Ah, so many good meals and books lately! Great reading and eating make life so much more fun, right? Let’s start with some meals…
The first pumpkin waffles of Pumpkin Palooza! The recipe is from Nora Cooks. Sometimes I replace part of the liquid with coffee to make them into pumpkin latte waffles- but I didn’t have any coffee this time. Still so good!
This was the first official dinner of Pumpkin Palooza- Pumpkin Sage Pasta from Julie’s Kitchenette. I sauteed and sliced up a Beyond sausage to go in my husband’s portion, but I don’t like sausage, even if it’s vegan. We loved this dinner.
I know this may come as a surprise, but I don’t spend the month of September eating only pumpkin. I got this recipe for Cashew Tofu from Birchwood Pie. It is CRAZY GOOD. The tofu cubes are tossed with oil, soy sauce, and corn starch and then baked. Then you add them to the stir fry. It’s already delicious but adding cashews to any stir fry really kicks it up a notch.
Okay, enough of the low-quality food pictures. Let’s talk about books!
This was recommended to me by The Time For Change. She described it as an antidote to the “I finished Harry Potter and now my reading life has no meaning” dilemma. Assassin’s Apprentice is the first book of an epic 16-book fantasy series, and I loved it. The magic in this world is woven into the story in a subtle and fascinating way. Of course it’s completely different than Harry Potter, but I’m excited to continue on and become more engrossed in the world. But first, I had a couple other projects…
I had such an odd relationship with Oliver Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks. I read the first chapter and loved it so much, I wrote an entire blog post about it. Then I put it down and forgot about it for a few weeks. I picked it back up and read a couple more chapters, loved them, then put it down again. Finally, after months of renewing it, the library decided they wanted their book back, so I quickly read the last few chapters before returning it. And I loved them! I was mad I had to rush through them. Now I want to check it out again- or maybe this is a book I should just buy. Speaking of which…
I went to Barnes and Noble and bought this the day it came out- I never do that, but I love this series so much (J.K. Rowling aka “Robert Galbraith” is still my favorite author of all time.) This book is the sixth in the Cormoran Strike mystery series. It’s over 1000 pages (yay!) and I didn’t get it from the library because I didn’t want to rush through it- I assume because it’s new, the library wouldn’t let me renew it. I’ve settled down for many, many nights of happy reading.
Do you like fantasy novels? – I didn’t use to, but after reading Harry Potter I’m liking the genre more and more.
I know I’ve asked this before, but do you have a favorite author? – You can narrow it down to two or three if you want!
16 Responses
I used to read fantasy novels but I’ve gotten away from them.
Now I just read what is recommended by others. I like historical fiction and mysteries. And books that make you think after you’re done.
I love pumpkin everything. Your pics are making me drool.
Yes, I think if you told me I could only read one genre for the rest of my life, it would be mysteries.
I am not quite ready for anything pumpkin yet but I like the idea of using coffee in waffles. I have some good recipes I may try that with
Yes, I got the idea from Minimalist Baker- she has a recipe for pumpkin latte waffles.
Yay!! I’m so glad you enjoyed Assassin’s Apprentice. Realm of the Elderlings is SO GOOD. I can not wait for you to read the rest of it. I also can’t wait for you to read that Galbraith book – I am nervous about how long it is and am not sure if Strike can hold my attention for that long. (Let’s ignore the 11,000 pages of ROTE that I eagerly devoured. *ahem*) I am definitely a sci-fi/fantasy girl. I used to read a lot of romances and mysteries, but it the last five or so years, I’ve gotten super critical about those genres and struggle to enjoy them without thinking of how they could/should be better. I don’t yet know the SFF tropes that well, so I’m leaning into my enjoyment of those books right now.
I read that people think AA starts off slowly (I didn’t notice that) and that the series gets better and better as you go along, so now I’m REALLY excited to read the rest of it!
Ima have to try the pumpkin pasta – exactly the way that you had it with garlic bread and a salad with avocado. And hooray for finding a 16 book series to dive into.
Yes, and I’m going to try your gochujang spaghetti this week! We’ll trade pasta recipes.
Of all genres, fantasy is my least favourite. Well, fantasy, sci-fi, and horror. Favourite authors: Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, Elizabeth Strout, David Sedaris, and Katherine Heiny.
I used to say I liked everything other than romance and fantasy/sci fi. But I’m branching out!
The food all looks so good.
I was the same with Oliver Burkeman and actually ended up keeping the book past its due date so I could finish it (but really should just go ahead and buy it).
I am in such a reading rut right now. I don’t really have the mental space to fit in something consistently (e.g. like even every night at bedtime). Maybe I should try the Robert Galbrith? It sounds gripping…but also so long. I usually have gotten my reading mojo back after my annual summer hiatus, but it’s just not happening this year.
Well… you would definitely want to start with the first book in the series. And some of them are kind of gory, which I usually don’t like but I let slide in this case. I know- I get in reading ruts too. You’ll snap out of it when you’re ready!
I love all the pumpkins dishes you’ve been making. The waffles sound especially good!!!
I am not a fantasy person. HP is the only fantasy I can think of that I have read as an adult. I loved it but haven’t felt compelled to read more fantasy. I like literary fiction best, but have expanded what genres I read in the last few years and have really come to enjoy a well-written romance! Some of my favorite authors are Khaled Hosseini, Ann Patchett, Celeste Ng and John Green. But I could go on and on!!
That’s funny- I’ve never been a fan of romances. But maybe I just haven’t read any well-written ones.
If you like HP do try Diana Wynne Jones’ Chronicles of Chrestomanci, or any of her books. Just wonderful!
My favourite author is Iris Murdoch although I have groups of others I love – Larry McMurtry, D.E. Stevenson, Elizabeth Taylor, Thomas Hardy, George Eliot …
Okay, I’ll try it! I made a note so I won’t forget (since I’m in the middle of my 1000 page book right now.)