Book Clubs

It’s been so long since I posted! Not that I haven’t been reading, I just seem to have swept into the Book Club vortex! I facilitate two different book clubs each month for my job, and for some reason, for the last couple of months, we’ve been reading some pretty hefty books. I guess somebody needs to pay a little more attention to the page count! By the time I finish one, it’s time to read the other, and not a lot of  time for extracurricular reading. : ( Here’s some of the titles we’ve read recently, and not a bad apple in the bunch!

        

What’s cookin’?

When my boss asked me to choose some books for our book club discussions that were themed to our summer reading program, little did I know what an adventure it would turn into! Our theme this year is “Reading is so delicious”, sooo, needless to say, I read a LOT of food books in my search! But you know what? Now I can’t stop!

Before my life got stupid crazy, I used to cook. I loved cooking. I loved reading cookbooks, loved watching the cooking shows, all that. And then, I lost my inspiration. I stopped cooking. Well, happily, the inspiration is back, and here are some of the books that have gotten me back into the groove. Thanks Jessie!

Cookbook love

I don’t know about you, but I love cookbooks! As a young wife and mother, I’d bring home stacks and stacks of them from the library, just to look at and maybe try out a new recipe or two. The cookbook section is still my favorite part of the library, and whenever I’m at the bookstore, it’s always the first section I visit. Kind of like with decorating books (another favorite!), it’s fun to look at the pictures, read the ingredients, and imagine the possibilities.

Fast forward a bit to the present day. I still love to look at cookbooks – heck, I even helped launch one. I’ve got a couple of shelves dedicated to them. Actually cooking? Well, that’s pretty much fallen to the wayside. Add some major life changes, stir in an insanely busy schedule, and voila! This chica hasn’t used her oven in almost two years. Somehow, the combo of exhaustion,  a huge change in the diet, and not wanting to take the time to cook for myself has just made it really unappealing. There’s planning, then shopping, then the cooking, and the clean up. When did it all become such a chore?

It didn’t used to be. In our family, cooking is an art form, an expression of love. Everyone’s involved, everyone’s got their specialty, and on holidays and special occasions, the spread is pretty spectacular (And we’ve got pictures to prove it! We do love our food pictures!).  Even on the daily home front, it wasn’t a chore (ok, maybe the dishes!). It made me feel good to know that our family would be together at the dinner hour, with a nice meal. It was part of how I nurtured them. It was part of creating Home.

So, here I was, looking through this stack of cookbooks that I brought home from work. And it got me thinking about all these things, and it dawned on me. I need to make Home for me. The last few years have been all about survival, working, just trying to get from point A to point B. All work and no fun has made this girl dull, and the Palace has become just a pit stop. I haven’t made Home just for me.  A bit of a creative intervention is needed ASAP to get out of this rut I’ve been in. It’s time to put some of that cookbook love to work!

Off to the Land of Oz

So here I am, getting ready to go visit the Boy Child and his Beautiful Bride in the Land of Oz. Most girls would be worried about shoes. Am I bringing enough? Do I have an outfit for every occasion? Not this girl! Nope! Guess what I’m panicking about? I’m going to be away from Libraryland for 4 days – oh no! Do I have enough books? And it’s not like I’m going there just to sit and read, but hey, there’s the plane, there’s the waiting. And if this string of insomnia keeps up, there’ll be that.

And they can’t be just any books. What if I’m feeling like something light? What if I need some self-help advice? Good thing the Girl Child got me that e-reader for Christmas! I can load that puppy up with whatever I want without loading my suitcase down. For the first time ever, maybe I’ll bring some extra shoes!