Bonjour Kale

"On my first day of third grade, while playing a game to introduce ourselves, we had to choose a noun corresponding to the first letter of our first name.  I casually chose 'kale', not thinking twice about it, until I realized that none of my classmates knew what it was. This was when I began to understand that my mother and I ate differently than the majority of Americans, and that experiencing the flavors, aromas, and textures of different vegetables was something unique we shared."
~ Bonjour Kale, Kristen Beddard

Although Kristen Beddard, the author of Bonjour Kale: A Memoir of Paris, Love, and Recipes (published in 2016), grew up eating kale, she never expected that it would become a main focus in her life.  Kale was  one of the first vegetables she liked as a baby, and her mother continued to use a lot of it in recipes and salads as her daughter grew up. Years later, when Kristen moved from America to France with her husband, Phillip, she searched for kale because it had always been a staple in the kitchen and an important part of her life.

"Kale was comfort.  Kale was my childhood. Kale was my mom."
~ Bonjour Kale, Kristen Beddard

She could not imagine her adult life as a wife with a kitchen of her own without kale.  Unfortunately, though, when she got to Paris, she could not find le chou kale anywhere.  

"I had yet to find the leafy green in Paris. Not at a single market or at any grocery store. Farmers and maraîchers who sold a variety of vegetables didn't seem to know what it was, and after an intensive Internet search, I'd come to the conclusion that kale was nearly impossible to find."
~ Bonjour Kale, Kristen Beddard

In France, Kristen's passion for kale led her to adopt a new mission and purpose, although she only knew a few French words when she first moved from New York to Paris.  She faced several other obstacles as well on her unique quest, but slowly and surely, she reintroduced this versatile vegetable to the people of France, and it became a part of French cuisine again.  Due to Kristen's creation of The Kale Project, through her diligent work with local French farmers and others, kale is now available at many markets and restaurants throughout France. This beautiful memoir tells the story of how she accomplished this, in a down-to-earth (pun intended), honest, and entertaining manner.

In addition to telling Kristen's story, Bonjour Kale is full of recipes and helpful tips, and it even tells you how to grow your own kale, if you're so inclined.  Early in the book there's a section titled, Keeping a Kale Kitchen, which features tips about buying kale, washing kale, destemming kale, and massaging kale.  Yes, like a sore body, kale will benefit from a good massage. ;)

"The key to any good kale salad is a good massage.  On already washed and dried kale, add the dressing of your choice and massage the kale with your hands for a minute or so."
~ Bonjour Kale, Kristen Beddard

 

I relish books that include recipes, and I was definitely inspired to cook with kale as a result of reading this memoir.  (Over the years, I've become a "foodie"--I love to cook, eat, and photograph good food!  My children seem to be headed in the same direction.)  Soon after I started reading Bonjour Kale, I bought some (organic) kale as well as the ingredients to make Sharzie's Secret Sauce, to use as a dressing on a kale salad. There are several recipes in the book that I'd like to try, such as Kale Chips (Three Ways), Kale and Courgette (Zucchini) Soup, and one that doesn't feature kale, but sounds wonderful and simple, Slow-Roasted Tomatoes.

I loved Bonjour Kale!  It's a mervilleux memoir, a well-written, intelligent story of success, and I enjoyed reading it very much. 

Merci mille fois to Emma from France Book Tours for inviting me to join this tour.  I'm honored to be the first stop on the tour.  Please visit the other stops on the Bonjour Kale Book Tour for more reviews, giveaways, and other features.

Thank you for reading!  Your comments are welcomed.

Really Random Tuesday #79: Anniversary Giveaway and a Book Winner

Happy Tuesday to all!  I have only a couple of random items today. 

France Book Tours will be having a grand 1-year anniversary in just a few days, on April 18.  I've enjoyed working with Emma and participating in three France-related book tours over the past year, namely, The Summer of France and I See London I See France by Paulita Kincer, and Unravelled by M.K. Tod. To celebrate this special anniversary, France Book Tours will offer a mega book giveaway from April 18 - 25, so be sure to stop by.  Book winners will be chosen on April 26.

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The lucky, randomly-chosen winner of The Moon Sisters by Therese Walsh is Pat from Posting For Now, a well-written book blog I enjoy visiting frequently.  Congratulations, Pat!  I hope you'll enjoy this book as much as I did.

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway.  I value my readers, and I offer numerous book giveaways to show my appreciation.  I have other current giveaways listed on the right side of my blog, so take a look if you'd like to try to win a book, and remember to stop by France Book Tours' celebratory giveaway, beginning on April 18.

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Appearing on random Tuesdays, Really Random Tuesday is a way to post odds and ends--announcements, musings, quotes, photos--any blogging and book-related things you can think of.  I often announce my book giveaway winners in these posts.  If you have miscellaneous book news to gather up and are inspired by this idea, "grab" the button for use on your own blog, and add your link to the "master" Mister Linky on the Really Random Tuesday page. 

Your comments are welcomed!

I See London I See France: Review and Giveaway

"I hadn't made the wrong choice in deciding to stay home with the kids.  Somewhere, though, I had lost myself."

' "It's as if I put on this mom costume nine years ago, and I don't know the person underneath anymore.  What is my passion?  Do I have a passion anymore?  I think I'm lost." '
~ I See London I See France, Paulita Kincer 

After Caroline Sommer's husband of fifteen years, Scott, announces that he's "had enough", he methodically packs a suitcase and leaves her alone at home in Columbus, Ohio, with their three young children, Henry, 5, Maggie, 7, and Jack, 9, and Caroline is understandably distraught and confused.  While Scott is away, Caroline visits her friend, Fiona, and because she's enjoyed traveling abroad before, soon decides to take her children to Europe, and sells the family's minivan in order to have money for the trip.  I See London I See France by Paulita Kincer is set in 2012 (with an epilogue set in 2013) in Ohio and Michigan, as well as in parts of England, Scotland, and France, and it also goes back in time to 1996, to Corisca and Aix en Provence, France, where Caroline worked as an au pair for the children of a French couple, Lisette and Robert.  And it was in 1996 when she first met the couple's friend, Jean-Marc, a handsome Frenchman, who she wishes to see again on her current trip, while she contemplates her marriage and her future.

“Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.”
~ Henry David Thoreau

I'm not exactly sure why I liked this book so much more than the first one I read by Paulita Kincer, The Summer of France.  I enjoyed that book, but I See London I See France, published in 2013, was a much better read for me.  Ouah!  This book immediately grasped my interest, in the first chapter, and my interest never waned.  Written in the first person, Caroline, 38, is the main character and narrator, and I think that women, and particularly those married with children, will easily relate to her frustrations and joys as a wife and mother.  I See London I See France depicts the very real struggles that many married women face, and those that mothers of young children contend with, and the book seemed emotionally honest to me.  It's also quite sexy and funny at times!  The visit to the nude beach where Caroline feels discomfited is very funny (I would've felt the same way as the modest protagonist).  The main character shares her private thoughts about sex and ruminations about romance in a way that's bound to resonate with many women, and I appreciated her candor.  During her trip with the kids to London, Scotland, Paris, and Provence, she takes them on special excursions to Loch Ness and Monet's Garden (belles descriptions!), and Caroline realizes that she must tend to her own needs as well as those of her children, and that it's up to her to discover a passion, her passion, outside of her children, which will bring her personal fulfillment and happiness.  I read this book quickly--not because I was on a deadline to post my review, but because I was eager to know how things turned out for Caroline.  I cared about this character.  Although she's not perfect, she loves her children, fiercely, and she does think about what's best for them.  Caroline seemed like someone I'd want to be friends with in real life.  Paulita Kincer's writing brought Caroline and her story to life.  C'est un livre extraordinaire!

Nouvelles dieu!  France Book Tours is offering a giveaway for a paperback copy of  I See London I See France (U.S./Canada only).

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment.
• For an extra chance, leave a comment en français. 
• For another chance at winning, become a follower of this blog, or let me know that you're already a follower.
• For an additional chance, post about this giveaway on your blog, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.

Enter by 5 PM PDT on Monday, March 17.  One winner will be selected randomly and announced on Tuesday, March 18.

Please be sure to visit the others stops on the I See London I See France book tour.  Thanks to Emma from France Book Tours for inviting me to be a part of this tour, and to author Paulita Kincer for sending me a copy of her book.

Merci pour la lecture!

Unravelled: Review and Giveaway

Published in 2013, Unravelled by M.K. Tod is a historical novel that focuses on Edward Jamieson, a signaller who fought in Vimy Ridge, and his wife, Ann.  Although Edward is haunted by the horrors he experienced in WWI, he and his wife travel from their home in Toronto to France in 1936 for the Vimy memorial dedication ceremony.  At the ceremony, Edward spots his former love, Helene Noisette, whom he met before meeting his wife; the attraction between Edward and Helene is still strong.  (Oh, oh!)  The story is set in the 1930s and 1940s (chapters are dated), and begins with this trip to France.  Later in the book, at the onset of  WWII, Edward joins a group training espionage agents, and often travels, while Ann stays at home to take care of the house and the children, Emily and Alex, and also volunteers to counsel grieving women.  Leading separate lives due to the nature of their work (and other factors) during WWII, the couple grows apart, and their marriage begins to unravel.

"Disconnected sentences gradually gave way to a flood of words as Ann disclosed her fears that Edward would never return, that her marriage was over, that life would never be the same, that she would not have the strength to go on.  When she finally stopped, they sat in silence again for several minutes.  A calm, comforting silence."
~Unravelled, M.K. Tod

Unravelled is a page turner and then some.  Passionate, exciting, and intense, this book depicts the profound effects of both wars on people and focuses on the marriage and family life of the Jamiesons.  I was moved to tears a few times.  The novel gives us the private, innermost thoughts of both protagonists, Edward and Ann.  We're privy to their secrets, and they earn our compassion. We feel their anguish and joy and everything in-between; we witness their struggles to keep their marriage--and themselves--intact.  (I'm married, and I enjoy reading about married people; so many books focus on singles searching for love.)  The themes in the book are serious--war, death, survival, love, marriage, sex (including adultery)--so this book is best suited for adults.  Because Edward and Ann spend a lot of time apart, they experience loneliness and uncertainty, and their marriage becomes noticeably strained during wartime.  They make mistakes which threaten to destroy their marriage and family.  (I wanted to admonish them at times, but of course, characters in a book do not listen to readers!)

The battles and campaigns mentioned in the book are based on actual events, and the entire feel of the book is authentic.  Although I'm not an expert on WWI or WWII, the book is well researched (sources are cited by the author in the Afterword), and M.K.Tod brings them to life in a riveting fashion.  This novel will appeal to those who relish novels about WWI and WWII, as well as stories about love, marriage, and family.  As for me, I could not put this book down!  I think it would make a great historical movie (although I haven't decided yet who I'd cast as the male or female leads).  I'm currently sleep deprived, as Unravelled has kept me up late the past few nights.  But it was definitely worth it.

Wonderful news!  France Book Tours is offering an international giveaway for an ebook edition of Unravelled.

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment.
• For another chance at winning, become a follower of this blog, or let me know that you're already a follower.
• For an additional chance, post about this contest on your blog, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.

Enter by 5 PM PST on Thursday, November 14.  One winner will be selected randomly and announced on Friday, November 15.

Thanks to Emma from France Book Tours for sending me a copy of this novel.  For additional reviews of this book, please visit the other stops on the book tour for Unravelled.  Although this is not an epistolary novel, it features several letters and telegrams which contribute substantially to the story, so I've linked my review to the Postal Reading Challenge on Melwyk's blog, The Indextrious Reader. 

The Summer of France: Review and Giveaway

J'étais excité!  I looked forward to reading The Summer of France by Paulita Kincer.  Although I've never traveled to France, I hope to someday.  The lovely, impressionistic cover of this book caught my eye, and the idea of starting my summertime reading with a book set in France during the summer was very appealing to me. 

Published in 2012, The Summer of France is the story of Fia Randolph and her family.  Unemployed and wanting to improve her life,  Fia moves from Ohio to Provence with her husband, Grayson, and their teenage twins, Kasey and West, to take over her uncle's bed and breakfast.  She goes to France with romantic notions, and pictures herself wearing long skirts and walking to the market for fresh baguettes.  She wants to help Uncle Martin, and wishes to have a wonderful summer with her family in Provence.  However, Uncle Martin's burdensome secret, the heavy workload of the bed and breakfast, and new family problems, conspire against Fia's vision of an idyllic summer in France.

The Summer of France is short (about 220 pages), and I read it quickly.  It's funny, light, and sexy.  It's what I'd call a fun book. 

The book is told from two perspectives, that of Fia and Uncle Martin.  Fia is the protagonist and her chapters are written in the first person, whereas Uncle Martin's are presented in the third person.  Some of the chapters are extremely short--just a couple of pages.  This isn't necessarily bad, but as the chapters do not always alternate, I wondered if some of the chapters could have been combined.  As far as content goes, some of it seemed implausible to me, such as the chase scenes, while other aspects were too hackneyed.  (For example, the idea that having extramarital affairs in France is the norm; maybe it is, but it just seemed a bit too clichéd.)  Furthermore, the book felt unfinished to me.  I had to check to see if I was reading an ARC (advance reading copy), or the finished product; it could have been more polished; it seemed more like a series of sketches, rather than a complete novel.  Lastly and perhaps most importantly, I did not connect deeply enough with any of the characters, not even the main character, Fia.

That being said, though, I enjoyed reading the book, largely because of the setting and the references to food and art.  I found The Summer of France entertaining, in spite of the issues I had with it.

France Book Tours is offering an international giveaway for an ebook of The Summer of France.

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment.
• For another chance at winning, become a follower of this blog, or let me know that you're already a follower.
• For an additional chance, post about this giveaway on your blog, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.

Enter by 5 PM PDT on Monday, July 8.  One winner will be selected randomly and announced on Tuesday, June 9.  Bonne chance!

Thanks to Emma from France Book Tours for sending me a copy of this novel.  For more reviews of this book, please visit the other stops on The Summer of France Book Tour.

Commentaires bienvenus.