For TTT where we are listing the top ten reads we are looking forward to in 2014, over at The Broke and the Bookish

1. Isla and the Happily Ever After (Anna and the French Kiss, #3) by Stephanie Perkins – just finished the first two books in this series in the past two weeks in 2014:).  Reviews here and here.
2. Graduation Day: The Testing Book 3 by Joelle Charbonneau (also Independent Study: The Testing, Book 2- which just came out) – Loved ‘The Testing’ – my review of the book is here.
3. The 52-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffith – I read book 1 of this series (loved it and reviewed it here) and somehow missed books 2 and 3 – plan to finish reading them – 13 times table! – by the time this one is out.
4. Family Life by Akhil Sharma – When I read about this book, I had to add it to this list.
   His first book has been something I wanted to read for a long time.
5. The Last Word by Hanif Kureishi – this is featured in many lists of books to read this year.
6. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd – Her first book was one I enjoyed reading and I do plan to read this soon
7. Can’t and Won’t by Lydia Davis Perfect by Rachel Joyce – ‘Unlikely Pilgrimage….’ has been  on my TBR for a long time and currently on hold in the library for me. Perfect – seems just wonderful!
8. Every Day Is for the Thief  by Teju Cole – again, like ‘The Last Word’, this book was just everywhere. So as part of trying new authors and different types of books, I added this one.
9. Frog Music: A Novel by Emma Donoghue
10. HOLLOW CITY Miss Peregrine, Book Two by Ransom Riggs – am finally reading book 1:) and looking forward to book 2 already.
11. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami – Have been meaning to read Murakami forever now so why not start with this one.
12. The Past as Present by Romila Thapar Aleph
13. Reel India: Cinema and Small Town India by Namrata Joshi

For Teaser Tuesdays today, I present two books:
From ‘The Vegan Cookbook: Feed your Soul, Taste the Love: 100 of the Best Vegan Recipes by Adele McConnell ‘ –  a picture:) After all, a picture says a thousand words. Here is my teaser: This is the Moroccan Quinoa Soup featured on pg 56 of the book.

And from ‘Wild‘ by Cheryl Strayed – a book I have been wanting to read for a long time for various reasons – for the fact that this ‘wild’ is the Pacific Crest Trail, that I have enjoyed books like this in the past (Journey to Timbuktu), and more.
‘It occurred to me that now would be the perfect time to take a photograph, but to unpack the camera would entail such a series of gear and bungee cord removals that I didn’t even want to attempt it. Plus, in order to get myself in the picture, I’d have to find something to prop the camera on so I could set its timer and get into place before it took the shot, and nothing around me looked too promising.’
From Pg 54

Today, people around India celebrate the harvest season and the sun itself  – celebrated as Pongal in the south, Sankaranti in various parts of India, as Bihu in the north east, as Lohri in the north. We celebrate Pongal at our home. Traditionally, Pongal is a harvest festival and celebrates life in all forms – from the life giving sun to the birds and the bees.
As kids, we looked forward to many of our festivals as they marked the arrival of new clothes and of course, festive and delicious dishes. The main dishes for Pongal (other than a wedding scale feast on day one of the 4-day long festival) is the two pongals!