Book Suggestions?

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I just finished Erik Larson’s Devil in the White City (I learned so much about Chicago architecture…and murder.  So creepy.) and am in need of a new great read.

What are you reading right now that I absolutely must pick up?  I would love to know your favorite summer (and non-summer) reads!

Below DITWC are some of the books that have kept me up late at night in the past several years.  I definitely recommend all of them!

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, The Help by Kathryn Stockett and Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist.

Caramel Cupcakes Inspired by The Help

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Last night, I posted about my fav recent read “The Help”.  This morning, I had a comment from Former College Co-Worker Cindy with a link to a recipe for Caramel Cupcakes.

You see, one of the main characters in the book is a maid named Minny whose claim to fame (in addition to her sassy mouth) is her caramel cake.

“Minny near bout the best cook in Hinds County, maybe even all a Mississippi.  The Junior League Benefit come around ever fall and they be wanting her to make ten caramel cakes to auction off.  She ought a be the most sought-after help in the state.”

Just reading about the cake made my mouth water so thank goodness the lovely blogger over at “The Cupcake Project” created a cupcake recipe based on the cake from the book!

Click here for the recipe- I can’t wait to make it!

Thanks so much, Cindy- I miss you too!

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Book Love: The Help

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Absolutely the best book I have read in a very, very long time.

Set against the Civil Rights Movement in Jackson, Mississippi, The Help follows the relationship between Skeeter, a budding writer/social activist, and the black women who raise her friends’ children but aren’t trusted to polish silver or even use the same restrooms.  Skeeter begins collecting the stories of these women about their experiences being “the help” and the result is a shocking and brutally honest book that gives hope to the black community and a reality check to the country clubbers who scorn them.

It’s amazing the things we are willing to tell ourselves in order to preserve ideas that we are convinced are right.  This was one of those books that I was thinking about even when I wasn’t reading it and couldn’t wait to get home to finish.  Amazing character development and so full of heart and history.