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cgj13's reviews
588 reviews
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat
4.0
This review is based on the reading of the book and not on the testing of recipes.
I read the first part and skimmed the rest.
What I got from the beginning, this seems like a great book for learning how to cook. It's not just a recipe book. The first half of the book is dedicated to the four elements in the title and how they work and why they are important. They other section I really appreciate is the images (illustrations really) of cut up veggies. Great for someone like me who doesn't know the size differences of chop and dice. The last part is recipes. No picture here, which is generally a requirement for me to get a cookbook.
I'll definitely be coming back to this book when I have more to to try the methods within.
I read the first part and skimmed the rest.
What I got from the beginning, this seems like a great book for learning how to cook. It's not just a recipe book. The first half of the book is dedicated to the four elements in the title and how they work and why they are important. They other section I really appreciate is the images (illustrations really) of cut up veggies. Great for someone like me who doesn't know the size differences of chop and dice. The last part is recipes. No picture here, which is generally a requirement for me to get a cookbook.
I'll definitely be coming back to this book when I have more to to try the methods within.
The Street Beneath My Feet by Charlotte Guillain
5.0
Beautifully illustrated book as we journey to the earths core and back.
Unconventional layout, where the book opens into one long page.
Great for children to learn more about the earth, and what lies beneath our feet.
Unconventional layout, where the book opens into one long page.
Great for children to learn more about the earth, and what lies beneath our feet.
The Photo Ark: One Man's Quest to Document the World's Animals by Joel Sartore
5.0
Stunning and beautiful photography of earth's creatures, great and small, safe and endangered.
The Photo Ark is a lovely project by Joel Sartore to help engage humans with the creatures around them.
The Photo Ark is a lovely project by Joel Sartore to help engage humans with the creatures around them.
Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine
5.0
This storyline has me gripped. I am eagerly waiting to read the third installment.
Imagine an institution that was long ago devised to do good. To protect and foster learning. And over time, it changes and now the institution decides what information can be disseminated, what information must be destroyed, along with those who have the knowledge of that information. Free thinking is frowned upon. The chosen few who yearn to serve this institution are placed into their roles based on how they do in their learning year. Some for short term, some for life. And the rarest of all, those who can generate the power needed to run this institution--are locked away and forced into a breeding program.
Sounds a little bit too much like real life happenings doesn't it?
What I love most, is the shared bond with this group of misfits. They stick together and help each other out, even if they despise each other. They have become somewhat of a family. And for Jess, that is much preferable than his real family. I would say the storyline is more of thriller, than fantasy, even though the setting is urban fantasy, with the addition of supernatural.
Imagine an institution that was long ago devised to do good. To protect and foster learning. And over time, it changes and now the institution decides what information can be disseminated, what information must be destroyed, along with those who have the knowledge of that information. Free thinking is frowned upon. The chosen few who yearn to serve this institution are placed into their roles based on how they do in their learning year. Some for short term, some for life. And the rarest of all, those who can generate the power needed to run this institution--are locked away and forced into a breeding program.
Sounds a little bit too much like real life happenings doesn't it?
What I love most, is the shared bond with this group of misfits. They stick together and help each other out, even if they despise each other. They have become somewhat of a family. And for Jess, that is much preferable than his real family. I would say the storyline is more of thriller, than fantasy, even though the setting is urban fantasy, with the addition of supernatural.
The Little French Bistro by Nina George
4.0
Don't you hate when your start writing a wonderful review and then you get distracted by your kid, then you don't get back in time before the screen refreshes. Well--that's what happened to my review for this book. Dammit. Well I will try and recreate it, but I'm sure it won't be as witty as it was the first time around.
Anyhow......
I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher via Net Galley.
This is the ultimate love story. A story of a woman who falls in love with herself, and who she is meant to be.
Marianne decides she would rather take her life than spend another day with her husband. While they are on vacation in Paris, Marianne gets up and walks out the restaurant and heads to the Seine. In her manner of always thinking of others, she takes off her coat, shoes, jewelry, etc and stacks them neatly on a bench--in hopes that someone who can use them, will take them. She proceeds to throw herself into the Seine. Her attempt at suicide is thwarted when a homeless man jumps in and saves her.
While in the hospital, her penny-pinching grouch of a husband Lothar, shows up and tells her he is going home on his ticket, because other wise it would cost him more. He literally just leaves her there by herself in the hospital. It is there, as she is attempting to make her escape, that she sees a painted tile of the sea. It calls to her. She decides that this will be where she will go to finish off her attempt at death. On the back is written the towns name, Kerdruc.
On her way to Kerdruc, she meets a few different characters who each touch Marianne's soul in different ways. When she finally arrives, she is mistaken for the new help at a bistro and is given room and board. Everyday, she does down to the sea with the intention of ending her life, and everyday, she finds a reason not to, until the day, she goes down to the sea, just to be with the sea. She begins to live her life, truly. She discovers for the first time in her life, that she can have and do what she desires, she no longer swallows them down to please others, or do what is proper in others eyes.
It is here that she soars, becoming who she was really meant to be. She finally found her self, and was brave enough to live the life she deserved. Isn't that how we should all live. Not suppressing our desires for others wishes. To live our fullest, and help others do the same?
So why only 4 stars then, well, (1) the first part of the book was deeply somber. I almost quit. But knowing what Nina George can do with a story, I wanted to continue. (2) There was an unexplained supernatural addition to this book, that was never really explained. I feel, it could have been either left out all together, or explained.
Anyhow......
I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher via Net Galley.
This is the ultimate love story. A story of a woman who falls in love with herself, and who she is meant to be.
Marianne decides she would rather take her life than spend another day with her husband. While they are on vacation in Paris, Marianne gets up and walks out the restaurant and heads to the Seine. In her manner of always thinking of others, she takes off her coat, shoes, jewelry, etc and stacks them neatly on a bench--in hopes that someone who can use them, will take them. She proceeds to throw herself into the Seine. Her attempt at suicide is thwarted when a homeless man jumps in and saves her.
While in the hospital, her penny-pinching grouch of a husband Lothar, shows up and tells her he is going home on his ticket, because other wise it would cost him more. He literally just leaves her there by herself in the hospital. It is there, as she is attempting to make her escape, that she sees a painted tile of the sea. It calls to her. She decides that this will be where she will go to finish off her attempt at death. On the back is written the towns name, Kerdruc.
On her way to Kerdruc, she meets a few different characters who each touch Marianne's soul in different ways. When she finally arrives, she is mistaken for the new help at a bistro and is given room and board. Everyday, she does down to the sea with the intention of ending her life, and everyday, she finds a reason not to, until the day, she goes down to the sea, just to be with the sea. She begins to live her life, truly. She discovers for the first time in her life, that she can have and do what she desires, she no longer swallows them down to please others, or do what is proper in others eyes.
It is here that she soars, becoming who she was really meant to be. She finally found her self, and was brave enough to live the life she deserved. Isn't that how we should all live. Not suppressing our desires for others wishes. To live our fullest, and help others do the same?
So why only 4 stars then, well, (1) the first part of the book was deeply somber. I almost quit. But knowing what Nina George can do with a story, I wanted to continue. (2) There was an unexplained supernatural addition to this book, that was never really explained. I feel, it could have been either left out all together, or explained.
The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein
4.0
I've got to say--I did not see that coming!!!! As far as keeping up the mystery of whodunit! Top notch.
I did not read Code Name Verity prior to this. And my knowledge of early 1900's Britain/Scotland is quite lacking, so I think I might have found this more enjoyable had both of those existed prior to this reading. I did pick it up because it was a prequel to much talked about Code Name Verity. But it holds it's own.
Not much else to say about it, because I am nearly 2 months late in writing the review. I need to be more timely.
I did not read Code Name Verity prior to this. And my knowledge of early 1900's Britain/Scotland is quite lacking, so I think I might have found this more enjoyable had both of those existed prior to this reading. I did pick it up because it was a prequel to much talked about Code Name Verity. But it holds it's own.
Not much else to say about it, because I am nearly 2 months late in writing the review. I need to be more timely.