Gina Rae Mitchell

Welcome to the Friday Finds January 17, 2020 edition. Due to unexpected travel and various other factors, I just managed to have Christmas with my Illinois family last weekend. So now it feels like it’s time to start the new year officially. I didn’t choose a word of the year for 2020, but I set a few general goals to work towards this year. Top on my list is to organize my life better! How about you? Did you make resolutions, set goals, choose a word for the year? If so, how is it going for you so far?

 

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Friday Finds – January 17, 2020 – Books

Children’s: Kindness, Peer Pressure

The Tall Poppy by A.T. Waverly

A poppy wilts because the other poppies won’t play with it. A little bird wonders what happened and reminisces
about sitting in the shade and drinking raindrops from the tall poppy’s big, red petals. Saddened, the bird wonders:
Will the poppy continue to wither and shrink or learn to smile at the sun again?

 

Dark Humor / Literary Fiction

Stray Our pieces by Jason Graff

For Gloria Hytner, the only good thing about tiring of motherhood is that it stings less to think of herself as a total failure. She has managed to raise a son just intelligent and sensitive enough to become an easy target for the neighborhood bully. David seeks solace from her, but Gloria finds her reserves of empathy running low. Having been bullied her entire life, first by her mother and later by other neighborhood moms who seem to mercilessly flaunt the joy they take in raising their own children, Gloria’s acerbic wit is all she has to offer him in the way of defense.

Never having planned on becoming a mother, let alone one that stayed at home, she had once been well on her way to becoming a crusading attorney, but a personal tragedy forced her to drop out of law school. Now stuck in a humdrum suburban existence, she struggles to even fantasize about escape until the day David unexpectedly exacts revenge on his bully, giving Gloria the courage to set herself free. Family ties are not broken so much as stretched into something new in Stray Our Pieces.

 

New Best-selling Fiction

  American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

American Dirt will leave readers utterly changed. It is a literary achievement filled with poignancy, drama, and humanity on every page. It is one of the most important books for our time.

Already being hailed as “a Grapes of Wrath for our times” and “a new American classic,” Jeanine Cummins’s American Dirt is a rare exploration into the inner hearts of people willing to sacrifice everything for a glimmer of hope.

Lydia Quixano Pérez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable.

Even though she knows they’ll never sell, Lydia stocks some of her all-time favorite books in her store. And then one day a man enters the shop to browse and comes up to the register with a few books he would like to buy―two of them her favorites. Javier is erudite. He is charming. And, unbeknownst to Lydia, he is the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city. When Lydia’s husband’s tell-all profile of Javier is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.

Forced to flee, Lydia and eight-year-old Luca soon find themselves miles and worlds away from their comfortable middle-class existence. Instantly transformed into migrants, Lydia and Luca ride la bestia―trains that make their way north toward the United States, which is the only place Javier’s reach doesn’t extend. As they join the countless people trying to reach el norte, Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?

 

#1 Best-seller in Amazon Audiobooks

  Pile of Bones by Michael J. Sullivan

Pile of Bones will be free for Audible listeners until March 7, 2020.

When a storm reveals a mysterious cave behind a waterfall, the young mystic’s apprentice and her wolf investigate. Inside, she discovers a secret place containing a pile of human bones, and the young girl makes what could be a fatal mistake.

In this Legends of the First Empire prequel, we witness the events that helped shape the woman who would one day become Suri the Mystic, the first Rhune Artist, and a hero to a generation.

 

Religious Time Travel Science Fiction

  Save Him by William Hayes

A temporal-shifting discovery. A history-altering choice. Can he prevent the death of Jesus?

Resourceful military scientist Rydel Scott is proud of the hi-tech gear he invents for battlefield heroes. But when a secret mission goes wrong and accidentally reveals the technology behind time travel, he senses a higher purpose in righting past wrongs. And after receiving a holy message, the man of science embarks on a world-changing quest to rescue the Son of God.

As he covers his tracks to journey back undetected, he neglects to factor in the consequences of a devastating butterfly effect. And he’s terrified to discover his own elite soldiers are hunting him down to stop him from making choices that could upend all of human history.

Can Rydel rewrite the New Testament before old friends scratch him out of existence?

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In case you missed it, I reviewed “While Earth Still Speaks by Nancy Werking Poling” on the website last week. It’s a very thought-provoking and entertaining read. Nancy & I would love for you to take a look at the review.

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NOTE TO READERS: leave a comment including the word dream or dreaming to be entered to win a digital copy of Dead Man Dreaming by Uday Mukerji. 

 

Friday Finds – January 17, 2020 – Food

 

  Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat

Master the use of just four elements—Salt, which enhances flavor; Fat, which delivers flavor and generates texture; Acid, which balances flavor; and Heat, which ultimately determines the texture of food—and anything you cook will be delicious. By explaining the hows and whys of good cooking, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat will teach and inspire a new generation of cooks how to confidently make better decisions in the kitchen and cook delicious meals with any ingredients, anywhere, at any time.

With charming narrative, illustrated walkthroughs, and a lighthearted approach to kitchen science, Samin demystifies the four elements of good cooking for everyone. Refer to the canon of 100 essential recipes—and dozens of variations—to put the lessons into practice and make bright, balanced vinaigrettes, perfectly caramelized roast vegetables, tender braised meats, and light, flaky pastry doughs.

New York Times Bestseller and Winner of the 2018 James Beard Award for Best General Cookbook and multiple IACP Cookbook Awards

 

Now on to some recipes. I’m very much in the mood for soup this week. So naturally, that’s what I searched for this week.

First up is author, photographer, and book reviewer, TJ Fox’s Rivel Soup. 

Click here to get the recipe!

It’s been a long time since I thought about making rivels. I’m definitely going to make this soon. It’s like a “souped-up” potato soup. haha

 

I love a hunk of warm bread with a hot bowl of soup.

Taste of Home offers up a great recipe for simple homemade bread. They even have a video to help you along.

 

Everyone loves hot cocoa and cookies, right. (Don’t tell me if you aren’t a fan. I’m not sure we can be friends! haha) Have you ever thought of mixing them together?

Me neither but Jill from Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons did. Check out her recipe and let me know what you think.

 

Friday Finds – January 17, 2020 – Crafts

  The Rock Art Handbook by Samantha Sarles

Rock art is showing up everywhere, and anyone can do it!

• Over 30 step-by-step tutorials make Rock Art Handbook your comprehensive rock art resource
• Covers various craft techniques for decorating rocks like dot painting, marbling, embellishments, and much more
• Use your favorite craft supplies from nail polish, puff paint, and gelly roll pens to chalk, washi tape, glitter glue and more
• Perfect family craft for parents & kids to do together
• Make your own “kindness rock,” a growing trend seen on Facebook and reported on the TODAY show

Rock art is showing up everywhere—on Etsy, at craft shows, online, and on hidden “kindness rocks” around your neighborhood. And the good news is you can do it yourself!

Just look in your own backyard, a nearby beach, or the local gardening center to find the perfect rock. Then with the help of a few colorful craft supplies and the tutorials in Rock Art Handbook, you’ll be on your way!

Author Sam Sarles shares her favorite tips and techniques for transforming the humble rock into a work of art. Brush painting isn’t the only way to decorate a rock! Almost anything you do on paper or canvas, you can do on a rock. Discover how to get great results with puffy paint, acrylics, oil pastels, alcohol inks, gelatos, art pens, watercolors, and more.

With more than 30 step-by-step projects, this book is the comprehensive rock art resource!

 

Cranberry Lace Throw Kit

Add a cozy touch to your home! Kit includes enough worsted weight yarn to make one 55′ x 62″ afghan and a black and white leaflet.

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That’s a wrap for this week, my friends. Leave a comment if you want to chat about something you found here. Otherwise, share with your friends and have a fabulous week.

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Below are shopping links to some items mentioned this week.

American Dirt (Oprah's Book...Shop on Amazon Rock Art Handbook: Techniqu...Shop on Amazon Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mast...Shop on Amazon Save Him: A Military Time T...Shop on Amazon Pile of BonesShop on Amazon Stray Our PiecesShop on Amazon The Tall PoppyShop on Amazon