keep track of all the books I read in 2012

I liked it, but it was often a difficult read due to the subject matter. No punches pulled! Really traveled to dark places with these poets. Disturbing number of murdered beauties and pregnant girls in the traditional verses.

The one that will stick with me for a long time: A Case of Murder by Victor Scannell. I think if you Google it, with Killer Verse you can read it online.

Scary stuff!

Nicely produced volume. The blood red ribbon for keeping one’s place was a stroke of genius.

Wonderful to return to Walter Mosley’s sure hand and strong sense of story. If the initial confusion of Ptolemy’s mind puts you off a bit, please keep reading. It’s a wonderful stand alone book (not part of one of Mosley’s series.)

Bored now. What happened to that strong character? Did Collins skip her teens and forget what little hormones most of us are at that time? Felt cheated. Won’t read the third.

Can you tell it ticked me off?

I was surprised by how engaging I found this book. Interesting central character, narrative that moves. Felt a bit cheated by the ending, but maybe that’s just me!

Bleh. Character development? A reason to keep reading? Didn’t enjoy the detailed descriptions of killings. Abhorrent. Blatant attempt to make money by plundering history.

I didn’t end up using any of the specific recipes, but Dragonwagon’s approach to beans inspired me to include more of them in my diet. Making my own pinto beans has been a revelation and I look forward to trying more varieties in the future.

Written by an acquaintance of mine.

Just finished this last night, and loved it. A wild trip through the folk music scene of the late 1960s. The compelling plot drew me back to the novel every time I had to put it down for silly things like work, illuminated by vibrant image-creating details.

Some of these characters and the things they went through will, I’m sure, stick with me for a long time. Truly well-drawn portrait of a part of the Sixties most of us know only from the surface.

• spoiler alert ** I don’t get it. Bogged down in the middle and slogged through to the end. Seemed utterly ignorant about human interactions and especially race relations in the South.

Now I’m angry that this won an award and NPR’s attention.

SPOILER
A black man who grew up in the South is being lynched and he thinks to himself that surely the sheriff won’t just stand by and let it happen? UGH.

Honestly, I already knew how to slice an onion in the way that Crumpacker suggests, but I’ve been picking up cook books and books about food/cooking at the library just about every time I go and this one caught my eye. As usual, one person’s basics are sometimes another person’s amazing discoveries.

How was it that I’d missed the idea of covering chopped fresh basil with olive oil to preserve it for a week or more in the fridge? I ended up using some of the mixture for a quick pasta dinner when I found myself short on time one evening. Just mixed that and some Parmesan cheese into hot pasta and wow.

This is a rather rambling book, but I like the way Bunny rambles. (Oh my, that name: Bunny Crumpacker. Sounds like the punchline to an off color joke!) Her style made me want to be sure and read every morsel of this book to avoid missing something. Sweet and old fashioned, like your favorite aunt might put it.

There are a few loose threads.. She advises us to save the water from boiling pasta, but never explains why. Still, it was a fun and useful read.

Boring list of stuff from the eighties plus thin plot. Not my cup of tea, though I see some very high ratings over on Good Reads.