As a a self proclaimed reading nerd (currently pushing my glasses back up my nose.)
I was disappointed when I tallied the books I read at the end of 2021 and discovered it was the least I read in a year, probably ever.
I blame Covid-19, because why not, it has been hell on earth. I blame climate problems, California’s drought, television streaming because the Golden Age of television is so good, I can’t stop binge watching anything and everything.
I will also blame writing, because when I am writing a lot, it means I am not reading as much. Which is a good thing, in some way.
If all goes according to plan, I will have two new books completed in 2022 and the first thing I will do when I am done with Book 2 is take a long, long nap somewhere with a pool, room service and a gorgeous hotel bar.
But in the meantime, I finished reading two books recently that were fun, surprising and used dessert as a form of inspiration and murder. Thank you to netgalley for allowing me a chance to sneak peek these reads, which I can’t stop gushing about.
sweetest reads
Two different books that use dessert as a way to inspire.
One inspires being kind.
The other, murder.
Both of them — a good time!
Dessert can Save the World: I watched a documentary on Milk Bar creator Christina Tosi and was so compelled by her story, and energy I found myself at her Melrose store a few days later to try her cornflake cookies and crack pie. When I heard about her new self-help/inspirational/cookbook all about how dessert can save the world, I was all in!
I didn’t know what to expect from the book, but what I found myself inspired by Tosi’s pledge to kindness. She is so earnest in her belief that commitment, kindness and a plate of cookies, just may be able to solve a lot of challenges, that by the end of the book, I had highlighted half the book to bookmark all of her pearls of wisdom.
One of my favorite inspirational quotes from Tosi is:
“It’s an underdog’s long game. Just keep going, keep wearing them down with your vision and unrelenting commitment to doing whatever it takes to get hold of that cookie at the finish line.”
Available now: Dessert Can Save the World, STORIES, SECRETS, AND RECIPES FOR A STUBBORNLY JOYFUL EXISTENCE, By Christina Tosi
Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies: Really enjoyed this debut book by Misha Popp, who created the sexually fluid vigilante Daisy Ellery who kills bad guys with delicious pies. The book is a mix of Practical Magic meets Dexter, with some sweet romance that makes this a genre bending novel.
Daisy has a very cool mobile bakery called Pies Before Guys that she sets up at Farmers Markets. But she also donates pies to a local domestic violence support group where she meets women who may need her help with murder that comes in the shape of a pie.
“The first time I killed a man with a pie, it was an accident. But only the first. That was a lot of pies ago, and this is most definitely the on-purpose kind. It’s not fancy, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s just a buttery Oreo-crumb crust filled with rich peanut butter mousse, drizzled with salted chocolate ganache and dusted with crushed peanut brittle.”
Popp’s book touches on feminism, sexual fluidity, consent, patriarchy, domestic violence, murder and of course, delicious pies.
Set to release, May 2022