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Interesting premise where the author talks about how the Sinhalese had created this myth about defeating Tamil King who apparently was an oppressor but Tamil people were uninterested in such mythology.

I see parallels with the myths used by Zionist movement and what is currently happening in Palestine.

I was compelled to complete this book. This book describes CSA and is set in the 70s Washington DC but called "Kingdoms" and so feels very mystical and lush. I really enjoyed the sentences peppered throughout the book.

I really enjoyed reading this especially about Bokashi composting which can compost OIL. I have not been making a lot of fried things because I didn't know how to use up the oil that remained. Here is a great in-kitchen process that can do it. All you have to do is to mix it up with some browny material like wood chips, cardboard, paper and soil after to fully let it decompose. Decided to buy myself a copy for reference.

I love how practical this book is. A lot of the recipes share ingredients that make short work of making these as weekly meals and there is enough recommendation for how to save the leftovers for later. Lots of vegetarian dishes as well. There are some assumptions about cooking made so it's not for the very beginner but the eagle eyed can YouTube these actions and make these meals. I loved Avocado pesto, soy veg momos I made so far.

While "Glory Be" is very upper class and fancy, this is more a working class mystery sequel to a non-mystery fiction. I didn't read the first in the series and it was still very interesting. Some homophobia and racism in the book though not sure the homophobia was warranted. It felt very cozy and lovely read.

Love Lev A C Rosen's historical mystery set in SF. I am still upset I had to learn from this book about whites only gay clubs. Here is the Facebook page of one of the whites only clubs that inspired the one in the book. Can you see any indication it was whites only? www.facebook.com/GLBTHistory/posts/jacks-baths-was-one-of-san-franciscos-longest-running-bathhouses-in-operation-fr/10152233415061176/

The mystery is perfect & the romance is not too sappy. Highly recommend for the great atmosphere created of SF in the 50s, the huge presence of Navy & its impact on San Francisco.

Why is it that I have to learn from a murder mystery that there were several "whites only" gay bars in San Francisco? Not a single history I have ready of gay bars in SF mention that fact explicitly.

I was so looking forward to making some Sri Lankan food but sadly this book does not deliver on that end. For example, the author writes so beautifully of Neer mor which is a yoghurt based spicy drink that you consume in summer and then the recipe that follows is not for Neer mor but for a labneh like dish "similar" to Neer mor. I never knew what was for breakfast/lunch/dinner but also didn't know how these dishes were supposed to be eaten. They looked like plates you get at a 5 star restaurant and not like a filling meal.

Additionally, this book requires fresh grated coconut for almost all its recipes which makes sense but also I wasn't in the vicinity of a store with that which made it really hard to find a recipe to cook with. Oh well.

I don't understand why I do this to myself. I always end up reading a whodunnit that tries to be so smart that it fails miserably. I really wanted to yank the collar of the author by the end (if you get to it, you will know why).

This book even got a NYT author profile!! I cannot even. www.nytimes.com/2023/10/24/books/dann-mcdorman-west-heart-kill.html

Imagine not only getting owned this badly at a party, but also having it recorded in a bestselling book

My conspiracy theory that the obsession with white/fair skin only started with the invasion & colonization by the light skinned people is getting more enmeshed with the quote above.

This is fascinating. Also, the author is talking about the caste that is vilified in English as the "P*riahs" so here is another reminder to stop using that word to describe people who are treated as less than human.

Haven't yet made a single recipe but these stories and the diversity of food selected for this book is making this a must-read for me. Beautiful work.