This thread is quite timely for me, since I'm looking into a new food processor. Bill, I usually chop veggies by hand and yes, I am extremely clumsy. I had to go to the hospital the other week for an injured thumb. I hate chopping parsley, cilantro, and ginger. I thought of getting a food processor partially for those reasons. Now I'm beginning to wonder. If anyone has suggestions as to how to chop cilantro especially, please share. I HATE chopping it. I hate cutting those leaves. Any suggestions for which mandoline would be appreciated! What do I have a hard time chopping? Cilantro and parsley. This is what worries me about a mandoline.

Happy New Year everyone! I read Sleeping Murder - 3 Stars - I seem to prefer watching Agatha Christie rather than reading her books. This one grabbed me from the beginning and I was hooked. It was only towards the end that I thought it dragged on a tiny bit. MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

My favorite books of the year:

I'll do my year-end summary later. This week, I read: The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss - 5 Stars - This is a fabulous book, probably the best diet/health book that I’ve ever read. I’ve been meaning to read this for a while, but there was a bit of a dread factor. Honestly, I’ve read so many diet and health books through the years, that I needed yet another one like I need a drill through my head. I thought that this would be boring and that I would simply skip to the part where he tells us what to do. I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t find it boring at all. It was written clearly and organized in a very user-friendly way. Finally, a book with advice that makes sense! Eating less and moving more may work temporarily, but so many, myself included, struggle endlessly with keeping that weight off. I’m convinced that I have a propensity for diabetes. I may even have pre-diabetes, but I don’t want the doctor to tell me. I’m one of those who avoids seeing the doctor unless if I’m fairly healthy. I don’t like being told off and lectured as to what to do, when I know what I should be doing. Anyway, for those who are concerned about weight gain, pre-diabetes, and/or diabetes, this is an exceptional and eye-opening book. I hope to slowly put the advice into practice, even though this isn’t the best time of year to do so! Slowly, but surely. Losing weight is not that hard. Keeping it off is the bane of my existence. My favorite quotes (and there are far too many to list here): “A recent study suggests that 75 per cent of the weight-loss response in obesity is predicted by insulin levels. Not willpower. Not caloric intake. Not peer support or peer pressure. Not exercise. Just insulin.†“Diets work well at the start, but as we lose weight, our metabolism slows.†“The reason diets are so hard and often unsuccessful is that we are constantly fighting our own body. As we lose weight, our body tries to bring it back up.†How it Works: The Dog - 3 Stars - Another funny book for adults in the Ladybird series. How it Works: The Mum - 4 Stars - Yet another hilarious Ladybird book – a few pages had me crying from laughter. Anne Frank Remembered - 5 Stars - This is an amazing book by Miep Gies. It was Miep and her husband who helped to hide the Frank family during WWII, and who provided food and comfort to them. It was heartbreaking and powerful. I admire the author and her husband – what brave heroes they were! MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

I haven't read the replies yet and look forward to doing so. I would highly recommend The Obesity Code. Trust me. I've read tons of diet and weight loss books. This one is gold. You mentioned carbs and having a sweet tooth. I can relate. This book addresses all of that.

I read How to be a Victorian A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Victorian Life – 3 Stars - This book was interesting, but certainly not riveting as I had hoped it would be. After a certain point, the amount of detail made it rather tedious. I ended up skimming those parts a bit. The author tried out many of the practices that she talks about – corsets, methods of transport, cooking, and so on. The worst part for me, and what I personally think was far too excessive, was the fact that she did not wash with water for four months! Sorry, but that’s plain out disgusting in my eyes. Four months?! Come on! Other than that, the book is thoroughly researched and would be of great interest to those who are love Victorian history. MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

Robin, thank you for all those links. I'm looking forward to browsing :). I read Teatime In Paris: A Walk Through Easy French Patisserie Recipes - 4 Stars - This is a beautiful cookbook with a variety of recipes for teatime pastries. I didn’t know about the teatime custom in France until I read this book. There are all sorts of recipes – some of which look quite daunting to say the least, but I may give even those ones a try. I’d like to try out most of the recipes, which seem quite clear and are full of helpful photos. This book is also fun in that it’s a bit of a travel book – a sort of walking tour of some wonderful looking patisseries in Paris. The author lives in Paris and gives walking tours of patisseries throughout Paris. Can you imagine? That would be such incredible fun! As I read this, I had fond memories of our trip to Paris several years ago, and gosh, it makes me want to visit there again! This book is a gorgeous visual feast and would be a lovely gift for those who enjoy baking. MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

Wow! That's quite a connection!

Robin, what a fun question! I love allrecipes.com and specifically, Chef John who's on allrecipes as well as on his blog. I print out recipes that work and try to keep them as organized as possible. I do have a few cookbooks, but I have found that the internet is the most helpful. I need to cook alone and cannot stand too many people getting in my way. :) I've recently bought some new cookbooks and will likely review them soon. I read Gone with the Wind - 5 Stars - If I could, I would give this book an endless number of stars. This is my favorite book of 2016 and it will rank way up there as among my all-time favorites. I’m sure that I’m in the minority in that I had never read or seen the movie until now. I wasn’t particularly interested, incorrectly thinking that it would be a sappy, romantic story about a spoilt Southern belle. I was quickly proven wrong. Anyway, had it not been for my daughter, I don’t think that I would have ever read it. This is among her favorite books also. As I was reading it, she was continuously asking me where I was in the book and whether or not I liked it. I will someday miss those funny memories. She said that she loved re-reading the book vicariously through me. We had a blast! Since I did not grow up in the U.S. and regrettably never took a U.S. history course while in college (it wasn’t required for my degree), my knowledge of the Civil War and especially its aftermath is quite limited and one-sided. Margaret Mitchell did a wonderful job educating me, especially with regards to the frustrations of Reconstruction. My three favorite characters are Rhett, Scarlett, and Melanie, although all of the characters were truly memorable, thanks to Margaret Mitchell’s writing. Rhett was entertaining and put on no airs or sense of pretension. Scarlett had plenty of flaws, of course, but she also had many qualities that I admired – being able to cope during difficulties, and so on. Melanie annoyed me at first, but then I admired her so much. This book was powerful and incredible. I told my daughter that I will be forever grateful to her for pushing me to read it! Once I finished the book, we sat down and watched the movie. This is seldom a good idea to do right after finishing a book. Let some time pass, I say! The movie was good and they did what they could, given that time period, but the book is far, far superior. I’m quite sure that any book I pick up will pale in comparison for quite a while. Some of my favorite quotes: “Life's under no obligation to give us what we expect. We take what we get and are thankful it's no worse than it is.†“Hardships make or break people.†“Like most girls, her imagination carried her just as far as the altar and no further.†“Don’t holler – smile and bide your time.†MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

I read The Book of Ebenezer Le Page - 2 Stars - Boooring :lol:. I’m amazed that I actually managed to finish this. The book got rather mundane and I thought that it would never end. I remember that it was a discounted e-book and the reason that I got it was that it was recommended for those who liked "Stoner" (a book which I loved). For me, this wasn't a good recommendation at all. MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

Robin, this is one of my favorites! She has three in her series and I plan to order the only one that I haven't yet read very soon.

It might look as if I read a lot in the past week. I didn't. I'm just catching up on ratings and reviews from books I read while away on vacation. All Things Wise and Wonderful – 3 Stars - I will forever have a soft spot in my heart for all things Herriot. I read the children’s books to my children over and over again and we have visited the town of Thirsk in Yorkshire and the James Herriot Museum, which we loved. This book however, has been my least favorite so far. Don’t get me wrong. I still liked it very much, just not nearly as much as the others that I’ve read. I didn’t particularly care for the start of each chapter with the RAF/WWII anecdotes. If it had been just war stories, I would have been fine with it. But then it would go off in a clumsy sort of way to his pre-war vet days and that was a bit distracting. You Have the Right to Remain Innocent – 3 Stars - Many have seen the You Tube video by the same author, telling you to never trust anyone in the criminal justice system. I saw it a few years ago and thought it was interesting. To me, you don’t necessarily need to read this book. The You Tube video and the quotes that I am sharing should be sufficient. It was a relatively short and quick read. Mind you, I had to skim through many of the horror stories with all the injustice that some have encountered. I cannot stand that sort of pain. Some of the tips: Have a lawyer present whenever you talk to the police. Never volunteer information or access to your property. Here is more: “If a police officer encounters you in one of those moments, he or she has every right to ask you two simple questions. Memorize these two questions so you will not be tempted to answer any others: Who are you? What are you doing right here, right now? If you are ever approached by a police officer with those two questions, and your God-given common sense tells you that the officer is being reasonable in asking for an explanation, don’t be a jerk.†“Those are the only two things you should tell the police officer in that context, and they are both in the present tense. (You might as well cooperate with such a request, by the way, because the Fifth Amendment does not normally give you the right to refuse to tell the police your name anyway. That is it. But if the police officer tries to strike up a conversation with you about the past, and where you were thirty minutes earlier, and who you were with, and where you had dinner, and with whom—you will not answer those questions. You will not be rude, but you will always firmly decline, with all due respect, to answer those questions.†“If you are asked any question by a police officer or a government agent and you realize that it is not in your best interest to answer, you should not mention the Fifth Amendment privilege or tell the police that you wish to exercise your right to avoid incriminating yourself. In this day and age, there is too great a danger that the police and the prosecutor might later persuade the judge to use that statement against you as evidence of your guilt. And if they do, to make matters much worse, you have no guarantee that the FBI agent in your case will not slightly misremember your exact words.†The Auschwitz Escape – 4 Stars - This is historical fiction about two men who manage to escape from Auschwitz. Despite the horrific subject matter, it was a beautiful read. I’m sure that the story and the characters will remain with me for quite some time. MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

Thank you. We visited Santiago, Buenos Aires, and finally Miami. I hope that you manage to find the book. :)

Hi everyone. It's nice to be back after a wonderful vacation. While we were in Buenos Aires, we visited this beautiful bookstore that used to be an opera house. I thought of you all and wish that you could have been there. I read a few books and still want to catch up on the threads and book titles that I've missed while away. Swim: Why We Love the Water – 3 Stars - I love swimming and have always been crazy about the water. Show me a pool or an ocean and I’m happy to jump right in. I chose to read this in order to motivate me to swim more often. I used to swim far more before I had a family. It doesn’t help that I’m the only one who has such an intense passion for it, although I keep telling myself that that is no excuse! I’m giving this book 3 stars since I didn’t particularly care for Sherr’s jumping around on topics all over the place. I would only recommend this to those who love swimming. The book is thoroughly researched – some of it is interesting and other parts were a bit boring for me. I am grateful to have read it, since it’s definitely motivated me to hopefully swim more. Some of my favorite quotes: “Swimming is my salvation. Ask me in the middle of winter, or at the end of a grueling day, or after a long stretch at the computer, where I’d most like to be, and the answer is always the same: in the water, gliding weightless, slicing a silent trail through whatever patch of blue I can find.†“Even the suggestion of swimming be stirring. Watch a swimmer pass a building with a pool: the whiff of chlorine produces a wistful smile. Sit with swimmers when a TV commercial shows someone in the water: they actually stop and watch.†“Buoyancy also lifts the ego when other body parts start to droop. Curvy people float better than lean beans, and women more than men, because even at our slimmest, we have an extra layer of fat distributed throughout our bodies.†On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life – 5 Stars - This powerful book made me cry several times and has inspired me to try to become a better person. The author, who burned nearly his entire body at the age of nine, does an incredible job telling his own story and how the reader can apply it to one’s own life. I look forward to reading it again. I think that this book is far and above your typical self-help-type book. Some of my favorite quotes: “We had it all. Life was perfect. And then life changed. It always does. When life changes in this way, we can beg and plead to go back to the way things were. Feeling entitled to that reality. Waiting for someone to wave the magic wand and put things back to normal; back to the way life was. Or we can step up, recognize that it is time to move forward from here, and embrace total accountability.†“I believe in the power of prayer. And I know thousands of prayers were offered up for me that night, and every day for the next five months I spent in the hospital. But I also believe that prayer is not so much intended to change God, but to inform and inspire the next steps of the individuals offering the prayer.†“The number one joy indicator, the one thing that will predict whether someone feels joy in their life or not, is the practice of gratitude.†Defeating Jihad: The Winnable War – 4 Stars - This is a quick, interesting, and enlightening read. It addresses the important issue of radical Islam. The book is especially timely and here I will quote: “The year 2015 was the deadliest for jihadist plots and attacks in America since September 11, 2001. We are losing this war both in the Middle East and on the streets of the United States. There will be more attacks like those in Boston and San Bernardino unless we change the way we think about the threat to the homeland. There is no such thing as ‘lone wolf’ terrorism. All jihadists are connected to the global jihadist movement by their shared ideology.†Some other quotes (and there were many, which I have posted on Good Reads): “Freedom is fragile. Freedom is not the natural state of affairs, and there will always be those who believe they have the right to take your freedom from you to serve their ‘greater’ ideological cause.†“Look at the history of the last hundred years. First it was Nazis who wished to create a global empire in which the individual was just a cog in the machine of a state that worshipped racial purity and the glorious Führer. Then there were the Marxists and the communists, who replaced the Aryan race with the working class, but who again saw freedom and individual liberty as a threat to the power of the ‘enlightened’ elite.†MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

Robin, I'm the same about horror novels and movies. I never thought that I'd ever read a Stephen King novel, but it's been thanks to some of the friends here that I've read and enjoyed quite a few. I haven't yet read "On Writing", but it's been on my list. Not all of his books are horror. Those are the ones that I always look for. I read: How it Works: The Wife - 5 Stars - This was absolutely hilarious, especially for me, since I grew up with Ladybird books. There were parts that had me laughing so hard that I was crying. I look forward to getting more in the series. I’m looking for a few, but sadly, they seem quite difficult to get. Becoming Queen Victoria - 3 Stars - I adore Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and I know this sounds silly to say, but even talking about them brings me joy. Since I was a child growing up in Britain, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert have been my favourite monarchs. My teachers at school passed on their passion to me. This is really two books and it’s very well-researched. The first part is about the life of Princess Charlotte, who was meant to be queen. Since she died in childbirth, her cousin Princess Victoria became queen instead. At first, I enjoyed learning about Princess Charlotte, since I really knew nothing much about her and her dysfunctional family. It started to get rather tedious until we finally get to Victoria. It took the author quite a while to get there and I found this to be more interesting, although the focus is mainly on her younger years and her early reign. Her later years and the ending are rushed. The reason that I bought this book and chose to read it was because of Queen Victoria not Princess Charlotte, so I felt a bit cheated. This isn’t what I was looking for. I don’t mind some background on Princess Charlotte, but not pretty much half the entire book, or however long it was. I wanted a complete biography, not something that makes me want more, and not something that feels rushed towards the end. Queen Victoria - 4 Stars - I had expected this free e-book to be a bit on the dry side. Although it was bit boring at times, most of it was fascinating and quite engaging. More than anything, the love between Victoria and Albert touched my heart. Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Disney Little Golden Book – 4 Stars - This is a lovely and cute little book that would make a sweet gift. The illustrations are filled with nostalgia. I have to say that I prefer the life lessons in her other book. MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

I read Clandestine in Chile - 1 Star - Boring. and The Ladybird Book of Mindfulness - 4 Stars - I grew up with Ladybird books and my children had many also. This short and quick read is part of a fun series for adults and quite frankly, they’re an absolute riot. The illustrations are the same classic ones from before and seeing them was pure nostalgia. MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

I went to college in Portland many years ago. I'm not familiar with any new restaurants, but this one is wonderful.

Robin, thank you, as always, for working so hard on my favorite thread of the week. :grouphug: I read: 102 Minutes - 3 Stars - This was the first book that I read on 9/11. Although it was definitely a compelling read, I soon got bogged down with too many details, especially about the structure of the towers and the building codes. The authors included lots of information all that. They were extremely thorough, but it soon became rather repetitive. I loved reading about all the individuals. The self-sacrifice and courage of so many were incredible, but I found it difficult to keep track of all the names. I think that I would have appreciated this more if it was written in a more linear way. All the going back and forth with the different people, never mind the building safety code repetition, made it difficult to read. Overall, it was very good, but also quite depressing, which I expected it to be. I’m happy that I read it and I learned a lot. Above all, reading it has encouraged me to appreciate and thank God for every day that we have and for all the wonderful blessings that we may sometimes take for granted. and Against All Hope - 4 Stars - I loathe communism and I have no respect for those who do. I also have no respect for those who like and romanticize Castro. This was an extremely difficult read. The author refused to support Castro and because of that, he was a prisoner under dreadfully harsh and gruesome conditions. Reading about what those prisoners went through was heartbreaking to say the least. Their strong, unshakeable religious faith was incredible. “I was utterly exhausted. The lack of sleep and the tension were seriously affecting me. I sought God then. My conversations with Him brought me a spiritual strength that gave me new energy. I never asked Him to get me out of there; I didn’t think that God should be used for that kind of request. I only asked that He allow me to resist, that He give me the faith and spiritual strength to bear up under these conditions without sickening with hatred. I only prayed for Him to accompany me. And His presence, which I felt, made my faith an indestructible shield.†As a result of his wife’s efforts and human rights organizations, he was finally released after 20 years. Some of my favorite quotes: “Man is Nature’s most wonderful creature. Torturing him, crushing him, murdering him for his beliefs and ideas is more than a violation of human rights — it is a crime against all humanity.†“My response to those who still try to justify Castro’s tyranny with the excuse that he has built schools and hospitals is this: Stalin, Hitler and Pinochet also built schools and hospitals, and like Castro, they also tortured and assassinated opponents. They built concentration and extermination camps and eradicated all liberties, committing the worst crimes against humanity.†“Unbelievably, while many non-governmental organizations like Amnesty International and America’s Watch have denounced the human rights situation in Cuba, there has been a continuing love affair on the part of the media and many intellectuals with Fidel Castro.†“Those who hated the crimes of Pinochet closed their eyes when the same crimes were committed by Castro. The posture of many countries was governed by their hostility against the United States, and they excused Castro out of a reflexive anti-Americanism. (The enemy of my enemy is my friend.) These political games still take place today.†“I have become convinced that hatred towards the U.S. has been a chief reason for Castro’s longevity in power.†“Every effort to get the Commission on Human Rights of the United Nations even to consider our denunciations was fruitless. We sent that organization detailed information about the tortures, the murders, the plans to blow us up with the explosives installed in the Circulars, but it did nothing. The prestigious Commission on Human Rights had deaf ears and blind eyes for what was happening in the Cuban political prisons.†“Exactly the same thing happened with the International Red Cross. Talking to it about violations of human rights in Cuba was like talking to a post; it refused to listen. Cuban political prisoners simply did not exist. Why get upset about them, then? Years later, the Red Cross came to believe what it had been told. The United Nations as a whole and its individual nations know about the horrors of the Cuban jails, but they don’t dare condemn Cuba in their annual assemblies.†MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

I read The Fairy Tale Girl - 5 Stars - This is the first in a trilogy of Susan Branch’s memoirs. However, it’s the second book that I’ve read since she wrote them out of order. I have fallen in love with her gorgeously illustrated books. Gosh, I wish that I was as talented as her! Not only are her books a visual treat, but the stories behind them are wonderful also. I didn’t want the book to end, yet I was eager to read what would happen next and am looking so forward to reading the sequel. I’m thinking of getting her cookbooks. Her love for cooking and all things home-y are ever so inspiring to me. Some of my favorite quotes: “Fresh interests will lead to happiness.†-- “’Less is a bore,’ wrote Robert Venturi about modern architecture and design. I could not agree more. Less can be pretty; some could think of it as restful. If you wish to hide your true soul, this is the way to go; because it’s a very private sort of decorating. But if you are a heart-on-your-sleeve person, you won’t be able to do it. Soon photos of loved ones, quilts, candles, flowers, and treasured books will begin to leak into the picture. Add a teapot or two and it’s all over.†-- “One day I called my grandma … I asked her if men were the same in her day as they were in ours … She said yes, she thought they were about the same ~ ‘but women don’t pay attention.’ She told me she’d realized with my grandfather that women ‘should pay less attention to what men say, and watch what they do.’ She said this worked with all people, but especially boyfriends, husbands, and politicians.†-- “I’d seen up close how difficult and demanding it was to raise children when I was growing up as the oldest of eight. I was not spurning ‘God’s greatest gift’ but I understood what kind of commitment it took. And as far as I was concerned, if you were married, having a baby was a joint decision. Both people had to want it. Babies should be the center of the universe; both parents needed to be thrilled, excited, and wildly involved. You can’t have someone standing in the corner pouting while you’re trying to take care of a baby.†-- “My brothers and sisters and I were blessed with our mother’s incredibly happy disposition: She sang us awake in the morning, she sang in the car, and she sang all day while she worked around the house. Along with the Shirley Temple movies she taught me to love, my mom’s singing was the soundtrack of my childhood.†-- “We aren’t in control of the circumstances of our childhoods. I might have liked college and a reading list, sophisticated travel, finishing school, and a cultured environment, the things you read about in books; but we all get what we get, count our blessings, then do the best we can. My parents did that. They did the best they could with what life brought them, and I’m so grateful for every moment of my happy, carefree, innocent childhood. Looking back, of all the gifts I’ve been given, this one is my most treasured. I wouldn’t change a thing.†MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

Thank you for this link. I prefer styles such as this which are a bit more forgiving in the tummy area. My years of wearing bikini cuts are long gone. I just ordered these by Bali. and these.

I read both her books several years ago. I followed the plan to a "t" - got all the supplements and even did some of the recipes. It helped a little initially, but then nothing.

I read My Invented Country - 5 Stars - I never noticed how much I love memoirs until my daughter pointed it out to me. We joke about that endlessly, since I’m often quite unaware of the genre of a book when I choose it and start reading it. Well, a memoir and never mind one written by Allende, I simply knew that it had to be good! This book is full of nostalgia and memories of her life in Chile. She writes beautifully and from the heart. For me, reading Isabel Allende books are a pleasure. This one was a re-read and I loved it yet again. MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

I read The Hacienda - 2 Stars - If you have a problem with judgmental reviews, then please stop reading here. This is a memoir and obviously Lisa is free to keep out what she wants. Yet because I felt that it was patchy in certain areas and that some parts were omitted, I did some research. One realizes early on in the book that Lisa had an eccentric background. Her mother had been married four times and had four children, one from each marriage. Lisa meets her husband-to-be Jaime, who’s 20 years her senior, when she’s 16 on a London street. Obviously, Lisa was probably looking for a father figure, since I don’t think she ever had much of a relationship with her own father. I’m old and jaded enough to know that huge age disparities like that, especially when one is still a teen for crying out loud, seldom succeed. I remember an acquaintance telling me how his father had told him to not marry anyone with more than five years age difference on either side. I love rules, so I remember that one. But I digress. So Lisa marries Jaime at 17, going against her mother’s warnings. He’s an aristo-leftie. I’ve known several and they amuse me. Yeah, yeah, they’ve had a privileged life and own a ton of land or whatever. They manage to find the time to love the concept of communism, which isn’t that hard for them to do, since they often have plenty of time on their hands. But what amuses me is that they seldom actually practice what they think they believe. That usually remains to be seen. Now, it gets better. Jaime is a wanted man! He robs banks in Europe to raise money for guerrillas in Venezuela. What a worthy cause! Lisa, as a young newly-wed appears to get involved in the bank-robbing also. They leave Europe and move to his family’s ginormous estate in Venezuela (apparently the size of Scotland). The marriage was a nightmare and didn’t last. In fact, she never seems to have cared about him much from the beginning. She spends most of the memoir focusing on avocado growing or whatever. Maybe that’s her way of dealing with the pain. I don’t know. It just felt odd. Time and time again I have seen daughters repeating the same pattern of exercising poor judgment when it comes to their choices in men. Not always, but often enough. Lisa appears to have repeated her mother’s pattern of getting married a few times. Also, Lisa and Jaime’s own daughter, Iseult, married a man who was 25 years older than her when she was very young also. Go figure. The cycle keeps repeating itself! By the way, in case you may be interested, the man that she married was a movie director (“Il Postino†and “White Mischiefâ€) and that marriage failed as well. What’s interesting is Lisa’s description below of Jaime saying that he would die if she didn’t marry him, Lisa’s daughter said the exact same thing of the husband that was 25 years her senior. Yes, there is a pattern, a rather sad and pathetic one at that. “He said he would die if I didn’t marry him. He said it was my destiny. I was sixteen and I didn’t know then that it was an old cliché, as though, somewhere, there is a little latino lexicon of courtship which is learnt by heart in adolescence and then regurgitated to girl after girl.†The reason that I’m giving the book 2 stars is not based on all the foolish decision-making and her personality, which I really didn’t care for. I can handle that okay. Initially, I was excited and thought that the book would focus more on her crappy marriage, an absolute sham really. Yet reading it felt weird. I felt a great deal of detachment towards every single character and I didn’t care about anyone. I felt that so much of the focus was on the farming details and the workers. That started to get extremely slow for me. This is a memoir and she really doesn’t open up much to the reader. MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

Erin, I'm so sorry :grouphug:.

The Iceberg looks interesting. Thank you for recommending it.