Yes, I’m Still Reading, Too
As I was buying my new book for my next month’s review at Uptown Neighborhood News, I realized that I hadn’t updated my reading list report in awhile. And I’ve been reading up a storm! So here’s the latest.
Obviously, I just recently finished Deborah Keenan’s wonderful book Willow Room, Green Door. (265 pages) You can check out the review over at read. write. poem. (Plug Plug)
At the same time, I was reading Bill Buford’s memoir Heat. (315 pages) It follows his midlife crisis as he quits his job as a magazine writer to learn how to be cook. He interns in Mario Batali’s kitchen, spends some time in Italy as a pasta maker and a butcher, and generally kills himself trying to do something that twenty-five year olds find challenging.
I’ve been wanting to read this book for a while, but it had always been too soon after leaving the culinary school. I didn’t know if I was ready to immerse myself back in chef culture, which can often be insular, masochistic, and macho. It can also be really fascinating, if you consider their temperments as artistic. I think Buford realistically captures all of these aspects in his book. It’s like he knows he’s crazy but he does it anyway, which many chefs and cooks acknowledge daily. If you’re interested in food writing at all, which I totally am, I would recommend Buford’s memoir.
Total For 2008: 2150 pages
Genres: Memoir (2), Essay (1), Graphic Novel (1), Non-Fiction (2), Poetry (3)
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