50 in 2012: Book Thirty

How to Pick a Peach by Russ Parsons

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second library book I’ve bought recently within minutes of picking up.

I do not possess the magic skill of knowing how to pick ripe fruit. Or vegetables.

I thump watermelons. Unsure of what I am really listening for but everyone else seems to pick up, thump, shake their head, and place in cart. I simply follow hoping no one stops me to ask me my watermelon-picking philosophy.

Over time, I have learned that a ripe pineapple can be chosen if one of the top leaves can be easily plunked out. Ripe avocados are soft to the touch and if the little stem thingy is removed and green can be seen…good pick. Red peppers are supposed to be thump-able, too soft means no bueno. Not scientific, not always accurate…

I stumbled upon this book and loved it immediately. Broken up by season, fruits and veggies are discussed: brief historical analysis, how to choose, how to store, how to prepare and finally recipes are provided for each.

Nothing earth shattering poignant, but definitely an enlightening read for me…hoping I can now venture out of my everyday fruit and veggie comfort zone and try some new things.

50 in 2012: Book Twenty Nine

Best Kept Secret by Amy Hatvany

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“We’re only as sick as our secrets”…

An ingenuous tale that illustrates the depths of despair and grief involved with alcoholism and the struggle to conquer the addiction. Cadence’s honest and raw story brought tears to my eyes and broke my heart. There were times I wanted to shake her, hold her, yell at her. Her struggle with alcoholism was painfully crafted with such realism, it was hard to close the book upon reading the last page knowing her struggle would never really end.

A horrifically bad drinking binge brings the scope of Cadence’s problem to a head as she blacks out in front of her son, Charlie, forcing her ex-husband to pick him up and attempt to pick up the pieces of the mess she had made of herself and her life. Stumbling, denying, and eventually finding the strength to fight for her son, Cadence’s story is one that could belong to anyone.

She finds herself struggling to accept her new reality: she had a college degree, owned a home, had a career. In her mind, alcoholics were the complete opposite of her. So she thought.

Profound questions are brought up: the social stigmas of alcoholism and women versus men, moms versus dads, a woman losing custody of her child versus a man. The dissolution of a marriage where people have truly drifted apart, no major fouls. At what point did their marriage beyond repair?

A book that will stick with me long after having finished it. A cautionary tale of many sorts…

50 in 2012: Book Twenty Eight

Angelina’s Bachelors: A Novel with Food by Brian O’Reilly

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Only pages into the book, Angelina’s husband Frank goes downstairs to putter around the kitchen in search of a midnight snack, as he often does when he can’t sleep; however, on this night, he does not return. Suffering a heart attack, he dies alone, quietly while Angelina sleeps upstairs. She discovers his motionless body the next morning.

Stunned, shocked, and heart-broken Angelina is forced to pick up the pieces and move on. Having given up her dreams of culinary school to care for her sick parents, she finds a miraculous offer presented to her: cook for a neighboring bachelor, breakfast and dinner, for a monthly salary. Before she knows it, she is cooking for a full house. The men quickly become family to her and care for her when she needs it the most…

A super easy read. Cute story. Dying to try many of the recipes included in the book.

50 in 2012: Book Twenty Seven

How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O’Neal

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ramona Gallagher mastered the art of bread making while surviving one of the most turbulent phases of her life: teenage pregnancy. Now, grown and asked to look after her daughter Sophia’s teenage stepdaughter while Sophia travels to be by her wounded soldier’s side, Ramona turns to the one thing that has always been a consistent source of calm…her bread. Katie has been abandoned by everyone she loves in one way or another: her addict mother has been arrested and carted off to jail, her father deployed to Afghanistan, her stepmother travels to be by her father’s side, leaving Katie utterly alone with a stranger she has never met before: Ramona.

The subplot of Ramona’s daughter and her severely wounded husband was far more poignant to me than the actual main story. His struggle to adjust to his new standard of life and come to grasps with his new reality brought me to tears. All the while, his eight month’s pregnant wife remains steadfast by his side. I wish their story was given more weight. An easy, okay read…

50 in 2012: Book Twenty Six

The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A book with so many layers I am struggling to articulate my review…

On the surface, it’s a book about the oddly peculiar Ginny Selvaggio and her struggle to pick up the pieces after the sudden and tragic death of her parents. Extraordinarily sheltered and shy, she rarely leaves her home, holing herself up in her closet to calm herself. Her older sister, Amanda tries to step up and act as caretaker and protector for her younger sister, a role previously played by their mother. Amanda constantly fears for Ginny’s safety.

As Ginny retreats to the kitchen, finding solace in the one thing that has always calmed her nerves: food, she discovers she has the ability to channel the spirit of  loved ones who have passed via the smell of their recipes. Each ghost helps Ginny piece together the scattered puzzle pieces of her life.

Ultimately, it is the ghost of her father who brings the most clarity and presents perhaps the most poignant parts of the novel: what is normal? Ginny learns that she and her father share more than she ever imagined…

Again, so many various layers, like one of Ginny’s main sources of calm: an onion, this book is likely best digested in more than one sitting. A story of the demands placed on family members when one has special needs, the devastating aftermath of tragic losses, and the normalcy in struggling to pick up all the pieces..
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50 in 2012: Book Twenty Five

The Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moyes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jennifer Sterling wakes up in a hospital with no memory of who she was just moments before: her name, what she was doing, who the man is sitting next to her bed…

In the days following her accident, she begins to piece together fragments of what must have been her life, but she never quite feels as though it all makes sense. There always seems to be something missing, something big. As she begins to place faces and feelings, she realizes there is in fact something missing; however, in 1960 one’s name and reputation trumps happiness and marital issues are often pushed aside in order to maintain one’s social standing. While riffling through her closet, searching for clues as to whom she really was, she discovers a passionate letter signed by a simple initial, “B”. In it, a plea to her to run away, follow her heart, and leave all she has ever known behind…

But she can’t remember anything. The initial doesn’t spark any memories. Who is this man? What was she doing with him? Did she really love him? As she embarks on a journey to discover answers, she finds herself forced to make impossible decisions.

And then the author switches to a new, modern story line. Jennifer Sterling’s story ends, without resolution, and we meet Ellie Haworth, a struggling journalist. It is now 2003, she finds the old letter and desperately wants to know what happened.

Ellie’s search for answers weaves the two story lines together. Ellie feels as though the letters speak to her and her own personal problems. Jennifer’s courage and strength inspires her to do what she needs to do. The words penned on the letter by this mysterious “B” are the most beautiful and passionate she’s ever read…

An interesting look at how modern day texting and e-mailing has replaced handwritten letters and often times, more poetic and heartfelt language. The dynamics of marriage, relationships, and monogamy are also explored: is cheating by a man different from that of a woman? I go back and forth about to rate this book. I loved most of it but there were some questionable gaps and story choices that leave lingering questions…I definitely couldn’t put it down. I had to know what happened and what Jennifer Sterling was doing on the day she ended up in the hospital, nearly losing her life…