Exceedingly Mundane

I’ve finished several books lately and wanted to do a quick “book review” about them. Except that I don’t really “do reviews”. I like almost every book I read, in one way or another, for one reason or another. I merely wanted to say what I liked about each one of these, in a very simple way. 🙂 The books are:

The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg
This Pen for Hire (a Jaine Austen mystery) by Laura Levine
Marley & Me by John Grogan
The Body in the Moonlight (a Faith Fairchild mystery) by Katherine Hall Page

I read my fourth book by author Elizabeth Berg, “The Art of Mending”. I have discovered that I really like the way she writes and the pictures she paints with her writing. This was not my favorite by her, but I did enjoy it. I think the first book I read by Berg will always be my favorite (“The Year of Pleasures”), followed closely by “Dream When You’re Feeling Blue” (I liked the WWII era to that one).

The second book, “This Pen for Hire” by Laura Levine, was also one I really enjoyed. I’ve discovered recently that I like what I call “cozy mysteries”. I’ve read several by different authors, and enjoyed pretty much all of them. They’re light, fluffy, easy to read, with really no bad language or gory violence. They’re fairly predictable, but I’m good with that. I just enjoy the easy pace and the overall escapism of these kind of books. 🙂 This is the start of the series, about Jaine Austen, a writer who runs a service writing letters, resumes, brochures and such out of her home, her business aptly titled “This Pen for Hire.” A love letter she reluctantly helps a nerdy guy pen to a beautiful aerobics instructor results in murder, and Jaine feels compelled to investigate. Fun read, and I wish my library had all of the ones in this series. I’ll definitely read the ones they do have, eventually. 🙂

I also read another cozy, by author Katherine Hall Page, called “The Body in the Moonlight”. This is a Faith Fairchild mystery, and this particular one I picked up at the library is in the middle of the series. This doesn’t really matter a lot with these books, I don’t think. Faith is a caterer, and a minister’s wife in rural Aleford, Massachusetts. I like the foodie aspect of these, and there are a few recipes included in the back. I’m going to copy two of them and put them on the extended page. This is probably one of my least favorite “cozy” mysteries that I’ve read. I had a hard time getting into it. I don’t know if it was the plot of this particular one, or just the writing. I will give this author another try though, as there are probably another 5 or 6 of these mysteries at my library. I did enjoy it, but I didn’t just love it, you know?!

Marley & Me is probably my favorite of these four. Being a dog lover and dog owner, this was a wonderful book for me. It’s subtitled “Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog” and is the true story of John and Jenny Grogan’s life with their new puppy Marley. It follows them through jobs, moves, children and Marley growing up and finally passing away at the ripe old age of 13. Marley was a precocious dog, one who shredded mattresses and couch cushions, who had an unnatural fear of thunderstorms, who poked his head in past the shower curtain and drank from the shower. I cried at the end, so be warned, if you’re a dog lover, grab some Kleenex toward the end.

Marley & Me had a couple of wonderful passages right at the end, that I loved. I thought I’d include them here:

What I really wanted to say was how this animal had touched our souls and taught us some of the most important lessons of our lives. “A person can learn a lot from a dog, even a loopy one like ours,” I wrote. “Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He taught me to appreciate the simple things – a walk in the woods, a fresh snowfall, a nap in a shaft of winter sunlight. And as he grew old and achy, he taught me optimism in the face of adversity. Mostly, he taught me about friendship and selflessness, and above all else, unwavering loyalty.”

A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbols mean nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn’t care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his. It was really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not. Sometimes it took a dog with bad breath, worse manners and pure intentions to help us see.

Sigh, it makes me want to go hug and love on my Beau baby. I’ve included two recipes from the back of “The Body in the Moonlight” on the extended page. I haven’t made them, but they look pretty good!

For the record, I’ve finished 68 books so far this year, for a total of 20, 204 pages read. Up next is the English Garden series by Lori Wick. My library had all 4 books in and available, and so I went ahead and checked them all out. This is not something that I normally like to do, read series books back to back to back. But, I do get frustrated with trying to check them out, in order (and not being able to get them when I’m ready for them), so I went ahead and got all of these. I’ve got two more on reserve that have come into the library this week, so I have to run later today or tomorrow and pick those up. Books, glorious books!

Click for the recipes…

Doughnut Muffins
from Lily’s Cafe, Stonington, Maine

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup minus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350º. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until fluffy. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time until mixed well together. Add the vanilla and mix; then add the dry ingredients, alternating with the yogurt. Divide the butter among twelve greased muffin cups and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

While the muffins are cooling, melt one stick of unsalted butter and set aside. Combine 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. After the muffins are cool, dip the tops into the melted butter, then into the sugar and cinnamon mixture.

Betty’s Oatmeal Lace Cookies

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
3 sticks unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups quick cooking oatmeal
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Cream the butter and sugar together thoroughly. Beat the eggs and add them and the vanilla to the mixture. Sift the four, salt and baking soda together and add to the mixture. Mix well. Add the oatmeal and the nuts. Mold the mixture into three logs, wrap in Saran wrap or waxed paper, and refrigerate for 24 hours. These will keep in the refrigerator for two weeks, or the dough may be frozen. To bake, preheat the oven to 375º and slice the log into 1/4 inch rounds. Place on greased baking sheets, at least 2-3 inches apart, as they spread. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until brown, checking after 6 minutes. Remove from the sheets immediately, before they start to cool and harden. Store in a tin or cookie jar. Makes 9 dozen.

NOTE: You can easily substitute margarine for the butter in the cookies.