Monday, December 17, 2018

Middlemarch

I don't want to say this book is a slog but the working draft was Middleblast. *Ba-dum-tis* Actually the middle is exactly where it really starts to pick up but with such a mega book it's hard to get there. The debate about which chaplain to get for the new hospital about killed me. Admittedly, it was a realistic depiction of the boring + passive-aggressive comments of being on a non-profit board.

Even though I enjoy classics I cannot recommend this for a casual reader. I mean, it's no Moonstone. While the second half gets a little crazy, George Elliot's life was way weirder. She was like an original bohemian, an atheist, and lived with a man for years without getting married.  After her first "husband" died, she got married to a younger man, who was likely gay, and he jumped out of his window on his wedding night.  I like to think he did a Wilhelm scream. The husband lived, but that breakfast must have been awkward. 

Looks, education and class are an important part of this book as they would be for women in provincial England. George Eliot and her "husband" George Lewes were notoriously unattractive. Photographs exist and...well... they weren't wrong.  She still became rich and famous. Hey, Elon Musk's face is bizarre and he's doing fine. In fact, if you're not rich and famous it could be because you are just too good-looking. Yeah.

This book as British as it gets and Christmas is coming. Wassail Recipe: This makes enough for a crowd: 6 apples, cored, 2&1/2 tbsp. light brown sugar, 15 allspice berries, 15 cloves, 6 sticks cinnamon, 1 cup Madeira, 1 cup unsweetened cider, 2 tsp. nutmeg, 1 tbsp. ground ginger, 1 cans of ale, 1 750ml bottle dry hard cider, and the peel of two oranges.  Bake the apples with brown sugar in a water bath in a 350 degree oven for an hour.  I the meantime, toast the spices in a large saucepan for a minute or two, add the rest of the ingredients, boil and let simmer for one hour.  Add the apples and cook for ten more minutes. 

Monday, December 10, 2018

Almost Missed You

What's the worst reason you've ever read a book? What you found in a bathroom? Stuck in an airport? I picked this up because it was set in Cincinnati. Well, that's not a good enough reason. I regret everything. By the way, I've found some interesting things in people's bathrooms. Very interesting. *wags eyebrows*

Have you ever heard of Chick Lit? I hate that term as well as the genre. Someone I know at work who reads even more than I do was giving me book recommendations. She said: "Do you like romance?" My coworker who doesn't even know what I read almost interjected. "No!" So this isn't really Chick Lit but more like Mom Lit? Which is really not my thing. So not my thing. Almost Missed You is about a kidnapping by a parent and it's about motherhood and all the children and romances and weird husbands doing irrational things. Pregnancy, childbirth, and profoundly stupid names. Yes, it's as dumb as it sounds. But they mentioned Fountain Square! Yea!....(whimpers softly).

I've read worst books, believe me, and I finished it so that's something. It's just that this was written by a normal person. Like, pathologically normal. You know, someone who thinks Death Cab for Cutie is "edgy." Despite having 'Nati references you should probably skip this one.

Technically there is a cocktail called a Cincinnati but it's a joke cocktail. Boo!  Booooo!  We can do better. This is really tame--just like the book...: Apple Cider Mule:  2 ounces of vodka, 3 ounces of sparkling apple cider, 2 ounces of ginger beer.  Pour into a glass or mug with ice and garnish with an apple slice and cinnamon stick.