What are U reading these days? (PART NINE (2013) (ongoing thread for 2013) Showing 801-850 of 1,110

[Jim]

Wow, Nina. I hope things turn around for you all.

[Werner]

Hang in there, Nina! Our love and prayers are with you.

[Nina]

Well, thanks for your concerns. Man just called about possible mold and said minimum is 1,500. We have one 1,000 deductiable. Oh well, this morning when we were about to leave for the insurance office, we first checked our mail. It seems the medicine package wouldn't fit into the box so it was forced in and now we have a broken mailbox. Figures! However, I have soaked parts of the doll's clothes and ironed the rest and glued parts and she won't be as good but I think good enough. Thankfully, our daughter wasn't seriously injured or worse so that is the good news. Other post will follow with the recipe for Jim.

[Nina]

EGGPLANT PARMESAN:

1 medium eggplant
6 TBS. butter-more if desired
one forth cup chopped onion
1 medium garlic
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cans tomato puree(10 and one half oz cans)
one half teaspoon dried basil leaves
one half teaspoon oregano
4 slices Mossarello cheese
Grated Parmeson cheese

Peel eggplant and cut into one half inch slices. Sprinkle with salt and let stand 10 minutes on paper towels. Rinse eggplant with water, dry on other paper towels.

Melt 3 tbs. of butter and add onion, garlic and mushrooms. Saute until onion is transparent. Remove garlic. Add tomato puree, basil and oregano to onion mixture. Bring to boil, then simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. saute eggplant in 3 Tbs. butter. In a greased casserole(one and a half quart size) arrange alternate layers of eggplant, tomato sauce and cheese slices-ending with tomato sauce. Sprinlkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 20 minutes in 375 degree oven. Enjoy.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Well, thanks for your concerns. Man just called about possible mold and said minimum is 1,500. We have one 1,000 deductiable. Oh well, ... now we have a broken mailbox. Figures! However, I have soaked parts of the doll's clothes and ironed the rest and glued parts and she won't be as good but I think good enough. Thankfully, our daughter wasn't seriously injured"

Nina, I'm glad things are working out for you (except for the mailbox.) :) Glad your daughter is OK. Glad the doll has been "rescued" too.

NOTE: Part of this conversation is at:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1... - See Message #4097.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "... Peel eggplant and cut into one half inch slices. Sprinkle with salt and let stand 10 minutes on paper towels. Rinse eggplant with water, dry on other paper towels. ..."

I see that Nina has partially addressed the issue I mentioned about "draining" the eggplant. I had mentioned getting rid of the bitter juices by pressing the slices in a kitchen towel. I guess paper towels are just as good. :)
See my post at: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1... - Message #4096

[Jim]

Thanks, Nina. Now I'm in a quandary. Yours sounds great, but I found another that seems similar to the one I used to have. I'm going to make Marg make the decision. Obviously, your's fits the amount we'll want far better & I like the addition of mushrooms. We both really like mushrooms.

Eggplant Parmesan - 8 to 10 servings

3 eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
6 cups spaghetti sauce, divided
1 (16 ounce) package mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated 350 oven for 5 minutes on each side.

In a 9x13 inch baking dish spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheeses. Sprinkle basil on top.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

[Jim]

Joy H. wrote: "Jim, about the eggplant slices, my mother used to press them in towels before frying them. I think that was done to remove the bitter taste of the eggplant juices. Have you heard of that?..."

I haven't heard of doing that Joy, but I've always cooked the slices separately before, as in the recipe I just posted. Mom & I made a stir fry with it once & we didn't either.

[Jim]

Nina, that's terrible that the mailman was too lazy to bring the package up to the house. Ours always does, unless he sees me out in the shop or somewhere. Although, we know ours & the alternate driver. We've had the same ones for years. I always give them nice Xmas gifts, too. It's nice to have that sort of stability & relationship with them.

Glad your daughter is alright.

[Nina]

The old saying, "What comes around, goes around," came true this morning after Mass when our priest friend went back to his room and brought me a book to borrow. It turned out it was one he bought with the money I gave him to celebrate his twenty five years as a priest. So far, the book, "Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher," by Timothy Eagan, is excellent. Let me quote here the author's dedication, "In memory of Joan Patricia Eaggan, mother of seven, who filled us with the Irish love of the underdog and of the written word. She was sustained by books until the very end."

[Nina]

Joy, Our mailbox is a slot that you put the mail into and it then falls into a box inside our garage. Actually, we have a very nice mailman and he probably didn't realize that by pushing the package through the slot he broke the inside of the mail slot which is one more thing for a list of repairs. Right now we are "suffering" from the terrible loud noice in the kitchen working to get the mold out of the walls in the basement and trying not to fall over all the rest of the equipment on the floors; cables and hoses etc. I am going to fix a frozen pizza tonight for dinner and we'll eat in the livingroom. All the other places are too noisey.

[Werner]

The Lady in the Loch has been on my radar for years, ever since I read the reviews when it first came out. It was one of the first books I got through BookMooch, some time ago, and I finally got around to starting it yesterday! Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, of course, is a writer I know by reputation; but this is my first actual exposure to her work.

[Nina]

Nina wrote: "Joy, Our mailbox is a slot that you put the mail into and it then falls into a box inside our garage. Actually, we have a very nice mailman and he probably didn't realize that by pushing the packag..."But no matter what we are enduring we are so grateful we aren't in the next state to us; CO. All that devastating rain and we hardly have a drop.

[Jackie]

I finished the 3rd book of the Once Upon a Tale series, 4 stars for each of the three books.
I'm about 3/4 of the way through Lady Chatterley's Lover, which I like a lot. Far more interesting than I expected it to be.
Later, I'll be starting David Gibbins's Atlantis, a scifi action adventure thriller.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina, Werner, and Jackie, thanks for your posts! Interesting readings!

Jackie, a while ago you gave me a box of paperback books. My husband had no books to read this week. So we randomly dug the following out of the box:
The Bodies Left Behind by Jeffery Deaver
He says it's very suspenseful! He seems to be quite drawn in. So thanks for the books!

[Jackie]

Very cool, Joy! My friend Lara gave me the suspenseful books. I'm so glad Eddie likes it.

I still have Pope Joan, I really have to watch that before the Fall TV Season gets under way!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jackie wrote: "Very cool, Joy! My friend Lara gave me the suspenseful books. I'm so glad Eddie likes it. I still have Pope Joan, I really have to watch that before the Fall TV Season gets under way!"

No rush on Pope Joan.

Eddie's mystery book by Deaver is full of twists and turns, according to the GR reviews. No wonder he's concentrating so hard. LOL But he hasn't given up yet. :) I HATE twists and turns, especially when there are a lot of them. :)

[Jackie]

That's what I like best in a mystery/suspense novel. I'm hoping the one I'll be starting later is like that.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

My trouble is that I can't hold all the twists and turns in my head. So I lose track of the plot. When I read The Da Vinci Code, I was absorbed in it until the twists and turns got to be too much. I followed them but then I got annoyed with them. I finished the book but it lost steam for me after a while.

[Nina]

Just a reminder to my goodread friends that you probably don't need but here goes anyway: Do wear the seatbelt and make sure your kids, grandkids and all the rest do also. If my daughter had not been wearing hers on Wednesday when she survived her wreck on the Freeway, she wouldn't be alive today, Her car was totaled. I just heard recently that if Princess Dianna had been wearing hers she would be alive today. Now it's bedtime so no more lectures.

[Jackie]

Those twists in DaVinci Code is what kept my interest. It's amazing how individual we all truly are.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina, that is good advice indeed! Yes, seat belts do save lives! I can't believe the way we used to pile the kids in the car years ago with no seat belts. Times have changed for the good when it comes to safety measures.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jackie wrote: "Those twists in DaVinci Code is what kept my interest. It's amazing how individual we all truly are."

They kept my interest up to a point. I have my limits. LOL

[Jackie]

Cars were made different back then, they were sturdier and took the brunt of the wreck, now cars crumple around us, we definitely need seat belts today.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Cars were BIGGER too! I'm afraid to get into those tiny cars we see nowadays.

[Nina]

We once had a Chevy 2 convertible and my husband would pile a bunch of neighbor kids and ours two deep in some cases and off they'd go to the swimming pool. And no seat belts were even in the car. But, there weren't as many cars on the roads then either.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "... But, there weren't as many cars on the roads then either."

Well, it depended on where you were driving. The cities were always busy. But perhaps cars didn't go as fast as they do today.

[Mary JL]

I have started a new book---Alphabet Juice: The Energies, Gists, and Spirits of Letters, Words, and Combinations Thereof; Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips, and Secret Parts, Tinctures, Tonics, and Essences; With Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory.

I think you might enjoy peak in this one, Joy. It is all about words; letters; wordplay and word origins and is humourous and well written so far.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for telling us. Mary JL. I've put in a request at our library for the book. Sounds like fun!
Alphabet Juice: The Energies, Gists, and Spirits of Letters, Words, and Combinations Thereof; Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips, and Secret Parts, Tinctures, Tonics, and Essences; With Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory

[Nina]

Here is a recommendation: "The Last Train from Llguria," by Christine Dwyer Hickey.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Here is a recommendation: "The Last Train from Llguria," by Christine Dwyer Hickey."

Thanks for the recommendation, Nina.
Last Train From Liguria

[Werner]

My Supernatural Fiction Readers group is about to start an October common read of the series opener of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, Storm Front. I was ready to begin reading a new book today; and since we're so close to October, I thought I'd get an early start. I've been aware of, and interested in, this series from reviews ever since this book was published back in 2000, so I'm delighted to be finally reading it! It's urban fantasy, with a male lead character.

[Jackie]

The Dresden Files are a popular series among friends. I haven't read any but I did see a short-lived TV series. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486657/

I too have a group read this month for SciFi Aficionados Group, Speaker for the Dead. Atlantis isn't what I hoped it would be, too much sidetracking of things I'm not interested in and way too much technological explanations for things like helicopter and armaments, blah!

[Werner]

Jackie, I too watched that series, whenever I had a chance to! I'm told it differs in some respects from the books, though.

[Jim]

We liked the TV series. The books were OK, but I quit around the 6th one. Harry is just too depressing.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Netflix has "The Dresden Files" available for streaming.
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/701...
"Based on Jim Butcher's best-selling novels, this action-filled series follows Harry Dresden, a charismatic but ethically challenged private investigator who also happens to be a genuine wizard hoping to make a profit while atoning his past misdeeds."

[Joy H., Group Founder]

I finally finished reading Confessions of an Actor byLaurence Olivier. A good read. Here's my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Jim]

Blood Rites is the 6th book in the Dresden series & the last one I read, although I have a dozen or so. I see from my review that I quit because of horrible editing. There were far too many logical errors: Harry's staff in 2 places, a manual transmission being put into 'drive', power out yet elevators working, then not & more. The basic story was good, but the errors were just too much.

My review is here:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Nina]

If anyone is interested in Paris in the 1860's I recommmend, "The House I Loved," by Tatiana De Rosnay. She was the author of "Sarah's Key."

[Nina]

Here I go again. No email goodreads for a couple of days.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "If anyone is interested in Paris in the 1860's I recommmend, "The House I Loved," by Tatiana De Rosnay. She was the author of "Sarah's Key.""

Nina, thanks for the recommendation.
The House I Loved

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Here I go again. No email goodreads for a couple of days."

Nina, our group hasn't been busy. So perhaps that's why.

[Nina]

I got this one; maybe the tide has turned.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

That's good, Nina!

[Jackie]

After finishing Atlantis, I tried 'Speaker for the Dead' but I'm just not feeling it. It's back on the shelf for a later date when I'm more into it. Instead I decided on one of my favorite children/YA authors Cornelia Funke's Dragon Rider. I want something light and pleasant.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jackie, "light and pleasant" does it for me too. :)

PS-I'm currently steaming "Pocahontas" (1995) (animation).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114148/?...
"The daughter of a Native American tribe chief and English soldier share a romance when English colonists invade 17th century Virginia."

[Joy H., Group Founder]

PPS-Jackie, about "Dragon Rider", I like the theme of "the true meaning [of?] home." as stated in the description.

[Jackie]

You know more about Dragon Rider than I do! lol I didn't read anything about it, just knowing it's by Cornelia Funke is enough for me to buy it and read it.

[Werner]

Joy, my whole family liked the Pochahontas movie (despite the fact that it's wildly inaccurate historically!). We saw it in our local theater when it was still airing on the big screen. Loved the "paint with all the colors of the wind" song, even if I don't know the actual title!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

I'll look/listen for that song, Jackie.