January 27, 2012

Book Review: #6 – The Gunslinger by Stephen King (audio)

The Gunslinger by Stephen King (audio; book #1 in the Dark Tower series)

Narrator: George Guidall
Source: Audible.com
Finished: 1/22/12
Rating: 7 out of 10
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Length: 7 hours, 24 minutes
Pages: 264 pages (print version)
Published: 1982, revised in 2003
Book Club: Book Eaters
Challenges: 2012 Audio Book Challenge

Synopsis (from Library Journal): The Gunslinger introduces protagonist Roland as he pursues the Man in Black through bleak and tired landscapes in a world that has “moved on.” Roland believes that the Man in Black knows and can be made to reveal the secrets of the Dark Tower, which is the ultimate goal of Roland’s quest. They journey through imaginative landscapes, over astounding obstacles, and meet with and confront a unique and fully drawn cast of characters, both human and nonhuman. 

Overall Impression: I had absolutely no idea what The Gunslinger was about when we selected it for book club. All I knew was that it was fantasy and not horror, so I was down to read it. Then Audible had it in their $7.95 sale the other day and…win!

I thought it started off a little slow for me, mostly because I didn’t know what to expect, or even what was happening. The book has a slow, sort of western-y, meandering feel to it, and it took me a while to get acclimated to the style. The world, as well, that King has created is very similar to Earth, but has some striking differences as well. A parallel universe? I think so, but I’m not sure. The plot sort of chugs along, alternating between Roland’s (the Gunslinger) current search for the Man in Black and flashbacks that explain how Roland came to where he was in the present day. The action came in short, satisfying bursts, breaking up the slow hunt that was characteristic of the rest of the novel. Roland still needs some fleshing out as a character — and as there are at least six other books in the series (I believe a seventh is due out this year?), I think that will come in due time. Really, this felt like a prequel to me more than anything. Like it was telling the back story for some great tale that is to come.

Positives: King is really great at showing and not telling — I could picture the book in my mind easily.

Negatives: A slow start, and a lack of character empathization (I just made that up). In other, non-made-up words, the characters, specifically the stoic Roland, were hard to empathize with.

Narration: George Guidall is a wonderful narrator (I read that King selected him personally for this book). I swear I’ve listened to something he’s narrated before, but none of the 900 books he’s narrated seemed familiar. Perhaps he’s done some other voice-over work that might be familiar.

Other books I’ve read by Stephen King: On Writing (read before I started writing reviews)

Other blogger opinions:

Theresa at Shelf Love: “As fans of the whole series, we’re going to naturally view this book as an exposition to a larger story, but there’s some darned impressive storytelling in this single volume.”

Jenny at Shelf Love: “I do think, though, that the tone of the book — its style — is different from what I consider “normal” Stephen King.”

Opinions of a Wolf: “I’m shocked to discover, I like a Stephen King book.”

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January 25, 2012

I Made it Myself (Lessons in Cooking #15) + Training Update

This week’s IMIM includes two week’s worth of cooking and training, because I’ve been a lazy blogger lately.

Smoked Salmon Vermicelli

The first recipe I have for you is one that my mom has made on several occasions out of Sunset magazine, so I thought I’d try it myself. My parents’ took a trip last year to Alaska, and brought back some canned smoked salmon (they must love me very, very much), and I knew this would be the perfect recipe.

I made this recipe exactly as directed, and it was melt-my-face-off stellar. I took the salmon out of the can to peel off the not-so-pretty skin bits, and wanted to eat the entire can of salmon before I managed to put it in the pasta instead. I served it with a side of lightly seasoned shredded zucchini that I stir-fried in a little olive oil. The recipe made an absolute boatload of pasta (then again…I’m cooking for just me), and I was eating it for days. Reheating it was just fine — but I added a little water to the pasta before reheating, so it wouldn’t dry out.

Ten out of ten salmons! (Seriously, yo, this was some killer pasta.)

Lemon-Sage Chicken Cutlets 

The other new dish that I tried was Lemon-Sage Chicken Cutlets, courtesy of Food Network magazine. I made this for my friend Jenn last night, and we both agreed that it was pretty darn tasty, especially when paired with wild rice and broccoli (and chocolate ice cream for dessert!). The chicken was tender and the sage (which got kind of crispy in the pan) was really delicious. Also, I got to pound chicken with a meat hammer…so, that was awesome.

The recipe, however, made my kitchen a disaster. I needed two shallow dishes in which to flour and egg-dip my cutlets, and I don’t have such dishes that were substantial enough to handle the job. The smaller shallow dishes I used overflowed when I dipped the chicken, sending egg/lemon mixture ALL OVER the counter and onto the floor. Also, there was a *poof* of flour when I dredged the chicken, which consequently stuck in the egg goo. Then there were egg/flour drips all the way to the pan. If I make this again, I’ll have to come up with a different solution. I don’t want to clean up anything last night.

Eight of ten flour-dredged cutlets.

Training Update: I have got to get my exercising mojo back. Apparently “fat butt” and “pants don’t fit” are not motivating me enough.

I’ve been to Tough Mudder training twice in the last two weeks, and both classes were difficult, since I’m not doing anything besides karate during the week (I’ve been going twice a week — testing is next week). The first TM training was Spin Plus: which was a regular spin class, except that twice we hopped off our bikes and ran up a hill and around the block. Because spin isn’t crazy enough as is. I had a problem with side cramps, which haven’t bothered me in years. I am now eating a banana a day to try and fend them off. The second TM training was Evil Yoga, which I’d like to explain here a bit, so you can fully understand what Evil Yoga truly is. (No, my trainer doesn’t call it Evil Yoga. She calls it Suspended Yoga. But really, it’s Evil Yoga.)

Yoga is hard enough for me as is — I’m not particularly flexible (especially doing front splits). My hips are always, “WTF are you doing to us?” Craaaaaamp. Charley Hoooooorse. I also do not have the greatest sense of balance, but I must say that karate is helping immensely with this. It’s been a while since I’ve randomly fallen over. Also, I am impatient. I want to go go go. Yoga says, “No. You shall bend here in this crazy position and you shall hoooooold it. Hooooold it. Hold it, bitches!” Needless to say, yoga is not my favorite thing. (Ice cream is my favorite thing.)

So let’s combine regular yoga with TRX bands strapped to the ceiling, shall we? It looks like this:

Well, not exactly like that. That girl is looking calm and pretty. (I hate her.) For me, it’s more like I’m shaking, sweating, swinging back and forth, and trying not to cry/cuss. Nearly every single position tests me to my limits. We do plank, chair, monkey, mountain, forward fold, warrior 3, some other hellish things of which I can’t remember the names.  I can’t hold some of the positions for more than a second before my body crashes to the floor. It’s an hour of pure torture and I’m sore for days. Why do I do it? Because I want to know I can. I want to push myself. I want to be able to go nearly into a handstand and do a push-up while one foot is strapped to the ceiling (I am so not there yet). It’s the same reason I want to do the Tough Mudder in the first place — to show myself that I’m stronger than I ever thought possible.

I’m going to make an effort to start running again, starting on Sunday. I’m seriously looking for a treadmill on craigslist — I just cannot seem to get my butt out into the dark cold mornings to run. I’m hoping to convince my friend Hannah to do a 5k trail run with me on March 3, then a 10k run on my birthday, April 28. That should put me in good shape to do Eppie’s Great Race (run, bike, kayak triathlon) on July 22, and the Tough Mudder on September 29. I just need to keep it up. I feel so good when I do!

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January 19, 2012

Book Review #5 – The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Source: Personal (signed!) copy
Finished: 1/15/12
Rating: 10 out of 10
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Pages: 336
Published: 2012
Challenges: 2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge, What’s in a Name 5 (“A book with something you’d see in the sky in the title”)

Synopsis (from the Book Description): Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten. Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

Overall Impression: There are about a million blog reviews of this highly anticipated new release, and every single one of them I have read has been overwhelmingly positive. The reviews speak of Green’s uncanny ability to craft a cancer story that isn’t really about cancer, how he builds characters full of so much presence,  and how it is nearly impossible not to fall head over heels in love with nearly all the characters in the book (yes, Hazel and Augustus, but also their parents — oh, Hazels dad just about brought me to my knees — and their close friend Isaac). All these things are so true. I felt like Hazel and Augustus (and Isaac) are the teenagers that we all want teenagers to be (minus the cancer part…and maybe the having sex part). They are thoughtful, they are grateful, they are determined, they are strong, they create clever Venn diagrams. They read books, they understand loss, pain, and anger, they love their parents. But they also play video games and watch America’s Next Top Model, so we know that they are actual real teenagers. I think this is what made this such a great novel for me — Green’s characters were some of the most memorable teenagers I’ve read in a long time. I felt like it was a privilege to know them.

Positives: Really, it’s one of the best YA novels I’ve ever read. Yes, it’s a tear-jerker (come on, it’s kids with cancer…), but really, it’s incredibly hopeful.

Negatives: A bit of the dialogue suffers from Dawson’s-Creek-itis (I actually had to look up a couple words), and every once in a while the plot feels a bit contrived. These are tiny negatives. Ignore them. Read this book.

Other books I’ve read by John Green: An Abundance of Katherines (review)

Other blogger opinions:

Avid Reader’s Musings: “…he turns a story about cancer, death and the desire to be remembered into one about living and first love and favorite novels.”

For Love and Books: “In fact, this may be one of my top ten books of all time. I cannot say how much I loved it.”

KellyVision: “There are not enough superlatives for this, or for Hazel and Augustus or for any of the other characters in this book.

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January 18, 2012

Book Review: #4 – Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson (audio)

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson (audio)

Narrator: Peter Altschuler
Source: Sacramento Library (I also own an hardcopy)
Finished: 1/15/12
Rating: 8 out of 10
Publisher: Random House Audio
Length: 13 hours, 8 minutes
Pages: 384 (print version)
Published: 2010
Challenges: 2012 Audio Book Challenge, 2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Synopsis (from the Book Description): Wry, courtly, opinionated, and completely endearing, the Major leads a quiet life valuing the proper things that Englishmen have lived by for generations: honor, duty, decorum, and a properly brewed cup of tea. But then his brother’s death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village. Drawn together by their shared love of literature and the loss of their spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship blossoming into something more. But village society insists on embracing him as the quintessential local and regarding her as the permanent foreigner. Can their relationship survive the risks one takes when pursuing happiness in the face of culture and tradition? 

Overall Impression: This is another one of those novels that seemed to get high reviews all around, so I was a little skeptical that I might be The-Night-Circus-style over-hyped. Thankfully, though, to combat the over-hyping I went into it with my expectations fairly low, and I was pleasantly surprised. While it had its cheesy romantic comedy moments, this novel was filled with a lot of heart, backed by solid writing, deep ethical dilemmas, and an engaging plot. I think I found so much of it lovely because it was a late-in-life love story — it felt very realistic, since these two people know who they are and what they want out of life and exactly what will make them happy.  It’s very easy to love Major Pettigrew — with his staid British ways, his desire for decorum and respect, and his abhorrence of much of modern society — as well as Mrs. Ali, who has everything one loves in an older woman, including dignity, a humorous streak, and a deep sense of duty (and the knowledge of when to go against it). The supporting cast gets a little cliched, but for the most part, they are nice bunch as well.

Positives: Overall, it was just one of those books to be enjoyed. A lovely read all around.

Negatives: Everything wraps up very neatly at the end. Even the messy parts are somehow a little too tidy.

Narration: I really loved Peter Altschuler’s narration of this book. He was able to handle a host of different British accents, and I really felt the emotion he put in the voices of the characters. I’d love to listen to other books he’s narrated.

Other books I’ve read by Helen Simonson: none

Other books I’ve listened to narrated by Peter Altschuler: none

Other blogger opinions:

A Lifetime of Books: “And it bugs me that the book brought up a very important issue then simply brushed it aside: can a mixed religion marriage really work?”

Just a Book Worm: “The plot did have some cheesy twists, but overall it’s a very well written and enjoyable book.

S. Krishna’s Books: “She never drags the reader down with heavy subjects though; they are expertly incorporated in the story, such that the reader doesn’t even realize there’s any sort of social commentary taking place until after the scene has passed.”

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January 14, 2012

I Made it Myself (Lessons in Cooking #14) + Training Update

The holidays, coupled with a nasty head cold that is just not letting go completely, sort of derailed my cooking, eating, and exercising for the last part of December and first part of January. Literally, I ate sweets for the week of Christmas, got a cold, and then ate chicken noodle soup for two weeks. I didn’t do anything even remotely athletic between December 17 and January 7, unless you count sleeping in. (I’m guessing you probably don’t count sleeping in.)

Which, I must say, has made  me one big, fat crankypants. It’s amazing — once you really start getting into shape, eating healthy and getting enough exercise, you really do feel like crap if you stop. I hate feeling like crap.

So now that I’m finally feeling better(ish) and we’re all done celebrating Jesus by eating our body weight in See’s candy, it’s back to homemade cooking, eating healthy, and getting more exercise.

One of my favorite restaurants in Sacramento, Cafe Bernardo, has a killer Griddled Ham & Cheese that I thought I could re-create in my own kitchen — so I tentatively stepped back into the cooking realm this week by making myself a grilled ham and cheese sandwich on sourdough, with caramelized onions and dijon mustard. It takes forever to caramelize onions, but it’s so worth the wait. Then, in case you live in a cave, here’s how to make a killer grilled cheese:

Not my sandwich. But it looked exactly like this.

Caramelize the onions first, according to the directions at the above link, and set aside. Butter two pieces of bread. Put one, butter side down, in a skillet (I have a cast iron panini skillet, which, in a pinch, I could use as a weapon. It weighs nearly 15 pounds.). Put dijon mustard on the other side of the bread. Add some sliced sharp cheddar and some thinly sliced ham (I like black forest ham from the deli). Top with the caramelized onions, and put the other piece of bread on top, butter side out. I usually grill the sandwich over medium heat, waiting for the bread to get nice and brown. Then flip, and grill on the other side. My panini skillet has a heavy lid, so it presses the sandwich in a pleasing way, making the cheese ooze out the side a little, getting crispy where it touches the skillet.

My finished grilled ham and cheese was divine, and I had a little side of sweet potato chips, which are yummy, and actually count as a serving of veggies. Not the healthiest serving, but it was better than nothing.

Seasoning a Cast Iron Pan

I also seasoned my cast iron panini skillet this weekend. I use it often, for more than paninis, because I like that it cooks with those grill lines. Cast iron needs special care, including occasional seasoning. Seasoning is simple — use a paper towel to coat the skillet/pan/pot with vegetable oil, and put in the oven at 350° for an hour. Seasoning prevents rusting and creates a non-stick surface. Cast iron can’t be cleaned like normal pans — dish soap and dishwashers remove the seasoning. I’m starting to use the technique of using coarse salt and a paper towel to remove anything that is still left on the pan after cooking. Who cares if there’s a little butter left over? Makes the next dish even tastier!

Training Update: Even though I was still feeling a little under the weather, I met up with my Tough Mudder group to run up and down a parking garage last Saturday. My brother — who has really embraced healthy eating and exercise…and looks fantastic to prove it — joined us. I think we can convince him to Tough Mudder with us in September.

The parking garage is ten stories tall. Here is the workout we did. I did sort of a modified workout, since breathing was still difficult. There was more walking and taking the stairs one at a time for me.

  • Run up all 10 stories of ramps in the parking garage.
  • Run down 10 flights of stairs.
  • Take stairs one at a time all the way up, as fast as you can.
  • The parking garage has a set of stairs at each end. Run down one ramp, and down one flight of stairs. Run up the next ramp, and down one flight of stairs. Run down one ramp, and down one flight of stairs. Repeat until you get to the bottom. The pattern of running ends up looking like this:

  • Take the stairs two at a time all the way up, as fast as you can.
  • Run the ramps down as illustrated again.
  • And do it all one more time!

It took a little over an hour to complete. Strangely, the running pattern on the ramps is the “recovery” part of this work out — running up the stairs and all the way up the ramps is really what gets you. I had a heck of a time with going up the stairs — my lungs were still too full of phlegm to push myself really hard. Next Tough Mudder training is spin class! Our coach has kindly agreed to let me bring my laptop with me so I can watch 49ers game updates while we spin. GO NINERS!

I also went to karate twice this week, trying to get back into my normal routine. We’ve got some cool curriculum this cycle, including “Ricochet,” which involves chopping people in the throat, and a couple of back-knuckles. Hard core.

Running? Cycling? Yes, I need to start doing those again. Going to schedule runs and indoor bike rides on my trainer starting this week! (Hold me to that, okay?)

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