National Book Lovers Day

August 9, 2024 by akc

According to my bestie, who heard it from Sandra Boynton, today is National Book Lovers Day. What better time to give you a few of this year’s 5-star reads?!

Orbital, by Samantha Harvey: This is on the Booker longlist, and it both is and is not a Booker-ish book. The writing is beautiful but as Deedi said, it is “all vibes/no plot.” I was into it but I know some folks find that kind of book frustrating.

The Familiar, by Leigh Bardugo: A historical fantasy set in the Spanish Inquisition. I loved it, but if you’re not into historical fiction you probably won’t. If you can, at least take a look at the hardcover edition, it is absolutely gorgeous.

The Vaster Wilds, by Lauren Groff: I really enjoyed this, and I think if you go into it understanding that you’re going to be spending your time with someone going through a profoundly difficult and exhausting experience, you’ll be able to enjoy this novel.

Lost Ark Dreaming, by Suyi Davies Okungbowa: There is so much worldbuilding packed into this novella, and some really wonderful characters.

The Weaver and the Witch Queen, by Genevieve Gornichec: Another historical fantasy, this one set amongst the Vikings. I thought the character development throughout the book was great.

What we’ve been eating lately

August 3, 2024 by akc

Aside from stuffing ourselves with corn on the cob, blueberries and donut peaches, I’ve tried a few new recipes recently, and made a couple of old favorites.

Sticky Miso Salmon Bowl: This was quite tasty! I made the sushi rice in the rice cooker, following the instructions on the package. For veggies I did thin sliced carrots and radishes, and I blanched some green beans and tossed them with a bit of salt and some toasted sesame oil. It would also be good with red, yellow, or orange bell peppers, avocado, cucumbers, steamed or sauteed kale, We served it with some chili crisp, pickled ginger, and furikake. Don’t skip the scallions, butter, and seasonings in the rice, it smelled so good.

Braised Chickpeas with Zucchini and Pesto: This is Deb’s latest recipe and it is delicious! It’s also super easy and forgiving. I started the heat as soon as the chickpeas and broth went in, and cut the rest of the cook time down to 30 minutes. I also missed the part where you’re supposed to stir after the first little while, but everything was fine. Take a quick taste after you add the pesto – I ended up doubling it. You’ll definitely want some bread with this. And actually, if you cook off enough of the liquid you could even use it as a sandwich filling.

Summer Corn, Tomato, and Salmon Salad with Za’atar Dressing: I wrote about this last summer but it’s a favorite of mine. This time we had leftover corn and tomatoes, so I threw in a can of chickpeas and it was a delightful lunch with some Wasa crackers.

Blistered Shishito and Corn Salad: This caught my eye because a couple of stans at our farmer’s market have shishitos this year. It was just ok. I didn’t have enough shishitos, which is not the recipie’s fault. I do think think it’d be better if the corn was cooked. I think next time I’ll do that, or turn it into a taco or quesadilla filling instead, or put it on a taco bowl.

Corn and Chorizo Tacos: One of my corn season favorites. You want fresh, Mexican chorizo for this, not the cured stuff. It’s also really good as a quesadilla filling and freezes well if you somehow wind up with too many leftovers.

Zucchini Quesadillas: Another Deb recipe, this time from a few years ago, but she shared it recently in a zucchini-focused edition of her newsletter. I’m specifically on the lookout for new summer squash recipes this year because it always looks so great at the farmer’s market, in part because there are multiple varieties available. This was pretty easy to put together. I added black beans when I assembled each quesadilla, but next time I’d just mix them in with the cheese and squash.

Update #3: Reading the 2024 Hugo Nominees for Best Novel

July 23, 2024 by akc

I finished Translation State at the beginning of the month, which finishes out the entire shortlist. Here’s an update, presented in the order of my current personal rankings.

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

Read in April 2024; 4.5 stars. Wow was this great! Kyr, the protagonist, goes on a pretty incredible journey of personal/character development, which also serves as very effective world-building. There’s big plot point that’s left in the abstract, but to me it makes sense given the context and POV.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

Read in August 2023; 4 stars. This was such a fun concept and a really enjoyable story overall. I loved Amina as a character, she felt very relatable. And I enjoyed the relationships between her and her crew; you really got a sense of how well they knew one another.

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Read in February 2024; 5 stars. This was hilarious. I have no idea if all the machinations of the plot actually make sense, but IMO that’s not really the point with a book like this. The characters were great, and I appreciated the way it ended. Someone please option this for a movie! And actually make it!

Translation State by Ann Leckie

Read in July 2024; 4 stars. There was some political stuff in this one that I didn’t quite follow, though I think it was explained pretty well. (I’m just not interested so it doesn’t stick in my brain.) There are a couple of plot points that I thought needed a bit more explanation, but overall this was a fun read. And somehow despite having some body horror, also had some cozy sci-fi vibes? Not quite sure how Leckie pulled that off but here we are.

The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera

Read in June 2024; 3.75 stars. I liked this, but there’s a lot going on. There are some long, sidebar-ish passages, and while they do contribute to the world-building, I kind of struggled to pay attention. (This also contributed to some pacing issues that really slowed down the first half or so.) There’s also some political stuff going on with religious groups that I couldn’t really keep straight, and I’m not sure how important it was to the story. But it was beautifully written, and I did enjoy the story. Note that this recently won the 2023 Nebula award for Best Novel.

Witch King by Martha Wells

Did not finish in September 2023. I’ve enjoyed so much of Wells’ other work, I was ready to like this but found it to be pretty slow. There was a lot of worldbuilding, which is great, but for me it felt a little info-dumpy. There’s also some political situation that I think was going to become important, but I have zero interest in that kind of plotline. I don’t have any notes on how far I got into this, but I think it was close to halfway.

Update #2: Reading the 2024 Hugo Nominees for Best Novel

June 27, 2024 by akc

I finished The Saint of Bright Doors a few days go. Here’s an update, presented in the order of my current personal rankings.

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera

Witch King by Martha Wells

Still to be read:

Translation State by Ann Leckie

This was the one that was already on my TBR. My hold on the ebook should come in soon.

Weekly Delights: Week of June 3, 2024

June 9, 2024 by akc

Loving the gorgeous, bright pink snapdragons in this week’s CSA bouquet. Later in the week I transformed it with a bundle of pink peonies from the farmer’s market.

We went to the Nats game on Tuesday evening and enjoyed a delightful breeze throughout the game. Also delightful: the huge plate of nachos with barbecue chicken that I had for dinner.

About a month ago the Nerdette podcast released an episode with a summer playlist of “joyfully defiant” songs. It took me a while to listen through it, but it’s a great playlist and you should check it out. My favorites are Hater’s Anthem, Sometimes, and The Feminine Urge.

My hair salon is very chill and un-DC. The decor is string lights, vintage pieces (I see the owner, who uses a vintage barber shop chair at his station), and weird thrift store art. Then they go all-out with Halloween and Christmas decorations. But when I walked in on Friday there was a full-on Under the Sea theme, with the alcove above the sink set up as an aviary for little paper parrots. It was totally delightful and unexpected.

On Saturday we went to Little Food Studio, where I enjoyed my favorite savory scone: their pecorino, ricotta, and herb scone. Usually I get it to go but today we ate in, and they warmed it up a little bit. It was so good (as usual). It’s the light and fluffy type of scone, with a soft interior and just a little bit of contrast from the golden brown exterior. Delightful!

Also on Saturday, I spent a couple of hours in the afternoon enjoying our porch. We don’t sit out very much, mostly due to how buggy it is (or how hot and humid) so I try to take advantage of those early summer afternoons when it’s a reasonable temperature with a little breeze. While I was out there some of the neighborhood stray cats came by and seemed shocked to find a human on what is apparently their preferred porch. They scooted over to my neighbor’s porch and were watching me. I went inside not long after and when I peeked out the window a little later, I saw some tails and toe beans peeking out from under the chairs.

This week’s seasonal dessert is Deb’s Strawberry Summer Cake, which is delicious.

A bouquet featuring hot pink snapdragons, deep yellow yarrow, and some fuzzy purple bluemink.

The same bouquet as before, but now mostly taken over by deep pink peonies in various stages of blooming.