something to food about - Questlove

something to food about

Title: something to food about: Exploring Creativity with Innovative Chefs

Author: Questlove

Publication Date: 4/12/16

Pages: 240

Genre: Food / Nonfiction

How I Found It: Blogging for Books

Date Completed: 7/21/16

Summary: Questlove travels the country interviewing some of the greatest chefs within our borders. He offers us their shared thoughts on food, creativity, shifting culture, and more. Plus, there's some incredible food art photography to supplement the main course.

What I Thought: When I saw this book offered on Blogging for Books, I'd already seen several prominent chefs raving about it, including Anthony Bourdain. It had already been working its way into my consciousness. So, when the opportunity presented itself to get my hands on a copy, I jumped. 

I'm so glad I did.

I have this thing in my life where I have tons of books, but I don't feel like I have a lot of coffee table books. Now, hang with me for a moment. I don't want to reduce this work to a cliché coffee table book. In my mind, in my house, I want the books I lay out for guests to see or perhaps page through to be worthwhile. To me, a coffee table book shouldn't be something you lay out willy-nilly to look pretty or on the off chance someone has a few minutes to kill in your living room. No - I think the books you choose for the most public display in your home should be worth reading. They should be tempting to pick up. They should catch your attention with their visual statement, yes, but the words should be just as engaging. I have tons of shelf books, but so few that I would deem in this category. It's something I'm trying to grow in. Of course, there's not a lot of books out there which meet my expectations for such a job.

So, imagine my delight when Questlove's book showed up on my doorstep not as a normal size hardcover, but closer to a standard coffee table book size. I'm sure the editorial size decision was made to give readers a heightened experience with the stunning pictures inside, but I wasn't expecting it. The cover, as you can see, is interesting and immediately makes you wonder what is happening on the pages behind such an image. 

The inside is even better.

Take Tuesday: Shift

Shift

Some books are just so good, you have to read them again. And some books deserve a second chance. And some books I think about and change my opinion or have more to say. Take Tuesday is a chance to do just that. 

Title: Shift

Author: Hugh Howey

Publication Date: 1/28/13

Pages: 520

Genre: Dystopian / Science Fiction / Fiction

Previous Readings: 2013

Date Completed This Time: 8/19/16

Summary: Donald is a new congressman working in Washington with formidable Senator Thurman. The Senator has some strange projects to share. Troy wakes from his cryonic state to work a shift in an underground silo with few memories of the world before and little understanding of how he got into his position. In other silos, fear pushes people to extreme reactions. This all, of course, eventually ties together and in with the story of Juliette from the first novel, Wool. 

What I Thought Before: My first post about this book includes a wonderful summary, so if you're looking for that, make sure you head back to that 2013 post. The post itself is mostly summary, thought it's clear I was head over heels for the series. I mentioned several times how I could not put it down. I missed Juliette back then, but I was excited to see the puzzles pieces of fictional history coming together.

What I Think Now: This reading was a lot different. So much of what propelled me through Shift the first time was the urgent need to know what happens next. To Juliette. To Silo 18. To Solo. To Donald. To Troy. To everyone. I pushed through as fast as I possibly could with an insatiable desire for information, which Howey delivers well. I barely came up for air that last time, much less to ponder the literary technique or character development.

Traveling Mercies - Anne Lamott

Traveling Mercies

Title: Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith

Author: Anne Lamott

Publication Date: 1/19/1999

Pages: 275

Genre: Faith / Memoir / Nonfiction

How I Found It: Sarah Bessey's list of books for female graduates

Date Completed: 7/20/16

Summary: More musings than memoir, Lamott discusses all sorts of things in this book. It's almost an anthology of essays more than a cohesive thesis on one particular aspect of life. Which, given the title, it seems appropriate for Lamott to let us follow the natural pathways of her thoughts.

What I Thought: I discovered this book via the blog of the awesome Sarah Bessey. You may remember her from my reviews of Jesus Feminist and Out of Sorts. I recommend. 

So, when she collected a list of books for female graduates, I added several from the list to my never ending TBR. 

I had never heard of Anne Lamott. However, now having read this book, she seems to have been the next natural step in this genre for me. I just didn't know it. 

March - Geraldine Brooks

March

Title: March

Author: Geraldine Brooks

Publication Date: 2005

Pages: 280

Genre: Historical / Fiction

How I Found It: I became a Geraldine Brooks fan a few years back.

Date Completed: 7/15/16

Summary: While the Little Women lived and loved back at home, Captain Robert March exists far away on the battlefields of the Civil War. He doesn't arrive on the scene until late in the famous novel. Readers are given just pieces of his life away from his little women. Brooks' Pulitzer Prize winning novel has created and shaped his own history.

What I Thought: Since being introduced to Geraldine Brooks' work back when I was in grad school, I have been an ardent fan. I'm slowly working my way through more of her litany of work. This novel, her most recognized and lauded, was an easy next step for me.

I had been a bit hesitant to read it as I normally do not enjoy authors who build upon someone else's work, world, and characters. So many do it poorly. I'm not of the mind to respect canon and let the characters lie where the original author left them. Hence, you can understand my trepidation regarding a novel of which the entire premise is filling in the blanks for one of the most famous family's in American literature.

Girl in the Dark - Anna Lyndsey

Girl in the Dark

Title: Girl in the Dark

Author: Anna Lyndsey

Publication Date: 2/26/15

Pages: 254

Genre: Memoir / Nonfiction

How I Found It: I can't remember

Date Completed: 7/12/16

Summary: Anna Lyndsey is a pseudonym. Whoever she is, the women behind this memoir will likely never read these words. She suffers - and I do think that's the appropriate verb - from photo-sensitive seborrhoeic dermatitus. In layman's terms, she has an intensive sensitivity to light. After exposure to her skin, she experiencing intense burning pain. Consequentially, she has lived much of the last decade in a completely blacked out room.

What I Thought: Ever feel badly about your life? Or wish for more? Or maybe think your days are unexciting? Reading Lyndsey's powerful memoir will quickly adjust your perspective. Suddenly, sunlight itself is a gift and a privilege. After all, Lyndsey lives without the freedom to view a sunset or go to the movie theatre or even flip on a light switch when she walks into a room.

In some ways, Lyndsey seems to be living in an alternate reality than the rest of us. Her daily routine is so far removed from most people's normal that it seems distant and exotic - not in a fun way, more like a sci-fi novel way. In the book, she explores the range of emotion that naturally arises in her scenario. She details complex Games to Play in the Dark that she has created to pass the time; she writes of despair and occasional suicidal thoughts; she shares her elation at the smallest success or hint of remission. Her emotions come across as raw, potent, and powerful. Their intensity makes the reading experience almost psychologically intoxicating. 

The Apartment - Greg Baxter

The Apartment

Title: The Apartment

Author: Greg Baxter

Publication Date: 12/3/13

Pages: 193

Genre: Literary Fiction / Fiction

How I Found It: I can't remember

Date Completed: 7/11/16

Summary: On one frigid winter day, an unnamed American man searches for an apartment in which to start his new life in an unnamed European city. He is accompanied by Saskia, a new friend. Though the main plot consists only of this one day and the search for the right apartment, it is punctuated by glimpses into the American's past, including his time as a soldier and contractor in Iraq.

What I Thought: This book is one of those charming gems that, while short, will offer back as much as the reader is willing to put in. The surface story is charming and sweet, but the layers pile up beneath the apparent.

The novel is very character focused, which is always nice. Really, not much happens over the course of the story. It all takes place on one day and, really, nothing particularly spectacular happens on that day. It's a story about relationships and friendships and what makes us who we are.

Women in Love - D. H. Lawrence

Women in Love

Title: Women in Love

Author: D. H. Lawrence

Publication Date: 1920

Pages: 400

Genre: Classic / Historical / Romance / Fiction

How I Found It: 100 Best Novels list

Date Completed: 7/5/16

Summary: Brangwen sisters Ursula and Gudrun become involved with two local men, Rupert Birkin and Gerald Crich. The relationships between the foursome ebb and flow as each wrestles with philosophical ideals and what they want from life.

What I Thought: I have enjoyed Lawrence's writing. It's in a style I can follow and enjoy and I like his characters. I think this particular work was my favorite of his thus far.

I'm understanding more and more why his writing was so very controversial. When you look at these books and their content and then think about the early 20th century....it's not surprising they made such a stir. At one point in this book, Gerald sneaks into the Brangwen house and takes Gudrun's virginity - all while her family sleeps below. It's not explicit by modern standards, but it is certainly steamy. Lawrence's writing reminds me that sometimes less is more.