Weekly Rec: Sweet Ginger 2

This week's recommendation is really only for the locals - sorry everyone else! - or, I suppose, anyone who might have reason to visit southern NH for... some reason. (Perhaps you are running for president? That is generally why people visit us.)

Last Friday I had some time to kill before seeing a movie (Ocean's 8, it was fun, lots of competent ladies) and decided to expand my horizons a bit and try Sweet Ginger 2 in Merrimack for dinner. I've been sort of hit or miss with Thai restaurants in the past, which I honestly think is a me problem, partially because I get confused trying to figure out what's vegetarian. But at Sweet Ginger they have a whole vegetarian section of the menu and when I asked whether something else would be vegetarian, they were happy to explain how they could make a version that was. The food was delicious and the service was very good and VERY quick - it didn't even kill as much time before the movie as I'd hoped! I'll definitely be going back. Give it a try if you're in the area!

Weekly Rec: The Beach Boys with The Royal Philharmonic

Does your summer - and this WEEK, God - need a blast of PURE JOY? Go listen to this new album, which has Beach Boys songs with new orchestral backing tracks by the Royal Philharmonic. It's such an interesting exercise - especially because they didn't replace the original instruments, as I'd feared, but rather layered in the orchestra behind them, so these versions of the songs are incredibly rich and lush. Some of them work better than others (and a few of the songs I'm sure I've never heard before - "Disney Girls"???) but as a whole it's a delightful listening experience. "Here Today" and "Fun, Fun, Fun" are particularly great. You can get the album from Amazon or listen on Spotify (also embedded below). Enjoy!

Weekly Rec: One Good Earl Deserves a Lover

One of my good friends reads a lot more historical romance than I do, which is great for me, because when I'm in the mood I can just get recommendations from her and not have sift through for quality myself. She told me to read this one because it starts with the heroine correcting the hero's math, and that is basically my IDEAL meet-cute. And this did not disappoint - it had a smart, nerdy heroine, in a way that didn't feel anachronistic, and a complicated hero who had to work through his issues. Plus a heist! Sort of! I don't want to spoil but that part toward the end was DELIGHTFUL.

By coincidence, I heard Sarah MacLean on a panel on Romance and Resistance at BookCon as I was in the middle of reading this, and she was GREAT on it, so I'm delighted to have liked this book and am looking forward to reading more of her work, especially given what she said about how the 2016 election made her think about her characters and especially her powerful male character differently.