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
22 Responses
If you want to continue your mystery tour, there’s _Hercule Poirot Christmas_ by Agatha Christie and _A Maigret Christmas and Other Stories_ by Georges Simenon.
_Holidays on Ice_ by David Sedaris is a classic. And _The Wood at Midwinter_ by Susanna Clarke just came out, and I love her and really want to read it…
Your enchiladas look YUMMMMMY! (I’m so glad for some regular and routine posts too!)
I’ve read a couple of those! I’m very intrigued by the Susanna Clarke book though. I’m going to look for it!
I think your enchiladas look amazing. I feel like enchiladas just…aren’t really a thing in Canada. Like I don’t know if I’ve ever had one, never see them on menus, don’t even know if I could buy enchilada sauce at a grocery store. Yet all my American friends talk about them regularly. I’m intrigued!!
Well, if you really wanted to make some, you can find a recipe for enchilada sauce online. It’s not really that hard (I just like to skip any extra steps.) Enchiladas are really good!
I’m about to pass out that you’ve never had an enchilada. OMG. What about burritos? How about Nachos? Tacos? Trying to figure out the degree of Mexican food options to be found on the Canadian East Coast.
I agree, enchilada sauce is easy to make if you can’t find a good canned one. I usually use canned (I live in California, we have lots of options) but sometimes I will make it from scratch. From scratch is way better most of the time.
Enchiladas are really good, especially if you enjoy melty cheese. Comfort food.
Ooooh I have not had enchiladas in a long time! I think you were very smart to use store bought enchilada sauce — some things are just not worth making from scratch!
The sauce I used was Sprouts brand- it was good and didn’t have any weird ingredients. It wasn’t cheap, but overall I’d say it was worth it.
I just picked up The Christmas Orphan’s Club from the library yesterday, I shall report back! Last night I finished a book by a Calgary author, so that was fun. I didn’t love the book though and I HATE saying that, because I want every female Canadian author, particularly ones from my hometown, to do well. I mean, it was fine. It was just fine. But it wasn’t what I thought it would be.
Yes, I know that feeling Nicole. I don’t really want to NOT like someone’s book, a book they undoubtably worked very hard to write. Especially if it was someone from my hometown… sigh.
I read Shadow of the Wind and felt similarly. It was fine? I felt like it was a bit of a slog at times. It’s interesting how books can elicit such different reactions from us! The person who recommended it to me LOVED IT SO MUCH.
Enchiladas sounds so good right now! I should put lentil enchiladas back in our meal rotation as we haven’t had them in quite some time!
Yes, it is funny. SO many people really love this book. Well… to each, his own.
Enchiladas are pretty easy to make if you use some store-bought ingredients!
Your dinners are so interesting. I need to branch out and try new things.
Just finished the Lost Bookstop. It was cute but kinda fizzled at the end
Have you read all the maid books by Frida McFadden? The mistletoe mystery is very short.
Now I want enchiladas for dinner, but we’re having chili. What are your feelings about green sauce? I love carnitas enchiladas with tomatillo sauce. Best brand I have found is Hatch.
Hands down, I will take a mystery over Great Literature any day. I don’t think I’ve read any Ngaio Marsh, so I’ll stay tuned for your review.
Between you and me…I’ve never had enchiladas with toppings. One of my pet peeves is when enchie recipes tout “oh it’s so easy to make your own enchilada sauce and it’s so much better…” yes it’s easy but so is opening up a can! There is nothing about the homemade sauces that I’ve made that is any better than what comes out of the can. IMO homemade enchie sauce is a solution in search of a problem.
I actually DNF’d Shadow of the Wind. It was a book club book but I just didn’t care.
That book doesn’t sound like something I’d enjoy. I’m not big into fantasy or magic or whatever and I agree, the I’ll never love again thing would be annoying. I have nothing Christmas-y to suggest. I’m way behind the general public and am just now reading My Name Is Lucy Barton. I’ve been really tired lately, staying up too late and by the time I go to bed I can only get thru one page and sometimes that means I’m rereading the last page because I don’t remember where I’m at. Your dinner does look delish. I don’t know that I’ve ever eaten an enchilada. I’ve had tacos and that sort of thing. Maybe Tank made us all enchiladas for dinner once. The women from the warehouse where he worked in high school always made food for him and he wanted us to experience this amazing Mexican cuisine.
Wait…enchilada sauce isn’t hard to make, though, right? We just grill up some onions/garlic (ha ha ha! – we used to use garlic, but I’ve since decided garlic adds nothing to recipes and don’t actually add it)/spices and then add it to the blender with tomato sauce and you’re done? I am just learning that some people buy this! Why have I been dirtying a blender this whole time?! I cooked some tacos once for a dinner party and one my guests watched as I added the spices to the meat and she said she had never not used a packet. I was dumbfounded. Why buy a packet when the spices are in your cabinet? But then I realized that I frequently cook from scratch more than the average person because of the food restrictions at our house. It’s nearly as easy as the packet! This entire paragraph is nothing but a jumble of words, but I’m leaving it so everyone can marvel at the disaster that is my brain.
We buy our enchilada sauce, too, most of the time! But we are lazy and/or rushed and don’t go full enchilada and end up using it in the slow cooker for enchilada bowls or soup…
I’ve never made enchiladas – they always seem like so many steps. I don’t love recipes with so many steps. But they are always tasty when I have them made by other people.
Have you read In the Bleak Midwinter? It’s the first book of a mystery series that I love that features a cop and a priest solving mysteries. The first book takes place in the weeks before Christmas. I wouldn’t say that they are super complex mysteries, but I think the writing is really good, and there’s a super slow burn romance that unfolds across the series.
I read Shadow probably 20 years ago(?) and liked it but probably because it was about books and Spain (and the revolution?). However, I sometimes have issues with foreign writers as their emotions are different than mine. Like you saying that you wanted them to just get over it? Well I think that is a VERY Latin thing to do, to have high emotions about certain things, especially love and death. I tried to read Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera and I just could NOT get into it. It was too weird. Maybe I am just not cultured enough, but it was not my style.
The Shadow of the wind is on my shelf and I really want to read it. I only read one by the author (marina) which was weird. I think I know what you mean. I gave it 3 stars back then but keep thinking back about this book… which would render it 5 stars in my definition… mhm What I try to say is I think its not an easy author to read and needs right timing.
I may steer you towards my Christmas Books Post https://www.craftaliciousme.com/my-christmas-book-collection/ Maybe there is something there you enjoy. It doesn’t list all the romance novels.
I have started making enchiladas at home too. They don’t show up in todays posts though… why?
I, too, have never had an enchilada, but love moderate spice and Mexican food, so there you go. Weird, I know. What tortillas did you use?
Not sure I will read either of those books…but love your reviews! You always keep it real. 🙂