Sunday Blatherings: Library Loot & Oscar Madness

After devouring four books last weekend, I went through a type of drought this week.  In the classes I teach at school and online, they're all reading such different things that I found myself coming home and just wanting to watch TV each night!  My juniors just started reading Les Miserables, my Popular Fiction students just finished Hunger Games, my AP students at school are in the middle of studying poetry, and in my online classes they're studying Canterbury Tales and Hamlet.  As you can see, I feel like I'm all over the board! 

Thankfully, I have a lot of books I'm interested in escaping into on my own time.  I'm still in the middle of reading twelve different books.  Yes, I'm a little crazy, but for some reason I tend to bounce around when I read.  Once something gets far enough into the story or grabs me, then I push the others aside to finish the book.  This weekend, I hope to finish Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning.  I'd heard so much buzz online about the latest release, Shadowfever, that I thought I'd give the series a try. 

Today, however, I dropped into the library and just wandered around a bit.  I haven't done that in so long!  There is something so relaxing about looking through shelves and shelves of books.  Usually, I put books on hold and then run in, check them out, and run out again, managing my entire library account online.  It was nice to have a moment to spare to take a look around.  In fact, I ended up picking up a stack of cookbooks, since all these snowstorms put me in the mood for some nice home cooked meals.  Here's what I picked up:

Art Smith was Oprah Winfrey's chef and also appeared on Top Chef Masters 1.  His food had a lot of heart and won over the judges for quite awhile.  I'm eager to flip through and try out some of the recipes in this cookbook, since I was raised on good "home" cooking like he features in his cookbook.

 
Considering we have a fresh layer of snow on the ground today, nothing sounds better than a hearty bowl of soup.  I actually happen to really love soup and think that it makes for a great meal that I can divvy up for lunches throughout the week.  This is a small cookbook, but the pictures and variations make it pretty appealing.  In fact, I'm going to take a look at this one to possibly purchase it for my own collection.

I'm starting to see a trend here!  Could I be in a "home cooking" mindset right now?  This particular cookbook by country singer Trisha Yearwood is actually the second that she has put out.  I was given her first cookbook for Christmas last year and really love it.  This second cookbook seems to have a much larger dessert section, which is fine with me!  I'm also trying to decide if I should get her second cookbook to go with the first one.  Decisions.  Decisions.

Now I can take a look and whip up something great for the Oscars!  I usually have people over to watch the Oscars, but this year it didn't work out that way.   I'm okay throwing my own Oscar soiree though.  I can put on my pj's and watch all the red carpet madness, thankful that I'm not in a constricting dress (although I love seeing what they're wearing).  My hope is that Colin Firth wins a much-deserved Oscar for King's Speech!

What are you reading this weekend, and will you be watching the Oscars? 

*Library Loot is a meme hosted by Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader and Claire from The Captive Reader.  Join us, and share what you've picked up from one of our many great libraries!