false 34 173 168 true 5741225 read 1 true 1706203 currently-reading 4 true 1706202 to-read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14513318 The Shadow of the Wind (Paperback) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71364392 to: The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food (Hardcover) by Judith Jones
Lately I've been surrounding myself with the words of women whose lives have been shaped by food. They are great company, these women, and reveal something new to me with each read. My latest culinary/literary journey was Judith Jones' 'The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food.' Jones was the legendary Knopf editor responsible for publishing dozens of food luminaries over the course of her career. As the Times put it, "Ms. Jones may not be the mother of the revolution in American taste ... but she remains its most productive midwife."

Toward the end of her memoir, Judith discusses what it was like to begin cooking for herself after her husband and partner in all things food passed away.

"After Evan died, in the winter of 1996, I doubted that I would ever find pleasure in making a nice meal for myself and sitting down to eat it all alone. I was wrong. Instead, I realized that the ritual we had shared together for almost fifty years was a part of the rhythm of my life, and by honoring it I kept alive something that was deeply ingrained in our relationship. In fact, more than ever I found myself, about mid-afternoon, letting my mind drift toward what I was going to conjure up for dinner when I got home. Instead of walking into what might have seemed an empty apartment - actually, I've always had a dog who is hungry to greet me - I gravitate toward the kitchen, as I did as a young girl to bask in Edie's warmth, and I can't wait to bring it to life, to fill it with good smells, to start chopping or whisking or tossing and smelling up my hands with garlic. I turn on some music and have a glass of Campari or wine, and it is for me the best part of the day, a time for relaxation. When, at last, I sit down and light the candles, the place across from me is not empty."


This passage strikes right to the heart of why I love to cook. So many moments in this novel resonated with me, as emitted from the heart of this woman who is wise, conscientious, bold, and as fantastic a listener as they come. Seems to me we could use more Judith Jones in the world. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79631602 to: Water for Elephants (Paperback) by Sara Gruen
How terrible do I feel as a Kingsolver fangirl to rate this novel higher than the last I read, Kingsolver's newest? I can't help myself. I sped through this book in lightening speed, old-school style, sitting up until 4 a.m. I'd turn off the lights, try to sleep, then turn them back on for more. And while I sped through The Lacuna as well, the plot of 'Water for Elephants' was engrossing for me from start to finish, and my compassion for the protagonist never lost steam. And that's the primary difference, of course, from The Lacuna. Whereas I wanted Harrison Shepherd to be okay just because, I NEEDED Jacob Jankowski to be okay. And yes, I marveled less over Gruen's sentences than Kingsolver's, but ultimately the draw of Gruen's storytelling cast a stronger spell for me. (Can you tell I still have lots of Kingsolver guilt?) ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79867038 The Help (Hardcover) by Kathryn Stockett
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78133412 to: The Lacuna: A Novel (Hardcover) by Barbara Kingsolver
I wanted to adore this book, desperately so. No fiction from Kingsolver in a decade - this was the first hardcover fiction I've ever pre-ordered. And for much of the novel, I was hooked. I couldn't put it down, thought about it when we were separated... but the whole is less than the parts. The protagonist brings so little light to himself that I enjoyed him most when surrounded by fantastic characters of history - Kahlo, Rivera, Trotsy - and very little when he stood alone and asked for all my attention. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66794775 Allie's review of I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
by Joanne Greenberg

Ahhh, "The Yellow Wallpaper!" Haven't heard that title in ages. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76806495 to: A Confederacy of Dunces (Paperback) by John Kennedy Toole
This is one of those books I've been meaning to read for ages, so finally getting around to it felt like a victory all on its own. Now that I've finished the novel, though, I know the details of this story are the true prize here, and the plot will stick with me forever. I so appreciate the level of absurdity here - just unabashed, unapologetic levels of absurdity - and the crafting with which every character has been given a completely identifiable voice. Without question, Ignatius J. Reilly is up there among the most memorable characters ever put to paper. The vocabulary is also grinnably good - when else have we enjoyed the words 'monogoloid' and 'Fortuna' as often? But now, sadly, I'm facing nights without the ridiculousness of Ignatius to make me laugh out loud at 1 a.m. What's a reader to do? ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75849794 to: The Known World (Paperback) by Edward P. Jones
What an amazing novel... completely addictive. The race/societal/historical quandaries presented are head-snappingly good. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72771593 to: Cornbread Nation 2: The United States of Barbecue (Cornbread Nation: Best of Southern Food Writing) by Lolis Eric Elie
The SFA does it again: this barbecue-themed compilation is endlessly fascinating. I read it just in time for the pig pickin', and loved having so many rich stories surround the experience. I'll never tire of SFA's breaking-down of food into the cultural, the social, the historical, and the political, and am eyeing the SFA symposium next year in a big way. ]]>