Flower or foe?

Shall I assume the large ones are weeds and the tiny little fragments are flowers?

I know these are flowers because I planted them in rows.  But they look a lot like spinach.

Regression in reading material

Popular Clone
by M. E. Castle

Phineas and Ferb in book form. Kid fare at its best and funny for adults, too.  Just the sort of thing a librarian needs to coax a reluctant reader onto the printed page...and so much better than Captain Underpants. I probably acquired it from the librarian's blog I used to read--her specialty was Junior and YA.  A book like this would have been right on her list.

As for me, it was a nice change from influenza, pneumonia and World War I, but I probably won't bother with a sequel.

Or maybe I will--I sure liked FP (Flying Pig.)  Best pet ever!

Life changing? Not now.

Stumbling On Happiness
by Daniel Gilbert

Surprising expose of how our brain deceives, our memory misweaves, and our predictions for the future are so very, very dependent on what's happening right now.  They call it "presenting"--the bias introduced in predictions of future enjoyment, caused by current feelings. Ever had the experience of stuffing down a huge Thanksgiving dinner and declaring, "I'll never eat again."?  I have, and even if I didn't believe myself "for real", that doesn't mean it didn't affect my prediction of how much I'd enjoy a turkey sandwich tomorrow. (Little or not at all, I'd say.  And I'd be wrong.)

I started off the book with an enormous amount of disbelief and never really overcame it it.  Studies based on human answers to questions are inherently flawed, and if you "want" to see something happen, you can usually vary the questions to make it happen.  But when he'd start off with a theory of how we expected ourselves to feel and then predicted a theory that sounded plausible, and then proceed to flatly contradict the theory, my reaction was, wow! Really?  And I'd lean a little farther in the direction that he was pulling me.

It's a good book and it made me think. Is his every theory or conclusion proven beyond a reasonable doubt?  No, but as long as you recognize that, it's worth a (thoughtful) look.

Sage Honey...yum

Food and good reading too

The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen
by Jacques Pepin


Not much of a plot (*biography*) but a really good air travel companion.  Not so good the next day when I'd eaten too much dinner and was feeling vaguely nauseous--that made it hard to enjoy the luscious food he was preparing.  I found it hard to imagine the food throughout, and maybe that's a good reason for his including the recipes in the book. Reading and possibly cooking his recipes would have made a real foodie squeal with delight. Or maybe the recipes were included simply because recipes sell books.


Not being a foodie, I admit the only one I really wanted to try was his mother's apple tart.  Maybe I'll do that to get rid of all the leftover apples in the fridge. I'm sure they're not the "right" apples for the recipe, but it would be in keeping with a food culture where nothing is thrown away.

So, despite my longing for culinary details--what did the foods really taste like?  What did the dishes look like?  Did they squish or ooze or pop! when you bit into them?  Other than that, the book was very entertaining and never, never fell into the trap of idle name dropping like so many other celebrity bios do. He'd drop plenty of names, sure, but every one had a succinct description, a funny story, or a cooking disaster to put them in place in his life.

Tangled and conflicted

Tangled (not the movie)
 by Carolyn Mackler

I vacillated back and forth about reading this but finally decided to, because (a) it's Carolyn Mackler, and I love Carolyn Mackler, and (b) the reviews on GoodReads  were so conflicting that I wanted to see for myself.  Even from teens they were conflicting, from "blah, don't bother" or "OMG best book I ever read!"


Per me, somewhere in between.  Four stories, four lives that intertwined briefly and significantly, then what happened after. A reminder that what you do--or don't do--can change other people for good.

Back from Boston and time to catch up

Jersey Tomatoes are the Best
 by Maria Padian

Good title for one of the better teen books I've read in a while.  A lot of unresolved emotions and conflicts that never came to a confrontation--like real life.  Some of them did.  Sort of.  Can't be more specific without giving it away.
Remarkably sane depiction of teens on the verge of sex.  But again, can't be more specific.

So what can I say about it, other than to recommended it?  Great story of a girl who lives and breathes competitive tennis and has a father who lives and breathes her competitive tennis.  Good story of a girl who lives and breathes ballet and has a mother who, likewise.  The two are the best of friends--and maybe that will pull them through the hard times. Keep your fingers crossed.