Sunday, January 27, 2013

My Precious

One of my Christmas gifts this year was a gift card to Barnes & Noble. As a dedicated user of the New York Public Library (sometimes I think I should pay more tax given the number of books I take out), I’m giddy and a little overwhelmed at the prospect of having an entire gift card to spend on anything I want. Do I get a cookbook? Do I get a book I’ve been waiting for? Do I buy an old favorite? Or do I just hoard it and wait for the right moment? Oh, my precious…it could take years to actually cash you in.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Parrot in the House

The other day, I was trying to work on some revisions when I realized that my living room resembles a petting zoo. In addition to the toddler and the rabbit, there is now a small, green parrot named Pablo.


Pablo is a long-term guest while his people are living abroad. His chatter, combined with the rabbit’s constant munching on hay and the sounds of the toddler’s train set, makes for nice white noise.

And who knows – now that I’m living with a parrot, maybe there will be one written into my next book!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Creativity Sandwich

I have a new baking obsession: sandwich cookies. The cupcake craze that has fueled a rise in mom-and-pop bakeries seems to have overshadowed the humble sandwich cookie. But what can be a more perfect treat than two crisp wafers held together by a delicious frosting?

The thing I like best about sandwich cookies is the ability to be creative. You can make peanut butter cookies and stick them together with vanilla frosting or plain old sugar cookies and join them with chocolate mint frosting. The possibilities are endless.

Or you can make a whole bunch of different kinds of cookies and frosting, invite a bunch of people over and have a mix and match party. Everyone will have the freedom of choice for their own cookies and filling.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Six Of One…E-Book of Another

Last week, I read a survey that indicated that there is a modest rise in e-books and decline in print books. In some ways, this debate is moot. Obviously, e-books are gaining traction but print books aren’t going to disappear completely. Like my friend Leslie said last week, she likes to have “disposable” books on her kindle and physical books on her shelf.

One of the upshots to e-books is the author’s ability to add content that just wouldn’t work in print (one of my ideas for my book includes demonstrations on how to make cookies). But one of the downsides is that a shelf of books looks much prettier than an e-reader propped up in the corner.

Finally, a survey like this is interesting but a quick read of the fine print is important. The respondent size was very small and is very likely biased by the collection method. Also, I think the researchers tried too hard to make the expansion of e-books related to the age of the reader. I don’t see how that’s relevant when the barriers to using tablets are very, very low.