Finding Freedom: A Cook's Story; Remaking a Life from Scratch by Erin French

Kindle Edition

I first learned of Erin French from my Aunt when I visited with her in 2021-ish. She told me about this amazing series called "The Lost Kitchen" that airs on the Magnolia Network. Erin has a restaurant in Freedom, Maine and the series is about that. She's the epitome of a farm to table chef and the series shows her interacting with local farmers and growers and how she creates her amazing multi-course meals solely based on what's available locally. The restaurant is so popular that they don't take reservations. It's also only open for like 4 days a week and 6-months out of the year. How do you get a table there? You mail them a postcard and hope that they pick yours out of the hundreds or thousands they get. They call you if your's has been picked out of the bins of postcards they collect and you get to make a reservation. The series is really good. I got the Husband totally addicted to watching it.

It was The Husband who told me that Erin French wrote a book (this one isn't a cookbook - she has that too, though). Presto! It was available right then on the Libby app / from my local library. I started the Kindle book on December 25 and finished on December 31 (ha! Holiday to Holiday!). And, boy was this a doozy. I had no idea about all of the heartache, drama, and trauma in the life of Erin so far. On the series she seems to have it all together. It was really interesting (and heart-wrenching) to learn her story. I would definitely recommend this book.

As I'm writing this long after I read this book, I can report that The Husband and I each sent in a postcard in April 2023 to try to get a reservation at The Lost Kitchen. We haven't heard anything, yet. Here's hoping one of our postcards is pulled our first time. If not, we'll keep trying. The food looks AMAZING!

 Post written on May 8. Publication date reflects date I finished the book.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab

Kindle edition

This is another book from the Real Simple magazine reading recommendations. It was so good!

Here's what Real Simple had to say:

"...a young woman in 18th-century France escapes an arranged marriage by making a bargain with the devil for the ultimate freedom: she'll be immortal... but no one she meets will ever remember her. Then one day in a bookstore, after 300 years of loneliness, she meets a man who recognizes her. Everything changes, revealing just how much we need connection after all."

I started this book on December 12 and finished on December 23.

I loved this book. It is beautifully written, rich in details and layers, full of longing and heartache. Imagine no one ever remembering you. Ever. It might feel really liberating - you can do whatever you want without consequences - like in the Do-Over. But no one will ever remember you. Think about that. Renting an apartment - nope. The landlord won't remember you. Having a job - no. No one there will remember you. Wanting more than a one-night partner - another nope. They won't remember you. Maybe you could try something clever like Adam Sandler in 50 First Dates where he makes a video for Lucy to watch every day to remind her of her life with Sandler. But Addie, through some part of the curse with the devil, can't be photographed or leave her image in any way. So, liberating for a time, yes. But I imagine it would grow very old very fast. 

This book tells Addie's story - her trials and travails. How she manages her life (it's precarious). And how things seem to magically improve one day in a bookstore. There's way more to that than I can divulge here.

This is historical fiction meets immortality (without vampires though) meets love story. So good!

 Post written on May 25. Publication date reflects date I finished the book.

An Offer From a Gentleman: Bridgerton Book 3 by Julia Quinn

Kindle edition

On the Bridgerton bandwagon - third book and counting. I started this book on December 5 and finished it on December 10.

In all honesty, these two things are true:

1. I liked this book

2. This book annoyed me

Like with the other Bridgerton books, I tore through this one. From the outset, something about this book perturbed me. Obviously I kept on reading. But something bothered me. It was probably the 2nd night of reading that I realized that this was basically an exact replica of the Cinderella story but in a Bridgerton wrapper. That's what annoyed me. Couldn't Julia Quinn come up with an original story for Benedict? Why did she need to recreate Cinderella? Ugh.

Of course the book was good. And to me, it was also annoying. I still want to see the story come to life in the Netflix series though.

 Post written on May 28, 2023. Publication date reflects date I finished the book.

Bridgerton: The Duke and I (Bridgertons Book 1) by Julia Quinn

Kindle edition

Though this is the first book in the series, it is the second Bridgerton book I read, mostly due to availability at the Library. I started this book on November 26 and finished it on December 3.

OK, this somewhat crosses over with the visual edition of this book (aka the Netflix series). This book was hot (as was the Netflix version). I loved the banter between Daphne and Simon. Having read this after I watched it, it was all the more rich being able to visualize it already vs. creating the visualization myself.

Love always wins. Writing this now (in May 2023 after having read this in Nov/Dec 2022), hindsight for all of the Bridgerton books tells me that love always wins. Maybe it is naive. I don't care. Love always wins.

From the beginning, especially in the series, it is blatantly obvious that Daphne and Simon are meant for each other. Violet and Lady Danbury know it. It just took a while for Daphne and Simon to figure it out. I love the epilogue so you can know more of how life took shape for them.

Two thumbs up from me. For the entire series, really! Except for Benedict's story - that is only one thumb up.

Post written on May 28, 2023. Publication date reflects date I finished the book.

The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker

Kindle edition

I can't recall where I became familiar with this book, but I did somewhere and checked it out from the library for my Kindle. I started this book on November 1 and finished it on November 26.

So, this was sort of a cross between a business book and a self-help book. Priya Parker offers some really great advice and thoughts on how to organize gatherings. Yes, for professional-related gatherings (meetings, conferences, etc.) and also for personal gatherings (think dinner parties, etc.)

I am writing this review some time after I finished the book so am not crystal clear on everything there. A few of the takeaways that stayed with me are:

1. Be mindful of how you start your gathering. For professional gatherings, she gave an example of how a typical conference or large meeting starts - with logistics. The bathrooms are here. The refreshments are there. Etc. She talks about how this is the worst possible way to start. There is no intention. There is no "start". It's just blah, bland, and unmemorable. Imagine if the main speaker started with a good introduction, talked about the intent of the meeting/session, gave expectations (for what the speakers would do and what the participants should do). This would make for a much more meaningful, mindful, and memorable gathering. For personal gatherings, be very intentional about who you invite. Don't invite people who will bicker. Don't invite people who won't get along. Think about the PURPOSE of your gathering and then select the people who will be in service o that purpose. When they arrive, don't let them walk right in without introducing them to the other people. Perhaps have an activity or something for them to do while you finish cooking, putting food out, etc. Can you think of anything worse than a room of people who don't know each other, haven't been introduced, and don't really know why they are all there? Ick.

2. Think about the purpose of your gathering. Why are you bringing people together in either scenario - professional or personal? One quote from the book offers this, "Specificity is a crucial ingredient. The more focused and particular a gathering is, the more narrowly it frames itself and the more passion it arouses."

While I don't remember all of the nuggets, I do remember liking this book. Lots of good suggestions on how to design your gatherings so they are enjoyable, meaningful, intentional, have a purpose, and more.

 Post written on May 29, 2023. Publication date reflects date I finished the book.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler: A Novel by Casey McQuiston

Kindle edition

I picked this up after reading two other books by Casey McQuiston - Red, White, and Royal Blue, and One Last Stop.

I'm writing this well after I read this book and can't really remember much about it. I did like it though. I started this book on October 27 and finished it on October 29.

I read a plot summary and the summary on Amazon to try and jog my memory. They helped, a little. This is the story of Chloe and Shara and their experiences together in their senior year of high school. The plot reminds me a little of other books I read about someone who disappears, leaves clues as to where/why, and then people in their lives have to figure it out. Looking for Alaska, for example, by John Green. I feel like there are others out there with a similar plot. Regardless. This was a cute, YA, LGBT genre book. It is an easy and quick read.

 Post written on May 29, 2023. Publication date reflects date I finished the book.

Never Go Back: A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child

Kindle edition

Here we go with another Jack Reacher. I started this book on October 24 and finished it on October 26.

Lee Child uses a formula for this Jack Reacher books, much like Vince Flynn/Kyle Mills do for Mitch Rapp books, and Michael Connelly does for Harry Bosch books, and like many other authors with long-running series do. It makes books predictable, in that you know what you're in for. Predictable in this sense isn't a bad thing. 

These are easy books to pick up when you need some mind candy. A book that is good, interesting, easy to read, maybe even addictive. I like these books. Jack Reacher is an interesting guy with an interesting, if violent (mostly not due to his instigation) life.

This book follows Reacher as he heads to the D.C. area to meet, in person, the woman behind the voice on a phone. She's in his old role in the service and she helped him out in a prior book.

Of course, he gets there and some shit hits the fan - this time something to do with him. A BS charge of a homicide from long ago. Rather than walk away, which Reacher never does, he stays and sorts through the shit.

This is a good, quick read. Love this character. Love these books. Love this author.

Post written on May 29, 2023. Publication date reflects date I finished the book.