Uprooted by Naomi Novik Once every ten years, a village girl of seventeen is selected by the wizard in the tower known as the Dragon. Everyone believes the beautiful Kasia will be chosen, not her best friend, the plain Agnieszka whose only talent is finding things like blackberries near the dangerous, corrupted Wood. But when…
Category: drama
“Rebecca” by Daphne du Maurier Book Discussion and Blackberry Victoria Sponge Cupcakes
“Last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again…” Rebecca is perhaps the greatest and most haunting Gothic novel, the one to which all others written since have been compared. (Image of “Manderley” created with ChatGPT) Set in the English countryside in the 1920’s, in a mansion by the sea, Maxim de Winter lives with…
“The Thirteenth Tale” Book Discussion and Orange Ginger Spiced Cupcakes Recipe
A bibliophile named Margaret works in her father’s antique bookshop, also writing small biographies about obscure people long gone. Content in her life, she shockingly receives a letter from one of the most brilliant writers of her time, Miss Vida Winter, notorious for tormenting readers (with her unpublished Thirteenth Tale in a volume of only…
“The Hobbit” Book Discussion and Raspberry Jam Lemon “Seedcakes” Poppyseed Muffins
Hobbits are the kindest, most eccentric beings in all of Middle Earth, the land of fantastic creatures and a great evil ring. Most have heard of this story, or seen the film, but have you ever given the book a try? In case you hadn’t heard, the book is always better than the movie (except…
“I Capture the Castle” Book Discussion and Cherry Hot Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith This story is unlike any other coming of age tale. Subtly humorous, set in a castle inhabited by a very poor family in the 1930s, I Capture the Castle is reminiscent of other Gothic novels in that there are two sisters living in an ancient castle in the…
“The Distant Hours” Book Discussion and Mini Pear Pound Cakes
The Distant Hours by Kate Morton From the first pages of The Distant Hours, imaginations are captured, like Edie’s, by the dark tale of the Mud Man, a haunting fictional book within this one: “Can you hear him? The trees can. They are the first to hear him coming…It is moonless when the Mud Man comes.”…
“The Swan Thieves” Book Discussion and Strawberry Pie Bites Recipe
“The Swan Thieves” by Elizabeth Kostova Robert Oliver, a divorced, middle aged painter who tries to stab a painting of “Leda and the Swan” at the National Gallery of Art. Andrew Marlow, his new psychiatrist, who can learn nothing of Robert’s past from the silent man himself, leaving the doctor to question Robert’s ex-wife Kate,…
“The Fault in Our Stars” Book Discussion and Bacon Egg Cups Recipe
“The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green The Fault in Our Stars is a teenage love story about being faced with cancer and potentially dying at a very young age. Wrapped in the sharp, clever humor of the protagonist Hazel Grace are profound thoughts on life, love, books, and all sorts of things she…