November is probably my favorite month. I love the BER months, in general, but seeing as I was born in November, it’s my favorite by default. I’m also a big fan of Thanksgiving food. I eat non-deli turkey and stuffing once a year and I cherish it. This year, I made a Thanksgiving Pie with some leftovers. I improvised but I’m sure someone somewhere has a recipe but here’s what I did:
- Used pre-made pie crust (because easy) and par-baked it because I have a fear of soggy bottoms
- Chopped up turkey meat and threw it in a skillet with chicken broth and the very little amount of leftover gravy (if I had more gravy, I probably would have skipped the broth) and frozen peas. I added some corn starch to thicken up the brothy mess I started making.
- Once the crust was baked enough and the turkey broth gravy pea mess was thick, I dumped the mess in the crust
- Topped the turkey mess with a layer of stuffing
- Topped the stuffing with a layer of mashed potatoes
- Threw it in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes (I probably would do 375 for maybe 30?)
- Let it cool (optional – how tough is your mouth?)
- SHOVE IT IN YOUR FACE
The best part is that this magically makes the leftovers NEW leftovers so you can eat it longer than if you hadn’t combined it into something new. You have just extended the life of your leftovers without getting the ick. You’re welcome.
As for books, I keep being given more and more and I’m starting to feel like I’ll never get my To Read, Already Own pile down to less than 50 books. If I could just not work for like, 3 months, I really think I could pound all those out…
IT STARTS WITH US BY COLLEEN HOOVER
I’ll take “Books That Should Never Have Gotten a Sequel for $500, Alex”. Colleen even says this at the end – It Ends With Us should have never gotten a sequel. The only reason that she did write it was because of BookTok. SO THANKS FOR THAT. It should have been a standalone book. This sequel didn’t give anymore information that would have helped us with the story of Atlas and Lily. Lily became a frustrating character whose strong decisions she made at the end of It Ends With Us was just obliterated in this one. There was so much “will they, won’t they” even though we knew they would (spoiler? no). Atlas is made into a male Mary Sue (the internet tells me it is a Gary Sue and I hate this) who can never do any wrong and is the perfect human. It bored me and I only finished it because I loved the first book so much. If you’re a fan, I’d say leave this one alone.
EVERY SUMMER AFTER BY CARLEY FORTUNE
I loved this one but it also made me want to throw it across the room. I think that’s the point. You get to see a love story play out over adolescence and it reminded me so much of my crushes at that age. I wanted to hold Persephone (yes, the author absolutely is capitalizing on the rise in popularity of Persephone – therefore, I’m not a fan of the choice) and help her like an older, cool aunt. Every time she made a bad decision, I almost screamed while cringing. She didn’t have any adults that could have helped her out and I felt for her. The character is fairly self aware and understands the mistakes she’s made throughout her life (unlike a LOT of books in the Romance genre). Overall, I was a fan of this book and I’d absolutely read more from this author.
PLUM PUDDING MURDER (HANNAH SWENSEN #12) BY JOANNE FLUKE
Another day, another chance for Hannah to find a dead body… Or actually Norman does this time, which is lucky for Hannah because her mom hates when she finds dead bodies. I get it. It’s the 12th time. I started re-watching Gilmore Girls this month. I’ve never actually re-watched the series. I watched it all the way through when it was completed and that was it! I bring this up because I very much have an obsession with small towns in fiction (I would not survive in a small town thank you very much. Small fish, big pond, that’s me!) and women who drink a lot of coffee. Anyway, I think that’s one of the big reasons I love these books. They’re pretty simple. Hannah finds a dead body. Hannah and team (they really should have a cute name, like The Scooby Gang or the Slayerettes) dig around and solve the murder! Ta da! This one did take me a bit longer to figure out because I doubted myself. I’m shocked that her love triangle is still ongoing (Mike had to get bored of her by now, right?) and I’m even more shocked that I’m not tired of it yet. The thing I am tired of is any mention of Hannah being on a diet – which doesn’t actually happen in this book. Another shock. I’m waiting for the day that I bore of these books. 12+ down (don’t forget those little half books) and I’m still excited to read more!
LOVE IN THE TIME OF SERIAL KILLERS BY ALICIA THOMPSON
Ugh. I wanted to love this book simply by the title and the whole premise: A romance novel surrounding a woman who’s obsessed with True Crime. Perfect, right? But it’s not. The main character, Phoebe, is so self-hating that I went straight past feeling bad for her and immediately to understanding why she has no one who cares about her in her life. I’ve had these friends. The ones who create their own problems, complain about those problems non-stop (instead of, ya know, going to therapy or something that would actually help them), and then wonder why they’re always left out of plans. Sure, she grows a bit but not by much. And don’t get me started on the “quirky banter” that is referenced in some reviews. It is so beyond cringe – I actually skipped over the sex scenes because of what the two characters were saying (yes. SAYING.). No one talks like this. Especially not before, during, or after sex. Scenes I can’t even believe happened because those two characters lacked chemistry. They didn’t even have friend energy. They had “the neighbor I do the awkward non-teeth smile to everyday” energy. This was one of the most disappointing books I’ve read ever.
Have you read any of these books? Have I convinced you (or not) to read any of these? What was your favorite book to read in November?
Writes with Wolves 