Category: Books

Books, Food

Make New Memories with Twists on Old Recipes in Southern Living’s ‘Recipe Revival’ [REVIEW]

Southern Living's RECIPE REVIVAL
Southern Living puts a new twist on classic recipes with Recipe Revival. (Photo by Jathan Fink, Jadeworks Entertainment)

We have been Southern Living readers for decades, although neither of us were born when the magazine debuted in 1966. We’ve also collected their cookbooks for years, and they are among some of the most dogeared volumes in our culinary library. That’s why we are always delighted when one of their new cooking titles hits bookstore shelves, because we know that it is going to be filled with tried-and-true recipes we can’t wait to make ourselves. Their latest addition, Recipe Revival, is no different.  Continue reading “Make New Memories with Twists on Old Recipes in Southern Living’s ‘Recipe Revival’ [REVIEW]”

Unknown's avatarJathan Fink1 Comment
Books, Favorite Things, Health, Photo Essay, Spirit, Videos

Keep Calm, Slow Down and Open Yourself Up to Life’s Little Pleasures [REVIEW]

Cyclists relaxing
Dr. Barbara Ann Kipfer knows all kinds of ways we can relax. She shares them with us in her new book, 1,001 Ways to Slow Down. (Photo by Björn Söderqvist, Flickr)

Author Jane Austen once said, “Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings.” This comes from a woman who was born in 1775, long before the Information Age, which has whipped all of us into a frenzy, hurtling us through life at the speed of light. Cell phones. Twitter. The Internet. Twenty-four hour news cycles. It gets to the best of us, which is why I love the new book, 1,001 Ways to Slow Down: A Book of Everyday Calm. Here, bestselling author Barbara Ann Kipfer reminds us about all the many ways to unwind.  Continue reading “Keep Calm, Slow Down and Open Yourself Up to Life’s Little Pleasures [REVIEW]”

Unknown's avatarJathan Fink2 Comments
Books, Videos

Dorothea Benton Frank’s ‘All Summer Long’ Is A Love Letter to the South [REVIEW]

Lowcountry Landscapes SC
When a couple moves from New York City to the Carolina Lowcountry, their lives are changed forever in Dorothea Benton Frank’s All Summer Long. (Photo by Yvette Wilson, Flickr)

Moving is hard. There are so many things to think about when one uproots a life. There are the inevitable changes of career, saying goodbye to friends and family, and even having to find someone new to style your hair. But when a New York based couple decides to make the life altering decision to retire to the slower paced South, they must face not only a change in circumstances and locale, but the secrets they have kept hidden from one another. Will their marriage be strong enough to survive these challenges as they arise? Find out in Dorothea Benton Frank’s new novel, All Summer Long.   Continue reading “Dorothea Benton Frank’s ‘All Summer Long’ Is A Love Letter to the South [REVIEW]”

Unknown's avatarJathan Fink3 Comments
Books

Jacqueline Winspear’s ‘In This Grave Hour’ Examines the Effects of War on the Human Psyche [REVIEW]

Britain declares war
The day Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announces that Britain is once again at war, Maisie Dobbs is given a cold case to solve in Jacqueline Winspear’s IN THIS GRAVE HOUR. (Photo courtesy Wayne State University)

The last thing anyone wanted after the Great War was to be thrust into another melee. Families had already sacrificed so much, and nations were still recovering from the “last war.” In fact, psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs’ latest case has her investigating killings that occurred during that previous conflict. Will she be able to find the murderer? And what will she do when someone new arrives on her doorstep in need of assistance? Find out in Jacqueline Winspear’s In This Grave Hour. 
Continue reading “Jacqueline Winspear’s ‘In This Grave Hour’ Examines the Effects of War on the Human Psyche [REVIEW]”

Unknown's avatarJathan Fink2 Comments
Books

Rhys Bowen Breaks Down Social Barriers ‘In Farleigh Field’ [REVIEW]

English manor
With the onset of WWII, everything is quickly changing for Lord Westerham and his family in Rhys Bowen’s In Farleigh Field. (Photo by Marc Pether-Longman, Flickr)

Spies. British aristocracy. A dead body. A love triangle. Rhys Bowen’s new World War II thriller, In Farleigh Field, has it all in spades, making for a truly delicious stand-alone novel that will delight fans of Masterpiece Theater’s Home Fires and Downton Abbey.  Continue reading “Rhys Bowen Breaks Down Social Barriers ‘In Farleigh Field’ [REVIEW]”

Unknown's avatarJathan Fink1 Comment