Lady Killer and Ms. Marvel

Am I too old for this??

(comics that is)

 

Seriously, that is my question.  But I only ask myself.  (not you--I don't want to be judged for being an old lady reading comics--I wonder what I'll write to describe myself when I really get old--ancient?)
 

Do I really care if I should be too old  for this stuff  (  THIS stuff)? 

No, not really. 

Because I really had a fun time reading these two  comics.

 

 

From Goodreads:

Josie Schuller is a picture-perfect homemaker, wife, and mother—but she’s also a ruthless, efficient killer for hire! A brand-new original comedy series that combines the wholesome imagery of early 1960s domestic bliss with a tightening web of murder, paranoia, and cold-blooded survival.

 

From Me:

Now this one is just funny!  I love Josie.  I love the graphics.

This is pretty dark, but funny just the same.

 

From Goodreads:

Kamala Khan is an ordinary girl from Jersey City — until she's suddenly empowered with extraordinary gifts. But who truly is the new Ms. Marvel? Teenager? Muslim? Inhuman? Find out as she takes the Marvel Universe by storm! When Kamala discovers the dangers of her newfound powers, she unlocks a secret behind them, as well. Is Kamala ready to wield these immense new gifts? Or will the weight of the legacy before her be too much to bear? Kamala has no idea, either. But she's comin' for you, Jersey!

 

 

From Me:

Ms. Marvel---I loved how her teenage angst was an integral part of the story.  Her teenage ups and downs and insecurity and parent issues AND how she has to deal with being a Muslim in country which is suspicious of those religious  and cultural ideals.

I liked the diversity and I like seeing how her confidence grows and I like her friends.

*******

 

 

The only thing I do care about-is that I spent $16 for 20 minutes of pleasure.

(That sentence  sounds really weird to me, but you get it, right? It's because I live in Nevada, where you really can spend money for pleasure ~smiles~)
 

They were really good, but it's pricey when you read fast.

Any ideas on how to do this cheaper,  you graphic book readers out there?

 

I don't regret it (too much) tho, as I really enjoyed the books and I know I will continue reading these two series.

 

 

 

 

These Vicious Masks

From Goodreads:

England, 1882. Evelyn is bored with society and its expectations. So when her beloved sister, Rose, mysteriously vanishes, she ignores her parents and travels to London to find her, accompanied by the dashing Mr. Kent. But they’re not the only ones looking for Rose. The reclusive, young gentleman Sebastian Braddock is also searching for her, claiming that both sisters have special healing powers. Evelyn is convinced that Sebastian must be mad, until she discovers that his strange tales of extraordinary people are true—and that her sister is in graver danger than she feared.

From Me:

So Amazon said

 that this book can be compared to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice meets the X-Men.

That intrigued me I had to read this book.

I think what I wrote on Litsy is "I liked it at the beginning, the middle was "eh" and then I LOVED it at the end!  It was exactly as  Amazon said:  regency era and superpowers!  (that's kind of a weird combination).

There was a little bit of romance, a lot of mystery, and---well superpowers.

I enjoyed reading this YA novel and am looking forward to the sequels. I understand it is the first in a trilogy.

3.5 stars!

What Should I Read Next

 

A monthly meme hosted by Michelle at  Because Reading is Better than Real Life.

Michelle says:

We sit for hours looking through our TBR lists wondering when we will ever get to that one book we were dying to read when we added it 3 months ago or maybe even a year. As our piles get bigger we realize there is just not enough time in a day to read all the books that we wanted to read. So I had a great idea, pick 3 books from my TBR Pile and have you all pick which one I should read next. This is a monthly MEME and you are more than welcome to join me.

 

There are of course some rules, but if you want to join in go here to check them all out.

Okay people....help me out here!  I need a book to read and I need your help in choosing which one.

Below are three I want to read, but..... my decision making skills when I'm not at work are nil.

All you have to do is  just make a comment  on which one you choose for me and I'll let you know next Saturday what I'm reading next....the majority wins!

 

This is the 4th time for me to participate in the meme...You've chosen 3 first place and first rate winners, so I decided to  give you all the 2nd place books from the last three months and see what one you come up with this time.

 

Runners Up for the last 3 months are:

 

From Goodreads:

 

 A modern masterpiece from one of Italy’s most acclaimed authors, My Brilliant Friend is a rich, intense, and generous-hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila. Ferrante’s inimitable style lends itself perfectly to a meticulous portrait of these two women that is also the story of a nation and a touching meditation on the nature of friendship.

 

From Goodreads:

Lila Soto has a master’s degree that’s gathering dust, a work-obsessed husband, two kids, and lots of questions about how exactly she ended up here.

In their new city of Philadelphia, Lila’s husband, Sam, takes his job as a restaurant critic a little too seriously. To protect his professional credibility, he’s determined to remain anonymous. Soon his preoccupation with anonymity takes over their lives as he tries to limit the family’s contact with anyone who might have ties to the foodie world. Meanwhile, Lila craves adult conversation and some relief from the constraints of her homemaker role. With her patience wearing thin, she begins to question everything: her decision to get pregnant again, her break from her career, her marriage—even if leaving her ex-boyfriend was the right thing to do. As Sam becomes more and more fixated on keeping his identity secret, Lila begins to wonder if her own identity has completely disappeared—and what it will take to get it back.

 

 

 

From Goodreads:

What's it all about?

 

Loop me in, odd one.

The words, spoken in the deep of night by a sleeping child, chill the young man watching over her. For this was a favorite phrase of Stormy Llewellyn, his lost love, and Stormy is dead, gone forever from this world. In the haunted halls of the isolated monastery where he had sought peace, Odd Thomas is stalking spirits of an infinitely darker nature.

Through two New York Times bestselling novels Odd Thomas has established himself as one of the most beloved and unique fictional heroes of our time. Now, wielding all the power and magic of a master storyteller at the pinnacle of his craft, Dean Koontz follows Odd into a singular new world where he hopes to make a fresh beginning—but where he will meet an adversary as old and inexorable as time itself.

St. Bartholomew’s Abbey sits in majestic solitude amid the wild peaks of California’s high Sierra, a haven for children otherwise abandoned, and a sanctuary for those seeking insight. Odd Thomas has come here to learn to live fully again, and among the eccentric monks, their other guests, and the nuns and young students of the attached convent school, he has begun to find his way. The silent spirits of the dead who visited him in his earlier life are mercifully absent, save for the bell-ringing Brother Constantine and Odd’s steady companion, the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

But trouble has a way of finding Odd Thomas, and it slinks back onto his path in the form of the sinister bodachs he has met previously, the black shades who herald death and disaster, and who come late one December night to hover above the abbey’s most precious charges. For Odd is about to face an enemy who eclipses any he has yet encountered, as he embarks on a journey of mystery, wonder, and sheer suspense that surpasses all that has come before. 

 

 

*************

So these are the 2nd place books from the last 3 months.  One of them will be a winner this time!

Please just vote in the comments and I'll let you know the winner next Saturday and then read it and write up a blog post for the last Saturday in the month.

I can't wait to see what you pick!

Thanks.

Book Blogger Hop

 

Book Blogger Hop is hosted each week by

Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.

 

This week's question is:

 

 

Why did you start your blog?

 

Hmmmm....why did I start my blog.

Honestly, I thought it would be a better forum for my group of "Friday Friends" to discuss things. Better than email.  But it never really caught on with them.

If you go to the beginning of my blog in 2007,  there is a bunch of rambling that no one would ever understand. (it's my friends from all over the country discussing and answering some random questions, which I had posed to them)

That was short lived, because them I discovered food blogging.  Then book blogging, then photography blogging, etc.

I had separate blogs for each, and then I decided 'screw that' it's my blog, my hobby, I can do whatever I want in ONE blog and WAH-LA!  Here it is.

It is 68% a book blog and 32% food and other stuff.

 

And that's why I started this blog.

You?

 

To Marry an English Lord

 

From Goodreads:

From the Gilded Age until 1914, more than 100 American heiresses invaded Britannia and swapped dollars for titles--just like Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham, the first of the Downton Abbey characters Julian Fellowes was inspired to create after reading To Marry An English Lord. Filled with vivid personalities, gossipy anecdotes, grand houses, and a wealth of period details--plus photographs, illustrations, quotes, and the finer points of Victorian and Edwardian etiquette--To Marry An English Lord is social history at its liveliest and most accessible.

 

From me:

While I enjoyed it very much, I found it hard to read as the layout was very annoying and frustrating,  so I found it was the kind of book that I could put down for a few days and then come back to.  But I really enjoyed the back stories of all the American heiresses who literally gave up everything just for a title.  It was social climbing at its best.   These young women did not marry for love and didn't always have an easy time of it in England, but once in a great while a marriage of convenience did grow into love.

3 stars.

Spiced Rum Applesauce--Cookbook Countdown Number #88 with Cookbook Wednesday

 Cookbook Wednesday

is hosted by Louise

at 

Months of Edible Celebrations!

I love Louise's blog!  She has such interesting posts.

Today she is featuring "Mexican Fiestas".

It's been a while since I've posted on a Cookbook Wednesday, but 

as  I said the last time I posted a cookbook for the countdown,  

this isn't even making a dent in my collection.

And it's #88!

This will keep me busy until I die. (posting from each cookbook)

Check them all out here!

When I was little my mom made a side dish: fried apples.  It looked similar to this.
I think these look like caramelized onions kind of.  What do you think?

But cookbook 88!
It's a good one.

Goodreads says:

Hungry for something different? Then try America's Best BBQ. Here, two of the world's top barbecue experts present their favorite barbecue recipes from across America.

Only Ardie and Paul, the go-to sources on barbecue, can earn the trust--and the secret recipes--from some of the nation's barbecue legends.

Tasty sides include tips, tricks, techniques, fun memorabilia, full-color photos, and firsthand recollections of tales from the pits culled from over a century of combined barbecue experience.

With more than 100 recipes for mouthwatering starters, moist and flavorful meats, classic side dishes, sauces and rubs, and decadent desserts, this book should come with its own wet-nap.

* Whether it's spicy or sweet, Texas or Memphis, this is the best collection of American barbecue recipes.

********

While I  have many book marks in this cookbook for some good BBQ, this night I wanted something simple, so I chose these pork steaks and chunky applesauce.

I love applesauce and any apple dessert, and this was easy-peasy.

It was good, but didn't taste like any applesauce I've ever had.  First of all there was NO cinnamon and second, there WAS spiced rum.

You have to learn how to give and take, right?

The apples cooked in spiced rum was different.  It was good tho.  

I didn't add the raisins, because, well, plump warm raisins are only good in cookies.   (Seriously tho, I don't like raisins in sauces and things, but I do like them in cookies)   You can add the raisins if you want.

Would I recommend this recipe?

Yes, I would. I would definitely   make this  dish again.

It's simple, easy and tasty.

If you can't make out that recipe from above it goes like this:

Chunky applesauce

2 t canola oil

8 T butter

3-4 granny smith apples, peeled and sliced

1 cup raisins

1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup Captain Morgan's spiced rum

Place oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When the butter melts, add the apple slices and cook until soft, 10-15 minutes.  Add the raisins, brown sugar and rum and cook over low heat until you get a chunky sauce consistency, about 30 minutes.  

Serve on the side with pork steaks or pour it over them.

I really did do the pork steaks, but the Handyman cut into it to see if it was done and it looks like Pac-man on my plate and I didn't want to share.

But then I go ahead and share!

(this is why I could never do anything naughty--I'd be blabbing to all my friends)

And that is Cookbook #88!

Outdoor Wednesday

 

On Wednesdays I'll sometimes join A Southern Daydreamer and her Outdoor Wednesday meme to share some pictures.

Stop by and check out other great photos of the outdoors!

 

On Sunday the Handyman wanted to go for a drive, so off we went on an old dirt road. Way out in the wilderness.

Once,  a long time ago, he told me that if he ever wanted to get rid of a body, he would dump it down an old mine shaft in the Nevada desert.

It always makes me a bit nervous when I go into the desert with him.

So, if I ever disappear, you might want to remember this!

Just kidding!!

(I hope) 

It's pretty desolate out there.

 

So anyway, we went for a drive and then a bit of a walk in the hills.

 

 

This is what we saw......

Lots of sagebrush.

 

 

And lots of hills and mountains.

And a little bit of water. Actually a  lot of water in this stream--for the high desert anyway.  And the Handyman---as always-- getting in the way of my photography.

Wildflowers!

And we were also high enough to get into some trees.  Or very big bushes.

The Pinion Pine and Juniper Trees.

 

These Tent caterpillars were busy making cocoons.

While this is really cool to see, they are very destructive.

They've destroyed many groves of trees.

 

 

 

So, that was my Sunday afternoon in the Outdoors...and I'm sharing it this Wednesday.