#Agatha Christie Cookbook

[my-52-weeks-with-christie]

Cooking With Christie!

This Week’s Recipe: Quick Mexican Rice Inspiration: I need to admit to a very guilty gastronomical pleasure — I enjoy doctoring Rice a Roni’s Spanish and Mexican rice. Starting with cooking the base box contents in salt-free stock (because Rice a Roni contains enough season all on its own) for an additional flavor boost. I then move on to the extras like cheese, chicken, serrano & bell peppers,…

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#agatha Christie #book #book cover #book photo #book pic #Cooking With Christie #mexican rice #my 52 weeks with christie #postern of fate #super easy! cookbook #the pioneer woman #tommy and tuppence

[zoeyslament]

What the choir reads :)

Ocean: At first it was your usual popular/cheesy romance novels but after coming out its…wlw cheesy romance novels. She has also just. Read the dictionary multiple times before.

Noel: Either the classics or the worst fanfiction known to man, depends on the day

Mischa: Comic books and like. The occasional novel for school. Also really enjoys horror novels.

Ricky: Also comics/graphic novels, or just comedy books. Also any nonfiction stuff about cats. Also fanfiction.

Penny: Books about animals, she will literally comb through every animal entry in an encyclopedia

Constance: She looooves mystery novels. Big Agatha Christie fan. Also a sucker for fantasy, and has been known to read through cookbooks from time to time.

#rtc #ride the cyclone

[readingoals]

Lifeline Bookfest started yesterday and I was there at opening. It was insanely busy even at 7.30am when the doors opened but I managed to snag a few things! We've been talking about maybe popping back one afternoon during the week when it'll be a little quieter but here's my haul from the first day:

Most excitingly I managed to find 9 Agatha Christie titles in the edition I'm trying to collect. One of them is a double because the copy I already have is falling apart lmao but I'm so thrilled by these because last bookfest I didn't find a single one.

Then the next is a bit of a silly pick up but I love the Romantic era and I couldn't resit this study guide sort of thing that summarises a bunch of Romantic poems

Beside it is the Game of Thrones cookbook which I've looked at in stores before but never bought so I defs couldn't say no to it yesterday

Then there are 3 of Georgette Heyer's mysteries. She's another author I'm very interested in reading more from and we already have a decent collection of her romances but I don't think we have many of her mysteries. And I'm so curious to read them. I think she'll be my next project after I've finished off the Christie's. Also how gorgeous are those covers?

And then we have 2 Frankenstein related books. The Frankenstein Diaries is one I've heard of but couldn't seem to find anywhere so I had to grab it as soon as I realised what it was.

But the last one is maybe my favourite thing I bought. It's a pop up book version of Frankenstein and, frankly, it's fucking incredible.

Overall, a pretty successful Bookfest!

#booklr #lifeline bookfest #book haul #brigid speaks

[tobiasdrake]

What games are on your radar, can I ask?

Let's see here....

Not all of these are there to be played on Tumblr liveblogs; While I am having a lot of fun with that, I do have to pick and choose what I think will work with my particular format. For instance, right now I have Mario vs. Donkey Kong as a rental, but that's not a game that I can use for liveblog content. It's just a fun little puzzler.

I use GameFly to rent a lot of my games, but that's only an option for games with physical distributions.

My GameFly Queue:

Airoheart

Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot: The London Case

Alchemic Cutie

ANONYMOUS CODE;Steel Book

Another Code: Recollection

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy

BELOW

Blade Assault

Crime O'Clock

Demoniaca: Everlasting Night

Dokapon Kingdom: Connect

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons

Elderand

Live a Live

Monster Crown

Monster Menu - The Scavenger's Cookbook

My Time at Sandrock

Nine Witches: Family Disruption

Paradise Killer

Process of Elimination

Record of Agarest War

Stray

Vernal Edge

Yurukill - The Calumniation Games

I also have Xbox's GamePass, so I'm always watching for new games to drop there. GamePass was where I picked up Sea of Stars from.

And then I have a few games that I can't access through either, so I want to play them but I need to scrape money together for them and/or wait for a sale.

To Buy List:

Baldur's Gate 3

The Entropy Center

Inscryption

In Stars and Time

SANABI

The Talos Principle 2

Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered

[findswoman]

Tag Nine (9) People You’d Like to Get to Know Better!

I was tagged by @tarisilmarwen. Thank you so much, Tari, as always! I’m glad to be someone you would like to know better, because I’m glad to know you, too. 💜

Three ships: Two OC/EC ones, plus Kanera.

First ever ship: Spock with a female Vulcan OC many years ago.

Last song/album: Some cantatas by Dieterich Buxtehude (1637–1707) as I exercise. Yes, early music geek here!

Last movie: Probably the one a singer friend of mine sent me the other month or so of him performing a short cantata by the seventeenth-century nun-composer Isabella Leonarda (1620–1704) with a small baroque orchestra. Does that count? I hope so, because I haven’t had the chance to sit down and watch an actual feature film in quite a while! 😛

Currently reading: Recently it’s been various cookbooks and feeble attempts to catch up on friends’ fanfic stories, but I’m about to go on a road trip and am bringing some Agatha Christie along.

Currently watching: Nothing regularly right now. (Sorry I’m such a boring stick-in-the-mud!) But when I’m staying with my mom we never miss Father Brown and Death in Paradise.

Currently consuming: Nothing yet, because I’m exercising on the elliptical, but I plan to make myself a strawberry-banana smoothie once I’m done.

Currently craving: A nice long, peaceful stretch of time in which to do some fanfic writing.

I’m going to add one, because I’ve seen it in other versions of this game and I like when it is. (Plus, I just have to tell the world! 😁 )

Currently working on: The Book of Gand, part three!

Tagging: @rendar-writes @sassygirl579 @kanerallels @merspots @para-cera-therium @independence1776 @queen-susans-revenge @lasatfat @gondalsqueen @jedi-valjean —and really anyone who sees this who might want like to try!

[cartograffiti]

January '24 reading diary

I finished a whopping 17 books in January, thanks to picking up a lot of quicker reads (novellas! poetry! manga!), and a bunch of them were really exciting!

At Christmas, my mother bought a copy of Taskmaster: 220 Extraordinary Tasks for Ordinary People for the assembled family to pass among ourselves. It's fun and funny, but there's very little in it I'm likely to try. It's also worth noting that the book was published in 2018 and Alex Horne ran a contest alongside it, which means that there are some prompts with a 2019 deadline, and some that require going to specific places in the United Kingdom.

Some cookbooks! Pieometry: Modern Tart Art and Pie Design for the Eye and the Palate was another Christmas gift to me, by the amazing Instagram sensation Lauren Ko. I've always found her very precise decorations intimidating, and I doubt I'll attempt more than the simplest of the ones she gives instructions for here, but they're inspiring to look at, and I very much want to try some of the recipes for interesting fillings and naturally colored crusts.

I picked up Snacking Bakes by Yossy Arefi after seeing someone claim that an earlier Arefi book, Snacking Cakes, had changed the landscape of home baking in the US. I found the recipes in Bakes really basic, but I hopped into the much longer hold line for Cakes, so maybe in a couple of months I can tell you how much that's hype.

I probably won't make anything from Tasting History by Max Miller, but I like him on YouTube, and expected that. This is a book for reading about historical cooking, and the recipes are a bonus if one really intrigues you. Nice details, well laid out.

It fit in nicely with a couple of reading challenges to read a Pablo Neruda collection--I chose The Essential Neruda on the basis that Hoopla had it--and I enjoyed it hugely. I'd read Neruda poems from time to time as a child and student, mostly ones about nature and love, but this collection has a nice breadth to it, introducing me to examples of his work that deal with labor exploitation and political events. I can't speak to the quality of translation, but even only knowing his work in English, I find the rhythm and imagery really special and memorable. I'm especially fond of "Drunk as Drunk on Turpentine." He's one of the most famous Chilean writers, and I'm glad to be more familiar now with the reasons why.

Last month, I said that my mother and I had started working through a hard Nick Bantock puzzle book, and we were very impressed with it. It's called The Egyptian Jukebox, and it's a succession of interesting puzzles about interpreting the contents of photographed shadowbox "drawers." Mom, who is an excellent codebreaker, worked out a core mechanic pretty swiftly, while I floundered with wrong approaches for a bit and then asked her to confirm whether I was finally on the right track; that made the first few pages the hardest part, and the rest relied more heavily on my strengths of observation and lateral thinking. We both found the final solution extra fun because of a personal connection, but I think the journey will be satisfying enough for most puzzlers.

I've been trying to read literally any Becky Chambers book for multiple years without getting around to it, but this month I listened to the audiobooks of A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy and just adored them. This is a duology about Sibling Dex, a monk whose role is to serve tea and listen to people's problems, and Mosscap, the first robot anyone has seen since robots became sapient and withdrew from human society, generations ago. They travel together, with beautiful writing about nature, spirituality, and various kinds of social responsibility. Every bit as good as I'd heard.

Dumb Witness is a solid mid-range Agatha Christie mystery (which is to say better than most people's), an inheritance murder plot involving a letter sent months after it was dated, interesting poison facts, and key evidence from a dog. It's a bit dated, because it relies on subverting some ideas about mental health and xenophobia that have changed since 1937. I can appreciate what she did, but at a remove.

More than one of the reading challenges I'm doing this year call for reading a manga. I like manga, but I probably haven't read any in about 10 years, since I read all sorts of Clamp and shoujo and shounen with high school friends. I fell off as my tastes moved to series aimed at young adults, which were at the time harder to find in my area. Anyway, I'm excited to have gotten sucked into a manga again! I'd seen some of Shirahama Kamome's beautiful art from Witch Hat Atelier and I quickly fell in love with the story, which surrounds Coco, a young witch being taught to work magic using art supplies. The interpersonal relationships are strong, the apprentices are real people with distinct outlooks, and the larger plot about what kinds of magic are banned, and whether they should be, is fascinating. I tore through volumes 1-5, and I have two more checked out and another on hold. Both cheerful and serious, original, and not set in a school environment. Lovely, and one of several things motivating me to try drawing again lately.

The Emelan group read has gone into the Circle Reforged novels, and we're reading in chronological order. Battle Magic was...fine? Not the most interesting Pierce major arc, but lots of interesting things woven through it. It was written in her period of slower pacing, which I don't like as much.

I know several big fans of Dorothy Dunnett's 16th century historical fiction drama the Lymond Chronicles, and oh man am I on the boat now too. The Game of Kings is so confusing (complimentary), full of emotion and grabby characters, and I fell in love. She expects a lot of her readers. I sent in the chat where I'm live blogging that, "Here's an obscure Ancient Roman. Now understand an allusion to how a particular beetle moves. Jokes in five languages. And there's even a plot." Sometimes it's overwhelming, but it's also exactly my kind of thing, every chapter has at least one perfect scene, and Dunnett does some incredible literary magic tricks. One night I felt like I felt like I was being crushed in a vise. I'm already reading the next one, which has a reveal that made me stop reading for fully 40 minutes while I unpicked what I'd missed. I want to write fanfiction. God.

And yesterday I put on a sim game and listened in one sitting to all of Malka Older's The Mimicking of Known Successes, a wonderful sci-fi novella about a detective (Mossa) on Jupiter collaborating with her former college girlfriend (Pleiti) to investigate a case that touches on Pleiti's research, the study of ecological history with the hope of repairing Earth's ecosystem enough for humanity to return to it. Their chemistry is great, the plot is clever, and the dialogue in particular is shiny and tender. I found a couple of world-building beats underdeveloped--there's a thing about "conservative" being a slur in this future that I don't think stuck the landing of indicating the threat being conservative posed to people who had to change or die--but I look forward to reading the next.

#To read a poem in January is as lovely as to go for a walk in June #reading diary #bookblr

[readwing]

Anyways, here's the books I read last year (that weren't manga or cookbooks)-

The Beautiful and Damned, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Sister, Kjell Ola Dahl (#......like 7 or 8 in the Oslo Detective series)

American Prometheus (Oppenheimer biography), Kai Bird

Matilda, Roald Dahl

Blackmail and Bibingka, Mia P. Manansala (#3 in Tita Rosie's Kitchen)

Homicide and Halo-Halo, Mia P. Manansala (#2 in Tita Rosie's Kitchen)

The Moving Finger (Miss Marple #4), Agatha Christie

The Love Hypothesis, Ali Hazelwood

Ymir, Rich Larson

I'm not sure how to put these in an order of what I liked the most because I read them for different reasons so I'll just do a drive by:

Ymir - Started with the pedal to the floorboards and did not let up one bit. One of my favorite flavors of sci-fi is when the narrative is unabashedly About Somewhere Else. Loved how the protagonist could not move through the story without somehow cutting everyone around him, and I loved the traumatic, unresolved tension between him and his brother. Probably my favorite book by vibes alone

Sister - I adore the Oslo Detective series, for reasons that possibly scratch my brain and my brain alone. It's so dry and uninterested in selling you melodrama. I want to study the way this guy writes his interview scenes; they are the main way the detective work gets done and they work so fluidly. They never slow down the pace to make sure you're keeping up. This was a particularly fun installment, seeing one of the lead two detectives on his own doing PI work after having quit, although the cases took brutal turns.

The Moving Finger - Loved it. Love how AC is just out there inventing characters whole cloth that you'll never meet again, but as soon as you meet them you're like 'oh, wow, you're not just a character you're like a full ass person.' I loved this installment in particularly because the dynamics between the characters were just so fascinating?? Once again, I've yet to correctly guess an AC mystery. Better luck next time.

Matilda - read it for a fic I am writing. Spent most of it getting big feelings and marveling at how completely fucking accurate the live action Mara Wilson movie was. Like there were entire scenes where I was like 'this is the movie, this is exactly what happened in the fucking movie.' Great book, but also wow that movie was a wonderfully accurate adaptation.

American Prometheus - Two things I like in a biography: research and calling out when the research didn't yield anything and/or yielded contradictory records. While I struggled to get through the political back half, particularly the bits leading up to the trial, this book was an interesting look on the development of scientific ethics in the twentieth century and on how today's scientific community today is still shaped by the political machinations of the past.

Both of the Tita Rosie's Kitchen books - it's a food-themed setting for a murder mystery book (which is like it's own genre now, which is cool). Relatively easy read. I think the author is still growing into herself, but one thing that she does well is mystery-plotting. Another thing is food descriptions.

The Love Hypothesis - Mainly read it because I owned a copy. It was... probably more enjoyable for people who like romance. Given that it is a romance book. But I do try to read a bit of everything, because I think each genre has something to bring to the table story-wise. This one had some very nice getting-to-know-you moments between the characters, who had good chemistry, but I think where it was weakest was in giving similar moments to the side characters, who often felt one dimensional. The story beats about feminism and institutional unfairness could've been less heavy-handed. For something that was relevant to the plot, it often felt like the author knew they were supposed to say something about it but couldn't figure out how to say it in a way that hadn't been parroted before, which is a shame because the scenes where the protagonist actually had to deal with those issues played well.

#year in review #book roundup

[biographydivider]

i adore your bookclub fics and i am wondering do you have hcs for what the madrigals love to read? 📖💕

Oh! Oh! The best thing a bookseller could be asked for! THEMED RECOMMENDATIONS!! These are based on my knowledge as a UK bookseller but most of these should be available in other places too. Okay so:

Bruno: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid. My boy loves a melodramatic, tragic love story. He read The Bath Scene in Malibu Rising and didn't speak for an entire day, he was so bereft. Pepa: The Mercies, Kiran Millwood Hargrave. It's a period peice, it's emotional but not soul-destroying, it's perfect for a day when the crops need a watering. Julieta: Midnight Chicken, Ella Risbridger. This is a stunning cookbook/memoir about a woman finding healing and love through food. The prose is so soothing, and the food is delicious too! It'd be right up Juli's street. Abuela: Anything Agatha Christie, but especially Miss Marple stories. She likes a book where the murder is solved by the end. Agustín: Norwegian Wood: The guide to chopping, stacking and drying wood the Scandinavian way, Lars Mytting. He wants to be a rugged woodsman SO BAD, you guys. Félix: He buys a biography about a musician he likes every so often, but really he just reads whatever Pepa is reading so she has someone to talk about it with. They read together in bed. Félix wears little wire-rimmed reading glasses. Isabela: This Poison Heart, Kalynn Bayron. A girl who can summon forth plants at her will inherits an old, creepy house and fills it with poisonous plants. Isa read it in one night. Luisa: Heartstopper, Alice Oseman. Fluffy, adorable, romantic, features cute dogs. Luisa all over. Mirabel: Her Dark Wings, Melinda Salisbury. This one's not out yet so a kindly bookseller would have to sneak her a proof, but it's about a girl who lives in the shadow of her best friend finding her own power in the Underworld (and grabbing the attention of a Sexy Lord Of The Dead. Mira's just starting to like the idea of a brooding, angsty love interest, as we all do at 15. She'll soon be introduced to Rhysand in Court of Thorns and Roses...) Dolores: Act Your Age, Eve Brown, Talia Hibbert. A fluffy romcom with some REALLY GOOD SMUT. She read The Desk Scene and her cheeks burned for the rest of the day. (Seriously. Read Talia Hibbert. You'll thank me.) Camilo: Loki: A Bad God's Guide To Being Good by Louie Stowell. In my head Camilo is a tiny bit less confident than his primas and sister with his reading, but he likes the scribbly pictures and that Loki gets up to a ton of trouble...once he's done with them, he lends them to Antonio as an excuse to re-read them to his brother. Antonio: Grimwood, Nadia Shireen. He loved Barbara Throws A Wobbler, but Bruno got sick of reading it every night so they moved on to a chapter book by the same author. Lots of animals, lots of chances for silly voices.

#encanto #encanto headcanon #books #reading #la familia madrigal #this was so much fun to do! #Also Bruno is literally me when a customer asks for recommendations

[desolateice]

Thank you @cookietastic for tagging me. Last Song: The Power of Love by Huey Lewis & The News Currently watching: The Back to the Future Trilogy (I learned my aunt missed the second and third one so we're remedying that situation) Remington Steele, since I finished the Equalizer I was going to pick a Martin Kove show to watch and got all mixed up and thought oh he must be in this, he's not. I mixed it up with some of the other shows he's in and Steele Justice. 😅 But it's kinda fun anyway and I had been wanting a mystery series so it works out. Only Murders in the Building. Currently Reading: Miss Marple short story collection by Agatha Christie. I've been reading a lot of mystery stuff for Hardboiled Gunpowder Tea, and just finished a few nonfiction books and now am reading these. They're....fluffy. Not quite what I expected or hoped for, but decent to read before bed. The forward said people tend to pick either Miss Marple or Poirot and I think I may be more in the Poirot camp. (Though to be fair I've only read the Mysterious Affair at Styles for him) Current Obsession: I wish I had a good answer for this. Like I wish I could say oh the new cook book I got is amazing and I've made xyz but you've caught me in a busy month(s) (and the tail end of an allergy turned cold) where I haven't baked as much as normal. I mean I am very excited about this cookbook, but I'm not currently obsessed with it because I haven't tested out a recipe yet. So I'm going to go with the fact that quite a lot of stores here in the states have put out their Halloween stuff already and I've been enjoying going in and looking around even though I haven't bought anything yet. I like just poking around and seeing the decorations. Tagging: (I'm not sure who all has been tagged in this round so apologies if you have been tagged) @wicked-jade @blinkasaurus @astla-ever @pinktintedmonocle

#tag game #totally optional and only if you want #long posts

[notjanine]

i did not make my reading goal of 69 books this year. life was crazy and my brain was bad. but i did read 53 books, and of those, i liked 50- good hit rate! favorites--in no particular order--under the cut

The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez - black lesbian vampire period piece starting in the 19th century (iirc) through the 20th and into the future. good compelling stuff.

Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer - a delightful natural history of mosses. they're more interesting and cool than you think they are. i can't wait to go out and look at some with the loupe i was given for christmas.

Sorcerer to the Crown and The True Queen by Zen Cho - british wizardry stuff, but good. if i hadn't already known, there is no way i would have guessed that these were written by the same person who wrote Black Water Sister. darling she has the range. Sorcerer was surprisingly hilarious and they are both such fun. whimsical, but not overly so. i hope she writes a third, but either way, she's got me, i'll read anything from her.

Rocks by Jan Zalasiewicz - yes, this is about literal, actual rocks. i read it during a little geology phase early in the year. it's rocks. yes. but... it reads like a fairy tale? idk. i usually tune out when it comes to geologic timescales, but this guy made even that interesting to me. it's surprisingly lovely. and very short.

You Feel It Just Below the Ribs by Janina Matthewson and Jeffrey Cranor - i had mixed expectations for this one. a podcast spinoff book could never be good, could it? if it's my favorite podcast, is it more likely to be good or more likely to be extremely disappointing? but a title like that... visceral, pulling you in (YOU feel it, YOU FEEL it), all phonemes spoken at the front of your mouth like it's meant to be whispered... oh. oh it's good. i think this is the only book i read all in one sitting this year. the alternate history in this fictional universe has been worming its way into my brain for years, and finally learning more was so compelling and satisfying. (note: read this book with Stephen Rennicks' score for the little stranger as background music, would recommend.) and i love that the stories told within this universe are all able to stand alone, including this one, but there're always enough details (big and small) to tie them together. gosh. i haven't listened to the new season of within the wires yet, but i look forward to it emotionally destroying me when i do :)

Provecho by Edgar Castrejon - vegan mexican cookbook that fuuuuuucks. the writing is so straightforward and warm, the photos are plentiful and gorgeous, and the recipes are mostly very approachable. however, there were a few surprises that made me gasp out loud. amazing

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner - this is one of those books i was reluctant to read because i didn't think it could live up to the hype. it does tho

Certain Dark Things and Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - i do not like noir! and she made me like it twice!

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie - i had only seen the 2010 tv adaptation of this (bonkers cast). the original ending is way funnier

The Bone Ship's Wake by RJ Barker - last book in the tide child series :( i will definitely read and enjoy the whole trilogy again someday. fantasy pirates on ships made of dragon bones and also there are freaky bird creatures who control the weather. plus like politics and war and stuff. interesting subversions of typical white western cultural norms. and cool monsters. a lot to like in these books. (playlist for reading this series is heavy on the assassins creed black flag score, and daniel pemberton's for king arthur)

Beast at Every Threshold by Natalie Wee - when she said This body isn't a trial run for your real life... Make your hands useful or you'll be sorry....

The Library of the Dead and Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments by TL Huchu - i don't understand why these aren't classified as YA, but i'm glad they're not, or i wouldn't have read them. street-smart teenage girl in near-future edinburgh talks to ghosts and solves mysteries. sometimes it's gross. sometimes it's silly. there's a vibe and it's enjoyable

My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones - he does one thing i really, really hate in this book. but i understand why. other than that thing, it is a blast. a literary take on the slasher genre. gets meta, but not annoyingly so. it was just the right level of scary for me (i.e., i had to stay up late to finish it so i could be DONE with it, but the scariness didn't persist past that).

plus some honorable mentions:

I'm Waiting for You by Kim Bo-Young - short story collection bookended by parallel stories about a couple separated in time. the first half wrecked me. the second didn't. i fell out of love in the middle. this book will always remind me of that.

A Marvellous Light and A Restless Truth by Freya Marske - victorian (?) era fantasy that's like 30% smut. not bad. but i mostly like them because i read the first one very soon after Sorcerer to the Crown, and in my head, they are in the same universe. delightful.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers - the usual Becky Chambers stuff. thinly veiled personal philosophy with a veneer of sci-fi bullshit. it's pretty sweet tho

ngl my book completion rate steadily decreased as the year progressed; most of these are from before i started my internship in august. i have no idea what to expect in my life next year, so i'm not even going to make a reading goal. i will, however, keep my self-imposed rule that no more than 25% of the books i read in a year can be written by white men. (i have read wayyy fewer mediocre and shitty books since implementing this policy.) i might even try no more than 25% white authors full stop. we'll see. i'm excited to see what books i'll find next year! i wonder if i'll knock out all of the unread books in my apartment before i move...

#books

[marzaid]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who liked or reblogged something from you! :D

Sorry for just seeing this, I've been on mobile. As far as what makes me happy

My brother and sister-in-law gave me a cookbook for different types of bread and I ended up making these whole wheat rosemary and sage rolls

I'm currently knitting a sweater in my favorite color purple and it's almost done. I just have to do the sleeves

I finally got my library card and I've been listening to the audio book version of a bunch of Agatha Christie books on Libby while I knit

My cat is a cute lil orange man who yells at me for attention

I'll be going on a cruise at the end of July and I'm really looking forward to it

#personal

[theattainer]

Tips for finding affordable collectible books

https://i0.wp.com/theattainer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/90.png?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1

https://theattainer.com/tips-for-finding-affordable-collectible-books/

Tips for finding affordable collectible books

Who says book collecting has to break the bank? You don’t need to purchase expensive first editions of famous novels or books signed by Nobel Prize winners to have an outstanding book collection. If you want to collect books on a budget, here are five ways to acquire collectible books without upsetting your bank manager. Our Guide to Book Collecting is also a useful resource.

Collect authors who frequently sign books

Some bestselling authors are famous for being generous signers and frequently appear at bookstore events and literary festivals where they sign hundreds of copies in a single session. A plentiful supply of signed copies keeps prices low. These epic book signers include David Sedaris, Neil Gaiman, Ken Follett, Salmon Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, Patrick Ness, and Colson Whitehead. Use our signed books page.

Books signed by David Sedaris

Books signed by Salman Rushdie

Books signed by Colson Whitehead

Books signed by Patrick Ness

Collect Folio Society books

The Folio Society is half publisher, half book club (as it has members) and was founded in 1947 on the principle that books should be beautiful to the eye as well as captivating to the mind. The Folio Society’s formula for success is publishing books with exceptional typography, illustrations, paper and bindings. Some scarce editions attract high prices but AbeBooks offers thousands of Folio Society books priced under $10.

Folio Society books by Grahame Greene

Folio Society books by George Orwell

Folio Society books by Muriel Spark

Folio Society books by Agatha Christie

Collect vintage paperbacks

Launched in 1924, Penguin paperbacks were designed to be affordable and easy to carry. Penguin founder Allen Lane wanted to make quality literature accessible to everyone. Today, vintage Penguins can be picked up cheaply and are easy to find. They also look impressive on any bookshelf thanks to their color scheme. Orange for fiction, green for crime, pink for travel and adventure, dark blue for biographies and memoirs, red for drama, purple for essays, and yellow for miscellaneous.

Orange Penguins

Green Penguins

Purple Penguins

Blue Penguins

Collect books by era

Our Advanced Search page makes it easy to find books from a distinct time period. You will see a large number of affordable used and vintage books when browsing in this way. By narrowing your search results to a particular decade, you can find interesting books by adding a keyword like Art Deco or Cold War.

New York books from the 1920s

Murder mysteries from the 1940s

Cookbooks from the 1950s

History books from the 1960s

Collect later printings

True first editions (that’s the first appearance of a work) have the highest prices. But you can build an amazing collection by focusing on later printings which are more affordable. If a book was first published in the United States, look for the first British edition, or first illustrated edition, or a second or third printing in the best possible condition.

Amsterdam by Ian McEwan

The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

Sophie’s Choice by William Styron

What do you think?

#All #Books

[noforkingclue]

El here! I love Broadchurch, but I totally agree, sci-fi is another thing. Oh wow your collection is so beautiful, the Death, Hellblazer, Sandman, Watchmen and Swamp Thing are on my list of favorites I want to buy one day. Oh you have Batman the city of owls, is he good? By the way I love the cookbooks underneath, do you like cooking?

It's pretty good! My favourite Batman comic is 'Last Halloween'. It's amazing. Agatha Christie meets the Godfather meets Batman. Can highly recommend.

Yep, I cook fairly regularly. I tend to bake more than cook but I've been doing it more. Part of my New Years resolution is to bring in my own lunches to work more. I've been doing some meal prepping. Mainly soups and stuff I can freeze!

[crowdvscritic]

round up // SEPTEMBER 22

My September was filled with hidden gems, wartime epics, yummy recipes, and lots of processing of the passing of Queen Elizabeth. Keep reading to fill your October with new discoveries, inspiring stories, delicious dinners, and insight into where culture is going.

September Crowd-Pleasers

1. Gilmore Girls: The Official Cookbook by Elena P. Craig and Kristen Mulrooney (2022)

Kyla and I took a break from our regular podcast programming to review this delicious and fun cookbook. Which recipes are easy enough for Lorelai, and which are perfect for those with Sookie’s level of expertise? Which taste like Santa Burgers and which taste like Sookie’s incredible peach sauce? (Spoiler alert: They’re all pretty yummy!) Listen to the full review of the book in ep. 128 of SO IT’S A SHOW.

2. The Woman King (2022)

Another version of this film could have been a capital-G Great Awards Season Contender, but the smartest thing about The Woman King is it taps into the thrill audiences felt in Wonder Woman and in Black Panther when female warriors led the charge. Read my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8/10

3. Feeling Design Lab: Playlists, art prints, newsletters, and more!

Jenna O’Brien and her Feeling Design Lab add joy to my earbuds, Instagram, inbox, and home decor. If love playlists with moody vibes, art prints built around beautiful color palettes, or newsletters that tap into your nostalgia of growing up on Disney Channel, she will also add joy to your life. I just bought this Harry Styles-inspired print, and I’ve been feeling my feelings with this collection of tunes about growing up:

4. See How They Run (2022)

Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, and Harris Dickinson as Richard Attenborough are riffing on Agatha Christie, and what a charming little whodunnit it is! Read my review for ZekeFilm, and check out this Hollywood Reporter article after you’ve seen the movie for comparisons with real life. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10 

5. The Negotiator (1998)

Samuel L. Jackson negotiates with kidnappers and terrorists for a living—who can save the day when he’s the one taking hostages? When Jackson becomes convinced extreme measures are necessary to root out corruption in his police precinct, it’s Kevin Spacey’s job to talk him down, and F. Gary Gray’s action thriller turns up the excitement to 11. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7/10

September Critic Picks

1. The Bridges of Madison County (1995)

In ep. 129 of SO IT’S A SHOW?, special guest/Meryl Streep correspondent Maddie Brophy joined me for a chat about the ‘90s romantic drama The Bridges of Madison County. We discuss another instance of Streep and her whole accent thing, movies about cheating, and a Gilmore Girls episode that reminded Maddie of her 14th birthday. What bridges does Rory need to cross with her grandparents, and where does the episode “Friday Night’s Alright for Fighting” rank among Gilmore fans? Grab your umbrellas because Clint Eastwood is staring you down in the rain waiting for an answer! Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

2. On Golden Pond (1981)

I saw a glimpse of my future in the first 20 minutes—my goal is to be Katharine Hepburn shouting at loons in 40 years! Henry Fonda and Hepburn both won Oscars  for this film, but they weren’t just legacy awards. More movies about old people like this, please! You can find this on my Letterboxd list of every film I remember making me cry. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9.5/10

3. Ballad of a Soldier (1959)

Many war films feel indulgent in tragedy, obsessed with unsettling the audience to the point of provocation. The Russian feature Ballad of a Soldier, however, finds moments of joy and humanity while still acknowledging the injustice that surrounds Alyosha as he heads home on leave to visit his mother during World War II. Also on my Letterboxd list of tear-jerkers! Crowd: 7/10 // Critic: 9/10

4. WE ARE by Jon Batiste (2021)

Jon Batiste won an Oscar for his music in Soul, which was my favorite film of 2020. Earlier this year he won Album of the Year at the Grammys, and I’m co-signing this, too. Flash back to your childhood in “BOY HOOD” or get inspired by “FREEDOM”—either way, you’ll be glad you spent time with this album.

5. Good Reads

A short stack of good reads I’ve spent time with lately, including… 

In memoriam pieces for Queen Elizabeth:

“Requiem for a Queen — A Humble American's Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II,” MandyManley.com (2022)

"Queen Elizabeth: A Visual Dictionary,” NYTimes.com (2022)

Thoughts on writing from a film critic, a film writer, a songwriter who often references films:

“How to Write a Book,” wilkinson.substack.com (2022)

“The Nora Ephron We Forget,” NewYorker.com (2022)

“Taylor Swift Reveals Her Writing Process in Nashville Songwriter Awards Speech,” HollywoodReporter.com (2022)

Attempts to understand what the hey is happening at Warner Bros. right now: 

“Why HBO Max Removed 6 Streaming-Exclusive Movies, with More to Come,” IndieWire.com (2022)

“DC Films “Reset” Adds More Confusion for Warner Bros.’ Slate,” HollywoodReporter.com (2022)

“Warner Bros. 'Cut Its Losses' by Axing $90 Million Batgirl Movie: Lawyer,” newsweek.com (2022)

“Warner Bros. Discovery Is Rebuilding the DC Universe. What Can They Learn From Their Biggest Rivals?” TheRinger.com (2022)

Permission to give ourselves rest and go small: 

“I Don’t Need My Life to Be Remarkable,” NYTimes.com (2022)

“Hidden Signs You’re Heading for Burnout - and How to Stop It,” AestheticsOfJoy.com (2022)

Excitement for the new season of SNL:

“Mary Ellen Matthews's Hot Shots,” emmys.com (2022)

"Lorne Michaels Discusses the ‘Year of Reinvention’ Coming to SNL,” NYTimes.com (2022)

Inspiration and influence of costume design:

“All the Details on Brad Pitt’s Workwear-Inspired Bullet Train Look,” HollywoodReporter.com (2022)

“The Euphoria Effect Is Turning Costume Designers Into the Next Influencers,” WWD.com (2022)

Celebrations of Albert Pujols hitting his 700th home run

“A New Bat, Old Friends, and Timeless Magic as Cardinals’ Albert Pujols Soars to 700,” STLToday.com (2022)

“On Danny Mac, Albert Pujols’ 700th Homer and the Power of KMOX,” STLToday.com (2022)

Miscellaneous movie rankings:

“The 33 Best Romantic Comedies of All Time,” VanityFair.com (2018)

“A Ranking of Matt Damon’s Best Cameos,” TheRinger.com (2022)

Miscellaneous cultural observations: 

“The Long Lines for Women’s Bathrooms Could Be Eliminated. Why Haven’t They Been?” TheAtlantic.com (2019)

“Is Old Music Killing New Music?” TedGioia.substack.com (2022)

“I Can’t Stop Thinking About This,” NewYorker.com (2022)

“The Antihero’s Last Gasp,” NYTimes.com (2022)

6. A New Leaf (1971)

A hidden gem! Henry (Walter Matthau) is broke. The solution? Marry a rich gal fast so she can pay off his debts. But when he sets his sights on the absent-minded professor Henrietta (Elaine May), he gets more than he bargained for. He’s a grouch and she’s one of the biggest schlemiels in cinematic history—what could go wrong? Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

7. Elizabeth Holmes + So Many Thoughts

If the pieces I shared above only whetted your appetite for Royal content, let me introduce you to Elizabeth Holmes. I started following her on Instagram a few months ago per recommendation of a fellow Royals-enthusiast, and her thoughtful coverage of Queen Elizabeth’s passing has made me a new email subscriber. These channels showcase her expertise on European Royal families, including how their fashion choices add to (or confuse) their official messaging, and she’s an insightful writer who also knows how to explain unfamiliar historical context. I never skip her Instagram stories—high praise in 2022!

8. Five Graves to Cairo (1943)

Another hidden gem! It’s a lesser known WWII espionage thriller set in Northern Africa (at least compared to Casablanca), but you won’t be let down with Billy Wilder writing and directing. Imagine a film this good being one of your forgotten works! Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 9/10

Photo credits: Cookbook, Feeling Design Lab, Jon Batiste, Good Reads, Elizabeth Holmes. All others IMDb.com.

#Round Up #Gilmore Girls: The Official Cookbook #Gilmore Girls Cookbook #Gilmore Girls #The Woman King #The Bridges of Madison County #See How They Run #On Golden Pond #The Negotiator #Jon Batiste #WE ARE Jon Batiste #Ballad of a Soldier #A New Leaf #Five Graves to Cairo #Elizabeth Holmes #So Many Thoughts

[bookre]

Inspiring Women Writers Books You Need to Read

For a long time, women were excluded from the literary canon, and many were forced to use male pseudonyms in order to be published. We are lucky to live in a time where there is space for women to be published but literary prizes are still dominated by male writers. Women's writing is often dismissed as light, frivolous or 'domestic'.

Below is the list of Inspiring Women Writers Books You Need to Read. Have a look at the list and try to read them once published by HarperCollins India.

1. The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer

When Enola Holmes, sister to the detective Sherlock Holmes, discovers her mother has disappeared, she quickly embarks on a journey to London in search of her. But nothing can prepare her for what awaits. Because when she arrives, she finds herself involved in the kidnapping of a young marquess, fleeing murderous villains, and trying to elude her shrewd older brothers—all while attempting to piece together clues to her mother’s strange disappearance. Amid all the mayhem, will Enola be able to decode the necessary clues and find her mother?

Buy Now!

2. Death On The Nile By Agatha Christie

When Enola Holmes, sister to the detective Sherlock Holmes, discovers her mother has disappeared, she quickly embarks on a journey to London in search of her. But nothing can prepare her for what awaits. Because when she arrives, she finds herself involved in the kidnapping of a young marquess, fleeing murderous villains, and trying to elude her shrewd older brothers—all while attempting to piece together clues to her mother’s strange disappearance. Amid all the mayhem, will Enola be able to decode the necessary clues and find her mother?

Buy Now!

3. The Secret Garden By Frances Hodgson Burnett

After the sudden death of her wealthy parents, spoilt Mary Lennox is sent from India to live with her uncle in the austere Misselthwaite Manor on the Yorkshire Moors. Neglected and uncherished, she is horribly lonely, until one day she discovers a walled garden in the grounds that has been kept locked for years. When Mary finds the key to the garden and shares it with two unlikely companions, she opens up a world of hope, and as the garden blooms, Mary and her friends begin to find a new joy in life.

Buy Now!

4. Those Delicious Letters By Sandeepa Datta Mukherjee

From the bestselling author of Bong Mom’s Cookbook, comes a novel about food, family and love Soon after her fortieth birthday, Shubha starts receiving letters with traditional Bengali recipes from a mysterious lady in Calcutta claiming to be her grandmother. Never one for cooking, but drawn by the nostalgia and lured into the delicious world of forgotten food, Shubha starts experimenting with the recipes. The dishes are an instant hit with everyone she knows — everyone except Sameer, her very busy husband. As Shubha tries to find the mysterious writer and her own life begins to unravel, the notes from a bygone era give her courage to take a second chance at life. Torn between the taste of success that the letters bring her, and the need to save her marriage, Shubha must find the perfect recipe for love.

Buy Now!

5. The One and Only IVan by Katherine Applegate

Having spent twenty-seven years behind the glass walls of his enclosure in a shopping mall, Ivan has grown accustomed to humans watching him. He hardly ever thinks about his life in the jungle. Instead, Ivan occupies himself with television, his friends Stella and Bob, and painting. But when he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from the wild, he is forced to see their home, and his art, through new eyes.

Buy Now!

6. Ps I Love You By Cecelia Ahern

Some people wait their whole lives to find their soul mates. But not Holly and Gerry. Childhood sweethearts, they could finish each other’s sentences. No one could ever imagine them without each other.

When Gerry dies, Holly is devastated. But Gerry has left her a bundle of notes, one for each month of her year, each signed ‘PS, I Love You’.

Buy Now!

7. My Best Friend’s Son’s Wedding By Zarreen Khan

She may be in her forties, but things are really looking up for Minty Sood. A single mother of a twenty-two-year-old boy, she is the toast of Delhi’s social circles, has been at the receiving end of a series of very eligible proposals, and has even zeroed in on ‘the One’. Puneet Bhalla is suave, wealthy, and wants to marry Minty. So, of course she accepts! Twenty-four hours before her son proposes to his girlfriend! Now Minty has to switch gears from bride-to-be to mother-in-law-to-be, which is awkward enough to begin with, but there’s also the intimidating mother of his son’s fiancée, a secret love affair and a crazy best friend to deal with. From the bestselling author of Koi Good News? comes a rib-tickling new novel about family, friends and not one but two big fat Indian weddings.

Buy Now!

#book

[ranmagender]

Public Domain Day 2022

It's time for the yearly public domain day post that I've done for like 3 years now.

These are works that are entering the public domain in 2022 and therefore can be used by anyone in any way as their copyright is expiring. If a work is listed here know it applies to the creators entire body of work (except in the USA)

In Europe and other life of author + 70 years areas:

The paintings of Frank Weston Benson

Entire bibliography of Algernon Blackwood

The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas

The Death of Virgil by Hermann Broch

Music by composer María Grever

All of Pedro Salinas' poems

The Waite–Smith Tarot illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith

Till A' the Seas by R.H Barlow (co-authored with H.P Lovecraft)

In Japan & New Zealand and other life of author + 50 years areas:

The works of August Derleth

Kate Aitken's Cookbooks

In the USA (works made before 1975 have a 95 year long copyright)

Works published in 1926 enter the public domain in the United States including:

Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A Milne

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

The Hungry Tiger of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson

There's of course more but these are just some of the highlights, go forth and explore. You can find a lot of this on Archive.org or Gutenberg.org

#public domain #literature #winnie the pooh #cthulhu mythos #tarot deck #ruth plumly thompson #wizard of oz #agatha christie #books #copyright #2022