe so much that I'm hoping to read another book by the same author, The Song of Achilles.

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  12. Your lemon bread might not be Instagram worthy, but it still made my mouth water. :) I've yet to read anything by John Green. I remember when his first book came out and he did some author breakfasts with Borders staff. The link I posted for Sunday Salon is my current #CCspin list. Looking forward to tomorrow's number announcement.

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    1. I love the Classics Club Spins! I'm doing a variation of a spin this month...we'll see how it works out.

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  13. I’ve been curious about Circe, As for the Lemon Cake, as long as it tastes good, who cares what it looks like!

    Have a great reading week

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  14. I am firmly in the "taste is more important than looks" camp of baking. I would have loved your lemon bread, I'm sure. As always, I also love the breadth of your reading.

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    1. I want both taste and looks, so I tried again today and it's delicious and beautiful.

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  15. Congrats finishing My Own Books Reading Challenge! I didn't do this challenge, but I had considered it at the beginning of the year. I really do need to read the books I own...

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    1. This is a short-term challenge, but I think it would be good for me to do it a couple more times this year.

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  16. Mmm, Flavor Thesaurus. That book sounds delicious. I liked Turtles, but it’s not my favorite John Green book. Have a great week!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. My favorite John Green will probably always be The Fault is in Our Stars.

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  17. I really liked The Odyssey when I read it years ago and am interested in reading Circe one of these days. The Texas Library Association Conference sounds really interesting! I was hoping we might be able to sneak in a day at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books last weekend, but it wasn't meant to be. Maybe next year . . . I hope you have a great week, Deb!

    Congratulations on reading all 10 books on your My Own Books Reading Challenge list!

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  18. Circe is one I think I'd really enjoy. Hope you have a good week!

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  19. Flavor Thesaurus does sound good! And bummer on the lemon bread.

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  20. I've never read a book by John Green. Somehow they just don't appeal to me. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  21. I have had Turtles All the Way Down on my TBR for ages, maybe one day as I do like the premise of it. Oh dear for the lemon bread, I find sometimes changing up ingredients just doesn't work and sometimes is tip worthy, but maybe this one was okay to eat.

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  22. I have heard only good things about Circe, and it is on my TBR since last fall. Hopefully, I will read it this year))

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  23. If the lemon bread tastes great, - who cares about anything else? Happy Reading!

    Anne - Books of My Heart Here is my Sunday Post   

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  24. I really liked Turtles All the Way Down. :) The Flavor Thesaurus sounds fascinating!! Have a great day!

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  25. Link ups are always fun! I will try to remember to come join in each week! You read very fast to get 4 books read in a week, I do that so rarely. Normally when I'm sick, haaha. Have a good week.

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