Faking It by Jennifer Crusie

ISBN: 978-0312932787

This is one of my favourite Jenny Crusie books. Which means it is one of my favourite ooks of all time. I have only have it two months and the cover is already completely ragged from rereadings in the bath. I love it – she makes me laugh and actually care about ALL the characters all the time.

Plot:
Fakery – (of paintings, fortunes, secondary personalities and careers)
Bakery – (Are men muffins [keepers] or donuts [moment on your lips lifetime on your hips [[in the BAD way]])
Make (out) ery – NOT to channel Paris Hilton or anything but this book is hot

Characters: Really good characterisation – no surprise from Crusie as she is a writer who delivers believable people acting true to themselves whilst going through one hell of a plot arc. (It always seems strangely feasible whilst you are reading in this case you believe in con men, split personalities, precociously brilliant teens, delinquent parents (Heroes dad is hilarious) and a completely incompetent femme fatale who (accidentally) kills her men for very little profit.

What to love: All the secondary characters. All the main characters. The intricacy of the plot. The humour. The sex. The happy ever after. The comparison of people to baked goods – I do that myself quite ofen. (In case you were wondering you are a perfect slice of apple cake just from reading this blog. Practically the top of the cake hierarchy…)

What to loathe: Hmmm…. Sometimes Louise/Eve felt she had been changed to fit into the plot – but then she is not exactly a stable character – so maybe she really is written how she is supposed to be written – I love her anyway – so I take all that back – it is all great!!!

Buy, Borrow or Bin: Buy – Multiple copies. Lend them to sad friends

If this book was a drink it would be: The perfect ginger beer of the book world. If you are wondering… in my lexicon that means it is spicy, cool and strangely sophisticated whilst totally wholesome – combined with a great sense of fun.

Here is a link to the author page about the book including the first chapter so you can make your own mind up: Faking It

And this is the book on Amazon so you can see what the book buying world thinks: Amazon

How to be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the art of Comfort Cooking – Nigella Lawson

ISBN: 978-0701171087

Warning: Do not read if even the slightest bit hungry.

Those put off by the overly blousy sexy Nigella of recent tv series should not be.

This is why the women became famous in the first place. She really seems to write cook books for women. Real women who love the ida of cooking, who understand the sheer tactile joy that can be had from whipping up a batch of meltingly warm cupcakes for the menfolk.

I don’t mean to be all unreconstructed here – but there is definitely a kind of power in home baking. Whether it is the sheer awe it inspires in all the chaps in my house or just walking around the house in a lovely warm cloud of vanillla, whatever it is …that sense of warmth and mystery is found in this book.

Nigella gets it, she quantifies it and she has pulled together some lovely recipes so you can repeat it. Its a great book.

DON’T even look at it if you are contemplating a diet.

Nigella’s site - the recipe section is fun – if only for the seriously random recipes and comments some people have posted