The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I don't read a lot of non-fiction - just a preference, not a comment. This book caught my eye because my undergraduate education is in Psychology. The book is an incredibly interesting account of Jon Ronson's investigation of the madness industry and how we perceive and interpret mental illness. I really like Ronson's storytelling style because it reads like fiction. He also seems like the type of guy that I would be friends with if I met him one day at a party or on the street and struck up a conversation. Despite the comfortable tone of the book, it is very well researched. You can tell he did his homework and the questions he poses are very poignant. The label of psychopath is incredibly damaging to a person but you can see how certain character traits could spun into something more sinister than they are.

Chocolate-Covered Almond Toffee

Chocolate-Covered Almond Toffee

I love the Christmas season -  mostly for the food. Each year I try a new holiday treat and this year was toffee.  I found several recipes and combined and changed parts for the recipe listed below.  My wife and both children devoured several pieces while we wrapped up packages for the neighbors.  I think we have a new favorite holiday treat.






Ingredients:
4 cups slivered almonds
2/3 cup milk chocolate chips
2/3 cup dark chocolate chips
1 lb (4 sticks) butter
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons water

Special Equipment: 2 large baking sheets (12 inch by 17 inch), a candy or deep-fat thermometer, heatproof spatula, offset metal spatula

Directions:

Coarsely chop sliced almonds in a food processor or by hand and then separate into 1 cup and 3 cup increments. Mix 1/3 cup  each of the milk and dark chocolate chips into two bowls.  Set aside.

Butter a large baking sheet or use a non-stick Silpat to line the pan. Bring butter, sugar, and water to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is a golden caramel color and thermometer registers 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup chopped almonds. The mixture may still have separated portions of the butter, but don't worry.  Pour the mixture into the center fo the greased or lined baking sheet and spread with a heatproof spatula to the edges of the baking sheet.  Place the second baking sheet on top of the mixture and press down for an even thickness and flat finished surface.

Sprinkle one bowl of the mixed chocolate chips onto the hot toffee and let stand until the chocolate is melted (4-5 minutes).  Spread the chocolate using the offset metal spatula and then sprinkle with half of the remaining chopped almonds. Cover with a sheet of wax paper or another Silpat and then place the second baking sheet on top of the toffee and carefully invert the toffee and the sheet or Silpat. You may need to loosen the toffee with a spatula if not using a Silpat liner.

Once turned over, sprinkle the other side of the toffee with the remaining bowl of mixed chocolate chips and sprinkle with the remaining chopped almonds in the same manner described above. Put the completed pan of toffee in the freezer for approximately 30 minutes to cool it completely before breaking into pieces. Pieces can be broken with a butter knife and then transferred into an airtight container to be kept at room temperature.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was an enjoyable read. I enjoyed the characters a lot and the narration by death was perfect. So much pain and suffering takes place during the book that death relating those deaths in a taking care of business way made them more tolerable.

The one thing I didn't like was setting the book in Nazi Germany. I thought the story could be told in any environment of poverty. I'm getting tired of Nazis as villains. The atrocities of Hitler should not be forgotten, but they are so overwritten that they are almost like canned evil. The obligatory references to the evils of Hitler and the Nazis and equally obligatory nobleness of those recognizing right from wrong was tiresome to me because I've read them so many times. This was a distraction I didn't enjoy in an otherwise very well written and engaging story.

View all my reviews

NaNoWriMo - I Won!!!

One computer, two fast typing hands, three hours a night of dedicated writing time, 29 days, 200 pages of material, and 50,441 words.  That sums up my November this year.

This was my first National Novel Writing Month as a participant.  Winning just means that you finished - that you completed 50,000 words of fiction in one month.  I did it, so I won. 

Now I will take a break to read the novels I put to the side to write, spend a little time with the wife and kids I neglected, and relax a little.  When I've recovered I'll debrief myself on the experience and what I've learned. 

December will be spent sorting out what is usable from this experience in the many months of revision in my future.  

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book many years ago as a child. I remember the story line and liking it. Fast forward many years later when I have my own son and he is six-years-old and looking for something to read for bedtime. I found an old copy of the book on our bookshelf and we started reading together.

This book was even more enjoyable as an adult parent. I knew what was coming, but he didn't. I would read the descriptions of Wonka's incredible confections and he would look at me with his "did you read that right?" face, and then check it himself. He speculated about what amazing thing waited for him in the next chapter. When we went to the store for some last minute items, he spotted a Wonka bar with a golden ticket sweepstakes and begged to get it.

As an adult I could appreciate some of the technical aspects of the book as well. The pacing is fantastic. Each chapter ends with an event that makes you want to read on - and I was talked into many extra chapters despite it being past bedtime. The dialogue is also fantastic. These sound like real conversations, despite the fantastic plot-line. Willy Wonka is fantastic as an eccentric candy maker who loves his factory and the wonders it holds.

View all my reviews

Writing with Abandon and Apologies

My last post was on November 3rd.  That was three days into National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).  I am participating this year and it has taken every free minute of my time to get anywhere near the 50,000 words in one month requirement. I'm currently at 33,765 words.  That means I have 16,235 words to go and eight days left. A little more than 2000 words a day and I win.  NaNoWriMo doesn't really give you big prizes.  Just the satisfaction of fulfilling a seemingly impossible goal.

December will be the month of reviewing what I wrote during November.  It should be hilarious, hopefully not frightening. Then normal life, and normal blog posting can continue.

How to Talk to a Widower

How to Talk to a Widower by Jonathan Tropper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was an excellent book. The premise is simple. A young man, Doug, falls in love with an older single mother, Haley, who dies in a plane crash. Doug must learn to deal with his grief and live life without Haley. Tropper casts some of the most memorable and authentic characters I've read in a long time. The conversations between Doug and his sister, mother, father, buddies, women he dates, and his former step-son are fantastic. Tropper has a gift for dialogue because the conversations felt as though I was listening to actual people talk even though what was being said was sometimes unbelievable. I already have another book - This is Where I Leave You - on my Kindle and can't wait to start it.

View all my reviews