This book was recommended to me by a friend. Do your friend(s) a kindness and do the same because it is worth it. Written in a genteel manner, this elegant read is part history lesson and love story, part etiquette manual and cuisinay guide, part class study and artistic/literary essay. You will find yourself in …
Category: sharing book titles
In the Woods by Tana French
Tana French's novel, In the Woods, (the first of her Dublin Murder Squad Series) is for those who aren't put out by the unexpected. You won't find the neatly wrapped up finish wherein, as per usual, the boy gets the girl and justice is had by all, where all problems are resolved and all enigmas …
Virginia Woolf and doughnuts
A Room of One's Own Consider this...The doughnut hole is an integral part of the doughnut. It has a designation (doughnut hole) and a function (it allows the dough to cook evenly inside and out). Many, though, perceive the doughnut hole as meaningless empty space. Consider now the doughnut hole as a representation of women …
Wine, War and more
For history buffs, wine lovers and those who just like a good old fashioned mystery, I need to share the following reads. Wine and War by Don and Petie Kladstrup. This book was gifted to me years ago and although I initially thought it would be somewhat dry, I couldn't have been more wrong. It …
Revelations of a bookcase
If you want to gather insight so as to know someone better, spend some time checking out what they read. Or better yet, take some time to peruse their bookcase. Allen Ginsberg famously said, "You are what you think about all day" and Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin remarked, "Tell me what you eat and I will …
The Lover by Marguerite Duras (L’Amant)
The power of love and love as power I don't know about you, but usually if I have read a book, I won't watch the film version and vice versa. Having said that, there are, as always, exceptions to the rule. The Lover (L'Amant in original language) by Marguerite Duras is an autobiographical novel. It …
Falling for Autumn
Some say it is because I was an October baby, others believe it is because I am a Libra, still others disagree completely with me. But I have always maintained that Autumn, for me, is the best season of all! Against the brazen optimism that is spring, the carefree spirit of summer and the crisp …
Food for thought
A while back, in The not so humble cookbook, I wrote about cookbooks that literally changed the course of food preparation, interpretation and consumption. Noteworthy as these were and still are, they are not the only items available to all those that adore cooking and eating. There are wonderful movies such as: Chef, Burnt, The …
A day at the beach with Margaret Drabble
Sea breezes, the squawk of gulls, the scent of coco and salty air; I am at the beach. Colorful mini shops on wheels sell cheerful brightly colored bikinis, towels and beaded jewellery. The sky is dotted with para-sailors and the water with windsurfers, paddle boats and bobbing heads. Mothers call out to their children to …
Sharing Books
Get ready to feel unbridled anger, vulnerability and powerlessness, hopelessness and disbelief. These are all true stories which is what makes them get under your skin and remain there long after you have finished reading the last page. Heartbreaking, maddening and ludicrous. Thank goodness also touching, brave and triumphant. Proof that love comes in many …
Manu writes 