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Have you recovered from the full series pairing ? Me, neither. But on to the next! The Pairing Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and Red Theory Merlot I have the biggest author crush on Malcolm Gladwell (see also Tipping Point and Blink and his podcast Revisionist History ). He's a storyteller teacher, which is my very favorite. Gladwell takes a concept and, in order to teach you about it, he tells stories that you can imagine or relate to. The reason I love this is not because it helps you learn the concept (although it does). Instead, I appreciate the pause when you are asked to see something very familiar from a completely new perspective. This shift in view seems to be Malcolm Gladwell's purpose in life. Red Theory Merlot is perfect for this pairing not because it matches the sense of Outliers , but because it takes it to the next step. The tagline on this wine is "What's great in theory, tastes better in reality." What this pairing brings you is that se...

Six books, six wines. These books may be YA, but your weekend won't be. The Pairing(s) The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare and Apothic Wine Blends When I first saw Apothic wines a few years back, I remembered thinking it was a cool label and the name sounded Gothic. (A Gothic apothecary? A Gothic apocalypse? Didn't matter at the time.) However, having recently jumped on the Cassandra Clare bandwagon, I then saw these wines in a whole new light- the swirls on their labels suddenly looked like runes, and Apothic seemed to describe the world within our world that Shadowhunters, etc, inhabit. As luck would have it, there are plenty of these blends- and I've picked out one for each book of the series. Settle in, because we're touching on all of them. Pairing One City of Bones by Cassandra Clare and Apothic Brew This first book will introduce you to a new take on some old familiars: demons, angels, werewolves, etc... but also a race of Shadowhunter...

Romance, comedy, and Pinot Noir. The type of pairing that got me going on this crazy journey to begin with. The Pairing The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion and The Pinot Project Pinot Noir Don is 39 and handsome and fit and has a good job, and he is searching for a life partner. He cleverly begins the Wife Project wherein he develops a survey to help him sift through the female population and find a suitable spouse. You know where this is going without me having to go any further. I knew where it was going. And yet. I loved this sweet story. I laughed out loud and winced out loud and then laughed out loud some more. While the arch of the story may, on paper, seem predictable, the actual story was full of surprises. When I got to the end I very seriously considered starting at the beginning again. There is wine consumed in this novel, which I have begun to realize is wonderfully common. I was tempted, as always, to try and match what the characters were drinking, bu...