J’s Comments (group member since Dec 21, 2013)

J’s comments from the CPL's Book a Week Challenge group.

It's Thursday! I've been so busy that I haven't had the chance to create this thread. Don't worry though, Joanna will return soon! This week's poll can be found here. We want to know Which US president read an average of a book a day?

This month the challenge is to read a cookbook with a savory recipe in it.

What is a savory recipe? Well, something savory is full of flavor, delicious and tasty - but it usually refers to something that is the opposite of sweet or salty in the cooking world. So - I guess that means pretty much anything that is yummy and not sweet or salty. Just in case you weren't sure though here is a list of books in our catalog with Savory in the title.

Savory books at the Chesapeake Public Library

Tell us what you make - share your recipe - enjoy a new cookbook.

Welcome to the October Dewey Decimal Challenge.

This month we are challenged with reading an item from the 800-899 range.

The 800's are the Literature section and I tend to stay far away from this section. What a great challenge for me, huh?

Here's an interesting read I found in our catalog: From Homer to Harry Potter: A Handbook on Myth and Fantasy



Do you have any recommendations that I might enjoy - something that will also take me from my comfort zone?

What do you plan on reading for this challenge?

Need help choosing something for yourself? Check out our library catalog.

Hello everyone - While Joanna is away - this cat is going to play.

What are you reading this first week of October?

I'm currently reading Me Before You - I want to watch the movie but felt compelled to read the book first. I'm half way through and I am definitely enjoying it.



This week's trivia is The longest sentence ever created is found in which work? Vote on our Book Trivia page.

Guess I will try to get back into Pet Sematary - I started it last month but haven't picked it up recently - five other books called to me instead

Trying to determine what my next book will be - I'm reading three right now but they are not calling to me to read them - so I keep picking something else up...

I'm finishing up the Pushing Limits series - and reading Lies we tell ourselves...

I do not even think to look at how many stars was given to a book in goodreads. I do however read the reviews - I tend to go with the 3 stars but I will read the 4-5 or 1-2 ratings.

Thing is - I don't usually read reviews until I have started a book - if I'm not feeling the book I will see what others say about it to see if their reason is the same reason I'm have a difficult time. If I am having a hard time putting it down - I read the reviews to see who else loved it as much as I have been so far. It is a weird way to get into the reviews but it makes me feel better in my choices and often I feel a connection to others about the books I have chosen.

In honor of this genre challenge I will play Clue with my daughter - I will probably not read a mystery though. I haven't found any that have captured my interest before - but please feel free to give me suggestions.

Is it September already? My daughter started back to school Tuesday, as did many other public school students in our area. For me this means - extra curricular activities, school events, and work.

So on those days that I just don't have the time to cook I love using my slow-cooker. I make loads of things - but my family loves my pot roast the best.

Here's a recipe for my pot roast if you are interested:

For a 6 qt slow-cooker or roaster oven.

✱ 1 - 1 1/2 lbs Beef Chuck Roast - I really use whatever is the cheapest so if a round or bottom is cheapest use it
✱ 2 oz package of Dry French Onion Soup Mix
✱ 22 oz can of Cream of Mushroom soup
✱ 1 - 2 lbs baby carrots - I use 2 lbs of carrots because we like lots of carrots
✱ 1 - 4 large potatoes - I use 2 potatoes because we don't like lots of potatoes
If you use 2 lbs of carrots you will on have room for 1 or 2 potatoes - if you want 3 or 4 potatoes use 1 lb of carrots
✱Water
Optional
✱Celery - 1 or 2 stalks
✱15 oz jar of onions drained

Fork your roast. Take a fork and stab your roast in several places. Rub in any seasonings you like. I use pepper, garlic powder, and Adobo all purpose seasoning.

Spray a large pan with cooking spray and heat it on high. Place roast on pan to sear all the sides - make sure they are brown but not burned. Once all the sides of the roast are browned place it in the slower cooker.

Peel the potatoes and cut into quarters or smaller.

Position the carrots and the cut up potatoes around the roast in the slow-cooker. If you are using celery slice the stalks so they are approximately 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick and place them around the roast.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the 22 oz can of Cream of Mushroom soup and the 2 oz dry package of Onion soup mix with 22 oz of water. (I find filling the can of Cream of Mushroom soup the easiest way of doing this). Pour the mixture over the roast and vegetables. If the roast is not covered with the mixture add water until it is covered.

Turn your slow cooker to low - if you have an all in one with a temp gauge set it at 250 degrees. Cook for 8-10 hours. The roast will be done after 8 hours but we have found that cooking it longer make the meat so wonderful that we cook it longer. Serve it up in a bowl or on a plate.

If you want more slow-cooker recipes visit the Chesapeake Public Library catalog.

My plans for this week and the coming weekend are to finish the last five Abbi Glines adult fiction that I haven't read yet and then move on...

I'm currently reading Pet Sematary -just because- and if I finish it - it shall be my first completed Stephen King novel - I have attempted Misery and It in the past...

I have also gotten a free trial of Amazon Unlimited - which allows you to read/listen to ebooks for 9.99 a month - we will see how I like it and if I will keep it...

I have several books in the line up -

I'm on one of my Abbi Glines kicks again... I super love her romance stories - I needed some more adult material in my life recently - YA was starting to get annoying - so I have recently read three of Abbi's books this past week and have two more to start :)

I agree with Julie - I used to push through every book that I picked up even if I didn't like it - but now if I get 100 pages in and I'm not feeling it - I CAN it... but if I do have some interest and I'm just not sure about it - I will come to goodreads and read the reviews - maybe I have just not given it a long enough chance - who knows

I have started a list on goodreads of books abandon that weren't to my liking and one that I have abandoned but may return to

:) I like this post

Real life has not gotten in the way of my reading - but bad book choices have slowed it down - I just finished What You Left Behind last night - I finally decided to give up on a couple that I've been reading for a couple of months and just couldn't get into though so maybe more perfect for me books are on the way now

I know, I know... I have fallen behind. For those of you still reading new cookbooks each month and trying the different challenges this month we are focusing on lunch recipes.

School is getting ready to start up again soon - and I need inspiration on what to pack for my child's lunches. Did you pack or buy your lunch? I bought mine and my favorite was the rib-i-que sandwiches. What was your favorite school time lunch? What is your go to lunch now?

Need inspiration for new lunch ideas? Check out these cookbooks from the Chesapeake Public Library.

Lunches

Just finished Keeping You a Secret and now looking for something to read myself.

I like both polls :)

I'm competitive! I like to see the number of books I read go up each year - and tend to read a lot more than 52 - but I love logging and talking about what I'm reading and finding like minded people!

My advice is - if you find yourself deciding to do other things than read your current book or you are groaning when thinking about reading it - Chuck it!