I think I’m finally getting my shelf of library books under control (although I suspect it won’t stay that way for long). Now, if I could just get my pile of “currently reading” books down to a manageable size, I’d be in business. There are a few that I’ve been “reading” for quite a while, like The Forsyte Saga, which is too big to lug around and sits next to my bed. Or The Long Winter, which I started reading back during Artic Blast ’08 and never finished. Then there are the ones that I started but had to return to the library, since they were on hold, and which I’m still waiting to get back – The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey and the newish edition of Pippi Longstocking illustrated by Lauren Child.
I’m actively reading just a few books – I have the third Maisie Dobbs, Pardonable Lies, on audio in the car, and I just picked up Sandra Gulland’s Mistress of the Sun. There might be something else lying around. I just finished Marcelo in the Real World last night – one of those YA books that could be marketed just as easily to adults as teens. I definitely recommend it, and I’m trying to digest it a bit more before I review it. It’s early in the year for predictions, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it popping up on awards lists later.
In food news, I’m roasting a chicken – my first. I’ve done a few whole chickens in the crock-pot, which is pretty failproof, so this is a fun adventure. Just thinking about it is making me hungry – it hasn’t even started smelling good yet. I’m really enjoying this whole post-Lent, eat whatever you please phase – a few weeks of rice and beans makes a fried egg or a roast chicken or a slice of cheese just heavenly. Sometimes, it’s actually hard to remember what I like to eat – it’s easier to just incorporate a few foods at a time. Last week was homemade pizza (with spicy Italian sausage, red pepper, mushrooms, and sauted onions) and this week is the chicken. I’d like to try baking some new things – I’ve made lemon bars (for Easter dinner), brownies (for a fundraiser) and banana bread, but none are all old favorites.
Ooh, the chicken is starting to sizzle and smell good. Time to go drool over it.
garish & tweed 
2 comments
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April 29, 2009 at 12:10 am
Julia
Roast chicken is so good. Yum. I sort of hate handling the carcass though, so I usually just bite the bullet after its first meal and carve off the rest of the meat. So nice to have tasty chicken pieces just at hand for a few days, ready to turn into sandwiches or chicken salad at a moment’s notice.
How do you like the Maisie? Does it make a good audio book?
April 29, 2009 at 10:14 am
jessmonster
The carcass is the worst part – I do the same thing and pull all the meat off the bones before I put it in the fridge (plus it’s easier to do when it’s still warm).
I’ve liked all the Maisies on audio, although they’ve used a different narrator for each one. I think I liked the narrator for #2 best – this one does some interesting things with the French accents. Even though they’re not first person narratives, the narrator ends up really being the voice of Maisie, even when she’s not talking.