February Book: The Sun Also Rises
So. That happened.
I caught a little case of breast cancer in January of 2010 and decided to spend the rest of the year immersed in the fine art of survival. I had thought I’d have a lot of time to read, while I was stuck on the couch. But a funny thing happens when you get enough cancer that you have to have body parts removed and toxins injected – you seem to lose focus on fiction. I couldn’t get through a book. I could barely get through a magazine. My mind kept wandering back to all kinds of “what if” and “seriously?” plus “come on!” besides “ouch!” I don’t know if you know this, but there’s a whole lot of ouch involved in the fixing of breast cancer.
So I let Books & Snacks lapse.
And then the other day, I got an e-mail from Becky over at Fly By Nyght (By the way, Becky? I just fixed my blogroll over at kitchenblogic. Don’t know how you weren’t included but you are now. Sorry about the oversight!) asking me to consider resurrecting Books & Snacks. Which got me thinking, “Oh my God! I forgot all about Books & Snacks!”
So I did some thinking over the night and here’s what I’m thinking…
I’ve got school to attend with homework to do. I’ve gone back to my 3D book club after a two year hiatus. How many books can a gal read?
Some. That’s the sum of how many books a gal can read.
I want to bring Books & Snacks back to life. Thanks Becky! But while I’m in school, I don’t want to overwhelm myself with too much reading. So, until I’m out of school, I’m going to mirror my 3D book club book choices and invite you guys to read what they’re reading.
All those words being said, here we go:
The book we are currently going to read here is The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway.
If you want to participate all you have to do is read the book and then post your opinions in the comments section of this page. You can add your comments at any time. Even if you stumble onto this page in the future! Hello 2015! How’s the economy?
And if you are so inclined, you can add a recipe that you’d share with us if you were actually hosting the party at your home.
I’ll gather those from time to time and put them over at the Books & Snacks Cook book blog.
Happy reading!
And – thank you Becky!
Okay, I read it over our two day snow break. I like Hemingway – A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, even The Old Man and the Sea. But this book was a bit of a bore. I felt an active dislike for every single one of the characters. All they did was drink and bicker, and drink and bicker some more. It sort of reminds me of Seinfeld – nothing really happens. While there’s something rather charming about that in Seinfeld, I did not find it at all charming in this novel.
Here’s my recipe:
Sun-dried tomato dip
Ingredients
* 1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
* 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* 1/4 cup mayonnaise
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* hot pepper sauce to taste
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1/4 cup fresh basil
Directions
In a food processor, mix the sun-dried tomatoes, cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, garlic, hot pepper sauce, salt, and pepper. Process until well-blended. Add basil, and continue processing until smooth. Chill at least 1 hour in the refrigerator before serving.
Can be served with fresh vegetables, any type of cracker, pita chips, etc.
Oh! Stephanie! I need to bring something to share at work tomorrow – this might be it! Thank you!
I read the book back in February, but never came back to say what I thought! Since my name’s all over the post…you’d think that I would have
The only Hemingway that I’ve read before this was The Old Man and the Sea, so was happy to be exposed to a book that I wouldn’t normally have picked out for myself. I really enjoy the way that Hemingway writes, the fluidity of the words makes it enjoyable to read – even when you’re reading about nothing. Seriously, this book seemed to have no plot and no direction at all. Characters went from here to there and then to another destination all while copious amounts of alcohol were consumed. Then save for one or two, they all went their separate ways. ….That’s about all that happened! I felt like I wanted to like it. I felt like I wanted to like the characters. However, I liked the words and the way they came together; but I did not enjoy the story.
This won’t put me off Hemingway though – I’m open to suggestions for the next one to try
Becky – I agree with you about this story having no plot and no direction – and yet still being fun to read. Who was there to like in this book? And yet…