Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly post featuring five things that caugt my attention this week. It's been 11 months since NYC has seen an accumulation of snow. That sure is different than living in Central New York.
1) One of my husband's friends has a huge collection of baseball cards, and he gave my husband a Tim Locastro baseball card this week. Tim is from my hometown of Auburn, NY, (he played on the same high school baseball team with my son) played on the NY Yankees this year, and will be playing for the Mets this year. 
2) Our quest to eat healthier continues and this week I made Rocco DiSpirito's Chicken Cacciatore from his Now Eat This! Cookbook, featuring 150 recipes under 350 calories each. I've had the cookbook for a long time and just pulled it out and dusted it off this week. Made with boneless thighs , sliced mushrooms, and diced green peppers along with a store bought marinara sauce, it was an easy and tasty dish for just 240 calories per thigh. We'll be having this one again. 
3) One of my favorite events at the dearly departed Book Expo was always the Editors Buzz Panel, where six editors would each present a book they were excited about. I found so many terrific books there and I loved hearing how passionate they were. The Buzz Panel continues online now and we get to hear the editors speaking with the authors about their books. I really enjoy the format. The book I am most looking forward to reading is Amazing Grace Adams by Fran Littlewood. Grace is a midlife heroine, a warrior who is ready to rip up the social contract. She gets stuck in traffic while on the way to pick up her 16 year-old daughter's birthday cake, and in frustration abandons her car and walks off. It's been compared to Sorrow and Bliss, Where'd You Go Bernadette, and Lessons in Chemistry. Amy Einhorn edited it and Mary Beth Keane blurbed the book and that is all I needed to hear to get me to read it. 
5) I read two nonfiction books last week. Like the rest of the world, I read Prince Harry's memoir Spare. I found it enlightening and it reinforced what I always thought- he was traumatized at the age of 12 by having to walk behind his mothers casket and greet "mourners", while keeping calm and carrying on. As the mother of two sons nearly their age at the time, I was horrified that the adults around them didn't shield them from that experience. When he married the love of his life Meghan, he became determined to protect her and their children. As for those who are trashing him in the media, I think they are proving his point. 
4) We watched The Banshees of Inisherin on HBOMax and it is a fantastic movie. Set in 1923 on a small island off the coast of Ireland, it tells the story of two lifelong best friends, Padraic (played by Colin Farrell) and Colm (Brendan Gleeson). Colm one day decides that he wants nothing more to do with Padraic but won't tell him or anyone else why. The situation gets worse and worse as Padraic wants to know what happened. The acting is phenomenal, four of the actors have been nominated for Oscars, as has the movie for Best Picture. It's not for the faint of heart however. 
Amy Bloom's memoir In Love recounts the experience of discovering her 63 year-old husband being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and his decision to go to Dignitas in Switzerland to end his life with dignity. It's a tough book to read, and Bloom doesn't hold back on how awful it is to see her vibrant husband lose himself. At its heart, it's a love story that ends too soon for them, and Bloom is an amazing writer. 
Stay safe and healthy. Until next time my friends.
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