Monthly Archives: September 2010

15 Cozy Catering Mysteries

Warning: if you’re a boy, you should probably click on over to a more different choice of reading material. Like “Angela’s Ashes,” Terry Pratchett, or “Peace Like a River,” all fantastic boy-friendly books. This one, I’m pleased to say–I mean, sorry to say–is not.

My mother-in-law is a mystery addict, and she has opened my eyes to a whole new genre of books called “cozy mysteries.” They are written in long series, and almost inevitably feature a woman with a serious hobby or fun career who also does amateur detective work. There are heroines who do scrapbooking and mystery solving, quilting and mystery solving, stamping and mystery solving . . . you name it, and there’s a series. If you read the quilting ones, there are quilt patterns in the back. If you read the catering ones, there are recipes in the back. You get the idea.

For the most part I think they’re fun and harmless, but they’re not usually my preferred choice of book. Plus, as a past English major, I have an inherent sense of guilt when reading things that feature cartoonish pictures on the front with titles which are usually plays on words based on the showcased hobby, like “Stamped Out” or “The Cereal Murders”. Will people throw things at me if they discover I’m not reading Shakespeare or James Joyce or something?

I’ve since discovered that humanity has no desire to chuck things at me when I’m found surreptitiously leafing through a fun read. Thank you humanity! Though Joyce’s book of short stories “Dubliners” is a jewel in the crown of literature, just so we’re straight.

All this said, my mother-in-law managed to completely sink me with a series by Diane Mott Davidson. I don’t know what made these books click when the others didn’t, but click they did, and I have read every single one. There is something so relaxing about curling up with a book in which you know that the danger the heroine experiences will not result in her demise. She’s going to come through OK, and not just that, but she’s going to cook delicious things throughout. Today, her books rank in the top 5 of my guilty pleasures list. Also included in that list is “The Biggest Loser” and soft red Oliver wine. Mmmm. I wonder what would happen if I read one of her mysteries while watching The Biggest Loser while drinking a cuppa soft red? The world would probably explode. Presumably though, this combination is not viable since it would be impossible to read a book through the tears generated by the inspirational weight-losing stories happening on the screen in front of me. Looks like the world is safe for one more day.

The heroine of these books is Goldy Schulz, a recently divorced mother of a young son who, early in the series, falls in love with a good cop in the small Colorado town where she lives. She runs a catering business from her home, does yoga in the mornings, and solves a bajillion murder mysteries. Actually, 15 so far, to be exact. In every book she manages to get hurt (usually the work of the villain or his/her henchmen/women), so she’s always wandering around bruised but valiant, drinking loads of coffee to keep going, and catering all kinds of parties. She’s brave and funny and gutsy, and I love her to death.

If you choose to join me in my guilt, try to read the books in order, though I did not and still got hooked.

To balance out the scales, next week I will post a more sober book review on 3 classics. I promise they’re really good, and they will restore your good opinion of my taste if I have lost it via a book called “Fatally Flaky.”

I love you Diane! Keep up the good work and please publish 15 more at your earliest convenience!

Out of the Wild: The Alaska Experiment

My sister Heidi and her husband Mike, along with The Bun, have just moved to Alaska. In the month prior to their move, my husband and I deliberately zeroed in on that wintrous territory during our movie-watching times. I mean, what’s the deal with that freakishly cold state, and why does anyone choose to live there? Do they have the internet? Will Mike have to hunt for their food daily? Will their baby be swathed in bearskins and reindeer hides?

Though I have yet to answer these questions, we did stumble across a really fun reality show from the Discovery Channel called “Out of the Wild.” 9 people are dropped in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness, and have to traverse over 60 miles of dangerously difficult terrain while providing food for themselves. There are shelters scattered along the route, which they must find via a map and a compass. They eat such things as porcupines and mice, which made me really grateful for the bowl of popcorn and Mango Smoothie I was snacking on at the time.

There are 8 episodes, and it’s available (as of the moment) on Netflix Instant Play, for those of you who have made the wise choice to include Netflix in your list of life necessities.

It’s pretty family friendly (too cold for nudity, I guess), and there’s not too much inter-personal drama, especially after the first episode when the person with the most drama potential drops out. The narrator is a little repetitive, and says something akin to this about a million, quadrillion times: “With temperatures dropping and a grueling hike ahead, the participants need about 4,000 calories per day to stay healthy, however their average intake is currently only 2 calories per day. With a treacherous march across rocky terrain ahead of them, this lack of food could bring them to their breaking point.” After a while, you feel like punching the narrator in the schnoz and telling him to put his 4,000 daily calories up . . . to put them . . . to put . . . ok, moving on.

My only complaint is that when the show ends, you never get to see the starving participants enjoy a good full meal. After watching them endure the agonies of scarce hunting, trapping, and fishing, it would have been obscenely satisfying to see them dig into a bear stew or something as the credits rolled up. As an alternative, I gave myself some emotional closure by imagining this wondrous event as I fell asleep. It worked out pretty well for me.

We also watched a PBS documentary involving the building of railroads in Alaska—difficult terrain, blasting hillsides, bla bla bla—it was fine, but “Out of the Wild” was much more fun. Do you all have any fun viewing recommendations? The popcorn is calling my name, and I need a movie pronto to go along with it.