--- title: Author Crystal King's Blog - Tasting Life Twice | Books description: Books | Author Crystal King muses on life, history, writing and food. --- # Tasting Life Twice Author Crystal King muses on life, history, writing and food. Browse by All Blog Books italy ancient rome Italian History Recipe Writing When in Rome food Feast of Sorrow fun historical fiction Bartolomeo Scappi Viva Italia! The Chef's Secret reading history Apicius Italian Language Renaissance 52 books Boston Cinquecento Publishing italian recipes grub street renaissance recipe roman video Ancient Roman Food Colosseum Culinary Delights books set in italy renaissance italy Ancient history YouTube authors cooking fiction music 52 books in a year Author Book Christmas Language Learning Maine Poetry Pope Roman Forum Scappi The Renaissance Venice Writer Writers Resources fantasy learning Italian travel writers Anne Rice Art Book Clubs Christmas carol Christopher Castellani Circus Maximus Florence Gillian Flynn Greek Harry Potter Honey Italiano Italo Calvino Latin Literary agent Marcus Aurelius Marcus Gavius Apicius Muse and the Marketplace Pantheon Papal conclave Pope Benedict XVI Research Roman Empire Sardinia Sistine Chapel Turkey Ursula K- Le Guin Vestal Virgin Wine ancient recipes architecture baking beauty blogging book recommendation book review christmas gift cibo cookies crystal king gelato giveaway holiday ice cream interview italian cooking literary literature middle ages new year's resolution rejection renaissance Italian food recipe roma rome sci-fi shopping social media special event summer television xmas 100 favorite books 1950s 1960s 1970s 2016 2017 320 AD 3D Achilles Aelia Agostino Chigi Alice Alina Reyes All This Talk of Love Amanda Palmer Amaryah Orenstein Anais Nin Ancient Greece Ancient Roman architecture Andrea Bocelli Anita Shreve Anjali Mitter Duva Anne Carson Anne Rampling Antonio Latini Arch of Constantine Arts Artusi Astrology Augustus Author Life BBC BDSM Baldassare Peruzzi Baroque Bell-ringer Bells Benvenuto Cellini Black tea BlogHer Bloggers Bologna Boodles Byki Cake Catholic Church Cellini Charles Dicken Chuck Palahniuk Clark Frasier Colleen McCullough Cologne Colum McCann Concord Cook Cookbook Corsica Cosimo de Medici Critical & Creative Thinking Dante Dante Alighieri David Bowie David Wishart De Re Coquinaria Doge's Palace Dormouse Durham Cathedral E-L- James Earth Egypt Eleonora Galasso Emily Browning England English language Ernest Hemingway Erotic literature Etsy Faint Promise of Rain Fifty Shades of Grey Fight Club Flamingo tongue snail Forum Forvo France Francesa Michielin GO Literary George Orwell Germany Gone Girl Gone Girl (novel) Google Translate Got Milk Grasso Grub Grub Street Muse Gunter Grass Hairstyle Harvard Harvard University Henry David Thoreau Henry VII of England Hunger Games Independence Day International Space Station Isabella Dalla Ragione Italian American Italian food J-R-R- Tolkien James Wood Jane Austen Janet Fitch Julius III July Justin Rowe Karl Lagerfeld Katie Caldesi Kennebunkport Maine Kessler Twins Keurig Kindle Deal Kit Harington Kurt Vonnegut L'Amore Esiste La Cucina Leicester Leonardo Da Vinci Linguistics Livia Lucca ## Posts about Books: ![A Page From This Author's Journal of A 3rd Plague Year](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Amaryllis.jpeg) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [crystal king](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/crystal-king) [recipes](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/recipes) [television](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/television) [baking](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/baking) [Author Life](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/author-life) It's hard to believe that title. That we're going into the third year that this horrible virus has had a hold on our world. ![A Few of My Favorite Food Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Food%20books%202.jpg) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [YouTube](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/youtube) I'm often asked what books about food that I love. It's a REALLY long list. I'll probably do a few videos where I describe my faves, but here's the first installation.  ![Friends + New Books in February](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/grubtypewriter.png) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [book recommendation](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/book-recommendation) In 2005, I graduated with my M.A. in Critical & Creative Thinking. I had a thesis which was, essentially, a book proposal for creative writing exercises for authors in progress. And I needed to figure out how to get it out into the world. Enter in [GrubStreet](https://grubstreet.org/).  ![It's Winter, Which Means It's Time to Read (and Win!) Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/erin-walker-496351-unsplash.jpg) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [books set in italy](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books-set-in-italy) [Feast of Sorrow](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/feast-of-sorrow) [giveaway](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/giveaway) [historical fiction](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/historical-fiction) [The Chef's Secret](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/the-chefs-secret)  The holidays are past, and January is off to a shivery start in most places. In New England, it's really just the start of winter, with February at it's deep, dark, freezing heart.  ![The Ultimate Italian Historical Fiction Holiday Giveaway](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/blur-bow-boxes-749354.jpg) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [giveaway](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/giveaway) [xmas](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/xmas) [holiday](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/holiday) I don't know about you, but for me, this time of the year is always fraught with all sorts of stressors, whether it's the finding the right gift, family challenges, holiday preparations, or end of the year work projects wrapping up.  ![Crystal King's July Ponderings, Tastings, Travels, Readings and General Updates](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Scappibanquet.jpg) [Ancient Roman Food](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ancient-roman-food) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [ancient rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ancient-rome) [italy](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italy) [recipes](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/recipes) It's the sticky part of July, nearly the dog days of summer. My mind has been jam-packed with planning for both the fall, and the winter launch of my next novel, THE CHEF'S SECRET. In the midst of that, I've had my mind in a swirl with a variety of other projects, books and ideas--many of which I think might be of interest to my readers and potential readers, so let's unpack it all: ![Learning from Leonardo Da Vinci](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/leos%20cats.jpg) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [italy](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italy) [Art](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/art) [inspiration](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/inspiration) [Leonardo Da Vinci](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/leonardo-da-vinci) I just finished reading the incredible biography of the Renaissance's favorite son,  [Leonardo by Walter Isaacson](https://amzn.to/2J6Bxrs) . What an inspiration this man was (and remains)! In the conclusion of the book, Isaacson sets forth several lessons from Leonardo's life that I think are interesting, particular for those of us who love learning.  ![Feast of Sorrow Long-Listed for Center for Fiction First Novel Prize](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/img-1.png) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [awards](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/awards) [book award](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/book-award) [Feast of Sorrow](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/feast-of-sorrow) [fiction](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/fiction) When I wrote [*Feast of Sorrow*](http://amzn.to/2utn8yh), I never once thought of being nominated for a prize, much less winning one. I thought it might be a decent book, and one that some people would like, but I figured it was such a niche genre that I might not even find a publisher for it and would eventually have to start writing on book two and then sell it later.  ![Oh Snap!](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/matt-botsford-197870.jpg) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [litsnap](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/litsnap) [Anjali Mitter Duva](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/anjali-mitter-duva) [Faint Promise of Rain](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/faint-promise-of-rain) [Feast of Sorrow](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/feast-of-sorrow) [fun](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/fun) [historical fiction](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/historical-fiction) [video](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/video) [LITsnap](https://litsnap.org/) that is!  ![FEAST OF SORROW is 1 Week Old!](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Bookshelf.jpeg) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [Learning](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/learning) [Feast of Sorrow](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/feast-of-sorrow) [friends](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/friends) [Publishing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/publishing) I began writing FEAST OF SORROW in 2007.  I had about five or six chapters when I joined [Lisa Border](http://www.lisaborders.com/)'s [Grub Street](https://grubstreet.org/) summer Novel in Progress class and began workshopping it. In it I met one of my writing partners, [Anjali Mitter Duva](http://anjalimitterduva.com/). When I took the fall class, I met another writing partner, [Jennifer Dupee](http://blog.jenniferdupee.com/). I was off and running.  ![Out With the Old, In With the New](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/img-23.jpg) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [2016](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/2016) [2017](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/2017) [Feast of Sorrow](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/feast-of-sorrow) [fun](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/fun) [new year](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/new-year) [new year's resolution](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/new-years-resolution) [Publishing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/publishing) Another year nearly gone by. A time for reflection and a time for resolutions. The end of this year feels fraught with anxiety for me, for a variety of reasons. I know I'm not alone in this regard. There seems to be a collective UGH that the people around me are saying. 2016 can't go away fast enough, for me, and for [many others](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ6WPo-oW5Q) out there.  ![52 in 52: Books Read in June, July and August](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/tiffany.jpg) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [sci-fi](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/sci-fi) [thriller](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/thriller) [52 books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/52-books) [52 books in a year](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/52-books-in-a-year) [books set in italy](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books-set-in-italy) [fantasy](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/fantasy) [fiction](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/fiction) [historical fiction](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/historical-fiction) ![Summer Faves](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/img-2.png) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [Boston](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/boston) [delicious](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/delicious) [fun](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/fun) [summer](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/summer) So far it's been a perfect summer in Boston. Temps in the high 70s to mid-80s, no humidity, cool nights. Gorgeous, gorgeous. I wish that I had more time off to enjoy these beautiful days!  ![52 in 52: Books Read in April & May](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/georgia.jpg) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [52 books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/52-books) [52 books in a year](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/52-books-in-a-year) [book review](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/book-review) [reading](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/reading) ![52 in 52: Books Read in March](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/zoli.jpg) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [jonathan grimwood](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/jonathan-grimwood) [new yorker](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/new-yorker) [v.e. schwab](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ve-schwab) [Colum McCann](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/colum-mccann) [grub street](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/grub-street) [michelle hoover](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/michelle-hoover) [Muse and the Marketplace](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/muse-and-the-marketplace) [oyeyemi](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/oyeyemi) ![52 in 52: February Books Read](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/JC.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [sci-fi](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/sci-fi) [52 books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/52-books) [historical fiction](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/historical-fiction) [reading](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/reading) ![52 in 52: January Books Read](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Jan-Books-1.jpg) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [italy](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italy) [La Cucina](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/la-cucina) [Taste of Molecules](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/taste-of-molecules) [Tearling](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/tearling) [The Flounder](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/the-flounder) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [food](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/food) [food book](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/food-book) [Gunter Grass](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/gunter-grass) [Italo Calvino](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italo-calvino) [Oddfits](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/oddfits) [Pulitzer Prize](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/pulitzer-prize) [White Truffles in Winter](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/white-truffles-in-winter) Like last year, I'm embarking on the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge. I'm actually going to aim for 75 books this year as the big goal, but I'll be happy if I can average a book a week. For the most part, this month's themes were food and fantasy. ![Touchstone Books is Publishing FEAST OF SORROW](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/img-56.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [Apicius](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/apicius) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Feast of Sorrow](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/feast-of-sorrow) [historical fiction](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/historical-fiction) [Marcus Gavius Apicius](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/marcus-gavius-apicius) [Publishing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/publishing) [simon and schuster](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/simon-and-schuster) [touchstone books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/touchstone-books) ![My 100 Favorite Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Bookshelf.jpeg) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [100 favorite books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/100-favorite-books) [Poetry](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/poetry) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [classics](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/classics) [David Bowie](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/david-bowie) [fantasy](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/fantasy) [fiction](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/fiction) [reading](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/reading) [David Bowie](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bowie)'s death hit me much harder than I could have anticipated. I was still basking in the amazingness of [Blackstar](http://davidbowie.com/blackstar/), telling everyone I knew that they needed to go buy it, that I thought it was the best Bowie album yet. I certainly didn't expect it to be his last. I could write a whole post on how much he has impacted my life but I think everyone is starting to weary of the collective mourning that Bowie fans are going through. Instead, I wanted to share another place where he inspired me. A few years ago, he shared [a list of his 100 favorite books](http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/01/david-bowie-books-kerouac-milligan), and of course, it's going around again. It was another poignant reminder of why I admired him so much. It got me to thinking about my own voracious reading habit. If I had to list my 100 favorites, what would they be? I found that it was a hard list to come up with--I have read SO many books and when I used to have time, I could easily finish a book a day.  Alas, writing books cuts into the reading time these days. But out of those several thousands of books that I've read, which of those has really stayed with me? ![New Year's Goals and Resolutions of the Bookish, Writing Type](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/img-14.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [blogging](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blogging) [food](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/food) [new year's resolution](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/new-years-resolution) [reading](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/reading) Last year I had a few goals that I wanted to meet related to reading and writing, some of which I accomplished and some that I didn't.  However, I did: ![](https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=1481231558851356&ev=PageView&noscript=1)