High Five by Janet Evanovich

As fun quick-read mysteries go, I have a couple of series in my arsenal.  I've already come out of my bakery shop mysteries and hinted at the tea shop ones which fall into the same cheesy, light and recipe-laden mysteries.  The other series that I mix in when I need something on the lighter side is the Stephanie Plum series.  Stephanie Plum is a former lingerie-buyer turned bounty hunter in 1990s New Jersey (near Trenton).  Her family and her adventures are hilarious.

The fifth book, High Five, follows the fairly predictable Stephanie Plum plot scheme - a small-time bounty assignment or family assignment (in this case both) leads to a series of dangerous and funny escapades.  I think this one is, so far, the funniest of the bunch.  I actually laughed out loud several times (which was difficult since I'm sore and laughing did not feel that awesome) and raced through the book in just a couple of hours.  As many Stephanie Plum readers will acknowledge, Stephanie's grandmother, Grandma Mazur, was the source of 95% of the laughter.

I love these books and have the next couple on standby to mix in with other things.  They're so much fun.

(Note: I'm pretty behind on updating books, so there will be plenty more to come in the next couple of days.)

Up!

Austin and I are on an endless search to find compromise movies.  We couldn't have more opposite taste which usually leads us to merely tolerating the selection of the other person.  At best, we both sort of like a movie - usually me more than I thought I would and him less (case in point, Kung Fu Panda). 

I've been begging to watch something and tonight we picked Up.  It's on Starz, so it only streams on Netflix for a short time which motivated us.  I am not sure exactly what I thought happened after the balloons lift the old man out of town, but it was a fun enjoyable movie that surprised me a bit, even if the lesson didn't.  It definitely made me want to make sure I'm taking my adventures while I can and appreciating the quiet moments in between.  

Brooklyn Forager: Rainbow Swiss Chard with Anchovies, Pine Nuts and Cranberries over Polenta

I'm not sure where I left off with blog posts over at the Brooklyn Forager, but I do know that it's been awhile since I posted anything.  As I'm getting my energy back, I'm trying to get a bunch written so I can automate my posts more during the week and I won't fall quite so far behind.

On that note, I just posted about a really tasty Rainbow Swiss Chard with Anchovies, Pine Nuts and Cranberries over Polenta.  It was a new recipe to me as well! I can definitely see this one coming up again since we both enjoyed it and you can't deny that it is nice and healthy.

All the Pretty Girls by J.T. Ellison

I convinced myself that there was a film, in addition to Kiss the Girls, with Ashley Judd based on this book.  I almost always prefer reading the book first and so I ordered the book from PaperbackSwap and had it on my list for quite some time.  That was before I took the time to notice that it was written in 2007 and realized how unlikely that might be.  But it was also after I read the book and I'm not sorry about that.

I figured out the mystery in this thriller fairly early on.  Still, I wasn't sure and J.T. Ellison kept serving up just enough details to keep me unsure and even lead me down slightly different paths.  If I hadn't had an inkling, I would say this book had some interesting twists.  If you're suspicious from the start, it's still an enjoyable read.

Depending on how you look at it, there is one significant fallout from my mistake about the movie.  Apparently, this is the first book in a series about Detective Taylor Jackson.  As noted in my confessional about cozy mysteries, I have a tendency to stick through a series.  I already ordered the second book in this series (there are three so far that I have found) and will give it a shot.  Austin might kill me for getting started on a new series when I have so many books waiting, but it's always good to have another one in the wings.

Random Family by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc

I finished this book much earlier in the month and have a lot to say, but time has sort of faded the rush of things I wanted to share about this book.  Bear with me as I give it a shot.

Adrian Nicole LeBlanc went to court to report on the trial of a drug dealer from the Bronx.  That trip turned into a detailed book looking at the lives of a handful of women, their children and some of the men surrounding them trying to get by both in the Bronx and Troy, New York.  First, she follows Jessica, one of the drug dealers girlfriends, and sets up the neighborhood and the cast of characters.  Her brother Cesar meets a young girl, Coco, who falls for him and ends up with two kids by him as well as others.

The author has incredible detail and insight as she combed through court documents, personal letters and even went to live with the women she was writing about for this book.  She reports on their lives without judgment, tying together the stories of mothers, grandmothers and children repeating each other's patterns in their desperate attempts to change and start down a new road.

I found this book fascinating and bewildering and, at times, depressing.  I definitely think this book is worth digging into and discovering.

Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke

One of my guilty reading pleasures is the cozy mystery genre.  These quick uncomplicated mysteries often have some nexus to a hobby (I like the ones with recipes, but I've read others including scrapbooking and gourd carving of all things) and follow a general format: a non-detective ends up finding a body and getting involved in a mystery, often to absolve another innocent character, and does so with the help of a friend who actually is a detective.

This one was particularly light on the investigation, but is light fluff and a quick read for hot summer nights when there isn't much going on.  I'll keep reading as long as they keep putting out the series, but these are not must-reads unless the idea is interesting to you.

De-clutter the Office

If I'm honest, we've done this a couple of times since I started the list.  I promised myself that I wouldn't cross it off if we weren't really going to keep it nice and useable instead of using it as a storage space for things we don't want anymore but are too afraid to get rid of for one reason or another.

Today, I'm confident we can cross this one off the list.  We're preparing the room for my sister to come visit and really thought about how to make it more comfortable.  Books I haven't read yet have been boxed up and stored (another issue to deal with, but for now they are comfortable stowed and not in anyone's way) and the closet space has been cleared and re-organized.

We still have too much stuff, but I'm starting to feel really confident that the space is being used by things that at least I love and will use when we have a different living space.

Monroe, MI and Cleveland, OH!

This past weekend, I managed to knock 2 out of 3 states off my list which is so exciting that I can't even explain! I'll keep track of overage on this one since I have a side goal to make it to all 50 states in my life.

Funny story, I explained my goal to my managing editor last week and how excited I was to add two more states to my list.  He asked what my criterion was for an actual visit.  I stuttered.  I gave him the quintessentially weak "I'll know it when I see it" answer.

Then, it hit me.  A meal! Not an airport meal, since that's too easy.  I've had some great regional airport meals (Chik-Fil-A at the Atlanta airport - if you're flying through, it's a must), but even the lazy girl in me knows that doesn't count.

And so I started this weekend with that intention.  I had several meals in Monroe including a meal of chicken chunks (that's how it was advertised - and why my husband wanted to eat it....) and a much better meal of poached chicken and pulled pork at a beautiful wedding on a farm.

We also got to visit another food mecca (Isn't it? If not, it should be!) known as Beef Jerky Unlimited in Luna Pier, MI.  That edged us up another snack since the fabulous assistant at the shop gave us loads of free samples and great stories.  Just before that, since my tourist bug and the list come first, I stuck my toes in Lake Erie at the beach at Luna Pier.  I hadn't thought of a visit all 5 lakes list item, but I might have to next time around.

With all this Michigan talk, you might wonder where Cleveland came in.  We flew in and out of Cleveland and drove two hours up to Michigan.  The trip drove us near such Ohio hot spots as Toledo and, fittingly, Brooklyn.  On our way back to the airport, we hit up the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which is set in another corner of Lake Erie, near pretty much every Cleveland museum or sports arena.  (Look for the next post on museum trips which will give the skinny on the HOF.)

As we boarded the flight home, I realized that the only Cleveland meal I had consisted of a quickie dinner at Cheeburger Cheeburger in the Cleveland airport (apparently we've got that one in Forest Hills).  A no go.  So I've updated my rule to include some sort of major attraction. Because, darn it, Cleveland counts! I saw multiple stadiums, the miffed LeBron fans selling obscene t-shirts near those attractions and considered a plate of Love Me Chicken Tenders at the museum.

So there we have it - two new states in one weekend!