If my favorite reads of 2007 were food…

If my favorite reads of 2007 were food, they would taste this way…

~*~

Quiver by Stephanie Spinner

Quiver would be a platter of olives and camembert cheese. In the beginning, you would wince at the saltiness and hate pitting the olives yourself. Gradually, the natural flavor of the olives will grow on you, and you’d find it tasting more playful with camembert. Quiver is classic and modern.

Quiver retells the legend of Atalanta. Abandoned in the woods when she was a baby because of her gender, Atalanta was saved by the goddess Artemis. Because of this, she dedicated herself to the goddess, vowing to stay chaste. Artemis grew up to be a highly skilled archer and swift runner much to the chagrin of her male peers. Tension comes when her King father rediscovers her and forces her to marry and produce an heir. Because of her loyalty to Artemis, she reaches a compromise with her father, one that will be threatened however by conniving gods and humans.

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Carolyn 101 by Carolyn Kepcher

This business book would be a glass of sparkling champagne paired with cheese-filled mushrooms and prosciutto-wrapped melon slices. Business-like but not formal, behaved with a hint of playfulness — like talking to an ex-boss who becomes your good friend.

You may remember Carolyn Kepcher as Donald Trump’s left-hand woman in “The Apprentice.” I liked how she was so strong and smart, a power woman indeed. In this book, she shares strategies for the workplace, inspired from her own experiences. She talks about how to kick ass in your interviews, how to dress, how to manage people, how to handle a difficult boss, and more. The career advice is basic and solid. I also liked how she shares her experiences in balancing her demanding work with building a family. And she’s not as harsh as she seems to be on the show! She is driven, hardworking, an empowered woman. I salute her!

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The Cosmic Ordering Service by Barbel Mohr

A salad made from dark greens, slices of prosciutto, shavings of parmesan cheese, sliced black olives, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Yum! If this book were food, this is what it would be for me. That’s because if I could order anything right now, it would be that dish!

The Cosmic Ordering Service is essentially a book on positivity, but one that teaches a specific technique on how to get what you want. Barbel Mohr teaches us how to “place an order with the universe” and fulfill your wishes. Interesting. I highly associate it with the Visualization Exercise, but there’s more to it than just that. It tells of listening to your inner self, knowing what and how to order, and shares tips on keeping that positive vibe going. It’s that ordering that takes some practice and some getting used to. Keep an open mind when reading this!

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The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maughan

This story of a love betrayed but kept would be an arugula salad with thin strawberry slices. The rocket leaves are terribly bitter to me, but the little bites of sweetness would keep the dish from being a waste. One would hope that with each bite, the strawberries’ tang would overpower the peppery taste of the leaves.

The Painted Veil is a story set in the 1920s, about a young newlywed couple. Walter is a bacteriologist, Kitty an upperclass woman. Their differences pull Kitty into a spiral of betrayal. Upon discovering her infidelity, Walter accepts a post in cholera-ridden Mei Tan Fu, a remote village in China, and takes her along. It is in this isolated part of the world that they try to rebuild their love and hope, learn, how to forgive. Read more here.

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The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer

If Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse were food, it would be an almost complete meal.

Twilight would be a plate of buffalo wings and a rootbeer float – a push-your-sleeves-to-your-elbows-and-dig-in kind of meal. It is a simple meal, enjoyed in an informal setting but one that will make you crave for the next course.

New Moon would be hotdogs, popcorn, and two tumblers of Coke – food best shared with your best friend, food perfect for a movie date… with your best friend? I feel a little tension. Dun dun dun. But then a sliver of dark chocolate makes its way to your meal. The sweetness of the chocolate would complement the saltiness of your meal well, but it would leave a taste in your mouth that would want you craving more, more, more…

Eclipse would be a double cheese pepperoni pizza, served with a tumbler of Coke AND a glass of expensive red wine. You’ll gnaw on the tip of your pizza wondering which drink to wash it down with best. Will you go for the classy red wine – smooth, sophisticated, alluring? Or will you wash it down with the soda – fizzy, alive, sweet? Your pizza would taste just as delicious with either drink, but you would eventually have to choose just one.

What would complete this whole meal? Breaking Dawn coming out!

The Twilight Series is about a teenage girl named Bella Swan who falls in love with Edward Cullen, a vampire who thirsts for her blood and HER. This unconventional relationship is further complicated by the introduction of Jacob Black, Bella’s best friend turned werewolf turned deeper infatuation. It is indeed a love triangle, but one that is told in a fresh and consuming manner by Meyer. More, more, more please!

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Realm of Possibility by David Levithan

This book is a bottle of olives. It is also a platter of sliced cheese. It is a bottle of salsa. It is a bowl of nachos. It is a cup of jalapenos. It is a saucer of mushrooms. It is a serving of ground beef. Each ingredient is good eaten on its own. But combine all these in one huge bowl and you’ll have a heaping fusion of flavors that work well together. All the tastes are connected, all the flavors become one.

Realm of Possibility is a series of poems, each one written by a character from one high school. Each person’s voice contributes to a rich range of topics – struggling with relationships, love unrequited, sexuality, discrimination, identity crisis, friendship. Levithan gives each character his own style of expression – there are song lyrics, poems, essays. Each entry is poignant, but read between the lines and you will see how connected all the voices are. So while connecting with each voice is a filling experience, discovering the connections among voices makes it an illuminating one.

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The Bride Stripped Bare by Nikki Gemmell

It is black truffle ice cream – creamy, sensuous, captivating.

The Bride Stripped Bare is about a woman who disappears and leaves behind a diary that chronicles her sexual awakening. On the surface, she was a happy, content wife. But on her journal’s pages, she was a woman with a repressed and insatiable appetite for sexual discovery. Inspired by an Elizabethan manuscript that talked of women’s true desires, she begins living by its philosophies. She discovers the enthralling fulfillment of her own desires, but struggles with the double life she leads.

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The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Pumpkin soup with pieces of bread, a glass of water to wash it down. Follow this with a croissant with a sliver of chocolate and marshmallows melted inside, and sparkling cranberry juice to complement it. Simplicity followed by a rich mesh of flavors and flavors.

The Book Thief is narrated by Death. It is a story of Liesel Meminger, a young German girl put in a foster home after her mother becomes unable to care for her and her brother. Upon the death of her brother, she finds herself taken in by Hans and Rosa Hubermann, who she comes to call mother and father. The story is set at the height of Hitler’s power and times begin to be difficult for the family. The Hubbermans cope with needing to be part of the Party, hiding a Jew in their basement, and dealing with the violence and grey skies war brings. Liesel steals books as way of coping, and she learns to find solace in words.

The Book Thief is enchanting and for lovers of words. I highly highly highly recommend this book.

*****

I had more to relish last year, but these were the best of the feast. I hope you get to taste them too!

The If books were food carnival’s deadline is by the end of the week, so to those still interested, do go on and write about your book feasts soon and let me know where to find it. 😉

Hi! I'm Toni Tiu, and I've been blogging at at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.