Cybertoad's Blog

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book that had me staying up past my bedtime because I could not put it down! This is a love story like no other… it’s not a plot line I’ve read before either. It is based in the late 1880’s – early 1900’s and centers on an enchanting, mystical circus that only takes place at night. It is appropriately called the Circus of Dreams. Morgenstern is impeccable at describing her circus – I could envision it in my head and wished I could be there in real life. She is just as good with her characters. I was sad to see she has only written one book and anxiously await to see what she publishes next. Her writing style is enthralling, beautiful and unique. It has been a while since a book has been able to transport me into its world & characters so deeply as The Night Circus did. My only complaint (and it is a minor one) is that it got a little confusing because the chapters flip between narrators and times and even geographical location (at times they are decades apart) but this issue was easily alleviated because the chapter titles typically told you the date and place to help you get oriented. A highly recommended read!

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For Christmas I received the ice cream maker attachment for my KitchenAid stand mixer. Last weekend I tried it out and made the yummy triple berry sorbet pictured below. Below the pic I share my recipe…

RECIPE: I used a 48 oz bag of frozen berries (combo of blueberries, raspberries & blackberries), thawed the bag out in some warm water and dropped the contents of the bag into the food processor. I then took the berry goop from the processor and strained out as much juice as possible. I placed the strained liquid in an airtight container & chilled it overnight in the refrigerator. I made about 3 cups of simple syrup and also chilled it overnight.

The next day I combined the chilled berry juice (it was a little gelatinous after being chilled) with the simple syrup, set up the ice cream attachment on my Kitchenaid mixer (I had frozen the container for several days) and poured in the berry juice + simple syrup combo into the bowl. I let it go on Level 1 for about 12-15 minutes. Result was a little slushy but 8 hours in the freezer got it to a nice solid consistency. Flavor is rich and sweet!

VERDICT: Can’t wait to make more and try more flavors as well as actual ice cream!

Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero by Michael Hingson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Good compelling read on a blind 9-11 survivor who was in the one of the towers when the 1st plane hit. Since you know he survives, there is no true climatic point in the story. He and his guide dog actually make it out about halfway through the book but he fills in the space around the 9-11 narrative with his experiences as a blind individual and how his upbringing made him who he is today and gave him the ability to make it through alive. I learned more about the blind than I did about 9-11 but that was fine and unexpected. Only complaints were he was a bit preachy – but how can I blame him if he is a religious individual? – and the title and cover image were a little misleading. The story was more about the man than the dog. We do learn a lot about his guide-dog and about how guide-dogs assist the blind but I had expected more focus on that aspect.

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Talk to the Snail: Ten Commandments for Understanding the French by Stephen Clarke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’ve read Clarke’s other fiction comedy series centered around Paul West, a British ex-pat living in France. I enjoy his style of writing and having studied French for 4 years in high school and having visited France on several occasions, I was interested in this non-fiction book that Clarke wrote from his personal experiences.

Still funny and I enjoyed but it did get a little tedious and rambling. He does lovingly mock the French but hey, it’s the French! They deserve it! Don’t worry, j’adore les francaises…

Anyway, I give it 3 stars only because if you are not into the subject matter, it won’t entertain you at all and because it like I already said, he did ramble on a bit at times. C’est la vie!

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Bossypants by Tina Fey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Quick funny read for any Tina Fey lovers as well as lovers of SNL, 30 Rock or improv comedy. Nothing too ground breaking or revealing in here but still a nice read on Tina’s comedy background, her hard-working values and her passion for getting women comedians and comedy writers the attention and the accolades they deserve in an entertainment world that doesn’t always see them on equal footing with their male peers.

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I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My husband is a huge Terry Pratchett fan and I when he upgraded his Kindle, I inherited his old Kindle 2G with this book still on it. I am glad I read it! It’s different from his other Discworld books and is actually the 4th in a series centered on the main character, young witch Tiffany Aching. I was concerned about starting at the end of a series but my husband insisted I could read it as a stand alone book without having read the rest of the series and he was right. Tiffany is a wonderful character and the Nac Mac Feegles who accompany her everywhere are additional comic relief. They may be annoying but I sort of wish I had my own set of Nac Mac Feegles following me around! Story is more serious than other Pratchett books but still manages to remain lighthearted and quick-moving. Another classic Pratchett tale that leaves me wanting to read more of his books,

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Shit My Dad Says by Justin Halpern
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fun, super quick read. Heartwarming story of his relationship with his Dad and not what I expected. Some great advice in there too, all while laughing out loud.

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Yes. Still here. New position at work has me so so so busy. Thought I should at least get a Foto Friday in here though. This is shot from our San Diego trip at the famous San Diego Zoo…

My current desktop at work… TGIF!

Looking forward to what I’ll call “porch weather” – the unbearable summer heat starts to dissipate and the cooler evenings start to make an appearance…