Kate's Point of View

The Product of Creative Frustration

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ICYMI: Top Posts from 2014

By

On January 1, 2015

In uncategorized

In case you missed them, here are my most visited posts from 2014:

  1. My Sister Made a Baby and I Made a Blanket
    When my sister let me know she was pregnant, I was determined to make her a baby blanket. After toiling away for more hours than I work in a week and stumbling at several points in it’s creation, I finished it! I am more proud of this than anything I have sewn so far. And that baby is pretty cute, too.
  2. Worst Date
    While Wonder Boy and I have had many great dates, one of our early ones was pretty terrible.
  3. An Introduction to Harry Hopkins, the Man Who Influenced Roosevelt, Churchill and the Outcome of World War II
    In Sleep in Peace Tonight by James MacManus, I learned about a major player in World War II that hadn’t been mentioned in any of the books I’d read earlier. It was a fascinating read!
  4. Ten Things I Believe In
    I detailed some of my beliefs, which resulted in some good reminders for me.
  5. A Letter to the Many Cats in My Life
    Inspired by A Letter to My Cat by Lisa Erspamer, I penned notes to my own cats. And established, again, that I definitely qualify as a crazy cat lady.
  6. What’s Wrong with Grandma and Grandpa?
    It seems like grandparents everywhere have cute nicknames. It’s all well and good until you try to talk to a tot and ask them about their grandma or grandpa and they look at your like you’re crazy because they don’t even know the term.
  7. A Thank You Letter to David Bianculli
    After many nights spent falling asleep to the soothing voice of David Bianculli from Fresh Air, he gets his due thanks.
  8. Commemorating Your Travels
    Get ideas on different ways to remember your travels, including displays, artwork and awesome photography magnets.
  9. Some Firsts
    The first album I purchased, the first concert I attended and my first celebrity crush. These are not all things of which I can be proud.
  10. Keeping Loved Ones Close – The Different Ways We Preserve Memories
    There are so many different ways we can cherish the memory of a loved one. I like how the memories we keep so often reflect the personality of the person we miss.
This post originally appeared on Kate’s Point of View. © Kate. All rights reserved.

2014: My Year In Books

By

On December 31, 2014

In books, reviews

In 2013 I read 55 books and I was all “Whoa! That was a lot of books.” Then last year I read 81 books and I was like, “Um, maybe you need to get out more?” This year I’ve read 91 books and I have to say that I’m left with equal parts pride and embarrassment. The embarrassment is because I feel like maybe I spend a little too much time with my nose between the pages of books. But the pride… It helps me overcome any shame.

NINETY-ONE BOOKS!

If you’re looking for some books to read, here are my top 10 books for the year:

  1. An Untamed State by Roxane Gay
  2. The Architect’s Apprentice by Elif Shafak
  3. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
  4. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
  5. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
  6. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
  7. The Circle by Dave Eggers
  8. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
  9. This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathon Tropper
  10. Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King

My full list, in chronological order for the year, is:

  1. Bones Are Forever by Kathy Reichs
  2. Bones of the Lost by Kathy Reichs
  3. The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son by Pat Conroy
  4. The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
  5. The Circle by Dave Eggers
  6. The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel
  7. Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan
  8. Ham: Slices of a Life: Essays and Stories by Sam Harris
  9. Spirals of Song and Other Poems by Emily H. Sturgill
  10. A Dangerous Fortune by Ken Follett
  11. A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
  12. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
  13. Jackdaws by Ken Follett
  14. Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini
  15. Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin
  16. The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais
  17. The Real Thing by Brenda Jackson
  18. Astonish Me by Maggie Shipstead
  19. Take This Man: A Memoir by Brando Skyhorse
  20. Steal the North by Heather Brittain Bergstrom
  21. Whiteout by Ken Follett
  22. You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz
  23. Love by the Morning Star by Laura L. Sullivan
  24. He Texted: The Ultimate Guide to Dating in the Digital Era by Lisa Winning
  25. The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers
  26. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
  27. Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson
  28. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
  29. Kings of Brighton Beach Episode #1: Part One: Gangsters with Guns D.B. Shuster
  30. Life After Life by Jill McCorkle
  31. Stella Bain by Anita Shreve
  32. Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld
  33. Modigliani Scandal by Ken Follett
  34. Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
  35. The Fourth Player by Marie Chow
  36. Darkness Plays Favorites by Casey Renee Kiser
  37. Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
  38. Hit Woman by Susan Hamilton
  39. The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
  40. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
  41. The Giver by Lois Lowry
  42. Little Sisters by Stuart Perrin
  43. The Vacationers by Emma Straub
  44. Landline by Rainbow Rowell
  45. Little Princes: One Man’s Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conor Grennan
  46. Montana in A Minor by Elaine Russell
  47. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
  48. Cocoa at Midnight: The true story of my life as a housekeeper by Tom Quinn
  49. The Third Twin by Ken Follett
  50. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
  51. The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. by Adelle Waldman
  52. Never Mind Miss Fox: A Novel by Olivia Glazebrook
  53. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
  54. Sleep in Peace Tonight by James MacManus
  55. 2 A.M. at The Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino
  56. The Museum of Intangible Things by Wendy Wunder
  57. Someone by Alice McDermott
  58. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
  59. The Pink Suit by N.M. Kelby
  60. The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan by Jenny Nordberg
  61. This is Where I Leave You by Jonathon Tropper
  62. A Study in Scarlet by Arhur Conan Doyle
  63. While the Gods Were Sleeping: A Journey Through Love and Rebellion in Nepal by Elizabeth Enslin
  64. The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle
  65. Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
  66. The Tennis Partner by Abraham Verghese
  67. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
  68. Looking for Alaska by John Green
  69. The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow
  70. Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight
  71. A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford
  72. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
  73. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
  74. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
  75. A Letter to My Cat: Notes to Our Best Friends by Lisa Erspamer
  76. Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King
  77. When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt
  78. Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
  79. The Magicians by Lev Grossman
  80. The Mill River Redemption: A Novel by Darcie Chan
  81. The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
  82. Messenger by Lois Lowry
  83. Edge of Eternity by Ken Follett
  84. An Untamed State by Roxane Gay
  85. Behind the Music: A Selection of Short Stories by Karen J. Mossman
  86. Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran
  87. The Architect’s Apprentice by Elif Shafak
  88. Wait for Signs: Twelve Longmire Stories by Craig Johnson
  89. Nora Webster by Collm Tóibín
  90. Bones Never Lie by Kathy Reichs
  91. If I Fall, If I Die by Michael Christie

The books I read in 2014 - all 91 of them.
This post originally appeared on Kate’s Point of View. © Kate. All rights reserved.

What’s Tastier: a Bowl of Cookies ‘N’ Creme Cereal or a Bowl Full of Actual Cookies?

By

On December 29, 2014

In forbidden fruity pebbles, reviews

Forbidden Fruit(y Pebbles)

In this edition of the Forbidden Fruit(y Pebbles), where I enlist my family and friends to go back and taste test all of the cereals our moms wouldn’t let us eat growing up, my brother, Kittyvator and I sample Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme cereal. What will it taste be like as adults? Will they be as good as we suspected? Or, were our moms right all along?

Then we go one step further and dare to ask the question: What tastes better: a bowl of Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme cereal or a bowl full of actual cookies?

We taste test Cookies N Creme cereal.

Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme Cereal

A bowl of Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme cereal.

Have you had this cereal before?

Brother: No
Kittyvator: No
Me: No

As a kid, what did you think it would taste like?

Brother: It will taste like ice-creamy Oreo deliciousness.
Kittyvator: It should taste like cookies ‘n’ creme ice cream.
Me: This should be like a delicious bowl of cookies ‘n’ creme ice cream.

Now that you’ve tried it, what do you think it tastes like?

Brother: This tastes like freeze-dried cookies ‘n’ creme with a nice, chalky aftertaste for good measure.
Kittyvator: I’m not sure what this tastes like. Sweet with a little chocolate but it definitely doesn’t taste like cookies ‘n’ creme ice cream.
Me: This is really, really horrible. It is kind of bitter and tastes of chemicals.

Was your mom right or wrong to not let you eat this?

Brother: Thanks, Mom! I dodged a bullet.
Kittyvator: Yes. Mother is always right.
Me: Mom was absolutely correct with this one.

The Verdict: This gets a thumbs down from all of us.

A taste-off between Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme cereal and a bowl full of Oreos.

What happens when you just eat a bowl full of cookies instead of the cereal?

A bowl full of Oreo minis.

What was better: a bowl full of Cookie Crisp or a bowl full of Oreo Minis?

Brother: Is this so hard? Jut put Oreos in a cereal box and sell it in the cereal aisle. Done.
Kittyvator: Oreos! Oreos in milk! Taste explosion. Childhood on my tongue.
Me: Oreos are So. Much. Better. Plus, I ate so many Oreos as a child that this brings back so many fond memories…

The Verdict: Don’t waste your time. Put some Oreos in a bowl and convince yourself that it’s an acceptable breakfast. It might not be the best way to start your day, but it will be the best tasting way to kick things off!

This post originally appeared on Kate’s Point of View. © Kate. All rights reserved.

Do We Need Holiday-Themed Cereal? We Taste a Few to Decide.

By

On December 24, 2014

In forbidden fruity pebbles, reviews

Forbidden Fruit(y Pebbles)

In this edition of the Forbidden Fruit(y Pebbles), where I enlist my family and friends to go back and taste test all of the cereals our moms wouldn’t let us eat growing up, my brother, Kittyvator and I sample some holiday-themed cereal. Does this even need to exist? What will it taste be like as adults? Will they be as good as we suspected? Or, were our moms right all along?

Sugar Cookie Toast Crunch and Holiday Sprinkle Cookie Crisp.

Sugar Cookie Toast Crunch

A bowl full of Sugar Cookie Toast Crunch - can it live up to Cinnamon Toast Crunch?

Have you had this cereal before?

Brother: No
Kittyvator: No
Me: No

As a kid, what did you think it would taste like?

Brother: I only discovered the manna from Heaven that is Cinnamon Toast Crunch within the last year. I cannot describe how high my expectations are for this cereal.
Kittyvator: Sugar cookies?
Me: In the Cinnamon Toast Crunch family, I’m hoping for great things.

Now that you’ve tried it, what do you think it tastes like?

Brother: This is no classic Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I would crush a whole box, but I’m not sure that means I like it.
Kittyvator: This is not food. And, it looks moldy.
Me: Why can’t I get the taste out of my mouth?

Was your mom right or wrong to not let you eat this?

Brother: Maybe. She was wrong about Cinnamon Toast Crunch and I’m letting my disappointment there carry over into this lesser variant.
Kittyvator: Momma said “knock you out.” (She was right.)
Me: Right!

The Verdict: While my brother would happily eat this, none of us will be running out to get some anytime soon.

Holiday Sprinkles Cookie Crisp

A bowl of Holiday Sprinkles Cookie Crisp.

Have you had this cereal before?

Brother: No
Kittyvator: No
Me: No

As a kid, what did you think it would taste like?

Brother: I want this to taste like sugar cookies, but I know in my heart that it won’t.
Kittyvator: I have no clue.
Me: I’m thinking it will taste like the sugar cookies you make from pre-made, refrigerated dough.

Now that you’ve tried it, what do you think it tastes like?

Brother: It tastes familiar… Like Corn Pops! I’m not wild about this flavor.
Kittyvator: It tastes like sugar cookies. I’d eat it.
Me: It tastes sort of like Captain Crunch but looks much different, obviously. I never need to try this again.

Was your mom right or wrong to not let you eat this?

Brother: Yet again, Mom, you rock.
Kittyvator: Momma say, “No sir-ee.”
Me: Yep!

The Verdict: It wasn’t horrible but two out of three of us give it a thumbs down.

This post originally appeared on Kate’s Point of View. © Kate. All rights reserved.

The Center of the Universe

By

On December 22, 2014

In books, reviews

My Week In BooksWhen I get ready for trips, I do my research by reading novels and watching films. I love visiting a far off town and seeing something I recognize from a book or a movie. It turns out, this joy works in reverse, too.

In The Architect’s Apprentice by Elif Shafak, we travel through sixteenth century Istanbul with Jahan and his white elephant, Chota. The animal is part of the palace menagerie and Jahan, as his trainer, makes his home among other animal keepers. When not working at the palace, he is an apprentice to Sinan, the city’s most revered architect.

Sinan and his team of apprentices work on mosques and aqueducts and shrines. Many times over Jahan describes the domes of their greater works and what accomplishments they are. It reminded me of the many domes we walked beneath, around and near while visiting Turkey.

The Mausoleum of Sultan Mehmed Turbesi in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Mausoleum of Sultan Mehmed Turbesi in Istanbul, Turkey.
Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey.
Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey.
Istanbul Modern, a modern art museum in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey.
Istanbul Modern, a modern art museum in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey.
View from a rooftop terrace restaurant in Istanbul, Turkey.
View from a rooftop terrace restaurant in Istanbul, Turkey.
View from the ferry ride from the European side of Istanbul, Turkey, to the Asian side.
View from the ferry ride from the European side of Istanbul, Turkey, to the Asian side.

The Architect’s Apprentice is about more than architecture, of course. Like may other books detailing life in royal palaces during the 16th century (think Philippa Gregory’s books), there is romance, backstabbing and intrigue.

In March readers will be able to get a copy of The Architect’s Apprentice, though it’s available for Kindles now. I was fortunate enough to score a copy of the novel early thanks to GoodReads First Reads. Add this to your To Read list and check it out as soon as it’s available. If you’ve been, or plan to visit, Turkey, it will be wonderful. If you appreciate beautiful writing, it will be magical.

The Architect's Apprentice by Elif Shafak.
This post originally appeared on Kate’s Point of View. © Kate. All rights reserved.

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