tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54544790673135396562024-02-18T20:25:21.626-06:00Mental Foodie: A Book & Food LoverI read both fiction and non-fiction. Yes I do judge a book by its cover (but limited to books only!)christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.comBlogger471125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-10690856155106658552015-08-24T00:33:00.003-05:002015-08-24T00:37:34.633-05:00Book Review - Aftermath Lounge by Margaret McMullan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7uCP8WUdNoGukTxJA5tkO1yqEuP2RVnJ90GXGg6P_hjETn0p7VgpYtHo27GpnxbGq_1fsihlIp6h0LeBvmww4qJ2CX-Njd43cY9UH0058mH9-aGHbog8e8JaW-MN9PiC5b3TMyovvgx4/s1600/cover-aftermathlounge-310x496.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7uCP8WUdNoGukTxJA5tkO1yqEuP2RVnJ90GXGg6P_hjETn0p7VgpYtHo27GpnxbGq_1fsihlIp6h0LeBvmww4qJ2CX-Njd43cY9UH0058mH9-aGHbog8e8JaW-MN9PiC5b3TMyovvgx4/s320/cover-aftermathlounge-310x496.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Aftermath Lounge</b> by Margaret McMullan<br />
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From the author's website: <a href="http://margaretmcmullan.com/books/aftermathlounge/">http://margaretmcmullan.com/books/aftermathlounge/</a><br />
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<i>On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed 95% of the small coastal town of Pass Christian, Mississippi. With a 28-foot storm surge, the highest recorded in U.S. history, 55-foot waves, and winds reaching 120 mph, the town was wiped off the map—temporarily.</i></div>
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<i>Award-winning author Margaret McMullan saw the destruction firsthand. Her family’s historic Gulf Coast home—her father’s beloved southern jewel—was one of the houses in Pass Christian devastated by Katrina. Despite the chaos immediately following the storm, McMullan’s family was among the first to rebuild and donated to the Red Cross, the Pass Christian fire station, and the Pass Christian library.</i></div>
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<i>During this time, McMullan witnessed small acts of heroism that inspired her to write about the community and its people, and how tragedy shapes our character. In 2010, she was awarded a National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship to complete the project.</i></div>
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<i>Born in part out of her family’s deep connection to the community, Aftermath Lounge: A Novel in Stories (April 2015, Calypso Editions) releases at the 10-year anniversary of Katrina and comprises fictional vignettes about the people of Pass Christian in the storm’s wake. The stories are connected by a setting near to the author’s heart—the McMullans’ home, which was originally constructed in 1845 and restored by her father numerous times over the years.</i></div>
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<i>Aftermath Lounge is a compelling tribute to the Gulf Coast and resurrects the place and its people alongside their heartaches and triumphs. It is a riveting mosaic that feeds our desire to understand what it means to be alive in this day and age.</i></div>
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I can't believe it's been 10 years. I decided to participate in this book blog tour as I hope this will shed some light because you don't hear much about it anymore in the media... I googled some Pass Christian, Mississippi images (see <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=%22pass+christian%22&espv=2&biw=1237&bih=631&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAgQ_AUoA2oVChMIhq-_tPnAxwIVThmSCh0D7Ag_#tbm=isch&q=%22pass+christian%22+katrina&imgrc=EAQhoW-PkuLNyM%3A" target="_blank">here</a>) since I don't recall hearing much about this town (most articles I remembered were of New Orleans, especially about the hospitals since I work in healthcare.) I can't even begin to imagine what the people had to go through - during or after.<br />
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At first I thought these were short stories on different individuals - they were, but some characters reappeared and so the stories intertwined so it was nice to have some closure on what happened to them. Unlike most fiction I am used to reading with a big reveal (I typically read murder/mystery, though occasionally I dabble into other genre.), there was a quietness about the book. I suppose this book was about ordinary people who went through extraordinary circumstances. Just like real life, there were sadness, confusion, wisdom and hopefulness in the stories. There might not be a big climax, but the stories were realistic.<br />
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The book was only 140 pages long so the stories were concise. It gave us a snapshot of these resilient people. Though I yearned to know more about some of the characters, in particular, Teddy, the serious little boy who was mature beyond his age. One question I kept asking myself after finishing the book was - if I lived there, would I have gone back to rebuild? I don't know the answer to that, but I applaud those who did. It's not easy to go back, and overcome such a devastating past.<br />
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Note - I received a free copy from <a href="http://www.prbythebook.com/?s=aftermath" target="_blank">PR By The Book </a>as part of a book tour in exchange for an unbiased review<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-15173925155529541342015-06-28T17:24:00.000-05:002015-06-28T17:24:36.334-05:00Mid-year updatesI feel like a broken record since I keep saying "wow, I can't believe it's been x months since I last updated..."<br />
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Or "I'm still reading... but nothing really jumped out, so dodn't feel like blogging."<br />
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Except both are still true.<br />
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So far I'd read 12 fiction and 12 non-fiction plus a bunch of books in Chinese. So not to bad for effort now that I have an almost 3 years-old (about half of what I used to read prior to kid). If you want to see what I'd read so far, see <a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/2015/01/book-read-in-2015.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and if you are interested in any of those books, I'd write about them more.<br />
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All the fiction were just okay. Three memoirs I read were more interesting as I learned something new (<b>The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist</b> by Neil deGrasse Tyson, <b>My Brief History</b> by Stephen Hawking, and <b>The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism</b> by Naoki Higashida).<br />
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<img alt="The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1365462868s/120417.jpg" /> <img alt="My Brief History" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388758083s/18209305.jpg" /> <img alt="The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1384018847s/16113737.jpg" /><br />
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The most thought provoking is<b> The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing</b> by Marie Kondo, Cathy Hirano. If you haven't heard about this, just goggle this book or Konmari. It's not your typical decluttering book. After I read it, it just makes so much more sense. My friends thought she sounds hokey after I told them about it, but completely changed their mind once they read it. It explains why other traditional decluttering doesn't work for me (may stay clean for a week, then back to its original mess... sigh.) I'm almost done with my closet (and have donated 8 full bags of clothes and I wasn't even that ruthless about it!!) I really can't wait till I'm done with the whole house (she said it may take 6 months... I can see why.)<br />
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<img alt="The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1418767178s/22318578.jpg" /><br />
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I think I'll also use her approach when it comes to this blog:<br />
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Blog when it sparks joy.*<br />
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I'm also on a book tour on August 24th about Hurricane Katrina - can you believe it was 10 YEARS AGO??? It's called <b>Aftermath Lounge: A Novel in Stories </b>by Margaret McMullan. Haven't started reading it yet, but will do so closer to the date so it's fresh in my mind. I've become quite picky about tours nowadays because I want to give it my 100%. Given my schedule and sporadic blogging, I just don't think it's fair to accept the books and not deliver.<br />
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Oh and for fun, I'd bought these 3 writing books. Sometimes it may be more fun to write on paper than type on a keyboard...<br />
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<ol>
<li>712 More Things to Write About</li>
<li>My Future Listography: All I Hope to Do in Lists</li>
<li>The Line-A-Day 10 Year Journal: Blue Jacket</li>
</ol>
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<img alt="712 More Things to Write About" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404343947s/22617345.jpg" /> <img alt="My Future Listography: All I Hope to Do in Lists" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1395616752s/9756431.jpg" /> <img alt="The Line-A-Day 10 Year Journal: Blue Jacket" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1387732373s/19856471.jpg" /><br />
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I am going to start the 10 Year Journal on my son's 3rd birthday. I'll jot down something I want to remember about him or say to him that day, and give it to him on his 13th birthday. I have started a couple of entries in 712. Sometimes it's hard to write it in a fictitious way rather than a memoir sort of way... or I suppose it doesn't really matter one way or another as long as I write. I already have lists of things I want to do or read or experience in my head, so it'd be nice to finally write it down, and then look back later on to see how many I'd done.<br />
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* There is more to her methodology that that, but this is the essence of it.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-70369563598612201592015-02-08T21:26:00.003-06:002015-02-08T21:26:50.961-06:00Book Review - A Week in Winterby Maeve Binchy<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="A Week in Winter" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1346827587l/15990489.jpg" /></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15990489-a-week-in-winter?from_search=true" target="_blank">A Week in Winter </a></b>by Maeve Binchy<br />
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Book club read. After I finish the book, I do wish to visit Ireland and stay in the fictional Stone House for a vacation. However, this book reads more like short stories than a novel, as it talked about how the Stone House came about, and then it took turn to explain each guest's stories... I suppose this is like the equivalent of beach read in winter. It was an easy read, but just not really my kind of books.<br />
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Note - The book was borrowed from the library.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-56153059794527717832015-02-01T00:03:00.001-06:002015-02-01T00:03:19.143-06:00Book Review - Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern<br />
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<img alt="Love, Rosie" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1420732457l/147865.jpg" /></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/147865.Love_Rosie?from_search=true%20Love,%20Rosieby%20Cecelia%20Ahern" target="_blank">Love, Rosie </a></b>by Cecelia Ahern<br />
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If you like chick lit, you'd prob like it.<br />
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If you don't usually, like me, then you probably will still feel the same about chick lit.<br />
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{{MAY CONTAIN SPOILER BELOW}}<br />
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Too long, too repetitive, and predictable. Maybe I'm getting old, but I believe in learn from your mistakes. Some characters in the book should prob do that. But then I guess there won't be a story anymore.<br />
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I think there's a move? Haven't watched it, and probably won't.<br />
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Note - The book was borrowed from the library.
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-46174027510494705932015-01-10T20:32:00.000-06:002015-01-10T20:32:15.153-06:00Book Review - The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="The Engagements" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400840586l/20166980.jpg" /></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20166980-the-engagements?from_search=true" target="_blank"> The Engagements </a></b>by J. Courtney Sullivan<br />
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<b>Summary:</b><br />
A Diamond is Forever. Is it?<br />
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<b>Review:</b><br />
There are 5 different stories going on in this novel, and it was easy to forget who-is-who. In the end, you can see how everyone is tied together. Learned some historical facts about where the De Beer's phrase "A Diamond is Forever" came from. An okay read - at least I wanted to find out what happened; but none of the characters really made me feel for them one way or another. This was a book club read, so not something I'd have chosen on my own.<br />
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Note - The book was borrowed from the library.
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-31908218141778279722015-01-04T18:18:00.002-06:002015-01-04T18:18:33.400-06:00Funny - 19 Problems Only Book Nerds Understand<br />
Okay, maybe not #19...<br />
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<h1 id="post-title" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: ProximaNovaSemibold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 36px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 38px; margin: 10px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px !important;">
<a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/kmallikarjuna/problems-only-book-nerds-understand#.ls6vWJNJW" target="_blank">19 Problems Only Book Nerds Understand</a></h1>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-51187206784470415562015-01-03T19:13:00.001-06:002015-01-03T19:14:39.732-06:00Book Review - The Secret (The Secret #1) by Rhonda Byrne<br />
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<img alt="The Secret (The Secret, #1)" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391995828l/52529.jpg" /></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52529.The_Secret?from_search=true" target="_blank">The Secret </a></b>(The Secret #1) by Rhonda Byrne<br />
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<b>Summary:</b><br />
Law of Attraction. Be positive, grateful.<br />
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<b>Review:</b><br />
Skeptical? Doesn't harm to try / believe.<br />
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<b>Questions:</b><br />
Has anyone tried and what was your experience? It was fun reading some real-life stories on their site <a href="http://thesecret.tv/stories/stories-recent.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Note - The book was borrowed from the library.
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-43839484121862342542015-01-02T17:18:00.000-06:002015-01-02T17:18:44.289-06:00Looking back at 2014...<br />
I read quite a bit in 2014 (see my <a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/search/label/Books%20-%202014" target="_blank">list </a>here) but it wasn't a good blogging year as I was too busy/lazy or just plain not motivated to blog.<br />
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I also found that my current guilty pleasure is reading books written in Chinese, as opposed to, YA which was my easy read before. I can't seem to get into YA much nowadays. Just over half of the books I read were in Chinese last year...<br />
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There were a few fun reads that got 4 stars, but then nothing really jumped out. If you ask me now what my favorite book was in 2014? Without looking at my own list, I couldn't tell you. If I really have to pick one, I guess The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion as I still remember the characters/plot a bit...<br />
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For 2015, I think I want to stick with books that inspire me, regardless of genre... would welcome any suggestions! Though I am such a mood reader so who knows where my mood would take me?<br />
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As for blogging... we'll see... maybe I just do 6-words review. Shouldn't be too hard right?! Or it may even be harder...<br />
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But I definitely want to keep reading, that's for sure.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-65788130391913175482015-01-02T17:08:00.006-06:002015-08-24T00:38:51.289-05:00Book Read in 2015<br />
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Will be updated throughout the year.<br />
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What I'd read in the past years: <a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/search/label/Books%20-%202014" target="_blank">2014,</a> <a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/search/label/Books%20-%202013" target="_blank">2013</a>, <a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/search/label/Books%20-%202012" target="_blank">2012</a>, <a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/search/label/Books%20-%202011" target="_blank">2011</a>, <a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/search/label/Books%20-%202010" target="_blank">2010</a>, <a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/search/label/Books%20-%202009" target="_blank">2009</a> and <a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/search/label/Books%20-%202008" target="_blank">2008</a>. (Reviews started in 2010)<br />
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<b style="background-color: cyan;">Fiction</b>:<br />
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<ol>
<li><b><a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/2015/01/book-review-engagements-by-j-courtney.html" target="_blank">The Engagements</a></b> by J. Courtney Sullivan </li>
<li><b><a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/2015/02/book-review-love-rosie-by-cecelia-ahern.html" target="_blank">Love, Rosie </a></b>by Cecelia Ahern</li>
<li><b><a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/2015/02/book-review-week-in-winterby-maeve.html" target="_blank">A Week in Winter </a></b>by Maeve Binchy</li>
<li><b>First Frost</b> (Waverley Family #2) by Sarah Addison Allen</li>
<li><b>The Same Sky</b> by Amanda Eyre Ward</li>
<li><b>Take Me With You </b>by Catherine Ryan Hyde</li>
<li><b>The Bridges of Madison County </b>by Robert James Waller</li>
<li><b>Fahrenheit 451 </b>by Ray Bradbury</li>
<li><b>Solitude Creek </b>(Kathryn Dance, #4) by Jeffery Deaver</li>
<li><b>Daniel isn't Talking</b> by Marti Leimbach</li>
<li><b>God-Shaped Hole </b>by Tiffanie DeBartolo</li>
<li><b>Hausfrau </b>by Jill Alexander Essbaum</li>
<li><b>The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time </b>by Mark Haddon</li>
<li><b>A Man Called Ove </b>by Fredrik Backman</li>
<li><b>The Girl on the Train </b>by Paula Hawkins</li>
<li><b>Inside the O'Briens </b>by Lisa Genova</li>
<li><b>Reconstructing Amelia </b>by Kimberly McCreight</li>
<li><b><a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/2015/08/book-review-aftermath-lounge-by.html" target="_blank">Aftermath Lounge </a></b>by Margaret McMullan</li>
<li><b>Tilt </b>by Elizabeth Burns</li>
<li><b>Two Across </b>by Jeff Bartsch</li>
</ol>
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<b style="background-color: cyan;">Non-Fiction</b>:<br />
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<ol>
<li><b><a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/2015/01/book-review-secret-secret-1-by-rhonda.html" target="_blank">The Secret</a> (</b>The Secret #1) by Rhonda Byrne</li>
<li><b>The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity</b> by Julia Cameron</li>
<li><b>Color Your Style</b> by David Zyla</li>
<li><b>Chicago Portraits</b> by Chicago Tribune Staff (Author), Michael Zajakowski (Introduction), Rick Kogan (Foreword)</li>
<li><b>The Magic </b>(The Secret #3) by Rhonda Byrne</li>
<li><b>The Late Starters Orchestra </b>by Ari L. Goldman</li>
<li><b>Mastering Atmosphere & Mood in Watercolor: The Critical Ingredients That Turn Paintings Into Art</b> by Joseph Zbukvic</li>
<li><b>Watercolor Painting With Passion! </b>by Alvaro Castagnet</li>
<li><b>The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing</b> by Marie Kondo, Cathy Hirano</li>
<li><b>The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist </b>by Neil deGrasse Tyson</li>
<li><b>My Brief History</b> by Stephen Hawking</li>
<li><b>The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism</b> by Naoki Higashida</li>
<li><b>Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking </b>by Susan Cain</li>
<li>好風好水‧陽宅開運(1) ISBN:9579263574│林鬱│陳怡魁大師/講述 胡不歸</li>
<li>好風好水‧陽宅開運(3) ISBN:9579263590│林鬱│陳怡魁│</li>
<li>真理的故事 The story of the truth CH 294.35 SU1Z (Buddhism in graphic novel)</li>
<li>人間奇談 Strange remark on the world (Buddhism in graphic novel)</li>
<li>給愛一條活路 by 吳淡如</li>
<li>開啟前世密碼 by 游乾桂</li>
<li>抓住你要的幸福 by 吳若權</li>
<li>Ling shu suaen ming fa CH 133.3 J56L</li>
<li>慈濟月刊:映象真情 by 陳玫君, 顏霖沼</li>
</ol>
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<b style="background-color: lime;">Did Not Finish (Fiction)</b>:<br />
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<li><br /></li>
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<b style="background-color: lime;">Did Not Finish (Non-Fiction)</b>:<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-59533258954845870062014-10-27T01:00:00.000-05:002014-10-27T01:00:03.038-05:00The Lost Tribe of Coney Island: Headhunters, Luna Park, and the Man Who Pulled Off the Spectacle of the Century by Claire Prentice<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="The Lost Tribe of Coney Island: Headhunters, Luna Park, and the Man Who Pulled Off the Spectacle of the Century" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403904164l/18222873.jpg" width="132" /></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18222873-the-lost-tribe-of-coney-island?from_search=true" target="_blank">The Lost Tribe of Coney Island: Headhunters, Luna Park, and the Man Who Pulled Off the Spectacle of the Century </a></b>by Claire Prentice<br />
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I don't know anything about Coney Island, or the Igorrotes - "a group of “headhunting, dog-eating savages” from the
Philippines, who were transported to New York in 1905 to appear as
“human exhibits” alongside the freaks and curiosities at Coney Island’s
Luna Park."<br />
<br />
But I was curious to learn more about amusement parks after reading Joyland by Stephen King. Of course, this book was more about the Igorrotes, than amusement parks... you could tell the author did a lot of research on the topic, and that it wasn't easy to piece everything together.<br />
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Overall it wasn't a bad read - maybe a little bit long as I really just wanted to find out what happened to the Igorrotes but there was quite a bit of history in between. I also appreciated that the author did a wrap up of what's happened to the different characters in the end. The story also make me think about the "cultural" tours I'd enjoyed - visiting the Amish village or the Native Canadian Indians village... is it right to visit these sights?<br />
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This is part of the <a href="http://tlcbooktours.com/2014/06/claire-prentice-author-of-the-lost-tribe-of-coney-island-on-tour-october-2014/" target="_blank">TLC tour </a>- check out the other tour stops!<br />
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Claire Prentice’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:</h3>
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Monday, October 13th: <a href="http://www.sophisticateddorkiness.com/2014/10/the-lost-story-of-the-lost-tribe-of-coney-island/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Sophisticated Dorkiness</a></div>
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Monday, October 13th: <a href="http://booksiesblog.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-lost-tribe-of-coney-island-by.html" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Booksie’s Blog</a></div>
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Tuesday, October 14th:<a href="http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-book-tour-stops-here-review-of-lost.html" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;"> Kahakai Kitchen</a></div>
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Tuesday, October 14th: <a href="http://mytime2read.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-lost-tribe-of-coney-island-by.html" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Time 2 Read</a></div>
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Wednesday, October 15th: <a href="http://patriciaswisdom.com/2014/10/the-lost-tribe-of-coney-island-headhunters-luna-park-and-the-man-who-pulled-off-the-spectacle-of-the-century-claire-prentice/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Patricia’s Wisdom</a></div>
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Monday, October 20th: <a href="http://wordsmithonia.blogspot.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Wordsmithonia</a></div>
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Tuesday, October 21st: <a href="http://sveta-randomblog.blogspot.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Svetlana’s Reads and Views</a></div>
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Wednesday, October 22nd: <a href="http://shetreadssoftly.blogspot.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">She Treads Softly</a></div>
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Thursday, October 23rd: <a href="http://fiftybooksproject.blogspot.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">50 Book Project</a></div>
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Thursday, October 23rd: <a href="http://familycorner.blogspot.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Diary of a Stay at Home Mom</a></div>
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Friday, October 24th: <a href="https://inpossibility.wordpress.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Dwell in Possibility</a></div>
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Monday, October 27th: <a href="http://booknaround.blogspot.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">BookNAround</a></div>
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Monday, October 27th: <a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/?" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Mental Foodie</a></div>
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Tuesday, October 28th: <a href="http://www.girlichef.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">girlichef</a></div>
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Tuesday, October 28th: <a href="http://lisasyarns.blogspot.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Lisa’s Yarns</a></div>
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Wednesday, October 29th: <a href="http://abookishaffair.blogspot.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">A Bookish Affair</a></div>
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TBD: <a href="http://padresteve.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Padre Steve</a></div>
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Note - A free advanced copy of the book was given in exchange of an unbiased review as part of the TLC tour.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-50795639412267237072014-10-25T19:31:00.002-05:002014-10-25T19:31:59.634-05:00Updates<br />
Wow I haven't updated in forever.<br />
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I have been reading (you can see my 2014 list <a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/search/label/Books%20-%202014" target="_blank">here</a>). I'd been busy with work and family still, and this year my guilty pleasure had been novels written in Chinese (as opposed to YA in the past), mostly by the same author who wrote about relationships. I don't know if there is any point in doing reviews of them since her books aren't translated.<br />
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Most of the English books were just average. There were some fun reads, but none of them made me felt like shouting "GO READ THIS NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" so I didn't feel motivated to blog.<br />
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So I am wondering what I should do with my blog... only blog when I found something that falls into the "recommend to everyone" category? Just blog random thoughts? Is there anyone who is even interested in reading my boring random thoughts - I don't even have a twitter account because well, my life isn't that interest to update every 2 minutes.<br />
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Any "GO READ THIS NOW" books you've come across lately?! I'm so out of the whole new books world...<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-58536762120443104142014-07-01T04:27:00.001-05:002014-07-02T03:55:02.859-05:00Book Review - The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin<br />
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<img alt="The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1396839734l/18293427.jpg" width="135" /></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18293427-the-storied-life-of-a-j-fikry?ac=1" target="_blank">The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry</a></b> by Gabrielle Zevin<br />
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Not something I'd have picked up by myself (title and cover both aren't very... pick-worthy... ) but thanks to other bloggers, I'm glad I read this :)<br />
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I bet pretty much all of you would enjoy reading this charming story - it's about an independent bookstore owner (A.J. Fikry) and his family and friends... and people who love to read! There are quite a few references to other books and authors in the book, including Jeffery Deaver lol :)<br />
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I thought the ending was a little quiet, but I suppose it is fitting to A.J.'s personality. I thought I'd get a bit more emotional when reading this, but I didn't.<br />
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3.75 Stars but bumped to 4 Stars because it leaves an impression, more so than other novels I'd read this year.<br />
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Some quotes -<br />
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You're a good reader, and you'll probably see it coming. (Is a twist less satisfying if you know it's coming? Is a twist that you can't predict symptomatic of bad construction? These are things to consider when writing.) (p160)<br />
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We read to know we're not alone. We read because we are alone. We read and we are not alone. We are not alone. (p249)<br />
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We are not quite novels... We are not quite short stories... In the end, we are collected works.. He has read enough to know there are no collections where each story is perfect. Some hits. Some misses. If you're lucky, a standout. And in the end, people only really remember the standouts anyway, and they don't remember those for very long. (p249)<br />
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Note - The book was borrowed from the library.
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-35807358210689874642014-07-01T04:13:00.002-05:002014-07-01T04:22:02.538-05:00Book Review - The Skin Collector (Lincoln Rhyme #11) by Jeffery Deaver<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<img alt="The Skin Collector (Lincoln Rhyme, #11)" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392135791l/18453226.jpg" width="132" /></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18453226-the-skin-collector" target="_blank">The Skin Collector</a></b> (Lincoln Rhyme #11) by Jeffery Deaver<br />
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Readers who had been following this blog probably knows that Jeffery Deaver is one of my favorite authors in the murder/mystery genre, especially with his Lincoln Rhyme series. The Bone Collector is probably his best known novel, and this is a sequel of sort (well it's not really a continuation of the story, but references were made quite a bit).<br />
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I was going to re-read The Bone Collector (even if I hardly re-read) but the library copy came before I had a chance to. I hardly remember what happened... but that's okay.<br />
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This is more like a 3.75 Stars book but I'd bump it up to 4 because this is better than the other recent Deaver efforts. There probably isn't as much character development as I'd have liked, but most of the characters are like old friends anyway, so I appreciate Deaver didn't make too many redundant introductions; though it still has enough details for those who hadn't read the series before. I did enjoy reading this - with lots of twists and turns that I didn't see coming. At least something fun to read when I don't have to use my brain too much :)<br />
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Note - The book was borrowed from the library.
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-20636051288911452062014-05-30T00:06:00.000-05:002014-05-30T00:06:04.755-05:00Book Review - The Manufactured Identity (Manufactured Identity #1) by Heath Sommer <div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="The Manufactured Identity (Manufactured Identity, #1)" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388188833l/6507691.jpg" width="129" /></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6507691-the-manufactured-identity?from_search=true" target="_blank">The Manufactured Identity (Manufactured Identity #1) </a></b>by Heath Sommer<br />
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This book was highly recommended by a fellow blogger, <b><a href="http://teawithmarce.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Tea Time with Marce</a>,</b> so I had pretty high expectation! Maybe because of that, this book fell short... I like the plot twists (I was able to guess one twist, but not the subplot twist, so that was a good surprise) but I felt there wasn't a lot of character development so I wasn't attached to any characters. Nor did I feel much emotion about any of the characters.<br />
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Not sure if I would continue to the next book or not - I read the brief description, and it seems like 2 characters from the first book - whom I didn't think were really the main protagonists - would be the focus of the series. Tell me if I should read #2?<br />
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3 Stars<br />
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Note - I won a free copy of this book.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-50718175846378797092014-05-29T17:58:00.001-05:002014-05-29T17:58:58.964-05:00Book Review - The Rosie Project (Don Tillman #1) by Graeme Simsion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<img alt="The Rosie Project (Don Tillman #1)" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1371651741l/16181775.jpg" width="130" /></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16181775-the-rosie-project" target="_blank">The Rosie Project (Don Tillman #1) </a></b>by Graeme Simsion<br />
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Quirky and cute. It made reading fun! I really enjoyed the characters and kept wondering what'd happen. It reminds me a bit of Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, but maybe a bit more light-hearted.<br />
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The only thing I wasn't too sure about is its ending... (see spoiler alert below) - if I'd liked the ending, this would probably have been a 4-4.5 book. As of now, it's more of a 3.75 but I'll bump it up to 4 just because this book stands out more than the other meh-reads I'd had.. I heard that there's a Book 2 coming out... will definitely watch for it!<br />
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4 Stars<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">SPOILER ALERT</span></b><br />
(highlight the paragraph to read)<br />
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<span style="color: white;">I wish the ending isn't so predictable. It makes it a bit too chicklit-ish. I think if it didn't have a happy ending (as in, if they didn't get married), or have a bit more of a surprise ending, it'd have make it more memorable. I suppose though, if the ending is different, then Book 2 would also be different... </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">[/Spoiler]</span></b><br />
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Note - The book was borrowed from the library.
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-79558087237458469122014-05-29T14:41:00.001-05:002014-05-29T14:41:30.525-05:00In the end, we'll all become stories.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2FiYErCOcvjW1iMK0AJm4_RtKuYqMaAmIZOafGZjEj0yK2lGEm1ClW1hyphenhyphen5anaoS-Y1PLzaJL968Gc7pqtyLtcren1H5DlrAxN-QliGxwTfDo3geRRSm50aaizX4PjkREeCNJox0c62EE/s1600/1176125_10152466758503669_5102400920330530824_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2FiYErCOcvjW1iMK0AJm4_RtKuYqMaAmIZOafGZjEj0yK2lGEm1ClW1hyphenhyphen5anaoS-Y1PLzaJL968Gc7pqtyLtcren1H5DlrAxN-QliGxwTfDo3geRRSm50aaizX4PjkREeCNJox0c62EE/s1600/1176125_10152466758503669_5102400920330530824_n.jpg" height="308" width="320" /></a></div>
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Saw this on facebook... isn't it the truth.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-40522198872876660252014-04-12T23:54:00.002-05:002014-04-12T23:56:05.913-05:00Margot by Jillian Cantor<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Margot" height="200" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1371062372l/17347640.jpg" width="128" /></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17347640-margot" target="_blank">Margot </a></b>by Jillian Cantor<br />
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From Goodreads:<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">Anne Frank has long been a symbol of bravery and hope, but there were two sisters hidden in the annex, two young Jewish girls, one a cultural icon made famous by her published diary and the other, nearly forgotten.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">In the spring of 1959, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">The Diary of Anne Frank</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;"> has just come to the silver screen to great acclaim, and a young woman named Margie Franklin is working in Philadelphia as a secretary at a Jewish law firm. On the surface she lives a quiet life, but Margie has a secret: a life she once lived, a past and a religion she has denied, and a family and a country she left behind.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">Margie Franklin is really Margot Frank, older sister of Anne, who did not die in Bergen-Belsen as reported, but who instead escaped the Nazis for America. But now, as her sister becomes a global icon, Margie’s carefully constructed American life begins to fall apart. A new relationship threatens to overtake the young love that sustained her during the war, and her past and present begin to collide. Margie is forced to come to terms with Margot, with the people she loved, and with a life swept up into the course of history.</span></span></i><br />
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Many of us probably have read The Diary of Anne Frank (I read the Chinese version when I was a kid). But what if her sister is still alive?<br />
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Interesting premise huh. It was just an okay read - I think there is so much potential, but this read a bit more like a chicklit than what I was expecting.<br />
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Note - The book was borrowed from the library.
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-52575568972471107072014-04-12T23:46:00.000-05:002014-04-12T23:47:21.762-05:00Night Film by Marisha Pessl <div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Night Film" height="200" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1363819140l/10112885.jpg" width="132" /></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10112885-night-film" target="_blank">Night Film</a> </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">by Marisha Pessl </span><br />
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From Goodreads:</span><br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">NEW YORK TIMES bestseller and Goodreads Choice Award Nominee! </span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /></i><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">A page-turning thriller for readers of Stephen King, Gillian Flynn, and Stieg Larsson, Night Film tells the haunting story of a journalist who becomes obsessed with the mysterious death of a troubled prodigy—the daughter of an iconic, reclusive filmmaker.</span></i><i><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /></i><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">On a damp October night, beautiful young Ashley Cordova is found dead in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. Though her death is ruled a suicide, veteran investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. As he probes the strange circumstances surrounding Ashley’s life and death, McGrath comes face-to-face with the legacy of her father: the legendary, reclusive cult-horror-film director Stanislas Cordova—a man who hasn’t been seen in public for more than thirty years.</span></i><i><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /></i><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">For McGrath, another death connected to this seemingly cursed family dynasty seems more than just a coincidence. Though much has been written about Cordova’s dark and unsettling films, very little is known about the man himself.</span></i><i><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /></i><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">Driven by revenge, curiosity, and a need for the truth, McGrath, with the aid of two strangers, is drawn deeper and deeper into Cordova’s eerie, hypnotic world.</span></i><i><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /></i><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">The last time he got close to exposing the director, McGrath lost his marriage and his career. This time he might lose even more.</span></i><i><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /></i><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">Night Film, the gorgeously written, spellbinding new novel by the dazzlingly inventive Marisha Pessl, will hold you in suspense until you turn the final page.</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818;"><span style="line-height: 12.65625px;">I </span><span style="line-height: 12.65625px;">was excited to read this book as it sounds very intriguing. I was drawn into the mystery, and really wanted to find out what happened. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818;"><span style="line-height: 12.65625px;">It would have been a better book if (1) it's shorter and more concise - I found myself skimping through parts of it (2) has a tidier ending - and I am not the only who felt like, "wait, what happened...?"</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818;"><span style="line-height: 12.65625px;">For some reasons, I think this will actually make a better movie than a book. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Note - The book was borrowed from the library.
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-77449902412997687912014-03-09T22:47:00.002-05:002014-03-09T22:47:29.050-05:002 months?!Wow has it really been 2 months since I last posted?!<br />
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Work has been crazy busy... hence my silence.<br />
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I am now also behind on reviews - by 4 fiction and 3 graphic novels (a series).<br />
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Hopefully I will have the energy to post soon. Was going to do one or two today, but got a cold so I'm taking it easy instead...<br />
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Hope everyone is doing well! The long winter is killing me here... I really can't wait till spring!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-65287566668471259402014-01-19T02:00:00.001-06:002014-01-19T02:00:11.033-06:00Book Review - The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty<br />
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<img alt="The Husband's Secret" height="200" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1375762213l/17802724.jpg" width="132" /></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17802724-the-husband-s-secret" target="_blank">The Husband's Secret</a></b> by Liane Moriarty<br />
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I saw that this book made it to many blogger's Top 10 in 2013. I had read her other book, <b>What Alice Forgot </b>(see review <a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/2011/11/book-review-what-alice-forgot-by-liane.html" target="_blank">here</a>) and liked it okay, thinking it'd be a stronger story if it was shorter.<br />
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I have the exact feedback for this book - at almost 400 pages, it was just a bit too long. I do like the story better than What Alice Forgot, as I enjoyed discovering how the three seemingly unrelated characters intertwined in the story. There are also many "what if" questions that made you wonder how you'd react, such as -<b><span style="color: red;"> [POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD]</span></b> <span style="font-size: xx-small;">Would you open a letter written by your husband now or later, if you were supposed to open it upon his death? What would you do if your daughter was murdered and the killer was never found? What if your husband and best friend fall in love?</span><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span>[/SPOILER]</span></b><br />
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This book is still a bit chicklity and once again, it reconfirms that it's not really my genre (I don't know why I keep trying). Not the worst I'd read though. But like most books in this genre, it was a little predictable and I was able to guess the husband's secret early. Thus I think some tighter editing and maybe a little less foreshadowing would turn this into a better read.<br />
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3.5 Stars.<br />
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Note - The book was borrowed from the library.
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-12822096052547340412014-01-19T01:43:00.001-06:002014-01-19T01:45:16.617-06:00Book Review - Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality by Jacob Tomsky<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13331184-heads-in-beds?from_search=true" target="_blank">Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality</a></b> by Jacob Tomsky<br />
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I like reading about other occupations. So when someone said they enjoyed reading this book about a guy who worked in hospitality, I thought it'd be a fun read, especially since I enjoy traveling (which means, mostly staying at hotels).<br />
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I was a little disappointed that the author had only worked at a couple of hotels, though he did work in a few different positions from valet to front desk to manage of housekeeping. There were some good to know do's and don'ts for guests (especially if you want "free" upgrades), and made you appreciate the hard job the staff has to do (especially for housekeeping!) But I don't know if this needs to be a full book size as I got a bit bored in the middle.<br />
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Not bad, but not the best memoir out there. 3 Stars.<br />
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Note - The book was borrowed from the library.
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-3768945905016949832014-01-07T21:53:00.002-06:002015-01-02T17:13:13.284-06:00Books Read in 2014<br />
Will be updated throughout the year.<br />
What I'd read in the past years: <a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/search/label/Books%20-%202013" target="_blank">2013</a>, <a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/search/label/Books%20-%202012" target="_blank">2012</a>, <a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/search/label/Books%20-%202011" target="_blank">2011</a>, <a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/search/label/Books%20-%202010" target="_blank">2010</a>, <a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/search/label/Books%20-%202009" target="_blank">2009</a> and <a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/search/label/Books%20-%202008" target="_blank">2008</a>. (Reviews started in 2010)<br />
Wow, I've blogged for 4 years as I started in Jan 2010! Totally forget about that.<br />
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<b style="background-color: #d9ead3;">Fiction</b>:<br />
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<ol>
<li><b><a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/2014/01/book-review-husbands-secret-by-liane.html" target="_blank">My Husband's Secret</a></b> by Liane Moriarty (3.5 Stars)</li>
<li><b><a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/2014/04/night-film-by-marisha-pessl.html" target="_blank">Night Film </a></b>by Marisha Pessl (3.5 Stars)</li>
<li><b><a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/2014/04/margotby-jillian-cantor.html" target="_blank">Margo</a>t</b> by Jillian Cantor (3 Stars)</li>
<li><b><a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/2014/05/book-review-manufactured-identity.html" target="_blank">The Manufactured Identity (Manufactured Identity #1)</a></b> by Heath Sommer (3 Stars)</li>
<li><b><a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/2014/05/book-review-rosie-project-don-tillman-1.html" target="_blank">The Rosie Project</a></b> by Graeme Simsion (4 Stars)</li>
<li>The Color of Earth (Color Trilogy, #1) by Kim Dong Hwa (3.5 Stars)</li>
<li>The Color of Water (Color Trilogy, #2) by Kim Dong Hwa (3 Stars)</li>
<li>The Color of Heaven Color Trilogy, #3) by Kim Dong Hwa (3.5 Stars)</li>
<li>What I had Before I had You by Sarah Cornwell (3 Stars)</li>
<li>The Forever Girl by Alexander McCall Smith (2 Stars)</li>
<li>The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna van Praag (4 Stars)</li>
<li>Boy Snow Bird by Helen Oyeyemi (2 Stars)</li>
<li>That Part was True by Deborah McKinley (4 Stars)</li>
<li>Arranged by Catherine McKenzie (3 Stars)</li>
<li>Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett (3.5 Stars)</li>
<li>The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo (3.5 Stars)</li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; line-height: 24px;"><b><a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/2014/07/book-review-skin-collector-lincoln.html" target="_blank">The Skin Collector</a> </b>(Lincoln Rhyme #11)by Jeffery Deaver (4 Stars)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; line-height: 24px;"><b><a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/2014/07/book-review-storied-life-of-j-fikry-by.html" target="_blank">The Storied Life of A. J. Fikryby</a> </b>Gabrielle Zevin (4 Stars)</span></li>
<li>The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (5 Stars)</li>
<li> Chemistry for Beginners by Anthony Strong (4 Stars)</li>
<li>Thirty Rooms to Hide In: Insanity, Addiction, and Rock 'n' Roll in the Shadow of the Mayo Clinic by Luke Longstreet Sullivan (3 Stars)</li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">We Were Liars by e Lockhart (3.5 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">And the Mountains Echoed by </span></span>Khaled Hosseini (3 Stars)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult (3 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">The Magician's Elephantby Kate DiCamillo (2 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li>Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok (3.5 Stars)</li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">All the Light We Cannot Seeby Anthony Doerr (3 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">Made for You by Melissa Marr (3 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">One Plus Oneby Jojo Moyes (2.5 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Belzhar </b>by Meg Wolitzer (3.5 Stars)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">Afterworlds by Westerfeld (2 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li>Where There's Smoke by Jodi Picoult (2 Stars)</li>
<li>Points and Lines by Seicho Matsumoto (4 Stars)</li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">早上七八點鐘的太陽/ 亦舒 (3.5 Stars)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">吻所有女孩 by 亦舒 (3 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">她的二三事 by 亦舒 (3 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">同門 by 亦舒 (4 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">紫色平原by 亦舒 (3 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li>我倆不是朋友 by 亦舒 (3 Stars)</li>
<li>四部曲 by 亦舒 (3 Stars)</li>
<li>大君 by 亦舒 (3.5 Stars)</li>
<li>櫻唇 by 亦舒 (3.5 Stars)</li>
<li>迷藏 by 亦舒 (3 Stars)</li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">禁足 by 亦舒 (3 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">噓 by 亦舒 (3 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">特首小姐你早 by 亦舒 (3 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">剪刀替針做媒人 by 亦舒 (3.5 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">雪肌 by 亦舒 (3.5 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: DejaVu Sans;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">漫長迂迴的路 </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #545454; font-size: medium;">by </span><span style="color: #545454; font-family: DejaVu Sans;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">亦舒 (3 Stars)</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: DejaVu Sans;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">電光幻影 </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #545454; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">by </span></span></span><span style="color: #545454; font-family: DejaVu Sans;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">亦舒 (3.5 Stars)</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: DejaVu Sans;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">愛情只是古老傳說 </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #545454; font-size: medium;">by<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #545454; font-family: DejaVu Sans;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">亦舒 (4 Stars)</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">忘記他(短篇)by 亦舒 (3.5 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: DejaVu Sans;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">你的素心 </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #545454; font-size: medium;">by<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #545454; font-family: DejaVu Sans;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">亦舒 (3.5 Stars)</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: DejaVu Sans;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">蜜糖只有你 </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #545454; font-size: medium;">by<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #545454; font-family: DejaVu Sans;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">亦舒 (3 Stars)</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">靈心 </span></span></span><span style="color: #545454; font-size: medium;">by </span><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">亦舒 (4 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">畫皮/ 亦舒 (4 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li>被愛,卻孤獨 by 橘子 (3 Stars)</li>
<li>朝花夕拾 by 亦舒 (5 Stars) <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; line-height: 24px;">ISBN: 9787510400681</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">外遇 by亦舒 (4 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; line-height: 24px;"><b>流金歲月</b> /. Liu jin sui yue/ 亦舒 (3 Stars)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; line-height: 24px;">實在平凡的奇異遭遇 by </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; line-height: 24px;">亦舒 (3.5 Stars)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">尋找失貓 by 亦舒 (4 Stars) - short stories</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">悄悄的一線光 by 亦舒 (3.5 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">我情願跳舞 by 亦舒 (3.5 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">月是故鄉明 by 亦舒 (2.5 Stars) - essay</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">如果你是安琪 by </span></span></span><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">亦舒 (4 Stars) - short stories</span></li>
<li>黑夜旋律 by <a href="http://www.nthubook.com.tw/index.php?pa=book_view&id=375116" target="_blank">譚劍</a> (3.5 Stars) </li>
<li>The Red Finger by Higashino Keigo 紅色手指 by 東野圭吾 (3.5 Stars)</li>
<li>In the City of Dawn by Higashino Keigo 黎明破曉的街道 by 東野圭吾 (3.5 Stars)</li>
<li>The deceased drank the water by Soji Shimada 死者喝的水 by 島田莊司 (3.5 Stars)</li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">長相思(卷一):孤月下,許君心 by 桐華</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">長相思 (卷二) : 人依舊,終離別. by 桐華</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">長相思 (卷三): 思一寸,愁千縷 by 桐華</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">長相思(卷四): 笑問月,誰與共 by 桐華</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">長相思(卷五):生相依,死相隨 by 桐華</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">長相思(卷六): 長相守,不分離 by 桐華. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">
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<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="color: #545454;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">死愛恨一念間 by </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span lang="zh-CN"><span style="color: #545454;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">劉墉 (3.5 Stars)</span></span></span></span></span></span> CH 895.14L7406s<br />
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</span></span></span></li>
</ol>
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<b style="background-color: #d9ead3;">Non-Fiction</b>:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><b><a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/2014/01/book-review-heads-in-beds-reckless.html" target="_blank">Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality</a></b> by Jacob Tomsky (3 Stars)</li>
<li>The Shibumi Strategy: A Powerful Way to Create Meaningful Change by Matthew May (3 Stars)</li>
<li><span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zh-CN">The Lost Tribe of Coney Island: Headhunters, Luna Park, and the Man Who Pulled Off the Spectacle of the Century by Claire Prentice (3 Stars)</span></span></span></li>
<li><b>Still Life in Watercolour </b>by David Webb, Ray Campbell Smith (4 Stars) - beginner</li>
<li>金庸小說版本追昔 by 陳鎮輝 (1.5 Stars)</li>
<li><br /></li>
</ol>
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<b style="background-color: #d9ead3;">Graphic Novel:</b><br />
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<ol>
<li>I love you, How about you? 你愛我嗎?張小嫻.水瓶鯨魚</li>
</ol>
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<b style="background-color: #fff2cc;">Children's Books</b>:<br />
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<ol>
<li><b><a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/2014/01/kid-book-review-brady-needs-nightlight.html" target="_blank">Brady Needs a Nightlight</a></b> by Brian Barlics</li>
</ol>
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<b style="background-color: #d0e0e3;">Did Not Finish (DNF) - Fiction</b>:<br />
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<ol>
<li>鬼打牆 1 and 2:剝皮女屍 by 天下霸唱 </li>
<li>The Deepest Secret by Carla Buckley</li>
<li>The Circle by Dave Eggers</li>
</ol>
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<b style="background-color: #d0e0e3;">Did Not Finish (DNF) - Non-Fiction</b>:<br />
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<ol>
<li>I Want to Be Her!: How Friends and Strangers Helped Shape My Style by Andrea Linett, Anne Johnston Albert</li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-64400464265744242682014-01-07T21:41:00.000-06:002014-01-07T21:59:22.982-06:00KID Book Review: Brady Needs a Nightlight by Brian Barlics<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Brady Needs a Nightlight" height="200" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1382923351l/17689240.jpg" width="200" /></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17689240-brady-needs-a-nightlight" target="_blank">Brady Needs a Nightlight </a></b>by Brian Barlics<br />
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Normally I don't read children books... but of course after my son is born, I have to start! He seems to be interested in books so far - at least he thinks they are yummy since he keeps chewing on them! Though lately he likes flipping the books by himself, even if I am not around. And I note that he even knows to turn the book right side up all by himself! <br />
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When <a href="http://tlcbooktours.com/2013/10/brian-barlics-author-of-brady-needs-a-nightlight-on-tour-january-2014/" target="_blank">TLC Tour </a>asked if I want to review this book, I agreed as I don't know anything about children books. As a child, I read mostly children books in Chinese, so apart from a few famous ones in English (some of the translated into Chinese), I just don't even know where to start. (And nope, I didn't read any Dr Seuss until the last 1.5 years!)<br />
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This is a very cute book - I mean, Brady is a bat, but he is not at all spooky or scary! The illustrations were nicely done by Gregory Burgess Jones, and I like the verse (I like verses that rhyme! So much more fun to read out loud). Plus I like fireflies - seem how cute that one on the cover is?<br />
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I think when my son gets older, especially when/if he starts getting scared in the dark, this would be a fun and useful book to read together! Even if he have this fear, this is a still great bedtime story too.<br />
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Fun fact - the author is also a Pediatrician!<br />
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Don't forget to check out the other tours!<br />
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<h3 style="background-color: #d6e0f1; color: #3f464f; font-family: Georgia, 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Verdana, Times, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 17.71875px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px 5px;">
Brian Barlics’ TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:</h3>
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Monday, January 6th: <a href="http://savvyverseandwit.com/?" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Savvy Verse and Wit</a></div>
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Tuesday, January 7th: <a href="http://allisonsbookbag.wordpress.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Allison’s Book Bag</a></div>
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Tuesday, January 7th: <a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/?" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Mental Foodie</a></div>
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Wednesday, January 8th: <a href="http://bookdilettante.blogspot.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Book Dilettante</a></div>
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Thursday, January 9th: <a href="http://hjrcherryblossoms.blogspot.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Cherry Blossoms</a></div>
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Friday, January 10th: <a href="http://www.notinjersey.com/?" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Not in Jersey</a></div>
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Monday, January 13th: <a href="http://readlately.com/?" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Read Lately</a></div>
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Tuesday, January 14th: <a href="http://sweetsouthernhome.net/?" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Sweet Southern Home</a></div>
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Wednesday, January 15th: <a href="http://www.simplystacie.net/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Simply Stacie</a></div>
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Thursday, January 16th: <a href="http://melissanorthway.com/?" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Melissa Northway</a></div>
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Friday, January 17th: <a href="http://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/?" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Cheryl’s Book Nook</a></div>
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Monday, January 20th: <a href="http://babblin-brooke.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Babblin’ Brooke</a></div>
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Tuesday, January 21st: <a href="http://musingsbymaureen.blogspot.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Musings by Maureen</a></div>
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Wednesday, January 22nd: <a href="http://www.quirkybookworm.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Quirky Bookworm</a></div>
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Thursday, January 23rd: <a href="http://www.redheadedbookchild.com/?" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Red Headed Book Child</a></div>
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Monday, January 27th: <a href="http://patriciaswisdom.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: none;">Patricia’s Wisdom</a></div>
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Note - Received a free copy from TLC Tour in exchange for an unbiased review.
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-12842552523347200542014-01-01T23:38:00.000-06:002014-01-07T21:48:41.565-06:002013... onto 2014Happy New Year!!<br />
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45.<br />
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I am surprised that I actually read 45 books this year (I thought I read less). 32 Fiction and 13 Non-Fiction (including 2 graphic non-fiction). In 2012, I read 29 books. I am still way behind to my usual 100 books a year. Hey, if I count all the kid books I'd read...<br />
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5 Did Not Finish (all fiction).<br />
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To be honest, even though I'd marked a few books as 4 Stars or 4.5 Stars, none of them really jumped out to me so much that made me wanted to recommend it to everyone (remember Still Alice? The Help? Human Bobby?)<br />
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Don't get me wrong, i enjoyed them, but they were not <i>that </i>life-changing. I suppose the two 4.5 Stars books - my two top rated ones - did have a bit of an impact. But they just didn't make me go wow.<br />
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For 2014, I decided that I need to read more books that'd INSPIRE me. Be they fiction or non-fiction. I guess I just didn't quite feel inspired this year. I have already borrowed a bunch of books from the library (oops, I wasn't supposed to!) so hopefully they'd be a good start! And really, I'd just keep on being a mood reader, and pick whatever that strikes my mood.<br />
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The book I'm reading right now is The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty. I didn't mean to pick this as my first book (I had another book in mind), but this was actually the last book I started in 2013, and hope I'd finish before the new year...<br />
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I did manage to blog every book I read in 2013, so I am happy about that! I want to keep this goal in 2014. Hopefully I can be a bit more active in blogging non-book related posts too, but I just feel a bit weird posting more personal stuff here since this is primarily a book blog. And being an introvert, I just didn't think my life is that interesting that others would want to read about it (no twitter here) :p<br />
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Want to know what books I'd read in 2013 and how they were rated? Click<a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/search/label/Books%20-%202013" target="_blank"> here.</a> You can see links to each review there too.<br />
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How about you? Do you have any plans on what you wish to read this year?<br />
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By the way, if you have any books that inspire you, I'd love to hear about them. Please! :)<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454479067313539656.post-76406003929373149062014-01-01T18:37:00.003-06:002014-01-01T18:37:35.521-06:00Book Review - Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="15786110" height="200" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1345686126l/15786110.jpg" width="141" /></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15786110-relish" target="_blank">Relish: My Life in the Kitchen</a></b> by Lucy Knisley<br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">A vibrant, food-themed memoir from beloved indie cartoonist Lucy Knisley.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">Lucy Knisley loves food. The daughter of a chef and a</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">gourmet, this talented young cartoonist comes by her</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">obsession honestly. In her forthright, thoughtful, and</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">funny memoir, Lucy traces key episodes in her life thus</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">far, framed by what she was eating at the time and lessons</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">learned about food, cooking, and life. Each chapter is</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">bookended with an illustrated recipe—many of them</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">treasured family dishes, and a few of them Lucy's original</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">inventions.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">A welcome read for anyone who ever felt more passion</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">for a sandwich than is strictly speaking proper, Relish is a</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">book for our time: it invites the reader to celebrate food</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">as a connection to our bodies and a connection to the</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">earth, rather than an enemy, a co</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">mpulsion, or a</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 12.666666984558105px;">consumer product.</span></i><br />
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I love reading about food. I love reading memoir. But I haven't read a lot of graphic novels, but I am very glad I read this!<br />
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This is a refreshing and cute book. And the author/artist reminded me of myself a bit, especially with her views on food - she loves the exotic/gourmet food, but her guilty pleasure is French fries from McDonalds... yes I know they are bad for you but they are probably one of my favorite fries (given that I only eat them once a year at most, I don't feel so bad about it...) The biggest difference between us is that she actually cooks/bakes in the kitchen, while I dream that I can.<br />
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It was fun to read about her relationships with her parents and their impact on her regarding food. Her other stories about food and friends are also heartwarming. At the end of each chapter there are also recipes she drawn - very cool.<br />
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My favorite though, has to be the last chapter when she drew about her behind-the-scene experience at one of the best restaurants in the US (if not the world) - <a href="https://content.alinearestaurant.com/html/index.html" target="_blank">Alinea i</a>n Chicago. If there's just ONE restaurant I can try in the US, this is where I'd pick (read about the memoir written by the chef and business partner of Alinea I'd reviewed earlier <a href="http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/2011/11/book-review-life-on-line-chefs-story-of.html" target="_blank">here</a>). Apparently she got invited to the kitchen after one of the owners saw her drawings about her actual eating experience at the restaurant (which I want to read!!). I was so jealous that she got to see the action! Though it seems there were equal amount of cooking and cleaning back there - which is good... who wants to eat from a dirty kitchen?<br />
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4 Stars (this is more like 4.25... not quite 4.5 because it just lacks a bit of depth, but it was a very enjoyable read nevertheless.)<br />
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Note - The book was borrowed from the library.
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All reviews and posts are copyrighted by Christa @ Mental Foodie. Please do not use or reprint them without written permission.</span>christa @ mental foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06272799752169958460noreply@blogger.com2