Really Random Tuesday #91: A Book Winner and a Simple Gourmet Sorbet

Please help me to congratulate Melwyk from The Indextrious Reader, the lucky winner of A Matter of Mercy by Lynne Hugo.  Congratulations, Melwyk!  I hope you'll enjoy reading this beautiful novel as much as I did.

If you didn't win this time, please take a look at the other book giveaways listed on the right side of my blog.  Click on the book covers to enter the giveaways that interest you.

As you can see, I'm continuing to design logos that coordinate with the colors in the book covers I post, thanks to CoolText.  I may not continue this for every book giveaway I host though.  ;)

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Amy's Raspberry Sorbet

Although it's winter now, it's the perfect time for a a taste of summer.  Over the summer, my sister, Amy, made us a wonderful raspberry sorbet for dessert one evening.  It's a healthy indulgence (my kind of oxymoron) you can whip up in no time.  Amy used a blender, but you don't need a blender.  All you need is a package of frozen raspberries, and a bit of soymilk.  I took the berries out of the freezer to soften them a bit, then pureed them in a bowl with a spoon (because truthfully, our blenders are fit to be tied).

Ingredients:

10 oz package of frozen raspberries

1/4 cup of soymilk

1 teaspoon of cacao nibs, optional

Mint leaves for garnish, optional

Directions:
Mash softened frozen berries in a bowl.  Mix in about 1/4 cup of soymilk, until the mixture is creamy.  I used plain, unsweetened soymilk, but you can use whatever kind you prefer.

Stir in 1 teaspoon of cacao nibs, if desired.  Spoon sorbet into ramekins and garnish with fresh mint, if desired.  That's it!  (Or put into freezer until ready to serve; partially thaw before serving.)  This recipe makes about three servings.  For more servings, simply use more berries and soymilk.

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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, and sometimes I share a recipe. 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.

Have a terrific Tuesday!  Thanks for reading.  Your comments are welcomed.

A Matter of Mercy: Review and Giveaway

Published in 2014, A Matter of Mercy by writer Lynne Hugo is an emotional story from the start.  Set in Wellfleet, MA, a fishing village, A Matter of Mercy focuses on the traditional way of life in Cape Cod.  The story is told in the third person, mostly from the perspectives of two main characters, Caroline Marcum and Ridley Neal, and to a lesser extent from the point of view of Truro's librarian, Teresa DiPaulo.  At the beginning of the book, Caroline's mother, Eleanor, a potter, is dying of ovarian cancer, and is being cared for by a kind hospice nurse, Elsie.

Caroline, 40, has stayed away from Wellfleet after her DWI car accident in Provincetown over six years ago, when she hit a mother and her child, which killed the four-year-old boy, Alexander.  Caroline has returned home to Wellfleet solely because of her mother's grave illness.  Rid, who's a couple of years younger than Caroline and always calls her CiCi, is also from Wellfleet.  He spent four and a half years in prison for using and selling drugs.  Now Rid is an aquaculturist who works the flats on a 5-acre grant that his father left him, raising and harvesting oysters and quahogs (hard-shell clams).  Rid loves his profession, his dog, Lizzie, and his way of life.  Caroline went to college and became a teacher, but she lost her certificate to teach and also spent time in prison, due to the fatal accident. One evening, Caroline sees Rid working outside and goes out to help him right before a big storm hits.  They end up having a few drinks, and spend the night together, which will alter the course of their lives.  Rid soon learns that a disgruntled homeowner named Pissario has filed a lawsuit against him, Tomas, and Mario (other nearby aquaculturists), and that they may lose their grants.  A bit later in the book, Caroline accidentally encounters Terry, the mother of the child who died in the accident, at the library where she works, and she's forced to revisit her painful past. 

"The sun slid below the horizon degree by degree, a great read neon ball being lowered from an invisible string held by God, fiery and benign.  The bay answered with tongues and darts and minnows of color."
~ A Matter of Mercy, Lynne Hugo

Inspired by a 1996 lawsuit, A Matter of Mercy is a very touching book, that has gotten a lot of wonderful reviews.  It paints a picture of Cape Cod, a complete seascape, with sound, scent, and ocean spray.  While I was reading it, I felt as if I lived on the Cape, and I became immersed in and enamored by a subject that was completely new to me, aquaculture.  The author did extensive research for her book about aquaculture and the aquaculturists, who "live in respectful harmony with the tides and ecosystem of the bay".  In the Author's Note at the beginning of the book, Lynne Hugo mentions an aquaculturist who was especially helpful to her, Barbara Austin.  I was able to "meet" Barbara Austin in a fascinating YouTube video (there's also a character in the book named Barb who's an aquaculturist, mentioned by Rid several times, although this novel is fiction).

A Matter of Mercy is a novel that deserves close attention. The characters and the setting are very well drawn.  The descriptions of the seascape in Cape Cod are magnificent, and the main (and secondary) characters are flawed, realistic, and (mostly) likable.  They make mistakes, they suffer, and they don't communicate freely or honestly.  (After their first chance meeting, Caroline keeps visiting Terry at the library, pretending to be a journalist researching a story; this was painful to read about.)

We have mercy for the characters, and want them to be happy, or at least happier.  The matter of mercy comes up several times in the book, and there are different instances of it throughout.  In this way, the book highlights the need for mercy.  Mercy is compassion or forbearance shown, especially to an offender; it can also mean something for which to be thankful, a blessing (Rid's grant is a blessing to him, from his father).  The last notable instance of mercy was surprising to me, but perfect for this story.

When Lisa from TLC contacted me about this novel, she called it a literary book.  It is a literary book.  I'd definitely like to read other novels by Lynne Hugo.  She has created a story that brings the characters and setting to life, quite vividly.  I was hooked by this story in the first chapter, and my attention remained strong through the very last chapter.  The writing is beautiful and poignant.  I took my time reading A Matter of Mercy, and I truly savored it. 

Thanks to the author and TLC, I'm thrilled to offer my readers a giveaway for a copy of A Matter of Mercy (U.S.A. /Canada).

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment.
• For another chance at winning, become a follower of this blog, or indicate that you're already a follower.
• For an additional chance, post about this contest on your blog, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.
• If you have read another book by this author, such as Graceland, mention it here for another chance at winning.

Enter by 5 PM PDT on Monday, February 9.  One winner will be selected randomly and announced on Tuesday, February 10.  Good luck to all!

Special thanks to Lisa from TLC for sending me a complimentary copy of this novel.  Please visit the other stops on TLC's book blog tour for A Matter of Mercy. 

First Book of the Year 2015

I am a master at slow reading.  This is not because I wish to decelerate the pace of modern life, but simply due to the frenzy of the holiday season.  I've had a wonderful but busy time with family and friends, and consequently I did not have as much reading time.  This morning I slept in, and decided to participate in this marvelous meme, created and hosted by Sheila from Book Journey, First Book of the Year, at the last second, although I've kept it in the back of my mind since I first read about it (the adorable button is reason enough to join in).

My first book of 2015 is a novel by Lynne Hugo, A Matter of Mercy, which I'm reading for a TLC book tour.  I started this book a few weeks ago, and I'm still reading it (I have a few more chapters to go).  Please stay tuned for my review of it later this month.

Happy New Year!  I hope that 2015 will be a healthy and fortunate year for us all. Thanks for reading! 

Wondrous Words Wednesday

This year is almost over!  I decided to put my 2014 365 New Words-a-Year calendar to use one more time before its retirement.  (I plan to get a new words calendar for 2015.)  To begin, here is today's word from my dependable desk calendar: 

1. lord of misrule: a master of Christmas revels in England, especially during the 15th and 16th centuries

The lord of misrule was in charge of the Christmas revelries, which included partying and drunkenness.  Wild partying aside, I love this humorous title, and think I'll start using this term, although I'm not sure anyone in my family will understand what it means (unless they happen to stop by here). 

The next word is also from my desk calendar, from November.  Originally, my idea was to collect a few book-related words and present them together in a Wondrous Words Wednesday post, but because the year is almost over, I decided instead to "hurry up" and put the word I've been saving in today's post.  Literature students are most likely familiar with this word:

2. bildungsroman: a novel about the moral and psychological growth of a main character

Bildungsroman is a combination of two German words, bildung, which means education, and roman, which means novel.  There are many bildungsromans, including Jane Erye, David Copperfield, and The Catcher in the Rye (Holden Caulfield).  Do you have a favorite bildungsroman?


The last word is from the novel I'm currently reading, A Matter of Mercy by Lynne Hugo, which I'll review next month during the TLC book tour.

3. cultch: the mass of broken stones, shells, grit, and gravel that forms an oyster bed

Here is the sentence from the book:

"Caroline walked off the grant, cultch crunching under her boots."

I could picture this, and hear the crunch, but I looked cultch up to get a precise definition (and to help me remember how it's spelled--it can also be spelled without the 't', as culch). 

Hosted each week by Kathy from BermudaOnion's Weblog, Wondrous Words Wednesday is a fun celebration of words.  What are your latest word discoveries?