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fraud: essays
david rakoff
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| There is some funny sh*t in this collection of essays that you may have heard on This American Life but reading them brings Rakoff's hilarity to a whole new level. His first essay is about leaving the confines of NYC and going hiking with a guy that climbs Mount Monadnock in NH everyday. Rakoff quips that the hiking boots that he would've be caught dead in (which cut his feet as though they're lined with cheese graters) might actually be the boots he's caught dead in. So funny. Other essays detail his time working in an ice cream parlor in Toronto in 1982 and a great account of a trip to Tokyo. Reviewers on Amazon seem to be stuck on him not being David Sedaris - I guess because they're both Davids, both on NPR and both funny they have to be EXACTLY the same. Freaks. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
January 2006 [link] |
recommend 2 thumbs up
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don't get too comfortable
david rakoff
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If I could read David Rakoff essays in between every third book or so I would be a very happy girl indeed. I love his writing style and he's so so funny. I walk around the house still giggling about some line he's written (in this book it was "unwittingly hired a shithead". ha!)
In this collection, Rakoff takes on the luxuries in life and spins them as only he can - a ride on the Concorde, a tour of duty as a cabana boy in South Beach and others. The first essay, my fav, is a hilarious look into his escapades at becoming a U.S. citizen. Great great funny fun. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
March 2006 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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as always, julia: the letters of julia child and avis devoto
joan reardon
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| When Julia Child wrote a "fan" letter to the author Bernard DeVoto she couldn't have known that it would lead to not only a life-long friendship with his wife, Avis, but more or less would pave the way for "Mastering the Art of Cooking" through Avis' publishing experience and contacts. Julia and Avis began writing in 1952 while Julia was in France and Avis was living in Cambridge. The 200 letters are not only a thrilling look at two amazing woman but also a great peek into life in France and the US in the 50s and 60s where canned food was the latest rage and dinner parties were held every weekend after the children were in bed. This book made me nostalgic for good old-fashioned letter writing! |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
March 2011 [link] |
recommend
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queen of the turtle derby and other southern phenomena
julia reed
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| Julia Reed, writer for Vogue, Newsweek and The New York Times Magazine, has taken a bunch of her writings on the South and compiled them into this funny and interesting exploration into why the South is "The South". Having grown up in Mississippi (and now divides her time between N'Awlins and NYC), Reed is definetly qualified to examine the South. She gives the number rule on adjustment of the South: "Don't think that you know what's going on" and proceeds on down the line to talk about fried chicken, hurricane parties and proper funeral food. She even delves into debutantes and Tammy Wynette. I found myself laughing and nodding my head in agreement with almost everything she had to say and despite a combined total of almost nine years in the South, I put down the book understanding a little more about this neck of the woods than when I started. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
July 2004 [link] |
recommend
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tender at the bone : growing up at the table
ruth reichl
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| Ruth Reichl, NYT restaurant critic and Gourmet editor, whips up a wonderful memoir. Her book tells of the people and places that influenced and helped nurture her love of good food. She begins with her mother who famously sent 20+ people to the hospital with food poisoning during her brother's engagement party to her chance meeting with Marion Cunningham who brought her into the fold of foodies. Many of the chapters are followed by recipes of the dish in the story which is a sweet bonus. |
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reviewed by: rachel |
March 2005 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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garlic and sapphires
ruth reichl
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| A delicious memoir of Ruth Reichl's reign as New York Times restaurant critic and all the madcap disguises she employed while trying to critique NYC's food scene. Donning wigs, crazy outfits and heavy make-up, Reichl was able to eat at hot spots without being noticed and could rate the restaurant on how they treat the average Joe. I read in another book that in the 80's the expense account for the NY Times critic was something like $80K since they eat at restaurants 5 or 6 times before giving out stars. Hence, eating at Daniel five times with four guests each time costs thousands of dollars. I wish I had that job. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
June 2005 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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secret ingredients: the new yorker book of food and drink
david remnick
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| Great compendium of food and drink related articles, including humor and fiction pieces, from The New Yorker. Also, lots of foodies cartoons, like my all-time fav depicting a piece of rigatoni pasta on the phone saying ""Fusilli, you crazy bastard! How are you?" . The best articles are by Calvin Trillin, of course and there's a great one about "The Ketchup Conundrum", which can be found online and details how hard it's been for new ketchup producers to be accepted into mainstream use (also gives insight into the marketing madness surrounding new foods). Bon appétit! |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
July 2008 [link] |
recommend
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from doon with death
ruth rendell
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| I find it sort of hard to remember what this book was about because I’ve read so many of Ruth’s books (she is easily my most often read mystery writer as I LOVE her Inspector Wexford mysteries). I think this one is the one that takes a jab at the wealthy rich and has longing and desire by the melancholy detective. Ruth has excellent plotting skills and often portrays the darker vane in light people. Her excellent series with Reg Wexford portrays murder and mayhem in the lovely English countryside. I first read her because my beloved Jeannette Winterson (see archives) thanked her in 'Written on the Body'. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend
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angus, thongs and full-frontal snogging: confessions of georgia nicolson
louise rennison
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| A Bridget Jones for the young adult set, this book is funny -if not funnier- than its adult counterpart. Fourteen-year-old Georgia is saddled with a nerdy Mum and Dad, a 3-year-old sister who poos in the corner of Georgia's room, a cat named Angus who terrorizes the neighbor's poodles and a crush on Robbie - sex god du jour. There's THREE follow up books:"On the Bright Side, Now I'm the Girlfriend of a Sex God", "Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas" and "Dancing in My Nuddy Pants". Each book comes with a handy glossary in the back to help decipher british terms like "how's your father" (a penis) or "nuddy pants" (being naked). |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
December 2003 [link] |
recommend 5 thumbs up
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untangling my chopsticks
victoria riccardi
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| This delicious book was written while Riccardi lived in Kyoto, Japan in order to study tea kaiseki, which is the small, tapas-like dishes that are served at formal tea ceremonies. Riccardi lives with a Japanese couple and teaches English while getting cooking lessons and offers a quaint and mount-watering look at Japanese culture and food. Recipes for food she eats or prepares appear at the end of each chapter but I think I've decided that only a trip to Kyoto will satisfy my culinary curiousity. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
August 2005 [link] |
recommend
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marlene
maria riva
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| this is a gossipy, wonderful look into marlene dietrich's life, loves and career. written by her daughter, readers get the inside scoop on the glam life of hollywood in the 40's and 50's. you learn what the stars did before plastic surgery and you see how a real diva lives and breathes. very easy to read, ultimate entertainment, a superb bio. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
October 2003 [link] |
recommend
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stiff: the curious lives of human cadavers
mary roach
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| Yes, cadavers lead busy live, believe it or not. Their organs are used to save lives, their bodies are used to practice surgeries - even nose jobs, and the army uses them to test bullets and bullet proof vests. They're used to determine cause in airplane crashes. Some cadavers lay out in a small yard at a hospital in Tennessee so investigators can detail the decomposition for use in murder cases. Mary Roach takes us on an extraordinary journey into the afterlife of the human body that is funny and reverent - a truly immersing tale. Not a book to be read while eating. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
July 2003 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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spook:science tackles the afterlife
mary roach
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| This is the second book I've read and enjoyed by Mary Roach. The first was "Stiff" where she looked at the surprisingly many uses for cadavers. Now she looks at the afterlife in the hope of scientifically proving - or disproving - the existence of life after death. Each chapter explores different experiments that have been conducted over the years (and very recently) to measure and monitor "ghosts" and also studies launched to examine the work of mediums and psychics. While she never gets a straight answer to whether or not there's an afterlife, her exploits are amusing and her writing is ever humorous. Roach is always willing to point out in a footnote the presence of funny names or odd occurrences (in telling about an experiment conducted where people dressed up as ghosts and "haunted" a cow field, she interjected with her own experiences in cow fields and the incredibly funny curiosity of cows). Also, you have to admire Roach for grabbing an unusual topic and running with it – it makes for fascinating reading (and great, great –albeit morbid – dinner conversation). |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
August 2008 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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packing for mars: the curious science of life in the void
mary roach
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| Is there nothing Mary Roach isn't interested in? She's written about the life of cadavers (Stiff), the afterlife (Spook) and the science of sex (Bonk). In "Packing for Mars" she heads to infinity and beyond to explore the research, preparations, limitations, and everything in between, of space travel. She takes a look at space food development, zero-gravity research and the process of using the bathroom in space – all in her usual entertaining and funny style. What topic will she tackle next? |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
March 2011 [link] |
recommend
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even cowgirls get the blues
tom robbins
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| Mike and Kent gave me this book in my senior year of college when I had just broken up with Chuck and been dumped by Kent and didn't know I'd be infatuated with Jay in two weeks. They thought this book would be just the tonic for me. I had always wondered about Tom Robbins and liked his covers. I don't know if I've reviewed him before, but I hate Tom Robbins. I think he is most self indulgent. I frequently skipped over entire passages of his ramblings. This book would be great for smarmy or free-spirited rambling want-to-be's. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
May 2000 [link] |
recommend
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early bird
rodney rothman
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Ever wonder what it would be like to retire early? And by early I mean 30 or 40 years early? Rothman does just that when, at the age of 28, he loses his job in NYC and decides to head South to retirement headquarters - namely in the form of Century Village, one of the largest retirement communities in the country. He moves in with an elderly woman looking for a roommates and begins his retirement - complete with shuffleboard, lounging by the pool and early bird special dinners. What he finds is that being old is not about waiting to die - it's about having fun, staying active and gossiping until the cows come home.
Rothman is a former writer for the David Letterman Show and he's very funny. He quips that if the "Tuesdays with Morrie" guy had to spend more than just Tuesday with Morrie, the book wouldn't have been quite as inspirational. Early Bird especially appealed to me because Craig's granny and grampy live in Century Village. When I told her about this book she and her husband immediately yelled "NO ONE UNDER 55 IS ALLOWED TO LIVE IN CENTURY VILLAGE!". I had to tell them that this author snuck in or something. Jeez. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
September 2005 [link] |
recommend
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harry potter and the deathly hallows
j.k rowling
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| Honestly, even if I wanted to give away what happens in the book, I hardly could. There are so many twists and turns and double-flips in this final installement of Harry Potter that even as I just finished the hefty book I'm still not sure of what the hell totally happened. It's complete genius, of course; Rowling really honed her writing with this one - the descriptions are even more magical then ever and the storyline is just brilliant. I haven't yet read if she had this ending in mind since beginning the series but there is some stuff that happens that is so surprising and incredible - I never really get surprised by books anymore - that I truly feel sad that the series is over. It was worth the wait, worth reading all six and worth pondering whether Rowling can top the beloved 'arry Potter. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
July 2007 [link] |
recommend 3 thumbs up
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harry potter and the order of the phoenix
j.k. rowling
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| good christ. 870 pages. i could hardly hold this book up to read it! at this point, i've read the other four so now i HAVE to find out what the hell happens to this kid. yes, someone dies in this book (i wasn't all that surprised about who bites it) and harry is approaching adolescence - he's a bit moody and tells plenty of people off. while most of the action takes place in the last 200 pages of the book, i really saw this entire novel as a set-up for the final two books. but i have to say that if this is the type of literature that has kids clamoring for an 870 page book well, then, bravo! |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
June 2003 [link] |
recommend 3 thumbs up
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garbage land: on the secret trail of trash
elizabeth royte
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| You will never throw away something again without thinking twice after reading this book. Perhaps you'll be inspired to never throw something away - period. Each chapter of Royte's book follows different parts of her trash - her recyclables, her composting, her trash-trash, etc. The research she presents, the people she meets and the concepts she explores are all so interesting and her writing is clear, funny and consise. While I've always realized garbage has to go somewhere, reading about it in such detail really made me stop and think about what I consume and what I dispose of. This book would make a great documentary and should be required reading for the masses. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
February 2006 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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st. lucy's school for girls raised by wolves
karen russell
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Russell was just 24 when she published this book and was chosen for The New Yorker's debut fiction issue. In this book, she has woven together such a fine strand of short stories that you're easily mesmerized by their small, fantastical and, often funny, details: a drowned sister searched for with "magic goggles" on a giant crab sled, a minotaur father and his human family traveling out West, a summer camp for insomniacs, a Comical Ironical Crime Ring and more. Each of the ten stories has an other-worldly air about it but each remains believable and compelling and mysterious.
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reviewed by: lisa may |
January 2007 [link] |
recommend
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empire falls
richard russo
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| I missed the hoopla over this book on its first go around in 2002 but my sis-in-law recently recommended it and i'm so glad she did because I totally devoured the story. Set in Empire Falls, Maine (is that a real place?) - a classic small town struggling to get by as big businesses close and people move away. Most of the town is owned by a mysterious and crazy old lady who seems to be connected to everyone that remains in town. Most of the story revolves around Max Roby and his family. The characters are rich, complex and endearing and there's enough twists and turns to keep you thinking long after the last page has been read. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
December 2004 [link] |
recommend
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bridge of sighs
richard russo
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| The only thing Russo didn't touch upon in this giant book is murder (the calculated kind, there is a drunk driving accident that kills people). Every other life event is in this book – birth, death, marriage, illness, homosexuality, alcoholism, child abuse, cancer – you name it, this book encompasses all of it. Just like Russo's "Empire Falls", he has woven this unbelievably intricate portrait of family-life in a small town and has not left out any details. You finish his books knowing more about the characters than you do yourself. At times the narrative falters but surprising and tender developments will engross you through the final page. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
February 2009 [link] |
recommend
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