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Jul. 10th, 2014 10:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. Have discovered that when making my own almond butter - I need to put in plenty of oil. The best appears to be extra virgin olive oil. Coconut oil gets lumpy. Other oils aren't good for me and make me ill (canola, peanut oil, sunflower oil).
2. While The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck is an interesting book, it is putting me to sleep on the commute. Hmmm, maybe I should read it at night? Part of my problem with it is the writing style - it's allegorical. Allegory isn't something I tend to enjoy. But yet, I find myself sticking with it...maybe because I've picked up and put down four books so far?
Went on a mini e-book buying spree. The Courtney Milan novels rec'd by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
shipperx are on sale for .99 cents, and The Duke of Midnight by Elizabeth Hoyt was on sale for a $1.99. Also borrowed "Ghouls Rush In: A Peyton Lane novel" - which looked like fun. And Christopher Isherwood's The Berlin Stories, which I'd read ages ago - also for a $1.99. I'm a sucker for Kindle e-book sales. Isherwood was not exactly a very nice man - I think he was the classic example of a narcissist from the commentary I've read. But he was a fascinating writer.
* Unfortunately, Amazon is going to think I only read romance novels and will only rec romance novels and urban fantasy. This is not true. It just appears to be true. And appearances can be deceiving. Not that Amazon has ever been good at rec'ing books. Good Reads is, Amazon sucks at it - mainly because it bases it on your buying history and its more than possible that you were in a mood, and half the stuff you bought you didn't read or like.
The book reviews on Amazon continue to amuse me though.
For The Good Earth - every reviewer under the age of 25 appeared to dislike the book immensely. They found it slow, plodding, and badly written. However, the reviewers who were over the age of 40 or older, loved it. So I'm thinking this is not a book that should be read in high school? Although to be fair, I find it slow at times too and the lead character, Wang Lung, is not exactly likable. Which could be a stumbling point for quite a few readers. I don't mind unlikable characters - as long as they are interesting. How could I tell their ages? They sort of announce it in the reviews and by writing style.
Some of the reviews, I found a wee bit disturbing. The writers stated that they didn't think they should be forced to read books about other cultures or another country's history. (The story takes place in China during the 1920s.) That they should only have to read about their own country, and focus on books about it. And that if you were interested in reading about Chinese history or culture it was a good book, but if you didn't care about China or their culture - it wasn't worth your time. (Like I said ...disturbing, but you have to admit, it does explain a lot.)
Regarding the book A Lady's Lesson in Scandal by Meredith Duran - reviewers took issue with the fact that the writer decided to delve into the issue of poverty and render it in graphic detail. (The story is about an Earl's daughter who was abducted at the age of six and raised in the London slums. Years later - she returns to seek revenge on her family and runs smack dab into the heir to the Earldom, not a relation. He gets the title and the lands but the money is split between the girl raised in the slums and her twin sister. Duran is an interesting romance novelist - she's fascinated by class warfare, social issues, and racism. Unfortunately the majority of romance readers aren't.) Quite a few of the reviewers stated that they didn't want poverty mentioned in their romance novels. They didn't read romance for that. They wanted to escape to wealthy estates...and lovely balls. While I actually do like a bit of angst and poverty in my romance novels - a little grit. Otherwise I find them to be a bit dull. There has to be more involved than a simple misunderstanding.
Smartbitches amused me regarding Duke of Midnight by Elizabeth Hoyt - which I've become curious about. The readership is split on whether this novel has the best heroine or the best hero of the series. Okay. The hero is basically an 18th century version of Batman, complete with entitled angst and sexist brooding. The heroine according to the reviews I've read - is spunky but victimized by the hero. Although, I have to admit that does provide lots of juicy melodrama and conflict. Angst. Bring on the angst! Which is probably why a lot of readers loved it? It was 1.99 - so I grabbed it. Have the others, might as well complete the set. Only one I don't appear to have is the one about the pirate, mainly because that set up sort of bugged me or I found it disturbing. Considering my tolerance for disturbing, that's saying something. (Basically it's about a crime boss or pirate king who robs from this poor woman's husband. When she comes begging him for help. He makes her spend the night with him and undue her clothing - walking back disheveled to her husband so that it appears to everyone that they did sleep together. After her husband leaves, he drops his bastard child off at her doorstep. Blackmails her into living with him. Refuses to feed her unless she eats at his table and sleeps with him...and eventually she falls in love with him. And he decides to give up being a pirate to be with her. Which is okay, I suppose - but you sort of have to put up with the whole bit leading up to that. Not helped by the fact that the heroine is wimpy, a bit of a victim, and angelic. I require feisty.)
As an aside? The dang female reviewers on Amazon keep stating H and h in their reviews. H = hero and h=heroine. Yet another sign of how sexist our society is and how internalized it has become. They don't even know they are doing it.
2. While The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck is an interesting book, it is putting me to sleep on the commute. Hmmm, maybe I should read it at night? Part of my problem with it is the writing style - it's allegorical. Allegory isn't something I tend to enjoy. But yet, I find myself sticking with it...maybe because I've picked up and put down four books so far?
Went on a mini e-book buying spree. The Courtney Milan novels rec'd by
shipperx are on sale for .99 cents, and The Duke of Midnight by Elizabeth Hoyt was on sale for a $1.99. Also borrowed "Ghouls Rush In: A Peyton Lane novel" - which looked like fun. And Christopher Isherwood's The Berlin Stories, which I'd read ages ago - also for a $1.99. I'm a sucker for Kindle e-book sales. Isherwood was not exactly a very nice man - I think he was the classic example of a narcissist from the commentary I've read. But he was a fascinating writer. * Unfortunately, Amazon is going to think I only read romance novels and will only rec romance novels and urban fantasy. This is not true. It just appears to be true. And appearances can be deceiving. Not that Amazon has ever been good at rec'ing books. Good Reads is, Amazon sucks at it - mainly because it bases it on your buying history and its more than possible that you were in a mood, and half the stuff you bought you didn't read or like.
The book reviews on Amazon continue to amuse me though.
For The Good Earth - every reviewer under the age of 25 appeared to dislike the book immensely. They found it slow, plodding, and badly written. However, the reviewers who were over the age of 40 or older, loved it. So I'm thinking this is not a book that should be read in high school? Although to be fair, I find it slow at times too and the lead character, Wang Lung, is not exactly likable. Which could be a stumbling point for quite a few readers. I don't mind unlikable characters - as long as they are interesting. How could I tell their ages? They sort of announce it in the reviews and by writing style.
Some of the reviews, I found a wee bit disturbing. The writers stated that they didn't think they should be forced to read books about other cultures or another country's history. (The story takes place in China during the 1920s.) That they should only have to read about their own country, and focus on books about it. And that if you were interested in reading about Chinese history or culture it was a good book, but if you didn't care about China or their culture - it wasn't worth your time. (Like I said ...disturbing, but you have to admit, it does explain a lot.)
Regarding the book A Lady's Lesson in Scandal by Meredith Duran - reviewers took issue with the fact that the writer decided to delve into the issue of poverty and render it in graphic detail. (The story is about an Earl's daughter who was abducted at the age of six and raised in the London slums. Years later - she returns to seek revenge on her family and runs smack dab into the heir to the Earldom, not a relation. He gets the title and the lands but the money is split between the girl raised in the slums and her twin sister. Duran is an interesting romance novelist - she's fascinated by class warfare, social issues, and racism. Unfortunately the majority of romance readers aren't.) Quite a few of the reviewers stated that they didn't want poverty mentioned in their romance novels. They didn't read romance for that. They wanted to escape to wealthy estates...and lovely balls. While I actually do like a bit of angst and poverty in my romance novels - a little grit. Otherwise I find them to be a bit dull. There has to be more involved than a simple misunderstanding.
Smartbitches amused me regarding Duke of Midnight by Elizabeth Hoyt - which I've become curious about. The readership is split on whether this novel has the best heroine or the best hero of the series. Okay. The hero is basically an 18th century version of Batman, complete with entitled angst and sexist brooding. The heroine according to the reviews I've read - is spunky but victimized by the hero. Although, I have to admit that does provide lots of juicy melodrama and conflict. Angst. Bring on the angst! Which is probably why a lot of readers loved it? It was 1.99 - so I grabbed it. Have the others, might as well complete the set. Only one I don't appear to have is the one about the pirate, mainly because that set up sort of bugged me or I found it disturbing. Considering my tolerance for disturbing, that's saying something. (Basically it's about a crime boss or pirate king who robs from this poor woman's husband. When she comes begging him for help. He makes her spend the night with him and undue her clothing - walking back disheveled to her husband so that it appears to everyone that they did sleep together. After her husband leaves, he drops his bastard child off at her doorstep. Blackmails her into living with him. Refuses to feed her unless she eats at his table and sleeps with him...and eventually she falls in love with him. And he decides to give up being a pirate to be with her. Which is okay, I suppose - but you sort of have to put up with the whole bit leading up to that. Not helped by the fact that the heroine is wimpy, a bit of a victim, and angelic. I require feisty.)
As an aside? The dang female reviewers on Amazon keep stating H and h in their reviews. H = hero and h=heroine. Yet another sign of how sexist our society is and how internalized it has become. They don't even know they are doing it.
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no subject
Date: 2014-07-11 12:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-07-11 10:34 pm (UTC)If I don't add oil - it's crumbly and not smooth.
no subject
Date: 2014-07-12 12:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-07-12 01:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-07-12 02:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-07-12 10:22 pm (UTC)Also, my grinder sort of has to be pushed manually - it doesn't have a button that turns on and you leave it for a bit.
no subject
Date: 2014-07-13 04:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-07-11 02:11 pm (UTC)(Also never read the Pirate Hoyte book for pretty much the reasons you're stating)
no subject
Date: 2014-07-11 10:40 pm (UTC)A Lady's Lesson does have an intriguing concept or one that sort of hits a story kink. I've read a couple of books like it. And I like Duran (read two of her books, Duke of Shadows and At Your Pleasure - she's very angsty and melodramatic, less banter more angst.)
I think I may be heading back to reading romance novels soon. Need fluff, albeit, melodramatic angsty fluff. ;-)
no subject
Date: 2014-07-11 10:44 pm (UTC)Yep, Hoyt ruins the first two novels of the Maiden Lane series: Wicked Intentions and Notorious Pleasures with that annoying subplot. It stretches over the course of first four books apparently (I think it's in Thief of Shadows?). It's the third book in her series.