Thursday Tunes

Thursday Tunes is a weekly event hosted by S. Krishna, devoted to sharing the music we love.

S. Krishna usually features a new artist each week - just to be different, I'm going to focus on a specific song, because it's the song that hooks me. There are very few artists whose entire body of work is in my MP3 player, but I have thousands of songs I love.




I have mentioned before that I really love a good cover song - I especially like them when they are unexpected. Here is one of my all-time favorite Broadway stars, Lea Salonga, covering one of the hottest dance songs of the season - perfect to get you in the New Year's Eve mood. Enjoy!

The Nonfiction Files

The Nonfiction Files is a weekly journal of my adventures reading my toppling piles of nonfiction books. I won't be posting reviews, but rather my thoughts about what I'm reading, while I'm reading it.


I'm joined in The Nonfiction Files by Jehara. If you would like to play along with us, let me know!

My current read is Spiced: A Pastry Chef's True Stories of Trials by Fire, After-Hours Exploits, and What Really Goes On in the Kitchen by Dalia Jurgensen. You can read my first post about the book here.

Synopsis from publisher:

Spiced is Dalia Jurgensen's memoir of leaving her office job and pursuing her dream of becoming a chef. Eventually landing the job of pastry chef for a three-star New York restaurant, she recounts with endearing candor the dry cakes and burned pots of her early internships, and the sweat, sheer determination, and finely tuned taste buds-as well as resilient ego and sense of humor-that won her spots in world-class restaurant kitchens. With wit and an appreciation for raunchy insults, she reveals the secrets to holding your own in male-dominated kitchens, surviving after-hours staff parties, and turning out perfect plates when you know you're cooking for a poorly disguised restaurant critic. She even confesses to a clandestine romance with her chef and boss-not to mention what it's like to work in Martha Stewart's TV kitchen-and the ugly truth behind the much-mythologized family meal.


My thoughts so far:

In this second part of the book, Jurgensen's story starts to take a turn toward reality. So far, her journey as a chef has been, quite honestly, pretty smooth. She's had to work hard, but all her bosses have been supportive, her skills have stood the test, and she's worked for very successful restaurants.

However, now she accepts a job in a kitchen that is a confirmed "boy's club", and finds herself ignored at best, and harassed on a regular basis. After leaving that job, she finds herself working in a better climate, but in a restaurant that is not considered memorable by the critics, and ultimately won't ever be a success.

I found this part of the narrative more interesting, because it shows the side of restaurant work that isn't all smiles and great reviews. Things get tough, and Jurgensen has to just push through. She also talks about her relationships - or lack thereof - and I'm reminded again what an all-encompassing job being a chef really is.

This is still a quick, fun read, and it's working well for me at this time of year. I expect I will be done with it in no time!

Challenge One Night Stand

Some of you might have noticed that I enjoy joining reading challenges....=)

I have already joined 11 (ELEVEN!) challenges for 2010, which might be more than I can possibly hope to complete. Even so, more challenges have been calling my name. OH, how I want to join them all! But really, there's no way I can finish all these, right? Right?

So what's a girl to do? In my weekly blog reading, I read this great post from Wendy at Musings of a Bookish Kitty - in part, about how much of the fun of joining these challenges is making the book lists in the first place. She plans to have a few challenge "one night stands" - have the fun of making a list without the commitment of the challenge. And a lightbulb went on in my head - I could make lists for some of these other challenges, but not "officially" sign up for them! That way, I can read along but not be committed. After checking with Wendy to make sure stealing her idea was okay, I decided to jump in.

So here are a few challenges I am NOT joining this year, and the book lists to go with them.



The Debutante Ball Challenge

The challenge:

Read books by the authors of the Debutante Ball, a group blog for debut female authors.

If I were joining, I would be reading:

Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony
All Come Home by Alicia Bessette
101 Ways to Torture Your Husband by Marcia Garcia-Kalb
The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen
The Whole World by Emily Winslow


I've heard nothing but good things about the authors from The Debutante Ball, so this challenge would be a lot of fun - IF I was joining.



The L.M. Montgomery Reading Challenge

The challenge:

Pick some books by L.M. Montgomery and read them in January.

If I were joining I would be reading:

Anne of Green Gables
Kilmeny of the Orchard
The Blue Castle


I love this author - the only reason, really, I'm not joining this challenge is because it's limited to January. But, if I was joining, I'd sure be happy to revisit these old favorites!




The Beth Kephart Reading Challenge

The challenge:

Read from author Beth Kephart's backlist.

If I were joining I would be reading:


Still Love in Strange Places
Ghosts in the Garden
House of Dance
Nothing But Ghosts


That would put me at the Mix n' Match level, reading two memoirs and two YA novels. I know lots of bloggers who rave about Kephart's work, and the interactions I've had with her have been lovely. IF I was joining this challenge, it would be fun to get to know her better.



The Social Justice Challenge

The challenge: Each month will have a theme. Participants will read or watch something from a list of resources on that theme. Additionally, each month participants will take an action step that relates to that month's theme.

If I were joining I would be reading:

1 - Religious Freedom - Silence by Shusaku Endo
2 - Water - Unquenchable by Robert Glennon
3 - Domestic Violence/Child Abuse - Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons
4 - Hunger - The Boy Who Harnassed the Wind by W. Kamkwamba and B. Mealer
5 - AIDS - The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Toibin
6 - Genocide - We Wish to Inform You.....by Philip Gourevitch
7 - Poverty - Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison
8 - Illiteracy/Education - The Book Boy by Joanna Trollope
9 - Modern Day Slavery - The Night Ferry by Michael Robotham
10 - Homelessness/Refugees - Little Bee by Chris Cleave
11 - Women's Rights - ??? too many choices to narrow down right now
12 - Child Soldiers/Children in War - God Grew Tired of Us by John Bull Daw
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah


I think this challenge will be a powerful experience for participants. I'm not joining because of the high level of participation required - I am pretty sure I wouldn't complete the monthly requirements. But, IF I was joining, I know it would be a memorable year.


A Tournament of Reading

The challenge:

Read a bit of medieval literature.

If I was joining I would be reading:

Queen Isabella by Alison Weir
Eleanor of Aquitaine by Alison Weir
The Memoirs of Margery Kempe
Twilight of Avalon by Anna Elliott
The Founding by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
Company of Liards by Karen Maitland


That would put me at the Lord level - 6 books from 3 different categories. I'm not joining this challenge because I really don't know if I can get through actual medieval literature, but it would sure be fun to try - IF I was joining.


So there you go - all the challenges I am NOT joining this year. It's possible that you MIGHT see reviews for some (or a lot) of the books on these lists - if so, I will be sure to remind you of which challenge it WOULD have counted toward. =)