mouse commented on Weavers, Scribes, and Kings by Amanda H. Podany
This has been unrelentingly great.
Reviews and Comments
it's me, I'm the creator and admin of BookWyrm. Buy me a book
try me at @tripofmice@friend.camp for non-reading content and @bookwyrm@tech.lgbt for technical stuff
This link opens in a pop-up window
mouse started reading Dinner by Meera Sodha
Bestselling author Meera Sodha brings us a fresh and joyful celebration of the most important …
I checked this out from the library while cookbook hunting hungry and bookmarked about half the recipes to try
mouse stopped reading ...and Forgive Them Their Debts by Michael Hudson
In ...and forgive them their debts, renowned economist Michael Hudson - one of the …
I might pick this back up again some day but I found it hard to get into. That said, I think the thesis is super interesting and I learned something just from the introduction and first chapter.
mouse commented on Weavers, Scribes, and Kings by Amanda H. Podany
This is GREAT so far
mouse finished reading Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher
Sonia Wilson is a talented scientific illustrator—but she is only able to follow her dream …
I'm still collecting my thoughts but I think this was quite good
mouse started reading People One Ought to Know by Christopher Isherwood
A collection of eighteen illustrated poems about a variety of animals with some particularly human …
My nephew (3) was appalled at the lack of interesting books to read in my apartment, so I picked up a stack of classics at the library. I couldn't leave without this because contains what I think is the greatest poem of all time (The Common Cormorant).
However, I don't think my sister will appreciate having to explain to her child was "penal servitude" is, so this will be for me to enjoy.
mouse reviewed A New Way to Bake by Philip Khoury
A New Way to Bake reinvents and reimagines cakes, bakes and desserts, using plant-based ingredients …
A Worthwhile Vegan Baking Book
The premise of this book is vegan baking without any specialty substitutions. I don't love some of the "health" vibes the author brings, but it's an incredibly useful approach to vegan baking. I have no qualms to using vegan butter and egg replacers, and I think they are necessary for some recipes, but I don't always have access to them -- this cookbook augments the repertoire rather than replacing it.
From what I baked from this book, I would say it isn't perfect, but a couple of the recipes alone are so good that I consider it a hit. There are a few misses here and there, but main weakness is the cake section -- without anything to replace the eggs, the texture is just not right. There are a few editing mistakes (a missing word, a intro section referring to a different version of the recipe, for example) that …
The premise of this book is vegan baking without any specialty substitutions. I don't love some of the "health" vibes the author brings, but it's an incredibly useful approach to vegan baking. I have no qualms to using vegan butter and egg replacers, and I think they are necessary for some recipes, but I don't always have access to them -- this cookbook augments the repertoire rather than replacing it.
From what I baked from this book, I would say it isn't perfect, but a couple of the recipes alone are so good that I consider it a hit. There are a few misses here and there, but main weakness is the cake section -- without anything to replace the eggs, the texture is just not right. There are a few editing mistakes (a missing word, a intro section referring to a different version of the recipe, for example) that are frustrating to see in such an otherwise well-produced (not to mention expensive) book.
But I would make the vrioche and the nut shortbread any day of the year, and despite my complaints above, the recipes are clear, well tested, and easy to follow. I will absolutely refer back to this book in the future when I want vegan recipes (besides cake).
mouse commented on A New Way to Bake by Philip Khoury
A New Way to Bake reinvents and reimagines cakes, bakes and desserts, using plant-based ingredients …
Content warning food
The lemon loaf cake suffers the same basic textural problem as the apple cake -- there's nothing replacing the structural function of the protein in the egg, so the crumb ends up kind of gummy. The taste is very nice but without the other textural components for variety, this didn't cover up its downsides.
And like all the other cakes, for some reason there's no salt, and it's MUCH better with a half teaspoon or so added in.
Also there was a missing word in the instructions. Why is the copy editing on cookbooks so sloppy??
mouse commented on A New Way to Bake by Philip Khoury
A New Way to Bake reinvents and reimagines cakes, bakes and desserts, using plant-based ingredients …
Content warning food
My first disappointment: the creme pat recipe calls for custard powder. It seems weirdly out of line of the philosophy of the book! Also I have never seen custard powder ever in my life -- I get that this is probably a cross-cultural difference, but the book is usually written with clarifications for non-UK readers
mouse commented on A New Way to Bake by Philip Khoury
A New Way to Bake reinvents and reimagines cakes, bakes and desserts, using plant-based ingredients …
Content warning food
The nut shortbread recipe is off-the-hook good, I would make it in any context in which a cookie would be welcome
mouse commented on A New Way to Bake by Philip Khoury
A New Way to Bake reinvents and reimagines cakes, bakes and desserts, using plant-based ingredients …
Content warning food
The apple cake recipe was good! I don't know if I'd make it if I wasn't specifically baking for vegans, but I also don't think a non-vegan would be put off at all (or necessarily notice it doesn't have eggs and butter)
mouse started reading Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard (Harper Perennial modern classics)
I picked this up at random in a bookstore, for some reason the spine stood out to me on the shelf
mouse reviewed Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher
From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award–winning author T. Kingfisher comes an enthralling contemporary …
Certainly another book by T Kingfisher
I wanted something light and easy that would be engaging, and this was. If I were to make a bingo card of this author's go-to tropes, I would no doubt have gotten bingo more than once.
I found it a little too precious, and the main conflict felt like an afterthought. The setting got the most narrative attention, and it was different and fun but simplistic, and feel-good to a fault.
All that said, I enjoyed reading it, and I go back again and again to this author, clearly not because I expect to be challenged and surprised.
mouse commented on How to Cook a Wolf by M.F.K. Fisher
I started reading this in the hospital when I couldn't sleep and had no idea what it was. What a treat! I like to think it helped me get back on solid food
mouse finished reading The Book of Margery Kempe by Margery Kempe
Not a book I'd recommend for casual reading, but WHAT a wild ride. Such an interesting life, and fascinating to get her perspective on all these situations where she's being a total nightmare to everyone around her and making incredibly bad decisions. Keep in mind: Jesus came by and told her that she's right and you're wrong, but she will pray for you.