Olli
(he/him)
Yes! It had so many different themes and they all fit together seamlessly. One of the best books I've read in a while.
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What'cha Reading?
- Thread starter Falselogic
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- prose and cons
Mothra
(he/him)
I've recently downloaded Libby and Hoopla, and have been burning through my book backlog at a pretty wild pace. I'm typically a slow reader, easily distracted, so it helps a lot to have someone reading an an unwavering pace. I also feel like the tone of the reader helps convey information that you have to otherwise color in yourself, sometimes after a statement has been uttered.
I promised two different friends I would check out Gideon the Ninth so I'm working through that now.
Pretty good! I’m glad I read it. Here's my review of the book.
I did not necessarily enjoy reading this book but I’m happy I ate my vegetables with this one because there was a whole lot about the origins of many staple American foods, grains, greens, meats, and so on that I didn’t know the first thing about.
I started reading it because a friend had recommended it when I asked about books that talk about the act of cooking itself - like of preparing, cooking, and presenting the food as a “creative” act, in the moment of making it into a meal - and it is absolutely not about that at all, so, I had to sort of give up on that expectation early and let the story take me where it wanted.
It is largely about how soul food, southern cooking, black cooking, all cannot possibly be separated from the history of slavery and forced labor on which the nation was built, and it’s real interesting seeing the origins of a lot of dishes we consider traditionally American. Things like how French cooking would be taught to enslaved chefs so they could cook those things for the plantation owner, and how those cooks would then pass on that knowledge through their family, adding French affects to the unique meats, greens, grains, and beans of America.
A lot of it is about the institution of slavery and the unimaginable suffering brought upon the enslaved, the countless angles of horror to it all, and the utter indifference shown by their keepers. Through this nightmare, cooking and eating were often the merciful moments, these snatched-away pleasures black communities made the most of.
So yeah I didn’t get what I was after but it was a good book!
A few friends helpfully suggested that some cookbooks might be closer to the act of creation itself than the narrative books on cooking - Hetty Lui McKinnon, Asako Yuzuki, Samin Nosrat, authors in that vein.
I did not necessarily enjoy reading this book but I’m happy I ate my vegetables with this one because there was a whole lot about the origins of many staple American foods, grains, greens, meats, and so on that I didn’t know the first thing about.
I started reading it because a friend had recommended it when I asked about books that talk about the act of cooking itself - like of preparing, cooking, and presenting the food as a “creative” act, in the moment of making it into a meal - and it is absolutely not about that at all, so, I had to sort of give up on that expectation early and let the story take me where it wanted.
It is largely about how soul food, southern cooking, black cooking, all cannot possibly be separated from the history of slavery and forced labor on which the nation was built, and it’s real interesting seeing the origins of a lot of dishes we consider traditionally American. Things like how French cooking would be taught to enslaved chefs so they could cook those things for the plantation owner, and how those cooks would then pass on that knowledge through their family, adding French affects to the unique meats, greens, grains, and beans of America.
A lot of it is about the institution of slavery and the unimaginable suffering brought upon the enslaved, the countless angles of horror to it all, and the utter indifference shown by their keepers. Through this nightmare, cooking and eating were often the merciful moments, these snatched-away pleasures black communities made the most of.
So yeah I didn’t get what I was after but it was a good book!
A few friends helpfully suggested that some cookbooks might be closer to the act of creation itself than the narrative books on cooking - Hetty Lui McKinnon, Asako Yuzuki, Samin Nosrat, authors in that vein.
(I know, why is the title like that? This feels very 'Publisher thought this would make it pop' to me.) Heat was about 50/50 me reading it and me listening to the author read the audio book. Here's a review I wrote up.
This book annoyed me a whole bunch. The humor didn’t land, the author wasn’t as clever as he thought he was, the main guy he worked under and writes about - Mario Batali - is a sexist pig who had a whole slew of sexual harassment allegations recently, and there’s a whole lot of tangents in here about things I couldn’t really bring myself to care much about about. Things like what Tuscans arbitrarily consider pure or impure, the exact history of how certain dishes left Italy and evolved, or anything involving the Food Network celebrity era.
But, ended up really liking the nitty-gritty “dirty realism” (his phrasing) of his day-to-day in each kitchen, in pasta-making and in butchering. He doesn’t just take the performative and boastful chefs/personalities at their word, he is curious, he digs, gaining an actual understanding of the whys and the hows, diving into the history and the real reason recipes and techniques are the way they are. I found all of this very interesting and well worth the read.
Also appreciated him spending chapters just talking about what is involved in carving up meat, or in creating the perfect length pasta, or in developing a “kitchen awareness” that lets one sense when something needs attention or has finished. All of that was great, and is the kind of thing I was hungry for when looking for writing about the act of cooking.
So I ultimately am glad I read it and think it was a useful read, but didn’t really enjoy reading it much. Another “eating my vegetables” book.
This book annoyed me a whole bunch. The humor didn’t land, the author wasn’t as clever as he thought he was, the main guy he worked under and writes about - Mario Batali - is a sexist pig who had a whole slew of sexual harassment allegations recently, and there’s a whole lot of tangents in here about things I couldn’t really bring myself to care much about about. Things like what Tuscans arbitrarily consider pure or impure, the exact history of how certain dishes left Italy and evolved, or anything involving the Food Network celebrity era.
But, ended up really liking the nitty-gritty “dirty realism” (his phrasing) of his day-to-day in each kitchen, in pasta-making and in butchering. He doesn’t just take the performative and boastful chefs/personalities at their word, he is curious, he digs, gaining an actual understanding of the whys and the hows, diving into the history and the real reason recipes and techniques are the way they are. I found all of this very interesting and well worth the read.
Also appreciated him spending chapters just talking about what is involved in carving up meat, or in creating the perfect length pasta, or in developing a “kitchen awareness” that lets one sense when something needs attention or has finished. All of that was great, and is the kind of thing I was hungry for when looking for writing about the act of cooking.
So I ultimately am glad I read it and think it was a useful read, but didn’t really enjoy reading it much. Another “eating my vegetables” book.
Specifically, I listened to the very very well-done audio book read by Pippa Bennett-Warner. She is far and away the best audio book VA I’ve heard.
I’ve had a string of pretty unsatisfying reads, so this was a welcome change in that the narrative here was full and weighty and about shit. There is not simply description there is observation and judgement and affection and emotion, I loved it. Really love how Smith writes, it’s such a treat. Here’s my review.
Now did I actually like the story? Eh. I think it does the trick in terms of being a reason for the narrator to travel through the world and face the consequences of class, race, wealth disparity, ignorance, history, all that human stuff. I didn’t necessarily like the way the narrator just endured and had things happen to her, rather than make strong choices, but I definitely understood her reasoning and it’s a very realistic character, like all of them are.
The meat of this thing is in the way it’s all described and pondered and processed, it’s very flavorful. That’s the stuff that sticks with me. It’s an enormously sad book and I really enjoyed how you live through that sadness, in a million different mundane ways. I could read this author write about anything.
Definitely intend to tackle another of her books in the near future, this was a very refreshing book.
I’ve had a string of pretty unsatisfying reads, so this was a welcome change in that the narrative here was full and weighty and about shit. There is not simply description there is observation and judgement and affection and emotion, I loved it. Really love how Smith writes, it’s such a treat. Here’s my review.
Now did I actually like the story? Eh. I think it does the trick in terms of being a reason for the narrator to travel through the world and face the consequences of class, race, wealth disparity, ignorance, history, all that human stuff. I didn’t necessarily like the way the narrator just endured and had things happen to her, rather than make strong choices, but I definitely understood her reasoning and it’s a very realistic character, like all of them are.
The meat of this thing is in the way it’s all described and pondered and processed, it’s very flavorful. That’s the stuff that sticks with me. It’s an enormously sad book and I really enjoyed how you live through that sadness, in a million different mundane ways. I could read this author write about anything.
Definitely intend to tackle another of her books in the near future, this was a very refreshing book.
I promised two different friends I would check out Gideon the Ninth so I'm working through that now.
Every cishet man I know has bitched endlessly about how tumblr it is and how annoying the writing is, and like, she does say stuff like "douchebag" and "gangbanged by skeletons" which are hard not to wince at, but the reader of the audio book kinda captures the tone exactly right in that she's trying to avoid thinking about distressing stuff that that's how she laughs it away. I will say that it doesn't really feel like Gideon is the type of person who was raised in a lightless pit shepherded by a cult, but I don't mind it honestly, it's sometimes funny even. Nice to have a more upbeat narrator for once.
You do have to get on Gideon's side to actually enjoy the book, I think that much is essential. Harrow (presumably her love interest) is a very enjoyable kind of character to me, someone who is of this world and has been steeped in it, and is good at surviving it, and I'm excited to see she might even be the POV narrator of the second book. Looking forward to that.
You do have to get on Gideon's side to actually enjoy the book, I think that much is essential. Harrow (presumably her love interest) is a very enjoyable kind of character to me, someone who is of this world and has been steeped in it, and is good at surviving it, and I'm excited to see she might even be the POV narrator of the second book. Looking forward to that.
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Violentvixen
(She/Her)
I've been super mixed on Twitty's writing. Sometimes it is stunning, sometimes I have similar feelings of boredom to yours. I think my biggest disappointment was Koshersoul, it just did not work for me at all. For something lighter but still historically fascintating I'd recommend the Jemima Code, it goes through a lot of historical cookbooks and other media and is just a fantastic overview of black food history in the US from the perspective of cooking and home writing.
Other books that might be of interest are Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America and High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America. We read both for TT book clubs years ago.
Mothra
(he/him)
Thanks! Yeah he's extremely knowledgeable and I love how he digs deep and passionately into the history of things that are not well-documented, as they were considered low or invisible to the dominant slavers and imperialists of the time. I found his writing pretty unexciting narratively but I've come to find interesting narration is sort of a random thing, some writers are interested in it, others are more trying to tell you information. Twitty's the latter, but, the information is very interesting.
I might try High on the Hog at some point, in Cooking Gene there seemed to be a lot more to be said the humble pig in American cuisine, it was one of the things that interested me in the later chapters.
I might try High on the Hog at some point, in Cooking Gene there seemed to be a lot more to be said the humble pig in American cuisine, it was one of the things that interested me in the later chapters.
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I'm halfway through Dark Age, but I ended up reading The Tomb by F. Paul Wilson, Remina bu Juni Ito and the first two volumes of One Piece
Yessssssss, one of us one of us one of us
Also the audiobook is one of the best reads I've ever listened to, her performances as each character are so well realized. Enjoy!
Read the third volume of One Piece, will be reading the fourth and fifth soon, but I finished Dark Age. it was very good, but I thought Iron Gold was better. So excited to read Ligtbringer. Now, reading North Woods by David Mason
Oh hey, I just started reading her book Nine Goblins. It's a fun, silly romp so far.
Finished *I Will Kill Your Imaginary Friend for $200*
It’s only the start of March but by god, I doubt anything’s going to top that for being my favourite book of the year.
It’s a combination of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Exorcist; about a guy whose side hustle is executing imaginary friends who won’t leave their kids alone after they grow up (it’s hard to go on a date or talk to your accountant when there’s a farting clam dancing around you) but then encounters a kid with an imaginary friend that is outright murderously evil.
(CW for some *heavy* implied and overt child harm, as you might expect)
It’s only the start of March but by god, I doubt anything’s going to top that for being my favourite book of the year.
It’s a combination of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Exorcist; about a guy whose side hustle is executing imaginary friends who won’t leave their kids alone after they grow up (it’s hard to go on a date or talk to your accountant when there’s a farting clam dancing around you) but then encounters a kid with an imaginary friend that is outright murderously evil.
(CW for some *heavy* implied and overt child harm, as you might expect)
North Woods may be my BOTY so far. Currently reading Troy by Stephen Fry and Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams