Light reading with a side of cupcakes

Lately, I've been doing a bit of light reading. I've been trolling for books in the young adult/children's fiction area as a general rule. They tend to be enjoyable but not challenging...just what my overtaxed brain can handle.

At the library yesterday (yes, our library is open on Sundays, closed on Mondays), I wandered the new fiction area and saw a book that has caught my interest before and I decided to check it out.

The Icing on the Cupcake by Jennifer Ross
http://www.amazon.com/Icing-Cupcake-Novel-Jennifer-Ross/dp/034549296X/

I read it in one evening. It was enjoyable, but I thought she wrapped up the mother/daughter conflict in a few sentences when it should have been a little longer.

BUT, the reason I would check the book out again is for the cupcake recipes. There are probably 10 or so  really interesting cupcake recipes in the book. Such as the Mex-Tex cupcakes with chocolate and chili powder. Lemon-Blueberry cupcakes with blueberries and lemon curd. etc.

Within the story of the book, she also talks a little about the technique of making cupcakes such as what the butter should look like to be properly aerated and the use of potato starch for moist cupcakes.

I plan on trying a few recipes before I return the book, I recommend you check the book out too -- if you like cupcakes that is.

Bon Appetite

2005 - 2006 Book List

• September F Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
• October NF Smartest Guys in the Room - Bethany McLean
• November F Ishmael - Daniel Quinn
• December NF It Takes a Village - Hillary Rodham Clinton
• January F The Autobiography of Henry VIII - Margaret George
• February NF Among the Bears - Benjamin Kilham
• March F This Body - Laurel Marian Doud
• April NF Pioneer Women - Joanna L. Stratton
• May F Into the Forest - Jean Hegland
• June NF Zippy - Haven Kimmel
• July F Outlander - Diana Gabaldon
• August NF Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment - Thaddeus Golas

2006 - 2007 Book List

• September NF A Girl Named Zippy - Haven Kimmel
  October F Into the Forest - Jean Hegland
  November NF Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment - Thaddeus Golas
  December F Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
  January NF Between a Rock and a Hard Place - Aron Ralston
  February F Blessings - Anna Quindlen
  March NF Making Peace with the Things in Your Life - Cindy Glovinsky
  April F The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri
  May NF Last Child in the Woods - Richard Louv
  June F Lunch at the Picadilly - Clyde Edgerton
  July NF The Endurance - Caroline Alexander

2007 - 2008 Book List

• September F Leeway Cottage - Beth Gutcheon
  October NF Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver
  November NF Rich Dad Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki
  December NF Female Ejaculation and the G-Spot - Deborah Sundahl
  January F Mutant Message - Marlo Morgan
  February NF The Final Frontiersman - James Campbell
  March F Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
  April F Sacajawea - Anna Lee Waldo
  May NF Your Personality Tree - Florence Littauer
  June NF The Eden Express - Mark Vonnegut
  July F The Mists of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley

2008 - 2009 Book List

• September NF Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson
• October F Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
• November NF In an Instant - Lee and Bob Woodruff
• December F Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See
• January NF Winter World - Bernd Heinrich
• February NF Leap of Faith - Queen Noor
• March NF The Wolves of Isle Royale - Rolf Peterson
• April F The Book of Bright Ideas - Sandra King
• May NF Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
• June F One True Thing - Anna Quindlen
• July F Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien

MTU Student Pick & "Eat, Pray, Love" Movie

Judy just told me the MTU student pick for the fall. It's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. It looks very good -- either Judy or I will bring it to McLain's in August. They usually get the author to speak at Tech. Start gathering some more books for our fabulous Book Extravaganza at McLain's August 14 - 15!

Also coming out this summer is the movie Eat, Pray, Love starrring Julia Roberts. I saw the preview on elizabethgilbert.com. That looks very good also. Please let me know when it comes to town (if I don't catch it), and I'll organize a movie date to see it as a group.

2009 - 2010 Book List

• September NF In Praise of Slowness - Carol Honore
• October F The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
• November NF The Gift of Fear - Gavin De Becker
• December F Dandelion Wine - Ray Bradbury
• January NF Child of the Jungle - Sabine Kuegler
• February F The Bishop in the West Wing - Andrew Greeley
• March NF Turtle Feet - Nikloai Grozni
• April F Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
• May F The Monkey Wrench Gang - Edward Abbey
• June F Going After Cacciato - Tim O'Brien
• July NF My Life in Dog Years - Gary Paulsen