Happy Reading!
A Mouth Watering Year
It has been a year. A rollercoaster of highs and lows graced our lives once again, but one thing remains true…my love of food and fabulous drinks. I know you can relate to this. Think raw oysters with a “faint metallic taste”, Rioja wine, crusty white bread, and a piping hot cup of coffee. See what I mean! Despite EVERYTHING that has happened in 2021, Southern Living managed to deliver mouth watering recipes each month to celebrate the seasons of great food in their latest book, Southern Living 2021 Annual Recipes: An Entire Year of Recipes. Cooking is one of those things that keeps me grounded no matter what is going on. Whether I am happy, sad, stressed, or mad, food nourishes my soul and connects me to the people I love most. Southern Living’s recipe game is STRONG. This annual wrap up of the season’s best of the best has earned a front row seat on my cookbook shelf. Let’s take a peek.
Delicious Books
I hope you are HUNGRY. I have two brand new cookbooks to share with you today that will have you drooling for something delicious too eat. The first one is all about cheese. Anything and everything about this creamy delight is yours for the taking between the covers of Erika Kubick’s new book. The second book takes a deep dive into the Alsace region of France and all of the mouth watering recipes that come from this unique area. Gabriel Kreuther will make your stomach growl with hunger.
Indigenous Delights
Did you know that November is Native American Heritage Month? How perfect is it that I am sharing my latest cookbook obsession, New Native Kitchen: Celebrating Modern Recipes of the American Indian by Chef Freddie Botsoie & James O. Fraioli? This cookbook gives new meaning to “farm to table”. It is overflowing with recipes that come from ancestral traditions from Indigenous people all over North America. The food is simple, stunning to look at, and highlights the unique ingredients used from all the different regions. Let’s take a peek.
Party Hearty
Hello again! I am back today talking about ANOTHER fabulous cookbook. Perfect timing for the holidays. Being the “hostess-with-the mostess” is a hard gig unless you are Martha Stewart. Arty Parties: An Entertaining Cookbook by Julia Sherman takes this role to a whole new level, one that makes a lot of sense to me. Instead of focussing on the finished product in the kitchen, let’s enjoy the process and the company that comes along with it. Creative messes in the kitchen are my kind of messes. Let’s take a look.
Take Me Out To My Kitchen
I am back again talking about my love of cooking and COOKBOOKS! I firmly believe that one can NEVER have too many of them in their kitchen. Because of this, I am sharing yet again, another culinary gem to add to your shelf. Peace, Love, and Pasta: Simple and Elegant Recipes From a Chef’s Home Kitchen by Scott Conant has everything you need to make a simple and elegant breakfast, lunch, dinner, or sweet treat. Let’s take a look at this delicious creation.
The Golden Baker’s Cap
Have you seen NETFLIX’s show Nailed It!? It is wicked cute and perfect for the whole family to watch. The show is co-hosted by world-renowned pastry chef Jacques Torres (Mr. Chocolate) and comic Nicole Byer. My son and I just had a wonderful night cooking something from the new cookbook, Nailed It!: A Family Cookbook by The Creators of The NETFLIX show.
My Rain Drenched Flower
There is something about you writers from the early 20th century that fascinates me. Especially all of your juicy personal lives. I obviously started this journey with you and your four wives, then quickly became obsessed with F.Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda (click here to see my favorite book about these guys). Today, I can’t get enough of Irish writer James Joyce and the lovely Nora Barnacle. The love, the lust, the writing, the atmosphere…I need to know it all. Nora: A Love Story of Nora and James Joyce by Nuala O’Connor is my latest historical fiction read. O’Connor’s book opened my eyes to a whole new woman for me to explore. Let’s take a look.
Its Begining to Look a Lot Like Christmas
Ahhhhh, fall is officially in full force here in Maine. Scarecrows are posted, mums are planted, and pumpkin spice lattes are flowing like a river. I am in absolute heaven. There is only one thing better than this time of year…CHRISTMAS!!!!! And guess what? It’s only a blink away. I am already planning and plotting my holiday moves with my new book, 2021 Christmas With Southern Living. I am literally drooling over all of their decorating ideas, holiday menus, and entertaining tips and YOU WILL BE TOO. Let’s take a look.
Bookish Podcasts to Get You Through Your Day
Today I am sharing four literary podcasts that bring me lots of joy. Get ready to pop in your earbuds, hit play, and escape into a world of endless reading possibilities all while completing your never-ending to-do list.
Nutcrackers & Handsprings: Books About the Cutthroat World of Ballet and Gymnastics
Today I am sharing four books that capture the fierce passion and wild side of ballet and gymnastics. Scandal, abuse, injuries, eating disorders, and love fill the pages of today’s reads. The lineup is dripping in all of the blood, sweat, and tears that we love to read about. And GUESS WHAT? Legwarmers and leotards are entirely optional. You can be captivated by these stories from the comfort of your living room couch wearing sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt. How great is that!!!!
9/11 ~ 20 Years Ago
Today there will be no letter to Mr. Hemingway. I have no words. I have been moved to complete stillness.
Rural 207
I recently had the opportunity to read Gigi Georges’ book, Downeast. Georges follows the lives of five young women who attended the same high school in rural Maine. For four years, Georges interviewed, shadowed and immersed herself into these women’s past, present and future opportunities. She underlined the common hardships of living in a rural area in one of the most rural states while accentuating the hidden beauty that resides from within all through the lens of five women.
DIG HERE
I am over the moon to share with you one of Fall’s most anticipated and buzziest new books. This September, Lisa Jewell is back with her latest creation,The Night She Disappeared. Once again, Jewell delivers another fantastic read!
Love Me Tender
I was instantly seduced by the cover of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s newest sensation, Velvet Was the Night. Luscious lips coated in a sticky pink gloss about to take a drag off of a tantalizing cigarette being gracefully handled by pointy manicured nails with a drizzle of smoke permeating the air!!! Ummmmm, I had to see what’s inside! And guess what???? I am happy to report that the pages of this historical noir were just as mesmerizing as its cover. Let’s take a look.
The Way You Look Tonight
Happy Saturday! Do you remember when I told you about how much I loved Melissa Grace’s book, Home is Where You Are? Well guess what??? The sequel, Home Again, is coming out for all the world to read July 27, 2021 and I am here to tell you how fabulous it is. Grace once again dazzled me with her passionate characters and heartfelt tale. The spotlight is on Ella and Cash this time around, and their love story does not disappoint. I am now impatiently waiting for book three.
Watermelon Queen
Passerby (Out Today), by the lovely Britney King was my perfect Saturday night read. King never fails to thrill me with her suspenseful tales and her latest did not disappoint. Small town living and dead bodies wrapped in a bit of southern charm is what’s on tap today my literary friend. Grab an ice coffee and your sunnies….the heat is on!
Happy 122nd Birthday Ernest Hemingway
I am here to share with you that today would have been Ernest Hemingway’s 122nd birthday. Just to refresh your memory, Hemingway was born in 1899 and died at the age of 61 years of age. He is considered one of America’s greatest novelists and short story writers of all time.
A Letter To Steven Rowley
For the first time ever, Kelly from Dear Mr. Hemingway is writing to a DIFFERENT author. Today’s letter is to Steven Rowley, author of Lily and the Octopus, The Editor and The Guncle.
Five Hours and Twenty-Four Minutes
Former flight attendant T.J. Newman is about to release her debut novel, Falling: A Novel on July 6th and I believe this will be a hit for more than one reason. Let’s take a look!
Mother of Dragons
Katherine Wintsch is here to share that you can be a thriving mom and eat your cake too. Young mothers and seasoned mothers alike will find nuggets of wisdom from Wintsch’s book, Slay Like a Mother, that will carry them through this crazy mom journey with some much needed peace and understanding.
Yo Ho, Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life For Me)
Pirates have been the butt of hundreds of jokes for decades upon decades and because of this, Indie Author Teddy Stoecklein compiled and wrote 50 of the best Pirate jokes to share with his readers in The Illustrative Anthology of Pirate Jokes. Did I mention he illustrated this chucklesome read as well? Whether you are on a boat, sitting around a firepit or chatting it up at your neighbor’s BBQ, Stoecklein offers his readers all the tricks they need to be the greatest jokester around.
The Underworld
Ahhhhh, the moment that the world has been waiting for is less than a week away. Alex Michaelides, author of the best selling book, The Silent Patient is back with summer’s most anticipated read. The Maidens comes out June 15th and it does not disappoint. Don’t get too comfy basking in the sun reading this thriller. Plan on having to remove your sun soaked body from your beach chair to pick your jaw up off the ground when you finish. Need I say more?
DMH~Pages Well Paired Summer 2021 Box
I am thrilled to reveal what will be inside our first Pages Well Paired box this summer. Our first box includes a paperback copy of The Other Passenger (Atria Books) by award winning UK author, Louise Candlish. This book is being published in the United States for the first time on July 20, 2021. Ruth Ware, #1 New York Times best selling author, calls Candlish “the queen of sucker-punch twists”, and I couldn’t agree more.
Golden Ticket
As we all know, you can’t judge a book by its cover, which is why I absolutely love reading memoirs. Memoirs give me a sneak peek into someone else’s life. I am a fly on the wall somewhere different. Somewhere vulnerable, somewhere true. Whether I am laughing, crying, learning or relating, memoirs are personal treasures that writers share with their readers. I just finished reading Miseducated: A Memoir by Brandon P. Fleming and my eyes are wide open. I challenge any reader not to be inspired by this fantastic read.