What are you reading?~
By Sarah | June 22, 2009
Summer time is not only for knitting but hanging out with family and good friends, cooking and, of course, reading too! With that in mind I found myself drawn to A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg, author of the mouth watering blog, Orangette. It’s a darling book of essays and recipes that I found to be a quick (and very heartwarming) read and chock full of some fabulous recipes. The first ones I’m going to try are the macaroons and her roasted tomatoes.
I’ve never made homemade bread and do not own a bread machine so when I saw this title making its rounds through my contacts on Flickr – I thought that ‘there’s the bread book for me’ and have grand plans to give it a twirl this week. Can you tell where this is going? I feel a contest coming on~
So…. tell me. What are you reading this summer? What are you cooking? Drinking? Inquiring minds want to know! Please leave me a comment – I’ll be taking entries all through this week and drawing two winners from the entries on Sunday, June 28th. The winners will receive a skein of yarn or a copy of the book, A Homemade Life, the choice is yours.
Oh, and August 11th South of Broad byPat Conroy (who happens to be one of my favorite authors and the story is set in one of my favorite spots in the whole world) is released. You know what I’ll be doing that weekend. I can’t wait! It’s been ages since he’s released a new novel and, I’m embarrassed to say, almost as long since I’ve sat down and read a novel (do unabridged audio books count?).
Anyway, I’m rambling….. so, go ahead let me know what you are reading/cooking/drinking/eating and loving this summer. Can’t wait to hear from you!
118 Comments
Janet on June 25, 2009 at 9:00 am.
I am reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Micheal Pollan, and the first book in the Baroque Cycle by Neil Stephenson. I swear I am going to read all three of these this summer. I just need to get started!
Eating lots of grilled shrimp on mixed greens with sliced avacado and bacon and goat cheese.
Drinking either greyhounds or rose’s.
Natalie on June 25, 2009 at 10:53 am.
This summer I am reading an old classic by Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility. I am always working on the Bible, and I am browsing through a few old books about historic textiles. Summer is such a great time for sitting out on the porch and reading!
jeanie on June 25, 2009 at 10:56 am.
I have been hooked on the Spellman family..The Spellman Files et all by Lisa Lutz
Monica on June 25, 2009 at 11:04 am.
I haven’t been reading much since my kiddo became mobile, but I sometimes listen to audiobooks while spinning (currently: The Book Thief; very enjoyable). She’s been sick lately so I started reading The Keys to the Kingdom, book 6. It’s a good kids’ book, and I think I will finish it and the latest Artemis Fowl book this summer.
Leigh Ann on June 25, 2009 at 11:30 am.
As of late, I have been making a lot of galettes (see here: http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/10/butternut-squash-and-caramelized-onion-galette/)– the base recipe is great, but you can also fill it with a variety of other things (like mushrooms!)
I just finished the end of the Night Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko– I quite enjoyed the ending of the series, but was a little dissatisfied with the ending due to my own personal attachment to a particular character.
For those above talking about Tudor-related works, I highly recommend Allison Weir– she’s done a couple works of fiction recently, but I got started reading her Tudor biographies a long while ago, and they’re really engrossing.
Karen on June 25, 2009 at 5:55 pm.
Just finished Louise Penny’s first novel, Still Life. Must read novels in order. Thanks for the tip on the new Pat Collins novel. I visited Charleston for the first time in February. I loved it and can’t wait to go back!
Debby on June 25, 2009 at 8:08 pm.
Wow..I just bought “Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day” and plan to try some of the recipes this weekend. I am sooo happy I read your blog and found out about Pat Conroy’s new book. He is an all-time favorite of mine and I can’t wait to read this one. I just finished reading “Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult and next in line is Ernest Hemingway’s “Moveable Feast”.
bellium on June 25, 2009 at 9:03 pm.
chocolate zucchini cake
2 1/4c flour
1/4c cocoa powder
1tsp baking soda
1/2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt
1tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp ground clove
1 stick (8tbs) unsalted butter
1/2c canola oil
1 3/4c sugar
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla
1/2c buttermilk
2 shredded zucchini
1c chocolate chips
mix all dry ingredients in bowl. cream together butter, oil and sugar until fluffy, then add eggs, vanilla and buttermilk and beat well. stir in flour mixture, then zucchini. pour into greased 9″ x 13″ pan and bake at 325 for about 45 minutes.
great way to use up your bumper crop of zucchini!
diane on June 25, 2009 at 11:59 pm.
As always I am in the opposite season so I am eating lots of homemade bread (no breadmaker just aggression) , lots of stews and tagines and reading “An Arsonists Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England ” by Brock Clarke . A very funny read indeed . Enjoy your summer guys.
Melissa on June 26, 2009 at 7:05 am.
I’m reading the Stookie Stackhouse series too and also have some non-fiction I’m hoping to get to later this summer.
Marion K on June 26, 2009 at 1:03 pm.
Reading….haven’t decided what to bring along as my summer reading as yet – 2 weeks at the end of the month is when I will get my summer reading in…I think I need to read all of the comments here to figure out what I need to bring to the cottage at the end of the month.
Baking – I have that Artisan Bread in 5 minutes book – its fabulous – I just need to try a few more receipes…..in addition, with summer time and cottaging, comes the need to make German Streusel Kuchen as taught to me by one of my dad’s aunts – it just isn’t a cottage vacation without 3 or 4 flats of this delicious cake.
Salads- have a bunch of salad in the garden that will soon need to be picked – there is nothing better than freshly picked romaine with homemade Caesar salad dressing (my son says I make the best in the world – he says so…so it must be true!!!!
Cherries are ripening…need to do some picking this weekend and next…..
Knitting is never far from my mind – trying to figure out what the next project will be and with which yarn? Just started to get into the Plucky yarns – so I am trying to find the perfect project for my cashsilk that I have and the lace club yarn that is to come….
As for what/who I’m loving….it has to be my hubby and my twin boys – they are the light of my life and I can’t imagine my world without them.
kaet on June 26, 2009 at 3:18 pm.
it is sad, but true- i am reading debbie macombers summer on blossom street. i have plans to read julie and julia next (prep for the movie!) and firefly lane is on it’s way from a friend. i am eating lots and lots of strawberries this week and always in summer tomatoes, summer squash, and pestos and guacamole. ok, i am eating a lot. and hello, ice cream! i am drinking white wine with raspberries floating in it, bonus if it is a sparkling prosecco. and i am loving the sun!
Mandy on June 27, 2009 at 10:08 am.
I am really getting into my reading this summer and have been enjoying a combination of new books that I haven’t read and old faves that I always return to. So, I’ve read the entire Twilight series, reread “Truth and Beauty” by Ann Patchett, and am now reading “Do they hear you when you cry” by Fauziya Kassindja, Layli Miller Bashir. Looking at that list, I have definitely defaulted to some more serious reads and think that the next book I pick up should be more in the Twilight vein.
Drinking: hard cider and white wine…Perfect for the warm summer days!
Eating: caprese salad, anything grilled
Hope you’re having a great summer!
Joanna on June 27, 2009 at 10:09 am.
Eating: salmon burgers
Drinking: peach tea
Reading: The Shack, an amazing book that’s really challenged me spiritually. I usually try to limit myself to one book at a time but last week my 7 year old son wanted to go to the library (an opportunity not to be squandered!) and I couldn’t resist picking up the 2008 installment of Best American Short Stories. I love that those compilations let you digest solid, meaty stories in 20-30 minutes, which is great when your day is punctuated by a little one who wants you to watch something great he can do, help him find a lost something or other, or needs you to take him somewhere.
ikkinlala on June 27, 2009 at 3:55 pm.
I just started reading Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe. It’s due back at the library on Monday, so I’ll have to get through it this weekend if I’m going to.
I haven’t been cooking very much for the past week or so because I’ve been working and there are other people at home to cook, but I did make granola the other evening.
It’s been cool here, so I’ve been drinking a lot of tea.
Brenda on June 28, 2009 at 7:45 am.
Lemonade! I’m on a mission to try all the lemonade recipes I’ve accumulated in the quest for the ‘perfect one’! I’d like to read some of the classics this summer. I just finished The Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain. Easy, fun read. Rhubarb! I have an abundance of rhubarb – trying out some new rhubarb pie recipes and of course using some of the ‘old standbys’ too.
Lisa on June 28, 2009 at 9:51 am.
My 85 yr-old Aunt suggested Twilight. Even though I don’t think I’ll like it, I love that she does and will give it a try! Lots of light summer reading and knitting in the A/C.
Jo on June 28, 2009 at 12:09 pm.
It’s been over 100 degrees every day for seemingly ever in central Texas. Mexican beer with lime hits the spot. Not much new with the diet. Reading Wendy Johnson’s new sock book.