Yeah, I know it is has been forever since I’ve finished anything. I’m sure I feel worse about it than you do but I’m starting to accept the fact that the brain is turning to mush. I just can’t wait for the day when I won’t care.
Perhaps that is why Julie & Julia is a perfect book for summer mush brain. It is another blog turned book chronicling the Julie/Julia project. One unhappy woman, stuck in annoying temp job, decides to learn how to cook French food by working her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1. The real challenge: she will make all 524 recipes in one year. Every last one of them, even the aspics.
Aspics... I never thought I’d find anything more disgusting than calf brains as a culinary delight. The descriptions and the pain and horror Julie went through to complete that section of the cookbook set the bar pretty high. If you are like me and not an experienced French food connoisseur, aspic is where you take ingredients and place them into gelatin made out of meat stock. It’s jelly loaf. For some reason, it is the gelatin part I have a problem with. Why would you do that to perfectly good food? Jell-O should only be cherry flavoured and you should never add stuff to it (other than a dollop of whip cream if you are feeling fancy.) Now that I’ve got off my chest, after reading this book, I can respect the work that would go into a dish like that. If I should ever see one again, I won’t dismiss it out of hand and keep the shivers to a dull minimum.
I started the book about a couple weeks before the movie came out and was having problems getting through it but after seeing the movie this week, it helped encourage me to finish the last half. For the first time in the history of cinema, a movie actually compliments the book it was based on. The movie was great to give us more of Julia Child’s story, her life with Paul, her cooking, and her time in Paris. The book was great because it gave us more of Julie’s story, her life with Eric, her day job, her friends/family, and motivation on why would someone put themselves through something like this. You could read it as a post-September 11th look at New York and a piece of the emotional state of its citizens. Or if that is too deep for a summer read, one woman’s challenge to find her bliss brought on by impending dread of turning 30.
Personally, I’m really not a fan of cooking so I really shouldn’t even be reviewing this book. My general motto: can’t wait until all our nutritional requirements come in pill form. But I do like trying new food and restaurants so it has added to my appreciation in that sense.
Still staying away from aspics. Shiver.
Showing posts with label non-fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label non-fiction. Show all posts
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Working Stiff by Grant Stoddard
Smirk.
In some ways, I should just leave it at that. But I won’t. I can’t.
Just when you think you’re a mature individual and gotten over any possible embarrassment over buying a book about a guy’s sexual exploits, you get comments from an over friendly sales associate. The ever so kind cashier gave me a little smirk while he was placing it in a bag and then had to comment on my choice of purchase. I make some offhand comment about it looking too funny to pass up but on the inside, I’m feeling like I’ve just bought porn and my mother is the one taking my money. And after reading this fun little book, that seems rather fitting.
Basically, Working Stiff is the autobiography of one man’s experience as a columnist for the webzine, Nerve. His assignment was to go out and perform sexual experiments and report back in the form of a high school lab report. He did this for two and some years. And he did everything. Nothing was too weird, deviant, or gross. And you get some of that is this retelling of his life but not really. He didn’t grow up wanting to be a sex reporter, he just wanted to live in America and jumped at a chance that would pay his rent and keep him in the country. He is the everyman thrown into situations that he stumbles his way through. (My favourite would have to be his time at Leather Camp.) What you didn’t get through his old column is his parent’s reaction to his line of work. Or how assignments affected his dating life.
There were a few very explicit scenes and this is definitely not a book I’d recommend for just anyone. The writing style reminded me more of the stuff I’ve read off of the internet than anything I’d read in book form. If you are not used to that, you might find it a little graphic. And the fact that it was non-fiction added a certain sense of surrealism to the text that you wouldn’t accept from a fictionalized story. But it was undeniably funny and I can’t think of a single thing more amusing than sex.
Smirk.
In some ways, I should just leave it at that. But I won’t. I can’t.
Just when you think you’re a mature individual and gotten over any possible embarrassment over buying a book about a guy’s sexual exploits, you get comments from an over friendly sales associate. The ever so kind cashier gave me a little smirk while he was placing it in a bag and then had to comment on my choice of purchase. I make some offhand comment about it looking too funny to pass up but on the inside, I’m feeling like I’ve just bought porn and my mother is the one taking my money. And after reading this fun little book, that seems rather fitting.
Basically, Working Stiff is the autobiography of one man’s experience as a columnist for the webzine, Nerve. His assignment was to go out and perform sexual experiments and report back in the form of a high school lab report. He did this for two and some years. And he did everything. Nothing was too weird, deviant, or gross. And you get some of that is this retelling of his life but not really. He didn’t grow up wanting to be a sex reporter, he just wanted to live in America and jumped at a chance that would pay his rent and keep him in the country. He is the everyman thrown into situations that he stumbles his way through. (My favourite would have to be his time at Leather Camp.) What you didn’t get through his old column is his parent’s reaction to his line of work. Or how assignments affected his dating life.
There were a few very explicit scenes and this is definitely not a book I’d recommend for just anyone. The writing style reminded me more of the stuff I’ve read off of the internet than anything I’d read in book form. If you are not used to that, you might find it a little graphic. And the fact that it was non-fiction added a certain sense of surrealism to the text that you wouldn’t accept from a fictionalized story. But it was undeniably funny and I can’t think of a single thing more amusing than sex.
Smirk.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
It has been way, way, way too long since I’ve sat down and wrote a review. But then, it has been too long since I’ve finished a book or at least, it feels that way. This is a book club book and an awesome one at that. It deserves to have some remembrance given to it.
The Glass Castle is one of those books that make you realize how good you’ve had it all these years. How everyone you know has had it good and how horrible bad can be for others. And sometimes, the choices people make may not be the best for them but they have to live their own life. You can’t save some people from themselves.
Sorry, this has totally told you nothing about the book... it is an actual account of the author’s childhood, growing up with nomadic/bohemian parents and three other siblings who were one step away from living off the grid. They had grand dreams, the mother wanted to be a world famous artist and the father had get rich quick schemes finding gold in the desert. If only he could get his contraption working, if only he could stop drinking. If only. They were extremely smart individuals; they just had trouble holding a job even if it meant that the family didn’t eat that month. The kids would scrounge in garbage bins for their classmate’s scraps to keep from starving. Living in homes, infested with rodents and insects, which should have been condemned. It was like an Americanized version of Angela’s Ashes.
But it wasn’t all bad. There was an attractive sense of adventure, especially in the early chapters before they ended up stuck in Welch, an out of work mining town in the hills of West Virginia. Like the Christmas each of the kids were given their very own star as a gift. Jumping into the car and not knowing what the road had in store. The hours spent drawing up the plans for their dream home, the Glass Castle, which they never got around to building. The sense that imagination and ingenuity were the best gifts a person could possess. The feeling that family was the most important thing in the world and if you had your family, things really weren’t all that bad.
Anyway, I’ve tried to be vague so that I don’t ruin for you all the weird and wacky stuff that happens to this family over the years. Truth is definitely stranger than fiction.
The Glass Castle is one of those books that make you realize how good you’ve had it all these years. How everyone you know has had it good and how horrible bad can be for others. And sometimes, the choices people make may not be the best for them but they have to live their own life. You can’t save some people from themselves.
Sorry, this has totally told you nothing about the book... it is an actual account of the author’s childhood, growing up with nomadic/bohemian parents and three other siblings who were one step away from living off the grid. They had grand dreams, the mother wanted to be a world famous artist and the father had get rich quick schemes finding gold in the desert. If only he could get his contraption working, if only he could stop drinking. If only. They were extremely smart individuals; they just had trouble holding a job even if it meant that the family didn’t eat that month. The kids would scrounge in garbage bins for their classmate’s scraps to keep from starving. Living in homes, infested with rodents and insects, which should have been condemned. It was like an Americanized version of Angela’s Ashes.
But it wasn’t all bad. There was an attractive sense of adventure, especially in the early chapters before they ended up stuck in Welch, an out of work mining town in the hills of West Virginia. Like the Christmas each of the kids were given their very own star as a gift. Jumping into the car and not knowing what the road had in store. The hours spent drawing up the plans for their dream home, the Glass Castle, which they never got around to building. The sense that imagination and ingenuity were the best gifts a person could possess. The feeling that family was the most important thing in the world and if you had your family, things really weren’t all that bad.
Anyway, I’ve tried to be vague so that I don’t ruin for you all the weird and wacky stuff that happens to this family over the years. Truth is definitely stranger than fiction.
Friday, July 14, 2006
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
It has been awhile since I’ve written one of these up for general consumption. Not that I haven’t been reading, just some of my reading materials are a little subjective. But no time like the present to get back onto that horse, so to speak. Hopefully this won’t suck too badly. And let’s forget about the movie, shall we? I haven’t seen it yet and I figure I might go next week. Not that I have high expectations but figure this might go easier if we just focus on the book.
Did you ever have one of those never pleased type of bosses? The type who wasn’t happy unless they were causing some type of misery onto someone else? Who was so miserable and vile that they would engineer ways to belittle and humiliate just to make their self feel better? Personally, I haven’t. I had really annoying bosses who wanted to be your friend but you knew you couldn’t trust them as far as you could throw them. Or the type that would freak out about little things but would have no clue about the things that really matter. So I figure I’ve been pretty lucky after this book.
Lauren, straight out of college, is looking for a job. She is a writer and wants to work for a magazine, any magazine that will help her on her way to The New Yorker. Not that she is super ambitious, she just wants to be able to move out of her parent’s house and start her own life. In walks the job opportunity of a lifetime, work for one year as the personal assistant to the editor for the fashion magazine and you can walk your way into any magazine you want to go. The problem, your boss is a real bitch. In every way, shape, and form.
The most interesting part of the book was reading about how evil this woman could be. She would request things but not give enough information to allow you to be able to know what she wanted and when you couldn’t give her what she wanted, she would call you stupid for not being able to read her mind. You were on call 24 hours a day and if anything was needed, you were called, no matter what it was. There was hell to pay if things were not perfect. You may be allowed to see the glamorous side of life but that is from the perspective of following behind after it to clean up. And it makes you wonder how far you can be pushed, what you would be willing to give up for a year, if the price was right.
All that being said, it was an entertaining read for something light and fluffy. Fun reading about how evil someone can be and lucky enough to do so from such a safe distance.
Bah, it was an okay book. Not a great American classic to make it through the ages but fun.
Did you ever have one of those never pleased type of bosses? The type who wasn’t happy unless they were causing some type of misery onto someone else? Who was so miserable and vile that they would engineer ways to belittle and humiliate just to make their self feel better? Personally, I haven’t. I had really annoying bosses who wanted to be your friend but you knew you couldn’t trust them as far as you could throw them. Or the type that would freak out about little things but would have no clue about the things that really matter. So I figure I’ve been pretty lucky after this book.
Lauren, straight out of college, is looking for a job. She is a writer and wants to work for a magazine, any magazine that will help her on her way to The New Yorker. Not that she is super ambitious, she just wants to be able to move out of her parent’s house and start her own life. In walks the job opportunity of a lifetime, work for one year as the personal assistant to the editor for the fashion magazine and you can walk your way into any magazine you want to go. The problem, your boss is a real bitch. In every way, shape, and form.
The most interesting part of the book was reading about how evil this woman could be. She would request things but not give enough information to allow you to be able to know what she wanted and when you couldn’t give her what she wanted, she would call you stupid for not being able to read her mind. You were on call 24 hours a day and if anything was needed, you were called, no matter what it was. There was hell to pay if things were not perfect. You may be allowed to see the glamorous side of life but that is from the perspective of following behind after it to clean up. And it makes you wonder how far you can be pushed, what you would be willing to give up for a year, if the price was right.
All that being said, it was an entertaining read for something light and fluffy. Fun reading about how evil someone can be and lucky enough to do so from such a safe distance.
Bah, it was an okay book. Not a great American classic to make it through the ages but fun.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
If I Knew, Don't You Think I'd Tell You by Jann Arden
This one will also be a quickie although this book deserves a lot more attention than just a review by little ole’ me. But I’m sure it is okay with the press it has gotten in the past. Not that I dare presume to know what a book thinks or doesn’t think. Basically I’m tired and it has been a long day. I’d also like to start another book... so many on the go...
But we must get to the reason we are here, to discuss the selected journal entries of Jann Arden. I want to state right now that I liked this book and somewhat tempted to pick up her second as well. In this one, we get her musing on her life and the world as Jann sees it. Basically, daily thoughts, some funny, some poignant, some just everyday stuff you could read in anyone’s blog. But she definitely has a style about her writing that is full of emotion, especially when she writes about those she has loved and lost, like her grandmother or an aunt, or very personal accounts of her childhood growing up in Alberta.
The only problem I had with it is that it always felt like she was keeping us at arms length. It was as if she wasn’t comfortable letting so many people into her life on such an intimate level (not that I blame her one bit.) I just wanted to read more inane stuff about her life; the little weird things that go on in her world that must be very surreal. The crazy, the drama. It is would have made it feel a lot more personal to me. It was definitely personal but in some ways, also very the public face to the whole Jann Arden celebrity world. Or that could just be the Canadian coming out in her and we can’t blame her for that.
Perhaps her second book will give the inanity that I’m looking for. Not that it will matter, as I will likely love it anyway.
My rating: :-D :-D :-)
But we must get to the reason we are here, to discuss the selected journal entries of Jann Arden. I want to state right now that I liked this book and somewhat tempted to pick up her second as well. In this one, we get her musing on her life and the world as Jann sees it. Basically, daily thoughts, some funny, some poignant, some just everyday stuff you could read in anyone’s blog. But she definitely has a style about her writing that is full of emotion, especially when she writes about those she has loved and lost, like her grandmother or an aunt, or very personal accounts of her childhood growing up in Alberta.
The only problem I had with it is that it always felt like she was keeping us at arms length. It was as if she wasn’t comfortable letting so many people into her life on such an intimate level (not that I blame her one bit.) I just wanted to read more inane stuff about her life; the little weird things that go on in her world that must be very surreal. The crazy, the drama. It is would have made it feel a lot more personal to me. It was definitely personal but in some ways, also very the public face to the whole Jann Arden celebrity world. Or that could just be the Canadian coming out in her and we can’t blame her for that.
Perhaps her second book will give the inanity that I’m looking for. Not that it will matter, as I will likely love it anyway.
My rating: :-D :-D :-)
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