Book Club Review: The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman

Another gathering of the Lit Wits last night, and another lovely evening with great food and good company (thank you, Sarah!).  This month's book selection?   The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman, a New York Times best selling debut novel which follows the topsy-turvy private lives of the reporters, editors, and executives of an international English language newspaper based in Rome as they struggle to keep it—and themselves—afloat.

This book reads like a collection of short stories, tied together by the backdrop of the newspaper. Personally, I found it hard to feel a real connection to the book, just as soon as I would get interested in a character...poof, they're gone.  Others found this the very aspect that kept them interested, different strokes and all that you know.  Apparently others also found it quite funny , the humor somehow escaped me.  Again, different stokes... 

Overall, I would say 5 of the 8 in our group would highly recommend this book... personally, it wasn't a memorable choice.  I decided I would have preferred it in movie format, Robert Altman directing in "Short Cuts" style... 

"Short Cuts"

It wouldn't be Book Club without some fun treats... we, of course enjoyed an Italian dinner (when was the last time you had chianti?) topped off by gelato and cannoli's (seriously, how many weight watchers points can I kill in one sitting?).  YUMMO.  Our dear Jana brought the party favors, as always she amazed us with her creativity ... you'll have to read the book to figure out the significance.

"It is Better to Live Your Life Imperfectly...

than to Live an Imitation of Someone Else's to Perfection"

Next up?

Tasty Tuesday - Raspberry Tart!

Just Sweet and Sweetly Hot Raspberry Jam - Paula's Garden on etsy

Hold onto your hats, friends... two posts in three days!  

I know, I can hardly contain myself either.

Being it is THAT time of year, I have 4 events in the next 4 days which require me to contribute a dish of some sort... have I mentioned I am NOT a cook?  Have I mentioned I was smart enough to marry a man who can whip up a gourmet dish from half a jar of peanut butter and an onion?  Ok, perhaps that is a bit of an exaggeration, but he does possess some pretty remarkable culinary skills for which I am eternally grateful.  But it is a busy time, and I think I am on my own this week in the "bring a dish to share" department.

Book Club last week was hosted by my beautiful and gracious neighbor, Sherry... she gifted us all a tart pan along with a recipe for the YUMILICOUS appetizer she served (along with some YUMILICOUS cocktails).

Seriously, Book Club with adult beverages, fattening food, AND gifts?  Makes it worth reading a few less than remarkable books.  

So, we start with the tart pan...

I must say, there is something really cute about a tart pan.

Williams Sonoma Fluted French Tart Pan

And here is the recipe... which was included with the pan and all wrapped up with a lovely bow!

Even I, with my limited chef skills, ought to be able to pull this one off... to the store I go to load up on cheese and raspberry preserves.  Do you think it REALLY matters if I shred my own cheese?

Post Script... if you can find the pre-shredded Velveeta I would highly recommend it for this recipe.  I tried to shred my own, and it's a bit like trying to shred cream cheese.  GOOD TIMES... not.  Also, this can be done directly in a shallow pie plate or tart dish allowing you to skip the Pam and flipping onto a plate part of the recipe... a very good idea for a kitchen klutz such as myself.

Book Club Review: The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli

Ok, I'm going to start this with a confession, get it off my chest and be done with it... I DID NOT FINISH THE BOOK (insert lightning strike).  There, I said it.  I totally would have picked this book, it seemed like something I would enjoy, but halfway through when I was CHOOSING to unload the dishwasher rather than read ONE MORE WORD, I bailed.  Cannot put my finger on what it was I disliked so much... her writing style made me a little crazy, I didn't really connect with any of the characters, the subject matter was depressing at a time I didn't feel like being depressed... I don't know, but this one definitely was not for me.  Fortunately for you, most of my book club differed with my opinion (not the first or the last time)... so my recommendation would be for you to decide for yourself. 

Regardless, it was yet another fun-filled evening with my gals, The Lit Wits (THANK YOU Lauren for our new name!)... The Lotus Eaters is set in the Vietnam War, and we were treated to some awesome food from a local Vietnamese noodle house.  

Look at us, thinking we are so savvy and chic, chopsticks and everything... and yes, they have figured me out (LESLI, watch out... she's going to BLOG you!).   WhatEVAH... I think they secretly dig their newfound celebrity status.  She posed, didn't she?

Apparently we have a new member... meet MS. BELL.  Put eight smart, opinionated, strong loud women around a table, add food and wine and a HOT topic and what do you get?  THE VIEW on steroids... enter, MS. BELL.  Ring the bell and IN THEORY you get the floor... that's how it is supposed to work anyway.  But considering she wasn't doing her job very well, I think Ms.Bell is still on probationary status... 

Of course, it wouldn't be book club without Jana's notes.  Seriously, this is what happens when a corporate woman becomes a stay-at-home mom... JUST SAYIN'... but how much DO we love Jana?!?

For dessert and to celebrate the lovely Teri's birthday... Snickers Pie and Red Velvet Cupcakes.  I'm sure you had no idea these were Vietnamese delicacies... really... would I lie?

And finally... Jana (yes, the same Jana of the Type A note taking... she's complex) brought party favors (I won't explain the significance so as not to be a spoiler, but she had to do some serious sweet talking at the local pharmacy to snag 8 empty pill bottles... I'm thinking with the 4 year old tagging along she didn't look much like a drug dealer) and sparklers again.  I'm not really sure why we keep ending the night by lighting stuff on fire, but hey, I'm not going to argue... 

Ready for The Lit Wit's next selection?  It's a "chickaliscious" read (yep, one member who will remain anonymous  birthday girl  nearly stroked out at this description... she likes SERIOUS literature people!) perfect to accompany you while lounging by a body of water with a drink sporting a little pink umbrella. 

Until next month, Book Clubbers... 

Book Club Review: One Day by David Nicholls

Another successful Book Club evening... we're still discussing the name issue, but I think we have it narrowed down to two of the awesome suggestions by you creative readers from yesterday.  As I mentioned, our book this month was One Day by David Nicholls.  Dear Daughter drew this rendition of the cover on my white board...

Our friend Teri had not quite finished, so she banished herself to the kitchen to finish up while we all enjoyed dinner in the dining room... go Teri go! She made me feel better, since I myself did not finish the book until 3:30 yesterday afternoon... it does make me feel like a college freshman cramming before a big test when I'm frantically trying to finish my book club book.

The general opinion of this book was positive... it is well written, flows nicely, and the story is interesting.  The author does a great job of getting the reader invested in the characters, and we appreciated the fact that you hear the story from more than one character's viewpoint.

Apparently, this is being released as a movie this summer (yes, we are planning Book Club Movie Night at the Alamo!) and we discussed who might play the two main characters if we were casting the movie... although they are now probably too old for these parts, Hugh Grant and Kate Winslet would have been my first choices.  I googled the movie and found... One Day, starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess.

All wrong!  I like Anne Hathaway, but she is SO NOT EMMA.  For one thing, why don't they have a British actress playing a British girl?  That bugs me... anyway, back to the book.

The general theme of the book is a reminder that you should never wait for "one day"... life can change on a dime and that "one day" might never actually come. Jana likes to bring "party favors" to Book Club, this month we received a jar of that really bad, fake nacho cheese.  I suppose you will have to read the book to figure out the significance... if you have read it, tell me what you think Jana was thinking?

The jar of stinky bad cheese has a formula attached... sure makes you think, doesn't it?  Never put off until tomorrow what you can do TODAY...

Want to "join" our Book Club?  Here is our next selection:

The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli

Book Club, Schmook Club...

Book Club Bookmark

Hosting Book Club at my house tonight... as some of you may remember, our last Book Club Meeting was a full blown, themed out extravaganza.

Our selection this month, One Day by David Nicholls, did not lend itself to quite as much excitement in the planning, but I'm sure it will be a rollicking evening nonetheless.  This bunch could make a discussion of the dictionary entertaining.

With that in mind, here is our dilemma... we need a NAME.  We've decided we need something more interesting to call our little bunch of merry book lovers than just BOOK CLUB.  Help me out here, blog friends.  Give us some suggestions... I will share them with the girls and if they pick your idea I will even send you a special little thank you surprise.  Get creative, I have faith... the BOOK CLUB girls are counting on you.

My Book Club Print

Book Club Wine Charms

Book Club Coasters

The Year of the Book Club...

Last night was Book Club Night... as I mentioned in Feeling Kind of Bookish, I joined an amazing book club this year.  Sometimes I have had to literally force myself to finish the book (makes me feel like I'm back in college when I have to pull an all-nighter to finish my assignment!), but this month I breezed right through this controversial non-fiction selection...

With this in mind, our gracious host, Jana, spoiled us with an awesome Asian inspired evening... decorations included beautiful Chinese Paper Lanterns that she found at Cost Plus World Market...

Dinner was a spread of sushi and Chinese dishes served complete with chop sticks... oh no, I don't attempt the chop sticks!

Vintage Set of Chopsticks

She made some ADORABLE wine charms (BUMMED I forgot to snap a pic of those), individually labeled with our Chinese zodiac sign... I am the Year of the Snake.  OUCH.  That doesn't sound very nice, but I do like this...

Chinese Zodiac Charm Medallion Necklace

General consensus, most of us liked the book.  We definitely have a few borderline Tiger Mothers in our group, and a few that would be classified as more of the Lamb Mother variety.  Of course, that diversity inspired some rousing debate... good times!

But the MOST fun was "Tiger Mother Jeopardy"... yes, we played a rousing game of Alex Trebek style Q&A (I suppose that should be A&Q as answers MUST be in the form of a question).  Jana took on the game show host duties and we were divided into two teams to answer questions such as this "Sophia or LuLu for 300" question (or is it answer?)... "This person left teeth marks on the piano due to her frustration with practicing"... Jana begins counting down exactly (more or less) 12.5 seconds... WHO WAS SOPHIA?  Is that your FINAL answer?  DING, DING, DING, DING... That is CORRECT!  

Happy to report my team came out with a victory... and went home with this awesome yummy prize!

Emily's Dark Chocolate Fortune Cookies

We ended the evening with... SPARKLERS!  Yep, a bunch of old (but still cute) moms in the backyard trying not to light each other on fire... quite a sight if the neighbors had been brave enough to peek over the fence...

Next month is at my house... holy cow, NO PRESSURE!  How do I follow this extravaganza???  My book selection...

If anyone has read it, PLEASE help a girl out and share some theme suggestions... feels like I am having to sing after Carrie Underwood on American Idol.  OY.

Speaking of Monks and Mutts...

Awhile back I posted about reading Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother for my book club.  I am about halfway into the book and came across a chapter where Tiger Mom goes against her long held "no pets" policy and bribes one of her daughter's with a puppy to get her to master a particular piano piece.  With characteristic Tiger Mom fervor, she tackles raising the puppy with the same Dragon Mother tactics she applies to raising children and finds this book, which she hails as the best for dog training...

The Art of Raising a Puppy

OH NO.  Maybe I AM the Dragon Mother... this is the BIBLE of puppy training.  At least it has been MY bible.  Seriously, if you have a new puppy there is no point in reading anything else... and it reads like a great novel, which makes it so much better.  Let's be serious, reading a puppy training book sounds about as appealing as chewing glass.  This book follows a litter of German Shepard pups born and raised in the monastery and it is just beautifully written... it holds a place of high honor on my bookshelf.  Throws me for a bit of a loop that my love for the Monk's philosophy may place me into the Tiger Mother category.  YIKES.

We had a German Shepard when I was a little girl... before our love affair with Standard Poodles began.  His name was Baron, and he was beautiful, smart, and a great protector.  He also had an affection for Krispy Kreme donuts and would regularly run away only to be found at the back door waiting for them to throw out the leftovers...

He also once ate a couch... the entire couch.  WHOOPS... needless to say, Mimi was NOT a Tiger Mother.

Vintage-hand-carved-hand-painted-german-shepard-figurine

Feeling kind of bookish...

Starting my latest book club selection today...

I'm interested to read this book because I have some friends who think I might fall into the Dragon Mother category... hmmm... one of them happens to BE in my book club, so the discussion could get very interesting. My book club is a wonderful group of sassy, smart women... we are all in similar stages in life,  but have many different life experiences and that just makes it incredibly fun.  We have a tendency to get really loud and rowdy, one member has resorted to raising her hand and waving it around like Horshack on "Welcome Back Kotter" to get our attention... the junior high son of one of our members posted on his facebook status the night we were at her house, "My mom and her friends are being so loud downstairs I can't hear myself think..."  HA!  How is that for turning the tables on your kids?

Thanks to my hubby's stellar golfing skills I became the proud owner of a Kindle last year (yep, he won it in a tournament).. and pulling out my Kindle to start reading I realize I need a MUCH cuter cover.  I don't know WHY I need a cuter cover, but I think I do.   Having an e-book took a little getting used to, but I have been wholly converted.  However, I still need it to FEEL like a book... there are some GREAT covers that can help with this issue and I started searching for a few on etsy... this pic shows how they open up and hold the Kindle, and still keep it feeling like a "book"...

You can find this one here... http://www.etsy.com/listing/67568939/kindle-cover-fits-kindle-2-kindle-3-sony

Really cute, I love the color... here's another with a very cool feature that allows you to stand it up to read... maybe while you are working out (OR NOT):

If you like this, here is the listing... and yes it is DOGGONE CUTE!  http://www.etsy.com/listing/67272797/doggone-cute-kindle12-or-3-or-e-reader

Finally I found this one... which I think is my personal fave has a probable future with me...

So cute... I love the colors, and it reminds me of a fabulous once-in-a-lifetime vacation to Paris I took with my family a few years back... This seller has tons of cute stuff, and she's an Austin girl, so close to my Longhorn heart... http://www.etsy.com/shop/beesocks?ref=pr_shop

Now... off to start reading about the Dragon Mother... and secretly hoping I don't see TOO much of myself in this book.