Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Hello, and welcome to Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. We are a group of Catholic bloggers who gather weekly to share our best posts with each other. To participate, go to your blog and create a post titled Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. In it, discuss and link to your posts for the week--whether they deal with theology, Catholic living or cute Catholic kids. I'm mostly a book blogger so my posts are generally book reviews, some Catholic, some not. Make sure that post links back here. Once you publish it, come back here and leave a link below. 

I'm glad you are here and if you'd like a weekly reminder to post,join our yahoogroup.

Do you all publish your posts as you write them, or do you pre-schedule some or most of them?  As a mostly book blogger, I do both.  Some books are sent to me with the understanding that I'll post on a certain date.  Others are for review at any time, and generally I publish those reviews as I write them.  If I review a library book or book I own, then I publish them as I write them.  I also have access to some pre-published books and am often asked to hold my reviews until close to publication, so I do.

I spent March of this year out of town on business and was working all the time.  During that time my backlog disappeared and it is just now building back up to its normal size.  That means I have a lot of posts this week:
The Shadow of Your Smile is about a woman who, after a car accident, lost her memories of the last twenty-five years.  Today, would you marry the person your spouse is today?
Vintage Cakes is a yummy-looking cookbook.
52 Ways to Wow Your Husband is a marriage-improvement book by a minister's wife.
Big Sky Country is a Western Romance.
River's End is a coming of age story set in the 1970's.

Review: The Shadow of Your Smile

The Shadow of Your Smile (Deep Haven)

About the Book:

A beautiful blanket of snow may cover the quaint town of Deep Haven each winter, but it can’t quite hide the wreckage of Noelle and Eli Hueston’s marriage. After twenty-five years, they’re contemplating divorce . . . just as soon as their youngest son graduates from high school. But then an accident erases part of Noelle's memory. Though her other injuries are minor, she doesn’t remember Eli, their children, or the tragedy that has ripped their family apart. What’s more, Noelle is shocked that her life has turned out nothing like she dreamed it would. As she tries to regain her memory and slowly steps into her role as a wife and mother, Eli helps her readjust to daily life with sometimes-hilarious, sometimes-heartwarming results. But can she fall in love again with a man she can’t remember? Will their secrets destroy them . . . or has erasing the past given them a chance for a future?

My Comments:

Given the choice today, would you marry your spouse all over again?  Put another way, if you couldn't remember any of your history with your spouse, would you love the person she/he is today?  That's what faced Noelle and Eli, residents of the small Minnesota town of Deep Haven.  Noelle is in an accident and wakes up thinking it is twenty-five years ago.  She does not know (and at first, doesn't like) her husband, or her kids--or anyone else in town.  She doesn't remember the problems she and her husband were having or where she was at the time of the accident.  We follow her and her husband as they become reacquainted, and as they decide the path their lives should take in the future.

While not a Catholic book, it is a Christian novel that stresses the sanctity of marriage and its sacramental nature (even if it doesn't call it sacramental).  It points out that we need to open and vulnerable to our spouses in much the way we need to be open and vulnerable to God.  While not a preachy book, it is probably too religious if you don't like religious books.

Besides the story of Noelle and Eli, this is also the story of their son and the woman in his life.  Susan May Warren does a good job of showing us a relationship with "sparks" but also of showing us why these two like each other (and not just because one thinks the other is "hot").  

I'd like to thank the  publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B+

Short Cookbook Review: Vintage Cakes

Vintage Cakes: Timeless Recipes for Cupcakes, Flips, Rolls, Layer, Angel, Bundt, Chiffon, and Icebox Cakes for Today's Sweet Tooth

About the Book:

A charming collection of updated recipes for both classic and forgotten cakes, from a timeless yellow birthday cake with chocolate buttercream frosting, to the Christmas standard, Bûche de Noël, written by a master baker and coauthor of Rustic Fruit Desserts.

Make every occasion—the annual bake sale, a birthday party, or even a simple Sunday supper—a celebration with this charming collection of more than 50 remastered classics.

Each recipe in Vintage Cakes is a confectionary stroll down memory lane. After sifting through her treasure trove of cookbooks and recipe cards, master baker and author Julie Richardson selected the most inventive, surprising, and just plain delicious cakes she could find. The result is a delightful and delectable time capsule of American baking, with recipes spanning a century. 

Each cake has been expertly tested and retooled using the best ingredients and most up-to-date techniques. With precise and careful guidance, Richardson guides home bakers—whether total beginners or seasoned cooks—toward picture-perfect meringues, extra-creamy frostings, and lighter-than-air chiffons.

A few of the dreamy cakes that await: a chocolatey Texas Sheet Cake as large and abundant as its namesake state, the boozy Not for Children Gingerbread Bundt cake, and the sublime Lovelight Chocolate Chiffon Cake with Chocolate Whipped Cream. With recipes to make Betty Crocker proud, these nostalgic and foolproof sweets rekindle our love affair with cakes.

My Comments:

I never cease to be amazed at the compliments I get for my homemade cupcakes.  My secret recipe?  Whatever mix is on sale at my favorite store.  As far as I'm concerned, it is quicker, easier and cheaper to whip up a box of cake mix than it is to make a special trip to the store to pick up cupcakes for whatever event is being held.  

Making the cakes in this book is not quicker, easier and cheaper than cake mix, but I'll bet they taste better. I don't have a permanent copy of this book, only a temporary review copy so, per my usual policy, I will not be making any of these cakes or sharing the recipes with you.  However, I will tell you that the pictures are very pretty and the variety of cakes, tremendous.  Some look reasonably easy; others look like you will have a lot of dishes to wash when you are done.  If there is a baker in your life, s/he might really enjoy this one.  

52 Ways to Wow Your Husband: My Review

52 Ways to Wow Your Husband: How to Put a Smile on His Face

About the Book:

With the same candor and creativity that made Men Are Life Waffles--Women Are Like Spaghetti (more than 270,000 copies sold) a bestseller, author Pam Farrel gives wives 52 ways to wow their husbands and add spark to their marriages. Pam delivers humor in her fun woman-to-woman style through inspirational stories, godly advice, and easy-to-read offerings that include: 1) wow assignments: simple ways to support, love, and encourage husbands ; 2) wow wisdom: Bible verses and wisdom to help women cover their spouse with prayer; and 3)wow dates: creative ideas for everything from shared meals to weekend getaways

Newlyweds, married with kids, or empty nesters will appreciate these ideas crafted for the busy life. A woman can try one idea a week for a year or take on a few at a time to deepen her spiritual, emotional, and physical bond with her loved one.

My Comments:

I've had this on my Kindle, via NetGalley for some time and it finally caught my eye.  In short, for each of the 52 sections, Pam Farrel, a minister's wife and author, tells a story or otherwise relates her point to real life.  She talks about why something is important in marriage (like laughter for instance).  She quotes scripture about it and then suggests a date with your husband that encompasses that trait--like a trip to a comedy club.    While not a marriage counseling guide, it does remind women to make time for  their husband and to remember both the things that attracted you years ago and the good traits he has now.  Without being a guilt-inducer it  gives things every woman can do to put a little more fun and depth in her marriage (and not just in the bedroom, though it is certainly mentioned).  Grade B.