Sausage!
(TWSS. I mean really.)
I cooked up an all natural al fresco apple chicken sausage while sautéing an onion and roasting Brussels sprouts and eggplant.
I prepped the Brussels sprouts and eggplant by tossing them in a bit of olive oil and garlic salt before placing them in a 375-degree oven for about 30 minutes.
Two Caramel Naturel dates (one rolled in almonds, one in coconut) that I snagged from Saturday’s conference satisfied my sweet tooth!
March Book Club
Now that March is here and we’ve finished discussing February’s book, it’s time to select the book of the month for the March Book Club!
As always, the following books were taken from your recommendations on the PBF Facebook page.
Please vote on the book you would most like to read below. On April 3, I’ll post my review of the book along with discussion questions for us to talk about in the comments section of the post.
Also, if you post a review of the selected book on your blog before April 3, please email me at pbfingers@gmail.com and let me know so I can be sure to include your review in the link up of book reviews that will be included in that post as well.
Your March contenders include…
- 11/22/63 by Stephen King
On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? Stephen King’s heart-stoppingly dramatic new novel is about a man who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination—a thousand page tour de force.
Jake Epping is a thirty-five-year-old high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching adults in the GED program. He receives an essay from one of the students—a gruesome, harrowing first person story about the night 50 years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a hammer. Harry escaped with a smashed leg, as evidenced by his crooked walk.
Not much later, Jake’s friend Al, who runs the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to 1958. He enlists Jake on an insane—and insanely possible—mission to try to prevent the Kennedy assassination. So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson and his new world of Elvis and JFK, of big American cars and sock hops, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake’s life—a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.
- The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain
An unsolved murder.
A missing child.
A lifetime of deception.
In 1977, pregnant Genevieve Russell disappeared. Twenty years later, her remains are discovered and Timothy Gleason is charged with murder. But there is no sign of the unborn child.
CeeCee Wilkes knows how Genevieve Russell died, because she was there. And she also knows what happened to the missing infant, because two decades ago she made the devastating choice to raise the baby as her own. Now Timothy Gleason is facing the death penalty, and she has another choice to make. Tell the truth, and destroy her family. Or let an innocent man die in order to protect a lifetime of lies…
- The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
A long-lost book reappears, mysteriously connecting an old man searching for his son and a girl seeking a cure for her widowed mother’s loneliness.
Leo Gursky is just about surviving, tapping his radiator each evening to let his upstairs neighbor know he’s still alive. But life wasn’t always like this: sixty years ago, in the Polish village where he was born, Leo fell in love and wrote a book. And though Leo doesn’t know it, that book survived, inspiring fabulous circumstances, even love.
Fourteen-year-old Alma was named after a character in that very book. And although she has her hands full—keeping track of her brother, Bird (who thinks he might be the Messiah), and taking copious notes on How to Survive in the Wild—she undertakes an adventure to find her namesake and save her family. With consummate, spellbinding skill, Nicole Krauss gradually draws together their stories.
This extraordinary book was inspired by the author’s four grandparents and by a pantheon of authors whose work is haunted by loss—Bruno Schulz, Franz Kafka, Isaac Babel, and more. It is truly a history of love: a tale brimming with laughter, irony, passion, and soaring imaginative power.
[polldaddy poll=6012355]
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
I’m reading 11/22/63 right now and it’s awesome!!
Can we buy the dates online and/or locate a store that sells them? I couldn’t see a link on the site!
The History of Love is an incredible book – I have made all of my girl friends read it and they have in turned passed this along to their friends. I would highly recommend it!
These all look soooo good! I can’t wait to see which one is chosen 🙂
HAH to your pics. LOVE me some sausage.
I’m excited for the next book!
I have The History of Love on my “To-read” list, so that was my vote! I haven’t heard of the other ones, but they sound really intriguing. Can’t wait to participate this month!
Your sausage made me think of a joke that I read on Pinterest today.
It went something like this:
To all the guys who say, “Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free.” Now 80% of women don’t want to get married because they realized, “Why buy the entire pig when all you want is a little sausage.”
bahahaha. I don’t know if that stat is right…but I thought it was pretty funny…
lol!! =P that’s funny
I have read the History of Love as well. I think the second would be great, since it was on my list before I even saw this post!
I recently read he Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes and loved it! Diane Chamberlain knows how to write a page turner for sure.
I just started reading 11/22/63 last night! talk about a coincidence….it literally hooked me from page 1 and I can’t put it down!
totally random comment. i just tried a new mozzarrella stick I found by Polly O. the flavor is sundried tomato and it’s soo good, reminds me of eating pesto. if you see it in the grocery store i think you’d enjoy it!
Oh my gosh! The History of Love is one of my FAVORITE books ever!!! I’m constantly giving it to friends and co-workers as a gift. I’ve obviously read it but I think you guys will LOVE it for your book club.
-Nescett
xoxox
Definitely 11/22/63! I would love to hear what everyone else thinks about it. The length of the book can seem intimidating at first, but it is a quick read that sucks you in right away. A movie deal is already in the works for this book!
The History of Love is an amazing book!!!!!!!!!!!! It was passed around my family (my sisters and my dad) and we all loved it. I voted for it even though I already read it because it’s very well written and has an amazing plot
I recently finished The Secret Life of Cee Cee Wilkes, and it was soooo good! If that one wins out, you won’t be disappointed.
I have to tell you that The Secret Life of Cece Wilkes is amazing! It is a page turner and soooo good! All of the books sound great, but this one will not disappoint.
Ah I’m currently reading 11/22/63 & it’s great… definitely has my vote!
That was a tough choice!!! Great options this month, Julie! Can’t wait to see which one wins. I hope it is The Secret Life of Cee Cee Wilkes. Seems like everyone thinks it is a great read! PS- have you gotten on GoodReads.com yet?? It is awesome. You should get on it!
I see you’re working on your goal for the Bootcamp to fill up on vegetables by the look of your plate. I love colorful meals like that. Can’t wait to find out which book will be chosen, they all sound great!!!
I already read The History of Love :)! It’s phenomenal! So I’m voting on a different one that way I can join in.
The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes is SO SO good! I read it in a book club a few years back and it was awesome…a page turner for sure! A lot of her other books are great reads too.
Boot Camp Rules!
I’ve read 11/22/63 and it is phenomenal! It was the first Stephen King book I have ever read and was not disappointed one bit.
secret life of ceecee wilkes
I actually got my dad that Stephen King book for Christmas. I love Stephen King, I’m definitely voting for that one!
I’ve never heard of any of these books before…but they look so interesting! I actually had a hard time voting… I’m def. participating this month!
i vote for 11/22/63. BUT i already read the secret life and it was really good. i also read the history of love and i wanted to like it but it was hard to read!
I am the QUEEN of TWSS. Seriously, at work (it’s so inappropriate at the office but whatever), I drop like 10 references a day. I’m a 14 year old boy, obviously.
I read and LOVED The Secret life of CeeCee Wilkes. Diane Chamberlain is amazing. If you haven’t read The Midwife’s Confession, it is another great one by her. 🙂
Oh my gosh! 11/22/63 is SO good. I’m in the last 50 pages and I almost contemplated not returning to work after my lunch break because I didn’t want to put it down!
Oh, Nicole Kraus!
The History of Love was an engagement gift from my sister and my husband’s favorite quote came out of it: “once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering” – seriously, if not now, keep it on the reading list!
Just got a disappointing review about 11/22/63 – really interested in it, though.
Beth, it’s so good, right!?!?! “once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering” Love it. I picked it up randomly at the library years ago and fell in love. I may need to read it again!
History of Love is SO GOOD. I got it randomly (for free!) at a local book swap, and I absolutely adored it. Like poetry!
These all sound really great Julie! Such a tough decision to vote…. really excited to see what gets picked! Can you bring the losers back in the next few months?? 🙂
Hey Julie 🙂
Commenting to say this month’s book NEEDS to be 11/22/63. I just finished it and I’m now going through depression because it’s over it’sjustsogood!!!
I got my dad 11/22/63 for Christmas and have been itching to read it ever since!! I’m looking forward to a weeklong vacation in Florida next week specifically so I have the time to read this book! 😉 (and the warm weather will be a plus too….) Hope this one wins out!
Oooh, I read the book The secret life of CeeCee Wilkes ~ great book ~ I would absolutely recommend it 🙂
i’ve never heard of any of these but they all sound absolutely awesome! i’m new to blogging but i’ve seen your book club posts for the past few months and i thought this would be a great way to get more involved with the blogging community…except i’m having a hard time choosing which book to vote for!
I just finished reading 11/22/63 and could NOT put it down. I’ve been obsessed with the Kennedy family for years, and even thought his book doesn’t get into a lot of the details about the family or the aftermath of the actual assassination, it is an excellent read. It is quite lengthy at 850-ish pages, but i sailed through it in abou 2 and a half weeks, reading everyday during my lunch hour and most nights before bed.
I totally want to read 11.22.63! It sounds so good.
it was so hard to vote! ALL of them sound good. and thank you for motivating me to read the american wife! i enjoyed it and wrote a review for it on my blog today (see link above)
History of Love is an excellent book. I’ve even reread it. That’s my 2 cents.