What the...

No, I haven't been to London recently. It seems Boston used double decker buses for their tours, too. NY does, but these look more authentic. I guess that's what they mean by New England (pauses to let the groans fade out.)

Doesn't Bonnie look happy with her Boba? (That's bubble tea to me.) More on tea in my next post.

Wagamama

Two visits to Wagamama within the space of two weeks, and I'm not even in London! Not a bad deal. This time I was in the Cambridge Branch. I am proud to say I lasted longer than I ever had with chopsticks. I think the thick noodles helped. Here I look like I've been sponsored by Staples. Nope. I just love to give out free publicity. I'm a giving kind of girl. For my lovely meal, I had a ginger-heavy concoction to combat the possible motion sickness on my return bus trip. It seems to have helped. Though I didn't finish the whole thing, it certainly fueled me for a good portion of the day.

Boston, Part One

This is the first in a series of posts about my two day trips to Boston. It turned out to be a city I'd put in my top ten for certain. It's big enough to have variety, but not as crazy as NY, so I did actually feel like I went away.

Here we see my joy at finding a Whittard in the US. (I'm a little miffed at finding out it's pronounced Whit-tard instead of my way of saying it which sounded more like whittle.) They also have a blend-your-own-tea section, though it's kind of pricey.

We also see Daphne joyfully awaiting her healthy meal at Wagamama. What a fantastic place for comfort food! They're also quite accommodating for those with food allergies or dietary requirements. All of this happened at Faneuil Hall, a nice if touristy section full of shops and restaurants (they have their own Cheers).

Looking Back

Some silly moments from London 1998...as we approach the tenth anniversary:


From top, left to right: They Call Me Sinead, What Do You Think?, Bowtie, Catwalk in Covent Garden, I Hate Money, Where the Heck Did I Go?, Ye Olde Kensington Market, Freckles, Hello How Are Ya?

I know most people seeing this are gonna say, huh? Sorry!

Sunday in the Park with Gata

Anyone who was in NY this weekend must agree that the weather could not be improved on. It was perfect! I wasn't feeling too hot on Friday morning, but I forced myself to take a walk. My reasoning was that all year long I complain about the weather, and here my ideal climate's just waiting for me outside - there's no excuse to stay indoors. I must say I felt better afterwards.

On Sunday, I checked out the Superhero exhibit at the Met. It was a little crowded, and you couldn't touch anything, but it was still fun to see. The concept was the influence of superhero/comic book costumes on fashion. I failed to see the relevancy as all the translations into fashion were unrealistic anyway. Anyone wearing such items would be pelted with eye-rolling if they tried to ride the subway. In short, you'd better be able to fly or run really fast if you're caught wearing these outfits.

After such contemplations I took a breather in Central Park. I found a lovely tree near the Great Lawn that had vast amounts of shade - its branches nearly reached the ground. I spent at least two hours sitting there, reading, writing, resting...and realizing you don't always have to hop on a train to reach a relaxing destination. I guess I picked a good time to be there. It wasn't crowded at all, but not alarmingly desolate. I heard the distant sounds of a softball game going on, which was accompanied by the haunting barks of two bloodhounds nearby, but nothing penetrated my sanity. In lieu of having my own backyard, this was pretty acceptable. I ended up walking down to Columbus Circle - must see Borders whenever possible - and I still had energy to do some housework in the evening.

Sure, it's grossly humid out today, but I'm truly grateful for a peaceful weekend in my own City. Yesterday was fine too, but at that point I felt kind of spoiled with all the free time.

(Isabelle, and Mango Indica)

Yeah, me too!

The same weekend Marie had a family reunion, I did too. Here's a few highlights.

I guess it had to happen

Pammie informed me that Lush closed down in the Queens Center Mall. Dag Nabbit! Now I have to go to Manhattan every time I want my fix.

I'm not completely surprised. They'd placed the store between Bath and Body Works and The Body Shop. There was a bit of scent blockage, so the average person may not be drawn in straightaway. Besides, the economy being the way it is, people are probably sacrificing a bath bomb here and there in favor of another gallon of gas. I personally haven't been frequenting Lush the way I used to - simply because I wised up and decided to actually pay some bills!

Lush is still opening all over the US. I doubt the Manhattan stores will close anytime soon - but now I'm considering popping down to Union Square or something and getting at least one of my favorites, just in case.


(Kira, and Orange Pekoe)

I Feel So Accomplished!

No, haven't got my driver's license yet...but I did finish Middlemarch at long last. It look almost fourteen years, but today it's been done. I bought a copy of this book during my first trip to London in 1994, for only one pound. Back then that was worth less than it is now. It's actually one of the few things I still have in my possession from that trip, beside the photos.
I never thought it would take so long to finish Middlemarch - after all, it only took a couple of months to read Les Miserables, and that's even longer. The problem was that I was beset by the Ownership Curse - for years I would rarely finish books I actually owned - there were too many books borrowed from the library that I needed to finish before they were due. In the past year, though, I've been able to get over this problem. I think the new bookshelves had something to do with that. Also, for some reason in the past decade I've read an immense amount of books, but they've rarely been the classics. With the completion of Nicholas Nickleby, it seems I'm back on track.
I'm happy to report I really enjoyed Middlemarch! It's my favorite George Eliot book to date -so far I've read The Mill on the Floss and Adam Bede, and they were kind of depressing in that Thomas Hardy way. Middlemarch was not cheerful, but not miserable either. For those of you that don't mind reading books that are divided into eight books, I recommend giving it a shot. 781 pages later, I feel satisfied in that booknerd kind of way.


(Moofer, and Darjeeling)

Spring and a Lovely Book Jaunt

Besides a yucky soppy Friday, this week has given New Yorkers some of the best weather days of the year. Even when it came close to 80 degrees, it was perfection. There were pleasant breezes all around - and I'm happy to say my feet held up pretty well with all the extra walking I did.

Most of the week I had lunch al fresco. Bonnie and I have covered a lot of territory in midtown Manhattan in the search for decent outdoor lunch areas, and it's not been in vain. Well, Bryant Park is a no-brainer, but if your nerves are a little frazzled it might be avoided. As soon as the climate is lovely, everyone gets the same idea and they crowd the Park, annoyingly loud yuppie conversations included and cigarette in hand...not the best atmosphere for a wound-up lady like myself. As an alternative, we found a quiet little park near the United Nations building that was sparsely occupied. It wasn't empty, but certainly airy enough. Plus, there was enough floral activity going on in there to please the eyes as we ate. The only problem is that it's over a 10 minute walk - good exercise but not enough sitting time. Not the biggest roadblock, of course. Anything is more tolerable with a spring breeze surrounding you, in my opinion. I first realized this in Junior High School. I was sitting in math class, the year before it became my worst subject, but nonetheless not my favorite place to be. It was springtime and I sat near a half-opened window. This fresh slightly warm breeze blew in and it was like I was flying. No, nobody was smoking weed outside, I enjoyed the little wind on its own. From then on I was a firm believer in spring and early autumn.

It used to be when the nice weather came along I'd hit the shops right away. Since I've been able to curtail by shopaholic tendencies this doesn't happen as often. I did, however do a little bookstore browsing in my spring promenading. As a result, I finally visited a bookshop I can't remember every entering. This is the Argosy, a used/antiquarian bookshop on 59th Street. I've passed by this place before, and I even had a book from there - an old book about London which was a gift from a very thoughtful coworker. I never had the guts to in on my own, because I figured it would be expensive and stuffy. This week, though, it occured to me that I cannot possibly leave a New York bookshop unvisited, and if I can mosey around the Met on my own - oh, and go to a Broadway show all by myself, oh yeah, and do afternoon tea on my own, then what's a bookshop? Well, this didn't all pop into my head at once, but it's true. So in I went, and I was enthralled. It was a little bit like how I'd pictured Marks & Co. in 84 Charing Cross Road - full of old, dusty books (I sneezed frequently), and old prints and pictures. And speaking of 84 CCR, I noticed in one glance a number of books Helene Hanff requested in the course of the famous correspondence. Love was all around me! Sadly, the shop was closing for the day, so my browsing time was cut short. I'm glad I saw it, though...so many prettily bound books - especially those little hand held books one might see a character in a Jane Austen adaptation reading. My guess is I'll be back there before long.

Zenobia. (I had to mention a cat at some point didn't I? Oh, and tea - oolong?)

To Bon With Love

Just a little Bubuck fix to hold you over til next time!

Stuff's Changed Since Post #1

I just realized my blog is 3 years old! I started right before I left for my last trip to London and really began in earnest in May 2005. Since then, my life has been turned upside down and side to side, but I've survived. I've had tons of friends move away from NY. There were three major deaths and a few births here and there. I live in the same place but don't live with the same people or cats. Otherwise, I've remained at the same job and retained the same basic measurements. Now, I don't think there's a need to enumerate the other changes: just check the archives.

To quote Queen once again: "The Show Must Go On!"

(Coffee) and Tea Festival 2008

My first one!

I'd wanted to go to the previous ones, a recently instituted institution, but time constraints... (oh yeah, I'm soooo busy) .

Well, I made a special point of going this year, and I was not disappointed. When I first walked into the Metropolitan Pavilion (never knew this place existed) I nearly keeled over with excitement. That would have been a coincidence, as I was just down the block from the first building I ever fainted in (you don't want to know). The Pavilion was full of tea and coffee companies displaying their products, answering questions, and offering samples. My first sample was at the Biscottea table. They make shortbread biscotti with tea ingredients - I think my favorite was the blueberry. Then I looked at some kind of healthy juice that sort of tasted like vitamin enriched grapey wine. After a few more moments of browsing, I headed for the area setup for the talks.

I managed to sit through four presentations, and they ran briskly enough to hold my interest. The first one, from Tafu tea, was technical but helpful. Mr. Tafu came from Japan to show us how to make proper cups of Sencha. Sadly the sound system was lacking, so I didn't get as much out of this one as I would have liked. Still, I was reminded of the importance of brewing green tea with water that hasn't reached boiling point yet. Too bad I can't pull that off at work. Well, the whole purpose of sitting down to a good cup of green tea is one of patience, and taking time out. I'll try to do this on the weekends then.

Next was a very lively presentation about making coffee and tea cocktails. At this point I'd managed to grab a seat in the front, which made it all the more enjoyable. What many know about me (or are beginning to learn) is that besides the placid pick-me-up of tea, I am also enamored of the exciting combinations available in cocktails - and the need for restraint. The kind of good thing about these drinks is that in restaurants and other venues they tend to be pricey, thus limiting me to one if any. But I love to watch these being made, especially when the bartender is creative. Kara Newman gave the presentation, along with Benoit Cornet of Sanctuary Tea - sound familiar? Though my first visit to Sanctuary T out of necessity excluded my ordering a cocktail, I was more than happy to sample Mr. Cornet's creations at the festival. I was not the only one there who had a good deal of fun at this point. I also managed to get a complimentary bottle of a coffee Bailey's type liqueur called "Cafe Boheme". It's a creamy delight.

Following this was a more toned-down talk by Ellen Easton, called "Afternoon Tea for Fun and Profit". I thought it was helpful because some people don't know what they're getting into when trying to open a tea room. She suggested getting experience both in the restaurant and retail industries. That's a good idea, because people who are into tea think they'd like nothing more than to open a tearoom - that it's so much fun. Well, there's a lot more into having such a business than a love of tea. The same goes for opening a bookstore I'd say. Well, I have no such aspirations, but there were good ideas for future tea parties. The history of afternoon tea is fascinating, but most of it I was already familiar with. I would like to try Lady Mendl's tea room now, though.

Next was a part about blending teas, from Tay Tea's Nini Ordoubadi. I loved this, mentally comparing her to an alchemist, though my passion runs deeper for tea than gold. Basically she showed the simple way one can test different mixtures of tea and dried fruits and herbs, to determine what truly blends well together. As someone who has sampled her product, I must say she knows what she's talking about. Tay Tea is based upstate, making me visualize a big kitchenlike studio full of white tasting cups and glass teapots with windows overlooking the lush mountainous countryside. ~Sigh~ but thankfully it's the best part of springtime in NY, where even in the crowded Chelsea streets one can enjoy the blooming trees and return of greenery.

I digress. There was a great deal of purchasing on my part - mostly gift items, as I really do have too much tea at home, but it was such a pleasure to see all the tea companies (okay, and coffee) gathered together. I must do this again next year. I'd love to go to all the Tea Expos nationwide but that's impossible. Still, the one that's a quick subway ride away is not to be missed.

Sanctuary T

My tea goal (there's categories in goals, you know) is to visit every tea shop/tearoom/ in New York. And then....the world! Well, that's kind of impossible. Still, if I can make it here...

When I heard about Sanctuary T, a restaurant that uses tea as an ingredient in many of their offerings, and boasts a rather decent tea selection - and some creative cocktails, I knew I couldn't rest till I'd tried out the place myself. And then I went back to bed. Still, there was a nagging determination as a Tea Queen to make a progress through my lands. So, six months after I'd first learned of this place, I finally hauled my tired rear over there.

Tired and not really in the best condition to sample a restaurant for the first time. I'd been off stomach-wise all week, but there was still an appetite lurking around.

When we got there, I was first of all impressed by its coziness. We had a table toward the back, right next to shelves of tea merch. Not a bad view. The place smelled like a tearoom. I don't know what it is - I guess some kind of fruit tea that permeates every tearoom. It's what I'd imagined fairyland would smell like.

The staff were really accommodating and friendly. I ordered the spring prix fixe, and the soup of the day was tomato. For some reason I thought it would be like the canned variety, which is more like tomato sauce than tomato juice. Sadly, this stuff tasted just like a tomato, which everyone knows is my sworn enemy. Seriously, if I were a superhero, tomatoes would be my Kryptonite. I put the face of death on after just one taste, and the waiter noticed from afar. He offered to bring another soup, a celery root one. Wow. This was more like it. Such a comforting soup, although a bit dangerous for my shaky stomach.

Next came the "main course", which was actually tapas style chicken. It was really good, but not big enough for me (the prix fixe was $33, and I'm not much of a believer in spending tons of money on food unless it's a massive amount of food. Too much dining in Astoria, I guess.) The tea I ordered was an herbal Moroccan Mint. Very nice, very soothing. It was served in a teabag, but a big one of quality. I do prefer a teapot, though.

Daphne had duck, which was delicious from what I hear (I don't eat duck. It's not one of those self-righteous things, but ducks are my favorite birds and I've heard it's greasy anyway.) The chef actually gave her some kind of macaroni cheese with truffle sauce, with his compliments. Gotta love nice chefs.

Finally, for dessert I had a ginger lemongrass citrusy creme brulee. This basically sealed the deal for me. I've always been a fan of creme brulee, and creative ones really rock my world. It wasn't overwhelming, either: the ginger was subtle, just as I like it.

Okay, so 4/5 for me. I think I'd like to try lunch there, as I prefer tea places in the afternoon. Brunch wouldn't be a bad idea either. It's not a tearoom in the traditional scone way - but if they all were, I wouldn't need to see them all, now would I?

Live With Disappointment

I'm not writhing with disappointment, but there are two things that I look forward to every year that aren't happening:

Jasper Fforde isn't coming out with a new book until 2009. I'm going to have to find something else to make me laugh this July. Well, it's been a good six summers (not really, but the books helped.) Maybe this year I'll have to re-read a Fforde.

Then there's Tartan Week. For the past couple of years, the first week of April tourism to Scotland is promoted with all kinds of events in Midtown. The one I've seen is the Scottish Village in Grand Central Terminal. It was a fun place to see during the hectic lunch hour, and I personally thought it was a positive thing - yes, even the shortbread. Now I read that it's being shelved this year. Am I going to have to actual visit Scotland myself? Maybe I'll just curl up with some Robert Burns and a bit of haggis. How cliched is that?

Well, as they say, it's not the end of the world.

Fun with Liquor

Yeah, I'm a lush. No, not really. I just played around with my ingredients and managed to produce two of my favorite items on any menu. First, I made penne a la vodka a la Gata. It came ridiculously close to what I've enjoyed in Italian restaurants - and mild enough to suit my sensitive palate. Next, Jay came bearing mint and lime (a little comfort gift for my having a surprise visit from my favorite thing about being female during an unexpected weekend). Well, I have one word for you all - Mojito! My favorite drink since 2005, I've never actually made it myself. If I must say so myself, it was quite nice - and of course much cheaper than what I'd get outdoors. Seriously, someone's gotta bring a karaoke mike over (you know you want to, Marie), and it's party time!

Warning: this post is for all my readers 21 and over, or 18 and over in Europe and Canada. I don't know the age in Cuba...

The Puffy Brat is 3

According to her certificate, today Zenobia turns 3. I'm sure she's thrilled. Amazingly, she came out and jumped up next to me just as I started typing this.

Tea at Gata's

I finally managed to have an afternoon tea at my place. I thought it worked out pretty well; in fact, well enough to plan more for the future. I'm thinking one more in the spring, before it gets too hot to bake. Of course, an iced tea party might be fun too, but I digress.

There was so much food! Everyone brought something to add to the overall enjoyment. I haven't heard any reports of food poisoning, so it seems the preparation worked out all right. We also had a poetry reading. This isn't done enough nowadays. The last one I remember going to was at a dinner at Pam and Carlos' home about a decade ago. Seriously. People tend to look uncomfortable when the subject of poetry is brought up. I don't understand why. There is so much out there to share, and it certainly doesn't have to be romantic. In this case, there was the option of reading our own poems, but everyone chose to read another's instead. That was fine too. Still, everyone was really cooperative about sharing something they liked, and it turned out being fun - in fact we bust out laughing in intervals. Tea parties don't have to be stiff, formal affairs. In fact, all you need are some good friends, some finger food, and of course tea, and you're set.

Feedback time: those of you who were there or were able to try some of the tea things afterwards, what did you enjoy the most? Was there any room for improvement? (be tactful) Any suggestions for next time? If you weren't there (I'll try to have more of these shindigs in the future, so please don't feel left out), what do you enjoy about tea parties, or what would you like to see in a future afternoon tea?

I forgot to take pictures of the teapots! Actually, a few of them have been featured in earlier posts, so I'm not tearing my hair out in passionate regret.

Vitalitea

How about some non-cat stuff going on in my life? Well.....


I just realized today we've had Lush in New York for four years already. That's sick, truly sick. How did time move that fast? Now we have a number of Lush stores in Manhattan and one in Queens, can you believe it. They've even opened in Marie's pine-lined neck of the woods.


Last week when the weather was looking up, I took a trip downtown to South Street Seaport. I've always loved it down there: excellent memories of school trips when my mother was still an active part of my life (sorry, very personal moments coming.) It was one of the few places we had multiple school trips to, and my mom came along for parental supervision. While the other kids had packed lunch, she bought me a freshly made sandwich at one of the restaurants around the seaport (I think it's where the Bodies exhibit is now). This experience was in sharp contrast to my first school trip, to the World Trade Center, where I didn't realize we were supposed to bring money for lunch and I had my first exposure to mooching. I also had my first panic attack when we were in the observation deck. My mom wasn't there: she had gone with my sister to her school trip to Town Hall. I freaked out while standing by one of the windows that tilted out; it gave me the impression of falling. Now I'm not overly afraid of heights, but this didn't feel right at all. Perhaps this perspective made the three floors of Pier 17 a little more appealing. I did come around for a moment, to realize how cool it was that people on the ground looked like ants.


This day and age, I was there (South St. Seaport) on my own. I browsed in the nearby Strand annex until I was lightheaded. After a mild lunch I walked around the pier until I was tired of it, and headed back toward the subway. I took a slight detour and headed to John Street, only to discover a little shop called Vitalitea. I know, candidate for Funny Tea Room name, but the tea's really good there. The owner, I believe, is related in some way to the Nature Boutique next door. He let me sniff out a bunch of different teas, until I settled on a citrusy herbal blend, as well as the purchase of a tin of blueberry tea. The tin was pricey, but it smells fantastic. So I'm telling all my friends. I only regret that places like this were not in existence when I worked in the area. This always happens! Whine, whine, whine!


The other day I was doing a hand delivery for work, to a place that manages apartments (I think.) They were giving away table items for free, anything you want that was in the box was takeable. Well, I'm no moocher, but this was calling out to me. So I took a lovely silver tea service. There's no maker's marks, so I don't think they are worth a whole lot, but this matters not to the Tea Queen of Astoria. I shlepped the stuff home and used that nasty tarnish remover till it was gorgeous. Score!

Otherwise, I saw Bonnie's new place, and it's quite nice. Cozy but not cramped. Also, it's an easy walk from the train station.

Kitty Love

It seems there's a little bit of mushiness going on with Bubuck and Zeno. It doesn't stop her from boxing his ears when the mood strikes her.

Make Yourself At Home

My feline nephews seem to be pretty comfortable at my place. Though Zenobia gets a little attitude with them here and there, it's a pretty peaceful environment. It was a lot easier an adjustment than the Cinnamon/Duforth alliance of 1995. Then again, Zenobia spent some time with the boys in the past, and none of these guys are as neurotic as Sino. The litterbox fills up a little quicker though.

Adapt This

So I've been watching all the recent Jane Austen TV adaptations on PBS's "Masterpiece" (they took Theatre out of the title and you don't see the hall of books anymore; I kind of miss that.) I have mixed thoughts on the first three offerings.


I would have to say that so far Persuasion is the most disappointing. To me, Persuasion is in the top three of my favorite Austen novels, along with Pride and Prejudice (P & P) and Sense and Sensibility (S & S). For years I've been satisfied with the Ciaran Hinds/Amanda Root version from the BBC, but I thought I'd watch the new version just in case. Truly, it was butchered. Literally. They chopped up scenes, dialogues, and characters completely. Anne Elliott had a terrible habit of looking sadly at the camera, like some sort of Regency-era Emo. The ending was terribly rushed - Anne is running through the streets of Bath with people popping up out of nowhere to deliver lines that should have been drawn out and appreciated. Seriously, people. My sisters and I had plenty of sugared and caffeinated items in a few hours' time during our day trip to Bath. It was our only day to be there and, I can tell you, there was no running involved. Why would the mature Anne Elliot make such a scene of herself? Though Captain Wentworth was okay, the kiss at the end was probably the most unromantic, gagworthy thing I've ever seen. Please skip this one.

Northanger Abbey is the best so far. Mind you, I haven't read the novel since 1996 and the only other adaptation I've seen was horrendous. The 80s Catherine Morland was bucktoothed and beyond goofy. I suppose anyone would be delightful in comparison. Well, the new Catherine is pretty but a little eager-looking: just enough but not painfully so. Otherwise, it was fun to see her wild imagination, gleaned from the Gothic "horrid" novels, lead her into rather silly assumptions. This one was also rushed, and some explanations left out, but I would recommend this one above the rest.

Mansfield Park - well, I'd put this one somewhere in the middle. It was certainly better and more accurate than the 1999 version, but too many characters were toned down (Mrs. Norris was practically invisible, which made no sense), and Fanny's return to Portsmouth was completely left out. What gives? Former pop singer Billie Piper was too modern-looking and lively to be a true Fanny Price - I'd see her more as S & S's Marianne maybe. I'd watch this one over the other two I've seen (the old BBC version was almost verbatim of the novel but that's a bit of overload.)

I'm looking forward to Sunday's 'Miss Austen Regrets.' It could be awful, but no more than the dry heave that is the new Persuasion. As for the new S & S: well, I shudder to think of it, but I must watch it anyway.

DVR rocks!

Zen Burger

On Monday Bonnie and I tried a new fast food restaurant near our office. It's called Zen Burger, and I believe it's related to the Zen Palate restaurant. The idea of Zen Burger is that it's completely vegetarian, affordable, and quick. Well, so far they've got two out of three.

I ordered the chicken sandwich meal, which upon trying made me say the oft-quoted opinion "tastes like chicken!". It really was pretty close, and the prices were comparable to any other fast food restaurant. The only problem was that it wasn't really fast. They take your order right away, and then you wait fifteen minutes for the food. Though there is ample seating, the area around the counter is so crowded with people waiting for their order to arrive, you begin to feel anything but "zen". Remember that the placed is located a stone's throw away from Grand Central Station, one of the busiest office areas of the city. Time is money, as they say.

Of course, it's only just opened. Perhaps they just need to iron out their system. I'll give it another go in a few weeks, because I do like to encourage affordable, healthy vegetarian food. Plus I noticed through the crowd of office workers waiting that there was Revolution iced tea. I'd like to see if that's any good.

As for today, I'm home sick. I thought I'd avoid whatever is going around, but I'd have to have an amazing immune system to pull that off. Well, any excuse to sit around drinking tea and sleeping all day.

300

It's the 300th Post!!!!!!!!!! Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!

I just wanted to say that.

Books in Retrospect

I read 63 books last year. That's extremely close to my record, set in 2001 (64). Shall we aim for 70 this year?

By the way, 15 of the 63 books are in my own home library. For me, that's a pretty good ratio.

Here's a brief recap of some books I enjoyed in 2007:

The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff: I mentioned this one back in January, but it's worth a shout-out once again. I just loved the sequel to 84, Charing Cross Road, and could feel myself almost accompanying Hanff on her first visit to England (a few years before I was born, so physically impossible.) I've actually read this one twice this year - it's not long.

Katherine, by Anya Seton: Historical novel based on the life of Katherine Swynford, who later married John of Gaunt and ancestress of a number of Kings and Queens of England. Sometimes I found it a tad melodramatic, but still a fun display of the 14th Century.

Liquid Jade, by Beatrice Hohenegger: One of those tea-is-wonderful-but-we-got-it-at-the-price-of-millions-of-suffering-people-in-the-past themed tomes. Though I felt guilty in intervals, it also helped me to really appreciate what it takes for me to have a good cup of tea, and I aim to truly savor it.

Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down, by Nicey and Wifey: An in-depth study of tea break enjoyment, down to the mug/cup and biscuits. Probably the most fitting title of a book I've seen.

Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland: A novel based on the making of a Renoir painting? Fabulous! Perfect early summer reading.

First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde: Once again, a real highlight of the summer. It's truly the only reason I look forward to July anymore. It was a little strange to read about Thursday Next's adventures in this decade, but still something I shall return to again and again without getting tired of it.

Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell: You have to be in the mood to read about poverty and the hobo life to get into this. Still, it's my first Orwell since Animal Farm in High School - it seems I forgot how well he writes. Maybe I'll make a move on his essays.

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran: I've never really been into Egypt and its history, beyond Exodus and that Cleopatra novel I read a few years back. Nefertiti actually moved me to visit the Egyptian section of the Met. I never knew about the upheavals of religion during this particular time period (just before Tutankhamen): it seems Nefetiti's husband wanted to introduce a monotheistic belief system. Nefertiti's sister is the narrator in this novel, who is portrayed as an herbal expert who just wants to live a simple, non-ambitious life but can't quite get there.

Tipperary by Frank Delaney: I read Ireland by the same author over a year ago, and I liked his storytelling, so I picked up this one as soon as I could get a hold of it. For some reason the story reminded me a little of Forrest Gump - a guy who is a bit simple in some ways who meets well-known people of his time pretty much by accident each instance, and retains a rather frustrated love for a woman for a long, long time. Still, I love learning about recent Irish history through the magic of fiction! It's also cool how the narrator changes -from Charles O'Brien near the turn of the last century, to the historian who finds the story and realizes as it goes on that he's somehow connected to it.

There's other very good ones, but I'm really interested in getting on with 2008.