My Top Ten Favorite Books

I’ve read a lot of books in my life.  Before I discovered Goodreads, I didn’t keep track of what I read.  Now, though, I always add a book I’ve read to my “Read” bookshelf on my Goodreads account.  You can check out my Goodreads profile by clicking here.

Having read so many books, I definitely have a list of ones I haven’t likes so much and ones that I have.  Today I’m going to share my top ten favorite books (in no particular order), as well as give you their Goodreads link.  The link will give you a synopsis, reviews on the book, and let you know if it is part of a series or not.  All images are from Goodreads.  Spoiler:  There is A LOT of Gillian Flynn on this list, because she is my all-time favorite author.

1.  Sharp Objects –Gillian Flynn

            Ok, LOVED this book.  I heard it is being turned into a TV mini series and I can only hope that it is true.  In true Gillian Flynn fashion, there is a major plot twist in this book and every single page will leave you on the edge of your seat.  Beware, though.  It is a little graphic at some parts.

2.  Leap of Faith - Danielle Steel

When I was a pre-teen, I thought reading Danielle Steel made me sound more like a sophisticated and grown-up teenager, mostly because Jessica Simpson loved to read it when going on road trips with Nick Lechey on the show Newlyweds.  I know, I know... so I read a lot of Danielle Steel and actually ended up enjoying quite a few of her books.  I have read Leap of Faith at least seven times, and I have loved it every time.  It is a heart warming story of triumph and I highly recommend.

3.  Ransom - Danielle Steel

Another Danielle Steel I read thinking I was super cool but ended up loving and reading many times into my adult years.  It is a story of loss, circumstance, and suspense that had me reading as fast as I could to see if the children are saved.  And left me wanting to take a vacation to Lake Tahoe.

4.  Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn

 

I read Gone Girl a few years ago and totally had a fan girl moment when they announced they were making a book adaption AND that Gillian Flynn would be involved in writing the screenplay.  I've read this twice, the first time because it sounded good and the second time to refresh before seeing the movie.  This book introduced me to the epic plot twists that are in Gillian's novels and trust me, you won't see this one coming.

5.   Dark Places - Gillian Flynn

So if you haven't read Gillian Flynn or caught on by now, her work can be quite dark and graphic and Dark Places is no exception.  This book was also turned into a movie starring Charlize Theron but I personally didn't think it was as good as the book.  If you're into suspense, read this.  Also, this is the last Gillian Flynn book on this list, I promise.  Only because she doesn't have anymore outside of the ones on this list though....

6.   Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers - Mary Roach 

 Ok, I promise I don't always like dark and creepy books...but this one might creep you out.  It is non-fiction and explores what cadavers go through during autopsies, science experiments (when bodies are donated to science after death), and what the body goes through to prep for burial or cremation.  Before business school, I was in the medical field, so this was really interesting to me.

7.  Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Paterson

 This might be a flashback for some of you to way back in your middle school years, but even as an adult Bridge to Terabithia is a favorite.  It is such a good story of unwavering friendship between two children and honestly, I used to "play" Bridge to Terabithia in my backyard with one of my friends all of the time.  This one gets sad, though, so don't read without tissues nearby.

8.  My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult 

 I know some of you are already groaning with this one, but hear me out.  If you have watched the movie adaption of this book (starring Abigail Breslin and Cameron Diaz) but you haven't read the book, forget everything you know about the movie and READ THE BOOK!  If you have read the book and not yet watched the film, DO NOT WATCH THE MOVIE!!!  Seriously, the movie was AWFUL and the ending of the film was 100% opposite of the book.  It honestly angered me.  The book is SO good and has a major plot twist at the end.  The book- not so good and no plot twist at all.  Please trust me on this one.

9.   A Child Called "It" - Dave Pelzer

 Ok, by now you're probably thinking I only love dark or sad books, when in reality I love the Young-Adult genre and lovey stories.  This, however, is not one of those books.  This is a non-fiction work in which the author speaks about his endurance of one of the worst cases of child abuse ever documented in California history.  It will leave you crying and rooting for Dave as a child and it an unforgettable tale.  It will definitely make you hug your kids a little tighter and thank your parents a little more often.  There are 4 books total by this author and his story.

10.  Fatal Distraction - Emmi Fredericks 

This is a humorous novel about a girl who is a self-admitted celeb-aholic.  She is addicted to all celebrity gossip to the point that is begins to ruin her life.  I enjoyed this particularly because my guilty pleasure is celebrity gossip (but not like this lady's).  It also has humorous "tips" throughout the book on giving up celebrities for good.  A nice, light, funny read.

So there you have it- my top ten books.  I also enjoy a lot of young-adult stuff and dystopian books.  If you've read any of these, feel free to start a discussion with me on it!  I love to talk about books and my thoughts on them with other people.

How to Make a London Fog

This week, I thought I would share a fabulous recipe with you.  A London Fog, first invented in Vancouver, Canada (not London) is a tea drink made with Earl Grey black tea, frothed milk, vanilla, and sugar.  It is also known as an Earl Grey Tea Latte or a Vanilla Tea Misto. 

So, let’s get started!  This is a super quick recipe and is perfect on a chilly and rainy morning snuggled up with a book.   You’ll need:

            -2 teaspoons of Earl Grey black tea (I like Earl Grey Crème)

            -8 ounces of water

            -1 tablespoon of sugar

            -1/2 cup of milk, creamer, or half & half

            -1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

First things first, add your sugar to your mug.  You’re going to need a mug big enough to hold 12 ounces.

I use German rock sugar.  It sweetens while bringing out the flavor of the tea instead of changing it like white granulated sugar does.  It is kind of hard to explain but once you try it, you’ll understand.

Next, add your tea.  If you’re using loose-leaf tea, you’ll need a strainer.  Normally, your tea ratio would be 1 teaspoon for every 8 ounces, but since we’re adding milk, we’re making it stronger than that.  If you’re using bagged tea, use two tea bags instead of one.  Next, add your water.  Black tea should be steeped at 195F degrees for 3 minutes.  DO NOT STEEP LONGER THAN 3 MINUTES!  Steeping tea for longer than the recommended steep time will never make your tea stronger, it will just make it bitter.  If you want stronger tea, add more tea but stick to the correct time.

Fun Fact:  Keurig brewers generally brew at the perfect temperature for black tea.  So, I am cheating and using this instead of waiting for my electric stove to boil a teapot.  Seriously, I hate my stove.

While you are waiting for the 3 minutes to pass, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to ½ cup of milk.  Now here is where I really cheat.  You’ll want to heat/steam your milk.  Rarely do I do this on the stove (see above vent about electric stove top).  I pop my Pyrex measuring cup in the microwave and heat the milk/vanilla for 60 seconds.  That seems to steam it at just the right amount to really get a good froth.  Like I said before, you can also use half & half or a liquid creamer, but I find that I get the best froth out of regular milk.

Once the milk is heated, get frothing!  I use a nice, battery operated milk frother I got at Meijer for $9.99.  If you don’t have one of these, a hand whisk will work fine but definitely won’t give you the foam that really makes the drink.  See the below picture for beautiful frothy peaks.

Hopefully, you set a timer for the tea and haven’t forgotten about it.  Remove the steeper or tea bags and stir so the sugar is fully dissolved.  You won’t want to stir after you combine the tea and milk or you’ll lose the froth that makes it a latte.  Once you’ve removed the tea and the milk is frothed, pour the milk into your mug, using a spoon to scrape out any stubborn foam that might have stayed in the measuring cup.

Ta-da!!!  I had to switch mugs because once I removed my steeper I noticed I had no room for milk and foam.  You can see the lovely pile of foam on top of the tea.  It is one of my favorite drinks and is a nice way to switch up a regular cup of tea.  You can use any variation of Earl Grey for this recipe (crème, lavender, etc.).  A variation of this is available at Starbucks (just ask for an Earl Grey tea latte).  Honestly, I wouldn't recommend getting it there.  They give it to you with the bag in the cup.  So, if you're using the drive thru and are unable to remove the bag at the 3 minute mark, the tea will definitely come out bitter and unpleasant by time you get to where you are going.  If you want to try it dining in, that might be a little better since it won't steep for too long.

Try it out and let me know what you think in the comments below!

E-Reader Buzz: Are Paper Books Becoming Obsolete?

Image from Google; Copyright Taylor Argenzio

(Disclaimer:  I am not being paid in any way for advertisement in this post.  These thoughts are my own opinions and I am not being sponsored by any products or companies mentioned.)

Did you know the idea of an electronic reader (or e-reader) dates back to the 1930’s?!  Crazy, right?!  A man, Bob Brown, who saw his first talking motion picture went home and wrote about “readies” (after “talkies, the talking motion picture).  He said the machine would be “a simple reading machine which I can carry or move around, attach to any old electric light plug and read hundred-thousand-word novels in 10 minutes…” (Schuessler, 2010)  Brown died in 1959, not living to see the first e-reader hit the market in 1998.  Since then, Kobo, Amazon, Sony, and Barns and Noble have gotten in on the e-reader action. 

I know plenty of people who swear by traditional paper books.  They love the feel of it in their hands and the smell of it by their face.  That’s cool.  I used to be one of those people, too.  I tend to like to read in bed, though, and I am a person who likes to be on their side.  So, if I weren’t at the perfect spot in my book, it would be awkward to hold.  I have dropped a book on my face too many times to count.  My manager at work told me about e-readers back in 2009, when they were just starting to pick up speed.  She showed me her Amazon Kindle (the very first one).  It was bulky but still light compared to most novels, had the ability to store about a thousand books at a time with essentially an unlimited amount on “the cloud,” and had 3G to be able to download a book anywhere (without a monthly bill to pay).  I was sold and got the 2^nd generation Kindle for Christmas. 

Since then, I’ve owned the Amazon Kindle 2^nd gen., the Kindle Fire (hated it), and iPad, and my current love- the Kindle Paperwhite 5^th gen..  I absolutely adore the true e-readers (not the tablets with a reading app like the iPad and the Kindle Fire).  My Paperwhite is gold to me- incredibly lightweight, fits in my purse, holds thousands of books, has a soft backlight so I don’t need a bulky book light anymore, AND has Goodreads built in.  Major plus with Goodreads because I use it all the time and my Kindle will update suggestions for me based on what I have shelved in Goodreads.  Amazon released the Kindle Oasis about two weeks ago, and it looks pretty cool, but I stand by my trusty Paperwhite.

As convenient as the e-readers are, they’re already dropping off in sales.  This article from last year states that only 12 million e-reader or e-ink devices were sold in 2014, down from 20 million in 2011.  That is a pretty big decline!  But why is it happening?  I personally don’t understand it, and that is probably because I am bias and LOVE my Kindle, not to mention I don’t like dropping books on my face in bed.  One thing I don’t foresee happening, though, is digital books making paper books obsolete.  I think there will always be traditional books, co-existing with the digital world to make everyone happy.  What are your thoughts and what do you prefer?  Let me know in the comments below!

Finally, click here to check out my latest book review on Emily Giffin’s The One and Only.

Reference:

Schuessler, J. (2010, April 8). The Godfather of the E-Reader. Retrieved April 23, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/books/review/Schuessler-t.html?pagewanted=all

Yes, There is a Difference Between Loose and Bagged Tea!

Did you know there is a difference between loose-leaf tea and bagged tea?  I didn’t either until a few years ago.

Back-story:  My husband used to be interested in pipe tobacco.  He could tell me a good deal about it and when I asked why he knew so much, his response was, “If I’m going to spend money on something, I do my research about it and want to know what I’m putting my money into.”

Flash forward three years.  My co-worker told me about a place in the mall that sells “real tea” and if I enjoyed bagged tea, I had to try it.  She was talking about Teavana, the Starbucks of Tea (who also happens to be partnered with Starbucks).  I walked in curious and walked out with a receipt saying I spent $100 in a blur that I couldn’t quite remember because I was in tea-heaven.  It was then that I decided I needed to do more research on what I was spending money on, just like my husband did with his pipe tobacco.

That is when I discovered (in personal experience and in research) that there is a difference between bagged tea and loose-leaf tea.  

Reference the above picture.  On the left, there is a teaspoon of Earl Grey black loose-leaf tea and on the right are the contents of one bag of Earl Grey black tea.  As you can see, the bagged tea looks almost like ground coffee.  That is because it is essentially the crumbs and dust of the loose tealeaves.  So what does this mean in terms of taste?

When you break a tealeaf, you release essential oils and aromas that are needed to give your cup of tea flavor and health benefits.  The dust that is used to make bagged tea are the broken off parts of full leaves, meaning the essential oils and aromas have already been released and evaporated.  This robs your cup of tea from numerous health benefits, flavors, and aromas.

In addition to that, tealeaves need room to expand and move through the water.  When you confine the leaves to a bag, the leaves don’t have the room they need to fully release their deliciousness, again robbing you of flavor and aromas.  Here is an infographic from TeaWithMeBlog.com as a quick reference.

 

So now you know!  Generally when I post about tea or post tea recipes, I’ll be using loose-leaf tea.  If that isn’t an option for you, that’s ok!  Shoot me a message and I can help you using a bagged substitute.

Finally, this week’s read!  Currently, I am reading The One & Only by Emily Giffin, which I am enjoying on my Amazon Kindle Paperwhite e-reader.  I love me some chick-lit and Emily Giffin is gold for that.  You can check out the info on this book on Goodreads by clicking here.  I’ll post my review on that next week.  Until then, happy steeping and happy reading!