The Sunday Salon: Springing Ahead

Hello fellow Saloners! I'm getting a bit of a late start with my post today, but it seems to be the pattern of this past week. Simply put, there's just not enough time in a day to do all the things I need to do. It's very easy to get overwhelmed, but I won't go into all of that! I'll spare you, so just be thankful! I think now with the time change, it'll work in my favor. I'm more active when its light outside. When it's dark, my body thinks it's time for sleep!

I did manage to accomplish a few things this week. I posted my thoughts on Truman Capote's IN COLD BLOOD, the book that really got under my skin. It is an amazing book and if you haven't read it, I encourage you to do so. You can read my thoughts here.

I also finished reading THE TRIUMPH OF DEBORAH and will post that review in a day or so. Like I mentioned earlier, time just wasn't on my side this week and even though I did manage to finish writing my review for this book, I don't want to rush into posting it. So, sorry for the delay. I know many of you commented to me that you're looking forward to the review, but I want to make sure I do it justice. I hoping this week will allow me more uninterrupted time to complete what I feel will be a good review.

I participated in Musing Mondays, hosted by Rebecca at Just One More Page and her musing was about reading habits. More specifically, skimming or skipping whole chapters. It sparked a lot of conversation and interesting comments.

MizB asked 'What's the best book you've never read?' on Booking Through Thursday. Wow, just when I thought I'd make a dent in my TBR pile, this comes along and I'm reminded of so many great books out there that I need to read! I really enojoyed reading every one's answers and remembering books that I had almost forgotten about. A few that I kept seeing mentioned were THE BOOK THIEF and THE POISONWOOD BIBLE and of course, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, which was on my list as well. Now I need to re-examine the order of my TBR pile.

I only received one new book this week to review. It's in the Christian Fiction genre and it's called SAINTS IN LIMBO, which I think is a great title. It's set to be released in May. I'd like to thank the author, River Jordan for sending me this advanced copy. You can read a bit about the book here.

That's about it for last week. As for the rest of today, I'm planning on relaxing and curling up with JANE EYRE. The trouble I have with reading two (or more) books at a time is that it bothers me when one gets ignored for a day or two. I've been reading this book for THREE WEEKS!! That's crazy!! However, I have read several other books at the same time, but I'm realizing I don't like doing that. I like focusing on one book at a time. I feel like I'm neglecting Jane, so today, I'm all hers!!



What are you reding today? Are you cheating on one book in order to read another?

Gettin' Toasted: Raspberry Clafouti

Spring is just around the corner, and a delicious variety of berries are already available at the produce markets. So for this week's toaster oven dish, I'm preparing a dessert called a clafouti (kla-foo-TEE). Clafouti is a French puffy, cakey, pudding-like dessert traditionally made with cherries but is also very good with peaches, strawberries, or any fruit you like. Chef Eric Ripert features his version made with raspberries on his website, Aveceric. Watch this video to see how simple this yummy dish is to make.


Raspberry Clafouti
Serves 2

1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup sugar + more for ramekin
1 large egg
6 tablespoons half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup fresh raspberries
Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Heat toaster oven to 400°F. Butter two 3 ½ - inch ramekins and dust with sugar. Whisk egg until frothy and add sugar, half and half and vanilla extract; mix to combine. Add the all purpose flour and whisk very well. Divide the raspberries into the ramekins and pour the batter over the raspberries. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes until golden brown and the middle is set.
Serve with a scoop of ice cream. (optional) I really liked this dessert. However, because my ramekins are not the size specified in the recipe, I will have to modify it the next time to make it perfect. Be sure the clafouti is baked until it is lightly browned and a knife comes out clean from the center. I think the next time I will pour a small amount of batter into the bottom and bake it for a few minutes before adding the berries amd the remainder of the batter. I love the faint taste of the sugar that the ramekins are dusted with. Another idea is to sprinkle with powdered sugar after removing it from the oven. There are so many ways to make clafouti to suit anyones taste. You can also find recipes for 6-8 servings for larger groups. This would be a perfect dish to serve for a brunch.

I hope that if you decide to try this recipe, you'll come back and let me know what you thought. This is a dish that I will experiment with in many different ways and is another great example of how to get the most out of your toaster oven. Do you have a favorite dish that you make in your toaster oven?

BTT: Best Books I've Never Read

We’ve all seen the lists, we’ve all thought, “I should really read that someday,” but for all of us, there are still books on “The List” that we haven’t actually gotten around to reading. Even though we know they’re fabulous. Even though we know that we’ll like them. Or that we’ll learn from them. Or just that they’re supposed to be worthy. We just … haven’t gotten around to them yet.


What’s the best book that YOU haven’t read yet?

Well first of all, those kinds of lists always irritate me. Reason being that most of the time, I've never read any of the books on the list! Does that mean I'm reading the 'wrong' books? I don't think there are any 'wrong' books to read. OK, I'm done with that - now I'll move on to the ones I haven't read. The first one that came to mind was JANE EYRE, but I'm reading that now, so that doesn't count. Here are a few others that come to mind:

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - I plan to read it this year, I swear!
• The Blind Assasin by Margaret Atwood - I've heard so much about this book
• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
• Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides - I started this and only got a third of the way through and never got back to it!

I'm sure there are many others, but these are the ones that I thought of first. What 'best' book haven't you read?

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (Vintage Paperback)

I'll start off by saying that I didn't intend to read this book. Of course, I'd heard about it and knew of Truman Capote, but hadn't read any of his work. Then one day this past January, I watched the movie Capote, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman. I was entranced by his performance. He was utterly amazing as Truman Capote.

After I watched the movie, I couldn't get the story of the Clutter family murders out of my head. The sheer senselessness and brutality of it haunted me. I made a mental note that I would definitely read the book 'one day'.

A few weeks later I made a trip to my public library and before I knew it, was staring at all of the different editions of this classic history-making true crime novel. I ended up taking one home. I started reading immediately and put all other books I was reading off to the side.

The book is written in parts. The first detailing the last day the Clutter family was alive. It chronicles alternately between the family and the two men who were then making their way to Holcomb for a 'score'. Part two of the book is the aftermath of the murders and how the community dealt with it. There were few leads and no one could even imagine who could've done such a terrible thing to a family that everyone loved and respected. Part three describes how the authorities learned the identities of Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, retracing the killers' movements after they fled. Part four involves their incarceration and ultimate sentencing to Death Row to await their fate.

As it turns out, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the shocking murders that took place on that moonlit November night in Holcomb, Kansas. To say that I enjoyed this book sounds disturbing, so I will just say that I appreciated Capote's writing and the details of the case. It must've been a mentally exhausting book to write and having seen the movie, Capote, I know that it was very difficult for him as he spent so much time with Perry Smith in order to get the information needed for the book. Capote, in fact, befriended him and at times, misled his intentions to gain his trust, so I don't have much sympathy for what Capote went through in order to write his book. I know I keep referring to the movie, but it explains much of what happened. I know from the movie Capote felt tortured about his less than honest actions regarding his so-called friendship with Perry. In fact, in the front of the book he wrote (and never finished) Answered Prayers, after In Cold Blood, he wrote a message that said: "More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones." I find that extremely poignant.

This is a book that even though is written about a horrible crime, I'm glad I read it. Here's a clip I found of Truman Capote taling about writing the book:

And here is a clip from the movie Capote starring Philip Seymour Hoffman:



I definitely want to read some of his fiction books, for example The Grass Harp, which I'm told is beautifully written. Or Breakfast At Tiffany's. Have you read any of Truman Capote's books? If so, please leave a comment and tell me how you liked it.

IN COLD BLOOD
Author: Truman Capote
Publisher: Vintage (paperback)
Published: 1994 (First Edition published 1965)
Pages: 368

Teaser Tuesdays: The Triumph of Deborah

Each week TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• Grab your current read
• Let the book fall open to a random page
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• Share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given.

Please avoid spoilers!

My teasers today are from THE TRIUMPH OF DEBORAH by Eva Etzioni-Harevy.

The day that preceded Barak's attack had been a tiring one for Deborah, with numerous complaints shrilly voicing their claims. She had succeeded in appeasing them all, and they had left in contentment. ~ page 109

This is the first Biblical Fiction book I've read and I have to say I'm happily surprised at how much I'm enjoying it. I doubt this will be my last venture into this genre.

For more teasers, click here.

Musing Mondays: Reading Habits

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about boys and reading…

When reading do you read every word? Do you ever skip chapters or skim over parts? (question courtesy of Wendy)

This is an easy one for me! I am definitely not a skimmer. And I NEVER skip whole chapters! The only time I may skim through a paragraph or two is if the book I'm reading is quickly losing my interest and I'm looking for something to grasp. Fortunately, that doesn't happen often. I like to read every word that is written to make sure I'm getting what the author is trying to tell me. I'm not a super-fast reader either. I wouldn't say I'm slow, but I certainly want to appreciate the book I'm reading. Especially if I've been asked to review said book - I want to give it the attention it deserves.

I hope I'm not getting off-topic here, but I'm always amazed at how some readers zip through a book in a day. How do they do that? Would I want to do that? Are they skimming? I bow down to those readers! Me? I read for enjoyment and I don't enjoy speed-reading - it gives me a headache! I like to savor my books. Like many other bloggers, I work forty hours a week, which really cuts into my reading time on weekdays. Therefore, I usually only read three to four books a month and I feel pretty good about that number. But who knows, maybe I am a slow reader.

What are your reading habits? Are you a skimmer?

The Sunday Salon: A Recap and an Award!

With the weather turning a bit cooler today and rain in the air, it's going to be a perfect day to stay inside with a book. That's what I intend to do. I've been reading JANE EYRE along with a friend from work and I'm enjoying getting to know Mr. Rochester and Jane herself. This is my first reading of this book, although I have seen a film version. However, there is no substitue for reading Ms. Bronte's words. Since I am reading two books at once, I keep JANE EYRE on my nightstand for bedtime reading. I enjoy ending my day with this wonderful book.


The other book I'm reading this week is THE TRIUMPH OF DEBORAH by Eva Etzioni-Halevy. The book was released this week, and I've read several positve reviews already. I only started reading it yesterday, but I was quickly drawn into the story and its characters. This surprised me as I've never read Biblical Fiction before.

Last week was a very productive book week for me. At the beginning of the week, I finished reading IN COLD BLOOD by Truman Capote. I'll have my thoughts on that book this week. I posted a review of MURDER MELTS IN YOUR MOUTH by Nancy Martin on Friday. You can read that review here. I also participated in some weekly events:

• Musing Mondays - Hosted by Just One More Page
• Teaser Tuesdays - Hosted by Should Be Reading
• These Books Were Made For Walking - Hosted monthly by Strumpet
• Booking Through Thursday - Hosted by Should be Reading

New books I received this week were:

• THE TRIUMPH OF DEBORAH by Eva Etzioni-Halevy
• RUN FOR YOUR LIFE by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
• THE ASSOCIATE by John Grisham

One of the most exciting things that happened was I was honored with an award from Kaye at Pudgy Penguin Perusals!
This award is given to either newbie blogs or blogs that are new to you. I'm so glad Kaye found my blog and I found hers! Thank you so much Kaye! Now I get to pass this award on to 5 other bloggers who are new to me. And they are:

• Staci - Life in the Thum b
• Jo-Jo Loves To Read!
• Robin - My Two Blessings
• Yvonne - Socrates' Book Reviews
• Erika-Lynn - Kiss My Book

If any of these blogs are new to you, please take the time to go visit them. Congratulations Girls!
Well, that's it for me! Now I'm off to go read my book for a bit then catch up on my blog reading. I hope you are enjoying your Sunday!