Reading and Eating!

Hooray!  A good old fashioned reading and eating post, like I always used to do on Wednesdays.  My reading slowed waaaay down in November because of NaBloPoMo- but I did finally finish this book:

From the book jacket: “The international literary sensation about a boy’s magical journey through the secrets and shadows of postwar Barcelona in search of a mysterious author whose book has proved as dangerous to own as it is impossible to forget.”

Unfortunately I didn’t love this book as much as everyone else seems to.  It was interesting; there was some beautiful writing; I did want to keep reading to the end to see what happened; but there were too many plot points that I would describe as “fairy tale-ish.”  Like, lots of people falling in love at first sight and “knowing” they would never love again.  Or, someone dedicating their entire life to getting revenge on the person who “ruined” them.

I just want to shake these characters and say “You only have one life!  Stop wasting it with these foolish notions!  Move on and make your life worthwhile!”  You could say this is a pet peeve of mine, so I guess this type of book isn’t for me.

Next up:

I know.  You might be thinking, “Jenny.  You’re criticizing a book like The Shadow of the Wind and then reading Tied Up in Tinsel?  Well… yes, I am.

I love old-school murder mysteries, and Ngaio Marsh is one of the masters of the genre.  This one takes place in an English manor house!  At Christmas!  I’m excited for some light, fun reading.

On to eating.  I made enchiladas!  I used this recipe.  If you go to that website, you’ll find a picture much prettier than mine, as usual.

I used enchilada sauce from a jar (obviously- I’m not MAKING THAT) and drizzled on some of the Miyoko’s liquid mozzarella (left over from our pizzas.)  As I was getting ready to serve them, I noticed the recipe said “serve with desired toppings.”  Oops.  Er- toppings would have been nice.  But they were delicious as they were.

Have you read The Shadow of the Wind?  Did you like it?

I’m looking for other books that take place around Christmas.  They don’t have to be mysteries.  Any suggestions?

Top photo by Mahendra Kumar on Unsplash