A Room With Books

February 10, 2013

Have Your Cake and Read it Too {6}

Have Your Cake and Read it Too is a bi-weekly feature that will take a book and pair it with a food whether it be savory or sweet.

Book

Kit and Fancy Cordelle are sisters of the best kind: best friends, best confidantes, and best accomplices. The daughters of the infamous Bonesaw Killer, Kit and Fancy are used to feeling like outsiders, and that’s just the way they like it. But in Portero, where the weird and wild run rampant, the Cordelle sisters are hardly the oddest or most dangerous creatures around.

It’s no surprise when Kit and Fancy start to give in to their deepest desire—the desire to kill. What starts as a fascination with slicing open and stitching up quickly spirals into a gratifying murder spree. Of course, the sisters aren’t killing just anyone, only the people who truly deserve it. But the girls have learned from the mistakes of their father, and know that a shred of evidence could get them caught. So when Fancy stumbles upon a mysterious and invisible doorway to another world, she opens a door to endless possibilities….
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I promise one of these days I'll actually start making the food I choose for these posts...just not this week :P

I goes with it in so many ways that I couldn't NOT use cherry cheesecake. I know it's kind of the most obvious choice ever, but guys. The title, the dribble of blood on the cover, the blood in the book...see, how could I not? You probably don't want to eat it while reading if you have a weak stomach, though.
Also, I just want to point out that I'm not a fan of the book, but I think it makes for a good/interesting food pairing.

Recipe
Cherry Cheesecake
Recipe from Food Network

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 stick soft unsalted butter
10 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream
1 (10-ounce) jar black cherry spread (recommended: St Dalfour Rhapsodie de Fruit)

Source: Food Network

Directions
Blitz the biscuits in a food processor until beginning to turn to crumbs, then add the sugar and butter and whiz again to make the mixture clump. If using graham cracker crumbs, you can use a bowl and wooden spoon to mix the butter in, with the sugar added.

Press this mixture into a 8-inch springform tin; press a little up the sides to form a slight ridge.

Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice in a bowl until smooth.

Lightly whip the cream, and then fold it into the cream cheese mixture.

Spoon the cheesecake filling on top of the biscuit base and smooth with a spatula, put it in the refrigerator for 3 hours or overnight.
When you are ready to serve the cheesecake, un-mold and spread the black cherry spread over the top.

February 5, 2013

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer {Review}

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Publish Date: February 5, 2013

Source: The lovely Heidi :]

Goodreads

Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2

Pages: 454

Rating: Direct Hit

Cinder's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.
Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother and the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own.
As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Though it's just come out I have no doubt you've already seen countless raving reviews for Scarlet.

And this one will be no different.

I must say that I feel like all the hype spoiled it just a little, but I still loved Scarlet. It's just that true awesomeness is better appreciated when you're least expecting it, you know?

Moving on to the ~~lovefest~~ review.

First of all, I love the way Meyer weaved together all the different POVs. It didn't feel jarring or awkward. It was natural and one flowed into the next easily. Normally a ton of POVs throws me off, but I loved that Scarlet, Cinder, Kai, and then some were all included. Although, it does help when you love all the characters ;]

Speaking of characters.

Cinder: Definitely my favorite. Gosh, I just love her and don't even know where to start! She's stubborn, but she's also vulnerable and confused. I appreciated that she was confused by all the new craziness in her life instead of just marching forward without thinking (which seems to happen with a lot of YA heroines.)

Scarlet: Now, I liked Scarlet, but she's not my favorite heroine ever. There's nothing wrong with her character, but I'm not quite as drawn to the “punch now, think later” kind of gal. I did like how wary she was of Wolf and how reluctant she was to start anything with him. Woo for non-insta-love!

Wolf: I loved how gentle he was with Scarlet. I could tell how much he liked her, but instead of being all “you're cool, let's makeout” he was actually a little scared to get too close to her. I liked being able to see them grow and bring out the good in each other.

Captain Thorne: Okay. So, there's absolutely nothing wrong with him (once you get to know him,) and I've actually grown quite attached along the way. But. For most of the story I couldn't stop picturing him as Zapp Brannigan of Futurama. It was a little disconcerting :P

Now about the fairytale bits.

Meyer is officially my favorite reteller. You wouldn't think cyborg Cinderella could work, but it did. You wouldn't really think scifi Red Riding Hood would work either, but it SO DOES. You can certainly read the story and probably not pick up on the fairy-tale bits (without the red hoodie mentions, because those are a little obvious :P) and yet, they're there and they're great. The grandmother isn't eaten, but she is captured. The wolf aspect fits in so well with the overall story that it just feels natural instead of stuck in for the sake of the retelling. And of course, Scarlet isn't walking to her grandmother's house to deliver cookies, but spaceships and being on the run is really the way the story ought to be told anyway.

The Nutshell: Basically, the characters are great, Meyer is a master storyteller, and you need to read this book now. Also, I really need Cress. And Winter.

February 4, 2013

My Next Five {2}

This is my first time uploading a video straight to Blogger, so hopefully it works out and we won't have to deal with the annoying audio/visual issue anymore.
*But obviously it didn't, because I'm a space case and forgot uploading it to Blogger basically meant uploading it to Youtube anyway. Does anyone have any suggestions or programs I should try? It works perfectly fine on my computer, so it happens somewhere in the uploading process. Also, I use Ubuntu just as an FYI.*

My Five:
1. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
2. Revolution 19 by Gregg Resenblum
3. Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbrook
4. Skylark by Meagan Spooner
5. Mind Games by Kiersten White (Actually it's more like the third week of Feb, my bad :P)

February 2, 2013

The Wrap-Up List by Steven Arntson {Review}

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Publish Date: January 8, 2013

Source: Publisher for honest review

Goodreads

Pages: 240

Series: No

Ratng: Direct Hit

In this modern-day suburban town, one percent of all fatalities come about in the most peculiar way. Deaths -- eight-foot-tall, silver-gray creatures -- send a letter ("Dear So-and-So, your days are numbered") to whomever is chosen for a departure, telling them to wrap up their lives and do the things they always wanted to do before they have to "depart." When sixteen-year-old Gabriela receives her notice, she is, of course devastated. Will she kiss her crush Sylvester before it's too late?

I never thought I'd find such a wonderful story hidden behind this unassuming cover and strange description, but there it sits, nonetheless.

I would describe Arnston's writing as uncluttered. He doesn't use extravagant descriptions or take more time than necessary to get the point across and it works splendidly. Often times, this kind of approach creates a disjointed story that doesn't pull you in, but that isn't the case with The Wrap-Up List. The writing makes all the emotions more palpable and real. During the last few chapters I was finding it difficult to read because my tears were making everything blurry. And what an ending it was. Beautiful and yet melancholy. I honestly didn't have any idea how it would turn out either.

Gabriella is an admirable character. She is shocked and mournful when she first receives her letter. But then she comes to terms with it. She keeps it together and doesn't spend her last week tears. She works towards getting her pardon, but she's also there for her friends. It should be the other way around, and they are there for her, but she's right there supporting them as well. She's not helping them mourn the loss of her, she's helping them continue their lives once she's gone.

I love how much Gabriella grows as a person in her last week, as well. She starts to have different views on life and start forming opinions that she can call her own.

The Nutshell: Don't let the simple cover and somewhat strange description put you off of The Wrap-Up List as it is an amazing book. The story is one that's completely new and yet still conveys some of the struggles most of us go through in our lives whether it be in our teenage years or when we face death, that of a loved one or your own. I know this will end up being another book buried under all the shiny covers and trendy plotlines, but it's a book that deserves to be read.

February 1, 2013

Valentine's Giveaway

Since it's Valentine's Day here in a couple weeks I thought I might celebrate with a little giveaway (and clear my shelves a little :P) And since nobody reads long-winded pre-giveaway stuff anyway, let's just get down to it!