catchy name

What I read last month: June 2009

Yesterday
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This month I gave up on a lot of books I started, and only finished these:

June 09 reads

That's seven books, but it doesn't feel like many to me. . . Favorites for the month:

A Catch of Consequence (Makepeace Hedley)

I heart this book series: the Makepeace Hedley books

3 days ago
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I finished A Catch of Consequence over the weekend, moved on to Taking Liberties (which I just finished at lunch today), and am now on The Sparks Fly Upward. I think all in all, this book series only cost me about $12. It's worth that and more!

I usually don't buy books before reading them, but I had read Ariana Franklin/Diana Norman's "Mistress of the Art of Death" books and enjoyed them, so I figured these were a safe bet (plus, the Austin Public Library doesn't carry the first two). Who knew how much I would enjoy books based during the Revolutionary War! It's likely the atypical characters that make the books such an addictive read. Well, that and the feminism, race relations, politics and touch of romance.

Concert tonight: Gomez!

Jun 8, 2009
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Revolutionary Kind (live)

Gomez

[ track on Amazon]. I'm so looking forward to their concert tonight. The first concert of theirs I went to was a post-ACL concert they did with Guster about 4-5 years ago. My pal G and I went mainly for Guster, but they were such a let-down compared to Gomez' amazing live show. So when Gomez played an off-tour concert here a couple years back, we went to that one. And they are playing tonight at Stubb's! They may be one of the few bands whose outside show I will pay to see.

What I read last month: May 09

Jun 1, 2009
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Among the 14 books (!) I read this month, I had a good number of favorites: The Condition, No One You Know, The Help, The Rose of Sebastopol and The Last Bachelor. I found Kristin Chenoweth's book quite enjoyable, but I wish it had more details in parts.

May 09 reads

Note to self, vol. 2

May 17, 2009
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I let my friends who are new parents borrow these:

Burn Notice - Season One

Alias - The Complete First Season

Gilmore Girls - The Complete First Season

Dreamgirls (Widescreen Edition)

The Holiday

They said there's nothing on TV at 2am or 5am except for poker. So I figured these would be a better alternative for nursing times.

Book Review I wrote for Austinist

May 14, 2009
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Author Laura Dave In Town This Week [The Divorce Party] - Austinist: Austin News, Food, Arts & Event

http://austinist.com/2009/05/13/autho...

Author Laura Dave will be in town this week to promote her second novel, The Divorce Party, now in paperback. Whereas her first novel, London Is the Best City in America, focuses on the events surrounding a wedding, the action in The Divorce Party takes place within a 24-hour period in which Gwyn, a sixty-something Montauk housewife, throws a fete for her divorce. The novel is divided in four parts, with each part split among the characters of Gwyn and her soon-to-be daughter-in-law Maggie. While Gwyn is facing the end of a thirty-five year marriage, Maggie is coming to grips with her own commitment issues.

Honestly, I liked her London Is the Best City in America better.

London Is the Best City in America

The Divorce Party: A Novel

What I read last month: April 2009

May 1, 2009
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Well, April was another month where I had some stops and starts. I started reading these two and gave up on them:

The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives

I really liked The Drunkard's Walk, but I was getting frustrated at how long it was taking me to read it (mainly because it required concentration, and I just wasn't in the right mindset for that this month). Amy and Isabelle was just depressing, and I didn't care for the main characters. I got about a third of the way through both of these before moving on to other books.

April 09 reads

Favorite books this month: The last two of the Margaret of Ashbury trilogy (In Pursuit of the Green Lion and The Water Devil). I'm so sad that I have now read all of Judith Merkle Riley's books, because I have no more to look forward to for a while. I hope she's working on a book right now!

I also enjoyed part 1 of the "Frederick Wentworth, Captain" books (None But You), because I'm a sucker for Persuasion, and the novel is quite well-written. Part 2, For You Alone, was disappointing in comparison, though.

Pinker Tones on KCRW

Apr 30, 2009
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Awesome. I love these guys. They visited KCRW yesterday.

KCRW player - Pinker Tones

Mediterranean Orzo Salad

Apr 21, 2009
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I made an orzo salad this weekend by mixing up two recipes I found online. Sorry there are no pictures, but trust me, it came out light and yummy. You can use just 1 cup orzo, I just felt the balance was better with more of it.

Greek/Mediterranean Orzo Salad

adapted from Cooking Light and Midwest Living

1-1/2 cups dried orzo

2 roma tomatoes, chopped

3 tablespoons chopped pitted kalamata olives

3 tablespoons chopped red onion

2 cups bagged prewashed baby spinach

1/3 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 small clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon oregano

Ground black pepper

Feta cheese (I added later)

1. Cook the orzo according to package directions, omitting salt. Drain; rinse with cold water.

2. Combine orzo, tomatoes, olives, onion, and spinach in a large bowl.

3. For dressing: In a small bowl, place olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and oregano. Stir with a fork. Pour dressing over the pasta mixture; toss to coat. Season to taste with ground black pepper. Cover; chill in the refrigerator for 2 to 24 hours.

4. When serving, add a small sprinkle of feta cheese to each bowl.

I'm still eating the leftovers, but I don't mind a bit.

crispy chewy chocolate chip cookies | smitten kitchen

Apr 21, 2009
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crispy chewy chocolate chip cookies | smitten kitchen

http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/03/cri...

I made these for a baby shower this weekend. I loved how they came out, but next time I'm using less chocolate chips. These were way too messy and melty with a full bag of chips in.