What are Honeyed Words?

They are sweet nothings, phrases that drip off your tongue, pleasantries, the ambrosia of the gods put to paper (okay, okay, I made that one up).

Honeyed-Words.com is my answer to the serious things in life.

I started this site after vacating the blog section of MySpace.com. I wanted somewhere to share and showcase my hobbies, a little section of cyberspace that was more serious than MySpace, but not too serious.

I wanted somewhere I could talk about things that interested me and hopefully reach people who were interested in the same. I wanted a site that could be dedicated to highlighting things that I found enjoyable. I wanted a place I could invest in to practice my writing skills, something that would be a bit more immediate than the long term project of becoming a real live published author. After defending the Science-Fiction and Fantasy genres for about the billionth time, I also wanted a place where I could showcase the best of the genre in addition to traditional works of literature. I wanted a forum to discuss food, and a focus to bring to the recipes. Voilà! Honeyed-Words.com was born out of the love and melding of food and literature.

Comments and criticism are always welcome!

I hope you enjoy your read.

Infrequently Asked Questions (I.e. questions I would ask a blog author, but none of you have asked me!)

• How does this site work?
• Why Honeyed Words?
• Why should I read your blog?
• Do you read all the books that you’ve reviewed?
• Who influences what you read?
• Who pays for the books that you read?
• How do you decide what to cook and what to cook with?
• Who pays for all of the ingredients? Where do you get your ingredients?
• How do you decide which books and/or products to write about?
• What is your review policy?
• Where can I find a list of books that you’ve received?
• Miscellaneous Information and Credits

How does this site work?/ Why are there reviews in the main section and in their own separate section?

The site is loosely organized around the idea that I read a book and then bring in ancillary commentary related to my experience of that book via food or other interdisciplinary means.

Books that I choose to “feature” in this manner will be posted in the main section of this site, and their reviews will appear on the front page. As a general note, only books that I enjoyed will make it to the feature section, though not all books I enjoy will be featured.

Other books that I review, good or bad, along with a list of books that I’ve read will be added to the Reviews section.

All book reviews appear in the Archives section regardless of whether they were featured or not.

Why Honeyed Words?

Originally I wanted this site to be named “Off the Shelf”. My idea was that I’d write about things I’d taken off my bookshelf off my pantry shelf. Alas, others got to the name Off the Shelf far before I did, and so I had to think of a new title.

I latched on to Honeyed Words because it conveyed the sense of interconnectivity that I wanted to instill in this blog. For me, Honeyed Words invokes the idea of gilded prose, of books good enough to eat, and of food good enough to talk about.

Why should I read your blog and not one of the hundreds of others about food, books, and writing?

Well, you should read them too! There are a number of excellent blogs out there, many of which will eventually make it to a nice organized list that I’ll include as links.

But what makes my blog special is that I try to put food and literature together, to intertwine the sustenance of eating into what I consider the sustenance of ideas through literature. I believe the two are both essential victuals to consume and that by examining what we feed our stomachs at the same time we examine what we feed our brains, we can create a more meaningful and enjoyable experience.

I also believe that talking about food is only natural. Our very survival depends on eating, so it’s a universal topic. Eating is one thing we can say we share in common with literally every person on the planet.

Some weeks my book posts will be attempts to get into the head of a specific character, other weeks I’ll just be getting into the feel of the book. If you’re interested in expanding your experience of a book, in knowing who eats something, why they eat it, or at the very least why I’ve decided to eat it, then this blog will offer you something most recipe and review sites don’t.

Do you read all the books you’ve reviewed?

Each and every one of them. If there’s a book that I didn’t read from cover to cover, I’ll state it and tell you why.

Who influences what you read?

I have a huge backlog of books that I plan to read and they all comes from various sources.

My inspiration to read something is built in a complex set of steps. For example, in the summer of 2006 I decided I wanted to brush up on my Spanish. I thought that reading literature in Spanish would be a great way to do this. I then realized I was crazy and didn’t have time to be reading novels in Spanish but before reality struck, I had found quite a few novels that I was interested in reading, most of which have been translated to English and have ended up on my “to be read” list.

I have a circle of friends who are avid readers, and if they tell me they have enjoyed something, it usually ends up in the “to be read” pile. I also read and skim several bookish blogs and find interesting titles on them. I am an active member of Paperback Swap and Bookmooch and I regularly go thrift store browsing for new books to post to those sites. Oftentimes I end up with 6 books to post and 6 books to keep. I also browse through bookstores on a regular basis and make lists of things that look appealing. I listen to National Public Radio and quiz my co-workers about what they’ve recently read and enjoyed. In short, I look for books everywhere.

If I am ever recommended a book by its author, their agent, their editor, or their publisher, it will be disclosed.

Who pays for all the books that you read?

If a book is ever purchased for me by its author, their agent, their editor, or their publisher, this will be disclosed.

You can safely assume that if I haven’t stated who bought the book, then I acquired it one of three ways. Either:

1. I bought it.
2. It’s in what I call “my extended library” (i.e. I’ve borrowed it from my sister).
3. I received it as a personal gift from either a family-member or long-time friend with no connection to the publishing industry or blogosphere (You can probably imagine what is on my Christmas and birthday lists).

How do you decide what to cook and what to cook with?

Recipes are selected for their relevance to my reading material, my daily inspiration, and what’s on sale at the local stores. Products are selected by me based on what’s easily available at the store I’m at when I do my main shopping run (oh how I wish I had time to shop around) and by what looks appealing.

I include product name brands so that people will have the information to duplicate the recipe exactly as I made it, should they desire. If I ever use a product I feel is worth raving about, I’ll do it, and if I’ve had a bad experience I’ll say so too, but I am in no way a professional food reviewer. My idea of tasty is my own and is admittedly untrained.

Who pays for all the ingredients? Where do you get your ingredients?

Unless otherwise specifically stated, either I have purchased the ingredients, or the friends or family members that I am cooking for have purchased them.

Unless otherwise specifically stated, all ingredients come from a variety of local grocery stores, farmer’s markets, deli’s, meat markets and other food retailers.

How do you decide which books and/or products to write about?

I write about books that spark a reaction with me. Sometimes it’s a good reaction, sometimes it’s a bad reaction. If there’s no reaction, I probably won’t write about it. In my ideal world I would write about every book that I read, but I have to admit that sometimes I read horribly formulaic trashy romance novels and really, no one wants to hear a rehash of: boy meets girl, boy hates girl, boy and girl surreptitiously ignore each other for fifty pages while secretly falling passionately in love, boy and girl have a “romantic rendezvous”, boy and girl fight over something stupid (alternatively insert get separated by unfortunate circumstances), boy and girl are reunited and live happily ever after. To be honest, I’m not sure why I can’t stop myself from reading them after writing that.

What is your review policy?

Now that I've received my very first free book, I thought it was a good time to include my review policy.

I welcome books from authors and publishers and food products and gadgets from manufacturers. If you would like to send any product for review, please contact me using the information provided in the Contact link after reading and agreeing to the terms below.

I make no warranties as to whether I will read and/or review any books sent (unless said book has been received as a result of a contest which stipulates that winners read and review the book). A list of books that I've read and reviewed is available here. Currently, I read about 2500-3000 pages per month and review 4-5 books per month. The format of this blog is such that if your book is selected as a featured book, I will write additional posts that are inspired by the book, so a featured book will have 2 additional posts that mention the book in addition to the review. (Please check out the Venusia series of posts for an example).

I make no warranties as to whether I will use and/or review any food product sent (unless said product has been received as a result of a contest which stipulates that winners use and review the product). Currently, I post approximately 1-2 food related posts per week. The format of this blog is such that I plan my recipes around the books that I feature.

If reviewed, I will notify the sender of the product and include the permalink of the review for their records. Authors, agents, publishers, and manufactures are free to quote from or reference my review in the promotion of their product.

I will not accept any books or other products under any conditions that impose restrictions on the content of my review. I will accept photos of the book, author, product, and/or promotional images but make no guarantee that I will include any or all of them in my review post. I reserve all rights as to the content of this site. Products sent that attempt to impose restrictions on the creative content of my review will not be reviewed.

Where can I find a list of books that you’ve received?

Right here: Books I've Received

Miscellaneous

The awesome icons used throughout the site are by Based on icons by Paul Davey aka Mattahan. All rights reserved (by him).

You can download the set here.