What am I reading?

WHAT AM I READING THIS MONTH

It truly feels like I am so far behind in what I want to read. The list keeps on growing longer and longer. I kind of feel like a hamster on the wheel. No matter how much I read in a given day, I am not gaining any momentum. But to be fair to myself, I am doing more things in my free time that I love to do like read the Sunday Edition of the New York Times from cover to cover along with two of our local papers (those take no time at all). It takes me several hours to get through the New York Times. I also subscribe to a several blog feeds which is my total indulgent when I lay down. I am not a huge fan of reading books on the kindle, so instead I go through my blog feed all of which cuts into my book reading time. 

I am a fan of Michele Singletary's financial advice column. Michelle often refers to her Grandmother, Big Mama in her column. There is little talk of God, the Bible and how religion plays into spending money and your financial traps, perhaps because the column is ran in a secular newspaper. The book is quite the opposite from her column. Each chapter correlates to one day in the 21 day fast. She uses bible verses to explain her financial reasoning. This book is too savor. Do not read it in one sitting. It is an interactive book meaning each day you read the chapter and then do the homework assignment. Finance is a lot like dieting everyone has opinion on how to do it. This is just one more opinion on what to do.

This book was awesome. The author moved into a "new" house that had been built in the 1880s. During the remodel a trunk filled with old letters was discovered in her backyard shed. When the family that owned the house is contacted to return the letters to they do not want them (the same family owned the house since it was brand new). Holy moly score for the author!!!!The author spends the next decade reading through the letters as her little family grows. 

I love the science behind cooking. I always want to know why and how. This cookbook answers all those questions with basic recipes. 

This was a really neat book, a picture book cookbook. Very few words in the whole book just lots and lots of pictures to illustrate every step. As neat as the book was there was absolutely nothing in the cookbook that I wanted to try. 

O.k. I apparently live in a cave. I had not heard of Susan Spencer-Wendel. This was just a random pick from the library. Spoiler Alert: Susan Spencer-Wendel was a newspaper reporter who got diagnosed with ASL in her 40s. She was given a death sentence, but instead of dwelling on it, she decided to live her last year with joy instead. In the end, she was typing each chapter by one thumb on her cell phone. That in itself is an amazing story. But and here it the big BUTT (Oh goodie Heidi, here is the part where you criticize the author, the author who just died in July who has 3 young children still at home); I felt like the whole story was told from a reporters standpoint which in essence it was. It was devoid of any emotions. When Susan was having a hard time, she would talk herself out of the feelings associated from it. So the book felt sterile when she was talking about her family, friends and loved ones.  It is a great easy read. Apparently now there is talks about making a tv show about her life, so what do I know?

I do not believe I have ever read anything else from this author. Perhaps this was not the first book to start with. This was perhaps the weirdest memoir I have ever read. Yes, the entire book was about the author apologizing for his actions. Some of those actions were of him as a young boy etc. 

The Nesting place is an awesome home decorating book. I do not think, I have ever bought a home decorating book before. I have always checked the books out from the library. But this book I wanted to own it. It was packed full of goodness. The cool thing is it was not directed towards homeowners. The author writes for anyone who lives in apartment, house, shed etc. I give it 5 thumbs ups for usefulness. 

This is the first book I have read on Pope Francis. It was written fairly fast by a reporter who is a practicing Catholic (why yes in regards to content it does make a difference). It is a fairly thin book and a fast read. This book was published about a month after Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis. It does not really contain any "new:" information about Pope Francis, but I appreciate how the information was presented. It is a very light and happy read. 

Another book that I have to own. This cookbook is fantastic. Once again another book from America's Test Kitchen. As I have said in the past, I love the science behind cooking. Tell me why it works and why other methods fail that is what I want to know in life. This cookbook is basically the condiment cookbook in the literal sense. Do you know how to make ketchup or mustard? How about Nutella or maple butter. It goes along with the belief that homemade is always better. I am not sure if that is always true for my waistband though. I made the maple butter or maple cream as some people call it. O.M.G. it just might be the best thing to eat on this planet.