I have a dozen books that I started reading sitting on my shelf. All books that I really want to read. But this isolation thing (which I am in day 46 of) has made it difficult to finish anything new. So what have I been doing? Re-reading every Anne McCaffrey book in my possession. It started with my husband and I ordering books from Bookshop and realizing that my favorite Anne McCaffrey book was available. The moment The Skies of Pern was in my holding, I picked it up and didn’t put it down. Tai […]
At the Barre: Day One
Written on April 10th, along side Ballet Barre 1 with Dutch National Ballet: I keep saying I’m going to get back in shape, do ballet barre more often, etc. Now a couple of caveats here: I have always been terrible at exercising at home. Always. Even when I was training in a dance studio 6 days a week. (And that goes for ballet and ballroom.) However, because I was already in the studio 6 days a week, it didn’t really matter because that on it’s own typically kept me in shape. Then I left college […]
Baking and Books
I have been anxiously awaiting Julie Jones’ newest book, The Pastry School. In part because I’m now in love with her pie crust recipe, in part because the custard in her custard tart is actually really good and I had never made custard from scratch before, but also because she makes her pies look amazing! It officially came out in the United States earlier this week, and as soon as I logged into Bookshop, I discovered that it was on backorder. I checked again today – I officially have a copy coming my way! Not […]
Book of the Month: April Pick
They’re here, they’re here – TWO DAYS EARLY! (By the time this post publishes, it will be April 3rd and therefore no longer early. But since I’m ahead of the game here, I’m still two days early.) Five Book of the Month picks to choose from as usual, and yet I was so torn I almost picked THREE! Caught between the 1920s, World War II, and romance, I ended up going with The Paris Hours by Alex George. A bit of romance, a bit of Paris, a bit of 1920s Paris society, I couldn’t resist. […]
A Little Bit of Ballet
I have been in one of my “can’t finish a book” ruts for a few days now. Which means I have been switching back and forth in an endless cycle between Wild Wood by Posie Graeme-Evans, The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry, and The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry. This is followed by brief moments of “Oh! I should finish that” with Justice Hall by Laurie R. King. Add to those that I’ve now started Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang. I blame being stuck at home for so long that my brain […]
Rescued by the Library
I have been – for several weeks now – thinking that I needed to get to the library to do newspaper research. Then about two weeks ago found myself saddened that that was unlikely to happen given the current health crisis. As far as I was aware at that point, the only currently accessible copies of the newspaper I wanted were on microfilm. But occassionally, good deeds do come back around. Last year, I wrote a letter of support for that library to get a grant to have their newspapers digitized. Lo and behold: the […]
Baking in Self-Isolation
When we realized that Stay-at-Home could potentially come down the pipeline, but it wasn’t mandated yet, we decided to make the most of our last trip to Vermont by stopping at King Arthur Flour on the way home. This was the best choice we could have made. We stocked up on various flours: pastry flour, artisan bread flour, high gluten flour. We grabbed some superfine castor sugar so I can attempt some more intricate pastry work while trapped in the house. We grabbed King Arthur’s pre-made cookie dough. (Two more cookies consumed and that will […]
From the Socially Distanced Desk
It seems a little strange how the last few weeks have progressed. On some level, it makes me want to go back and read Laurie Halse Anderson’s Fever 1793 all over again. On the opposite hand, I really don’t. Somehow it has become far too relevant. Three weeks ago, we had a large church gathering, during which we had ensured that no one shook hands (it’s flu season anyway), and the deacons deployed hand sanitizer at the doors because it was probably a good call. Two weeks ago, things were sort of ramping up from […]
Book Review: The Huntress
For the Armchair Detective Society this month, we chose The Huntress by Kate Quinn. We had loved The Alice Network so much that given the choice between The Huntress and branching out into some Dorothy Sayer books, we chose The Huntress. I would like to say that we all loved this one, but we ran into a hiccup. This month’s meeting had to be postponed due to COVID-19. So, in liu of my own review peppered with thoughts from the rest of the group, I present my lone review, while lifting a glass in solidarity […]
Book Review: Things in Jars
Things in Jars by Jess Kidd was intriguing. It was not quite what I was expecting, and the ghost element didn’t really seem to have too much tie in to the plot. But otherwise, I liked the book overall. The combination of pseudo-science, the history of the resurrectionists, and the mystical was a quality that worked really well together in this book. The mermaid aspect was not quite what one would expect. Definitely edged more toward the creepy end of the fairy tale spectrum – but then, this book is no fairy tale.