August 13, 2022
I am hosting my book group on Wednesday night. What I love is that hosting this group does not mean that I am doing a lot of work; these women are neither fussy nor judgmental. Hopefully the weather will be nice, and we can sit out by the pool...or maybe in it! We will be discussing THE TOBACCO WIVES by Adele Myers, and I am hoping that as I read it, there will be inspiration about something to serve. I considered having Adele join us for this meeting, but if we are floating in the pool during the discussion, that is not going to work!
August 12, 2022
Yippee! The air conditioner on the one side of the house is working again. I was able to stop being a nomad in my own home. My laptop and I were working all around the house on Monday and Tuesday. And I think/hope/pray that the brutal heat wave has ended, and we are able to stop watching flowers wilt. So many flowers and plants dried out, despite being watered every other day. We definitely need to get some fertilizing going. Anyone with ideas for what to do for reviving hydrangeas whose growth is stunted and have not flowered well for two years, I am all ears. Also, now that I have the air conditioning back on, you can plan on temps in the 80s in the New York area.
Editorial Content for Bark to the Future: A Chet & Bernie Mystery
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
BARK TO THE FUTURE is the latest doggie mystery featuring the charismatic narrator Chet, a distinctive black Shepherd mix with one white ear, who tells the story as only a canine might. And in the capable paws --- er, hands --- of author Spencer Quinn, we chuckle and nod our heads in amusement as we realize that Chet's narrative is just what our dogs might say if only we could understand them. Read More
Teaser
When Chet the dog and his human partner, PI Bernie Little, are approached by a down-and-out older man with a cardboard sign at an exit ramp, Bernie is shocked to discover the man is a former teammate from his high school baseball team. Chet and Bernie take Rocket out for a good meal, and later, Bernie investigates Rocket’s past, trying to figure out what exactly went wrong. Then, Rocket goes suspiciously missing. Bernie goes back to his old high school for answers, where much that he remembers turns out not to be true --- and there are powerful and dangerous people not happy with the questions Bernie is asking. Now, Chet and Bernie are plunged into a dangerous case where the past isn’t dead and the future could be fatal.
Promo
When Chet the dog and his human partner, PI Bernie Little, are approached by a down-and-out older man with a cardboard sign at an exit ramp, Bernie is shocked to discover the man is a former teammate from his high school baseball team. Chet and Bernie take Rocket out for a good meal, and later, Bernie investigates Rocket’s past, trying to figure out what exactly went wrong. Then, Rocket goes suspiciously missing. Bernie goes back to his old high school for answers, where much that he remembers turns out not to be true --- and there are powerful and dangerous people not happy with the questions Bernie is asking. Now, Chet and Bernie are plunged into a dangerous case where the past isn’t dead and the future could be fatal.
About the Book
Spencer Quinn's BARK TO THE FUTURE continues the adventurous New York Times and USA Today bestselling series that Stephen King calls “without a doubt the most original mystery series currently available.”
When Chet the dog, “the most lovable narrator in all of crime fiction” (Boston Globe), and his human partner, PI Bernie Little, are approached by a down-and-out older man with a cardboard sign at an exit ramp, Bernie is shocked to discover the man is a former teammate from his high school baseball team. Chet and Bernie take Rocket out for a good meal, and later, Bernie investigates Rocket’s past, trying to figure out what exactly went wrong.
Then, Rocket goes suspiciously missing. With his former teammate likely in danger, Bernie goes back to his old high school for answers, where much that he remembers turns out not to be true --- and there are powerful and dangerous people not happy with the questions Bernie is asking.
Bernie soon learns that he misunderstood much about his high school years --- and now, Chet and Bernie are plunged into a dangerous case where the past isn’t dead and the future could be fatal.
Audiobook available, read by Jim Frangione
Editorial Content for Stay Awake
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
The title of Megan Goldin's latest thriller, STAY AWAKE, is important. In fact, it’s been vital to the survival of Liv Reese. Why must she stay awake? Why has she written those words on her arms? On the doors? Why are exhortations like this posted and written everywhere: stay awake, don't trust anyone, don't sleep? Read More
Teaser
Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. When she’s dropped off at the door of her brownstone, a stranger answers --- a stranger who claims to live in her apartment. Her hands are covered in scribbled messages, like graffiti on her skin: STAY AWAKE. Two years ago, Liv was thriving as a successful writer for a trendy magazine. Now, she’s lost and disoriented in a New York City that looks nothing like what she remembers. She’s horrified to see news reports of a crime scene where the victim’s blood has been used to scrawl a message across a window, similar to the message that’s inked on her hands. What did she do last night? And why does she remember nothing from the past two years?
Promo
Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. When she’s dropped off at the door of her brownstone, a stranger answers --- a stranger who claims to live in her apartment. Her hands are covered in scribbled messages, like graffiti on her skin: STAY AWAKE. Two years ago, Liv was thriving as a successful writer for a trendy magazine. Now, she’s lost and disoriented in a New York City that looks nothing like what she remembers. She’s horrified to see news reports of a crime scene where the victim’s blood has been used to scrawl a message across a window, similar to the message that’s inked on her hands. What did she do last night? And why does she remember nothing from the past two years?
About the Book
A murder she doesn’t remember committing. A killer she doesn’t remember meeting. Megan Goldin’s STAY AWAKE is an electrifying novel that proves memory can be deadly.
Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. When she’s dropped off at the door of her brownstone, a stranger answers --- a stranger who claims to live in her apartment. She reaches for her phone to call for help, only to discover it’s missing. In its place is a bloodstained knife. Her hands are covered in scribbled messages, like graffiti on her skin: STAY AWAKE.
Two years ago, Liv was thriving as a successful writer for a trendy magazine. Now, she’s lost and disoriented in a New York City that looks nothing like what she remembers. Catching a glimpse of the local news, she’s horrified to see reports of a crime scene where the victim’s blood has been used to scrawl a message across a window, similar to the message that’s inked on her hands. What did she do last night? And why does she remember nothing from the past two years? Liv finds herself on the run for a crime she doesn’t remember committing. But there’s someone who does know exactly what she did, and they’ll do anything to make her forget --- permanently.
A complex thriller that unfolds at a breakneck speed, STAY AWAKE will keep you up all night.
Audiobook available, read by Imogen Church and January LaVoy
Editorial Content for Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Reading KOSHERSOUL reminds me of why books are a never-ending joy. The James Beard award-winning author of THE COOKING GENE, Michael W. Twitty describes his acclaimed first book as planting the seeds for him to talk about being Black, Jewish, of Southern heritage and gay. It allowed him to focus on how food has shaped his family tree and how the food produced, prepared and consumed along the way defines people, soul by soul. I was drawn to his latest effort, KOSHERSOUL, thinking that it would be an opportunity for me to learn more about Black Jews and what I share with them. Read More
Teaser
In KOSHERSOUL, Michael W. Twitty considers the marriage of two of the most distinctive culinary cultures in the world today: the foods and traditions of the African Atlantic and the global Jewish diaspora. To Twitty, the creation of African-Jewish cooking is a conversation of migrations and a dialogue of diasporas offering a rich background for inventive recipes and the people who create them. The question that most intrigues him is not just who makes the food, but how the food makes the people. Jews of Color are not outliers, Twitty contends, but significant and meaningful cultural creators in both Black and Jewish civilizations. The book also explores how food has shaped the journeys of numerous cooks, including Twitty’s own passage to and within Judaism.
Promo
In KOSHERSOUL, Michael W. Twitty considers the marriage of two of the most distinctive culinary cultures in the world today: the foods and traditions of the African Atlantic and the global Jewish diaspora. To Twitty, the creation of African-Jewish cooking is a conversation of migrations and a dialogue of diasporas offering a rich background for inventive recipes and the people who create them. The question that most intrigues him is not just who makes the food, but how the food makes the people. Jews of Color are not outliers, Twitty contends, but significant and meaningful cultural creators in both Black and Jewish civilizations. The book also explores how food has shaped the journeys of numerous cooks, including Twitty’s own passage to and within Judaism.
About the Book
The James Beard award-winning author of the acclaimed THE COOKING GENE explores the cultural crossroads of Jewish and African diaspora cuisine and issues of memory, identity and food.
In KOSHERSOUL, Michael W. Twitty considers the marriage of two of the most distinctive culinary cultures in the world today: the foods and traditions of the African Atlantic and the global Jewish diaspora. To Twitty, the creation of African-Jewish cooking is a conversation of migrations and a dialogue of diasporas offering a rich background for inventive recipes and the people who create them.
The question that most intrigues him is not just who makes the food, but how the food makes the people. Jews of Color are not outliers, Twitty contends, but significant and meaningful cultural creators in both Black and Jewish civilizations. KOSHERSOUL also explores how food has shaped the journeys of numerous cooks, including Twitty’s own passage to and within Judaism.
As intimate, thought-provoking and profound as THE COOKING GENE, this remarkable book teases the senses as it offers sustenance for the soul.
KOSHERSOUL includes 48-50 recipes.
Audiobook available, read by Michael W. Twitty














