Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion
Tower Teams XI
>
First Class Lounge (Pre Challenge Chat)
Denise wrote: "There are two reasons I could never become vegan:Cheese and ice cream. Cannot live without those."
Same. There's no way.
My sister was given a personal training food and nutrition program as well as a workout plan, and it included eliminating dairy completely.
I told her I'd absolutely support her, but I'm also thinking, "Nope no way, not for me. I cannot agree to this. Ever."
Like I said, there's really good vegan ice cream, and not just sorbets 😅 and you don't even need to be vegan to try it :P
My mom can't eat dairy because it gives her migraines and my step-dad has been vegan his whole life so their house always has fake dairy products. Some of it is really good like some brands of ice cream (I like Ben & Jerry's). But I just don't like the cheese. It's getting better--it melts okay now-- but I still am not fond of it. My mom's favorite cheese is hard to get so we have to pick some up when we're in Spokane, a 5 hour drive from us. :)
I have never quite understood the logistics behind milking an almond or a soy bean or oats or the like. I didn't think those non-mammalian food products had udders. But, what do I know. Teeny tiny bucket and a teeny tiny milking stool...
Just out of curiosity, have any of you tried the impossible burger or the like? I am curious, but not quite curious to give it a go.
Yes. The burger is really good if it's "dressed". (I prefer pants over a skirt.) I eat it like any other burger with ketchup, bun, pickles, etc., and it's really good but I don't think it tastes like beef.
Jenny wrote: "OH MY GOD!!!! LOOK AT THOSE CHEEKS!!!HE ALREADY ATE THE CHEESE!!!
WE'RE DOOMED!!!"
LOL
Tammie wrote: "I recommend the cheese section at Trader Joe’s if you have that store…quite a diverse selection and affordable. My husband eats a lot of cheese…fav is cotswold cheese…UK I think…very yummy…pairs ..."
Yeeeeeeesssss! It's all about the Trader Joe's cheese section!
Mod
"OMG! this is one of the best chipmunk pics ever!! love it & your google-fu!
Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "My mom can't eat dairy because it gives her migraines and my step-dad has been vegan his whole life so their house always has fake dairy products. Some of it is really good like some brands of ice ..."Kelly, totally agree, im yet to find a vegan cheese i like , i can cope if its a small amount melted (pizza / burger) but as for a sandwich , i just go without
Jenny wrote: "I have never quite understood the logistics behind milking an almond or a soy bean or oats or the like. I didn't think those non-mammalian food products had udders. But, what do I know. Teeny tin..."
Ive tried the impossible burger ( when its the only option at a restaurant) but i need lots of toppings. Ive not eaten meat since i was about 8 and have no inclination to eat anything pretending. But i can see it has plus points for a lot of people
Richard wrote: "I shall call him Mr Chonks"😂😂😂
..and if anyone can point me to a vegan rum & raisin ice cream, it would me much appreciated 😁😁
Wow, that's a long time. I've been vegetarian off and on during my whole adult life, starting when I left for college. The longest period was ten years. I've never been vegan though. Just my family. (My dad is vegetarian now, too. My sister used to be vegan. My mom was at the beginning of her relationship with my stepdad because she was trying to look like they had more in common.)There usually aren't that many flavors of imitation ice cream. There's a vegan ice cream parlor in Seattle that has a lot of flavors but I was sitting down while my friends got the ice cream so I don't know what they had. But it was $7 for a scoop that was about half the size of a Baskin & Robbins scoop. So basically $14
a scoop. It was good but not worth that much.
Fortunately my hubby was vegatarian and all our kids were brought up the same and theres about 4 of us now vegan
I'd eat that way if someone cooked for me. :)
Youll have to pop over if you in the area Kelly 😄
Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "I'd eat that way if someone cooked for me. :)"Same.
Christina wrote: "Like I said, there's really good vegan ice cream, and not just sorbets 😅 and you don't even need to be vegan to try it :P"Jenny wrote: "I have never quite understood the logistics behind milking an almond or a soy bean or oats or the like. I didn't think those non-mammalian food products had udders. But, what do I know.
Teeny tin..."
I tried one. It was a decent frozen dessert, but it was not ice cream, which by definition is made with milk and cream. So the vegan stuff is NOT ice cream and I could tell.
I do respect the commitment of people who have gone vegan. I can do without meat and leather, but not dairy. It is one of my life pleasures.
I’m dairy free but not by choice 😩 dairy intolerance is so tough! I definitely miss pizza and ice cream!
I'm vegetarian (been vegetarian for at least five years now) and do enjoy fake meat, but I know it's not going to taste exactly like meat and I'm fine with that. At a restaurant on Saturday, I had a really tasty blt on a bagel that had tempeh bacon and vegan mayonnaise. It was delicious.
Jenny wrote: "Keely wrote: "Just dropping in with the bombshell that is I don't like cheese... or wine. I've tried a few gins but I'm not much of a drinker unless it's a special occasion."I have a bumper stick..."
Cheese is good any time, especially while watching the Badgers and Packers. That sentiment might be that I am from Wisconsin as well.
And it goes without saying that those from Wisconsin are wonderful.Big cheesy wave to Cilla!
I've never been vegetarian or vegan, but I do enjoy some vegan/vegetarian options in my dishes. These days, it seems like Californians have mastered how to make healthy or vegan food delicious.
My 8 year old granddaughter won't eat vegetables but loves tofu. Today I asked her what her favorite food was and she said tofu. I think it's because we'd been talking about it and she couldn't think of anything else but it's cool I think. She likes it both fried and steamed.
Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "Mine is really bad. I've tried lactase and it doesn't do much. I need Gas-X, too, and Tylenol and ... :) I actually haven't tried lactase with cheese. I should. Cheese isn't as bad as milk or ice c..."Kelly … I am the same. I miss ice cream too, lactose free ice cream is not good. I miss my burrata ! Hard cheeses have little lactose Parmesan and cheddar.
Yeah, there are some cheeses that don't cause me as much grief. Cheddar in small amounts is okay but I had a grilled cheese sandwich the other day where the person making it for me put a so much cheese on it that the grease actually turned me off cheese for a while even before it did me in. I use so little parmesan when I have it that I don't worry about it, either. But it's the soft cheeses I like best. Baked brie is amazing.
Here's a question not related to wine or dairy (but feel free to continue this discussion as well. Mr. Chonks is my favorite)...I tend to read my comfort genres almost exclusively, but I always say I'm going to branch out. If you were going to recommend a book (from any genre) that would be great for people who don't normally read that genre, what would it be? What's a good "gateway book" to get people hooked?
For me, the Murderbot Diaries were a great gateway to Sci Fi that is not my usual genre, but I am reading more books in that genre than before, thanks to this awesome series. 🥰
Off the top of my head, and not knowing the genres you don't usually read...Space Opera-
Magical Realism-
Fantasy-
Science Fiction-
Dystopian-
Horror-
Mystery-
Literary Fiction-
Humor-
I could keep listing ad nauseam, but I have to go to work.
A good gateway book for thriller in my opinion would be The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. I read it in this group as a BOM and it opened my eyes to some lighter thrillers that were suspenseful but not freaky.
Denise wrote: "Here's a question not related to wine or dairy (but feel free to continue this discussion as well. Mr. Chonks is my favorite)...I tend to read my comfort genres almost exclusively, but I always s..."
I'm not really a fantasy reader, but my husband is. He recommended I read the Dresden series. I didn't get through all of them, but I enjoyed the ones I did read.
MelanieJoy wrote: "A good gateway book for thriller in my opinion would be The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. I read it in this group as a BOM and it opened my eyes to some lighter thrillers that were suspenseful bu..."ohh that is a good rec! I actually want to re-read it soon as there's a movie coming out on Netflix at some point this year as far as I know!
Well this might be a bit far for you but I and a ton of women love M/M romance. Most in the genre have sex but not all of them. I tried to choose books that had little to no sex. I just love seeing men be emotional and romantic and yet still be men, and without the gender dynamics of regular romance which is usually sexist even the ones that aren't supposed to be. Anyway, these are all M/M romance books that I gave 5 stars to, just in different sub-genres. If I had to choose just one it would be
(my fave M/M book) but I don't know if you like thrillers. Probably the best "gateway" book is the most mainstream one here,
which they made a mainstream movie out of. Probably the most literary is
. The author, T.J. Klune, has become fairly mainstream because he's so talented. His books get better and better and he wins more and more awards.Thriller
(my fave M/M book)
(my second fave M/M book)Urban Fantasy
High Fantasy
Contemporary
(mainstream, they made a mainstream movie.)Military
Historical
Horror
Western
(New Zealand)Sports
Steampunk
Humor (contemporary)
Mystery
Adventure
Science Fiction
Not sure what genre, literature?
(the author is pretty mainstream)Nonfiction/memoirs
BDSM & menage memoir (I think it's fake nonfiction personally) not my usual cuppa but this one was very good
(gay memoir, not M/M)(I was honored to have dinner with him and a small group of people when he came to a book signing. He's pretty famous> Kind of an Oscar Wilde character and absolutely hilarious.
Christina wrote: "MelanieJoy wrote: "A good gateway book for thriller in my opinion would be The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. I read it in this group as a BOM and it opened my eyes to some lighter thrillers that ..."There's also a second book out this summer! The Woman in Suite 11
I am loving these recommendations! My TBR list is getting longgggg.
Gosh, my TBR just for M/M was at 1379 books I think. I got it down to two hundred something. But it doesn't go down because most of what I read are series and when I'm done with one I often then add the next one. :)My actual TBR is 2540, but that really isn't as bad as it sounds considering it's all genres including nonfiction, how-to, crafts, children's books, reference, etc. I'm really not reading much other than cozy mysteries and M/M right now, (no idea why the cozy mystery thing...) I should still go through it and clean my TBR up.
Kelly,I just finished a little book you may like.(?)
.It pop-history style, buy really entertaining.
Denise wrote: "Christina wrote: "MelanieJoy wrote: "A good gateway book for thriller in my opinion would be The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. I read it in this group as a BOM and it opened my eyes to some light..."oh wow I had no idea!! But I do assume Cabin 10 is getting a sequel because of the movie. Not sure we would have needed one 🥲 (both the sequel and the movie, but one of my favourite actresses is in the movie so I'm fine with that one hah)
Melindam wrote: "Kelly,I just finished a little book you may like.(?)
.It pop-histor..."
I'll actually add this too!!
Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "Gosh, my TBR just for M/M was at 1379 books I think. I got it down to two hundred something. But it doesn't go down because most of what I read are series and when I'm done with one I often then ad..."Cozy mysteries are kind of addictive if you get a good writer. I'm working on Emmaline Duncan's and Vivien Chien's right now.
I cleaned up my TBR during the Covid months and deleted a few hundred that I wasn't interested in anymore, but I need to do it again.
One of my favorite cozy mystery author's is Donna Andrews. I'm re-reading all her books this year and they still are just as good the second time.
RachelG. wrote: "One of my favorite cozy mystery author's is Donna Andrews. I'm re-reading all her books this year and they still are just as good the second time."I've actually never read her. Are they funny? Or am I thinking of someone else...
Denise wrote: "RachelG. wrote: "One of my favorite cozy mystery author's is Donna Andrews. I'm re-reading all her books this year and they still are just as good the second time."I've actually never read her. A..."
Not very funny but really focus on family helping out to solve the mystery. They kind of remind me of Stephanie Plum books in a way but the MC isn't stupid.
I’ve been seeing Donna Andrews in my library search once I searched for similar to “Every time I go on Vacation Someone Dies”. I May check her out!
RachelG. wrote: "Denise wrote: "RachelG. wrote: "One of my favorite cozy mystery author's is Donna Andrews. I'm re-reading all her books this year and they still are just as good the second time."I've actually ne..."
Ok, thanks. I'll check them out. It's so hard to tell if cozies are serious or silly because they all have silly titles. 😂
MelanieJoy wrote: "I’ve been seeing Donna Andrews in my library search once I searched for similar to “Every time I go on Vacation Someone Dies”. I May check her out!"I just got approved for an advanced copy of No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding! It might have to be an early Tower Teams read.
For fantasy/sci fi I would recommend
I just finished this and it is a cross between fantasy and sci fi. I laughed all the way through it.any of the Murderbot Series so looking forward to the tv series
this was a gateway book for me to science fiction from romance.
Nothing But Reading Challenges
Books mentioned in this topic
The Moose Jaw (other topics)The Moose Jaw (other topics)
Dungeon Crawler Carl (other topics)
Stranger in a Strange Land (other topics)
No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding (other topics)
More...
We put the empty threads up since Goodreads limits how many threads we can add an hour.
Teams will be up by the end of the week so everyone can get sorted and ready to go for May 17.