Sunday, January 7, 2024
Sullivan Book Nook January Update
Just a glimpse of what’s inside the Little Free Library. Three of the Good Morning America book club picks are still available - The Frozen River, Family Lore, and Pineapple Street. If you see something you’d like to have, please come get it. You don’t have to leave a book to take one.
Saturday, January 6, 2024
Review - Funny Story
AUTHOR: Emily Henry
RATING: ★★★★
RELEASE DATE: April 23rd, 2024
Summary (from Goodreads): A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common.
Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.
Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.
Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?
But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex…right?
REVIEW: This was a good story, and I enjoyed the main characters, Daphne and Miles. They are both emotionally screwed up in different ways, but they manage to "find" themselves when they get together. The plot was well developed, and there were aspects of Daphne's character that I could identify with. I laughed. I teared up. I sighed. It had all the elements of a good love story. The only gripe I have, and I believe I said this in my review of Happy Place also, is that the author really should write her 30-something-year-old characters acting more like grown ups. If they were in their late teens to early 20's I could probably understand the pot smoking and whatnot, but it's very hard to relate to characters in their mid to late-30's who smoke weed and act like 20-something wannabes. Overall, I would still recommend Funny Story, but unfortunately I won't be anxiously awaiting the author's next book and pouncing on it, like I usually do.
(DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this title from NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.)
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Recipe - Roasted Strawberry Protein Smoothie
- 1-1/2 cups fresh strawberries, quartered
- 1/2 tablespoon raw sugar
- 1/3 cup reduced fat cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup fat free milk
- 1 cup crushed ice
- 1 tsp chia seeds
- 6 to 8 drops liquid stevia, optional
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 425°F.
In a medium bowl, combine strawberries and sugar.
Pour the strawberries on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Place in the oven and roast for 12 to 15 minutes until the strawberries start to release their juices but are still firm.
Carefully pour the roasted strawberries and their juice into a blender along with cottage cheese, milk, ice and chia and blend until smooth.
NUTRITION INFO: 1 smoothie, Calories: 213 kcal, Carbohydrates: 33 g, Protein: 16 g, Fat: 3.4 g, Saturated Fat: 0.5 g, Cholesterol: 5.5 mg, Sodium: 360 mg, Fiber: 7.5 g, Sugar: 27 g
(Recipe and photo courtesy of Skinnytaste)
Tuesday, January 2, 2024
Review - Finding Me
AUTHOR: Viola Davis
NARRATOR: Viola Davis
RATING: ★★★★
Summary (from Goodreads): In my book, you will meet a little girl named Viola who ran from her past until she made a life-changing decision to stop running forever.
This is my story, from a crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to the stage in New York City, and beyond. This is the path I took to finding my purpose but also my voice in a world that didn’t always see me.
As I wrote Finding Me, my eyes were open to the truth of how our stories are often not given close examination. We are forced to reinvent them to fit into a crazy, competitive, judgmental world. So I wrote this for anyone running through life untethered, desperate and clawing their way through murky memories, trying to get to some form of self-love. For anyone who needs reminding that a life worth living can only be born from radical honesty and the courage to shed facades and be . . . you.
Finding Me is a deep reflection, a promise, and a love letter of sorts to self. My hope is that my story will inspire you to light up your own life with creative expression and rediscover who you were before the world put a label on you.
REVIEW: I've always admired Viola Davis as an actress. She moves my soul in every role she plays, so I knew I would enjoy her memoir before I even started it. I went with the audiobook version, and I'm so glad I did, because I believe that's one reason I enjoyed this book so much. Viola has a very strong presence, even when you're just listening to her and not actually seeing her. She has a deep voice that captures your attention and pulls you in. Her story is full of heartbreak but there is also joy. There were many times I caught myself crying because I understood on a personal level that little girl who struggled with her parents/home life and a low self-esteem. I would recommend this book to anyone, but I will say that if cursing offends you, then you might want to pass on it, because there is a lot of it. I'll admit there were times it was a bit shocking and distracting, but overall it wouldn't stop me from recommending this book.
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
Recipe - Breakfast Casserole with Spinach and Sausage
- 12 ounces turkey breakfast sausage
- 1 5-ounce package fresh baby spinach
- 12 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups whole or reduced fat milk
- 2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained and finely chopped
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9” x 13” casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.
Add the sausage to a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, breaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon, until just cooked through. Transfer the sausage to a small bowl with a slotted spoon.
Reduce heat to medium then add the spinach to the skillet with the liquid and oil left behind from the sausage. Cook for 2-3 minutes until wilted. Remove with a slotted spoon, carefully squeezing excess liquid from the spinach by pressing with the wooden spoon over the sink. Alternatively, you can transfer the cooked spinach to a fine mesh sieve and drain, pressing lightly to remove excess moisture. Place spinach on a cutting board and roughly chop.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl or large measuring cup, add the eggs. Whisk until uniform. Add the milk, 1 cup mozzarella, 2 tablespoons parmesan, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine.
In the prepared casserole dish, layer the sausage, cooked spinach, and sundried tomatoes. Pour the egg mixture over the top then top with remaining 1 cup mozzarella and 2 tablespoons parmesan.
Transfer to oven and bake for 35 minutes, rotating halfway through (if desired), to allow for even browning. Slice into 10 pieces and serve.
NUTRITION INFO: Serving: 1 slice, Calories: 245 kcal, Carbohydrates: 5 g, Protein: 22 g, Fat: 15 g, Saturated Fat: 6 g, Cholesterol: 268 mg, Sodium: 616 mg, Fiber: 0.5 g, Sugar: 2.5 g
(Recipe and photo courtesy of Skinnytaste)
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