A remarkable voice was silenced yesterday after a long illness.  Whether you agreed with him  (“the greatest living essayist in the English language” – Christopher Buckley)or thought him to be  a “lying, self-serving, fat-assed, chain-smoking, drunken, opportunistic and cynical”( Alexander Cockburn), he was never boring, always thought provoking, prodding you out of your compliancy and utter certainty of things both sublime and mundane.

Here is a list of compelling quotes assembled by CBS News today:

“What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof.”

“By trying to adjust to the findings that it once tried so viciously to ban and repress, religion has only succeeded in restating the same questions that undermined it in earlier epochs. What kind of designer or creator is so wasteful and capricious and approximate? What kind of designer or creator is so cruel and indifferent? And—most of all—what kind of designer or creator only chooses to “reveal” himself to semi-stupefied peasants in desert regions?” The Portable Atheist

“The person who is certain, and who claims divine warrant for his certainty, belongs now to the infancy of our species.” God Is Not Great

“What happens to the faith healer and the shaman when any poor citizen can see the full effect of drugs or surgeries, administered without ceremonies or mystifications? Roughly the same thing as happens to the rainmaker when the climatologist turns up, or to the diviner from the heavens when schoolteachers get hold of elementary telescopes.” God Is Not Great

“Religion is man-made. Even the men who made it cannot agree on what their prophets or redeemers or gurus actually said or did.” God Is Not Great

“My own view is that this planet is used as a penal colony, lunatic asylum and dumping ground by a superior civilization, to get rid of the undesirable and unfit. I can’t prove it, but you can’t disprove it either.” God Is Not Great

“Every day, the New York Times carries a motto in a box on its front page. “All the News That’s Fit to Print,” it says. It’s been saying it for decades, day in and day out. I imagine most readers of the canonical sheet have long ceased to notice this bannered and flaunted symbol of its mental furniture. I myself check every day to make sure that the bright, smug, pompous, idiotic claim is still there. Then I check to make sure that it still irritates me. If I can still exclaim, under my breath, why do they insult me and what do they take me for and what the hell is it supposed to mean unless it’s as obviously complacent and conceited and censorious as it seems to be, then at least I know I still have a pulse. You may wish to choose a more rigorous mental workout but I credit this daily infusion of annoyance with extending my lifespan.” Letters to a Young Contrarian

“I became a journalist because I did not want to rely on newspapers for information.” Love, Poverty, and War: Journeys and Essays

He did not believe in God, or Heaven, or Hell.  So I end this fittingly with a poem from Gene Weingarten, essayist and humorist of The Washington Post

Christopher Hitchens ceases to be;

A remarkable life he led.

He isn’t in heaven; he isn’t in hell-

He is simply, emphatically, dead.

 

He would have loved that.  Hitch, you will be missed.  The world is a much duller place without you.

 

Too much family.too little Egg Nog.

It’s been three years since Seth Bellski forced his boyfriend and ex-boss Lars Varga out of the closet. Since then, Seth has passed the bar and become an attorney, and Lars has started his own firm. Their sex life has gotten steamier, and everything seems perfect between them. Until the holidays arrive.

It’s bad enough that Seth’s mother and father want them over every single night of Hanukkah. And that Lars’s less-than-tolerant parents are sleeping in the room next door for the duration of Christmas, putting the kibosh on their kink. They also end up as the attorneys representing opposing sides in a divorce case, one which quickly proves to be much more than it seems.

That blurb from Loose id doesn’t begin to show how wonderful this book is.

“Miracle of the Bellskis (Bellskis, #2)
My rating:5 of 5 stars
I loved this. What a wonderful surprise to see this release. I loved the first book in the series, Carol of the Bellskis from Astrid Amara that was released last year. So this was a joyful present this December. This sequel finds partners Seth Bellski and Lars Varga happily together and getting ready for the holidays, Hanukkah and Christmas. For the first time, this will include Lars’ family, who is still not comfortable with the idea of their son being gay and his meeting live-in lover. Plus Seth’s loving and loud Bellski family has decided to migrate west and join them in Seattle-permanently.

The ensuing holiday stress brings much snark, cooking and loud arguments and of course love. Astrid Amara does this so well that when I finish one book I immediately want the next one to know what happens to her characters. These are real people with flaws who argue, laugh, make love and get stressed out. I love every minute I spend with them. And that includes Ruthie and Herman Bellski, the rest of their brood. I even warmed up to the Vargas along with Seth as the book drew to a close. It is also great to have a book that includes Hanukkah rituals as much as Christmas in the story, Seth is Jewish after all.

So definitely put this on your TBR stack, right near the top. Include the first book, Carol of the Bellskis too. It’s a win win for you. And then you will be like me, hoping that the next holiday season, finds another gift from Santa and Astrid, another Hanukkah spent with Seth and Lars and all their families.

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Amidst Hanukkah candles, Christmas lights, burned dinners and delayed court appointments, Lars and Seth’s relationship is going to need a miracle to survive the ultimate holiday challenge of too much family.

 

I am feeling conflicted about this book. It was nice. I didn’t hate it or even dislike it. I thought that the story outline was good but nothing out of the box. That ok because the same story plot in different hands can become a story that lives outside its limitations and shines. Not here. There was no huge flaws that presented themselves. So why didn’t I give it a higher rating. I think that it all comes down to simple feeling. I felt flat after reading it. No highs, no lows, nothing. I didn’t really care what happened to the characters. And that is because I didn’t believe in them.

 

Chase Anderson is a war photographer. But you never really believe that. He seems too shallow and glossy to be an adrenaline junkie who thrives in being where the action is. He has a movie star scar from the Middle East, a place “he almost didn’t come back from”. Nope. I don’t buy it. Its as though his job was picked out of a bowl with job titles in it and photographer popped up. No realistic background, no interesting character flaws, none of the idiosyncrasies that goes hand in hand with a driven character. He might as well be dishing out ice cream. (For a believable photographer, go read Sarah Black’s Sockeye Love. Now there’s a photographer to believe in.)

 

Same goes for Eric Zimmerman who has been in love with Chase Anderson since they were in college and is a hotshot software somethingorother. You know, those nebulous software genius’ who have some general job in software somewhere. They are legion in today’s stories. Again, nuh uh. Don’t think so. Then there is the mean guy partner who doesn’t want a child, a dead sister you don’t get a feeling for and an adorable baby in the NICU. So the few characters here that revolve around the main characters are just as vague and indeterminate as Chase and Eric. Bland backs up bland.

 

My recommendation is to skip this. Pickup Sockeye Love by Sarah Black or A LIe I Can Live With by Eden Winters. A Lie I Can LIve With gives you a real, wonderful, schlubby tech guy-a software guy who is a gamer and believable and a lovely story.

 

OK not so conflicted after all.

 

 

Men Under the Mistletoe http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/359194.Josh_Lanyon”>Josh Lanyon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Baby it’s Cold Outside<br/>A man receives the gift of pleasure at the hands of two expert lovers. Boyhood sweethearts get a second chance at romance. Two very proper gentlemen indulge their forbidden desires. And a Christmas tree farmer has an epiphany. It may be cold outside but these four holiday novellas will warm you up.Anthology includes:My True Love Gave to Me by Ava March, Winter Knights by Harper Fox, Lone Star by Josh Lanyon, The Christmas Proposition by K.A. Mitchell.

What a lovely smorgasbord of tales awaits you here in this Christmas anthology. Different eras, different circumstances, and enough confused lovers, mysteries and HEAs to satisfy the joy of the Holidays. I originally ordered just Lone Star by Josh Lanyon. But then I broke down and ordered the anthology as well. And that was the right way to go. Because I would have missed out on the stories by K.A. Mitchell, Harper Fox and Ava March if I hadn’t.

Of the 4 authors, Ava March was the one I was least familiar with. No longer. I loved her story and will seek out more by her. K. A. Mitchell is author of one of my favorite books, Collision Course. And she doesn’t disappoint here with her story that takes place on a Christmas tree farm. Loved this. And Josh Lanyon’s story of a ballet dancer returning home after a long absence is everything you expect from a Lanyon story. Memorable characters, memorable setting and multi-layered story
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My rating: 4 of 5 stars
T. C. Blue is a relatively new author for me and, with this book, has become a must-read author. I am such a sucker for holiday stories and here is one I will reread each Christmas season.

Here is the blurb from Torquere Press:

“Gracen loves Christmas. It’s his favorite time of the year. So much so that he works as a mall photographer for the season, taking pictures of children with Santa. There’s something about seeing all those happy families that he finds satisfying, which may be slightly odd since he’s so very alone, himself.

Working three jobs is never fun, but when Jesse takes a part time position as a greeter elf at Santa’s Workshop in the mall, he meets Gracen and realizes that maybe job number three isn’t that bad, after all. The handsome photographer appeals to him, even with all Jesse’s family issues.

Two lonely men, one Santa’s Workshop, elf costumes, curl-toed shoes and a camera. They aren’t exactly a recipe for finding that someone special… except maybe they are.”

Gracen is a wonderful character, one of many in this story. He is a successful artist who, once a year, dons another persona so he can be a store Santa workshop photographer. For a entire month, he indulges in the outfit and the happiness of the families and children he photographs. Enter Jesse, who becomes Santa’s elf as one of his 3 jobs. Overworked and complicated, everything about him calls to Gracen. There is a mystery at the center of Jesse and his sister, Jazz that makes Jesse want to keep all at a distance. But this is a story of hope and persistance and the joy of the Christmas spirit. Not sappy, no miracles just a journey of 2 people towards a relationship and a family. I loved this and so will you. I give this 4.5 stars.

So put on your elf shoes, grab a copy and settle in for a lovely read.

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The holidays always mean to me that wonderful food is shared with family and friends.  Bringing people together to remember the past season while creating new memories of the current Holidays, I love the planning and preparing each recipe we will serve.

Should it be something tried and true that everyone asks for? Or should we be bold and whip up something new? Perhaps with chilies?  And chocolate? Hmmm, I do love chocolate!

So in keeping with my holiday planning, I will be posting Holiday recipes for all to enjoy. Let me know what you think?  And Happy Holiday Eating!

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

12 Oreos – crushed
2 T melted butter
3 Squares Bakers White Chocolate, divided
2-8 oz cream cheese – softened
1/2 C sugar
1 t vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 C red raspberry preserves

Heat oven to 350. Mix cookie crumbs and butter, press into bottom of 8″ square pan. Melt 2 chocolate squares as directed on package.

Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with mixer until blended. Add metled chocolate, mix well. Add eggs one at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust

Bake 25-28 min or until center is almost set. Cool 5 minutes; spread with preserves. Melt remaining chocolate square, drizzle over cheesecake. Cool. Refrigerate for 4 hours. Cut into 18 bars

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Far superior to the movie, Pretty Woman, it references, Something Different plots the journey of Michael Maguire as he navigates his way out of the constrictive, boring life he has made for himself for years, searching for something to make him feel alive again. Temptation and perhaps his salvation pops up in the form of rent boy James Campbell, who needs saving himself.

I loved this book. It is the first I have read by S. A. Reid but won’t be the last. The author makes you feel how suffocated Michael is by his life, unhappy and repressed in all avenues, work and family. But the characters are certainly not cardboard but fully fleshed out and breathing. Michael’s wife, Frannie, cold, self involved and materialistic could have been a one-dimentional villain but instead you understand, as does Michael, the reasons behind her actions and her words. And by the end of the book, she is likable.

James Campbell is another character who could have become cliched in other hands. But from the beginning, I loved James. He’s snarky, vulnerable, prickly, kind and aware of karma. Each character reveals layers upon layers as the story unfolds. As Michael and James start to score small and then larger victories for each other and themselves, you just want to cheer along with them until you are on your feet at the end of the book, shouting “Bravo, Bravo”. And its for Michael, James and S. A. Reid for delivering such a total delight of a book into your hands.
S. A. Reid’s Blurb for Something Different:

Tired of his life’s endless grind, family man Michael Maguire allows himself one night of deviation. Desperate for something different, he seeks a prostitute in notorious Brixton Park. But Michael, searching for a girl out of PRETTY WOMAN, instead finds blue-eyed, beautiful James Campbell. Tempted and stirred in ways he never imagined, Michael embarks on a sexual adventure with a rent boy from London’s infamous Bethnal Green. And what begins as a purely sexual exchange gradually transforms into something else, as James finds himself in desperate circumstances and Michael is moved to help. Drawn increasingly to James, Michael finds himself facing up to the iniquities in his daily life. And finally he must deal with a horror that threatens to explode Michael’s safe, conventional existence

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http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13030951-what-can-be&#8221;
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
What Can Be by Mary Calmes:From Dreamspinner Press:

“Thirteen years ago, Eli went on a summer trip with his mother and never came back. Now, existing in a new life as Jacob Somerville, he’s again running from fear and memories, only to end up where he started. As Jacob struggles to reconnect with his father and brothers, he realizes that his lover, Craig Zhao, was the only thing filling his empty heart and standing between him and ghosts of the past. It will take the power of love—from his family, from Craig, and from himself—for Jacob to see that his life truly is filled with the promise of what can be.”

I really liked What Can Be. It didn’t immediately strike me as a “Christmas story” until the very end (there isn’t a lot of Christmas trappings here). But it is a story of love, forgiveness, reconnecting and family. And isn’t that what the holiday is all about? This is a true Mary Calmes story in every way. There is angst, gorgeous men and a hard won ending. Mary’s description of Jacob’s fear and the memories he is running from are vivid and made my heart pound, she is that good. And Jacob’s lover, Craig Zhao, is the man of everyone’s dreams. I loved the characters of Jacob’s brothers, Chase and Lucas. Both are fully rounded characters that you would like to get to know in their own right.

And that is probably why this did not get 5 stars.This is a big tale, with loads of back story here waiting to be told. Jacob’s visit to see his Dad and brothers seemed at times to be rushed. Yes, yes, I know…it was a weekend after all. There is an amazing scene here when his memories hit him. This was so beautifully done that to see its effects upon his brothers and father would have been so rewarding. I would have loved to have seen the author spend more time here exploring the family dynamics. Jacob’s father was a successful businessman, sometimes at the expense of family even though he loves his boys. The brothers missed Jacob and their mother. How did the huge hole in their lives (trying not to reveal too much here) influence their growth as people. You get hints that leave you wishing for more. There is so much potential here for a wider exploration of what the loss of a brother (and mother) all those years really does to a family. This also goes for the addition of a stepmother not really liked by the brothers (I am with them here) who wants to protect her husband, turf, status quo.

So yes, I just wish Mary Calmes had made this a longer book. And I didn’t even get to those characters back in Chicago we only got a small glimpse of . Mary’s ability to create characters you want to know better, even marginal ones, is just one of the reasons she is a must read for me. And that includes this latest book of hers. Happy Holidays!

Five stars not only for the story but for the picture and knitting instructions at the end. I laughed until I thought I would pass out. Thanks, Amy!

Now I should say in the beginning that I knit and manhandle yarn at every opportunity, so this story really sang to me. I loved the characters of Rance Crawford and Ben McCutcheon. Rance especially pulled me in. Older, isolated by sexual identity and choice in the small town of Granby, Colorado, his life is in for a upheaval when he gets a new neighbor in Ben McCutcheon. Ben also happens to be gay but handles his “gayness” in a manner totally different from Rance. His effect upon Rance from the very beginning starts to transform Rance in ways small and large.

Another main character here is knitting, yarn and the process of turning wool into something magical. I have briefly dabbled in spinning and can’t wait for Maryland’s Sheep and Wool Festival every year to indulge in my passion for all things woolen. But here I got a inside look at the Wool Mill from color cards to carders. I wanted immediately to jump into a car or plane and get to Lance’s shop for a tour. You don’t have to knit to enjoy this aspect of the book as the characters you meet there are worth the journey. But if you do knit and love yarn, then prepare yourself for this added bonus. I loved it! It made me go upstairs and pull out a project I hadn’t worked on in a while and get cranking.

So after all the gushing (really, me gushing?), where do I stand?
5 stars characterization
5 stars storyline
5 stars baby bunny butts
5 stars picture and knitting instructions (and a 5 star giggle fest)

No real angst, lots of laughter. But Amy, I really want to know what happens to Jeremy and Aiden? Any clues?

From Dreamspinner Press December 2011

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13030902-a-present-in-swaddling-clothes&#8221;
My rating: “http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/242233450″>4 of 5 stars
Dreamspinners Blurb:”Josh held baby Vivien when she took her first breath in the world, and he has loved every breath she’s taken since. Now Vivien needs a home—a “for real” forever home, and Josh would love to be the one who takes her in. But Josh’s partner, Sammy, isn’t a fan of children of any size or stamp. Will Josh have to choose between being a lover or a parent, or will Josh’s niece work her baby magic on Sammy, giving them all the best Christmas present of all?”

I found this to be a touching story. The main characters, Josh and Sammy, are a long established couple whose lives have become routine. And while they love each other, the physical aspect of their lives together has been missing recently. They are definitely a couple who needs a little disruption in their lives and that would be baby Vivien. It is the manner in which Vivien comes into their lives that really clarifies the nature of their relationship, and the meaning of friends and family. I would love to revisit them in the future for another glimpse into their lives and loved ones. A lovely read any time of the year.

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