Good Enough: A Cookbook: Embracing the Joys of Imperfection, in and out of the Kitchen by Leanne Brown is currently scheduled for release on January 4 2022. After writing and launching Good and Cheap, the cookbook with a social purpose that has over 500,000 copies in print, Leanne Brown went into a tailspin. She was burnt out and depressed, and fell into a pattern of using guilt and fear to get herself back into facing the day. Her dream of becoming a cookbook author was turning into a nightmare. Something had to change. What changed, and how, is the journey of Good Enough, a deeply personal cookbook with a profoundly uplifting, relatable message. A generous mix of essays, stories and nearly 100 dazzling recipes, Good Enough is about self-compassion, and knowing it's OK to have a cheese plate for dinner. About the practice of gratitude, and ten breakfasts to start your morning right, like Creamy Hands-Off Scrambled Eggs. About cooking as self-care, and healing your spirit with a comforting Salmon Dinner Pie. About overcoming barriers like social anxiety, and embracing entertaining with Smoky Honey Shrimp Tacos with Spicy Fennel Slaw. About knowing it’s hard but you’re completely worth it—and indulging yourself with My Spicy Umami Noodles. About giving yourself permission to feel great—so go ahead, have another Sticky Toffee Cookie. There are no judgments here. And ultimately, it's about embracing the joy of imperfection to find peace and happiness in and out of the kitchen. Because good enough is great.
Early Book Review: Good Enough: A Cookbook: Embracing the Joys of Imperfection, in and out of the Kitchen by Leanne Brown
Good Enough: A Cookbook: Embracing the Joys of Imperfection, in and out of the Kitchen by Leanne Brown is currently scheduled for release on January 4 2022. After writing and launching Good and Cheap, the cookbook with a social purpose that has over 500,000 copies in print, Leanne Brown went into a tailspin. She was burnt out and depressed, and fell into a pattern of using guilt and fear to get herself back into facing the day. Her dream of becoming a cookbook author was turning into a nightmare. Something had to change. What changed, and how, is the journey of Good Enough, a deeply personal cookbook with a profoundly uplifting, relatable message. A generous mix of essays, stories and nearly 100 dazzling recipes, Good Enough is about self-compassion, and knowing it's OK to have a cheese plate for dinner. About the practice of gratitude, and ten breakfasts to start your morning right, like Creamy Hands-Off Scrambled Eggs. About cooking as self-care, and healing your spirit with a comforting Salmon Dinner Pie. About overcoming barriers like social anxiety, and embracing entertaining with Smoky Honey Shrimp Tacos with Spicy Fennel Slaw. About knowing it’s hard but you’re completely worth it—and indulging yourself with My Spicy Umami Noodles. About giving yourself permission to feel great—so go ahead, have another Sticky Toffee Cookie. There are no judgments here. And ultimately, it's about embracing the joy of imperfection to find peace and happiness in and out of the kitchen. Because good enough is great.
Early Book Review: Where Did We Come From?: A Simple Exploration of the Universe, Evolution, and Physics by Chris Ferrie
Book Review: Heroes (Royal Academy Rebels) by Jen Calonita
Princess Devin didn't come to Royal Academy for fame, glory, or a crown. All she's ever wanted is to be a Magical Creature Caretaker. Just when Devin gets up the courage to ask about following her passion, disaster strikes. The evil Rumplestiltskin and Alva cast a curse that nearly destroys Enchantasia, a new villain is on the rise, and the students of Royal Academy find they now have to share their castle with the delinquents from the notorious Fairy Tale Reform School.Devin feels stuck—how can she think about going her own way when her kingdom clearly needs her now more than ever?
Heroes is an entertaining and engaging read, and a wonderful addition to the series. Devin is still trying to find her way to being an animal caretaker, but the world still seems to be in danger and everything seems to be problematic. She does not know who to trust, including herself. I liked that she has some serious character development in this book, even if she really frustrated me at many, many points in the story. I enjoyed getting to see Anna and Tara more in this book, but would have enjoyed more character development or depth from the rest of the group. I thought the mystery and danger aspects were well done, and thought there were some surprises in play, for instance some that I thought would be involved with the big bad were not, and some that I did not suspect at all were. I liked the way the story and world were build and grew. I think fans of the two series thus far will need to read this, and that this series might just be a favorite for a large group of middle grade and teen readers.
Heroes is another great installment to the series and world that Calonita has created. I hope to revisit this world and its characters again soon.
Early Book Review: Cinder the Fireplace Boy; And Other Gayly Grimm Tales by Ana Mardoll
Once upon a time there lived a beautiful prince who kissed a frog, a cinder-smudged child who hid a secret, a princess who climbed a long braid of golden hair for love, a thumb-sized boy with the courage of a giant, and a valiant little tailor whose wit was as sharp as her needle. These stories and many more await you in this collection of classic fairy tales, lovingly retold and featuring characters who receive wonderfully queer happily-ever-afters! Let these new takes on the Brothers Grimm warm your heart and nurture your yearning to see yourself reflected in beloved favorites.
Cinder the Fireplace Boy; And Other Gayly Grimm Tales is a wonderful collection of fairy tale retellings missing the various forms of prejudice that can be seen in the originals. The spirit of each story holds true, with some tweaks that make them more inclusive and engaging for all readers. I like that there were some very well known stories included, like Rapunzel and Hansel and Gretel, as well as lesser known stories- some of which I do not remember ever having encountered before. All of them captured my attention and had me fully engaged. The story length of each story helped me break out of a reading slum, that had made it hard for me to become invested in what I had been reading lately. I dove into this book, and will be revisiting some of the stories again in the near future. I think readers that have always enjoyed reading fairy tales, and enjoy seeing them evolve, will definitely want to pick this up. Readers that have been put off by the prejudices and attitudes found in many of the originals might want to give collection a try to see a new take on the old tales.
Early Book Review: Incubators: A Graphic History by Paige V. Polinsky, Josep Rural
Early Book Review: Tiger Honor by Yoon Ha Lee
Early Book Review: Absurd Words: A Kids' Fun and Hilarious Vocabulary Builder for Future Word Nerds by Tara Lazar
Book Review: Acoustics (Portland Symphony) by London Price
Acoustics is a trans romance series set in Oregon. It contains robot talk, found family, and a happily ever after. It’s not intended for readers who don’t want to read explicit LGBTQ sex scenes. CW for the death of a fish. I really loved the characters in this book, including the main and secondary characters. Colby knows better than to date his sister's roommate. He does not want to hurt her, but cannot seem to stop himself. Chance is a fantastic character, and I love the balance of shy tech guy and dominant nature in the bedroom. My favorite part of the book is the frank and honest discussions Chance and Colby have. They talk about everything I think most people should before getting intimate- covering what they are comfortable with, hard limits, and so on- even holding themselves to that when other choices could have been made. I loved the caring and thoughtful nature of their relationship, even when they were trying to 'just be friends'. The support and honest caring between all of the characters made me want to be part of this circle of friends and family. I cannot wait to see what comes next in the series so I can see them all again. My only big complaint was that it ended too soon.