Two Brief Book Reviews and Stuff

The idea of writing is better than the reality. To be a prolific, fluent, good writer is an aspiration that I always dreamed of, but knew that it would never be easy to achieve. Not because I lack the talent, it is more of lacking the drive to write. I don't breathe writing; I don't have to constantly write. Yet, I do like the idea of it. Therefore, I have asked myself to give it another try. Not to become famous, just to train myself to have the patience in writing down my thoughts, and hopefully, the exercise of writing will become easier and enjoyable.

Back to Book reviews. I have written about food, wine, travel, and coffee. Those are things I enjoy immensely and fortunately been able to experience. Reading is another of those pleasures that I hold dear. I just finished two books that I liked in two different ways. One was as light reading; the other was more hefty read. Both had great similarities even though they are from two different genres.

Funeral Music by Morag Joss is one of those mystery novels that feels like a quick cozy-read then wallops you with its writing and moral complexity. I picked it up thinking it would be quick and easy, mainly though I chose it because it takes place in Bath, England which is my current obsession. I was pleasantly surprised when the heroine is a classical music artist, a cellist, and begins to snoop around when the concert manager for the charity concert she would be performing gets murder. There were so many storylines taking place in this books and the author weaves and ties them all together making it a complex mystery with a surprising ending. The language and writing lends itself to add more intricacy through rich description not only of the place, but the music and the actions.

The Baron Next Door by Erin Knightley was a fun quick read. It is one of those books that you need to be uncomplicated. What you see is what you get. What was surprising for me is many of the historical -especially Regency- romances take place mainly in London with just part of the story somewhere else in the United Kingdom. This particular trilogy -this title being the first- takes place in Bath.
I'm not going to rave about this book. As I mentioned before, it is what it is, but it does introduce not just the city of Bath in good detail, but also classical music features prominently, even a Chinese zither.

So if you want a romance or a mystery you may consider one of these or both or none, but definitely think about where the books you read take place and see if a change of scenery is right for you.
Cheerio!

My Oxford Blues

Lets take a break from the wine posts and talk about traveling. I was reading one of my favorite blogs, The Thrifty Anglomaniac. She posted about Oxford and mentions fabulous and thrifty things to do while you are visiting there. So go read it!


The City of the Dreaming Spires is full of old architecture and atmosphere. It is one heck of a college town. Oxford University with all of its various colleges, churches, and buildings dominates the city and it is one of the oldest universities in the world. There is so much history, such wealth of knowledge. There is also something for the Harry Potter fans!




You read correctly. The Restricted Section of the Hogwarts library was filmed at the Bodleain Library. The picture on the right is the entrance to the Bodleian, but the real beauty was the interior. The woodwork, the books, the age of the place transforms your experience into something magical.






Not to get too caught up on Harry, I wanted to mention some food. You all know how much I love food. As my last two posts have shown, food and wine are some of my most favorite things. I was only in Oxford for the day, and had to catch the train back to London in the afternoon. I would have loved to stay for at least another day or a week, or a year, but I did get to eat somewhere quite yummy. 








Have any of you heard of Tolkien or C.S. Lewis? Well, they were part of a literary group called The Inklings. They gathered to argue, eat, drink, and smoke at a pub called The Eagle and The Child or as the locals call it "the Bird and Baby". 

This pub has been around since the late 17th century. You find the dark woods and wooden beams expected in a pub so old, and also, the history. The food wasn't so bad either. I chose to have a burger, but not just any burger. No, it was a Boar and Chorizo Burger. Wow! This burger ended up being one of my favorite meals while I was in England. The taste, juiciness, spices, all made for a lovely rich gamy pork taste with a spicy paprika flavored smokiness. What a fantastic dish. It was served with chips (fries for us Americans) and a vinegar based coleslaw that I actually liked.

Well, I will leave you all drooling about this burger. I also hope this post will inspire some of you to either visit Oxford, or (this is for you CulinAIRy) try to recreated this lovely dish for yours truly.

Ta Ta my dears and cheerio!