Saturday, December 26, 2009

I’ve Got Some Reading To Do

Hope you all had a marvelous Christmas Day. I actually got all of the gifts wrapped and I am happy to say that it was before midnight on Christmas Eve! We have been cooking and baking for days and it’s time to take a breather. We had a wonderful day. With no little ones waking us up at the crack of dawn anymore, we all slept in and opened gifts finishing with all of that just before noon. A far cry from when the kids were little and they were up at 5:30 a.m. dying to open their gifts. The past few years we have been getting up at a more civilized hour. :)

Books 003

Santa was very good to all of us and Christmas time is my favorite time to catch up on my reading. Santa must have know this because I have lots of new reading material. I have already started Andre Agassi’s autobiography called “Open”. I am enjoying it immensely! That boy was driven…by his intense father…and he has an incredible memory for details. I just started it so I will let you know what I think when I finish.

Some of you might think the autobiography of Andy Williams called “Moon River and Me” might be an odd selection for someone my age but I requested that book after hearing an interview with Andy on NPR a few weeks before Christmas. What an interesting life he has had. Did you know he was with Bobby Kennedy the night he was assassinated? Neither did I.

The Girls From Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow, follows a group of women over the course of forty years. I usually like books like this. Has anyone read this one yet?

Then there is Blogging for Bliss by Tara Frey. Lots of my favorite blogs are featured in this book. And although I have pretty much figured out the basics of blogging by my lonesome, this would be a great book for someone just starting out or thinking about starting a blog. It is a great guide to other creative blogs. There are lot of them out there to discover.

And finally, it wouldn’t be Christmas for me without a new cookbook. I am a huge fan of “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day” by Jeff Hershberger and Zoe Francois and I have had great success with all of the breads that I tried making from their first book. Their latest book is called "Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day" and so now I can try my hand at making more whole grain breads. Lot’s of healthy bread recipes are in their latest book and there is even a section of gluten free recipes.

So how about you. Have you read any of my new books? Did Santa bring you any new books of your own? I will keep you posted as I start to plow my way through my new library. :)

10 comments:

The Pleasures of Homemaking said...

My daughter used to get us up at 4 in the morning when she was little. Thank goodnes she's a teen now and likes to sleep!

I have their first bread book too and I'm excited about this second one since I'd rather eat whole wheat bread.

Manuela

Karen said...

I love getting a book for Christmas. This year the only book I got was Rachael Ray's new cookbook-that I didn't ask for! I jokingly asked my husband if this was a hint that I needed to start cooking some new things. He didn't say no!

Tee said...

Merry Christmas Lisa! I'm glad you posted about the Blogging for Bliss book. I've been considering getting it, but maybe will save my pennies. How long has the new header been up? I like it - so you!

Karen The Graphics Fairy said...

Hi Lisa,
I just wanted to pop over and say Merry Christmas! It looks like Santa was good to you. I have that "blogging for bliss" book too, it was fun finding some new blogs in it!
Hugs,
Karen

Karen said...

Lisa-I made your Xmas Kiss drinks for yesterday--they were a hit! Had to make 2 batches! :D

Melanie said...

I have the Blogging book but haven't had a chance to look at it and I want the book about the friends of 40 yrs. Please let me know how that book is. You can never go wrong with books.

My favorite thing:) Do you have a Goodreads account? If not, join and you can friend me.

Brenda Pruitt said...

I've read Blogging For Bliss. Great book. And I planned on ordering the one about the girls from Ames, as I'd read about it in Newsweek or somewhere the other night. Sounds like a winner to me!
Brenda

Gina said...

Merry Christmas Lisa! I have read "Girls From Ames" and passed it around to several of my friends. My initial interest was that I live in Iowa and my son attends college in Ames. But mostly I was intrigued by how these women maintained friendships over such a long period of time. It's a good book but a little slow at the beginning when you are trying to establish who everyone is.

Gina

akawest said...

I really enjoyed The Girls from Ames. I would imagine most women in our age group would.

We love books for gifts. Most years our younger daughter's gifts come from her Amazon wish list.

Confessions of a Plate Addict said...

Hi Lisa! I spent the night at my daughter's house and got to do early Christmas morning with my grandson...what a treat! I am also a bread person...but with a bread machine! lol I LOVE it! When I first got it, I made so much bread that my daughter would call and say "What kind of bread are we having for supper?" lol
I am interested to hear that you got a new GW, too. I have never seen one built from the ground up before. I hope that's a sign of good stuff to come!
Happy week!...Debbie