winter reading challenge

Yesterday was the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. From this point forward we are on an upswing with more daylight minutes every day until the summer solstice. It was also the end of the Fall Into Reading challenge. How did I do? Here's the wrapup:

1000 White Women and Savannah Breeze, Every Mother Is A Daughter got read and reviewed (sort of).

The Historian and The Memory Keeper's Daughter? They never got read.

Other books I read during this time (but didn't review)?

Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen - It was okay but not great. The blog was better.

King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking: Delicious Recipes Using Nutritious Whole Grains - Wonderful! I loved this book, renewed it the maximum two times and then the library had to call me because it was overdue and someone else wanted it. The recipes were really good (the ones I tried), I learned a lot about baking with whole grains and am considering buying this book.

The Bread Bible - Another really great book. I love the way she writes, her explanations are simple and clear. I'm thinking about buying this one too.

The Eyre Affair - Recommended by someone else, sorry I don't remember who. Very cute, I liked it, an easy read with humorous twists on reading and books.

Lost in a Good Book (Thursday Next Novels) - I liked the first one so I read the second. The first one was better. Some of the plot devices got a little worn and I felt the story wasn't as good.


So basically I read two out of five on my list but read several others instead. Not too bad. Now it's time for the




sponsored by Seasonal Soundings. Here's my list...we'll see how well I do this time around:

The Historian - recommended by my sister-in-law, I've really got to read this.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Recommended by my aunt who is going to lend me her copy, I'm really looking forward to reading this.

Great Expectations (Penguin Classics) - I made myself a promise to start re-reading some of the classics. So I'll start with this one which I really liked when I read it 20 years ago. We'll see if I can still process all of the allegorical connections and subplots.

So this makes three books on my list. Not a lot but two highly recommended works of fiction and one classic. A good start.

What am I reading now? The United States of Arugula: How We Became a Gourmet Nation. I'm enjoying it very much. I like his style of writing, love the gossipy bits about the foodie world and am learning quite a bit about how our cuisine and food culture is developing.

Also reading Preserving Memories: Growing Up in My Mother's Kitchen my Mom's new book. I like the stories and recipes. She's a great writer, I have enjoyed all of her books and her website. I'm so proud of her and glad to have this newest book to put on my shelf.

What are you reading? Head on over to Seasonal Soundings and join in the reading.