Zebra Cake - No Zebra required

We were having guests last Friday and I needed something with chocolate.  My girlfriend Janet adores chocolate.  We had already finished the huge bag of Lindt truffles, so what's a girl to do.  Make them eat cake.  Browsing through one of my favourites Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman, I spied her recipe for a white and chocolate cake called "Zebra Cake".  Click on the book title for my earlier review.  Perfect.  Making the batter is no different from any other basic cake.  Once the white batter is complete, measure out about 1/3 of it to a separate bowl and add 2 tbsp of dutch process cocoa, this makes a darker batter.  Then fill the pan alternating dark and light. 

Once you have used up all your batter, oven time.  Note, It did take me about 15 -20 minute to get the batter in the pan.  My batter seemed way too thick so it was very slow to spread.

Ready to Serve.

Very Yummy and it looks special without doing anything else.  My guests were impressed. Though they were almost arguing with me on how I put the batter in the pan.  They thought I must have done something very tricky.  A quick google search will turn up all sorts of recipes for this cake.  I don't have permission from the publisher to share the one I used.

For more foodie fun, hop on over to Beth Fish Reads for her Weekend Cooking meme.  I always am entertained and educated when I visit.

Reading books on my Blackberry Playbook

I plan to add updates to this post as further information comes my way.

Update: January 18, 2012 - Linda at living, quilting and stuff has posted a pattern for sewing a cover for your Playbook.

Update: November 22, 2011

As I am writing this update, I am installing Kobo update 1.3.1.  I then turned the wifi off, turned it back on and am watching my books update.  Looks like everything will be there and all is happy.  Thanks to all those at Kobo who have been working so hard to fix this problem.

Update: November 12, 2011

Kobo acknowledges that there is a problem at their end and that they are working on the problem night and day seeking to resolve.  Playbook issues are not yet corrected.  In the meantime, they are not responding to error reports, though they do say that they will respond to them all in the future.  The only place that I could find information was on their Facebook page.  Kobo Support Facebook.

Update: November 11, 2011

Kobo App won't refresh/update, the little circle just sits there and spins.  On November 6, 2011, I bought a book from Kobo while using my desktop computer.  I find it easier to browse on my desktop as the search function is more robust than the one in the Playbook app.  I then picked up my Playbook, opened the Kobo app and tried to refresh.  After about ten minutes of waiting for the book to load, I put it down and went on with other business.  It was about two hours later that I went back to my Playbook and noticed that the book still hadn't loaded.  No worries, things happen.  I closed the app, re-opened it and started it to refresh again.  Since it still didn't work, I went back to my desktop and sent a comment to Kobo asking them to remove the book as I wasn't able to download it.  I got back an automatic response with a ticket number.  That is the last I have heard from them.  I did not get a response within the 24-48 hour window that they promised.  I sent another report, no response.  On the 9th I sent another comment quoting the previous ticket number and still no response.

Searching around online brought my the information I needed.  Kobo is having a problem.  It is not my Playbook. 

What to do?  Do not delete the Kobo app and reload it.  This will temporarily remove all your books and since the app is not working, you will not be able to refresh and return your books.  You can still read books that are already on your Playbook.  Close the app and re-open, do not try to refresh, just select the book you want to read.  If it does not open, then turn off the wi-fi and try again, it should work this time.  Just remember to turn the wi-fi back on after you finish reading.  You will probably experience problems with dogears at this time.  I can read books, but the dogears that I make aren't saved.

Original Post:

Like many voracious readers, I have been eying the ebook readers.  My plan had been to win one, but alas, that just wasn't happening.  I had started visiting shops and really checking them out.  I wanted something that was robust and would stand up to lots of use and some banging around.  Since I follow several book industry publications, I wanted a unit that would also be up to handling future books.  Right now the books are black and white copies of the text, but what about the future,  I can't imagine them staying that way.  I envision that they will have links embedded so that I will be able to see that meal that is being described, or the haunted mansion with the creaking doors that the naive girl has just entered.  I had also read about the interactive magazine subscriptions that are available.  I wanted colour, I wanted to flip a page with my finger, and I wanted to be able to upgrade the software instead of having to run out and buy a newer unit.

I hadn't found that product yet, so imagine my surprise when hubby came home last Tuesday with a Blackberry Playbook for me.  Never expected that one.  Rather surprising actually.  We live minutes from a number of RIM (Research in Motion, the maker of the Blackberrys) buildings.  We know many people who work there, yet we don't have Blackberry phones.  Would this work for me as an ereader?  I started to play with it.

I came loaded with a number of apps including Kobo, which is the ereader that is aligned with Chapters.ca.

I clicked on that app and proceeded to shop.  I easily downloaded a couple of free books and started reading.

I sat reading in a chair, standing by the table, lying on the sofa, lying propped in bed with no hands on the unit.  I read in the car, I read in the car in the dark. I even sat at my desktop computer with the Playbook propped on my lap and super multi tasked.  It worked well in each situation.

I've included four photos showing the different configurations for reading.  I haven't tried the night reading yet.  It does look better than the photo as the white lettering doesn't really glow as in the photo.

My favourite at the moment is the traditional format shown in the third photo, though it's easy to change to the others, you just turn the unit.

What I am missing is Adobe Digital.  That's the reader that I can get review ebooks from NetGalley.  This was one of my main reasons for wanting an ebook reader. Adobe is working on this app and hope to have it ready by the summer.  I did call the Playbook help line and spoke to a very helpful lady in South Carolina (funny I had to get help from a local company from so far away).  She helped me with a few things and doubled checked about the Adobe Digital.  I then checked with Overdrive Media.  That's the software that my library uses for their audio book downloads.  You can currently download to your Blackberry Phone, but that app will not work with the Playbook.

There are plans to make an app for this unit.

What did I read?  Kiss Me Deadly by Michele Hauf.  It is a free download from Harlequin.  They currently are offering fifteen of their books for free download.

I've read a few paranormal romances previously and this ranked up at the top.  It was a well thought out story and kept me interested throughout all my reader manoeuvring and testing.

Witch meets Vampire.  A centuries old deadly rivalry.  Now add in the Devil and his secret schemes and you have some serious chemistry happening.

Thanks to Michele Hauf for the cover photo.

I am now onto my second ebook, The Softwire: Virus on Orbis 1 by PJ Haarsma and still enjoying this new age reading process.

May 1, 2011 - I learned something new today.  How to delete a book from the Kobo app.  Open the app, then locate the book you want to delete.  Touch the bookcover image with your finger and hold it there for a few seconds.  A box will appear and you then selection the option to delete the book.  Confirm your decision and the book will be deleted.

The Cold Panes of Surfaces by Chris Banks

I get most of my book suggestions from industry newsletters or by reading reviews on other book blogs.  This one came via my son.  He came home from school excited one day and told me that I just had to go and buy this book of poetry called Bonfires.  He had been studying poetry in English class and it turned out that his teacher had published some of them in a collection.  Off we went to the local independent store.  Couldn't find the suggested edition, and bought his second book instead.  Here I am with Chris Banks' book in hand and my son every day asking whether I have started reading.  Well, it is National Poetry Month, I decided I would jump right in.

I haven't read a poetry book in decades and thus had to sit and reflect on how to go about reading these little nuggets of , well, what are they.  Here's what I came up with.

Reading poems is like eating pierogis.  They appear soft and smooth on the surface, but you can't see what's inside.  It's going to be a surprise.  You can guess what's in there, but you can't be sure.   Next you can choose to slather on all sorts of expectations such as sour cream and fried onions.  That's like having expectations that the poem with be all sappy with lovey dovey stuff or that it will be hard to understand.  You can eat just one and savour it, or you can munch down on a bowlful and go back for more.

In the end, your hunger gets to you, and you just have to dig in.

That's what I did, one or two poems at a time for the most part, though a few days I was gluttonous and ate a whole bowlful. I was pleasantly surprised.  Some of the poems, I was able to find their flavour right away, others I had to take a second or third bite.  There was one poem I just had to keep going back to.  "Wrecking Ball" is about teenage suicide.  Mr. Banks is a high school teacher;  I never before considered how such an incident could impact on the teachers.

In the poem "The Sky is Falling" the reader is asked to consider experiencing something you had never even heard of for the very first time.  Something way outside your realm of ever considering possible.

I was intrigued by several poems that reached out to historic figures.  General Maresuke Nogi and the poet Ikkyu and both new names to me, but I found I couldn't leave them in the poem, I had to search them out and learn more.

I haven't quite finished reading this collection, but I will be coming back to it time and again for a taste or two.

I am hoping in the next week or two to host an interview or guest post with Mr. Banks.

I hope that those readers who read some poetry this past month will share their experiences by leaving a comment.  Tell me about  your favourite poet or poem or leave a link to your poetry review.

Stones for my Father by Trilby Kent

Children are the most resilient.  They can turn an untenable situation into a positive action.  Adults tend to be so set in their ways that they are unable to see any other option but to continue doing what they were doing.  Corlie Roux was put in a situation of adapt or die.  At twelve years old, she knew there was so much more to life than she had seen so far.  Growing up in 1890's South Africa with her Boer family was hard.  Her father died when she was 9 and she now lived with her ever resentful mother and two younger brothers, whom she doted on.  Now the war had reached their doorstep and they had to flee.

This was not the end of Corlie's trials. She watched as her lifelong playmate and soul mate Sipho (was he a Zulu?) was torn away from his family and destined for a cruel fate.  When her mother dealt the final blow, it was questionable whether Corlie could survive.

I have read very few books set in Africa and even fewer set in South Africa.  All the ones that I have read have a grittiness to them.  In this case, the two sets of immigrants, the British and the Boers are battling for control of a land that was not theirs to start with.  The children are caught in the midst.  It was clear to me through the whole story that these same children, Corlie and Sipho were the ones best suited to survive.  They were willing to work together and ignore their differences of colour and religion. 

This story captivated me.  I didn't want to put it down once I started to read.  Corlie seemed such a good girl.  She did all the tasks her mother set to her even when she knew that they would not be appreciated.  She craved the love that her mother withheld from her yet lavished on her brothers.  While she did get affection from Sipho's mother, it wasn't what she yearned for.  It was when she met Corporal Malachi Byrne that she finally found a sense of appreciation.   I liked how Ms. Kent built up the relationship between the two of them.  They didn't speak the same language, but through their actions they were able to become friends.  To me, that is a true testament of trust.  Even though they had limited history together, they were able to sense the need and the honesty of the other. 

I felt that this story contains enough historical fact to be a good introduction to that period in history.  It would be a good launching point for further research at the grade school level.  I will be passing this along to my daughter to read.

Tundra Books is hosting a  5 day blog tour of Stones for My Father by Trilby Kent.  Be sure to visit their blog for links to all the stops on the tour. 

Trilby Kent's blog.

Five copies of Stones for my Father will by given away on Goodreads.  You must be a member of Goodreads to enter, membership is free.  Canada and US only.  Contest closed May 1, 2011.

To learn more about the vervet that Corlie and Gert befriend, check out this Wikipedia article. 
Biltong, a dried, cured meat, is described in this article. 
A short history of the Canadian involvement in this second Boer War.

Thank-you to Tundra Books for my review copy and for the use of the cover photo.

Needlework Tuesday - Sob Sob, nothing to report

Oh dear, I really don't have much to report at all this week.  I started out great with some embroidery and then it kind of fizzled.  I started checking stores for one of those lamps with a magnifying lens.  Thought it might make it easier to see the threads for the embroidery.  Well, I did find a few ranging in price from a mere $15. all up to $200. plus.  eeks.  I just want to do a wee bit of stitching.  So, I will keep my eyes open and check further, but won't get all hung up on a lamp.  Not as though I would use it every day or something.

Then last Tuesday hubby came home with a Blackberry Playbook for me.  He knew I had been searching for an ebook reader.  I was kind of disappointed with what I had looked at so far.  They seemed to be already behind the times.  I wanted something that would be able to hold it's own as the ebooks evolve.  I just know they can't stay at they are, mere imitations of printed books.  That doesn't hold much attraction beyond the novelty.  They have to be ready for the merging of Internet and print.  I want to immediately be able to look at the location the author is describing, I want to see a picture of the food that the chef in the story just pulled out of the oven etc.  That rather distracted me from my stitching.  Later in the week I plan to post a review of the first book I read on my Playbook and comments on reading on this device.

I do have some additional submissions for the quilt and will be working on getting them on fabric, adding borders and embellishments this week.  I should have some good pictures by next Tuesday.

Hope that you all had a more productive week in the stitching department.  Leave me a comment and link of what you have been up to and I'll gladly share it with my needlework visitors.

Tami at Just One More Thing has a gorgeous quilt that she has pulled out of storage and is going to finish up.  You really must visit with her and view this project.

There are fun things happening over at Lit and Laundry.  A new reindeer oranament has been started and you really must check out the comments on  Knit Your Own Royal Wedding.  A very fanciful book.

Grandma Coco at The Kingdom of Coco is making good progress on her knitting themed quilt.

Royal Wedding Mania and Contests

Are you up on all your Royal Wedding dates and times.  Do you have your outfit picked and your food and friends arranged for a group viewing.

I admit that I did get up early and watch Princess Diana and Prince Charles wed.  I am not so on top of things this time.  But I can still catch up.  I'll be visiting with Sourcebooks at their British Babes Book Brigade and learning.

They will be featuring over a dozen British women authors this week.  Some I have read and many who are new to me.  I've shown a few of their book covers below.  There are many more featured at the above link.

Sourcebooks is also giving away prizes every day this week on the British Babes Book Bridgade Facebook page..

3 winners will be randomly picked each day:

- The 1st place winner will get a William & Kate wedding memento (it is top secret for now (just like Kate’s dress J) but check the page out on Monday to find out – oh and they are all different so there will be a different memento each day). Along with that they also get their choice of three books from any of our British Book Babes.

- The 2nd place winner will have their choice of any two books from any of our British Book Babes.

- The 3rd place winner will have their choice of one book from any of our British Book Babes.

Sourcebooks has also offered me two books by Georgette Heyer to give away on my blog.  To enter, you must leave a comment telling me either about your plans to watch the wedding on friday, or about your favourite British female author.   This contest will remain open until Saturday at least.    Contest open to Canadian and United States readers.  Be sure that I have a means of contacting you.

Note: there will be two winners of one book each.  Choice of book is up to Sourcebooks.

Thank-you to Sourcebooks for all the cover photos.

Wake by Lisa McMann

I had requested this one from my library for my daughter to listen to.  When she didn't load it onto her ipod, I decided that I would listen to it instead.  Good choice.  This story had me caught from the start and didn't let me go.

Since she was young, high school student Janie has been drawn into others dreams.  She doesn't want to be there, but she has no choice.  It's not something that happens only when she is asleep, but also when she is wide awake.  Janie must find some way of dealing with this if she is to lead any sort of normal life.

Cabel seems to be offering her helping hand, but he has enough problems of his own.  Everyone knows that he has trouble with the law and Janie definitely doesn't want to be involved with that.

I totally enjoyed this story.  At first I didn't understand where these flashbacks of Janie as a young girl were going, but that was cleared up pretty quickly.  We learn very little about Janie's mother, other than she drinks, in fact she drinks a lot.  I wonder whether her mother also is drawn into other people's dreams and that she uses the alcohol to blot them out.  Perhaps I'll learn more in the next book. 

This is the first part in a three book series.  Fade and Gone and the following titles.  I have already requested Fade from my library, again as an audio book.

The audio version that I listened to is  unabridged and runs for 4 hours 24 minutes.  It was read by Ellen Grafton.




Additional Books in the Wake Series:

Fade
Gone


Author Lisa McMann's website

Thanks to Brilliance Audio for the bookcover image.