top ten most anticipated books for 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, where we all get to exercise our OCD tendencies and come up with bookish lists.  If you’d like to play along, check out this post.

It feels a little bit crazy to put together a list of 2013 must-reads this far in advance.  I admit to looking at publishing catalogs now and again to find upcoming reads, but I don’t do that with any regularity.  What I’m trying to say: this list is incomplete and will probably be obsolete by next week.  But I am looking forward to all of these books.  Cool?

Top Ten Most Anticipated Books for 2013

1. Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund – Diana’s retelling of Persuasion, For Darkness Shows the Stars, made me feel ALL THE THINGS. And now she is doing a retelling of The Scarlet Pimpernel?! Be still my heart.

2. Saved by Cake by Marian Keyes – This memoir is out in the UK, but I’m waiting for its US release to get a copy. A funny take on baking obsession as therapy… I know I’ll see myself in this, and bonus factor: food!

3. Handbook for Dragon Slayers by Merrie Haskell – I like what Haskell does with fairy tales and myth, and I can’t wait to see how she twists the traditional this time around.

4. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman – Neil. Gaiman.  DONE.

5. The Year of Shadows by Claire Legrand – I was very impressed by how easily Legrand creeped me out in her middle grade debut The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, and I’m on definitely board for her next story.

6. Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger – The author of the Parasol Protectorate steampunk series is moving into YA territory and I just know this first book will delight and entertain.

7. Untold (The Lynburn Legacy #2) by Sarah Rees Brennan – After Unspoken unhinged me I couldn’t think of anything else for days.  I am a little afraid to let Ms. Brennan into my head again, but I’m also unbearably excited.

8. The Red Plague Affair (Bannon and Clare #2) by Lilith Saintcrow – I thought Saintcrow’s first in the series, The Iron Wyrm Affair, was FUN through and through.  I am looking forward to the further Sherlockian adventures of her magical/mental duo.

9. More Than This by Patrick Ness – Ness writes emotion that wrings your heart out… and he writes things that are important, asks big questions, and he tells story in such a way… I don’t have words.  This is the title of his next YA project, out in September.  I’m excited.

10. Shadows by Robin McKinley – I have no idea what this book is about, but it’s the latest McKinley.  That is enough – I’m sure to fall in love.

What are the 2013 releases you’re most excited about?

the templeton twins have an idea

It happens every year: the holidays approach and I think to myself, “Oh, I’ll be able to keep blogging at a normal pace – I’m organized!” Then weeks of digital silence go by, reality sets in and my inner voice says, “You’ve been at it again, haven’t you? This overly positive mindset needs to stop.”  Well, my inner voice(s) aside, it HAS been difficult to keep up the blogging pace over Thanksgiving, and it’ll only get more difficult as Christmas approaches.  However, I’ve read a couple of marvelous books in the meantime, and The Templeton Twins Have an Idea is one I have no trouble recommending for a reading slump (or any old time you need a laugh).

Suppose there were 12-year-old twins, a boy and girl named John and Abigail Templeton. Let's say John was pragmatic and played the drums, and Abigail was theoretical and solved cryptic crosswords. Now suppose their father was a brilliant, if sometimes confused, inventor. And suppose that another set of twins-adults-named Dean D. Dean and Dan D. Dean, kidnapped the Templeton twins and their ridiculous dog in order to get their father to turn over one of his genius (sort of) inventions. Yes, I said kidnapped. Wouldn't it be fun to read about that? Oh please. It would so. 

Luckily for you, this is just the first in a series perfect for boys and girls who are smart, clever, and funny (just like the twins), and enjoy reading adventurous stories (who doesn't?!).

As I’ve mentioned many times before, I adore clever middle grade books.  The precocious, smart, trick-all-the-adults-and-half-the-kids-too approach is one that consistently works for me.  I’ve been known to crow with delight at sly rejoinders and particularly cunning bits of plot.  It is my thing.  In Ellis Weiner's The Templeton Twins Have an Idea, the narrator is the one who has an overweening attitude and is smugly certain of his/her own superiority.  There’s enough sarcasm to sink the Titanic, and bonus: it’s hilarious!

John and Abigail are twins.  They’re twelve years old.  They each have different strengths and hobbies, and a father who is an inventor (a vital ingredient for interesting adventures!).  Through ingenuity and expert planning, they acquire a ridiculous dog.  Then the real fun begins, as strange happenings start cropping up, and the action is interlarded with commentary from an arrogant narrator.  What begins as a somewhat normal life turns quickly to crime fighting, kidnapping, and twin plotting.  But don’t let me spoil the book for you…

The story’s adventure aspect is rather simple, and while the twins’ quick thinking is interesting, it won’t amaze a seasoned reader.  What’s special about this book then?  It’s the tone.  The narrator is hilarious, ironic, talks back, and (I am convinced) will never let a reader become bored.  There are tactics and then there are tactics, but the structure and smart-aleck sensibility of this book works.  To begin with, there are the chapter headings, which run from literal descriptions to hilarious asides about what the narrator would like you to believe.  There are the ‘questions for review’ at the end of each chapter that mimic school reading assignments but instead are full of funny clues and the narrator’s self-aggrandizing.  There are lovely illustrations by Jeremy Holmes that add charm and actually illustrate what is going on and when (important when there are things of a mechanical nature happening right and left). 

Though the sarcasm and silliness may not be for everyone, it made me laugh aloud.  If you enjoy the following snippet (from pages 8 & 9), you will love The Templeton Twins Have an Idea:

“Would I like you if I met you? I’m not so sure I would.

Of course, you can say, “Well, maybe I wouldn’t like you if I met you, Narrator.” While that isn’t likely, it is indeed a possibility.  And yet when I contemplate such an occasion, I cannot help but ask myself, Do I want the Reader to like me? Do I care?

I think we can all agree that I don’t care.”

Recommended for: boys and girls ages 8-12 of all reading levels, fans of creative middle grade books, those who like Lemony Snicket and The Incorrigibles series, and anyone who appreciates snark, sarcasm, and narrators who have a mind of their own.

Fine print: I picked up an ARC of The Templeton Twins Have an Idea at the Chronicle booth at BEA, and I received no compensation for posting this review.

savory rice

Last weekend was beach weekend (though to be honest, we spent about twenty minutes at the actual beach – it IS November, after all), and the girls and I read, watched bad television, played Bananagrams and ate a lot of food.  In other words, it was heaven.  On the first night we put together tacos, rice and beans for dinner, and then we ate the leftovers for lunch the next day.  Except there weren’t any leftovers of the rice because it was absolutely delicious and possibly addictive. Thank goodness for photos and friends who don’t mind sharing their secret recipes.

Savory Rice (recipe courtesy of Gretchen’s mom)

INGREDIENTS

1 cup white rice

1/4 cup oil

1 small onion, diced

1 clove garlic, diced

1 Tablespoon dried parsley (optional)

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

Heat chicken broth, parsley and salt together in a saucepan, stirring occasionally.  Bring to a boil.  In a large frying pan (one with a lid!), sauté onion and garlic in oil over medium heat.  After approximately five minutes, add the rice, stir and fry until the rice is toasted brown.  Slowly add boiling broth mixture to frying pan.  Cover and turn heat to lowest setting.  Simmer for 25 minutes, and do not remove the lid until the time is up!  Yields 4-5 servings.

The recipe is straightforward, the ingredients are simple… and there are times when all it takes is something uncomplicated like a savory rice dish to make everyone happy.  This is some of the best rice I’ve ever tasted, and I am very happy to have the recipe in my possession.  YUM.

Recommended for: a side dish to go with a Tex-Mex meal, a flavorful and aromatic addition to any cuisine, and a deceptively simple answer to your savory food cravings.

Interested in other food-related posts?  Check out Beth Fish Reads’ Weekend Cooking!

clementine spice muffins

I am in the middle of a beach trip with my girlfriends.  It is glorious.  We’re in this gorgeous house with a to-die-for kitchen… but when you’re vacationing you don’t really use a kitchen, right?   Wrong.  This house happens to have a lot of staples, and given what we brought with us, I searched the internet and found a recipe for which we only had to buy two spices.  I feel extra impressive right now. *grin*

Clementine Spice Muffins (adapted from this recipe)

INGREDIENTS

Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

6-8 clementine oranges, peeled and separated into segments

Topping

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine all muffin ingredients except clementine segments.  Once mixture is blended well, fold in clementines.  

Spoon carefully into foil muffin liners or greased muffin tin. Fill each muffin liner about 3/4 full. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and set.

Remove from pan while still hot.  To top, dip crown of each muffin in melted butter, then dip into cinnamon sugar mixture. Yields 13-16 muffins.

The original recipe called for canned mandarin oranges, and I think that recipe may result in muffins with a more uniform appearance.  That said, these are delicious right out of the oven, and because the clementine segments hold together, each bite is a surprise of texture and flavor.  If I make the recipe again, I’ll use more cinnamon and a tad more sugar, but as is it was declared an unqualified success.

Recommended for: a fruity breakfast morsel, delectable nibbles for afternoon tea, and a treat to share with friends for any time.

Interested in other food-related posts?  Check out Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking!