Books, food, and a day unplugged
Jun. 11th, 2012 12:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vamysteryfanI had a mellow weekend. It was too hot to go out and I unplugged for most of it. I am really enjoying the new British channel on WETA. I watched Doctor Who with Christopher Eccleston. I do love the way he says "Fantastic." And they've tacked on excerpts of Doctor Who Confidential so we see a little "making of." I also watched a miniseries called "The Last Enemy" with Benedict Cumberbatch, Nicholas Rush and other very cool actors. It's a little like Person of Interest except the surveillance is public and government-sanctioned. Benedict was very good as a mathematician. I hadn't heard of it before but it's worth catching. I still have a couple of episodes to watch.
I fiddled about with a favorite chicken salad recipe. It's chunkier than most and includes new potatoes. I made it with three different types of dressing - standard mayo-based, mustard, and a basic vinaigrette. All good but the vinaigrette would be best for a picnic.
This week's books:
Dissolution and Dark Fire by CJ Sansom. Set during the later years of Henry VIII, the series features Matthew Shardlake who is a lawyer at Lincoln's Inn. He solves political and murder mysteries. Very well-written and researched and quite absorbing. The author doesn't mince any words when it comes to some of the less savory details of the time. The series was recommended by elmyraemilie. Thanks!
The Bad Book Affair by Ian Sansom. While looking for those, I came across another series by an author named Sansom. These are set during current times and feature a librarian for a bookmobile in northern Ireland. They are ostensibly murder mysteries but just as much slice-of-life stories. A little too self-consciously quirky but still entertaining. I'll try another one.
Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis. It looks at the interwoven lives of the Revolutionary War leaders. The first twenty years were pretty fragile and personal relationships shaped outcomes. There was interesting information on how slavery issues shaped those first 20 years, on the Burr/Hamilton duel, on Abigail Adams, and on the last years of Adams and Jefferson. Good stuff.
I fiddled about with a favorite chicken salad recipe. It's chunkier than most and includes new potatoes. I made it with three different types of dressing - standard mayo-based, mustard, and a basic vinaigrette. All good but the vinaigrette would be best for a picnic.
This week's books:
Dissolution and Dark Fire by CJ Sansom. Set during the later years of Henry VIII, the series features Matthew Shardlake who is a lawyer at Lincoln's Inn. He solves political and murder mysteries. Very well-written and researched and quite absorbing. The author doesn't mince any words when it comes to some of the less savory details of the time. The series was recommended by elmyraemilie. Thanks!
The Bad Book Affair by Ian Sansom. While looking for those, I came across another series by an author named Sansom. These are set during current times and feature a librarian for a bookmobile in northern Ireland. They are ostensibly murder mysteries but just as much slice-of-life stories. A little too self-consciously quirky but still entertaining. I'll try another one.
Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis. It looks at the interwoven lives of the Revolutionary War leaders. The first twenty years were pretty fragile and personal relationships shaped outcomes. There was interesting information on how slavery issues shaped those first 20 years, on the Burr/Hamilton duel, on Abigail Adams, and on the last years of Adams and Jefferson. Good stuff.
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Date: 2012-06-11 11:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-12 06:43 pm (UTC)