How writing is like baking cookies

I received the new book The Cookiepedia in the mail a little while ago (thank you Quirk Books!) and I started flipping through all the delicious recipes immediately. I knew right away which one I would try first: Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Might seem like a boring choice considering the book has recipes for Mint Thins (they’re next on my list), French Macarons, and Pecan Sandies. But for me, nothing beats a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie.

As I was baking I realized that writing and baking have some similarities that never really occurred to me before. So, with the help of The Cookiepedia and a pretty decent sugar rush, I put together a few examples of how writing is like baking cookies:

• You need to put all the ingredients together in the right order using precise measurements in order to produce the best results.
• Once you’ve attempted the recipe a few times you can get a bit creative with substitutions and additions.
• There is such a thing as making things too perfect. At some point you just have to trust that everything is ok and jump right in.
• Depending on the type of cookie you’re baking, one batch can take longer than another.

• Even after all your time and effort, sometimes the cookies just don’t taste very good. Roll up your sleeves and try again.
• Things can get rather messy in the kitchen. Let it happen. Worry about cleaning it up at the end.

I’m happy to report that my chocolate chip cookies were delicious: soft, chewy, and with just the right amount of chocolate. The recipe was simple and I loved the cheeky tone of the instructions (“If you get melted chocolate on your hands, you’re eating these too slowly.”). I highly recommend buying The Cookiepedia, but if you want to check out a few recipes online, Oprah featured the book on her website.

Book review: Drowning Ruth

“Ruth remembered drowning.”
- Line one, page one of Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz

I’ve had a copy of Drowning Ruth on my bookshelf for many years.
I have always heard how incredible it is, so I started reading with expectations very high, which is never a good idea.

I’ve read reviews saying the book was a total page turner (“Riveting…very suspenseful.” – USA Today), but I didn’t think it was all that suspenseful. I didn’t really like any of the characters, including Ruth. The story itself was interesting enough, but I couldn’t get into it because of the changes in perspective and time period. Not that it was so complex that I couldn’t keep up, just that after a while of going back and forth while always feeling like I was going nowhere, I got bored.
So in the end, the book I thought I would read in one sitting took me over a week to read. I hate it when that happens.

Drowning Ruth Playlist: ”Take me to the river” Al Green, “Don’t go near the water” The Beach Boys, “Going Under” Evanescence

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Bright Lights, Big City 
What I learned from Nigella Lawson

An awesome blog of Awesome People Reading

The Tumblr blog Awesome People Reading has over 3,000 followers who must agree with me that there is something so entertaining about looking at photos of people reading. Whether it’s Kurt Vonnegut, Charlie Chaplin (two of the most popular readers, according to the site), or Kate Moss, photos of people reading can feel very intimate, like this one of John Lennon reading, or very staged, like this one of Megan Fox reading. Either way, with all the crazy things you can look at online it’s sometimes nice to see people doing something simple, like reading.

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Out of Print Clothing

Book photography: Hard Cover Vintage

Maybe one day I’ll actually have room for a vintage book collection, but for now I might just have to get a few of these photographs of vintage and antique books from the Etsy shop Hard Cover Vintage.

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Book photography: alice b. gardens 
Typewriter photos on Etsy