Biblio-Files: Fun at the Library
I woke up this morning feeling horrible! Whatever this new cold is, it has its hooks into me. Liam on the other hand seems to be feeling almost normal today. He stayed home with us yesterday, rested up and woke up ready to go! I wish it was the same for me. I spent most of yesterday hanging out on the couch, resting and all that fun stuff and I woke up feeling worse this morning. Mother nature seems to sympathize with how I’m feeling. She delivered up some ice fog (not really seeing the ice part though) and I find that sitting outside is the best place for me right now. All that cold damp air lightens the chest congestion. If I didn’t think it would be bad for the laptop, I’d head out there to type up this post.
One of my favorite things to do when I’m feeling under the weather is to curl up with a good book. On my last trip to the library I decided I wanted to check out some new authors so I randomly grabbed a couple of books off a couple different shelves. I love doing this at the library. I have no rhyme or reason for what I choose I just randomly pull books off the shelves. Sometime I’ll read the back for an idea of what the book is about. Sometimes I’ll choose a certain section to choose from, but usually it’s just a random walk down an aisle and grab a book. It’s a wonderful way to reach outside my reading bubble and explore new and wonderful reads. This time I ended up with a good easy mystery read that I thought I would share with you.
Now, this is the first one of her books that I have read. I didn’t realize it was part of series, but I’m curious to see how the other books pan out. This one centers on St Louis cuisine, and the main character is on a mystery shopper assignment to test out local food at local restaurants and the plot progresses from there. The characters are pretty strong, the plot wasn’t too bad, and all in all I found it to be a delight to read. Though I will make one recommendation…. read this with a snack! There is a lot of food talk, and much of it sounds so yummy, a snack is a definite must have companion for this book.
Elaine Viets is a new author to me, and after reading only this one, I have to say I’m looking forward to reading more of her stuff. The plot was intricate enough to hold my interest and to keep me wondering about whodunnit, without being too involved and tedious. Some mystery stories leave you feeling a little miffed that they weren’t mysterious enough and others can leave you feeling like you’re trying to unraveling a long and very tangled string. Hers was more balanced. This book definitely goes into my easy reading category, but easy reads are great when you’re sick.
Over all, if you’re looking for a good read, that’s easy but has some substance to it, this book is one for the list!
One thing the book did do for me that was totally unexpected was make me wonder about the cuisine in St Louis, so if any of you reading are from the lovely city, have been there, or know more about it than me, perhaps you can answer some of my questions about what the book said were St Louis delicacies.
Some sounded oh so good, like toasted ravioli and gooey butter cake! Are they really as scrumptious as they sound? Anyone know if they are easy to make at home? Some of the others sounded different in an intriguing way, like St Louis thin crust pizza with Provel. Is it good? barbecued pig snouts and ears sounded like they would be something I might try if I was feeling daring, anyone have any thoughts on those? And some made me marvel at how hard times can produce some strange ideas like cow brain sandwiches. Do they really still serve them? And, has anyone ever tried one?
What do you do when you’re sick? Got any good reads you’d like to share?
