This week’s quote was provided by bigsis, from the book Vampire in Moscow by Richard Henrick. She described it this way: “An ancient sarcophagus has been unearthed and sent to Moscow to be studied. There are many interested groups and already, and one-third into the book the characters’ lives are entwined…”

Brother Nicholas, you have been chosen to travel to the capital city. Because the time of release is near, you will not go unarmed. Two thousand years ago, our order’s beloved founder received a weapon cut from the very cross on which the Ascended Master was crucified. The divine spear has been kept in our midst for a millenium, when the Beast last walked among . Protect it well, for it is the only device on Earth that can do injury to the unholy creature, whose flesh is impervious to mortal weaponry.

I’m still looking for quotes from the books you’re reading for the challenge; leave them in the comments or email them to mmfbooks AT gmail.com. Oh, and you can find all the reviews here.

On with the roundup:

Erin‘s first book was Garlic and Sapphires, a yummy (and fun) look at Ruth Reichl’s experiences as a food critic in New York. Erin writes, “I don’t think there is a single item of food Ruth wrote about that I would be interested in eating. Her descriptions of tastes and textures were fabulous.” Check out her review for a delightful bit of irony…

Amira checked in with another four (I’m at a loss for words…): Swallows of Kabul (she felt mostly the same way that Jeska did), Hundred Secret Senses (liked it, but not as much as Joy Luck Club), Driving Over Lemons (good; better than another book I’ve never heard of), and Persepolis 2. She wrote, “One of my favorite scenes in the book is when Satrapi points out that it is difficult to be an art student while wearing impractical clothing and is allowed to redesign the acceptable clothing for art students. We hear so much of what is wrong with Iran that it’s good to hear that sometimes, there is at least a little reason (although you can certainly argue that even the redesigned outfits are pretty unreasonable).”

Lily read Chocolat — mmmmm, sounds delightful — and wrote “Chocolat is a small book, but just like a little chocolate truffle, it held a lot of delicious flavors. The writing is truly poetic, I did feel like I was eating my favorite dessert.” I really do need to read this book…

J.C. read one by one of my new favorite authors, Girl at Sea by Maureen Johnson. She complains about the cover, saying it’s nothing like the character Johnson created, writing, “This cover is so generic that it short-changes what’s inside. I’m glad I didn’t judge this book (or 13 Little Blue Envelopes) by its cover. If I had, I likely would have assumed the novel would have been another formulaic teen romance drama. Which it definitely is NOT. Girl at Sea has a great pace and likable characters. There’s a bit of everything here: mystery, romance, drama. It was a great book to read while stuck in winter misery.”

Tricia read the classic A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, noting that while the plot wasn’t that captivating, “it’s told so beautifully that there were passages I actually pored over. It’s a story of love, grief and survival that I certainly recommend.” Another one I need to read.

Our stop in China this week is provided by Corinne with Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey through China, Chinese-American journalist Jen Lin-Liu’s look at modern-day China through food. Corinne writes, “Her cooking experiences and the people she meets are fascinating and all the while she is teaching us Chinese history, culture and legend, usually through the personal experiences of the chefs and waitresses with whom she crosses paths. Explanations about the variations in Chinese cuisine and food preparation based on geography were particularly compelling, probably because the cuisine of the culture I’ve grown up in feels infantile compared to the dishes I read about.”

And lastly, but not leastly, Nicole checks in with Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, another book that I’ve been meaning to read for a while. (Hmm… do you sense a theme here?) She writes, “Reading this book inspired me to take a personal field trip to my grocery store to see what I could buy from Arizona. I was shocked to discover that if I was going to go on the Kingsolver diet, Corey and I would have to survive on chocolate milk, bread, and honey.” An interesting diet, to say the least.

Here’s to another good week!