Claire Hadleigh: memoirs

Showing posts with label memoirs. Show all posts

7/30/19

Summer Stress Relief

It's coming up on mid-summer, and you'd think that would be enough to keep me happy. Alas, that's not so. Not only have I hit a writing / revising slump for my new series, but life has sent another curve ball whizzing past my head. Although my children are adults, you never stop worrying, caring -- and when you throw a hospital and doctors into the mix, the strain and anxiety ratchets up 100-fold. So where does one escape, if only for a half-hour or so?

Oddly enough, for me it's been cookbooks.

Now you have to understand something about how I was brought up. My own mother's idea of a gourmet meal was a TV dinner in front of the television. The only time of the year when she outdid herself was Thanksgiving, but that's because my grandmother was there by her side, guiding her and sometimes taking over, especially for making the gravy.

I've always joked around that my favorite recipe was my American Express card, but within the past year I've found so many beautiful cookbooks, memoirs and foodie fiction that it's become my morning routine to sit with my first cups of coffee and read about food, cooking, international cuisine and more. And for those few hours, I am relatively stress-free.

I've also found the joy -- the adventure -- of food shopping. Walk into Trader Joe's or Whole Foods in the middle of winter and your senses are assailed with myriad scents and colors. Who knew that a simple lemon could smell so wonderful when there's two feet of snow outside?

Often the writing is wonderful -- sensuous (we romance writers appreciate that aspect), colorful and chock full of good humor. And the photography is simply amazing. If I could choose another career, I'd try food styling, I think. So far, I've accrued about twenty cookbooks and memoirs, plus a few novels over the past ten months or so.

Maybe while I was working full-time and commuting 2.5 hours each day, all this escaped me because I was too damned tired. Even now with the worry and stress of my child's health, to whip up a green smoothie or sip on an exotic tea blend for a few minutes is enough to take the edge off.

I hope to return to my writing soon, but that may have to wait a bit more. In the meantime, a refreshing bowl of pasta with lemon and basil pesto is just the thing to bring a momentary smile to my face. Now if I could only figure out a way to sneak it into the hospital, I'm sure recovery would follow shortly thereafter!

Here's a partial list of books, mostly the memoirs and novels because I found that these, especially Marlena DeBlasi's A Thousand Days in Venice, eased me into this "final frontier":

Memoirs with recipes:

My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl
A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlena DeBlasi
A Thousand Days in Tuscany by M. DeBlasi
Mastering the Art of French Eating by Ann Mah
My Life in France by Julia Child
Keeping the Feast by Paula Butturini
My Table in Venice by Skye McAlpine

Novels about Cooking, Chefs and Food in general:

Pasta Wars by Elisa Lorello
The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy Reichert
The Love Goddess' Cooking School by Melissa Senate
The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
Bread Alone by Judith Hendricks

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well,

if one has not dined well.”

Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own

1/15/19

Tea & Titles

Welcome back to Tuesday's Tea & a Title -- or should I say 'titles'? Been a busy week and so far here in New England we've been enjoying a snow-free winter -- of course, now I've jinxed ourselves probably!

Today's tea is Tevana's Wild Orange Blossom Herbal tea, which is light and quite summery -- just what's needed in 17-degree weather. And my china cup and saucer is Paragon by Pembroke -- quite elegant with Old World charm.

So, just to cast back for a moment to last week -- Mastering the Art of French Eating by Ann Mah -- I so much enjoyed that book. Talk about armchair travel -- it was as if I went on a mini tour of the various regions of France -- Lyons, Brittany, Provence and more, learning about the daily life, how these recipes came to be and more. I heartily recommend the book, especially if you're a Francophile.

This week I'm starting two books I've been holding onto for a few weeks, waiting for the midwinter blues to strike and a need for more foodie reading and a good historical romance (other than Regency). And I do believe I've picked winners again.

Kathleen Flinn's The Sharper your Knife, the Less You Cry is about a young woman's year in training at the Cordon Bleu. Yikes! More power to Ms. Flinn and I'm eager to start (tonight after I get home from my night shift at the Reference Desk).

Here's a quick blurb: "Kathleen Flinn is a thirty-six-year-old middle manager trapped on the corporate ladder - until her boss eliminates her job. Instead of sulking, she takes the opportunity to check out of the rat race for good - cashes in her savings, moves to Paris, and lands a spot at the venerable Le Cordon Bleu School."

My first question to myself when I read this was: Dear God, would I have been able to do something like that? Answer? Probably not. So I guess I'm living vicariously through Flinn!

And for the historical romance, I've chosen Donna Thorland's Rebel Pirate. I wrote earlier this month that it's been difficult finding historical romance based in the American Colonial period. So many are set in the Regency period, thanks to the wonderful Jane Austen -- no complaints from me, truly -- but growing up in the Northeast region of the USA, we are surrounded by so much history, especially the colonial period. So finding Thorland's series (albeit a short one), I enjoyed the first book -- Turncoat -- and am eager to start the second book.

The fact that the 'rebel pirate' is a woman makes it all the better. The more research that's done in women's history, the more we find how so many women not only helped, but fought alongside the men during the war. And Thorland's writing is strong, wreathed with enough historical detail to bring the period and the characters to life. Warning: Thorland's sex scenes are quite powerful, so take care; not for the faint of heart.

And if you'd like to find out more about my novellas and what's coming up next, please sign up for my newsletter (see link above). I will not inundate you with daily or weekly newsletter; probably more like monthly unless I have a sale happening or a freebie giveaway.

One last note: You may have noticed that I don't link any of the books and tea to the vendors. I don't want to imply that I'm supporting any commercial operation and am not affiliated with any. This is neutral ground -- just like your public library!

Happy Reading and stay warm!

Claire H.

1/8/19

Join me!

I'm starting something new for 2019, and I hope you'll join me on upcoming Tuesdays when I stop and take some time to brew a pot of tea, take out one of my little treasures -- a lovely fine bone china teacup and saucer -- and share my thoughts with you about what I'm currently reading.

BTW, the image of the teacup and saucer is mine -- the imprint is Limoges with a hand-painted set of initials and date -- NB '94. Each Tuesday, I'll share my tea cup collection with you and the tea I'm drinking, too. I have a growing collection of loose teas that I'm enjoying this winter -- another break from the daily coffee habit. Today's tea? Winter Chai by Tea Forte -- perfect for a cold January day!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm changing my reading diet a bit this year. For the past four or five years, I've predominantly read romance, both historical and contemporary, because it was a new uncharted territory for me. And I truly loved it, so much so that I started writing and publishing romance.

But romance can be somewhat of a rich diet, like existing on chocolate truffles and champagne -- quite wonderful but a bit rich. So in an attempt to strike some balance in my readings, I'm adding in memoirs -- mostly those that have to do with cooking and travel -- and historical fiction that explores the Colonial and American Revolutionary periods, which I find sadly lacking in today's market. Of course, I'm still hooked on romance -- after all, there's always time for romance in our lives, but I want to expand my reading horizons, and I hope you'll join me in the coming weeks.

Now that was a long introduction and thanks for sticking with me -- here's my comments on what I'm currently reading this week:

Ann Mah has led an intriguing life as a diplomat's wife and moving about the globe at a dizzying pace. But Paris and France are what draw her and her husband time and time again, until one day he's assigned to Paris. Amidst their delight, he's shifted to Baghdad for a year and she cannot go with him. Desolate, she turns to food and recipes and finding out about the various regional cooking of France to fill her time and loneliness.

Mah has a dry sense of humor and a perceptive eye, bringing her visits around France to the reader, as well as the often delicious, mouthwatering recipes and the people who create them, always with grace and her sense of honoring the French way of cooking and eating.

She also has two novels -- "Kitchen Chinese: a Novel about Food, Family and Finding Yourself," and a more recent publication, "The Lost Vintage" -- both of which I plan to order soon.

Happy Reading and see you

next Tuesday! Claire H.

1/1/19

To sit alone in the lamplight with a book

spread out before you . . . is a pleasure beyond compare.

~Kenko Yoshida, Buddhist monk (ca. 13th c.)

Happy New Year!

1/11/18

New Reading List for New Year

Well, it's time for a change! Oh, sure, I'll still be reading my romance novels (already have a stack waiting by the fireplace), but I still have this feeling that I'd like to expand my reading choices, to stretch myself, both as a reader and a writer, sort of replenish the well of inspiration.

So here's my new reading theme for 2018 -- Armchair Travel! Yes, it's easy, not costly and yet I can travel as far and as wide as I'd like, when I like. Doesn't that sound wonderful? And, in the meantime, these books may spark the little gray cells as to new venues for my romance stories -- it's a win, win, as far as I'm concerned. Once again, I am not providing links to purchase; this is purely for your exploratory pleasure!

MEMOIRS: