I looked back and it was June when I last posted a reading update. Hang on because here we go!!!
Notes on Your Sudden Disapparence by Alison Espach (ebook)
I was eager to read Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance after I read her novel, The Wedding People. I loved that novel and laughed outloud throughout. I liked Notes on Your Sudden Disappearnce. It’s not as humorous and is a bit darker but I enjoy Espach’s sense of dialogue and her quirky way of looking at relationships. (I highly recommend The Wedding People.) 3 Stars
A Fellowship Bakers & Magic by J. Penner (ebook)
I saw this book as a staff recommendation in one of my favorite independent bookstores. I almost bought it there but glad I got this on Kindle Unlimited for free…. I thought I might recommend it for one of my foodie book clubs. (I probably won’t.)
Let me say that I’m not a huge fantasy fan but I thought the food angle would pull me through. It did. The dialogue was a bit stilted at times (grossly so). I doubt I pick up the next book in this series.
It is a quick read. 3 stars and I was probably being kind.
The French Kitchen by Kristy Cambron (ebook)
This was a Kindle Unlimited offering so I thought “What the heck?” It started out very slow and then the plot got truly intriguing. I love a good foodie book, and when Julia Childs stepped in as a character I thought Cambron was on to something.
I didn’t love it. There were times I had to reread sentences over and over again to figure out her syntax and style.
I’m still not sure I totally buy the way the book was wrapped up at the end.
I think the plot was a great idea. Maybe more editing was needed.
(I also thought the whole storyline of Kat running her late father’s garage was a bit odd and her mother’s marriage to a socialite that elevates Kat’s status was a little hard to swallow.) 3 stars
Skylark by Paula McClain
I loved Paula McLain’s earlier works. This is another novel set partially during WWII (and the mid-1600s). I wanted to love this one. Instead I just liked it. Sometimes I wondered about the parallel timelines and plots. I can see where she wanted to go with the comparisons but not sure it worked. When I was reading about the WWII characters in Paris, I really wanted more.
It is still a good read and I am still passing it along to a friend to read because we both LOVED The Paris Wife. I did end up rating Skylark 4 stars.
The Beheading Game by Rebecca Lehmann
One will have to suspend disbelief to read this novel. I am a Tudor/Elizabethan fan fanatic so when I saw this book on a featured table at our bookstore, I bought it. I am glad I did but I wasn’t prepared for what was inside the cover.
Lehmann re-imagines Anne Boleyn’s life and death. The novel opens with her beheading. Miraculously, she is reanimated and sets out on a fantastical trail of revenge. She experiences a lot of luck and is helped along by a common woman, Alice. Anne does have her eyes open (maybe that is a pun) to the life of the poor and common folk. She is also helped and spurred along by some mystical creatures as she sets out to make her way back to the court.
Crazy sounding tale but I enjoyed it. 5 stars!
Simple Fruit by Laurie Pfalzer
I bought this on sale at a local boutique (75% off!!). I am planning a post about it at some point.
Pfalzer was moved to write this book from memories of her childhood home and the fruit and produce that she remembers from there. The book is full of great combos: Vanilla Roasted Rhubarb, Rhubarb-Ginger Sorbet, Strawberry-Lime Layer Cake, Strawberry-Coconut Sorbet, Smoky Sweet Cherries in Port with Bittersweet Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Cake with Raspberry-Orange Compote, Poached Blueberries with Vanilla Bean and Anise, Bittersweet Chocolate Tart with Blackberries and Basil, Grilled Apricots with Brown Butter and Maple-Tamari Glaze and Roasted Peach Bread Pudding with Ginger Creme Anglaise. I could go on and on with her combinations: plums with lavender, apples with rosemary, cranberry and bay leaf, citrus and thyme….
I have to say that this is such a small book that I didn’t have high expectations. I was a little concerned when in the intro, she states her mother didn’t put any spices in her apple pie. What? I’m all about letting fresh ingredients speak for themselves, but I usually need a little zing and pizzazz. Pfalzer delivers that pizzazz!
I originally thought I would gift this book to a baking friend. I think I am keeping it. 5 stars
House of Vinegar: The Power of Sour by Jonathan Sawyer
This is another bargain book that I got at the sidewalk sale. I knew I wanted to give it to my sister because she does make her own vinegar. (I just do infusions.) First of all, I went down a rabbit hole trying to find out more about Sawyer. Apparently, this guy does make the reality TV/cooking competition circuit and has been on a lot of shows. I think I might remember him from Last Chef Standing. (Most recently he may have been disqualified from a competition but I really think I landed on an AI generated site so I can’t verify.)
This book is hilarious and I love his style of writing. He is no nonsense and unapologetic and while there are a few chemical formulas and a bit of technical jargon, his take on making vinegar is just throw what you want in a jar and wait. Basically, you’re mostly safe in this vinegar-making endeavor because not a lot of bad stuff can grow in alcohol. He does make it sound relatively easy.
Besides making vinegar, there are recipes to use his concoction. I do hope to post a better review of it here later but I will have to borrow it back from my sister now. 4 stars.
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver (audiobook)
The narrator of this audiobook wasn’t the best and the sound editing was even worse.
I read The Bean Trees way back when it first came out and I remember loving it! I apparently merged my memory with The Bean Trees and Animal Dreams. What I remember from this book didn’t even happen. (I have a vivid memory of Taylor being on the Gorge Bridge in Taos and finding Turtle. ????? But, wait, I think the bridge scene happens in Pigs in Heaven….)
Part of The Bean Trees is set in Oklahoma and I have to criticize some of Kingsolver’s geographical knowledge here. (I’m an Okie.) There were a lot of issues with how close locations were. I mean the Pioneer Woman (the statue, not Ree Drummond) is no where near the Cherokee reservation and the treks Taylor drives both times through Oklahoma were random and unrealistic at best.
I would have rated this book a five if GoodReads had been around 1988. I loved this (and it’s Kingsolver’s first novel).
She has advanced a great deal. Remember that I’m reading this book over 30 years later so hindsight, perception and life experience has something to do with this rating. 3 stars this time around.
A Thousand Painted Hours by Barbara O’Neal
This is O’Neal’s latest book and I loved it! It was a quick read even clocking in at over 500 pages. Look for a full review of this book on August 30 for the TLC Book Tour. (I recieved an advanced copy.) 5 Stars!!!
The Land and Its People by David Sedaris
This might be the first time I have given a four-star review to a Sedaris book. (They are usually 5+.) I usually find myself cry-laughing throughout most of his collections. Not so much this time.
The blurb states that “Sedaris reflects on what it means to be a foreigner, a brother, a lifelong friend.” David indeed reflects. This is a retrospective book of essays from someone starting to look back at his life with rose-colored bifocals.
That’s not to mean I didn’t enjoy this book. It was just a departure from the “pee-in-your-pants” humor that I expect. This is David in his twilight years. 4 stars 🙁
Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal
I reread this book as well for the June/July Cook the Books event. I liked this one better the second time around. You can see what I thought here.
There were numerous other cookbooks but I am working on drafts for full blown posts. I am still 6 books behind on my Goodreads 2026 goal.
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