I just finished A Certain Hunger by Chelsea Summers and really enjoyed it. Dorothy is a food critic, happily not married, no kids, has many a gentleman caller and just loves life. She is also a The whole book is written from her perspective, as if it was a memoir. She uses a lot of SAT type words, so I learned a few new words along the way.
I don't have anyone in my life to recommend this to. The person who recommended it to me thought I'd like it after having read books like Bunny, Natural Beauty, Ripe, Motherthing. She keeps recommending Tender is the Flesh but I can't get past the first page.
She has a recipe in another one of her books for chicken with apples, gin and vermouth that will knock your socks off! Dinner has a simpler version of that NYT chicken with harissa.
I finished Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang and it was a doozy. It is filed under Horror and yea, there was a ton of gross out body horror. I found it to be more of a satire on how we look at a woman's beauty, try to keep our beauty as we age and even, what *is* beautiful.
If anyone else has read this, ?
I've been reading weird books, so this fits right in (Bunny by Mona Awad, Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth and Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter).
That sweater makes me think of guys in the 80s shopping at The Chess King.
This is the one book I wish I could read again for the first time!
Her daughter had a tv show and they would do a craft that Martha did on her old show to see if it could be done!
The way she doesn't know how to use that hand mixer is a crime. My 10 year old cousin knows how to get the beaters clean without making a mess. KA should come get their mixers back.
Some recent books I have finished:
How to Love Your Daughter by Hila Blum - Leah has removed herself from her mother's life and mom wants back in. She's a bit of a cyber stalker in the name of trying to learn about her daughter and the life she's excluded from. The timeline flashes back and forth from Leah's childhood to today. File this one under "Very Complicated Mother Daughter Dynamics".
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears (audio) - Britney has been surrounded by people allegedly doing the right things for her, but man oh man has her family hurt her. There aren't many people who are on her side and honestly, it's heart breaking.
Year Book by Seth Rogen (audio) - Seth's stories are fun and funny. Great listen on a long drive.
I have been making her taco salad with catalina dressing for ages! I have to get that back into the rotation!
I have had a cotton comforter from them for about 15 years and it looks as good today as it did when I got it. It stays on all year and if my house were on fire, I would try to save it.
I feel for anyone who thinks they are going to learn how to cook from her.
Lola and Rico 💃🏻🕺
Benny best get some ear plugs.
SooOOooOOoo close that while a lot of her family is supporting Red in Europe, she is home in the studio with her legs up. 🫠
Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth is my final 2023 book to be finished.
This one was dark, including suicide, mental breakdowns, generational trauma and maybe a ghost. Abby and Ralph move in with his mother and she ends up taking her life. Ralph and Abby both go into spirals and Abby goes to any extend to get her Ralphie back.
Dark, lightly humorous at times, but also heavy.
I read Luster and really liked it! I will put Queenie on my list.
I am probably still not forgiven for getting my bookclub to read We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver.
Most of what I read in 2023 was women in some kind of mental collapse. It started as light fun reads (Several People are Typing by Calvin Kasulke) and spun out of control by summer (Bunny by Mona Awad, Big Swiss by Jen Beagin) and ended quote low with Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter.
The book was tense. Cassie has a black hole that follows her and I can completely relate (to a much lesser degree) to the feeling of depression and anxiety that is heavy and seemingly endless. Her corporate job felt familiar with the all-hands meetings and the performative acts of being a team player and caring about the people around you. Her friends kind of suck and her boyfriend is someone else's boyfriend.
The end was left ambiguous but I think
I don't know who I would recommend this book to. I have learned that the darker the book, the harder it is to recommend to a friend.
That bottle of bourbon is $150.
This drives me bananas too!!
Due to laziness, I finished Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey. Maggie is going through a divorce with all the typical tropes of sleeping around, being depressed and crying too much. At times I found it entertaining but overall it was meh.
When she asked what kind of tea it was and she doesn't know what kava is, Crayon just let that turd lie with a smile. Hey bud, we see you. ✌🏻 I didn't know what it was, but I googled it.
Calling it a venue made me snarl 🫠
The "weather warlock" feed usually makes my head tingle :)
Pond Station in Acra, NY - field recordings of a pond :)
RadioGarden