December 27, 2021 C IS FOR COOKIE

When I was a kid, I spent countless hours baking with my grandmother. We would spend all day Sunday  making  macaroons, brownies, rugelach, shortbread cookies, black & white cookies, chocolate toffee matzo crack, buckeyes, snowballs-- while simultaneously decorating hundreds of press cookies with sprinkles and cherries. I've continued the tradition with my own children--especially during the holidays. My only problem with baking hundreds of treats though is that they are HERE AND THEY ARE CALLING MY NAME. I have NO WILLPOWER. It's crazy. I stay away from them ALL day --But they haunt me at night. I tell myself that I'll ONLY have ONE but-- One turns into two--turns into three--turns into four-- UNITL I've had TEN.  IT'S MADNESS. I've decided to just eat as many as I can--ALL DAY--to get rid of them. THE SOONER THEY ARE GONE-- THE BETTER--RIGHT? Only then can I  STOP THE MADNESS-- Get back on the straight and narrow and hopefully fit into my jeans again. Ugh. The struggle is REAL. It was--however-- no struggle at all to read Taylor Jenkins Reid's newest book Malibu Rising. Nina Riva, the main character of this novel, is a supermodel and daughter of rock legend Mick Riva. She is also guardian of three siblings--Jay, Hud and Kit--as their mother is dead and their father abandoned the family.  The story takes place over a 24 hour period in August of 1983--the morning of the Annual Riva Summer Party. The novel flashes back and forth between the day of the party and the past--including 1956 when their parents met, married, and  Mick ultimately became famous. As the party gets started, the reader learns about each of the siblings-- their hopes, dreams and shared heartache. Will the siblings reconcile with the father? What happens to Nina' home? Will this fractured family finally find peace? Find out the answers to these questions and many more when you read this thoughtful novel for yourself. It's about 385 pages--or a 4.5 mile run--that I really enjoyed.