Catering To Nobody

by Diane Mott Davidson
published: Bantam, 2002 (Originally 1990)
pages: 301

Goldy's catering company is how she makes ends meet since her divorce.  She just didn't expect to be catering a funeral reception.  When her ex father-in-law is poisoned, Goldy's catering company is put in to question and shut down until the culprit is found.  She takes it upon herself to help the police along because holiday season's coming up and there no way she and her son can live without it.  Things get a little messy when she starts in piece together a story that may reveal a deeper conspiracy.

My favorite thing about this book is that Goldy gives us some of the recipes she uses during her catering in the novel.  The readers get the opportunity to experience the food in the novel and have another sensory option.  They looked really good, in fact, I'm going to try some of them soon.

I was fifty-fifty on the characters.  Some I really liked and some I wanted to smack around.  Goldy's son was almost unbearable.  I get that he's grieving and finding ways to channel his emotions, but it doesn't seem like he respects Goldy at all.  It's infuriating.  I know that I wouldn't let a kid speak to me the way he does, and I know that if I ever spoke to my parents that way, I would have been dead.  It's obvious that they love each other but that family dynamic is just irritating.

Tom Schultz is probably my favorite character in the entire book.  He's the police officer on the case; his concern and interest in Goldy is sweet.  However, it doesn't take away from his job, which is to figure out who caused the poisoning.  He's got a great sense of humor and knows how to play a crowd.

The pacing of this book was a little bit off.  It took me quite a bit to get through this book.  My interest in the story wavered, there were times when I was completely engrossed in the characters and the plot and there were other times when I was figuratively banging my head against the wall.  It became a task to finish this book.  The ending was very good; none of my guess work panned out but I was pleasantly surprised by the big reveal.

Stars: 3/5

Praise:

"Hearty fare for those who like their murder with a bit of nosh on the side."
     --Publishers Weekly

"A medley of murder, mayhem, and melted chocolate."
     --New York Post

"Diane Mott Davidson's culinary mysteries can be hazardous to your waistline.
     --People

An Eclectic Reader 2015 Challenge book! 

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Things I Want to Quit

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Very few bookish things have ever made me want to quit them.  I am here to try and count them for you, to keep myself accountable.  Once they're online, I can never go back! (This week is like a support group. Thanks for listening!)

1. I want to quit feeling like I need to finish a book.  If it doesn't capture my attention then it's probably not worth my time.  It might be a great book, but guess what people are different and they might have different tastes.  I'm going to try quitting this so I can free myself to read more books that I want to finish.

2. I want to quit feeling obligated to read books.  There are some books out there that I feel like I should have read ages ago and quite a few of them are classics.  I majored in English and I feel like people hear that and expect me to be well versed in classics and to love them.  That is not quite the case.  Yes, there are some that I love and some that I still want to read, but I should not feel guilty or obligated to read Atlas Shrugged or Don Quixote and The Picture of Dorian Grey if I don't have a desire to read them.

3. I want to quit feeling guilt about the amount of books I have on my shelf that I have not read.  I want to be able to go into a book store and feel at ease, knowing that I can buy a book or two and everything will be alright.  I like have so many books, but I don't like feeling like a failure for not having read all the books I own.

4. I want to quit feeling like the only person who hasn't read the Throne of Glass series.  This is a vow to the reader and to myself that I will read at least one book in the Throne of Glass series in 2015!  It sounds so good, guys.  So good!

5. I want to quit not finishing series.  I recently did two TTTs (here and here) about this because there were so many series.  It was kind of overwhelming.  That being said, I'm going to finish some of them.  There's no reason why I can't do it!  Reading away!  Maybe I'll make that a challenge for 2016.

6. I want to quit procrastinating on my own novels.  This one is totally on me.  I've written a book or two but I haven't gone back an edited any of them.  It's a scary process seeing as all my novels are products of NaNoWriMo, where it's quantity not quality that matter.  BUT this is totally within my power and I've got to jump on it now or I never will.

So there's six of my quits.

Fandom Mashup (#7)

Hosted by Micheline at Lunar Rainbows Reviews.

Micheline has come up with a great idea and I can't pass up the opportunity to participate.  Each week Micheline will pose a unique fiction scenario and I will choose 5 characters from 5 different fandoms to help me with the situation.  It's going to be quite fun, I can already tell!

Scenario: You discover an injured animal but to help it, you have to be able to communicate with it.  Who do you ask for help?


Princess Gieselle (Enchanted) - In her world, she can talk to animals all the time.  Her best friend and sidekick is a chipmunk after all.  And if she can't fix anything she can at least sing and make everyone feel a little bit better.

Sirius Black (Harry Potter) - I'm not sure if he can actually communicate with animals while he's in animagus form, but he sure does understand them.  I mean he hung out with werewolf!Lupin and Crookshanks, so my guess is he could provide a valuable service to this task.  That is, if isn't going to screw around.  :)

Grover Underwood (Percy Jackson) - He's a satyr, that makes him (almost) completely in-tune to the natural world.  He would have a connection to the wounded animal at the very least.  He could play his lute and calm the animal while someone else helped it.

Beorn (The Hobbit) - He's probably one of my favorite characters and he's a shapeshifter.  He might not be the best in this situation but he can communicate with animals, so that's something.  (Also, I would love to have a conversation with him.)

Dr. Doolittle (Dr. Doolittle) - Okay, so he's possibly the best person to ask to come along.  He can talk to animals and he's a freaking vet!  So that's really a no brainer.

September Wrap Up

October TBR: THIS IS HALLOWEEN!

I LOVE Halloween, probably more than I should, but I DO!! I love all things monsters and costumes and mysteries and things that creep in the night.  I'm so so excited about this month's theme.  That's right, I'm going to be ready spooky stories; stories about monsters and graveyards and ghosts and the end of the world.  It's about to get Halloween all over my TBR!

Currently Reading

• Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell

Possible Candidates

• Nightmares! by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller
• Monstrous by MarcyKate Connley 
• The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (Rec.) (Full)
• Trouble is a Friend of Mine by Stephanie Tromly
• Hollow City by Ransom Riggs (Full)
• The Shadow Cabinet by Maureen Johnson (Full)
• War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (TBR)

Book Club

• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (TBR) (Rec.) 

New Releases

• The Rose Society by Marie Lu (Oct 13) 
• Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch (Oct 13)
• Illuminae by Amie Kaufman (Oct 20)

Key:
(Ecl.) = Eclectic Reader Challenge
(New) = Newbery Reading Challenge
(Full) = Full House Reading Challenge
(TBR) = 2015 TBR Pile Challenge
(ABC) = Alphabet Soup Challenge
(Ult.) = Teenreads Ultimate Reading
(Rec.) = Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge 

Notable Quotable: Amy Poehler (#92)

"That is the motto that women should constantly repeat over and over again. Good for her!  Not for me." 
     --Yes Please

Harry Potter Moment of the Week (#58)

hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows Reviews.

Favorite quotes from Sorcerer's Stone.

OH there are so many!!

"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends." 
     --Dumbledore

"There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them." 

"'Ah, music,' he said wiping his eyes. 'A magic far beyond all we do here!'" 
     --Dumbledore

"You're a wizard, Harry." 
     --Hagrid

"I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you." 
     --Dumbledore

"'Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life,' Ron sighed, as evening after evening they struggled through all the extra homework they were getting." 
     --Ron

"Books! And cleverness! There are more important things -- friendship and bravery!" 
     --Hermione

"The narrow path had opened up suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake.  Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers."