Book Club - "The Forgotten Garden" by Kate Morton

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     This is the book that the members of the book club I belong to will be reading over the holidays.
     "It is the story of a tiny girl who is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913.  She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book - a beautiful volume of fairy tales.  She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own.  On her twenty-first birthday, they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and very little to go on, 'Nell' sets out to trace her real identity.  Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family.  But, it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell's death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled."   (From the book jacket)
     I've just nicely started to read it, but so far it seems really good.

•      Have you read it?
•      If so, what did you think?
•      Do you feel it lives up to all the positive reviews it has received?

Monica

~ CLOSED ~ "The Herbal Kitchen" by Kami McBride - Review and Giveaway

    

      I love recipes, cooking, baking and entertaining. I love talking about these things, as well as comparing recipes and cooking techniques.  I’m always surrounded by cookbooks and read them like most people would read a novel!   So, when I had the opportunity to review "The Herbal Kitchen" by Kami McBride, I jumped at the chance. 

    This great book gives detailed information on 50 easy to find herbs, has more than 250 easy to follow recipes and includes a glossary of common herbal terms. 

     I recently made the “Paprika-Garlic Salt” and the “Rosemary Pesto”, the directions were easy to follow, they were simple to make and both turned out perfectly.

     Yesterday, I spent a long day doing battle with a pair of fancy high-heeled shoes and my feet lost!  When I came home I soaked my conquered feet in the “Sweet Dreams Foot Bath” and I never wanted to take them out, victory at last, it felt like a little piece of heaven!   

     Last week I had a bit of an upset stomach and instead of heading to the medicine cabinet, I remembered a remedy in this book and headed for the kitchen!  I brewed up some “Bay Leaf Tea”, which took a little longer to brew than your regular orange pekoe tea, but was well worth the wait.   Not only did it have a soothing and comforting aroma, it settled my upset stomach too.

     This book has a modern twist but harkens back to our great-grandparents and grandparents time, a time when people had a real connection to their gardens and to the land.  I will be keeping "The Herbal Kitchen"  on an easily accessed shelf in my kitchen; I can see myself reaching for this great resource over and over again.

BUY IT -  

You can purchase this book here or from most major book retailers.

WIN IT - 

Thanks to the generosity of Kami McBride and her publisher, one lucky reader will win their own copy of "The Herbal Kitchen".

MANDATORY ENTRY -

Leave me a blog comment, in the comment section below the Rafflecopter form. Tell me what herbs are growing in your garden or if you don't have a garden, what herbs you wish you could grow; then let me know you did so by using the Rafflecopter form below.
(If you are new to Rafflecopter,  click here for a 46sec. tutorial on how to enter.)

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Have you read this book??

 I recently picked this book up at Costco and have just begun reading it.  Apparently,  it is the story of a women who has been held captive in an 11 x 11 foot room for several years.  She has a son who was born into this captivity and is now five years old...this is the only home he has ever known.
Have you read it, if so what did you think?

Monica

"The Scent of Water" Blog Tour

The Scent of Water: Grace for Every Kind of Broken
by Naomi Zacharias

   I recently had the opportunity to read and review, The Scent of Water: Grace for every Kind of Broken by Naomi Zacharias.

   The author takes us on a journey through Banda Aceh on the island of Sumatra six weeks after the devastating tsunami.  To the Czech Republic, where a young girl is sent on an illicit mission by her mother and is attacked and raped by a gang of boys.  We go to a prison in Africa, where a lack of vernacular knowledge has doomed many of the women to a life of misery.  In Amsterdam, we are introduced to the complicated story of a prostitute living in a brothel.  We visit a teenage girl who is in desperate need of lifesaving surgery and hear from victims of the most horrendous form of domestic abuse. These are just some of the appalling stories recounted in this gripping memoir.

   Ms. Zacharias has a way of touching your soul and allowing you to see beneath the seemingly shallow surface of these extreme injustices and into the depth of humanity. 

   Throughout the book, your heart will fracture and within this fracture, you will be inspired to a level of human accountability that can only serve to make us kinder, gentler and less judgemental.  You should definitely put this heartbreakingly beautiful book on your must read list. 

   Monica

*I received a copy of this book to review but I was not financially compensated in any way. The opinions expressed are my own and are based on my observations while reading this novel.*