I love bread! I love the way bread smells, the way it tastes, the way it feels when I touch it. I love to bake bread. Fruit breads, whole wheat, sourdough, squishy wonderbread . . . I love it all. Bread rocks and if it weren't for all those nasty carbohydrates, this woman would live on bread alone. That said, I just finished a book about bread baking called The Baker's Apprentice by Judith Ryan Hendricks. Apparently, it is a sequel to a book called Bread Alone, but I haven't read that one. This book is good, not great. A nice diversion. What I did like about it is the main character is a bread baker and there are lovely descriptions of her product and a few recipes interspersed in the text. I have the La Fouace aux Noix or hearth bread with walnuts in the oven baking right now. I will let you all know how it turns out. The dough didn't rise very well, so it could be a brick in the aforementioned hearth. We'll have to see.

The next book I have for you is also a nice diversionary read, albeit pretty predictable. Elizabeth Berg's The Year of Pleasures is the story of Betta, a retired children's book author, whose husband passes away and leaves her the instruction to sell their home and go find a place to start over that is off the beaten path. She does and this book is about the year that follows his death. She ends up in a small town with it's usual cast of characters: the fellow widow, the quirky radio show host, the single mom and her adorable son. Berg is a lovely author, I truly enjoyed her book Open House, and this book is just as enjoyable. Some accurate descriptions of grief, albeit a tad melodramatic and the whole thing wraps up a bit too neatly. A good book for it's niche.

As ever, let me know what you think of these books if you have read them and if you have any suggestions. . . please share!!