After having the chance to live in Italy for 3 years, the charm of the country, its people and its food will live in me forever. The author shared this quote by Goethe "See Naples and die" -- she didn't die but started to live. When you visit Italy, you enter another time. Life is slower and fuller. As a result, you learn to appreciate things more, when you slow down and start to really live.
When visiting Italy, Naples is not at the top of most people's lists. It is famous for crime and it is not as picturesque (a/k/a dirty, trash filled) as many other locations. However, it is where pizza was born and who can't appreciate that fact!
One of the first people she meets is the mother of a young man sent to show her around. This woman was 56 years old and not the stereotypical Italian mother that we picture standing at a stove cooking all day. She wore tight white jeans and high heeled boots with a rhinestone studded belt. Rhinestones are definitely a fashion necessity that I learned about during my time there. This made me laugh when I read it from the memories of ladies at the baseball games in our town of Nettuno. These ladies take care of themselves from top to bottom. It made me rethink my clothing when going out and about in town. It was important how you looked no matter what errand you may be running!
The food..... oh how I enjoyed the descriptions of the food that the mother was cooking for the family. One ingredient that is common in all of the recipes is love. The time and effort put into each dish reflects the love of the mother for her family. I'm hungry just thinking about all of the things she prepared! You'll have to read it yourself to find out just what she cooked!
This was an ARC from NetGalley and is now available on Amazon. Everyone interested in Italy should read it without a doubt!
Thursday, June 2, 2016
Love Sick - Cory Martin
I chose this book because I know two people who suffer from MS. One of them is this amazing man who is Italian/American and has been battling this disease for some time. His name is Tony Lonero and he is committed to conquering the disease. He is a bicycle rider who is encouraging others to "Non Mollare (never give up) Ride to Finish". Even when his test results can be discouraging, he goes out and rides hundreds and thousands of kilometers to overcome the life sentence that the diagnosis of MS holds. I met another person, a young woman, when I was in the hospital who is going through the never ending process of testing and guessing what her status is. She is married and has a young son. She is a positive person and is trying hard to learn as much as she can to help herself continue to live for herself and her family.
As I read Cory's story, I could only imagine the emotions she was experiencing and the frustration of not knowing the full extent of her physical condition. The disease becomes the center of your whole world. It also affects how others look at you and act around you. Cory makes it real in this book. It isn't pretty. It isn't glossed over. If you want to learn more about how MS affects someone like you and me, this is definitely the book for you to read. She is still a young woman so the full effect on how her life will turn out is yet to be seen. One can only hope for research to be successful in finding medications to lessen the effects of MS.
I think it's important that we read more about these diseases and the way they affect people's lives so that we can be more understanding when we have friends affected in this way.
I received the ARC of this book through NetGalley. It is not available for purchase on Amazon.com.
As I read Cory's story, I could only imagine the emotions she was experiencing and the frustration of not knowing the full extent of her physical condition. The disease becomes the center of your whole world. It also affects how others look at you and act around you. Cory makes it real in this book. It isn't pretty. It isn't glossed over. If you want to learn more about how MS affects someone like you and me, this is definitely the book for you to read. She is still a young woman so the full effect on how her life will turn out is yet to be seen. One can only hope for research to be successful in finding medications to lessen the effects of MS.
I think it's important that we read more about these diseases and the way they affect people's lives so that we can be more understanding when we have friends affected in this way.
I received the ARC of this book through NetGalley. It is not available for purchase on Amazon.com.
Monday, May 23, 2016
Murder in Missoula - Laurence Giliotti
The only thing I knew about Missoula was the Missoula Children's Theater which visited our school some years back. Thankfully this had nothing to do with them!
The book opens with the discovery of a body just as many murder mysteries do. This one, however, incorporates a great story following the steps of a retired DEA agent who was friends with a local FBI agent and his ability to solve tricky cases. He ends up being looked at as a suspect in the murders and is compelled to continue trying to find the killer before he kills again.
The characters are believable and the killer is repellent. You find yourself reading quicker and quicker to try to find out if they will catch him in time! I definitely enjoyed the ending because it ties in with the location of the last book I read (France). This ARC was provided to me by NetGalley for review purposes.
The book opens with the discovery of a body just as many murder mysteries do. This one, however, incorporates a great story following the steps of a retired DEA agent who was friends with a local FBI agent and his ability to solve tricky cases. He ends up being looked at as a suspect in the murders and is compelled to continue trying to find the killer before he kills again.
The characters are believable and the killer is repellent. You find yourself reading quicker and quicker to try to find out if they will catch him in time! I definitely enjoyed the ending because it ties in with the location of the last book I read (France). This ARC was provided to me by NetGalley for review purposes.
Updated Blog Address - All prior posts see Jane In Belgium Reads
I am focusing more on reading these days and reviewing the ARCs of books from Net Galley. As a result, it became apparent that renaming my blog to JaneYReads made a lot more sense as it will follow me no matter where I live! My twitter account has Italy in it and my Blogger review account had Belgium in it. I don't want to mislead people into thinking I am living in those places long term.
Prior to this time, I have been a home schooler and a substitute teacher and driving lots of miles and didn't have that much time to devote to reading or as much as I would have liked. Now the time has come for me to be able to read as much as I want so I can tackle the stack of books (virtual or physical ones) that I've been collecting! Check back here periodically to see what I've read lately!
Prior to this time, I have been a home schooler and a substitute teacher and driving lots of miles and didn't have that much time to devote to reading or as much as I would have liked. Now the time has come for me to be able to read as much as I want so I can tackle the stack of books (virtual or physical ones) that I've been collecting! Check back here periodically to see what I've read lately!
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