Book Reviews in Fiction and Non-Fiction

Hello everyone,

I'm finally getting my thoughts down about all these books I've been reading.  Hopefully my mini reviews will help you discover some great new reads!  And if you're yearning for more after this I'll be writing many more posts like this in the future, usually on Wednesdays, or you can look at my Goodreads page to see my full reading history.

Without further adieu here are two of my fiction selections to start out with:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is a classic that I've watched many times on the big and small screen.  The A&E version is my favorite of course!  I couldn't help but love it after watching it at girls nights at Mrs. H's when I was a teenager.  Mrs. H had all boys and would invite the young ladies from my church for a movie night and some of her home cooking, we'd always have a great time.  I'd bought myself a copy and read part of it, but finally came back to it and read it while also reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith, going back and forth every few chapters.  I supremely enjoyed reading Austen's work, but found myself disappointed by Grahame-Smith's.  It's a period book, and Grahame-Smith nor the illustrator Philip Smiley took the time to properly research the clothing, and many other aspects of the time.  It just ruined it for me, and I didn't think the writing was particularly great either, since many aspects of characters were changed.  The dialogue was sadly much too modern in parts, which I also found jolting.  However, Austen's work engrossed me and I could easily imagine the world and characters she created between the films and her masterful prose.  There was a really lovely quote I wanted to share with you all, but I can't find it now that I'm looking.  Isn't that always the way that works?

Next up some non-fiction:

The Weekend Homesteader by Anna Hess is a great starting book for those who wish to start a home mini farm or be more self sufficient.  I really liked how it grouped different activities by the month they should be done in (more or less depending on climate of course!).  And she even ranks things by difficulty, which is helpful for those just getting started.  I found that at least half of the activities weren't the type I was interested in persuing, but still found it an interesting read.  If you're thinking about raising chickens and doing some serious work in your yard/garden this is a great read to start with.

Call the Nurse by Mary J. MacLeod is the memoir of an English nurse on the far Scottish isles of the Hebrides.  Her stories are both funny and poignant, which made me unable to put this book down.  She captures a time around 1970 when only a bit of modernization had come to the islands and many people still lived much the way their ancestors had for centuries.  Having picked this book up on a whim I'm now happy to recommend it to all of my readers who might enjoy a book of short stories that's sure to please.

My last selection in this category is Paradise Lot by Eric Toensmeier and Jonathan Bates.  This is book documenting the journey of a pair of young single gardeners as they move into their first home and change the landscape into an urban oasis.  There are bumps along the way, lots of garden talk, and a bit of romance too.  I found it was a very insightful book for those looking to create edible gardens, but it's written more as a story that just happens to involve lots of plant life than a guide to growing.  It's an amusing read if you're into gardening and ecology, but a bit less approachable compared to the other two books above.

On a related note I've been writing an entry about gardening at our new house to share with you all next week.  I want to show you the whole house, but I'm not quite happy with everything just yet.  So I'm delaying the post on that until I can get things up to snuff.  Between the house, yard, fashioning my capsule wardrobe, games with Bryan's family, planning trips for summer and fall, making art, and reading I've been keeping quite busy!  I'll see you all Friday for another fashion themed post.  Till then keep being wonderful.

Love,
Lydia

Getting to Know You: Durham

Hey folks,

So Bryan and I have lived in Raleigh the past 2 and a half years and we explored the city a bit.  But Bryan grew up there and knew a lot of interesting things to do and we didn't even get to all of them before moving.  Now here we are in Durham and I can't wait to find new places to eat, shop and hang out around town!

One of my goals is to try a new restaurant every month, and since we go for a date night once a week it's perfect for trying them.  I thought I'd share some of our discoveries with you all since some of you might be locals or visiting Durham sometime!

Our June discovery was The Blue Corn Cafe.  They're a fantastic little family run restaurant on 9th St near Duke University.  They specialize in Latin American foods of all kinds.  I think Bryan and I were both a little nervous since we're not as familiar with most of the foods on the menu, but everything we had was delicious!  We tried their chips and queso with refried beans as well as their homemade salsa, which all had just the right balance of savory and spicy flavors.  Bryan had the Ropa Vieja, it's a steamed beef dish with red sauce over saffron rice.  He also had a side of Cuban bread with it, which proved to be a favorite.  The Ropa Vieja is definitely a comfort food type of dish, it's hearty with a good bit of spice, but not too much for a wimp like me.  And then I had the fish special of the day, which featured locally caught fish over rice with salsa (spicier than I thought it might be, but so good!), as well as fried plantains, and a side of refried beans.  While I really enjoyed it I'm looking forward to going back for the Chicken and Mole, and Bryan has already asked to return for some Ropa Vieja.  The staff at Blue Corn was fantastic and we felt so welcome during our visit.  We hope you'll stop by and check them out too!

Now that July is here we decided to head back the the 9th St neighborhood and try out Heavenly Buffaloes.  I had seen them on Google maps, which can sometimes go really well, but can also have interesting results.  In this case it was both!  I got all dressed up thinking we'd be going inside and sitting down, but when we got to the restaurant it was actually just a cute little place with an order window.  We weren't perturbed though, and since Bryan and I had been thinking about wings all day we decided it would be a good night to watch a movie together at home.  So we tried out the Honey BBQ, (good, but not a stand out) Carolina Honey Mustard (sooooo good, I don't know how I'll manage to try many more sauces because I know I'll always want to get this one now), and the Zesty Garlic Parmesan (just the perfect amount of spice with plenty of complexity to the flavor, Bryan loved it), with a side of waffle fries that were also seasoned with Garlic Parmesan (great flavor too, but eat them before they get cold or they're not nearly as good).  I loved it and Bryan enjoyed it too, though I think we was slightly more disappointed it wasn't a place we could go inside to eat.  However, they do have late night hours Wednesday-Saturday, so I think we've found our late night food stop.

Hope you find some good eats too.  Feel free to tell me about your local favorites in the comments!  Until next time.

Love,

Lydia