Wednesday, October 07, 2015

Recipes, Books, and a Freeform Give-Away


Ah, my darlings. A few things today. For one, I turned 47. Yes, I did. And we went to see a band called Darlingside, whose new album you can listen to here for free! You are so welcome (assuming you like crushingly adorable young-guy string bands who do Crosby, Stills, and Nash harmonies). It was the best birthday ever, for many reasons, including Michael making a romantic acrostic birthday card, and everyone going on a mushroom foraging walk with me. Sigh. The forties is by far my favorite decade so far, nipple hairs and geriatric acne notwithstanding.


Next up: fulfilling your recipe requests. For Warm and Smoky Potato Salad and Butternut Galette with Roasted Onions, Pecans, and Blue Cheese. I made that galette last week, only instead of squash et al, I made it with a big heap of sauteed cabbage and onions and a thick layer of melty aged gouda, and it was totally fabulous. Also caraway seeds. Yum.


And then a couple of book recommendations. Like the newest Full Grown People collection, Soul Mate 101 and Other Essays on Love and Sex edited by the lovely and brilliant Jennifer Niesslein. I tried to read three essays (it was late, and that was the number I had allotted myself), and did not put the book down until I was done. It's honest and raw, sexy and joyful and sad and very middle-aged, in the best possible way. I confess to having contributed an essay to the volume that is not the least dirty thing I have ever written. Actually, the only dirtier thing might be the essay I contributed to the first FGP collection. Or the poem I once wrote comparing Michael to a microwaved hotdog.


I am also recommending the latest Unbored book: Unbored Adventure, which I had the deep honor of contributing to, and which Birdy has named "The best Unbored book yet!" (Huge praise.) This is a chock-a-block book, filled with crazy, thoughtful, well-tested ideas that range from the immediately doable to the profoundly inspirational and aspirational. Birdy read the book cover to cover, then promptly spent the day sewing something called a "Ditty Bag," which thrilled her no end. "What are you going to do next from it?" I asked her, and she looked thoughtful, then said, "Purify drinking water using nesting bowls and evaporation." Okay! 


And if you're all, "Adventure? Seriously? Catherine?" please know that I wrote the opening essay and ideas for the "Adventures Close to Home" chapter. Like last week? We foraged the black walnuts from our own backyard. Ba-bam. Adventure.


And finally, A Step Toward Falling, which is a book that has nothing to do with me. Except that its author Cammie is my beloved neighbor and friend, and her profound kindness, hilariousness, and curiosity sparkle in everything she writes. It's a book that's getting starred reviews everywhere, and that is currently #1 on Amazon in "Teen and Young Adult Special Needs Fiction." Birdy read this book so fast that the pages were flying, and she has described it as "awesome" and "complicated" and "funny" and also (this is a caveat) "the grown-uppiest book I have ever read." I'm reading it next.

One more book, even though I said "finally" already:


It's out in April, but you can pre-order it here! Please do. (Dying a little. Click on the link just to see the advance blurbs from this incredible person and this one. Dying. Seriously.)


Okay, the free-form give-away! I don't want to give these particular books away because I want you to buy them! So enter by commenting, and if you win, I'll send you any book you like that amazon sells (and that is not, like, $100). Sound good? Comment by noon EST next Wednesday, 10/14. 

Love and happy reading. xo

91 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your new book baby! I'm off to pre-order it NOW.

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  2. Thanks for all of the book recommendations and the recipes, and for the give-away opportunity!

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  3. Yay! I just renewed my subscription to Real Simple just to read your column (seriously I did). I am thrilled to hear to wrote another boo!

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    1. Book. I meant book. Although perhaps you wrote a boo too?

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  4. annette11:14 AM

    That acrostic is incredibly charming and amazing... What a surprise there with YOUR book! Congratulations. ahkraus at hotmail dot com

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  5. Wait...what? Did you just casually mention that YOU WROTE ANOTHER BOOK?! did you tell us and I missed it?! I am SO EXCITED!

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  6. Wait...what? Did you just casually mention that YOU WROTE ANOTHER BOOK?! did you tell us and I missed it?! I am SO EXCITED!

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  7. Happy happy birthday, Catherine! One of the best things that ever happened to me in my 20s was stumbling on your blog back on Babycenter. Thank you for the recipes, the laughter, and the little snippets of your life.

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  8. Another book! Finally! Yay!

    I never order books in hardcover, because I never get time to read them until they're out in paperback. But I have made three exceptions THIS MONTH for the new Cheryl Strayed, the new Elizabeth Gilbert (just turned 49, need kick in ass) and the new Geraldine Brooks (she can do no wrong). Looks like I'll have to make another exception in April.
    Carrie

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  9. Happy Birthday!! If my math is right (which is a tenuous bet) I got married on your 32nd birthday.

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  10. Happy Birthday and congratulations on the new book!

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  11. Anonymous1:39 PM

    Yes, can't wait to read your new book! Happy birthday fellow 47 year old!

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  12. New book! Yes! (the unbored book looks awesome too!)

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  13. Wow! A new Catherine Newman book! I couldn't hit that pre-order button fast enough. But I have to wait until April?! :-)

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  14. Oh, gosh. Birthdays and books! This is my life right now!

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  15. Eleanor3:55 PM

    Waiting for Birdy is my go to book when I have had a crappy day and just need to laugh out loud at someone else (I mean that in the best possible way, honest!) and I cannot wait for your new one to join it!

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  16. I need to change clothes, but a pit stop by my desk to preorder your book will come first.

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  17. A haiku by way of comment/entry, as I turn 47 on Monday the 12th, and plan on being instantly zen:

    Whoa! ANOTHER hair?
    Overnight, and wiry, black?
    ANOTHER hair woe.

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    1. dale in denver5:38 PM

      I resemble that Haiku!

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  18. So happy about the new book! Many many congratulations.

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  19. Nancy4:11 PM

    So much to celebrate here -- birthday, books, stories. Congrats on all three. Off to Amazon for some purchasing . . .

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  20. Such a wonderful blog post - a happy day celebrating YOU, so many new and exciting reads for holiday gift-giving and wish-listing, and a new book by you to look forward to this spring! :) Many congratulations!!

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  21. So excited to go check these out...and maybe also put-them-in-my cart-and-check-them-out at Amazon. Thank you always!! Middle aged me already knows it needs that FGP book.

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    1. Wait, what?!? How did I miss that Catastrophically important item near the end? So incredibly excited to see it!! Yay!!!!

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    2. ...and a very Happy Birthday to you, Catherine!! (Need to sloooow down over here and pay more attention to details...)

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  22. dale in denver5:40 PM

    40s are pretty great. I pre-ordered and will totally and completely forget about it, so when a package shows up in April I can be surprised about your new book all over again. Some might see this forgetfulness in 40s as a downside - are you kidding me? Two surprises for price of one? That's a deal. Happy Happy!

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  23. If I win, I'll give this to my librarian daughter who is struggling to add decent books for the Spanish speaking/reading kids in her school. Said daughter is the one who introduced me to Waiting for Birdy, and I've been a huge fan of yours ever since. :)

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  25. Of course I preordered it :) So excited for you, Catherine- Maybe I'll even get to have this one autographed someday! Do they say "Break a leg" to authors?

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  26. Anonymous8:00 PM

    My forties were quite excellent. I'm glad 47 started so happily. Congrats on the new book!

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  27. Karen8:05 PM

    So excited Catherine!!!! I totally cannot wait for it. So, so, so looking forward to it. Just preordered mine now :)

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  28. Comment entry: new book! Exciting! And I love Birdy recommended books because my daughter is close to the same age

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  29. I smiled throughout this whole post and guffawed at the notwithstandings. Sigh, you are the best. Many happy returns!

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  30. Yay for a new book - just in time because my firstborn turns 4 in 2016!

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  31. Yay for books! I love book posts... and food posts. That's why this blog is awesome.

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  32. I'm so excited you have a new book coming out!

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  33. Hooray! Great recommendations and a new one by you to look forward to.

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  34. Woo hoo!! So catastrophically happy about this! Congratulations!

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  35. This might be my favorite post ever. I forgot about that galette! But now it is all I can think about. And my kids love Unbored! Who knew there was another one! And I love Full Grown People and forgot that the book was coming out! And YOU wrote something new! It is a lovely gift you give us on your birthday. It hardly seems fair.

    Happy happy happy birthday to you! Sending you all good wishes for 47.

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  36. YOUR BOOK IS FINALLY COMING OUT!! (hahaha, that sounds ridiculous) But we need to wait until April???? :-( What a catastrophe :-P

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  37. oh, happy belated birthday!! I'm only 3 years younger. But I don't know if I LOVE my 40s... sigh.

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  38. Happy birthday and congrats on the book!
    Can't wait to read it!
    Could you please post the recipe for the shrimp in smoked paprika/garlic sauce? I can't find it and I have a pound and a half of shrimp in my fridge waiting for that goodness!

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  39. If they had a book on how to make romantic acrostics that would be the one I would get.

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  40. AHHHHH new book!!!! I can't WAIT for April! I read Waiting for Birdy right after I had my daughter, and would often be up in the middle of the night nursing, shoving food frantically into my mouth, and reading your Baby Center blog archives on my phone. It seemed like it would all last forever, but now, only 18 months later, it's become a distant memory. The day I get your book, I'm going to pawn my kid off on someone else, buy some very expensive cheese, and get into bed and read it start to finish. I'm so so so excited!

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  41. Allyson4:02 AM

    New book! To quote Allie Brosh, holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! Seriously, I could not be more excited!

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  42. Happy, happy birthday, and happy, happy year! A new book by you for us is the sweetest gift ever. Preordered immediately, and off to check out some of your other recommendations. :)

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  43. Squeeeee! New book! So excited. Pre-ordering now. Here's to an awesome year!!

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  44. Squeeeee! New book! So excited. Pre-ordering now. Here's to an awesome year!!

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  45. Happy belated birthday to you!! I am so excited for you new book. I will definitely be ordering. Thanks too for the other book recs. Much love to you Catherine!

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  46. What a wonderful post, full of books.

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  47. WV Mama10:55 AM

    It was my birthday too! Only I turned 49. And I thought I would catch a baby on my birthday (I'm a midwife) which would have been deep and meaningful and fabulous but instead came home early to hang out with the middle child who has pneumonia. I can imagine what you might have written if this were a Ben and Birdy post! But I am THRILLED that we are birthday twins. Explains, perhaps, the soul deep connection I feel when I read your posts (and also why my husband loves your recipes as much as mine?)

    Happy happy happy!

    WV Mama

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  48. New book added to my Amazon wish list so someone will hopefully get it for me for Christmas if I hint heavily enough to family members :)

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  49. Happy Birthday! Adding to my reading list.

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  50. Betsy Hamilton5:11 PM

    You knew I was going to ask for all those books, didn't you? If I can't have those, I would especially like that Little Bites book you also talked me into after we made those amazing ricotta frittatas. (And I confess that I almost used ricotta salata just so we could go around saying "ricotta salata frittatas," but I wasn't sure whether it would be as creamy and delicious, so we stuck with yours, and we loved them. They received my son's highest food accolade question, which is, "May we make these more often?"

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  51. New book? NEW BOOK!!!! Congratulations, and happy, happy, happy birthday! (And of course I'm pre-ordering.) And maybe give the free book to the woman whose daughter is a school librarian?

    -Loren

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  52. Love the original Unbored so I can't wait to buy this one, Happy birthday!

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  53. Love the original Unbored so I can't wait to buy this one, Happy birthday!

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  54. Jennifer8:29 PM

    I am so happy to know you have a new book! And I am so happy to know there is a new Unbored!

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  55. Your new book comes out right around my birthday! Can't wait!

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  56. Heidi9:15 AM

    This would totally make my day rock.

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  57. Happy Birthday! And Congratulations on the new book. I never pre-order but that will change today. Thanks :)

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  58. Wow! Congratulations!

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  59. I find moments of unexpected joy when I see you have a new post..
    Up before 6 on a Saturday, daughter out the door for a swim meet...I love a carpool.
    Siting here alone with my coffee as the yellow lab snores away
    Other two asleep in bed
    Quiet time with coffee is my key to sanity

    I will,preorder book-I've never ever done that before
    And unbored will be the gift for the birthday party my son has next weekend!

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  60. Elliesee11:04 AM

    Congratulations on your book! My 6 year old is asking me for the ''petits poux'' books from Beatrice Alemagna, and I can't say no to that.

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  61. Anonymous11:42 AM

    So excited about your new book! Please please please is it lots of the lovely articles that used to be online at baby centre - they kept me grounded for years. I need your fun reassurance about parenting littlest saving just locked myself in a bedroom as my 3 under 5's have stripped themselves naked and are making a house of leaves in the sofa pillows and it sounds lovely written down but it's also the first day the house has been cleaned properly and I could cry with exhaustion at the thought! So yes yes yes to an uplifting catherine Newman book to remind me of the magic of children! But how dreadful to have to wait to April - it's in my Amazon basket already! Verity

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  62. So, so, so happy to read this..... much joy and happiness re birthdays and your new book! ! How utterly fantastic. ..you are such a gift to us all..
    .many hugs

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  63. So, so, so happy to read this..... much joy and happiness re birthdays and your new book! ! How utterly fantastic. ..you are such a gift to us all..
    .many hugs

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  64. Wow! Wonderful! Happy belated birthday and happy early book!!

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  65. Danabee11:50 PM

    Congratulations on your new book, Catherine! I do so love your heady mix of crass n' sass!

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  66. 40's are fabulous! Happy Birthday Catherine!

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  67. 40's are fabulous! Happy Birthday Catherine!

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  68. Congratulations on your new book! I can't wait to read it.

    Your Butternut Galette recipe is one of my favorites from you. I make it with kabocha and blue cheese, and keep all the leftovers for myself.

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  69. Emily9:00 PM

    I just started reading "Waiting for Birdy" which I got from the library (I'm sorry I didn't buy it but we're on a budget). So funny! Love "birth control doesn't actually work by osmosis". If I could actually get a brand new book I'd probably choose "Dinner: A Love Story". Her recipes, just like yours, are spot-on for my family.

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  70. Based on Jenny and Luisa's comments, cannot wait to read your book. I already know I'll be laughing and crying reading it as I do with your column. Happy belated birthday. And thanks for the rest of the book recommendations.

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  71. I'm so glad you've written another book!

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  72. Happy birthday! And so happy you have another book. I've re-read Waiting for Birdy many times.

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  73. Happy belated birthday! I'm also turning 47 this year and, like you, I'm loving the 40s.

    A new book? You wrote a new book? I'm so thrilled I can hardly stand it!

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  74. April cannot come soon enough! Cannot wait.

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  75. I love book recommendation posts...and recipes to boot! Thanks!

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  76. Julie W.8:08 AM

    Congratulations on your new book-- I will spend the winter looking forward to it!! And happy belated birthday :)

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  77. I read your Club Mid piece about teenage love and stalked you over here. Now I see you are a fellow Libra and you also write about food...swoon.

    Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your writing. One of the few things I've read recently that prompted me to comment. Thanks for sharing your words!

    Jenny (mom to 4 kids, 3 of whom are boys ages 21, 18 and 15 and OMG I so get what you were writing about)

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  78. I cannot wait to get your new book!!! I'm so excited I'm going to actually order a real-live book- not an ebook. That is how excited I am (which in this day and age is huge excitement!!!!) xoxoxo

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  79. I'm going to try your galette for book club next week! And, I can't wait for your new book. Loved Waiting for Birdy - it sat on my nightstand for years :)

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  80. What a fun and generous giveaway -- please pick me!! :D

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  81. If your book was available as an ebook, then I wouldn't have to wait to come home from a trip to Amsterdam to get it- I could download it and have something great to read on the flight home. Just sayin'. In case you wondered if anyone wanted an ebook.

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  82. So excited for your new book! Also, your husband is amazing.

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  83. I see our "urging" you to write another book has finally paid off. :-) Never underestimate the power of nagging....

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  84. plazamom5:55 PM

    Hooray!!!! Just pre-ordered the book. I can't wait to read it! I love your insights about being a mom, and it's been so great to have you here as my kids grow up. Congratulations on the new book!!

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  85. Your comment section never works for me on the first try! Anyways I'm freaking out about all the books, including obviously yours! But back to the Darlingside, dude, amazing. We saw them when they opened for Patty Griffin and would have been happy with only them. If you haven't seen their video for the God of Loss, look it up, so heartrendingly beautiful. Happy Belated to one of my favorites.

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