Extra Virgin: The Cookbook Your Italian Grandmother Would Be Proud toSee in Your Kitchen

This cookbook can easily be confused as a coffee table book. The photography is stunning! Gabriele Corcos and Debi Mazar transport the flavors and family atmosphere to your home through their book, Extra Virgin: Recipes and Love from Our Tuscan Kitchen.

Extra Virgin by Gabriele Corcos and Debi Mazar

Beautifully presented, Extra Virgin provides the recipes that are authentically Tuscan and will impress even your picky Italian Grandmother! There is something for every occasion, season or craving, from your pasta to your soups and even Tiramisu. All of the ingredients were easily accessible and the recipes were clear and easy to follow.

My favorite thing about this book though had to be the was that Corcos and Mazar infuse this book with their personal stories. It comes across as a mix of cookbook/family album that just adds to the authentic Tuscan vibe.

Blogger note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. This review is entirely based on my opinion and contains my honest evaluation.

It's Easier Than You Think to Be the Mom That Makes the Crafty Goodies,Thanks to Candy Aisle Crafts

You've seen those moms. The ones with all the carefully crafted goodies for every occasion. You've tried and failed to master the art of the infamous snowman cupcake. You are more familiar with Pintrest fails than you are with bragable success stories of treats gone right. Well let me stop you right there and let you in on a little secret. Come closer. Ready? Candy Aisle Crafts by Jodi Levine.

Candy Aisle Crafts by Jodi Levine. Photo courtesy of Crown Publishing

I know what you are thinking: You've tried to master the easy treats and you fail miserably. Cut yourself some slack. It's not you. It's that the instructions you were trying to follow were way too convoluted and overly-complex. This book is the answer. You will impress all the Moms at the PTA when you craft the coolest cookie castle cake for your son's party! Your daughter will love the snowman cupcakes for her Frozen-themed soiree! There are really adorable (and super-easy Halloween and Christmas) cake toppers! Specialty lollipops! Do you like marshmallows? Then there is a whole chapter devoted to the amazing and easy-peasy treats you can make with 'em!

This book is for the Mom who wants to give her kids fun treats without spending all day in the kitchen. The ingredients are all things you can pick up at the local grocery store and the directions are easy to follow, with gorgeous photos. Totally fool-proof, tasty and adorable treats are just a book away.

Blogger note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. This review is entirely based on my opinion and contains my honest evaluation.

A Love Story Plus The History of Skyjacking Equals a FascinatinglyUn-put-down-able Read

As someone with a lifelong fear of flying, it always surprises people that I am fascinated by books, movies and documentaries about airplane hijacking. It's almost a question of "which came first?" the fear or was the fear a result of all the skyjacking media consumed at a slightly overdone rate?

In any case, The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking by Brendan I. Koerner was a wild ride of a book. Half the book serves as a primer about the beginnings of airplane hijacking in the United States, circa early 1960s through the 1970s. A time when air travel had just become a viable option on par with trains and automobiles. A time when the word "lax" didn't quite pin the atmosphere of what the experience of traveling was like in domestic airports. The rampant freedom of anyone wandering anywhere in an airport, nobody asking you to remove your shoes and all metal objects from your person. This was absolutely fascinating to me, to imagine a time where there was no screening process to board a flight and the worst that could happen was that you happened to find yourself on a hijacked plane making a detour to Cuba. When all was said and done, no one was worse for the wear. Hijackings in the early days of air travel were such a frequent occurrences (with days when there was multiple hijackings happening simultaneously!). It baffled me to read how hijacking went from being an almost harmless crime (mild, legal prosecution, no harm to passengers/crew), to being the nightmare that it is today.

Koerner manages to intertwine the fascinating history of skyjacking along an even more fascinating recount of infamous hijacking couple, Roger Holder and Cathy Kerkow. Holder represented the most common and potentially dangerous kind of hijacker: one who was disillusioned by the government (in Holder's case, the military) and desires to become a man to right all the social injustices he perceives. His method of changing the world? Hijacking a domestic plane and taking refuge in Algiers. Unheard of in 1972, sadly a common fact of life in our post 9/11 world.

While the story of Holder and Kerkow was interesting, I found the historical context of the book much more enjoyable. A fast read that leaves you nostalgic for a time when air travel was innocent.

Blogger note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. This review is entirely based on my opinion and contains my honest evaluation.

Photo Courtesy of: Random House