What are you reading these days?

[creaton]

On Food and Cooking -- by Harold McGee

You're reading McGee, straight through? Good for you. Seriously.

I tried that once, about three years ago. I stopped when I hit page 350, unable to go on. I was a little better educated, and my brain a lot more numb, than when I began that trek. Now it sits there, this book, waiting for me to have a question so that it can be opened. It's never on the shelf long enough to gather dust, and eventually I'll have read every page.

But straight through? No way.

My night-stand pile of books is surprisingly food-free these days.

Currently reading Bellocq's Women, by Peter Everett, fictionalized account of EJ Bellocq's life in Storyville. I'm reading this because I am passionate about photography, New Orleans, and, occasionally, hookers.

Last food-related book I read was It must've been something I ate by Steingarten. Highly recommended.

I actually read On Food and Cooking almost straight through (over the course of 2 months).... I actually loved it... but then again, I'm a food science geek.... So much so that I purchased another of his books, The Curious Cook, which I also finished off rather quickly

Of course, I do enjoy things besides food... Just finished reading In Evil Hour by Gabriel Marquez

[SobaAddict70]

In no particular order:

Kitchen Confidential, no need to introduce the author. heheh.

Masterworks of Latin American Short Fiction (various authors -- one of them is an incredibly funny short story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez)

Bleak House (Dickens)

Washington Square (James)

The New Making of a French Cook (Kamman -- one of the things I love to do is read through a cookbook right before I start working on things from it. My newest cookbook, short on photos and long on instruction, which is probably just as well -- I could do without the food porn)

Dragons of a Vanished Moon (Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis)

Histories (Herodotus)

Can anyone recommend any food-focused modern British literature? You know, Dickens mentions quite a lot in A Christmas Carol, and George R.R. Martin is famous for providing quasi-medieval descriptions of meals in his Song of Fire and Ice series. Tips please.

Cheers,

Soba

[FireIslanddish]

Fast Food Nation (a must)

Alice B Toklas Cookbook (found in used bookstore)

Short stories by F.Scott Fitzgerald

The Tibetian Book of the Dead (heavy reading)

[herbacidal]

Tepper Isn't Going Out, Calvin Trillin

(got this from this thread)

The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs

Empire, A Tale of Obsession,..., Mitchell Pacelle

(history of the Empire State Building)

coming up as soon as I finish one of these:

No Logo, Naomi Klein

none food related

Edited August 14, 2003 by herbacidal (log)

[fresco]

Tepper Isn't Going Out, Calvin Trillin

(got this from this thread)

The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs

Empire, A Tale of Obsession,..., Mitchell Pacelle

(history of the Empire State Building)

coming up as soon as I finish one of these:

No Logo, Naomi Klein

none food related

Jane Jacobs may be food related, if only unintentionally. She has been an advocate, practically forever, of cities put together on a scale that works for people. One of her observations is that neighborhoods with a good mix of, say, restaurants and homes, tends to keep people on the streets day and night, which is healthy.

The Vietnam war does not have a lot to recommend it, except, from my perspective, that it caused a lot of smart, talented people to move to Toronto, including Jane Jacobs and her then draft age sons.

[cakewalk]

Just finished Everything is Illuminated (Jonathan Safran Foer); funny and painful, not to mention confusing.

Just started Life of Pi (Yann Martel); it does get to you right from the start.

It's been too hot to read much.

[maggiethecat]

Can anyone recommend any food-focused modern British literature?

Dear Soba:

I nominate John Lanchester 's "A Debt to Pleasure."

Stunning technique, brilliant thriller, creepy, and ---good recipes!

Anything Lanchester writes is stunning carft. (See "Mr. Blue ") "A Debt to Pleasure" is the ultimate (maybe even a smart beach read) brain teaser for foodies who like elegant writing.

As they say: Most highly recommended.

[fresco]

In no particular order:

Kitchen Confidential, no need to introduce the author. heheh.

Masterworks of Latin American Short Fiction (various authors -- one of them is an incredibly funny short story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez)

Bleak House (Dickens)

Washington Square (James)

The New Making of a French Cook (Kamman -- one of the things I love to do is read through a cookbook right before I start working on things from it.  My newest cookbook, short on photos and long on instruction, which is probably just as well -- I could do without the food porn)

Dragons of a Vanished Moon (Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis)

Histories (Herodotus)

Can anyone recommend any food-focused modern British literature?  You know, Dickens mentions quite a lot in A Christmas Carol, and George R.R. Martin is famous for providing quasi-medieval descriptions of meals in his Song of Fire and Ice series.  Tips please.

Cheers,

Soba

Orwell. IMHO he's a better essayist than novelist, and some of his best essays,including In Defence of English Cooking, A Nice Cup of Tea and The Moon Under Water, treat the rituals of food with uncommon deference.

[herbacidal]

Tepper Isn't Going Out, Calvin Trillin

(got this from this thread)

The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs

Empire, A Tale of Obsession,..., Mitchell Pacelle

(history of the Empire State Building)

coming up as soon as I finish one of these:

No Logo, Naomi Klein

none food related

Jane Jacobs may be food related, if only unintentionally. She has been an advocate, practically forever, of cities put together on a scale that works for people. One of her observations is that neighborhoods with a good mix of, say, restaurants and homes, tends to keep people on the streets day and night, which is healthy.

The Vietnam war does not have a lot to recommend it, except, from my perspective, that it caused a lot of smart, talented people to move to Toronto, including Jane Jacobs and her then draft age sons.

it is a fine book. i can see how it is the baseline for a new generation of urban planners.

that idea about mixed use is contrary to many views i've heard, but obviously does make sense. diversity of sources allows to not be overly dependent on any one source.

didn't know she was living in toronto now.

[fresco]

She's been living in Toronto, and, thankfully, influencing urban planning here, since about 1969.

In the early Seventies, the Village Voice sent a reporter to Toronto to interview Jacobs. Among the things she said is that the area of Toronto she was living in reminded her of Greenwich Village in the Fifties. I've never been absolutely sure whether this was meant as a compliment or an insult.

[bloviatrix]

Can anyone recommend any food-focused modern British literature? You know, Dickens mentions quite a lot in A Christmas Carol, and George R.R. Martin is famous for providing quasi-medieval descriptions of meals in his Song of Fire and Ice series. Tips please.

It's not literature, and it's not "modern," (it was written in 1970) but what about Nicholas Freeling's The Kitchen Book/The Cook Book?

[fresco]

Can anyone recommend any food-focused modern British literature? You know, Dickens mentions quite a lot in A Christmas Carol, and George R.R. Martin is famous for providing quasi-medieval descriptions of meals in his Song of Fire and Ice series. Tips please.

It's not literature, and it's not "modern," (it was written in 1970) but what about Nicholas Freeling's The Kitchen Book/The Cook Book?

One of the great things about all the stuff Freeling did or wrote is he had few pretensions. The "cook" part of the book where he includes recipes has a "written to order" odor about it but Kitchen, if not literature, is close kin.

[bloviatrix]

Soba, I have another thought. Again, it's not literature, but check out Peter Ackroyd's London, A Biography. Although I recommend the book in its entirety, he has a section on the "food of london." One of the chapters that I found particularly fascinating is where he took an area within The City and traced the shops and availability, from the food stands of the earliest centuries, through to inns and markets, to the present, and how once again there's "take-out" for the convience of those working in the environs.

Ackroyd is an expert on Dickens and cites him quite frequently as well.

[SobaAddict70]

Not London, the novel? Can't remember who wrote that. Chronicles the lives of several families with intertwined histories from early Roman times to present-day London.

Thanks, I'll check it out, but not sure when that'll be.

Soba

[bloviatrix]

Not London, the novel?  Can't remember who wrote that.  Chronicles the lives of several families with intertwined histories from early Roman times to present-day London.

Thanks, I'll check it out, but not sure when that'll be. 

Soba

There are two books called London. The novel is by Edward Rutherford. The biography is by Ackroyd.

[Carlovski]

London, A Biography is a great read. And the sort of one you can dip into whenever you like - each chapter stands alone well.

Foodwise I am going through Dear Francesca by Mary Contini, and the independent cook by Jeremy Round. Both excellent to read, with some lovely recipes.

[MatthewB]

Just finished Everything is Illuminated (Jonathan Safran Foer); funny and painful, not to mention confusing.

Foer is wildly talented. I'm eager about more from him. (One of the, if not *the,* top contemporary novels I've read this year.)

[zilla369]

Second time through all the Terry Pratchett "Discworld" books.

[hannnah]

Currently rereading Cook's Tour and Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold.

Just finished Freeling's The Kitchen - gotta go search the catalog for The Cook now.

On deck: Rashomon Gate by IJ Parker (mystery set in medieval Japan). After that, probably Bobby Gold.

I suppose this would be a good thread in which to plug for the National Book Festival, October 4 on the National Mall in Washington DC - we have Jacques Pepin and Patrick O'Connell from Inn at Little Washington scheduled to speak and/or do book signings, plus plenty of non-food authors like David Baldacci, James Patterson, Michael Beschloss, Robert Caro, Pat Conroy, Wally Lamb, and Julie Andrews. Info is online at www.loc.gov/bookfest.

(Disclaimer: I do tech support for the Library of Congress office that organizes the Book Festival, but I'm not directly involved in the Festival itself unless I get roped in at the last minute.)

[fimbul]

Right now I'm running through Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog). Not specifically food related, but food is mentioned an awful lot. A certain perverse tin of pineapple springs to mind....

Also just started listening to audio tapes of Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander during my daily commute. Some interesting discussion of meals so far, which is fun, since I know little of the cuisine of that era.

[KNorthrup]

Also just started listening to audio tapes of Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander during my daily commute.  Some interesting discussion of meals so far, which is fun, since I know little of the cuisine of that era.

There's an entire separate supplemental book about the food in that series. I bought it for my stepfather one Christmas but am blanking on the name. Lobscouse and Spotted Dog?

[theminx]

I just finished Princess Sultana's Circle by Jean Sasson and Best Food Writing 2002 .

My current list:

Anita and Me -- Meera Syal

Japan: A Reinterpretation -- Patrick Smith

Hot Sour Salty Sweet

re-reading Kitchen Confidential

I'll probably start Bobby Gold soon.

- we have Jacques Pepin and Patrick O'Connell from Inn at Little Washington scheduled to speak and/or do book signings, plus plenty of non-food authors like David Baldacci, James Patterson, Michael Beschloss, Robert Caro, Pat Conroy, Wally Lamb, and Julie Andrews.

Wally Lamb have a new book coming out??

[fimbul]

Also just started listening to audio tapes of Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander during my daily commute.  Some interesting discussion of meals so far, which is fun, since I know little of the cuisine of that era.

There's an entire separate supplemental book about the food in that series. I bought it for my stepfather one Christmas but am blanking on the name. Lobscouse and Spotted Dog?

I believe that's the name of it, yes. I had dinner, I think, with its authors a few years back. The mother of the girl I was dating at the time was a Patrick O'Brain nut and had a bevy of like minded individuals over to dinner one night. I was there, and was too dumb to chat up the cookbook authors, prolly because I was more interested in the girl than anything else.

Er, as I say, I *think* they were the authors of the book in question. They were writing a book about the food in the Aubrey-Maturin series I know, and when Lobscouse came out I just assumed it was theirs and not the work of some johnny/jenny-come-latelys.

Er. How's that for a short story made long?

At any rate, I've always been curious about the cookbook. It looked like fun stuff, though I suspect not all the recipes would be to my taste.

[badthings]

On Food and Cooking -- by Harold McGee

You're reading McGee, straight through? Good for you. Seriously.

I did it in a week, in Mexico. I am an obsessive reader though. I did Fast Food Nation in one SFO-BOS flight. That was a bummer.

On my last vacation, I read Curiosities of Food, a weird encyclopedic Victorian book about weird things people eat, unearthed and edited by Alan Davison. Really interesting, though after a while it became more catalog than descriptive.

Non-food I just finished The Count of Monte Cristo, 1000+ pages of pure juicy revenge-driven plot. Great summer book.

Could we have some kind of comparative analysis of food science books, by people who have read more than one? I'd like to read more, but I don't want to slog through the same thing over and over.

[balmagowry]

Also just started listening to audio tapes of Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander during my daily commute.  Some interesting discussion of meals so far, which is fun, since I know little of the cuisine of that era.

There's an entire separate supplemental book about the food in that series. I bought it for my stepfather one Christmas but am blanking on the name. Lobscouse and Spotted Dog?

I believe that's the name of it, yes. I had dinner, I think, with its authors a few years back.

Really? May I ask when and where?

At any rate, I've always been curious about the cookbook.  It looked like fun stuff, though I suspect not all the recipes would be to my taste.

Well, as one of the authors I am of course biased, but I can certainly assure you that it was indeed fun stuff, more fun than decent people oughta have. And yes, there are a few recipes that I can't imagine being to anyone's taste!

[Oh, and - which recordings were you listening to? The unabridged Recorded Books ones, I hope, with Patrick Tull?]