What's in Your Library Bag Wednesday?

     It's Wednesday my blog reading friends!! And I'm here to ask you What's in Your Library Bag this Wednesday? I missed last week with the Thanksgiving holiday, but I'm back and ready for your suggestions this week!!
     For whatever reason, I  haven't been reading as much as I normally do, but I did finish the newest Jeaniene Frost book, One Grave at a Time. It was nice to catch up with Cat and Bones again and Ms. Frost added an interesting twist by giving ghosts the ability to take solid form while introducing a new character heading Cat's old team that doesn't like her much as well. Dealing with both of these has Cat and Bones with their hands full. Cat's old best friend, Denise, makes an appearance as a shapeshifting dragon, too. Lots of paranormal, lots of mystery, lots of fun!!
     There is a new book that looks intriguing that I recently placed a hold on: 11/22/63 by Stephen King. I have read Stephen King's biography, On Writing, but I haven't really read anything else of his. I know his writing is kind of fantastical, but seemed kind of weird.... This new one sounds intriguing. Here's a clip about it from goodreads.com...

November 22nd, 1963 was a rapid-fire sequence of indelible moments: Shots ring out; a president slumped over; a race to the Dallas hospital; an announcement, blood still fresh on the First Lady's dress. But what if President John F. Kennedy didn't have to die; if somehow his assassin could have been thwarted? For Maine schoolteacher Jake Epping, those hypothetical what if's become real possibilities when he walks through a portal to the past. Without special skills and still unfamiliar with his new/old surroundings, he struggles to discover a way to change the history he left. Like its Under the Dome predecessor, Stephen King's 960-page novel shows that this master of suspense is back at the top of his game.


Kind of time travel/fantasy, alternate history....I'll try it and let you know....


What are you reading or putting holds on??? Do you have a long list of titles that you want for Christmas?? Chime in and let me know....

Book Trailer Monday...

Here's an up and coming teen selection!! They say it's as good as Twilight...And there's a  movie being made...

From Our Recipe Box to Yours...

Happy Day After Thanksgiving!!! Now what to do with all of that leftover turkey??? I usually go to Thanksgiving dinner, so I don't have any leftovers, but a coworker of mine was telling me about this yummy leftover turkey recipe she heard about and it made me wish for leftovers.....Let's see what you think...

THANKSGIVING STROMBOLI

by Rachael Ray | on 11/21/07

---

  ShareThis

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tube refrigerated pizza dough, such as Pillsbury brand
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or cornmeal
• 1 cup leftover cranberry sauce
• 3 cups leftover turkey, shredded
• 2 cups leftover stuffing
• 2 cups aged white cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 2 cups leftover gravy

Serves 4

PREPARATION

Pre-heat oven to 400°F

Break open the tube of dough and remove it from container. Dust your hands and lightly coat the dough with flour or cornmeal, then roll it out onto work surface. Stretch the dough out gently so that is an inch larger than when you first take it out of the roll (but in the same rectangle shape that it has initially). Spread the cranberry sauce in an even layer over the dough, making sure to leave an inch border around the circumference of the rectangle.

Layer the turkey and stuffing down the middle of the dough going from one corner to the opposite corner in a diagonal line. Cover the turkey and stuffing with the cheddar. Bring one corner of the dough up over the turkey mixture, then roll the dough on an angle to make a long roll that is thick in the middle and thinner on each end. You should have turkey mixture running down the middle with some filling exposed at each end.

Brush the stromboli with EVOO, then sprinkle the sesame seeds on top and pat them into the dough. Place onto a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, until evenly golden. Serve with leftover hot gravy alongside.

Thoughts for a Thursday...

Here's a fun word....

knavery

   \NEY-vuh-ree\ , noun;

1.

Unprincipled, untrustworthy, or dishonest dealing; trickery.

2.

Action or practice characteristic of a knave

3.

A knavish act or practice.

Quotes:

Knavery may serve for a turn, but honesty is best in the long run.

-- Aesop, Aesop's Fables

Yes, I took the brunt of it but not because there was a ballot on it but because I know knavery when I seeknavery. Plus underhandedness and mischief.

-- Gordon Lish, Collected Fictions

Origin:

Originally from the German word knabe meaning “boy or lad,” knavery has been used to imply deceitful intentions since the 1200s.

Book Trailer Monday...

Here's one that hits a little close to home....Do you remember this crime??

From Our Recipe Box to Yours...

I made this great recipe this last weekend that I found on Pinterest!! OMG! It only has 2 ingredients and my kids loved it!!!

Are you ready? Here goes....

PUMPKIN MUFFINS


1 yellow cake mix
1 can pumpkin


Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes.

That's it!! Yummy!!!


I actually added some chocolate chips to guarantee my kids would eat them and then we served with whipped cream on top!!! Awesome Awesome!!!

What's in Your Library Bag Wednesday?

     Well, blog friends, What's in Your Library Bag this Wednesday? I have a couple of different books just waiting to be read, but with the holidays and my birthday fast approaching, I'm trying to plan a party and get Christmas cards done. So, I'm unfortunately not getting much read. I have been able to squeeze a few new movies in, though. That got me to wondering, are you not the big reader that I am? Do you keep coming back hoping that I will eventually suggest something that strikes your interest? How about movies? You know you love to watch movies? And I'm sure you always here that the book is better than the movie...maybe you aren't convinced.
     Here's a list of movies slated to come out in 2012. We have all of these books in the Library. Find one that sounds interesting and check it out. Then check back with me after you've seen the movie and let me know...was the book really better than the movie??

Hunger Games
One for the Money
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Great Gatsby
Fahrenheit 411
Breaking Dawn
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
War Horse
Sherlock Holmes: A game of shadows
Invention of Hugo Cabret
Admission
Anna Karenina
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire hunter
Odd Thomas
The Dogs of Babel
The Hobbit
The Lorax
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
The Perks of Being a Wallflower

It's Tuesday!!

Okay, it's Tuesday...but I can't resist!! I saw this trailer on facebook and I LOVED this trilogy!! Kinda hard to get into the beginning, but after that!! Awesomeness!! The movie looks very exciting!! Check it Out!!

Book Trailer Monday...

This happens to be the trailer for the new movie coming out but it will make you want to read the book AND see the movie!! It's a must see! Can't wait til January!

From Our Recipe Box to Yours...

So, here's a recipe that I found on Pinterest and I am so intrigued by that I am going to make this year for my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe you would like to, too....

Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip

Time: 15 minutes prep + 4 hours refrigeration

Yield: 15 servings

Recipe adapted from my dear friend Heather Peterson

PRINT RECIPE 

1  12 oz package fresh cranberries

1/4 C green onion, chopped

1/4 C cilantro, chopped

1 small jalapeno pepper

1 1/4 C sugar

1/4 t cumin

2 T lemon juice

dash salt

2  8 oz packages cream cheese

  

1. Put your cranberries in a food processor. I used my mini chopper (one batch of CranberryWoodChipDelight was enough for me. The blender and I aren't speaking to each other at this point....) You could also, just chop them up.

  

2. Chop up your green onion, cilantro, and jalapeno pepper into small pieces. Careful of the seeds now. Throw on a pair of rubber gloves or something, please. The seeds are the hot part of the pepper. If you don't like a lot of heat on the old pallet, just leave the jalapeno out.

3. Add all ingredients (but the cream cheese and the wheat thins) into a bowl. Mix them all together, cover and store in the fridge for at least 4 hours. The sugar needs some time to soak in to the cranberries and break up their bitter taste.  

4. When you are ready to serve, place your cream cheese bricks on a plate.

 

5. Spread the cream cheese out as evenly as you can.

 

6. Pour your cranberry mixture over the cream cheese.

 

7. Spread it all around.

8. Serve immediately with Wheat Thins, Ritz Crackers or Tortilla Chips.

  

Thoughts for a Thursday...

I am just running across all kinds of interesting words in my reading lately...This one comes from James Patterson's A Christmas Wedding which you should read today!!!

dirndl

Syllabification:

• On
• Off

Entry from World dictionary

Pronunciation:/ˈdəːnd(ə)l/

noun

• 1 (also dirndl skirt)a full , wide skirt with a tight waistband.
• 2 a woman’s dress in the style of Alpine peasant costume, with a dirndl skirt and a close-fitting bodice.

What's in Your Library Bag Wednesday?

     Hey! Happy first day of snow!!!! I know, I know. Most of you are more upset by the snow than happy about it, but to see the joy on my kids' faces this morning made it all worth it!! Besides. It's mostly melted by now...
     Since it is Wednesday again, I'm here to ask you What's in Your Library Bag this Fine Wednesday? I have recently finished Divergent by Veronica Roth. This young adult novel was very similar to the Hunger Games trilogy. This novel takes place in Chicago; not the Chicago of today, of course. The government is based on factions. For example, there is the Abnegation faction where you strive to be selfless; many of their jobs deal with helping the factionless or poor and fixing the city for the rest of the factions. This one is where the city's leaders come from.You also have the Candor faction where everyone always tells the truth completely as it is no matter what. There is the Dauntless faction where the members are dauntless and daring and jump off moving trains, etc. This is where the city's protectors come from. You get the idea. Anyway, when a child reaches the age of 16, they must choose a faction. They go through a series of aptitude tests that tell them which faction they lean towards, but ultimately they choice is theirs. They can choose to remain in the faction of their parents or they can choose  a new one. If they choose a new one, they forsake their family. The term, "faction before blood" has great meaning in this society.
     So, the story begins where a young Abnegation girl, Beatrice and her brother Caleb, must figure out what they'd like to be. After the odd results that Beatrice receives and her choice during the ceremony, the novel takes you on the initiation journey and what it means to be Divergent and Dauntless and a 16 year old girl.
     Beatrice or Tris as she renames herself, learns a lot about herself and her fears. She figures out a lot of things about their government and in the end leaves you the reader, with lots of questions about her and what's going on.
     Absolutely. Can't. Wait. for the next novel and it doesn't come until next year!!!  I don't remember enjoying George Orwell's 1984, but these new books on society seem to be just the thing for me.
    This particular novel flowed a lot easier than the Hunger Games did. At no point, did I want to put it down and read something else. If you are looking for something new a different try crossing over into the young adult section and see what goodies you can find. Divergent is a great starting point!

From Our Recipe Box to Yours...

Since the weather is turning a bit it's making me feel like eating soup!! I thought I'd include this chili recipe today because it's so different. Everyone knows how to make chili, but this one has a chocolate bar in it!! The only other thing I will say is that if you like things spicy, this recipe needs a little extra oomph!! Otherwise, yummy!

Cincinnati Chili taken from A Man and His Pan by John Boswell


1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 can (28 oz.) stewed tomatoes
1/2 C. beef broth
1 T. red wine vinegar
1/2 chocolate bar (2 oz.) like Hershey's (no almonds)


In your nonstick frying pan, cook the ground beef, onion, celery, and garlic over medium high heat, stirring often to break up lumps of meat, until the beef loses its pink color, about 5 minutes. Add the chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.


Add the stewed tomatoes, beef broth, vinegar, and chocolate; cut up the tomatoes while cooking with a pair of kitchen scissors. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer 1 hour, adding more beef broth if the chili gets too thick.

Thoughts for a Thursday...

Boy this Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn has really got me!! How about this word??

kvetch  (kvch) Slang

intr.v. kvetched, kvetch·ing, kvetch·es

To complain persistently and whiningly.

n.

1. A chronic, whining complainer.

2. A nagging complaint: "a rambling kvetch against the system" (Leonard Ross).

---

[Yiddish kvetshn, to squeeze, complain, from Middle High German quetzen, quetschen, to squeeze.]

What's in Your Library Bag Wednesday?

     It's Wednesday again my reading friends! And I am curious, what's in your library bag this crazy Wednesday? Can you believe there is a chance of snow??!!!
     Anyway, I am so excited! I have a book in my bag that I've had on hold for quite some time now...Divergent by Veronica Roth. It's supposed to be very like The Hunger Games so I am expecting a bit of a slow start, but an awesome read thereafter. What about you? Do you have a book that you've been dying to read?
     I did want to chat a little bit about something else that's been on my mind...What's with all of these joint authors anyway? Seems like everyone's doing it: James Patterson, Clive Cussler, Dick Francis...I just don't get it. Are the big name authors trying to write more books and can't accomplish them on their own? Are they trying to take a new author under their wings? Are they using their name to sell books for the little guys?
     How does it work really? Does the big name come up with the idea and outline and then the "understudy" so to speak, actually writes the novel. Or does it go the other way around?
     I tell you what. It kind of makes me mad. If I pick up a book by James Patterson, I want to read a book by James Patterson, not James Patterson and some other guy I don't know. I'm not looking to read 3 and 4 books a year by my favorite authors. I am happy when they write a great, well written novel that keeps me wanting more and waiting for that next one, whenever that happens to be. Even if they are trying to give new authors a start, I still think that the novel selling should be by whom it is by, not selling because it has a big name author attached to it, who may or may not have actually written the story.
     I may be wrong. These novels may actually be a collaborative effort where each author is contributing equally and just writing together. That also begs the question, "Why" when James Patterson, for example, already has so many bestsellers to his name.
     I don't know. I just don't know. Where do you stand on the subject?