Why Owen Meany is My New Hero

(#2) Read 25 Books

1. Room by Emma Donohue
2. Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
4. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (book one of the series)

5. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

"If you care about something, you have to protect it-- if you're lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it."

-Owen Meany

I can't remember any book in my recent reading history that has had such a profound affect on me. The best way I can think to describe it is...INTENSE.

As I said to Ronnie after I finished reading it- picture the movie Signs, times a million. And a million percent better.

A Prayer for Owen Meany is about Johnny Wheelwright and his best friend, the oddly small, shrill, and prophetic Owen Meany. Owen Meany kills Johnny Wheelwright's mother in a freak accident- hits her in the head with a foul ball at a little league game (I'm not ruining anything- this happens pretty much on page 1). Owen Meany, then eleven years old, comes to believe that he was carrying out a part of God's plan- he says "God has taken my hands."

Which seems like a perfectly legitimate way to respond to killing your best friend's mom at the age of eleven. How could you possibly go on after that without thinking that everything happens for a reason? This sets the tone for the rest of the book. Johnny is largely an observer in the life that Owen Meany orchestrates for the two of them. It is an incredible exploration of faith that left even a not-particularly-religious reader like myself wondering whether Owen Meany could actually know exactly what he was talking about.   

Probably part of the reason I am so crazy about this book is that I am a sucker for a good character-driven story. Owen starts out as a comical and rather unlikable character. But by the end anyone with half a heart is as in love with Owen as the narrator Johnny. 

My one caveat- you have to read this book all the way through to the end to understand how wonderful it is. The story at times can get a little exhausting with details that appear not to matter. But everything- every tiny little thing- comes together in the end in a magnificent explosion of plotted perfection. So have patience, and you will rewarded with (hopefully) one of your new favorites. 

The Day We (Mostly) Met a Famous Person

#22. Meet Someone Famous

Check?

Okay here's the story...

The National Book Festival is sponsored by the Library of Congress on the National Mall every year. It is basically book nerd paradise. Famous writers from all different genres give speeches, read from their books, and have book signings.

There are few- possibly zero- living writers who could top my first experience at this read-a-palooza. I stood in line in the rain for two hours to get a book signed by Tim O'Brien, author of my favorite book for the past 11 years, The Things They Carried (for those of you who don't understand how hard it is for me to have the same favorite book for 11 years, please read this book immediately). ONE person was in front of me in line when his agent came around and said he had to go speak, but would sign books off the side of the stage afterwards. Which led to not just a book signing but a solid five minutes of chit-chat with Tim O'Brien as he smoked a cigarette.

THAT is meeting someone famous.

What happened to us this Saturday was not quite as intimate. But still cool.

My personal favorite author of this year's festival was R.L. Stine. We considered standing in line to get a book signed by him, until we saw what that line looked like. Also, all of my treasured Goosebumps books are in my parents attic, so getting some random R.L. Stine book signed wouldn't have been the same.

Enter, Colson Whitehead.

Ronnie had actually just finished reading his book, Zone One, like a week before. So after we ditched the R.L. Stine idea, Ronnie expressed interested in getting that book signed. We heard him speak first. He was very funny and witty, and Ronnie said he might have understood the book more if he had understood the guy's personality better first.

We arrived a little early for Colson's signing, and the line was pretty short. Then miraculously he also arrived early, and we barely had to wait at all.

I was on paparazzi duty. Ronnie to his credit did manage to form full sentences. I think he said, "Its a real pleasure. I really loved the book."

This next picture I love because, in case you didn't believe us that this guy is famous, here's a picture of him next to his picture on the back cover of the book:

#KodakMoment.

Then, as if Colson Whitehead knew that we would be debating whether getting a book signed by a marginally well-known author counted as meeting someone famous, he decided to sign as follows:

"Great to meet you." You can't make this stuff up. This is my life.

Of course, only Ronnie technically got to introduce himself. And Colson Whitehead wasn't "famous" to me until that day. So just to seal the deal a little more, this happened:

While trying to get a good shot of R.L. Stine (black shirt, glasses, middle of the shot) I was inadvertently standing two feet away from JEWEL. She apparently wrote a book of some sort. 

I'm disappointed we didn't catch her looking. But...who would have ever expected to get R.L. Stine and Jewel together in the same photo?

So maybe it's not "meeting..." but its certainly a great addition to my epic 25th year. And isn't that the whole point?

Game of Thrones Book One. Subtitle: Goodbye Free Time

(#2) Read 25 Books

1. Room by Emma Donohue
2. Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
4. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (book one of the series)

Let me start out by saying, if you are into this kind of thing, you have to read this book. I can’t vouch for the rest of the series-yet- but I loved this one. It starts out slow but by the end you will be turning the pages with fervor and exclaiming out loud to whoever is within earshot “WHAAAAAAAAT! I can’t believe that just happened!”

A Game of Thrones is a fantasy novel taking place largely in the fictional “Seven Kingdoms.” The plot gets quite complex but generally there are three converging stories. Perhaps central is the story of Eddard Stark (“Ned”), Lord of a northern region called Winterfell, and how his life changes as he is selected by the King to be his right hand man. Ned is known to be honest to a fault; the only blemish on his honor being the existence of his bastard son Jon Snow.

Jon is central to another story line- life on “the Wall.” I swear it took me about 400 pages to realize this but the Wall is made entirely of ice. It is the northern border of “civilization” and protects the seven kingdoms from whatever unspeakable things exist in the north beyond. Joining “the Night Watch” is considered an honorable life choice though the cold limits the Watch’s “volunteers” to those who have no other honorable choice to make- convicts, rapists, or in Jon’s case, bastards.

The third story takes place outside of the seven kingdoms, in the East. There an exiled son of a former king, Viserys, lives with his young sister Daenerys. Viserys betroths his sister to a warlord in hopes to raise and army and take back his father’s kingdom. Daenerys starts out rather meek but by the end was by far my favorite character of the novel. (Just writing this makes me relive the final scene of the novel with Daenerys. UGH! So good. Read it immediately.)

This book surprised me in a lot of ways. For one, I didn’t expect it to be so female-friendly. It seems to be the perfect blend of action and drama. There are sword fights and battles, but there is also betrayal, questioned paternity, mysterious disappearances…basically everything you need for a good HBO series. I can see why it has been so successful (and I also can't wait to watch it).

The writing surprised me as well. It does have that pop-culture feel to it- in my opinion the literary value is nowhere near some of my other favorite fantasies like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. I couldn’t help questioning for example how a society totally unique and separate from our own came up autonomously with the phrase “Does a bear shit in the woods?” But I thought the character development was excellent, especially considering how many characters Martin is juggling. I was happy to see so many strong female characters as well, something often missing from these kinds of series.

This book was so good that it threw a major wrench in my goal of reading 25 books this year. For one thing, it is over 800 pages. For another, it is the first in a series of 5 books (or 4 depending on who you ask), all of which are at least as many pages. And somehow counting 5 books of a series as 5 of my 25 just seems like cheating. So I decided to count them as one. Wish me luck.

It Really Did Taste Like Chicken

(#13) Taste 25 Foods I've Never Tasted Before

1. Pattypan Squash
2. Beets
3. Eel
4.Wahoo
5.Lychee
6.Quinoa
7. Raw Oyster
8. Octopus

9. Duck

This was a big weekend of firsts for me. Obviously, it was the first time I tried duck, which I'll address in a moment. It was also the first time I visited Charlottesville (where the University of Virginia is located for you out-of-staters). We went for the UVA/Penn State game which predictably was a lot of fun. It was not my first Penn State game, but it did further solidify my opinion that Penn State and their fans are incredibly awesome.

And it was the first time I stayed in a hostel (which I briefly considered counting as list item #18- take a risk I never thought I'd take. But it turned out to be not nearly as bad as I expected). 

And since they were nice and gave us free bananas, here's a link to their website in case you're ever in town on an extremely modest budget:  www.alexanderhouse.us

Most people were more surprised that hostels actually exist in America than skeptical of staying at them. Well apparently they do exist. And apparently their clientele consists of mainly touring cyclists, Appalachian Trail hikers, and random twenty-somethings attending football games. 

Here's a fact that I have absolutely no idea whether or not it is true but that Chris tells to everyone he knows: Charlottesville has more restaurants per capita than any other city in the U.S. In about 24 hours we patronized four of them, which seems to support his claim pretty well. And at one of them I tried my new food.  

Duck, with some kind of cranberry-type sauce. Also a savory bread pudding with caramelized onions  that pretty much upstaged everything else on the plate.

Once again I was eating food off of Ronnie's plate because I love eating too much to commit to an entire plate of something I'm not sure I'm going to like. But I think we were both happy with that choice- especially after I let him try my delicious salmon with goat cheese couscous.

I guess I was expecting something a little more distinct. The duck tasted like somewhere between chicken and beef. I tried several bites trying to get more of a sense of the flavor (which I guess means I didn't hate it) but I came to that same conclusion. 

I could see where people would prefer it over chicken. It was slightly more flavorful and the texture was a little more...supple? But considering the cost-benefit of duck over chicken I don't imagine I'll be ordering it all the time. Maybe I'll order my own next time just to see.

Anyway, it was a great trip full of excitement and adventure. Charlottesville wasn't what I expected (though what ever is really? I'm sensing a theme to this blog...) but in a good way. I hope I get a chance to go back and visit the wineries that I was too hungov... I mean too tired to visit this time.   

  

The Moment I Understood Why People Like Baking

(#10) Master 25 New Recipes

1. Stuffed Peppers
2. Risotto
3. Polenta
4. Beef Brisket
5. French Onion Soup
6. Chocolate Chip Cookies

I feel about baking the way many people I know feel about cooking. Intimidated, frustrated and like I'm missing the point- is it really worth the hassle when I could just shove Oreo's in my face to my heart's content?

But today something changed.

Ronnie is out at a fantasy football draft so I have the house to myself for a few hours. I had just finished my dinner and I felt like having something sweet. Unfortunately I did not feel like driving myself to the store. Then I had a thought- what are cookies made out of? Like, sugar, flour, and stuff, right? I think I have all of those things!

I Googled "cookie recipe" and got this. And I realized...I DID have all of those ingredients.

Is this what it feels like to be a real adult? Having a legit pantry that enables you to whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookies on a whim? If so, my life just became awesome. 

This isn't going to be one of those posts where I walk you through the recipe, because I'm sure most of you are much better cookie-makers than myself. Also, because I'm terrified of baking, I actually followed the above recipe exactly. I even sifted the flour! Who is this mature person??

Also I have no idea how or why I have parchment paper.

Since Ronnie still isn't home yet I didn't trust myself to bake them all at once. Here's hoping I don't eat six cookies before the night is over.

Anyway, TADAA!

Where once I had a random assortment of ingredients that I didn't even know I had in the back of my cabinets, I now have cookies. Not the best cookies I've ever had, certainly. But cookies, basically materializing out of thin air. 

I GET it. I now understand why people like baking.

Look out world. It's about to get real. 

The Best French Onion Soup I've Ever Made- Or Had?

(#10) Master 25 New Recipes

1. Stuffed Peppers
2. Risotto
3. Polenta
4. Beef Brisket
5. French Onion Soup

French onion soup is one of my favorite foods. As a hopeless food lover, this is not something I say lightly. I first had it when I was working at Applebee’s, and many French onion soups later I still love the Applebee’s version. This dish actually opened my eyes to the delightful world of the caramelized onion, who I had shamefully shied away from due to my hatred of its close cousin, raw onion. So of course in gratitude I had to learn to cook it for myself.

This was my second attempt at making French onion soup, and I know I’ll probably play around with it a little more. But it turned out so delicious that I wanted to share this recipe with you all.

Cook time: about 3 hours (but worth it)

Ingredients:
4-6 medium-sized onions (I don’t know a lot about onion types- mine were white, and were labeled “sweet” at the farmer’s market. I also happened to have a shallot bulb in the fridge, so I threw that in as well)
About 3 32-oz containers beef stock (depending on how thick you want it)
1 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup flour
½ cup butter
Olive oil
Worcestershire sauce
Thyme
Rosemary

For the garnish:
Crusty bread (like a French baguette)
Cheese of your choice- I used Swiss, mozzarella, and a little shredded Parmesan

1.  Cut the onion in half through the ends first, then quarter them through the fat middle part. Then slice them thin slices- about 1/8 inch. Consistency is more important than thinness, but get them as thin as you reasonably can.

2. Melt the butter on low heat in a large pot- I used my Dutch oven which I use for everything and highly recommend everyone purchasing. I did a combination of butter and oil to cut down on the butter. Add the sliced onions and mix to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Let the onions cook on low-medium, stirring occasionally, for at least 45 minutes. I left them for about an hour and 15 minutes, but it all depends on the size of the pan and the thickness of your slices. You will basically end up with delicious onion mush. I like to add Worcestershire every now and then as they’re cooking, more for color than anything. If they start to burn or stick, you can add a splash of stock or wine to deglaze.

4. After the onions are cooked through, add about 1/3 cup of flour to make a roux. If it doesn’t look like there is enough moisture to dissolve the flour, you can add some more butter or some stock. Add the flour slowly, stirring constantly, and stop when the onions are coated and start forming almost a paste. Add the rosemary and thyme to taste- I was very generous with the thyme and I think the flavor of it really complimented the onions.

5. Add the wine and cook for a minute or so to get rid of some of the alcohol taste, then add the stock. You can add as much or little liquid as you like depending on how you like your soup. I added about 10 cups.

6. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer. It should simmer for at least another hour, and the longer it cooks the better it will be.

How the soup looked after about an hour. You can see where it has reduced and thickened.

7. For the garnish, I highly recommended purchasing some inexpensive oven-safe bowls. Pour the soup into the bowls. Cut the bread into bite-sized pieces and cover the soup with them. Then add the cheese and melt under the broiler for about 10 minutes, watching it closely.

8. If you do not have oven-safe bowls, cut the bread into slices, top with cheese, and melt under the broiler on a piece of foil. Then put that on top of the bowl of soup.