Ice Cream and Dystopia

I'm reading Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness, the third book in the Chaos Walking trilogy. I received it in the mail as an advanced reader copy and I was soooo excited. It is not coming out until August. I loaned it to a couple of my boys at school who I know really enjoyed the first two volumes, The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer and they thought the conclusion of the series was satisfying and exciting. On the YALSA-BK listserv, one person commented that they put it down and did not finish it. I kind of get that reaction, because I'm finding parts of it slow. But now it is picking up and I can't wait to see what happens because there is a twist in it based on a character from the first two that I want to see what happens. (I hope I didn't give away too much!) I only get to read this book after school until I leave at 4 PM because I keep a book at school to read and then at home I'm reading Last December by Matt Beam. The picture on the cover is of a hockey player and I thought the book would be more about hockey but it's not. I know, I know, don't judge a book by it's cover! Kids ask me for hockey books from time to time and I thought I hit the jackpot at book evaluation where I pick up free books that I review. It's ok so far.



I read some recipes for ice creams in Vegetarian Times today that looked yummy but the last step in the recipes made no sense. It said to "freeze the ice cream according to the manufacturer's instructions." The manufacturer of the ice cream maker, I presume but the ice cream maker mixes the ice cream. When I thought about how my ice cream maker works, I realized I guess it does kind of freezed the ice cream as it's blending it. Anyway, the recipes were for a dark chocolate caramel sorbet, a banana malted ice cream, and a creamy vanilla. I think the names of them were more creative and scrumptious sounding than I just relayed but you get the idea. I think I will be making one of these very soon; I just can't decide which one. I also have to wait until I have room in my freezer for the ice cream bowl because I have to freeze it first and then freeze the ice cream after I make it. Yummmm.

What I am Reading and Cooking Now

Yesterday, my sister chastised me (gave me a look with raised eyebrows) about not writing in my blog more often. She writes on her blog, Prose and Kahn (I came up with that nifty title, thank you very much) EVERYDAY! Blech! No, just kidding. It's very good, I just can't keep up with mine. I just wrote a great paragraph and then lost it, when a patron asked me for help spelling "broccoli." Ack! I'm working at my second job in a library in northern New Jersey. Then I wrote something up in a Word document and discovered one of the limitations of Blogspot--you can't copy and paste from a Word document, for Pete's sake! Anyway, I've been reading and cooking up a storm.



I just finished Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. A large tome, but a page-turner. It tells the story of Ethan Wate trying to cope with high school and supernatural forces in the small southern town of Gatlin, S.C. Ethan can't wait to leave town when he graduates until he meets the new girl in town, Lena Duchannes, the niece of the town shut-in Macon Ravenwood. But then he begins to question whether he's ever fit into this town of people who hate outsiders, even though his family has lived in Gatlin for over a hundred years. When students and parents begin turning on Lena because she's different, an outsider, Macon's niece, and strange things happen when she's around, their portrayal is almost a caricature of southern bigotry. Overall, an enjoyable read sure to appeal to teens.



I have been cooking a lot on most weekends, making lots of healthy meals for me and my mom. I'm so happy spring/summer is here because the bounty at my neighborhood farmer's market just keeps growing. I wish I were more adventurous with what I try, but alas, I'm not. I get the standard fare that I know I like such as Swiss chard, spinach, and salad lettuces. I bought some rhubarb and strawberries a few weeks ago but did not have the ambition to make a pie, so I made a crisp. The strawberries were soooo delicious! The next week the strawberries were too tart. Jersey blueberries are in season right now and are deeeeliciously blueberryee. Does that make sense? I can't wait for peaches to be in season, so I can make a peach-blueberry pie. Hope I have the energy but now I have an air conditioner which makes all the difference.