Mama don’t take my kodachrome away…

I’m turning 35 (thirty-five!!) in a few days and my husband and family chipped in to buy me a new digital camera.  The camera arrived today and since we’re leaving on our annual road trip in a few days, my husband was merciful enough to give me the camera tonight so I could read the book and test it out before we leave.

With this camera, I graduate from a point and shoot to a digital SLR.  I have a film SLR and have been not-so-secretly pining for a digital for a while.  I was having some fun tonight, firing off shots of a few of my favorite things.

I can’t wait to use this camera outdoors–the road trip will provide ample opportunity I’m sure!  Some highlights include:

• A visit to a drive-in movie–we’re going to see the new Johnny Depp film under the stars!
• Riding a train through the woods, along a river.
• Body sliding down a natural water slide in a Vermont river.
• Nosing around the town where my paternal grandfather spent his childhood.
• Visits to independent bookstores, antique shops, and farmers’ markets.
• A trip to the new Woodstock Museum–this August marks the 40th anniversary of Woodstock–my dad was there way back when!

Compared to our previous trips, this one is a bit tame.  We’ve been to a rodeo in Wyoming, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, Wall Drug, The Mitchell Corn Palace, The Madonna Inn, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Memphis, Graceland, Dollywood, Nashville, Houston, Austin, Montana, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Cadillac Ranch, and more–all by car! 

What’s on YOUR summer calendar?  Are you going away?  Taking a ’stay’cation right in your own backyard?  I’m sure that no matter what our plans, we all share one thing–we’ll have plenty of books to read!

Cooking Up a Good Book

I just started listening to a new audio-book on my commute–a foodie mystery called The Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke–and it motivated me to do something I rarely do–BAKE.  A book inspired me to cook–what’s next?!

The book’s protagonist, Hannah Swensen, is the owner of The Cookie Jar.  As the book progresses, she includes recipes that are mentioned in the story line.  It was such fun copying the recipe while driving in rush hour traffic!  (Kidding!  I waited for the red lights.)

I’ll readily admit that I had a string of drool on my chin as I listened to the narrator describe the cream puffs.  Is it any surprise that I was slaving away at that square box of fire in my kitchen (a stove, I think?) all weekend trying to make those little poufs of pastry goodness? 

Well, it is if you know me–I have a serious aversion to the kitchen and the activities that occur in that room.  Of course, that doesn’t preclude me from owning every tool and gadget that Williams-Sonoma has to offer.  I’m strange, I know. 

Friday’s batch of cream puff shells were perfect, but the filling was less than stellar.  I tried again on Saturday morning and the pressure was on because I volunteered to bring several dozen puffs to a party.  I cooked up a different filling and made fresh shells.  I was shocked after I sampled them (yes, more than one!)–they were delicious! 

Have you ever made a recipe that you found in a novel or do you use the old standby–a cookbook?

If you’re not afraid of bikini season, I strongly encourage you to take an hour out of your life and make these bites of heavenly goodness.

Cream Puff Shells 

(from Joanne Fluke’s The Cream Puff Murder)

• 1 cup of water
• 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) UNSALTED butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup flour, packed down
• 4 eggs, room temperature

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. 

On medium heat in a small pot or sauce pan, pour in water.  Chop butter into pieces and put into water.  Let it melt.  Add salt and sugar.  Bring to a boil.

In a bowl, mix flour and baking powder.  Once water mixture is boiling, turn heat down to low and dump in flour/baking powder mixture.  Stir quickly for about 30 seconds–mixture will form a dough ball.  Remove from heat and let the dough cool for about 20 minutes on the counter.

Once dough is cool, break one egg and mix it into the dough until smooth.  Repeat with remaining eggs, one at a time until mixture has a smooth, taffy-like consistency–about 3-5 minutes with mixer.  Don’t overmix.

For mini-cream puffs, drop a teaspoon of batter per puff on to the parchment-lined cookie sheet.  You can fit 12-15 per sheet–don’t crowd them.  Cook them for about 35-40 minutes; when you take them out of the oven, pierce the sides with sharp knife to prevent collapses.  If you’d like to make large puffs, cook them for about 55 minutes.  Let the puff shells cool away from drafts.  Yield 25-35 mini puffs or 10-14 large ones.

When they are cool, cut the top 1/3 off and remove any stringy dough.  Fill with Nat’s Ghetto Cream Puff Filling.

Nat’s Ghetto Cream Puff Filling

(I don’t take credit for this recipe, I just wanted to name it after me.)

• 1 3.5 oz box of Jell-O INSTANT vanilla pudding
• 2 cups heavy cream

Pour heavy cream and instant pudding mix into a bowl.  Whip with a whisk or mixmaster until it’s the consistency of whipped cream–light and fluffy, but NOT butter. Ha! 

Scoop filling into a quart-sized Ziplock bag.  Cut off the bottom right corner of the bag.  Pipe filling into shells.  Add lids.  Sift powdered sugar on top of cream puffs.  Watch them disappear.

Review: In the Wake of the Boatman by Jonathon Scott Fuqua

Title: In the Wake of the Boatman

Author: Jonathon Scott Fuqua

Genre/Pages: Fiction/320

Publication: Bancroft Press; November 1, 2008

Rating: 3.5 BOOKMARKS

I’ve been thinking about this book since finishing it earlier in the week; haunting and complex, In the Wake of the Boatman was so much more than I anticipated.

Why is it that some talented authors never seem to garner the attention that they deserve?  Jonathon Scott Fuqua has written several award-winning novels but despite the literary acclaim, I’d never heard of him until I read his most recent novel.  After finishing In the Wake of the Boatman, I’m eager to read and review his other works.

A son’s troubled and turbulent relationship with his father and his struggle to reconcile his gender conflict, In the Wake of the Boatman examines the most basic and enduring themes of the family dynamic while highlighting a secret internal conflict.

The novel follows the life of Puttnam Steward, only son and second child of Carl and Helen Steward.  From birth, Puttnam’s presence, and later his childhood and teenage actions, cast a pall on the family.  

His sister is the light to his dark, the saint to his sinner.  Fuqua’s repeated use of light imagery when describing her “…Mary was radiant as ever…a beacon amongst the hugging hordes…”, created an ethereal character whose name suggested divinity. 

The relationship between father and son is mired in disappointment, competition, and resentment.  Carl can’t relate to his son on any level and feels that Puttnam intentionally antagonizes him. 

Puttnam finds success where his father failed–at college and in the military.  Not only does Puttnam graduate from the school his father failed out of, but Putt also sees almost three tours of duty in Vietnam and is a decorated war hero, while his father failed three physicals that prevented him from going to war.  Putt goes on to help break up an espionage ring, becoming a national hero and media darling.  The public acclaim and adoration isolate him further. 

Symbolism and nautical imagery is rife in the novel–Carl’s fruitless attempts to build a sea-worthy boat could be interpreted as his failed efforts as a father to his son; the family name, Steward, has a nautical connotation–a person aboard a boat responsible for the comfort and care of the passengers (which the patriarch of this family isn’t able to provide), and a major plot event occurs on the water. 

Father, son, and son-in-law (Mary’s husband) also share a history of leg injuries, limps, knees that lock up, crutches, and canes suggesting an inability to physically stand up on their own feet and deal with their respective issues.

Ultimately, Puttnam must come to terms with himself, his family relationships, and his future.  Fuqua avoids wrapping the novel up with a tidy ending, which I think only adds to his strength as an author.

In the Wake of the Boatman has so much to offer and I hope others will be inspired to read this novel.  That said, I’d like to return to my initial question:  Have you read a great book by an author who isn’t garnering the attention he or she deserves’?  Tell me about the author and his/her book. 

Thank you to Harrison at Bancroft Press for opportunity to review this novel!

Book Blogs + Book Reviews=Book Sales?

As my book blog is poised to turn 6 months old, I’ve been reflecting on its purpose and potential.  People are visiting, reading, and commenting on my posts, but does that translate to book sales?  Do book blogs generate enough buzz to actually sell books? 

The book blogging community is such a supportive one, but are we reaching the masses?  Recently, I started posting my reviews on Amazon to reach a wider audience.  But is this enough?  Are their other avenues that I’m missing?

I read about 60 book blogs during the week.  In six months, I’ve read 13 books that were either reviewed or suggested by other bloggers (five of which were for my Summer Reading Challenge).   In total, I’ve been motivated to read eight books purely on bloggers’ reviews.  But my reading of these books didn’t generate new revenue for the authors because I  borrowed them from my local library.

I would love to know if book blogs, reviews, and tours have a quantifiable impact on book sales.  Do authors notice a spike in sales and interest if they market their books through blogs?  Do you think your blog (and book blogs in general) help sell books?  Inquiring minds want to know!