The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is a story about a family and senses and food and loneliness. The title says it all. Sad cake --- sad reading experience. Not so much in the emotions as in the plot and style. I much prefer the extra-sensory and food approach by Sarah Addison Allen and Erica Bauermeister. The connections in this story failed to flow among the characters with the exception of Rose and Madame. The characters are well defined and interesting. The plotting just didn't grab this reader.

This book has obviously found its audience. Maybe you are one of them.



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Victoria's Daughters --- A Tease

I have been wanting to read Victoria's Daughters by Jerrold M. Packard for a couple of years, so tonight I finally loaded it on to my Nook! Yaaay!! Here's the opening paragraph:

"Prologue:  Windsor Castle: Friday, November 3, 1944

Death had come as gently as sleep to Victoria and Albert's last child, Princess Beatrice, ninth born and fifth daughter, had always been 'the baby' to her august mother but now her name recalled only the haziest of memories for most. The world she symbolized was buried beyond recall, first in Flanders mud, more lately in a Europe being laid waste a second time. Yet at her passing, a distinguished company of Beatrice's countrymen broke off from their urgent wartime duties to gather and to remember what this woman had once been to their kingdom."

 

 And now, a little tease for you---

"Both parents were determined to give their kingdom a male heir, such production representing the most fundamental duty of a sovereign mother and consort father."

What are you reading?

Country Fresh

Help! I can't stop myself!! I've been starting new projects at the blink of an eye!! I am possessed by new projects!

I've never had much of a yarn stash and have considered myself a "pattern stasher". I have printed and alphabetized patterns in assorted notebooks setting on my book shelves. I have a file drawer stuffed with patterns divided into knit and crochet, then subdivided into types of projects which are then alphabetized. Of course, there are my patterns neatly saved on Ravelry, whimsically separated into "Queue" and "Favorites" and in the pattern library. No rhyme or reason for me with my Ravelry assortment. Just click and save. I have personal pattern libraries at Lion Brand, Red Heart, and Patons web sites.
I have patterns saved to my hard drive, discs, flash drives, and on our netbook. That pretty much covers it, I think.
Now I have taken the next, crazy step. Instead of merely saving patterns, I am saving, printing, and starting to make the beguiling patterns, thus stacking up the WIPs. I am powerless to resist.

 

This is the latest WIP that's making me happy, "Country Fresh Blanket" with yarn I have on hand. The free download for this throw is at http://www.yarnspirations.com/pattern/crochet/country-fresh-blanket  My colors are tan, burgundy, moss green, black, and oatmeal. It is now in rotation with my Christmas crochet and whatever else I'm inclined to do.





Are you a pattern stasher too?

 

 My current read is How The Light Gets In by Louise Penny, another in the Inspector Gamache series.

 



The Photograph

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it at http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/

 

 From The Photograph by Penelope Lively:

"Glyn is holding something out to her. She takes the photograph. She takes the scribbled note. She looks first at the photograph. She look at it for quite a while. Then she reads the note."

Book Beginnings @ Rose City Reader:

"The landing cupboard is stacked high with what Glyn calls low-use material: conference papers and student references and offprints, including he hopes an offprint that he needs right now for the article on which he is working."

The Photograph by Penelope Lively
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While this story is ingeniously crafted, the author does tend to be repetitive and wander a bit.

I liked this description: "She is astute, she is generous,she is warm; she is also gifted with the power of detachment."

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