PageFiftyNine

I've been getting questions about how I read all these books- I should probably clear up that many of my pairings are with books I've read throughout the past 29 years, not 8 months. :) A few are ones I recently finished and immediately want to share, but others, like The Name of the Wind , which is a cool 722 pages long, are treasures from the past. The Pairing The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and Storyteller Cabernet Sauvignon Arguably my favorite fantasy novel/series (give us the third book, Patrick), The Kingkiller Chronicles also contains my favorite book style: storyteller. Just like Wuthering Heights   or some of the Redwall books, there is an intro about the person who is telling the tale, then everyone settles in (bonus if they are around a crackling fire), and then the story within the story begins. I love it love it love it. This series is about Kvothe, told by himself as an older man. Turns out he's a next-level baller who has seen and done s...

The Students are Coming. In anticipation, I managed to sneak in my only weekend beach trip of the year just in time- complete with friends, mini golf, Disney trivia, and lots and lots of wine. When I began this project, one of the easiest pairings I imagined was the beach pairing. I wanted a page turner in one hand, a crisp white wine in the other, the sound of waves, and two feet buried in sand. This weekend I got to check off the whole list and it was everything I needed. The Pairing Camino Island by John Grisham and Clifford Bay Sauvignon Blanc The book choice was easy: much of it takes place at the beach, it's largely about people who LOVE books or write books or nonstop read books or steal books, and there are a bunch of references to UNC-CH and it's campus, which is where I attended both undergrad and grad school. (The university was first mentioned on page 59... coincidence? Or did Grisham predict my brilliance and plant that egg on purpose? We may never kn...

My birthday is over and my summer is over- all in the same week. I need strong wine and hilarious literature. The Pairing Lamb: A Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal  by Christopher Moore and Michael David Winery 7 Deadly Old Vine Zin If you're unfamiliar with Lamb , here's the breakdown: it covers the years that the Bible skips; around 6 to 30 or so. So, it is based on the Bible and contains familiar names and places, but is not intended to be more than a very entertaining work of fiction. It's incredibly funny- like really great jokes on every page funny. If you're unfamiliar with the real seven deadly sins, here's the other breakdown: they are not in the Bible either. Sure, "sin" is, but the actual seven? A handful of guys made those up, the last one spreading in the 600s to keep all those crazy European Catholics in line. And then a handful of guys (well, a very small handful- Michael and David Phillips) took the name and m...

Don't freak out, but, it's almost my birthday. It's not a big deal (that's a lie), I'm only turning 25 (also a lie). I have a very special pair picked out to mark the occasion (not a lie). The Pairing The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman and Tsarine Cuvee Adriana Champagne I can't remember when I first read the His Dark Materials trilogy, but I can tell you I was only a little older than Lyra, so I spent the entire adventure pretending it really could be me. Now, whenever I reread the books, I no longer think of myself as the young heroine, but instead have new perspectives each time. You could say that I've grown to appreciate the deeper nuances of this tale. As has been my journey with wine. Even this year, as I truly take time to study the taste and texture and body of the wines in my pairings, I have gained new insights into not only the world of oenology, but my own preferences as well. Before January 1, 2018, I could never have imagined my...