Pasticcio

It's time to post the books that I've read during the past three months.

34. Oath of Gold, Elizabeth Moon (5 April)
35. Bones to Pick, Carolyn Haines (6 April)
36. On Basilisk Station, David Weber (12 April)
37. Stand By for Mars!, Carey Rockwell (12 April)
38. Danger in Deep Space, Carey Rockwell (12 April)
39. The Honor of the Queen, David Weber (14 April)
40. The Hidden Worlds, Kristin Landon (16 April)
41. 3rd Degree, James Patterson & Andrew Gross (23 April)
42. Out of the Shadows, Kay Hooper (27 April)
43. Touching Evil, Kay Hooper (29 April)
44. Dead Until Dark, Charlaine Harris (1 May)
45. Dragon Harper, Anne McCaffrey & Todd McCaffrey (3 May)
46. The Short Victorious War, David Weber (8 May)
47. Reader and Raelynx, Sharon Shinn (10 May)
48. The Third Wife, Jasmine Cresswell (10 May)
49. The Secret Sister, Elizabeth Lowell (11 May)
50. Frisco's Kid, Suzanne Brockmann (11 May)
51. Forbidden, Suzanne Brockmann (12 May)
52. The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers, Lilian Jackson Braun (13 May)
53. Murder Betwen the Covers, Elaine Viets (15 May)
54. Emily of New Moon, Lucy Maud Montgomery (19 May)
55. Black on Black, K D Wentworth (24 May)
56. Stars over Stars, K D Wentworth (26 May)
57. The Miracle at Speedy Motors, Alexander McCall Smith (28 May)
58. Mrs. Fytton's Country Life, Mavis Cheek (1 June)
59. The Bobbsey Twins, Laura Lee Hope (6 June)
60. The Right Hand of Amon, Lauren Haney (9 June)
61. Emily Climbs, Lucy Maud Montgomery (12 June)
62. Soothsayer, Mike Resnick (14 June)
63. In the Bleak Midwinter, Julia Spencer-Fleming (19 June)
64. A Fountain Filled with Blood, Julia Spencer-Fleming (23 June)
65. The Tentmaker, Michelle Blake (24 June)
66. Whisper of Evil, Kay Hooper (25 June)
67. On the Slam, Honor Hartman (27 June)
68. Cooking Up Murder, Miranda Bliss (29 June)

A few more books than last quarter with 35 books, but fewer pages (11,438). I would guess that's because I read several juvenile and young adult books this quarter. I'm continuing to use the page count from the mass market paperback as the number of pages for books I read on the Kindle.

Only three of the books this quarter qualify as Chunksters. Oath of Gold had 501 pages, On Basilisk Station had 464, and The Honor of the Queen also had 464. Interestingly, all three of those were read on the Kindle.

Breakdown by genre:

• Classics: 3
• Fantasy: 2
• Historical Fiction: 1
• Juvenile Fiction: 1
• Mystery: 17
• Romance: 2
• Science Fiction: 9
• Women's Fiction: 1
• Young Adult: 2

Breakdown by format:

• Mass-market paperback: 16
• Trade paperback: 1
• eBook/Kindle: 17
• Hardback: 1

Sources for Kindle books:

• Free downloads from Baen: 5
• Purchased from Baen: 1
• Free downloads from Feedbooks: 2
• Purchased from Amazon: 3
• Free downloads from Amazon: 2
• Free downloads from MobileRead: 2
• Self-made: 1
• Purchased from Fictionwise: 1

Books read so far this year:

1. Victoria and the Rogue, Meg Cabot (1 January)
2. Hand of Evil, J A Jance (2 January, library book)
3. Adventures of an Ice Princess, Liz Maverick (4 January)
4. 1st to Die, James Patterson (7 January)
5. Labyrinth, Kate Mosse (7 January, audio book)
6. Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons, Ann Rinaldi (10 January)
7. Belarus, Lee Hogan (14 January)
8. Enemies, Lee Hogan (16 January)
9. Smuggler's Moon, Bruce Alexander (20 January)
10. The Right Attitude to Rain, Alexander McCall Smith (22 January, audio book)
11. Turquoise Girl, Aimee & David Thurlo (25 January)
12. The Ruby Ring, Diane Haeger (31 January)
13. The Changeling, Kate Horsley (8 February)
14. You've Got Murder, Donna Andrews (9 February)
15. You've Got Male, Elizabeth Bevarly (15 February)
16. The Collectors, David Baldacci (16 February)
17. Stone Cold, David Baldacci (19 February, Kindle)
18. Stealing Shadows, Kay Hooper (22 February)
19. Hiding in the Shadows, Kay Hooper (22 February)
20. Sheepfarmer's Daughter, Elizabeth Moon (29 February, Kindle)
21. Mrs. Jeffries Pinches the Post, Emily Brightwell (2 March)
22. A Deeper Sleep, Dana Stabenow (3 March)
23. Snow Ball, April L. Hamilton (3 March, Kindle)
24. 2nd Chance, James Patterson (5 March)
25. Liaden Universe Companion, Vol. 1, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (10 March, Kindle)
26. Thanksgiving, Janet Evanovich (12 March)
27. Between, Georgia, Joshilyn Jackson (14 March)
28. Maelstrom, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough and Anne McCaffrey (17 March, Kindle)
29. Deluge, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough and Anne McCaffrey (21 March, Kindle)
30. The Mirror of Fire & Dreaming, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (25 March)
31. Divided Allegiance, Elizabeth Moon (31 March, Kindle)
32. The Careful Use of Compliments, Alexander McCall Smith (31 March, audio book)
33. Because She Can, Bridie Clark (31 March)

That's 33 books in the first quarter, approximately 12,072 pages. I say "approximately" since some of the books are unabridged audio and others are eBooks read on my new Kindle. For these books, I used the page count from the mass-market paperback if the book is available in that format, or the hardback when the book is too new to be out in paperback.

Out of the 33 books, four of them qualify as Chunksters by having more than 450 pages. 1st to Die with 488 pages, The Collectors with 544 pages, Sheepfarmer's Daughter with 512 pages, and Divided Allegiance with 522 pages. Not bad in three months!

Breakdown by Genre:

• Mystery: 13
• Historical Fiction: 6
• Science Fiction: 6
• Chick Lit or Romance: 5
• Fantasy: 3
• Literature and Fiction: 3
• Young Adult: 2

Yes, that's more than 33 because I counted some of the books in more than one genre.

Breakdown by Format:

• Mass-market paperback: 14
• Trade paperback: 7
• eBook/Kindle: 7
• Unabridged audio: 3
• Hardback: 2

Attending the SHARE conference in Orlando (Disney World, actually) and while it is fun, the parks are tempting.

One goal in 2008, like in previous years, is to keep a list of the books I read. The past two years, I've lost track around the middle of the year and never caught up. Maybe I can do better this year.

So far, these are the books I have finished reading:

1. Victoria and the Rogue, Meg Cabot (1 January)
2. Hand of Evil, J A Jance (2 January, library book)
3. Adventures of an Ice Princess, Liz Maverick (4 January)
4. 1st to Die, James Patterson (7 January)
5. Labyrinth, Kate Mosse (7 January, audio book)
6. Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons, Ann Rinaldi (10 January)
7. Belarus, Lee Hogan (14 January)
8. Enemies, Lee Hogan (16 January)

I swapped Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons in the January Teen/YA swap at BookObsessed, and I had already swapped Belarus and Enemies in the December SFF swap as TBRs. Now that I've finished reading both books, I need to mail them off to Shaunesay. Also, Adventures of an Ice Princess is offered in the January Chick Lit swap, so when that game is over, I'll need to mail it away.

I'm donating Labyrinth to the Sanger Public Library, and the rest of the books are available for swapping. I've listed all the paper books at BookCrossing, well except for the library book.

The 2008 Chunkster Challenge has been issued. The challenge, for all those who choose to accept it, is to read one "chunky" book each quarter during 2008. To qualify as "chunky", the book must contain at least 450 pages. I figure this isn't going to be too difficult to accomplish since I'm sitting here with two books I'm eager to start reading, Drums of Autumn and The Fiery Cross, which contain 1070 and 1443 pages, respectively.

Yes, I know I didn't post a thing for the First Sunday of Advent. I barely got the Advent Wreath set up—I couldn't expect anything more from myself. I had to make a new Advent Wreath. Last year when I went to set up the wreath, I couldn't find the 5-candle holder that I had used for years & years. Seems that it got misplaced in the move. I'm sure it's in a box somewhere, but who knows where? I even searched online but couldn't find the same kind of candle holder and I had waited so late that I couldn't order even a second best replacement. I had to make do with a simple holly wreath and four votive candles

This year I got started earlier. The week following Thanksgiving, I hustled down to the local Catholic bookstore and bought a plain brass ring with 4 candle cups. ($4.95 plus tax) I also picked up a package of 4 tapers for $2.95. Then, I stopped in at Dollar General and purchased a 9 foot garland for $3. Wound the garland around the ring, set the candles into the cups, and Voila! a lovely Advent Wreath for 2007.

I've resumed trading books online. I used the BookRelay site several years ago, but when I went there, I discovered that it had been dissolved. I found many of the same players now trading at BookObsessed, so I registered and plunged into swapping books. With this has come a need to better organize the books in the house and classify them as available or not. I've cleared out most of the stacks that were all over the house. Every book I've put my hands on now has a BookCrossing sticker in it and has been recorded and classified onto my personal bookshelf. All books tagged as "available" have been packed into plastic bags and removed from my shelves. Those tagged as "to be read" are now filling 3.5 shelves in the bookcase in my living room.

Along with sorting, classifying, and journaling my books, I decided to review some recommended reading lists. The first one I downloaded is The Big Read Top 100. The Big Read series was broadcast on BBC Two from 18 October to 13 December 2003, and three quarter of a million votes were received by the end of the series. I downloaded the list and then marked the ones that I have read with bold text.

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

So—I've read 40 of the BBC top 100 books. Not bad. And, I'll look at the ones on the list that I haven't read as strong recommendations.

Lee (aka wirewoman) shared the recordings of her Missa Animae with me last week. So that she can link to them from her LiveJournal site (and anywhere else in the internet), I've uploaded the three files to my webserver. The first movement is the Kyrie. The second file contains both the Gloria and Sanctus movements. The final movement is the Agnus Dei.

Clicking on the links provided will give you the option of downloading or playing the music.

Since I was going into the office today, I packed a quick lunch—mostly from leftovers—and wrapped it up in a bandana that has been pressed into service as a furoshiki. I slid a pair of chopsticks and a plastic fork into the knot and proudly carried it into the office.

( What's inside? )

My colleagues weren't quite sure what to make of the cloth-wrapped bundle. I typically put my bento into an insulated lunch box, but thought I'd use the furoshiki approach today.

Cross-posted to bentolunch.

Crockpot Chicken Recipe:

1 whole chicken

Place chicken in crockpot. Cook on high for one hour. Reduce heat to low and cook for 2 more hours.

Note that other than removing the giblets from the bird's cavity, there was no other prep. I didn't add any seasonings at all, though if I'd had some celery on hand, I'd have thrown in several stalks. This yielded not only the cooked meat, but over a pint of chicken broth to use later.

Supper Tuesday night was the roasted chicken served with black-eyed peas, corn, and salad. The three of us ate one breast half and one thigh. I pulled all the meat off the bones and stored it in the refrigerator for later.

Tonight, I cubed all the remaining dark meat and the wings and made curry from it. Served it with rice and baby carrots.

Chicken Curry Recipe:

1-2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1/2 green pepper, sliced
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 serrano pepper, finely diced
1 cup green peas
4 Tbsp. olive oil, separated
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 to 2 tsp. curry powder
salt
1 cup water

In large skillet, saute onion and peppers in 2 Tbsp. olive oil until very soft. Add green peas (frozen is fine) and stir until warmed. Remove vegetables to a bowl. Add remaining 2 Tbsp. olive oil to skillet; stir in flour, salt and curry powder. Cook until bubbling. Add water and stir until smooth and mixture begins to thicken. Add chicken; cook until warmed through, then add vegetables back to the mixture and cook briefly.

So that leaves the third appearance of the chicken—which will be chicken salad in lunch tomorrow or Friday.

Hubby had the idea to buy a rice cooker -- which I was really excited about. Today was my first time to use it. While the result tasted good, it was rice mush, which wasn't what I intended.

Let me back up and tell the story from the beginning.

When I got up this morning, I decided to read through the entire instruction book before I cooked the first batch of rice. My cooker (the Sanyo 3.5 cup cooker) came with a plastic rice paddle and a measuring cup. I filled the supplied measuring cup and put the rice into the cooking pot and added water to the 3.5 cup line as indicated. Turned the cooker on and left it to do its thing. When the cycle was complete, I opened the cooker to find a very soft and wet mush. Hubby and I ate it anyway and other than needing some salt (the instructions didn't say to add any before cooking) it tasted OK.

Do you see that the rice looks more like mashed potatoes than rice? So. I'm sitting there eating my lunch and wondering why the rice didn't come out right -- when it suddenly dawns on me. I had put in three times as much water as required! Duh! As if I didn't know how to cook rice in the first place.

After cleaning the rice cooker, I'm ready to try again -- this time with the proper ratio of rice to water.

Steven was with me when I went to the Super H Mart in Riverdale. The bento shopping was much better here than in Duluth. The gift shop had at least 6 of them with Hello Kitty and other cartoon characters on the lids. These were very expensive, so I wandered over to the housewares section to see if there was anything there. Sure enough, I saw the same 3 bentos I had seen in Duluth and then found one more -- and this one I wanted to buy.

I bought this two-tier box along with a couple of small containers and the cute chopstick rest.

The top tier of the box serves as the lid for the bottom tier. The dividers in the top tier are permanent; it will be interesting to see how easy (or difficult) this box will be to pack.

While I was looking at bento stuff, my husband was apparently looking at the rice cookers. When I told him that I was ready to leave, he asked if we should buy a rice cooker. I had intended to suggest this, but figured it might be a difficult task to convince him that it would be a good purchase. But, since he brought it up, I was immediately eager to say "yes".

We looked at various cookers, but finally decided on a Sanyo 3.5 cup model. With only three of us at home, we couldn't see any reason to buy the larger unit. We'll see over time if this is the right size for us.