Where am I, Wednesday?

Good morning, SwimWriteRunReaders! Where am I in the HoCo? (hocoblogs@@@)

Leave your guess in the comments below.

Book Review: When the mind becomes a blank slate... every... morning.

My Book Club (the awesome ladies at HoCoBoCo) chose Before I Go To Sleep as our pick for August. As I was describing the book to a friend, she said, "Huh, it sounds like Momento."


Kind of, but it's better. Trust me.


Discussion isn't for a few weeks, but here are some of my initial thoughts...




Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson


My rating: 4 of 5 stars




"Before I Go To Sleep" is a psychological thriller that plays on the triumphs and faults of human memory and the vulnerability that comes from forced reliance on others. SJ Watson takes a sometimes-overdone plot convention (amnesia) and, with strong writing and an excellent sense of balance between suspense and reveal, creates a story that drives the reader through to the end.


From the outset, Watson dumps the reader into the question mark that is Christine's life. Red flags pop up relatively early, but there are so many that tracking them leads the reader down the same false roads as Christine. The unreliable narrator (Christine) is a critical handicap and a means for building both frustration and suspense, but - importantly - not at the cost of belief.


Not until the last fifty pages or so, when the "less-resolved" warning signs more clearly point to the direction of the plot, does the ending really become clear. I did find myself wishing that the ultimate resolution came at the hands of Christine herself, not the outside forces at play, but at the end I was happy with the way Christine changed. And I really liked where Watson chose to end the story.


I'd recommend this book as a fast-paced, entertaining read, particularly for those who like trying to puzzle out a mystery on their own ahead of the narrator.






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Food versus Food: Cups of Cakes

...or, as those in the know like to say... "cupcakes."

Just before they say "Om nom nom nom."

By Marvelcakes (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The cupcake has always been pretty awesome, a great treat that - when it's really good - doesn't even need the frosting. 

I think of kid things when I think about cupcakes: licking the cake batter off of the spoon; holding the sprinkles up high so they fall evenly... on everything but the cake; glossy round chocolate and vanilla tops crammed into a tray and sent off to school for birthdays (back when you were allowed to do that sort of thing).

Since then, though, cupcakes became a trend. Or, as some would call it, a passion. (or a curse - do a google search. There's lots of CupCakeHatin' going on out there.)

So how do cupcakes in the HoCo measure up against eachother? This FvF is all about finding out! (hocofood@@@)

Contender #1: Snickerdoodle cupcake from Fresh Bakery (the cupcake stand in the Mall).

Fresh Bakery is actually located in Owings Mills, but has "cupcake stands" in area malls - including the Columbia Mall. Somehow, since it's been open, I've managed to walk right past the stand without noticing. Repeatedly. So I took SixSwims with me to make sure I didn't bypass the cupcakey goodness.

Fresh Bakery cupcakes sit in neat rows near little placards, beneath domes of glass. But that's not actually the most interesting thing about them. They're square, which is a pretty interesting visual. But how does that translate to taste?

I chose snickerdoodle because the name was appealing - another throwback from childhood - and the cake was very pretty. 

Square cupcakes from Fresh Bakery. Snickerdoodle is on the right.
Cindy's choice (chocolate/chocolate) is on the left.
Seriously, the square thing is neat.

The first bite of cupcake was excellent - the icing was flavored lightly with cinnamon, but there was a slight crunch to each bite. I couldn't decide if it was a sprinkling of sugar (..to go with the snickerdoodle theme...) or if the cake had been sitting for a while. I really wanted it to be a dusting of sugar. The yellow cake was moist and sweet, but didn't seem to have any noticeable traces of cinnamon. 

Fresh Bakery's cupcake was a nice, light ending after a dinner, and a pleasant treat.

Which brings us to...

Contender #2: Snickerdoodle cupcake from Kupcakes & Co in Elkridge.

Kupcake & Co is located at 6010 Meadowridge Center Drive in Elkridge - you have to drive around to the back of the small strip-type mall to find it. It's a small shop with one table and (the day I went) two huge racks of fresh cupcakes.

Curious how my experience would compare, I couldn't resist ordering the Snickerdoodle cupcake.

Snickerdoodle Cupcake from Kupcake & Co.
It got a little squished en route to the eating (in the back, so this is the better side), but that was my fault.

Kupcake & Co's Snickerdoodle cupcake is visually impressive to start, crowned with a generous swirl of cinnamon-colored icing and topped with pieces of snickerdoodle cookie which give a nice texture. I'm not normally a girl who likes loads of frosting on cake, but this frosting was sweet without being overpowering - the cinnamon definitely helped. 

The cake was spiced as well. Biting into it made me think of warm spice cake around the holidays, and even though I liked the icing, I would have been fine without it. 

And, while I could easily put away a whole cupcake... honestly I didn't need to. Even split between two people, this cupcake was a decadent after-dinner treat.

The Verdict: I thought it would be a hard decision, but while both cupcakes were tasty, a clear winner emerged quickly: Kupcake & Co.! They might turn out a round cupcake, but they don't cut corners. (I know... I know... sorry. Please come back.) Their Snickerdoodle cupcake looked great, I loved the cookie accent. Most importantly, all of the components tasted wonderful, and the cupcake tasted very fresh.

Where do you go for your cupcake fix? What's your favorite flavor? Tell me in the comments!

Where am I, Wednesday?

Good morning, blogfans! Where am I today in the HoCo? (hocoblogs@@@)

Leave your guess in the comments below!

Book Review: Blindness, and the occasional problem with art for art's sake

Hey, fun fact... GoodReads has a publish-blog option! Since I've recently gone on a borrowing spree at my local public library, I figured I'd share my thoughts on the books I've enjoyed.


Blindness by José Saramago


My rating: 3 of 5 stars




Ok, about Blindness.


First of all, I loved the premise and I really liked the story. As horrific as it was at points, it seemed very real, very immediate and desperate when I was able to immerse myself in the narrative. Questions - and a real desire to see the protagonist come out of the situation - kept me turning the pages.


That having been said, this was a book I would have preferred to read in one sitting. This is mostly because of the style - minimal dialogue tags/dialogue smashed within a paragraph, etc - that made it difficult to pick up after time away. That device - along with the lack of names, which I thought worked well with the dehumanizing aspect of the story - disappeared from notice after a few pages.


More annoying was the occasional intrusion of the phantom narrator, which seemed to serve nothing more than commentary on the plot (a la Jane Austen style narrating - it doesn't actually forward the plot or shed more light on the situation, it just tells the reader what the author is showing). Page 94 is a great example of where I was reading, and then was suddenly slammed out of the story by a direct address from the narrator.


I think this is a great book with a fascinating story and the potential to drive really compelling discussion about human nature and the ability of literature to amplify aspects of that nature that are both great and horrible. I do offer the caveat, though, that for me, the dedication to "art" - the format, the narrator - made the book harder to read at times, took away from the immediacy of the story, and left me questioning some of Saramago's choices.






View all my reviews

A refusal to vent, August, and a party.

Posting here's been inconsistent. Sorry about that.


Part of it is that I'm incredibly busy. The other part is that the things occupying my mind are not things I'm really willing to blog about. It's hard to publish updates about things like school/work without turning it into a vent, and that's something I don't want to do on my blog.


Still, things are looking up.




Here's what you can expect for August:


Food versus Food - Two posts, set and ready to go. I know. Be excited!


Some DIY and cooking posts - I've got some cool DIY projects going that I just have to share. The word of the day is "Upcycle."


Where am I, Wednesday? - guess where I am in the HoCo, based on the amazing photo technology of the little Droid X That Could.


And more. (aka, blanket statement to promise additional content, probably related to happenings both local and national)




Also, don't forget about the HoCo Blogs party coming up next Thursday! It's a family-friendly event on Aug 11 at Stanford Grill. 5:30pm. RSVP here!

Where am I, Wednesday?

Here you go, blog friends! Where am I in the HoCo? (hocoblogs@@@)


Bonus points if you can tell me where I was standing when I took the picture.