Just Curious…What Have You Been Reading This Summer?

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Good morning! How is your week going? Mine has been great. I was a wee bit tired from being out of town last week and then waking up on Monday at 2:30 and not going back to sleep but I have caught up on my sleep, rejuvenated myself at yoga and now I am savoring the hot, steamy, sunny weather. Now that pumpkin spice, ghosts and goblins and tartan is everywhere I am savoring the waining days of summer.

In the afternoon I love to sit of the porch and read and lately I have been reading a lot. So I thought I would share a few of the books I loved. 

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 Hotel Sacher by Rodica Doehnert. 

From Amazon:

Vienna, 1892. Against all odds, at the height of Belle Époque splendor, Anna Sacher has taken possession of her late husband’s hotel, across the street from the famous opera house. At a time when controlling such a business was an opportunity afforded only to men, Anna is as vigilant as she is relentless. Now, under her ownership, the Hotel Sacher thrives amid the tumult of a changing continent, even as intrigue follows in the shadows.

Through its opulent halls stride visitors from all walks of life, including some of the most glamorous figures of Viennese society—opera singers, princes, princesses—and the maids and manservants who wait on them.

Some guests will find romance. Some will unearth secrets. And some will discover much more than they expected…

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!00 Days of Happiness by Fausto Brizzi. 

From Amazon:

What would you do if you knew you only had 100 days left to live? For Lucio Battistini, it’s a chance to spend the rest of his life the way he always should have—by making every moment count.

Imperfect, unfaithful, but loveable Lucio has been thrown out of the house by his wife and is sleeping at his father-in-law’s bombolini bakery when he learns he has inoperable cancer. So begin the last hundred days of Lucio’s life, as he attempts to right his wrongs, win back his wife (the love of his life and afterlife), and spend the next three months enjoying every moment with a zest he hasn’t felt in years. In 100 epigrammatic chapters—one for each of Lucio’s remaining days on earth—100 Days of Happiness is as delicious as a hot doughnut and a morning cappuccino. 

My friend Jeanne of Collage of Life sent The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson to me a few weeks ago and I read it a few weeks ago. 

From Amazon:

East Sussex, 1914. It is the end of England’s brief Edwardian summer, and everyone agrees that the weather has never been so beautiful. Hugh Grange, down from his medical studies, is visiting his Aunt Agatha, who lives with her husband in the small, idyllic coastal town of Rye. Agatha’s husband works in the Foreign Office, and she is certain he will ensure that the recent saber rattling over the Balkans won’t come to anything. And Agatha has more immediate concerns; she has just risked her carefully built reputation by pushing for the appointment of a woman to replace the Latin master.

When Beatrice Nash arrives with one trunk and several large crates of books, it is clear she is significantly more freethinking—and attractive—than anyone believes a Latin teacher should be. For her part, mourning the death of her beloved father, who has left her penniless, Beatrice simply wants to be left alone to pursue her teaching and writing.

But just as Beatrice comes alive to the beauty of the Sussex landscape and the colorful characters who populate Rye, the perfect summer is about to end. For despite Agatha’s reassurances, the unimaginable is coming. Soon the limits of progress, and the old ways, will be tested as this small Sussex town and its inhabitants go to war.

Three Many Cooks by Maggy Keet & Sharon Damelio

From Amazon:

When the women behind the popular blog Three Many Cooks gather in the busiest room in the house, there are never too many cooks in the kitchen. Now acclaimed cookbook author Pam Anderson and her daughters, Maggy Keet and Sharon Damelio, blend compelling reflections and well-loved recipes into one funny, candid, and irresistible book.

Together, Pam, Maggy, and Sharon reveal the challenging give-and-take between mothers and daughters, the passionate belief that food nourishes both body and soul, and the simple wonder that arises from good meals shared. Pam chronicles her epicurean journey, beginning at the apron hems of her grandmother and mother, and recounts how a cultural exchange to Provence led to twenty-five years of food and friendship. Firstborn Maggy rebelled against the family’s culinary ways but eventually found her inner chef as a newlywed faced with the terrifying reality of cooking dinner every night. Younger daughter Sharon fell in love with food by helping her mother work, lending her searing opinions and elbow grease to the grueling process of testing recipes for Pam’s bestselling cookbooks.

I just got Hot Cocoa Comfort and I cannot wait to expand my hot chocolate palette. 

This recommendation is and oldie but a goodie. I love cookbooks and have a ton of them, Kitchen Revelry by Ali Larter is one of my absolute favorites.Typically I make 5-10 recipes in a cookbook but this one I have baked and cooked about half of the recipes in this book and I love them all. 

What have you been reading this summer while lounging at the pool, sitting at the beach or just relaxing? Have you discovered anything new or have you been reading old favorites? Please share your new finds and of course if you have a favorite cookbook for Fall and Winter please share that as well. 

Have a great day!