a night with my favorite authors

Several weeks ago I met my favorite authors:  Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I've been waiting so long to meet them, and the stars finally aligned to make it happen!

They were doing a book signing and a short Q&A at the Mark Twain House, which is only 30 minutes away. I've been waiting for what feels like forever to be able to attend one of their signings. Every time they had a book tour, the nearest stop was usually in New York and I couldn't get the time off from work to go, or it was in Connecticut and I was either out of town, had to work, or just couldn't go for whatever reason. Finally the stars aligned this year and I was able to go. The ticket was $25.00 and that included a hardcover copy of their new book, The Pharoah Key, which they would sign after the Q&A session. I saw the event pop up on my Facebook feed, and I immediately bought two tickets, not even knowing who would go with me yet. As it turned out, I had to go alone. My husband ended up having to work and my friend was sick. I still had a good time, though. I ended up selling the extra book to someone on Facebook who couldn't make it.

These guys write thrillers and often write as a team, although they do write solo novels, as well. My brother turned me onto them years ago when I was looking for some book suggestions--I could always count on him for good book recommendations. I've read pretty much every book they've written with the exception of their non-fiction books and one of their series.

My favorite books are from the Pendergast series. The first book I read from these authors, part of the Pendergast series, was Still Life With Crows. This was my first introduction to FBI Special Agent A.X.L. Pendergast.  He's an agent like no other:  not only is he an FBI agent that mostly takes only the cases that interest him--for the annual salary of $1.00--, he's former U.S. Special Forces; comes from old New Orleans money; splits his time in New York City between his dark mansion and his apartment; is chauffeured about town in a 1959 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith; has mastered multiple languages, martial arts, and combat techniques; is a Doctor of Philosophy; and is almost albino in color and dresses like an undertaker--always a black suit. Also, he can get himself out of any situation imaginable. I found this neat little website that talks about Pendergast, his interests, family history, etc. While reading this book I remember being amused at how fussy and particular this guy was:  he had all of his favorite foods and drinks (caviar; absinthe, which he drinks the French way), books and furnishings shipped to the town in which he was staying while working on the case. I remember  thinking, "Who the hell is this guy??" Anyway, I've read every book in the Pendergast series, and they just can't publish them fast enough for me! I just finished City of Endless Night, which I enjoyed. I now have to wait all the way until November until the next one...

Preston and Child have another series, the Gideon Crew series, which I haven't read yet. The Pharoah Key is the last book in this series, and is the one they gave us at the book signing. I'm thinking this series is next on my list while await another Pendergast book. Actually, I did read one book in the series, Beyond the Ice Limit, mainly because it was the sequel to another book of theirs, The Ice Limit, that didn't feature Gideon Crew. (I have to say, the "creature" in Beyond the Ice Limit really freaked me the hell out. Deep water scares me to begin with--I actually have a physical reaction--but imaging this thing in my head was too much at times. Basically it's this thing, but underwater and...living...OK onto something else!)

The Q&A was interesting. They talked about the idea for The Pharaoh Key, which actually came about around 20 years ago while Douglas Preston was at an archaeological dig in Egypt. They talked about adventures in writing as a team and how they accomplish that, where the ideas for characters come from, etc. I enjoyed it. They're very funny, down to earth guys. 

Once it was over the assistants  had us line up in the lobby to have our book signed. They gave us a sticky note, on which we had to write our name and/or desired inscription, and then place it on the title page. It took maybe 20 minutes to get through the line, which wasn't bad at all. A couple people asked to take a picture with them and they obliged (wish I'd done that!). A couple others brought a few other books to be signed and they were OK with that. While I was waiting in line I was planning what to say and how to say it; I didn't want to be a star-struck babbling idiot. I ended up thanking them for coming to CT, and telling them how much I love their books and that they just can't publish them fast enough or make them long enough for me. I told them 1,200 pages would be just about right. Lincoln winked at me and said I'd be waiting about three years for every book if they did that. I also told them that it was all my brother's fault that I started reading their books, because he's the one that turned me onto them and it's him I have to thank. They said to tell my brother that he has impeccable taste in books and to thank him for making the recommendation all those years ago. I didn't have the heart to tell them he passed away last year, so I just smiled and said I would make sure to tell him. I imagine he was there with me, so he knows.

And that's it. It was over just like that. Less than two hours. But it was SO worth it to finally meet the guys that keep the Kindle app fired up and the pages turning.

life lately

Figured it's time for an update-type post, since it's been a while. (Actually it's been awhile since my last post, in general.)

Books

I had a different post planned for this; however, I'm writing it up separately, as it's turning out to be much longer than I had originally planned. Here's the teaser:  I recently met my favorite authors!

What I'll write here instead is that I've recently discovered Good Reads. Yes, I know, it's been around for a long time, but I just recently discovered the value in it:  I can actually keep track of the books I've read. I know, that's not exactly groundbreaking, but it's so useful!  I've read so many books over the years that I'm at a point where I can't remember if I've read a book or not. Quite often lately I've downloaded a book, only to discover I've already read it (my memory sucks, so I don't always realize I've read something just by the synopsis).

I use several methods for getting books: 

• Kindle app for Android:  I've abandoned hard-copy books forever, and I read exclusively on my phone. This is my app of choice for reading. Although I buy books from Amazon sometimes, I always check the library and Kindle Unlimited first; books aren't cheap! 
• Kindle Unlimited:  It's $9.99 a month and you can read as many books as you like. I'll admit this isn't my favorite option since most of the authors I like don't have titles here; however, I've found that it's a great way to discover new authors and it only costs me the monthly fee. If I decide I don't like a book I've downloaded, I just "return" it and find something else.
• Overdrive:  This is an app for my phone, which allows me to borrow ebooks from any libraries for which I have a library card. I can usually find a lot of the books I want to read, but it's definitely hit or miss, just like Kindle Unlimited.

I'd joined Good Reads a couple years ago, but really didn't do anything with it. I'd added some friends and see emails coming in from time to time, telling me that Jane recommended I read this book, or John has finished reading that book. I just took a quick glance at the emails and deleted them. Recently, however, I discovered that I could mark all the books I've read as "read," tag books I want to read, and keep track of my reading progress on current books. What's nice, too, are the book recommendation from friends--I've found a few gems this way.

Over the last several weeks I've made an effort to add all the books I've read, which wasn't easy since some I'd read through Overdrive, some through the Kindle app, and some in hard-copy format (I was the geek that carried around The Stand by Stephen King, which was 1,200+ pages and hardcover, during my junior year of high school...in addition to all my books and notebooks). The ones on Kindle were easy, since I could check my order history, or they'd somehow been linked to Good Reads--not sure what magic made that possible. Overdrive wasn't that difficult, either, since I could check my history there, too. But remembering all the hard-copies I've read was tough. In the end my list of "read" books is at 109 right now, but I'm sure I missed some.

Here's a screen shot of my "read" page.

As for what I'm reading, I'm currently reading The Fallen by David Baldacci. It's part of the Memory Man series. The protagonist is a man, Amos Decker, who played pro football, but took a major hit to the head during his first pro game. It resulted in two conditions:  Synesthesia (linking objects with sensory perception, such as seeing the number 4 as the color brown) and hypertymesia (basically, a perfect autobiographical memory). I'm about halfway through and I'm enjoying it. (This author was a recommendation from my late brother--he had great taste in books!)

I've also a number of books to my "want to read" list. Thanks to some suggestions from a blog I read, the list is growing. I've added a bunch of pandemic/apocalypse-type books, which is my current obsession. I also like genres like thriller, murder mystery, horror (along the lines of Stephen King), suspense, books with a small sci-fi or paranormal element (although not full-on sci-fi or paranormal), FBI/CIA/Secret Service thrillers, and other similar genres. I like the classics, too. I'm not really a fan of non-fiction, as I really like to just get lost in a book:  I don't analyze it--I just read it. Romance, fantasy and sci-fi aren't much to my taste, either.

If anyone has recommendations for me, please comment below. (Bonus points for books that take place in the 1800s or earlier! Extra bonus points if there are more than 800 pages--I love a huge book!)

Here's a shot of my "want to read" list.

Cats

Four of my kitties are at the vet today for their annual checkup and vaccinations. Lucky for me it's the youngest ones (Marty, Leia, Arlo and Emily), which means the bill shouldn't be big due to unexpected issues. Most of my cats are older, so more often than not I'm told that something is off in their blood work, or someone is losing weight, or has some other issue. Dental issues are the most common, and those can be really expensive. I'm hoping this visit will be relatively inexpensive and uneventful. I'm bringing all four of them at once and "parking" them for the day. My vet calls it "cat parking" and that just means I drop them in the morning and they get seen at some point during the day, then I pick them up at night. Luckily it's been uneventful this year with the cats.

Marty

Leia

Emily

Arlo

As you can see. Emily and Arlo are siblings and look like twins. The only way to tell them apart is Arlo has some white on his belly and Emily's tail is bent at the tip--not really something you can tell when they're running around, so I often confuse them.

Back Pain

Well, it is what it is. I had my last round of cortisone injections a couple months ago and it took about three weeks for them to wear off. I have the option of going towards the end of summer, but I'm going to wait and see how I feel. For the amount of money it costs (after insurance) and the amount of time they last, it's not worth it right now. I'm managing, just like I have been for almost a year now. I take a half a Percocet at night when I really need something more than acetaminophen. I feel the worst when I'm sitting, but I just try to get up more often. I feel best when I'm working out, which is a good thing. If I couldn't work out I'd likely regain a lot of weight. There are some exercises I can't/shouldn't do, but I still get a really good workout.

Nutrition and Working Out

I'm doing...OK...with my nutrition. I wish I was doing better, but I'm trying. I've started logging my food again, which is really important. I will show it to my trainer each week, which will make me stay on track. I really don't want to show him a journal that lists a bunch of junk food!

My trainer seems to be upping my workouts lately. The last two weeks he's introduced new exercises, which has made my workouts more tiring. But that's a good thing! He added some squats with a dumbbell press (two 10lb dumbbells), lunging while holding a 10lb dumbbell over my head (that was a load of fun...), and a couple other things. I like it, though, because it reinvigorates me--I get tired of the same routine.

Work

UGH. I wish I had something good to say here. Actually, I wish I wasn't even including it here, but it's part of "life lately." I found out recently that my company is being acquired, and I'm not happy about it at all. I've been there for almost four years and I'm happy there.  The culture is great:  fairly relaxed (for a bank), business casual dress, no slackers, great work/life balance, and lots of extracurricular activities. My boss leaves me alone to do my work and treats me like an adult. I can pretty much come and go as I please, and have the option to work from home if I need to for whatever reason. Benefits are great. I have an awesome team that just magically does what they're supposed to do and does it right. We also have a gym, which is only two doors down from my office. This is what I'll probably miss the most, actually. I typically get to work by 7:30 am, I eat my lunch at my desk, disappear into the gym around 4 pm, and then go home when I'm done. I find that having the gym right there is what keeps me consistently working out. It's really going to be tough losing that.

That week was tough and sad. I was thrown into a state of uncertainty, which I really have a hard time with. I actually like a lot of change, as that's what keeps things fresh and challenging, and it's how you grow and learn. What I don't like is not knowing what's going to happen next. Everything is up in the air at the moment. I have no idea yet as to whether I'll get a job offer from the new bank. If I do, it's very likely that job will be almost an hour away since that's where their operations center is.  I've done that commute and I truly don't want to do it again. It's very possible I won't get an offer, though, which means another job search. If I don't get an offer, will I get a good severance package? I'll also need to figure out what I want to do. Do I want to go for the same job I have now? Something similar, but somewhat different? What are my deal-breakers and must-haves? I'm hoping we know something soon, as being in limbo really sucks.

Well, there you have it. This is what's been going on lately. Happy 4th of July, everyone!

This is not one of my cats. I found this online at
http://fortheloveofcatsfl.com.

i won the Streetcat Bob books!

I recently entered a contest on Facebook to win all three Streetcat Bob books. Guess what? I won! The books tell the true story of a stray cat named Bob, who was living on the streets in London, and a man who was down on his luck. They cross paths and become the best of friends. I haven't read them yet; however, I plan to when I have my excess skin removal surgery in February. I'll have plenty of time for reading since I'll be inactive and out of work for a bit. They've made a movie, too. I want to go see the movie, but I'll likely wait and rent it when my cousin comes to visit after my surgery. She's read all three books and loved them, and she wants to see the movie, too.

homemade tabouleh

I recently checked out a few cookbooks from the library, one of which is Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything (Leia is making sure it doesn't fall off the table).  As the name suggests, it gives you all the basics for just about any food you can think of, along with multiple recipe variations.

While flipping through it I found a recipe for tabbouleh that looked pretty easy. I tried tabbouleh once a long time ago and liked it. I've been wanting to shake up my diet lately, so I decided to try making it. It's a mixture of bulgar wheat, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, scallions, parsley, mint and tomatoes.

My team members at work gave me a Whole Foods gift card for my birthday, so I decided to buy the ingredients to make the tabbouleh. I even bought a citrus squeezer, which I've used several times already. (In case you don't know what that is, it's a handheld gadget used to squeeze the juice from citrus fruits like lemons and limes. It extracts the juice while leaving the seeds behind.) Can't believe I ever extracted fresh lemon juice without it!

The recipe called for roughly chopped parsley, leaves and small stems only. Have you ever seen a bunch of parsley? It's not easy to get only the small stems, which means either separating the individual stems and stripping them, or chopping off a large portion at the bottom and losing some of the leaves. Same goes for the fresh mint. And have you ever tried chopping parsley and mint?  It's not difficult, but it's messy. Same goes for seeding tomatoes. Again, not difficult, but kind of tedious and messy. The bulgar prep, on the other hand, was simple:  just soak it in some hot water for 30 minutes, drain it and squeeze out the excess water.

Here's the finished product. It tasted pretty good, but for the amount of prep that goes into it and the price of the ingredients, I'd rather just buy it ready-made.

One caveat:  you may want to check your teeth after eating this. Chopped herbs like to stick to, and in between, your teeth.

woo hoo! free books for me!

Recently Amazon settled a class action lawsuit with Apple, which involved the overpricing of ebooks.  The settlement resulted in Amazon customers getting credits in the form of an electronic gift card.  I got about $35.00.  It didn't take me long to figure out what to buy.  I'm an avid reader, so books, of course!  Two of the books I bought used, so I was able to stretch the $35.00 and get all three.  And this is what I got.

Thug Kitchen:  The Official Cookbook, Eat Like You Give a Fuck
(Yes, that's the name of it and that last part is their tagline.)

If you want a good laugh, appreciate profanity and want to make some good vegan food, check out Thug Kitchen.  The authors are vegan and this website is all about vegan recipes.  But it's written as if you're sitting in the backyard just shooting the breeze with a friend.  Warning, though:  If profanity offends you, don't visit this website.  But if you want to laugh your ass off, go for it.  Anyway, they've created a few cookbooks and I've wanted one for the longest time.  I'm not vegan, but most of their recipes look pretty good.  And, I have to admit, I like the entertainment value they bring. If you want a laugh, watch the trailer for the cookbook here.  Hysterical!

Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey

I got this book on the recommendation of several people that post on a blog I read.  We've made the decision to get ourselves out of debt.  Bob and I sat down to figure out the numbers last weekend...and it wasn't pretty.  We're up to date on everything, but we owe quite a bit.  So, now we need to get out of debt so we can stop worrying about every little unexpected expense that comes along.  It will be very tough, but we can do it. We've already stopped using the credit cards. Now we just need to make a plan to start paying down the balances.  I read the book and I think it has some useful advice, like the Debt Snowball; however, some of it just doesn't make sense to me.  For example, stop contributing to your 401k while paying down debt, even if your company matches 100%. WHAT???!!! NO!  Why would I give up free money? Besides, this is my future retirement.  I'd lose the advantage of free money from my employer, as well as the advantage of time and compounding interest.  I'll use what I can and disregard the rest.  Here's an explanation of the debt snowball method of paying down debt:  debt snowball explanation.

A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen

I found out about this book through a Facebook post I saw on someone's wall.  It's a true story about a stray cat living on the streets and a man who is down on his luck.  They cross paths and become the best of friends.  I haven't read it yet, but my cousin did and she really enjoyed it. He's written other books about his life with Bob, as well as some children's books. And, yes, I also bought this because it's about a cat. No surprise there.  I was very excited to learn that they've made this into a movie, which is due for release in the US November 18, 2016.  That's not too long after my birthday, so this might have to be a belated birthday celebration. :)

larousse gastronomique: i'm just not that into you

I've heard lots of chefs on TV say that their go-to cookbook and reference is Larousse Gastronomique, a huge monster of a book.  They use it took reference cooking terms, ingredients, etc. Being that I love reading and perusing cookbooks, and it has to added perk of being THE reference of choice for chefs, I had this book on my list as the next one to obtain, whether it be new or used.

Bob and I went to the library a couple weeks ago so he could get some books on old houses (ours is old--it was built in 1735).  I naturally ran right over to the cookbook section to see what I could find.  It suddenly dawned on me (see what I did there?) that I should look for Larousse Gastronomique, that way I could browse before I buy.  

I started browsing the shelves, thinking that the books are arranged in the same manner as in the book store.  I totally forgot I was in a library and the books are arranged according to the Dewey decimal system.  I didn't feel like trekking back down to the library's computer so I just looked it up on my phone.  I got the number and then found the appropriate section of the shelf.  Turned out I was way off in the location; I was in the last aisle and I had to be at the end of the third to last aisle.

At last I found the book!  Here it is: it's huge and the cover is colorful.

The book isn't all that pretty inside, though.  As the cover says, it's basically an encyclopedia for the culinary arts. And that's how it's set up:  entries are in two columns per page, there are very limited photos, and the print is small. Pretty much any ingredient you can think of is listed in the book, although I was surprised that crab apples weren't listed, as they are used in jams and jellies. (I have crab apple trees, so it was potentially pertinent information I could have found, but didn't).  As you can see, it even tells you what "dinner" is.  If you don't know what dinner is, you probably need more than this book....

The book also contains recipes for most ingredients listed, which are listed at the end of the entry for the ingredient.  I really didn't care for the way the recipes are laid out, though.  As you can hopefully see here, each recipe is in paragraph form; there's no list of ingredients or steps.  It says to cut x ingredient into pieces and then saute in a pan with x amount of butter.  Then add x amount of another ingredient, which is to be peeled and sliced. I found it difficult to follow this format and I also don't like that there aren't pictures of the finished product (yes, I know this is for real chefs and they don't need pictures, but I do!).  I also found that the recipes are somewhat involved and fussy, but, again, they're geared towards serious chefs.

My overall verdict for this book is that it's a great resource for chefs, but it likely won't be of much use to the typical home cook, unless they're a serious foodie or really want to increase their knowledge.  And the retail price of this book is $75.00 (!), so I'm really glad I decided to borrow it from the library!