The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home, by George Howe Colt

We're gonna start this post "Kitten Confessions" style:

My name is Kitten, and I am a New Englander who has never visited Cape Cod.

That's like saying you're from Jersey and you've never been to the Jersey Shore.

Why have I never been to the Cape? It's simple: I am the spawn of a Westchester County-born-and-raised mother and an Elizabeth, New Jersey-born-and-raised father. Cape Cod is simply not in my DNA. We're Jersey Shore people. We vacationed on Long Beach Island when I was a child.

That having been said, I have had numerous people over the years look at me quizzically and in a state of disbelief when I tell them that I have never once set foot on the Cape.

"How could you live in Connecticut your whole life and never have been to the Cape?"

"What do you mean, you've never been to the Cape?"

"I've got to take you to the Cape with me next summer, Kitten!"

Well, it looks rawther unlikely that I'll make it up to the Cape this summer. But at least I can go in my imagination. That's why I decided to add The Big House to my Summer Vacation Reading Challenge.

The Cape is known for having elaborate summer homes that have been in families for generations. Unfortunately, due to the increased price of real estate over the years (but not so much in this economic downturn), and the costs of maintaining such houses, many families have been forced to sell their beloved vacation homes. That's the dilemma George Howe Colt, his siblings, and other extended family members are facing as they spend one last summer in their beloved Big House.

This memoir is very, very dense with detail, and at times, especially in Part One, it's difficult to keep track. Colt does an excellent job tracing his family tree back to his great-grandparents, who first purchased the land on the Cape. As he details his genealogy, he chronicles a very extensive history of life on the Cape: who settled there, why they settled there, and their demographics. It is a very WASP-y portrait of those who first settled there: upper class Bostonians who rarely ever married outside of the city.

As the book progresses, Colt writes about the innocent memories of childhood: the Big House's extensive collection of books, sailing races in Buzzards Bay, and playing Sardines (a variation of Hide and Seek) with his brothers and cousins. These were the memories that I best identified with, as I have similar ones from my years of vacationing on LBI.

But not all of the Big House memories are pleasant. Colt writes about his grandmother's mental illness, her extended stays at psychiatric hospitals, and the effects that this had when she came back to the Big House to stay with other family members. There is also the story of his aunt, Sandy, who was dying of leukemia and wished to spend her final days at the Big House--only to succumb shortly before she was to arrive there. Finally, among other tales, Colt writes about his own rebellious adolescence, how he wanted to disassociate from anything related to his Bostonian, Harvard-educated heritage, especially his father, an alcoholic who was having an affair.

This may seem like a fractured tale, but The Big House is really a tale of healing. Slowly, the family starts to repair its relationships. However, as the healing continues, Colt and his extended family realize that maintaining the Big House is getting too expensive for everyone involved, so they make the decision to sell it. The question is, who will earn the winning bid? Will it be a family member who will take care of the estate, or someone outside, who may tear down the house and subdivide the land?

This was a difficult book for me because I know very little about the Cape. Colt makes many geographical and historical references that were very hard for me to relate to. I had better luck relating to the accounts of family memories, which came in the second part of the book. That was much easier for me to read and get through.

One other big problem with this book was that it is written in narrative form; there is very little dialogue. I often have difficulty reading straight narratives, especially when they have as much detail as this one does. I had to re-read some passages a few times in order to get all of the facts straight; I'm not sure how well I succeeded.

Overall, The Big House really was a good book when Colt wrote personal accounts about his family and his memories of the Big House itself. If you can get past all of the historical detail in the first part it isn't such a bad little book.

This is the latest entry in my 2009 Summer Vacation Challenge. I know that one of the books can't cross over into other challenges, but how can I not count this as a book I've read? Aw, the hell with it, I'm adding it to my 2009 100+ Reading Challenge. How could I not?

And don't forget to check my archived lists when you get a chance!

No! I Don't Want to Join a Book Club: Diary of a 60th Year, by Virginia Ironside

I'll be honest: I borrowed this book from the library because I learned that I didn't have an "I" author in my A to Z Challenge. In fact, the last trip to the library was to fill in some gaps for my Library Challenge, my Dewey Decimal Challenge, and the aforementioned A to Z Challenge.

For me, the title of a book really piques my interest, and this title was no exception. I am a member of two book clubs, so of course my eyes perked up when I saw the writing on the spine.

I borrowed it without reading the flap on the dust jacket.

I read it, and...well, it was all right, but it's not a book I would rave about.

The main reason I don't rave about it is simply that I had trouble relating to the material. The subtitle of this work is Diary of a 60th Year. I am a long way from being 60. I don't have to worry about menopause or memory lapses, and I don't get discounts for being older--yet. My time will come, but not for awhile.

Anyway, if I were to summarize this book in one sentence, I'd say this: "Bridget Jones enters middle age." That's what I was thinking about fifty pages in. Marie Sharp, the 60-year-old at the center of this work, does not want to become, in her eyes, the stereotypical 60-year-old who takes Italian classes and joins a book club. She doesn't see the point; she just wants to age gracefully and do her own thing, and where the heck is she going to use her Italian?

There is a wealth of emotions in here, though, and the characters are very real. All of them have different experiences and opinions about what it's like to be older. Penny, Marie's best friend, is desperate to find a man. So desperate she'll date anyone she meets through an online dating service. And I do mean anyone. Penny also adds comic relief because she is a hypochondriac. She keeps many health books in her flat, and is always phoning Marie in fear that she has some disease which she self-diagnosed.

Hughie is another close friend of Marie's. He lives with James, his partner of twenty years. Hughie is diagnosed with lung cancer, and Marie's entries chronicle her grief and sadness as she watches her friend's illness progress. This was the most painful part of the novel for me.

Archie is Marie's first love. His wife, Philippa, recently died of cancer. He and Marie get together several times throughout the book, and Marie's entries hint at a possible romance.

Finally, there are Jack and Chrissie, Marie's son and daughter-in-law. They have just become parents to a son, Gene. Marie is in unabashed love with her grandson. It's very touching to read her accounts of the affection she feels for him.

I wrote earlier that this book is like reading something that Bridget Jones would write if she were 60. I say this because Marie drops hints at a very wild, Bridget-like past. I won't say much about it, but let's just say that Marie had a lot of fun in the 1960s. And she doesn't regret it--well, most parts she doesn't regret.

OK, earlier I wrote that I had trouble relating to the book because I wasn't a 60-year-old. But now that I've written about it I realize that I related to a lot more than I originally had thought. This is not a book that I would want to add to my personal library in the future, but it's a light, enjoyable read, good for if you want to take a break from some heavy-duty reading. This won't become a classic like any of the Bridget Jones novels, but it is a pleasant enough read, just the same.

This is the latest entry in my 2009 100+ Reading Challenge, my 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge, and my 2009 A to Z Challenge. Make sure you click on the buttons in the right sidebar for all of the archived lists of my reads!

Chunkster Challenge COMPLETED!!!

Ladies and gentlekittens, it is official: I have completed my first reading challenge of the year!! SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! I've finished the Chunkster Challenge, the one I thought would give me the most difficulty, because the books are so thick.

I finished up July 30th, as I read the last page of The Time Traveler's Wife.

Here is my finished list:

1. The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett

2. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
3. The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger

4. American Wife, by Curtis Sittenfeld

5. The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown
6. Holly's Inbox, by Holly Denham

I am so frakkin' proud of myself! My first reading challenge--DONE!! SQUEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Very quickly...

I'm going to keep my appointment and tell my therapist exactly how I feel. I owe it to myself to let her know what's been going on.

Just wanted to let you guys know this, so you wouldn't be held in suspense. I don't think I'll have access to a computer again till Thursday, but I wanted to keep y'all posted.

Thanks for your support, everyone. :)

Conferencing! And an update

My darling kittens,

I will be at a conference and won't be home till Wednesday afternoon. I'll still be in state, but I won't be blogging or engaging in the marvels of YouTwitFace. However, I have some post-dated book reviews scheduled, so don't miss me too much!

Also, I have an update for you all, regarding my post last Friday. I am going to search for a new therapist. However, I have an appointment scheduled with my current one for the 11th. Here's the decision: should I call and cancel the appointment, or should I keep it and confront her, letting her know how I feel?

I also make an appointment with my primary care doctor for Thursday; I want to discuss the possibility of getting back on meds.

I won't be able to get to your comments until Thursday at the very latest, so don't worry if you don't hear from me till then. I'm really looking forward to this; it's just the distraction I need.

By the way...I did get out of the house for awhile on Friday, and that was the best medicine. It really lifted my spirits. That and I saw Springsteen AND Buffett on TV Friday night. Their music ALWAYS cheers me up.

Anyway, I have to get going now and drive to the hotel. Hope y'all have a great week!

Ciao for now,
Kitten :)

The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger

I need to thank the lovely Jenners for introducing me to this book. I read her review here and became obsessed with finding it. This was well before I learned about the movie.

This is going to be the movie/book comparison entry for the Take a Chance Challenge. I know the rules say to see the movie within a few days of reading the book, but the movie isn't being released until August 14th and this book was so good I couldn't put it down.

How good is this book, you ask? It's among my top five books for the year, and it's safe to say I'd rank it as one of the best books I've ever read.

Henry DeTamble and Clare Abshire share a very romantic, yet very unconventional, love affair. Clare meets Henry in the meadow of her house when she is six, and soon learns that Henry, who is 36, is the man she will eventually marry.

How is this possible? Henry is a time traveler. He is a CDP--a Chrono-Displaced Person. He has no control over when and where he time travels. He visits Clare at various stages of her childhood and adolescence, but is never the same age when he visits. Sometimes he's in his thirties, other times he's in his forties. Clare, however, ages naturally, in real-time.

The romance between a time-traveling man and a woman who grows up in real time has its share of obstacles. Clare waits very patiently for Henry, and rarely dates in high school and college. Those around her can't understand why, and Clare, of course, can't explain that she's waiting for a man that will eventually appear out of nowhere. And how does Clare explain to her family and friends Henry's unique ability?

It's difficult for me to summarize this book for several reasons. First of all, it goes back and forth between flashbacks and the present day. You really have to pay attention to the dates in each chapter as Niffenegger tells the story. It's also told from two different perspectives, Clare's and Henry's. They alternate the narration in each chapter. Finally, there are plot elements from the past that indicate what will happen in the future, but you won't know about it until something crucial happens. Trust me on this one.

Overall, however, it is a very, very well-written book, and you can really feel the deep connection that Clare and Henry share. It's very rare that a book moves me to tears, but this one succeeded.

The most amazing part for me, though, was that this was Audrey Niffenegger's first book. It is just so well-crafted, so imaginative, and so thoughtful. She is incredibly detail-oriented; her characters, even the minor ones, are so rich with personality and emotion.

The Time Traveler's Wife is a book that will stay with you for a very, very long time after you've finished it. I simply cannot articulate how much I loved this book.

(I just hope that the movie is as good; I don't want to be disappointed.)

This is the latest entry in my 2009 100+ Reading Challenge, my 2009 Read Your Own Books Challenge, and my 2009 Chunkster Challenge. Click on the buttons in the right sidebar for archived lists of all of my reading challenges!

Depression doesn't just hurt...depression sucks

As most of you know, I've been dealing with depression for a long time. Depression is one of those chronic illnesses that can rear its ugly head when you least expect it. Or, it can be a gradual accumulation of events that lead to an episode.

This week, I've been dealing with those feelings again. Here's what's going on:

Last weekend I went to visit my choir friends. They had just returned from their trip in central Europe. I stayed at BFF's and drove around town with him and his partner. We went to a tag sale in the morning, then we went to a choir concert that night.

Something about the car ride got me nervous. No one talked during the ride. No one. I sensed a lot of tension. I didn't say anything about it, because it was BFF's birthday weekend and I didn't want to ruin it for him.

We went out to a bar after the concert with two other people to celebrate the birthday. I was the lone holdout from the trip. All they talked about was their trip, their trip, their trip, and they basically ignored me the entire time. I really don't think it was intentional, but it still hurt.

That was just the straw that broke the camel's back. I had been having a lot of self-esteem issues prior to this.

The week before I saw a woman whom I hadn't seen in awhile. She was preggo and glowing, and talking about how her mom was going to take care of the baby so she could go back to work, and how her husband just bought her a phone, and how life was just oh-so-wonderful.

And then I saw another woman whom I hadn't seen in a longer period of time, and she was talking about how great her career was, and she just got a promotion, and her house was newly renovated, and how life was just oh-so-wonderful.

This past Sunday was the worst day. I felt like I wasn't doing anything with my life. I can't afford to go to renovate my house, let alone take a trip to Europe. I don't have a husband who takes care of everything for me, and if I ever have children, I know my mother won't take care of them during the day (she lives too far away).

Lately I just felt like I'm never pretty enough, smart enough, skinny enough, or just plain good enough to feel worthy.

I've got friends who are getting promotions at work and who are buying these huge houses and who are going on these amazing trips and are overall doing very well for themselves. Me? There are some weeks when I'm living paycheck to paycheck, still trying to get myself out of the credit card debt I foolishly accumulated in my 20s, and figuring out how to put a few dollars in the bank.

I've talked about this with my therapist. She thinks that a man is what I need. You know what she said? I should dress myself up to try and make myself look attractive. You know, wear a little something more than T-shirts and jeans when running errands. I argued that, while it would change my appearance on the outside, my inner self would remain the same.

I left her office in tears. It's time to find a new therapist.

I thought I had made a lot of progress in the past year in terms of therapy and rebooting my always-has-been-shaky self-esteem. This weekend, though, set me back quite a bit.

So, that's where I'm at right now. The edge is still there, but it's not as bad as it was on Sunday. I've been way too self-absorbed. There are people in the world who have situations that are far worse than mine.

I just need to keep things in perspective. I know I'll be all right...it's just a matter of time.

Friday Shoot-Out: Yard food a la francaise

This week's topic for the Friday Shoot-Out was yard food. Now, I haven't been on many picnics lately, BUT, I do have some shots from a Bastille Day festival that I attended. Their yard was actually the street! It was a street festival, but so much fun!

Hmmm...now what kind of crepe do I want? Sweet or savory?

Watch as Chef Jean-Pierre starts to ladle the batter onto the crepe pan...ooohhhh, yummy goodness here...


Now another chef...I'll call him Jean-Louis, spreads the batter around the pan...

I decide to go with a chocolatey crepe...can't go wrong with chocolate, kittens!


Voila! Une crepe extraordinaire...


You can't go wrong with French food...especially delicious French pastries...


...or yummy fruit tarts...

These look to beautiful to eat. I imagine they're raspberry flavored.


And of course, what French yard food would be complete sans bread?


Happy Friday, kittens! Enjoy your yard food!

Requiem for a Paper Bag: Celebrities and Civilians Tell Stories of the Best Lost, Tossed, and Found Items from Around the World, ed. by Davy Rothbart

The title of this book is so long I had to abbreviate the word "edited" in the title of the post. If you want to read the story about how I "found" this book, click here.

This is the book that introduced me to Found magazine, which is a publication devoted to stories, both fictional and nonfictional, of items that people randomly find--on the streets, in garbage cans, in the pages of a random book, wherever. Click here to go to the official website of Found Magazine.

And in a weird coincidence, Jenners commented that she has two books called "FOUND," which she says are photos of items that people have found in different places. The back of the book lists two such anthologies, and I think these are the very same ones that Jenners owns.

Requiem for a Paper Bag is an anthology that features such contributors as Seth Rogen, Andy Samberg, Dave Eggers, Chuck D, and Damon Wayans. There are also many lesser-known authors, musicians, and celebrities adding their tales to this book. Each short story is unique and recalls different experiences, some real, others created, but all of them based on objects that the authors found.

For example, one reader of Found Magazine found a report from the Michigan Employment Security Commission, which denies a man's unemployment claim based on such incidents as "set fire to reports...wrote abscene (sic) graffiti on the paper work...pouring ammonia on dry ice in the back room which caused the dry ice to explode." (p. 152) Writer Nelly Reifler took this report and created a hilarious backstory as to what really happened at the office that led the Michigan Employment Security Commission to deny the claim.

Comedian Patton Oswalt contributes a story of how he found a wallet in Sherman Oaks, and decides to do the noble thing by contacting the wallet's owner...and how the owner put his own little spin on what happened.

Andy Samberg tells the story of how he once found $5,000 extra dollars in his bank account one day, and the back-and-forth inner dialogue as to whether or not he should notify the bank of the error.

The best stories in the anthology, however, stem from random notes that readers have found along the way. Take this note, for instance:

Dear Alex,
If you don't give me your brain right now then bring $20 to the front desk Now!!! don't include the Police.

It's always interesting to use your imagination to figure out who wrote such notes, and why they did. In the case of this note, Aimee Bender, a creative writing teacher at the University of Southern California, writes the backstory that details the circumstances behind this note. It's surreal, clever, and very funny.

Other such notes make the contributors reflect on past instances in their lives. Tom Robbins, author of Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, writes a story inspired by a marriage proposal written on a piece of paper doctors use for prescribing medicine. He recalls how he married a woman that he barely knew for one night; she proposed, he accepted, and they were very quickly wed.

I really enjoy quirky stories, and Requiem for a Paper Bag is full of them. I never thought much about the backstories behind random items I find on the street, but this book has got me thinking about what the stories are behind these objects. This sounds like a good prompt for a future Writers Workshop: "Write about an item you found randomly." I think I'll post about that sometime...but I have to find the right random object first.

This is the latest entry in my 2009 100+ Reading Challenge, my 2009 Read Your Own Books Challenge, as well as my 2009 Take a Chance Challenge. As always, click the buttons in the sidebar on the right for archived lists of all of my reads!

Take a Chance Challenge: A little story behind my Random Word Task

As a part of Jenners' clever Take a Chance Challenge, I had to complete the following task:

Random Word. Go to this random word generator and generate a random word. Find a book with this word in the title. Read the book and write about it.

So I went to the random word generator and came up with the following word:

ASSIGNING

I then went on Amazon.com, typed in "assigning" as my keyword, and came up with 167,480 results. I narrowed my search down to "literature and fiction," which pared things down to a much more manageable 18,191 results.

Here are some of the gems that I came up with in my search:

• Lawn Tennis Tournaments: The True Method of Assigning Prizes with the Proof of the Fallacy of the Present Method, by Lewis Carroll, 1883, out of print

OK, that book is out of print, so that eliminates that idea. Besides, what the hell is lawn tennis? I soldiered on, this time focusing on some non-fiction titles.

• Assigning Liability for Superfund Cleanups: An Analysis of Policy Options (Resources for the Future), by Professor Katherine N. Probst

Ummm...no thanks. Let's see what else you've got, my dear Amazon.com.

• An Account Of The Remedy For The Stone: Lately Published In England, According To An Act Of Parliament, Assigning A Reward Of 5000 Pounds To The Discoverer (1741), by Richard Gem
  

?!?!?!?!?!

• Assigning a Value to Transboundary Radiation Exposure: Safety Guides, no author given

OK...I'm starting to get to the point where I may have to choose another random word. Somebody on the Random Word Generator must hate me. But I am not about to let this hatred wash all over me. Let's try one more book, shall we?

• Extracts from the Projected Penal Code: Containing the Fourth Section of the Thirteenth Chapter, Third Book, Entitled "Of offenses which affect written...and assigning the reasons for adopting them," by Edward Livingston, 1823, out of print

Jenners, you know I love you. I have always been there for you...well, I've been there for you ever since I found your blog. But I just can't read about penal code extracts or staying safe when there's transboundary radiation in the room. I just simply couldn't do a task that suggested such dull material.

Soooo...back to the Random Word Generator I went, and it gave me this word:

CIVILIAN

Ooohhhhhh, greaaaaaaaaaattttttt. Civilian. I'm gonna get some hard bound copies of Supreme Court cases when I search this. Oh, dear Amazonian gods, please don't let me down!

And here's what I came up with: 176,340 results. Among them:

• War Crimes Against Southern Civilians, by Walter Brian Cisco

Promising, yes, but I intend to have fun on this challenge. I don't want to read anything too serious.

• The Right of Precedence: Between Physicians and Civilians, Inquired Into (1720), by Jonathan Swift

Ahhhhhh...no. What else do we have?

• Requiem for a Paper Bag: Celebrities and Civilians Tell Stories of the Best Lost, Tossed, and Found Items from Around the World (A FOUND Anthology), edited by Davy Rothbart, creator of Found Magazine

Well, this looks promising! The title alone certainly makes it worth reading! Let's find out more, shall we?

From School Library Journal
With two national best sellers (Found and Found II), a magazine of the same name and accompanying web site, and a road show across America already in place, Rothbart adds this collection of 67 pieces submitted by writers, musicians, and friends. Rothbart invited contributors—including such well-known figures as comedian Andy Samberg, musician Andrew Bird, and writers Tom Robbins, Susan Orlean, Dave Eggers, and Paulo Coelho—to share their finds or to include a short piece of fiction based on a find. Bich Minh Nguyen (Stealing Buddha's Dinner) found a photograph of her mother, whom she'd never met; Samberg found a ten-dollar bill with an obscenity written on it; Orlean found the idea for a book about orchids. Various selections are fascinating, disturbing, funny, poetic, graphic, personal, illuminating, and combinations of these. Clearly, Rothbart's idea has found a following, and his book is a keeper.—Anthony Pucci, Notre Dame H.S., Elmira, NY

Well, talk about taking a chance! I decided to buy a used copy. I like quirky anthologies, and this one contained pieces by Dave Eggers and Andy Samberg, which, for me, is worth the price of the book alone. That, and the cover art looked awesome, but I'm not using this book for the "judge a book by its cover" portion of the challenge.

The book arrived in my mailbox within two days of ordering it. And I read it, and...

You'll have to read my review tomorrow!!! Hee hee! You think I'm going to post both a behind the scenes story and a review in one night? You're greatly mistaken! And I'm feeling rawther deliciously evil tonight!

Seriously, the review is forthcoming...stay tuned, mes cheries...

Shatner Does Palin

From last night's Tonight Show: William Shatner recites Sarah Palin's farewell speech, as only he could.

The Queen's Meme: The Culinary Meme

Now kittens, if you've been following for a while, you know how much I love to cook. This meme seems to be right up my alley.

Well, maybe I'm not so sure...just look at the questions.

1. If you could put thyme in a bottle, what is the first thing that you'd like to do?
Are we talking fresh or dried thyme here? 'Cause if you're talking fresh thyme I could throw in a few rosemary sprigs and make a nice infused vinegar out of it. If it were dried I'd use it as a part of a rub for a nice roast chicken or pork loin. Or I could use it in chicken soup.

2. Do eggs really crack or do they merely have a nervous breakdown?
Eggs have a nervous breakdown. Seriously, how would you feel if your fate is emulsion into a baked dish? Or if you were scrambled with sausage, peppers, and onions? Or whipped into a fury for a meringue? Or worse...hard boiled and dyed for Easter?!?!?!

3. Why are you whipping the butter? What did it ever do to you?
Butter was my first love, you see. But he betrayed me. He left me with cholesterol in my heart and grease on my fingers. I'm still bitter.

4. Do your spoons spoon in the drawer? Have you ever noticed? And more importantly, if wooden spoons spoon do they get splinters?
I've never caught them in the act. Maybe I should put a little camera in there so I can catch some of the action, then sell the tape on eBay.

As for wooden spoons, I'm sure they'd get splinters, but aren't they used to it? After all, they're made of wood anyway!

5. You hear: "Dumpling, my Dumpling, come hither." The candles are lit, the fondue is dipping, the Godiva is pouring, the scallions are steaming and the music is playing.....but wait, the windows are open. Why did you close them?
I'd be afraid of the neighbors eavesdropping. Besides, it's raining.

6. Do you need a recipe to cook or are you a bohemian chef? Show us your reckless and wild side in the kitchen. Don't have one? Here's a recipe I made just for you: You will need a spatula, a whisk, a gallon of Chardonnay, a banana and a rump roast. What is the name of your dish?
OK, first, pour yourself a glass of Chardonnay. You're gonna channel your inner Graham Kerr as you cook. Now peel your banana, slice it, put it in a bowl. Pour some Chardonnay in it, but not too much. Whisk it up till you have a nice sauce. Now pour it into a pot and let it boil until you have a nice glaze.

Now pour yourself another glass of Chardonnay, since you finished the first one.

Take your rump roast. Pour the glaze over it. Use the spatula to spread the glaze over the rump roast, since Mimi is being mean and is not giving me a pastry brush for the glazing, which is what I prefer and far easier than using a metal spatula. At this point, pour some more Chardonnay for yourself, 'cause you're frustrated that you can't spread a proper glaze over a proper rump roast properly.

Now that you've glazed your rump, put it in the oven at 400 degrees. Let 'er go for about 45 minutes, or until the juices run clear.

As you wait for a potential culinary disaster, help yourself to more Chardonnay. Don't bother pouring yourself a glass; you've earned the right to take a swig from the bottle. Or two swigs. Hell, just chug the damn thing down.

Take your rump out of the oven and serve. Have someone else carve it, since you're swimming in Chardonnay at this point. Hopefully it'll turn out well, or your rump will be roasted.

7. After dinner, the dishes are so dirty that the dishwasher refuses to wash them.
What did they say to get in hot water?
They muttered words that would get me on Blogger's content warning list. I won't write those down, dear kittens, for this is a fate that I would prefer to avoid.

8. Is your pot black?
Pa has called the kettle black before, but not the pot.

9. What is the sexiest spice or condiment in your cabinet? What makes it so?
Nutmeg. It's my secret ingredient in many recipes, especially white sauces, baked goods, and rubs.

10. How much crock is really in your crock pot?
I don't own a crock pot. Maybe I should get one. Then again, my life is full of enough crock as it is...

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Welcome to another edition of the Monday Reads, hosted by the lovely J.Kaye. Here's what I'm reading this week:

• The Time Traveler's Wife. I first heard about this book from the lovely Jenners. I'll link her review once I have posted mine. I read her take on it well before I learned about the movie being released on August 14th. Now, you must understand, in order to get me into a movie theater, the movie has to be something special. Judging by the trailer, it is. And judging by the first chapters I've read, it's a special, special book. I hope the movie lives up to expectations.
• Requiem for a Paper Bag: Celebrities and Civilians Tell Stories of the Best Lost, Tossed and Found Items from Around the World: A rawther long title for a book of short stories. I find it delightfully quirky--and y'all know how much I lurve quirk. I'm reading this for my Take a Chance Challenge. There is a story behind this selection. I will let you know once I post my review.
• New Moon: I'm about 50 pages in, and I'm having trouble getting into this one. Is it me, or is Bella especially whiny in this one? I'm gonna keep plowing at this one, for I finished Twilight and will be very disappointed in myself if I don't finish the series.
• The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home: This is a memoir of a summer house in Cape Cod that has been in the author's family for decades. I haven't started it yet, but it's my next book for my Summer Vacation Challenge. This challenge allows for only one book that can't cross into other challenges; this is that one book. It will be my asterisk book--kinda like how they keep an asterisk by Roger Maris's name in the record books.

And what about you, my darling kittens? What are you reading this week? Be honest; if you're reading a ginormous, 1400+ page technical manual with very small print, I wanna hear about it!

Rise and Shine, by Anna Quindlen

This book had all of the plot lines, twists, and turns of a very bad Lifetime Original Movie. It was very quick to read, but very far-fetched. Then again, I probably just wanted to get it done as soon as possible.

Meghan Fitzmaurice is the successful host of Rise and Shine, the most popular show on daytime television. She is one of those stereotypical women-who-has-it-all: successful career, spacious New York apartment, rich, successful husband, son in an Ivy League school.

By contrast, Meghan's younger sister, Bridget, works in a battered-woman's shelter as a social worker. She, too, has a successful career, and is dating a man that she loves, but can't escape the feeling that she's living in Meghan's shadow.

Meghan's seemingly perfect world crumbles one day as she, on live TV, mutters a profanity, which is then broadcast uncensored. She doesn't realize that the mike is on.

And so begins the downfall of the host of Rise and Shine. Prior to this incident, her husband, Evan, announces that he is leaving her, but doesn't give a specific reason. He moves out of the apartment that he shares with Meghan, and eventually, Meghan moves out herself, and runs away to Jamaica for an extended vacation. Evan goes to Tokyo. Their son, Leo, is in Spain and has no idea what's going on--even though his mother is on the cover of every tabloid known to man.

Meanwhile, Bridget remains in New York, trying to clean up the mess and figuring out how to tell her nephew all that has happened. She becomes the messenger gal for Meghan, Evan, Leo, and network executives. Talk about being caught in the middle. Meanwhile, she's trying to juggle her own set of issues, starting with her boyfriend, Irving, a cop twenty-three years her senior, as well as the lives of her clients at the shelter.

Sometimes I get comments from readers about the "Currently Reading" buttons in the sidebar. These comments range from, "I'm so excited that you're reading this!" to "I hated that book!" Rise and Shine falls in the latter range of this spectrum. It is not particularly memorable, nor is it particularly well-written. I'm really glad that I borrowed this book from the library; if I had bought it I would have asked for my money back.

This is the latest entry in my 2009 100+ Reading Challenge, my 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge, as well as my 2009 A to Z Challenge. As always, click on the buttons in the sidebar for all of the archived lists!

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See

I had a number of readers tell me how much they loved this book. They added that it was one of those works that stays with you long after you've finished it. I must echo their sentiments, for this lovely work has lingered in my thoughts two days after I finished it.

Lisa See, the author, put in an extensive amount of research and care into this work. It is not just a work about the relationship between two young 19th century Chinese girls, but a fascinating look into Chinese culture of that era. It was absolutely fascinating to learn about such things as the treatment of women in society, how marriages were arranged, and the importance and symbolism of footbinding.

Wikipedia has an excellent page on footbinding, which you can read by clicking here. NPR also broadcast an excellent report on the eldest survivors of footbinding, which you can find by clicking here. I need to warn you, though, some of the descriptions of footbinding are graphic, and not necessarily for the faint of heart. Google Images has some photos of bound feet, but I have chosen not to put them on here out of respect for those who may be uncomfortable looking at such pictures.

That having been said, the novel opens with the main character, Lily, describe her preparations for her feet to be bound. A diviner and a matchmaker arrive at her house to meet her and start to arrange for her marriage prospects. Lily is seven years old.

The matchmaker, Madame Wang, determines that Lily is an excellent candidate for a laotong relationship. A laotong relationship exists between two girls from different villages and lasts their entire lives. This is not the same as a sworn sisterhood in Chinese culture, which are made up of several girls and last until one of the sisters marries. According to this article, "These relationships were based not only on proximity, but also upon auspicious astrology, numerology and even matching the size and shape of the young “sisters” feet. They would go to festivals together, and were often closer to one another than to their blood-related sisters."

Lily is matched with a young woman named Snow Flower, who sends her first letter on a silk fan. The letter is written in a secret language called nu shu, which Chinese women created so that men, who were the ones who were taught how to read and write traditional characters, would not be able to decipher it. Snow Flower eventually meets Lily at her home, and visits frequently over the years. The two girls grow into womanhood, and learn how to embroider, cook, and write together.

Snow Flower lives in a village called Tongkou. This is where Lily will live once she is married; Snow Flower has been arranged to marry a man in a different village, and the two women will not live in the same village together. Although Snow Flower has visited Lily's home many times, Lily has not visited Snow Flower's. Madame Wang, the matchmaker, says that the reason for this is that it would not be wise for Lily to see her future husband before her wedding day, even though she won't meet him until then.

However, one day Lily decides to pay a visit to Snow Flower's home. I won't reveal all of the details of this visit, but Lily discovers that Snow Flower has not been truthful about her background. This instills in Lily a sense of mistrust in her laotong. How will she know if Snow Flower is truthful in the future?

Snow Flower begs Lily for her forgiveness, and the two women marry and start families. As Lily bears her children and serves her husband and in-laws, Snow Flower struggles in hers. The two women remain faithful to each other, sending messages on handkerchiefs as well as on their special fan, but their destinies are turning out to be much different than they ever expected. Lily's sense of mistrust deepens, but Snow Flower can't understand what has happened to create the tension existing in their relationship.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a compelling story about the relationship between two women who promised to be lifelong friends and sisters, and what happens when misunderstandings occur. This is a book that every woman can relate to; I'm sure every woman has had relationships with female friends that have had their share of conflict and misunderstanding. Sometimes conflict with our friends is so much more painful than what we may experience with family members.

For me, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan was just as much a tome about Chinese culture as it was about the unique relationship between Lily and Snow Flower. I learned a lot of history, but it was the lessons of the heart that the two women learned that will stay with me.

This is the latest entry in my 2009 100+ Reading Challenge, my 2009 Read Your Own Books Challenge, as well as my 2009 Summer Vacation Challenge. As always, click the buttons in the sidebar to read all of the archived lists!

Clips of the Week

I couldn't decide between these two clips, so I am including both:

First is a hilarious parody of the ShamWow commercial. A friend of mine showed me this and I had to share it with y'all:



The next one is dedicated to my friend Drollgirl. Conan and Colbert. In one magical clip. Ahhhhh....

I'm a "Book Blogger's New Discovery"!

This morning I went to check my Gmail when I found a comment that said I was one of J.Kaye's "Book Blogger's New Discoveries." J.Kaye runs this feature every Friday, and I was tickled pink to learn that I was one of her featured blogs!

When I learned this news, I did the Bookkitten Cry of Joy--all together now--"SQUEEEEEEEEE!!!"

Anyhoo, I just wanted to share the news with y'all and thank J.Kaye for featuring me today! You made me feel so special! :)

Friday Shoot-Out: Reflections

I have been horrid with the Kodak moments lately. This week, and last, were filled with errands and volunteer work--lots to do, kept me off the streets, but didn't leave me enough time to take photos.

I took a picture of myself in the mirror, and it didn't come out too well. Hated it. Was going to upload it, but decided against it.

So, I did what any good Bookkitten would do: I combed through the archives of my photo album and decided to think abstractly. In the process I found what I feel is one of the best photos I've ever taken:


New York is not my hometown. However, I live close enough to the Big Apple that I'm able to visit a few times a year. Last year I went into the city for a Bastille Day celebration. Afterwards I took a walk on the Brooklyn Bridge and took some shots. I used my zoom lens for this one, and cropped it when I got home.

This photo was taken at a time in my life when I was recovering from my last major episode of depression. Every time I look at this photo I think of several things, among them, how far my life had come since I began to rebuild my life. I know it sounds dramatic, but I was at a really, really low point.

For me, Lady Liberty is a reflection of every emotion I was experiencing at that time. Fear, but hope. Sorrow, but happiness. Insecure, yet confident.

Maybe I'm stretching things a bit for this assignment, but what can I say? I absolutely love this picture.

Until next week, Shoot-Out gang...

Writers Workshop: They don't make 'em like they used to

Once again, it is time for me to respond to Mama Kat's weekly writing prompt. Here is what I chose this week:

1.) They just don't make (fill in the blank) like they used to!

Well, we can say a lot of things about this prompt here, kittens. There are a lot of things that they don't make like they used to. A LOT. But rawther than me post a tres long, boring, complicated, non-sensical RANT, I shall choose one area of pop culture that has particularly vexed me, especially over the last four or five years.

Let's face it, kittens, they don't make television like they used to.

I was raised in the 1980s, but I lived on reruns of classic 1960s and 1970s sitcoms. I used to really enjoy staying home from school to watch The Brady Bunch and I Dream of Jeannie. Oh, how I wanted to be Jeannie! With the blink of an eye I could solve any problem. I also thought it would be kinda neat to live in a bottle and turn to smoke whenever I had to go inside, but that's another story.

Anyhoo, that's what I'd watch during the day. The after-school hours were filled with I Love Lucy (not from the 1960s or 70s, I know), Mary Tyler Moore, and, of course, Carol Burnett and Friends. With the exception of Lucy's pratfalls and Carol's costumes, most of the humor was well above my eight- or nine-year-old head, but I really enjoyed the actors' personalities.

Nighttime was the best. No, I did not stay up late enough to watch Johnny Carson or David Letterman, but nighttime was when The Muppet Show came on. Oh, how I adored the Muppets. That would be the last show Sister Kitten and I would watch before bed.

The best thing about these shows was, as I got older, there was a whole new level of humor I picked up on, which made me appreciate them much more. I didn't realize that these shows were written for adults, but when I saw the adult aspects of the comedy, I liked them better.

I just wish you could say the same things about American television these days. So many shows are so slickly packaged, manufactured, and just plain cliched. This especially applies to the tv that the kids are watching these days. I'm talking about shows like Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, and--oh dear God, I think I just vomited in my mouth--JONAS. The writing in these shows is crap, none of the plot lines are realistic, and the kids just dress too damn perfectly. Kids no longer watch reruns of shows that their parents held near and dear to their hearts. Let's face it--they stay home from school and they have to choose among Springer, Steve Wilkos, and other sorts of programs that seem to bring out the worst in human beings.

You mention shows like The Brady Bunch and The Facts of Life to kids these days, and they're like, "I've never heard of that show!" Or, they have seen some of the episodes that their parents have on DVD and they say proclaim that the show is lame.

Not to mention, when these kids get to be my age, they're all gonna watch these shows and think, "I watched this crap?!?" The humor stays with their age group; there's not much there for the adults to like.

And Lord knows what kind of crap their kids may watch!

I'm not saying that all American television is bad; it's not. There are shows like and The Daily Show and The Colbert Report that have brilliantly sharp writers. I also like shows that push the envelope when it comes to quirky comedy, shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy. I really like shows that take a risk when it comes to that sort of thing, and there aren't many shows that do that any more. And some of the shows that do do that aren't always given a fair chance to succeed.

I am a snob about television writing, and when it works, it works brilliantly well. I'm so happy that 30 Rock is a hit. I love Tina Fey's ideas, and I have a bit of a TV crush on Jack McBreyer (or is it on his character, Kenneth the Page?) Anyhoo, I just hope that future writers of American television can step up their game a notch, or else there won't be much of a future in American TV.

Then these writers would have to write books.

Which, actually, may not be such a bad thing...hmmm...

I leave you now with some pearls of wisdom from Brian and Stewie Griffin, from the opening of the 2007 Emmy awards. They've pretty much summarized, in one musical number, everything I've articulated here.

Coming soon: Book Blogger Appreciation Week, September 14-18, 2009

I have just signed up for the Second Annual Book Blogger Appreciation Week. It's sponsored by Amy of My Friend Amy.

Here's some more info on BBAW, courtesy of Amy, who founded this event last year:

WHO: Anyone who blogs about books is invited to participate. In fact, we want everyone who blogs about books and reading to be a part of this week!
WHAT: A week where we come together, celebrate the contribution and hard work of book bloggers in promoting a culture of literacy, connecting readers to books and authors, and recogonizing the best among us with the Second Annual BBAW Awards. There will be special guest posts, daily blogging themes, and giveaways.
WHEN: September 14-18, 2009
WHERE: Here at the new Book Blogger Appreciation Week Blog! (Please note that this year there are three separate blogs and feeds—one for the main event, one for giveaways, and one for awards.)
WHY: Because books matter. In a world full of options, the people talking about books pour hard work, time, energy, and money into creating a community around the written word. I, Amy, the founder of Book Blogger Appreciation Week love this community of bloggers and want to shower my appreciation on you!

If you want more information, click here. You can also use this link to nominate your favorite book blogs! Nominations are open till August 15, 2009.