So sorry for not posting the winner of my AUSTENTATIOUS giveaway! I have literally had no time at a computer.
The winner was Jessica M. Congratulations to her, and thank you all for entering and tweeting!
In other news, I received my ARCs of AUSTENSIBLY ORDINARY, and they are so shiny!! And, I’m giving a copy away on Goodreads, so get over there and enter!
Giveaway ends November 03, 2012.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
After a several month hiatus, I am delighted to be back, participating in Barrie Summy’s monthly (mostly) Book Review Club.
For this month’s pick, I chose the first book in a new series from an award-winning, best-selling author whose books had yet to cross my path. I chose THE RAVEN BOYS by Maggie Stiefvater, book one in the Raven Cycle series, and now I am hooked.
From Amazon:
It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive. Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them-not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all-family money, good looks, devoted friends-but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys.
From me:
I can definitely see the appeal of Maggie Stiefvater. The premise of this story alone was enough to prompt a Kindle impulse buy, which is pretty rare for me. I read a sample and by the end of the first chapter, I was completely hooked. The storyline is pretty outlandish (no spoilers!), but the characters make it seem plausible. They are immersed in their ‘quest,’ and they carry you along in their wake, making discoveries, connections, and often mistakes. They feel utterly genuine. Blue has a romantic interest–you know I love that!–but to me it’s really more of a triangle. I feel like things could change direction for her in the space of an afternoon. And I will admit it–I hope they do! She may not be feeling any romantic tension yet, but I was!
There is an underlying thread of danger, of suspense, of creepiness, and there are surprises. The story could have been heavy and oppressive, but Ms. Stiefvater achieved the perfect balance of light and dark. The humor between the characters set off the threatening tone of the novel perfectly. I knew when I bought the book that this was the first in the series, and I wondered what would be resolved in this novel. Intriguingly enough, almost nothing was, and yet, I felt that it was a very strong start to the series. I admit, the last line floored me and had me urgent to read book 2.
I’m tempted to seek out Maggie Stiefvater’s other novels, despite not being a huge fan of traditional paranormal or fantasy novels. Her voice is captivating. Strongly recommended!
In recent weeks, several friends and family members have sought my advice on gluten free favorites. So…I thought I’d post my list here in case anyone reading this blog is just getting started on a gluten-free diet, or an old-pro with recommendations of their own to share.
The two biggest difficulties involved in being on a gluten free diet are the lack of convenience and the increased price. Basically, almost all readily available cereals, noodles, crackers, breads, cookies, rolls, etc are made with gluten. Of course there are other ways to make them, but that’s not happening in jumbo factories, so the prices are higher, and those products are less readily available. Similarly, most restaurants don’t have a very extensive gluten free menu. You can probably get salad (hold the croutons, and maybe the dressing), and maybe grilled meat and selected side dishes. Maybe. Hence, the convenience problem.
My family is a little different than most people who get diagnosed with celiac disease: we don’t have any outward symptoms. No stomach distress, no nausea, etc. So we can’t really tell if something is entirely gluten free, unless we see the label. We’re just hoping for the best. That said, some of the restaurants we frequent, with significant gluten-free menus are:
We eat a lot of Mexican food, because corn tortillas are the base of many meals and are generally, I believe, gluten free.
For at-home baking, all my flours come from Bob’s Red Mill. The baking mix I mostly use contains white rice flour, tapioca flour, and potato starch (flour) and is from Silvana Nardone from easyeats.com. I’ve had pretty good luck with it. Plus, there are LOTS of recipes at that website, which is an online gluten-free recipe magazine and blog.
For homemade baked goods, I’ve been very impressed with Gluten Free Baking Classics by Annalise Roberts–we’ve pretty much liked everythin
g I’ve made. Her baking mix is a slightly different mix of those same flours I mention above, but I suspect either would work fine. My latest cookbook find is Gluten Free on a Shoestring by Nicole Hunn. She’s on Pinterest as well, so I’ve been pinning gluten free recipes like crazy!
I get several things via the “Subscribe and Save” feature on Amazon, which gives you a discount for buying in bulk. The downside: you have to have somewhere to store all that food.
Here’s a short list of stuff we like:
There is an iPhone app called ‘Is That Gluten Free’ that I use and a gluten-free grocery store guide, Cecelia’s Marketplace, that has been invaluable to me at the grocery store.
If you are just now taking on a gluten-free diet, I hope this helps! If you’ve been on the diet for a while, please share you tips and favorites!