Church BBQ

Once a year my in-laws's church does a BBQ. It's not your average pick it up from a restaurant in bulk. These guys used to dig pits, build and bank a fire in it, then roast pigs over the course of a whole night and day. These days, the event has grown to the point that they are renting smokers and only handling Boston butts, but it is still excellent.

This stuff is like magic. I've turned bags of it into pots of thai soup or french bean soup, fried rice, and lo mein. It's one of those utterly mutable flavors and will blend well with pretty much any cuisine and does well as a starting point for any meal.

Here's one of my favorites:

2 Tbs. Olive Oil
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
4 c. cooked white beans, drained and rinsed (about 2 15 oz cans)
2 qt. stock or water
2 lbs. pulled pork
1 pound egg noodles

In a large pot, saute onion, carrots, and celery in the olive oil until soft and beginning to brown.  Add the rinsed beans and stock or water and raise heat. Bring to a boil.

Add pulled pork and egg noodles and simmer until noodles are cooked through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 12

Assuming you have the beans cooked and pulled pork on hand, the whole thing takes about 30 minutes.

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Forever War is one of those classics. It shows up on lists; it has fans. On the surface, this is a novel about a guy trapped fighting an interstellar war in giant combat suits. As such, is seems like it should be an action novel. The main character, Mandella, spends his time travelling between conflicts at near the speed of light. Because he’s moving so quickly, relativity comes into play. From Mandella’s point of view only a few years have passed since the beginning of the war, but on Earth, centuries have passed.

As the war progresses, Mandella glimpses the evolution of the human species and culture on fast forward. Therefore, this is really a book about how humans develop in response to the many pressures they face. As Mandella moves farther and farther from the point of his birth, humanity drifts into a less and less recognizable species.

It’s a good book and surprisingly approachable despite the cultural attitude shifts since the time it was written in the 70’s. Many of the social shifts that Haldeman predicts are less obvious because culture has already moved a couple steps in that direction. Otherwise, it has held up well. There are several times when I think the use of profanity borders on the silly, but it isn’t really a problem.


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The new plan...

I've been doing the blog the same way for long that I'm having a hard time figuring out how reorganize it. The whole idea is to shake up my writing, but life is busy and I'm having a hard time writing at all. The best idea I have is to theme the days that I write for my blog and try to reestablish the writing habit and then go from there.

So if I'm writing three to four posts a week here's the plan (for now

Sunday - Food or cooking
Monday - On Reading
Thursday- On Education
Saturday - Wild Card

I'm trying to play to my interests ;0)

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So, I’ve figured it out. People who read tend to have well developed imaginations. People with well developed imaginations like to daydream about being action heros. Librarians, as a group, are big readers. Therefore, Librarians like to imagine themselves as action heros. Ta Da!

This explains this recent trend of Librarian action heros. Between “The Mummy” and “The Librarians,” it is starting to become ‘a thing’. Highly enjoyable though.

The Invisible Library posits a universe filled with alternate realities and a somewhat mystical library situated in the space inbetween the alternates. Agents of the library (i.e. librarians) go on missions to the alternate versions of earth to collect up rare literature. So....spy-librarians.

Irene is one such librarian and she takes her student, Kai, to a quarantined world to find a rare text. Only the mission isn’t what it seems, the library’s biggest threat is on site, and Kai is something other than he appears to be. Oh...and there is a Sherlock Holmes analog knocking about. Good times.

If you are looking for a fun action packed read, this is a good pick. It’s fluff, yummy fun fluff.


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The Crown by Kiera Cass
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Let me start by saying, I didn’t think it would end this way. The whole selection series is a weird little intersect between a romance and court intrigue, but for teenagers. The first three books in the series are about America and Maxon. These last two cover their daughter, Eadlyn’s, selection.

In this last book, Eadlyn finally becomes a more appealing character. I spent most of The Heir wishing someone would assassinate her, but she finally turned into a sympathetic character in The Crown. For Eadlyn, she had to realize that she was spoiled and awful before she could become something better and the men in the selection were part of that journey.

I think the best thing going here is how much Eadlyn really is trying to do right by her people and country. That’s her primary character quality and it works as a source of sympathy and as a source of conflict.

That being said, the set-up felt forced in these two books. Men and women just handle relationships differently and the selection idea makes more sense with women in the pool than men. I don’t like that, but it’s just the way it feels. There was some acknowledgement of this, but it was handled in a cursory way.

This is a good conclusion to the series as a whole and worth reading if you made it through The Heir.


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Free From the Grind...

It's strange how easy it is for time to disappear. Having made the decision  to change the blog, I'm having a hard time writing at all. I guess I need to put some thought into a schedule of sorts. I was crunching numbers, and while I'm on track for overall numbers, I was 14 non YA books behind. As of this moment, I'm only twelve behind: I finished The Forever War by Joe Haldeman and The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman. I'm partway through two more non-YAs. So I'm thinking I can get it down to 10 behind by the end of the week.

In terms of time. The time is still there, obviously I just need to find a way to use it again. Next post will be a plan.

I promise.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Fangirl is about Cather, one of a set of identical twins, and her first year in college. Her sister, Wren, is also there, but she has chosen to live seperate from her twin for the first time in their lives. Cather is the withdrawn one that has difficulty adjusting to new situations. She has panic attacks. Oh, and she writes fanfic about a Potter-ish character called Simon Snow. That’s really her thing and she’s writing a conclusion to the Snow series before it’s author can get the final book out.

It’s a kind of coming of age novel that balances an impressive number of narrative threads. One thread is the conflict between Cather and Wren, one is the relationship between Cather and her roommate, another is Cather and various guys, another is Cather and her journey as a writer, and yet another is Cather’s Simon Snow story. There’s a lot going on and it is surprisingly well balanced.

My one criticism of the book is that the end is a little abrupt. While many of the threads hit a sort of resolution, it just didn’t feel satisfying. However, even so, the journey is worth it even if the end didn’t wow me.

Like so much of my reading, I picked this up because a student recommended it. In fact, she raved about it, I have to concede that she has pretty good taste.


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Library Pet-Peeves

I love libraries. They are places of learning filled with books. People go there to study and to read. Sometimes they go to help other people learn. When you borrow a book from a library, you read a book someone else read, maybe many other somebodies. Somebody else read that book and loved it or hated it and gave it back just as you will. It's like being part of a both really exclusive and very accepting club.

I love libraries.

I love them, but there are things that really bug me too. For example, in a series of five books why have book one and book five? Why do that. Why is there never a children's librarian on duty when I can bring my child? Why does my local library have a full time security guard? I get that some people are awful and do bad things, but a library doesn't seem like a big target for major crime. Having to pass a security guard is a little off putting.

Speaking of other people using libraries, who goes to a library drunk? (And why doesn't the security guard send them home?) Why do packs of people show up at the library and talk really loudly....there are meeting rooms for that. Why do people complain about library fines. It's a simple system, return the book or renew it so that others can read it.

Above all, why is it so hard to get the librarian out to teach my kids about library use. I've been trying on and off for 10 years and it has literally never worked. I'm starting to get really frustrated with this. 

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Simon vs. Homo Sapiens Agenda is a charming high school romance that also happens to be a coming out story. At its core, the story is about two high schoolers who found each other through tumblr and fell in love by emailing each other anonymously. The epistolary elements layer over Simon’s struggle with coming out to his friends and family and the added complication of an acquaintance, Martin, using that information to blackmail him into hooking Martin up with his friend Abby.

It’s a great setup for a romance, high school or otherwise. Albertalli has a comfortable writing style and treats her characters and their issues with respect. Even Martin comes off as sympathetic in the end. I can’t speak to whether the coming out angle feels authentic since it isn’t something I’ve experienced for myself, however it felt genuine to me.

I have a couple of students who love this book. It features short chapters and a tight linear plot structure. Despite having about six major characters, Albertalli sticks to Simon’s point of view.

Overall, good book. I would recommend it.

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September Listing

September is about trying new things for me. I've reorganized how I want to do things here, but some things must remain the same. It's strange that this time around I had an easier filling in the Non-YA list. Maybe my taste is shifting again?

In any case, I'm looking forward to it.


Non-YA

1. Ramen Fusion Cookbook by Nell Benton
2. Bradbury Stories by Ray Bradbury
3. Armada by Ernest Cline (Finished 9/18/2018)
4. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman (finished 9/9/2018)
5. The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman
6. The Universe in a Single Atom by Dalai Lama
7. Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
8. Reading Reasons by Kelly Gallagher
9. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (Finished 9/9/2018)
10. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
11. Alice by Christina Henry
12. The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction by Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn
13. Simply Ramen by Amy Kimoto-Kahn
14. Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
15. Mastering the Art Japanese Home Cooking by Morimoto
16. The Pho Cookbook by Adrea Nguyen
17. From Darkest Skies by Sam Peters (Library)
18. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
19. The Song Rising by Smantha Shannon
20. The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodard
21. Takashi's Noodles by Takashi Yagihashi
22. The Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Farahad Zama (Library)

YA

1. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (finished 9/2/2018)
   
2. The Crown by Kiera Cass (finished 9/5/2018)
3. The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
4. Many Waters by Madeleine L'Engle
5. The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid
6. Relish: My Life In the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley
7. Legend by Marie Lu
8. Prodigy by Marie Lu
9. Champion by Marie Lu
10. Grip of the Shadow Plague by Brandon Mull
11. Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull
12. Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull
13. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
14. When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds
15. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (Finished 9/17/2018)
16. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (Finished 9/4/2018)
17. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
18. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
19. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
20. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling
21. The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
22. The Curse of the Wendigo by Rick Yancey
23. The Isle of Blood by Rick Yancey
24. The Final Descent by Rick Yancey

The Decision

Ok, so I've taken some time and really thought my issues with the blog. I think the blog is valuable, but trying to come up with meaningful posts every day wears. Also I really would like to interact with people on the books which means my blog isn't the best primary venue. So here's what I'm going to try:

1. I'm going to move my book reviews over to GoodReads. I think there is a way to cross post from there to my blogs, and if that is the case, those posts will show up here in some form. If I can't get that to work, I'll put up a summary link post once a week for those who are interested in what I'm up to.

2. I'm going to continue to blog, some of it will be about reading and books (just not actual reviews). However I'm going to aim for 3 - 4 posts a week (of the meaningful variety)

Between the two, it is probably going to still be the same amount of writing, I'm just hoping to shift the feel of it make it feel better for me. I'll still be posting my reading lists and organizational things.

ok, that is all...September list either today or tomorrow.  :)