#5OnMyTBR is a bookish meme hosted by E. @ Local Bee Hunter's Nook and you can learn more about it here. It occurs every Monday when participants post about five books on their TBRs.
This week's prompt is "Apples & Pumpkins" for a harvest theme to this fall season. While I can definitely find tasty red apples in the Land of Smiles, pumpkins in Thailand are a definite letdown with nary an orange one in site. Most of the squash variety found here are brown or purple (and sometimes white!) and comparatively much smaller than anything Charlie Brown ever found in the Great Pumpkin Patch. They are, however, occasionally, used in Thai cooking particularly that greatest of all foods, massaman curry.
Did you know that pumpkins are one of the oldest domesticated plants, having been used as early as 7,000 to 5,500 BC? They are native to northeastern Mexico and the southern United States. My favorite pumpkin product is warm pie with home-made cream on top. Oh, how I miss pumpkin pie! Apples are quite popular in Thailand and the ones served once a week during lunch at my school are particularly juicy. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, Malus sieversii, is still found. Apples have been grown for thousands of years in Asia and Europe and were introduced to North America by European colonists. Apples have religious and mythological significance in many cultures, including Norse, Greek, and European Christian tradition. Although drinks like apple juice and apple cider are hard to find in Thai groceries, apple shakes (no ice cream involved) are common at roadside stalls in the more touristy areas. The only apple "pies" here are the hand-held pastries one finds at McDonald's; I found a packaged version at a 7-Eleven in Phuket Town recently but one usually sees either pineapple or taro.
5 Books on My TBR — "Apples & Pumpkins"
I was surprised to find ten books in my virtual library with either "apple" or "pumpkin" in the title, including a Ray Bradbury collection I had completely forgotten about. Goodreads lists one children's book with both words in the title but I don't own a copy.
01. The Golden Apples of the Sun by Ray Bradbury (published March 19, 1953)
Set the controls for the heart of the sun.
The Captain bent in the warm air, cursing, felt his hands run over the cold machine, and while he worked he saw a future which was removed from them by the merest breath. He saw the skin peel from the rocket beehive, men thus revealed running, running, mouths shrieking, soundless. Space was a black mossed well where life drowned its roars and terrors. Scream a big scream, but space snuffed it out before it was half up your throat. Men scurried, ants in a flaming matchbox; the ship was dripping lava, gushing steam, nothing!
Journey with the century's most popular fantasy writer into a world of wonder and horror beyond your wildest dreams.
Contents:
- The Fog Horn (1951)
- The Pedestrian (1951)
- The April Witch (1952)
- The Wilderness (1952)
- The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl (1948)
- Invisible Boy (1945)
- The Flying Machine (1953)
- The Murderer (1953)
- The Golden Kite, the Silver Wind (1953)
- I See You Never (1947)
- Embroidery (1951)
- The Big Black and White Game (1945)
- A Sound of Thunder (1952)
- The Great Wide World Over There (1952)
- Powerhouse (1948)
- En la Noche (1952)
- Sun and Shadow (1953)
- The Meadow (1953)
- The Garbage Collector (1953)
- The Great Fire (1949)
- Hail and Farewell (1953)
- The Golden Apples of the Sun (1953)
Source: Goodreads
02. Pumpkins Are Murder by Kathy Cranston (published September 22, 2017)
Death by… pumpkin?
Springdale is bustling as everybody in town prepares for the annual Pumpkin Parade. Jessie Henderson is excited about the festivities too… until she's talked into taking on the role of Miss Pumpkin.
Jessie's embarrassment is put into perspective when a local turns up dead during the parade. With so many people around, Jessie and Chief Daly are
nobody saw anything. Who was the suspicious man in black Jessie saw from her float? And why are several of the people they interview so on edge? Jessie and the chief find themselves with an unusual they have too many suspects.
Can Jessie pick through the tangled web of secrets and lies to find the real killer? And will she ever be able to look at a pumpkin again?
Source: Goodreads
03. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty (published September 14, 2021)
Nominee for Best Mystery & Thriller (2021)
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Liane Moriarty comes a novel that looks at marriage, siblings, and how the people we love the most can hurt us the deepest
The Delaney family love one another dearly—it's just that sometimes they want to murder each other . . .
If your mother was missing, would you tell the police? Even if the most obvious suspect was your father?
This is the dilemma facing the four grown Delaney siblings.
The Delaneys are fixtures in their community. The parents, Stan and Joy, are the envy of all of their friends. They're killers on the tennis court, and off it their chemistry is palpable. But after fifty years of marriage, they've finally sold their famed tennis academy and are ready to start what should be the golden years of their lives. So why are Stan and Joy so miserable?
The four Delaney children—Amy, Logan, Troy, and Brooke—were tennis stars in their own right, yet as their father will tell you, none of them had what it took to go all the way. But that's okay, now that they're all successful grown-ups and there is the wonderful possibility of grandchildren on the horizon.
One night a stranger named Savannah knocks on Stan and Joy's door, bleeding after a fight with her boyfriend. The Delaneys are more than happy to give her the small kindness she sorely needs. If only that was all she wanted.
Later, when Joy goes missing, and Savannah is nowhere to be found, the police question the one person who remains: Stan. But for someone who claims to be innocent, he, like many spouses, seems to have a lot to hide. Two of the Delaney children think their father is innocent, two are not so sure—but as the two sides square off against each other in perhaps their biggest match ever, all of the Delaneys will start to reexamine their shared family history in a very new light.
Source: Goodreads
04. Pumpkins in Paradise by Kathi Daley (published September 25, 2013)
Between volunteering for the annual pumpkin festival and coaching her girls to the state soccer finals, high school teacher Tj Jensen finds her good friend Zachary Collins dead in his favorite chair. When the handsome new deputy closes the case without so much as a "why" or "how," Tj turns her attention from chili cook-offs and pumpkin carving to complex puzzles, prophetic riddles, and a decades-old secret she seems destined to unravel.
Source: Goodreads
05. Apples: From Harvest to Table by Amy Pennington (published September 10, 2013)
Celebrate the variety of apples from the orchard to the kitchen with recipes for both sweet and savory dishes. Apples: From Harvest to Table is a wonderful collection of over 50 seasonal, easy-to-follow recipes for all kinds of delicious apple-based treats. The recipes run the spectrum from breakfast and brunch, salads, starters and mains, to pies, crumbles and cakes, and relishes and chutneys.
In addition to the recipes, there is information on apple varieties, both heirloom and modern, apple lore and history, and even some fun family-friendly activities and recipes to make with the kids. A handy illustrated chart organizes the apple varieties so it's easy to choose which is the right one for any recipe you make. With full-color photographs and charming botanical illustrations throughout, this beautiful book is both entertaining to read and practical to follow. So whether you are new to cooking with apples or a seasoned pro, it is sure to be a sweet and savory addition to your cookbook shelf.
Source: Goodreads
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