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July 22
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Bookshop
added:
Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-sour Memoir of Eating in China (Hardcover)
by Fuchsia Dunlop
bookshelves:
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my rating:
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July 18
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Bookshop
added:
Good Grief (Paperback)
by Lolly Winston
bookshelves:
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my rating:
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July 22
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Bookshop
gave
to:
Don't Try This at Home: Culinary Catastrophes from the World's Greatest Cooks and Chefs (Paperback)
by Andrew Friedman, Kimberly Witherspoon
bookshelves:
delicious-reads
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my rating:
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read in July, 2008
Bookshop said:
"The book contains essays from famous chefs about their culinary disasters. Due to the sheer amount of writers, the result is unavoidably a mixed bag. Some, such as David Thompson and Anthony Bourdain, are great writers. Others miss the theme. Th...more
The book contains essays from famous chefs about their culinary disasters. Due to the sheer amount of writers, the result is unavoidably a mixed bag. Some, such as David Thompson and Anthony Bourdain, are great writers. Others miss the theme. The rest should not be allowed to write.
The tales range from the tame (mostly about brawls in the kitchen ala Kitchen Confidential) to the outrageous (hiring a blind cook? Perhaps Chef Hamilton was forced by political correctness not to ask for any illness during a job interview?). Some (eg. Mario Batali) appear to write this just to get back to their boss as they are still bitter about the experience.
However, chefs are a funny bunch. It’s entertaining to read the snippets of their habit through the answers of the following questions. Answers are all mine:
a. what do you eat for breakfast? [Muesli with yoghurt or milk on weekdays, something luxurious like pancake, omelet, fruits, the works, for weekends]
b. what dish would you cook in order to seduce someone? [Hmm…. My husband was seduced by my mother’s Hakka’s stewed bacon in preserved veggie (Khiew Nyuk). Does that count?]
c. what do you never cook? [Never say never but for now… rabbit?]
d. What’s the one dish you find hard to get right? [Chinese-style Fried Noodle. It’s impossible to get the right smokiness and to get the ingredients properly scattered among the noodle strands. Mine sits at the bottom of the pan.]
It’s a nice, easy read. But borrow, don’t buy. ...less
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July 15
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Bookshop
added:
Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure (Paperback)
by Sarah Macdonald
bookshelves:
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my rating:
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July 14
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New comment on Hera Diani's review of
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
(see all 2 comments)
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Bookshop
gave
to:
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia (Paperback)
by Elizabeth Gilbert
bookshelves:
travel
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my rating:
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read in July, 2008
Bookshop said:
"I've been severely tempted to buy this book because her travel brought her to Bali and I'm a sucker for anything Indonesian. But I was hesitant due to comments which label the book as whiny and excessively but emptily spiritual.
But a good review ...more
I've been severely tempted to buy this book because her travel brought her to Bali and I'm a sucker for anything Indonesian. But I was hesitant due to comments which label the book as whiny and excessively but emptily spiritual.
But a good review of a friend made me think twice. I tried to like the book but failed. Sorry, Bert. Let me count the ways.
The book started well enough with her travel to Italy but I cannot get over the idea how whiny she is without a proper cause. She complained of having gone through the biggest pain in her life but she initiated the divorce! Her intention of not airing dirty laundries from both side is laudable but that makes her bid for sympathy very hollow.
The part in India? Well.. I'm practicing Yoga (or trying to) so I rather understand the philosophy behind it but her claim of reaching perfect state of happiness through meditation and all sounds very dubious and very western and rather misleading. I wonder how many long for a union with God and be persuaded to escape the daily grind of life by running away to an ashram in India.
When she gets to Bali, it is simply nauseating. Where did all the self-fulfillment gone? I thought she'd be all independent and free that she wouldn't fall for a creepy, sweet-talking, lustful Brazillian?
Having said all that, she's a gifted writer. I like her style, her analogy, her description. I might even try her fictions. I do admire her for baring it all. Her portrayal of Bali, particularly the story about this friend Wayan who had a reversal of fortune and got greedy was really accurate. Her methods of finding inner peace, of accepting herself, of getting rid of her pain are all very helpful in envisioning some spiritual concerns I have.
But I don't think I can forgive her lack of detail on the divorce because it's so central to the book yet it's omitted for no good reason. And I have a very big problem with people who have everything and still whine. There are real problems out there, people. While no one knows for sure the demon each person is fighting, there are others who have no time to fight their own demon because they are fighting for survival....less
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July 12
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Bookshop
added:
Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World's Most Coveted Handbag (Hardcover)
by Michael Tonello (Goodreads author!)
bookshelves:
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my rating:
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June 22
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New comment on Bookshop's review of
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
(see all 3 comments)
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June 15
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Bookshop
added:
Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris (Paperback)
by Clotilde Dusoulier
bookshelves:
wish-list
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my rating:
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Bookshop
added:
Chocolate and Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen (Paperback)
by Clotilde Dusoulier
bookshelves:
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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