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Fitz has survived his first hazardous mission as king's assassin, but is left little more than a cripple. Battered and bitter, he vows to abandon his oath to King Shrewd, remaining in the distant mountains. But love and events of terrible urgency draw him back to the court at Buckkeep, and into the deadly intrigues of the royal family.

Renewing their vicious attacks on the coast, the Red-Ship Raiders leave burned-out villages and demented victims in their wake. The kingdom is also under assault from within, as treachery threatens the throne of the ailing king. in this time of great danger, the fate of the kingdom may rest in Fitz's hands -- and his role in its salvation may require the ultimate sacrifice....

Fitz is in a weakened condition after someone tried to kill him and now he must make choose between going back to Buckkeep to live under the same roof as the man who wants him dead or striking out on his own and abandoning the oath he made to his king. When duty prevails, arguably over good sense, Fitz makes the treacherous journey home. Rest was in short supply then as he needed to be ready for any possible danger that may befall him back in the castle while he grew into a man and more of a weapon for his king.

Royal Assassin is book 2 of Robin Hobb's The Farseer trilogy. What was maybe only hinted to be a complex story in the first book blossomed in the second. The first book only scratches the surface. The second book plunges readers into the story head first. Fitz continues his training to kill from the shadows as a secret assassin for the king, he learns to fight in hand-to-hand combat when Prince Verity sees what he can do on the battlefield, he sails with his people to confront the Red Ship Raiders learning to row a ship and fight onboard, he receives permission to court a young woman, he makes new friends, and he maybe loses another. Love, hate, betrayal, loyalty, pain.

This book was wonderfully written and had elements of every genre I can name. The characters’ emotions ran wild across the pages and I was the string wrapped around the author’s finger, unable to put the book down until I knew what happened next. Can you recall the book that cemented the fact that you would read every book that Robin Hobb wrote? I can – Royal Assassin.

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You can learn a lot from films if you have a good memory, watch how people do things and have done them always, but there is not much real work in modern films, there are only ideas. Thin ideas and something they call humour, everything has to be a laugh now. But I hate being entertained, I don't have any time for it.

* 3 pounds mussels
* Extra-virgin olive oil
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 2 leeks, white parts only, finely chopped
* 4 garlic cloves, minced
* 1/4 bunch fresh thyme
* 1 cup white wine
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Rinse the mussels under cold running water while scrubbing with a vegetable brush. Remove the stringy mussel beards with your thumb and index finger as you wash them. Discard any mussels with broken shells.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the leeks, garlic, and thyme and cook until the vegetables cook down to a pulp, about 5 minutes. Add the mussels and give everything a good toss. Add the white wine. Cover and steam over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, until the mussels open. Stir occasionally so that all the mussels are in contact with the heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and a drizzle of olive oil to the sauce remaining in the pot and swirl to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve immediately.
- Tyler Florence

I had no idea it was this easy to make mussels. You literally put them in a pan with some aromatics and a steaming liquid and a few minutes later they're ready to eat. If it is of any value to you, I substituted shallot for the leeks and probably doubled the amount of garlic in this recipe (mmmmmmm).

I have a friend who makes mussels all the time and his recommendation after we discussed this recipe was to cut the wine with some water. He said that it will tame the wine flavor a little and almost smooth out the taste of the mussels. This is a trick I'll definitely try the next time I make mussels.

I recommend a toasted crusty bread with this recipe.

Chang Beer

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Egg, Potato, and Prosciutto Pie

* 1 (1-lb) package frozen puff pastry, thawed
* 2 medium onions, finely chopped (2 cups)
* 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
* 4 to 5 oz thinly sliced prosciutto
* 1 large boiling potato (10 to 12 oz)
* 12 large eggs

Put a baking sheet in middle of oven and preheat oven to 375°F. If the dough is in 1 piece, cut it in half. Roll out each piece into a 12-inch square on a lightly floured surface. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with 1 piece of dough, draping it slightly over sides. Stir together onions, oil, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and spread in an even layer over dough. Top with prosciutto. Peel potato and thinly slice (about 1/8 inch thick), then arrange in one layer over prosciutto, overlapping slightly. Crack eggs on top of potatoes, gently arranging yolks so they don't touch one another. Season eggs with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Cut several slits in remaining pastry square and lay over top of pie, then crimp edge and trim. Bake until pastry is golden brown and puffed, 50 to 60 minutes.
Serves 6 to 8 (breakfast or brunch)
Active time: 20 min
Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

- Gourmet.com

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2007 Monte Oton Garnacha

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Rachel Getting Married

When Kym (Anne Hathaway - Golden Globe Nominee, Best Actress, Motion Picture (Drama)), returns to the Buchman family home for the wedding of her sister Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt), she brings a long history of personal crises, family conflict and tragedy along with her. The wedding couple's abundant party of friends and relations have gathered for a joyful weekend of feasting, music and love, but Kym - with her biting one-liners and flair for bombshell drama - is a catalyst for long-simmering tensions in the family dynamic. Filled with the rich and eclectic characters that remain a hallmark of Jonathan Demme's films, Rachel Getting Married paints a heartfelt, perceptive and sometimes hilarious family portrait.

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Leland: You want a why. Well, maybe there isn't one. Maybe... Maybe this is just something that happened.

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

David Copperfield is the story of a young man’s adventures on his journey from an unhappy and impoverished childhood to the discovery of his vocation as a successful novelist. Among the gloriously vivid cast of characters he encounters are his tyrannical stepfather, Mr. Murdstone; his formidable aunt, Betsey Trotwood; the eternally humble yet treacherous Uriah Heep; frivolous, enchanting Dora; and the magnificently impecunious Micawber, one of literature’s great comic creations. In David Copperfield -- the novel he described as his "favorite child" -- Dickens drew revealingly on his own experiences to create one of his most exuberant and enduringly popular works, filled with tragedy and comedy in equal measure.

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