What is Jason Castro Reading?

So, I just had to share my little exciting moment of yesterday.

Jason Castro, last years dreadlocked American Idol, did a little live webcast yesterday. As part of the advertising for this event, he asked people to Twitter him questions. So I did.

And if course, you all know what I asked, "What are you reading?" I also asked what his favorite books of all time were.

So yesterday afternoon, I was actually home and even remembered to tune into the webcast. At several questions in, he said, "Sue says..."

I thought, cool. Someone with a similar name!

Then he proceeded to read my question! Wahoo! (I don't know what happened to the "y" part of my name, maybe my Twitter name (SueySays) confused him?)

Anyway, it was very exciting.

Quite shyly, he admitted to being into Paulo Coelho right now, reading both The Alchemist and The Valkyries. Then he mentioned The Great Depression Ahead by Harry Dent as another one he's working on. He said he loves it because it's challenging and fascinating.

Then he glanced over at the chat screen and noticed someone suggested The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, so he right then and there, turned his back on the camera, found a paper and wrote it down. I think he'll LOVE that one if he manages to get to it.

So, out of the gazillion of questions asked, and the only 1/2 hour of time that he was "on air," he picked my bookish question to answer! So cool!

Also, interestingly enough, someone asked him what three things he would take with him on a deserted island. Without hesitation, he said his Kindle 2, so he could have TONS of books to read! (The other two items? After deliberation, he settled on a yacht and a chef. )

Seriously, I think we have a true reader on our hands here!

(P.S. He forgot to answer the second part of the question, favorite books of all time. Oh, well.)

Oh, hey, whatdaya know... the whole thing can still be viewed on his website! Check it all out here: Jason's Live Webcast

Booking Through Thursday: Worse

Booking Through Thursday

Which is worse?

Finding a book you love and then hating everything else you try by that author, or
Reading a completely disappointing book by an author that you love?

Both of these are sad, but I think I'm going to go with the second option: reading a disappointing book by an author I love.

I was trying to think of examples of this instance and came up with Maeve Binchy and Robin McKinley. I love them both, but the latest books I've read by them didn't wow me overly much. But, nothing changes. I still love them both and will keep reading their stuff. I'm sure there's many other similar examples like this, if I could ponder all day about. But then this BTT would never get written!

Midweek Morsels: More Enchiladas!

Yesterday, I was trying to come up with something to make for dinner using shredded chicken leftovers. So I Googled. And found this fun food blog called Megan's Munchies. And found this yummy recipe.



So I went for it and made it for dinner and loved it. Now, I'm about ready to eat it's leftovers for lunch!

Chicken Black Bean Enchiladas

1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup shredded cooked chicken
1 can (15 oz.) black beans
3/4 cup salsa
1/2 cup cooked corn
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 cups Mexican blend cheese
1 can (10 oz.) mild enchilada sauce
8 flour tortillas



Heat oven to 350 degrees.Spray 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.Combine red bell pepper, chicken, beans, salsa, corn, cilantro and 2 cups cheese in a large bowl.Spread 1 tablespoon of enchilada sauce on each tortilla.Top each tortilla with about 3/4 cup of the bean and chicken mixture.Roll up tortillas and place seam side down in the baking dish.Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas.Top with remaining cheese.Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes, removing the foil during the last 5-10 minutes of baking.

Your turn! Come share a recipe at Midweek Morsels on Kristina's Favorites!

Teaser Tuesdays: Change

Teaser Tuesdays asks you to:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

From The Secret Keeper by Paul Harris page 113:

"Four years ago these streets had been full of fear. Once, people would have looked at him with curiosity and nervousness; white people usually meant a crisis or someone was needing help."

Review: The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwodd

Book: The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood


Genre: Literary Fiction (a bit of history and SF thrown in too)


Rating: A


For: Awards Challenge (Booker Prize 2000)





This one of those books that has three different stories within the one book. First, there's our heroine, Iris, in the present. She's an old lady, dealing with the inconveniences of being old, looking back on her life, and trying to get it all written down before it's too late. This part is written in the first person, present tense.



Then, there's the story she's actually writing down, her past life. It starts with the building up of her grandpa's button business in Canada, her parents getting together, her birth, her sister's birth, all the stuff that happens in between and ends when her life all fell apart many years later. We get glimpses of her life during WWI, the Depression, and WWII. This part is told in first person, past tense.



The third part of the story is actually a book that Iris has and is sharing with us (you'll get the details about that as you go) and this book is called The Blind Assassin. It's about a pair of lovers, meeting discreetly, as often as they can. During their meetings, the guy tells the girl this strange, but oddly riveting, science fiction story. This section is told in third person present tense.



Interspersed in between the sections are several news articles and a few letters, depicting these events.



I totally enjoyed the whole thing. All the different sections held my attention. There were a couple of plot twists that threw me for a loop, which is always fun. The writing style is very poetic and descriptive, but not in an over-the-top way. Basically, it's one of those soap opera-ish stories that I love to get all involved in.



It was a sad and depressing story though. I'm ready for and uplifting and happy one now!

Other Reviews:

Farmlane Books

1 More Chapter

Caribou's Mom

Trish's Reading Nook

(Sheesh, I just realized the Awards Challenge ends soon. I thought I had until the end of the summer! Oh, well.)

JJ Goes to Prom

Notice how green our grass is... it'll not be that green the rest of the year! JJ is grimacing a little in that top picture. Maybe 'cause it's pretty cold! But you can see the color of her dress better. The bottom picture is cuter of her, but the dress is faded. Bad lighting or something. Anyway, all turned out well, despite the rain. She had tons of fun. This guy is friend from her dance class, so when they go to dances... they really, actually dance! Very fun.

The Sunday Salon: Pondering the Next Book.... again

Why is it that on Sunday, when it's time to do A Sunday Salon post and discuss what I'm reading, I'm always between books and trying to decide what's next?

I finished The Blind Assassin yesterday morning, laying in bed, listening to the rain beat down on the roof. Perfect reading conditions! Look for a review on that one soon.

Now I need to read something a little lighter. And there's always the dilemma of do I read something from a challenge list? Or do I just read whatever feels good? Or do I read a library book sitting here in the pile?

Here's some I'm debating on:

Fablehaven #2 by Brandon Mull

The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean

The Forever King by Molly Cochran and Warren Murphy

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

The Painted Veil by Somerset Maugham

Someone Like You or Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen

So, what say you? Which one needs to rise to the top? Or do you suggest I skip ALL of these and read something else entirely?