My thought was to celebrate Halloween and October by curating a category of witch themed reads, but mostly it was because I really wanted to read what I thought was the last book in Kim Harrison's The Hollow Series that feature the witch Rachel Morgan. I treated myself to an old favorite, The Witch of Blackbird Pond--I got to read more from some of my favorite authors, Tana French and Chris Bohjalian--and I found some great new-to-me authors in Louisa Morgan and Stacey Halls. I had a very well read October/November.
Toby is a happy-go-lucky charmer who’s dodged a scrape at work and is celebrating with friends when the night takes a turn that will change his life—he surprises two burglars who beat him and leave him for dead. Struggling to recover from his injuries, beginning to understand that he might never be the same man again, he takes refuge at his family’s ancestral home to care for his dying uncle Hugo. Then a skull is found in the trunk of an elm tree in the garden—and as detectives close in, Toby is forced to face the possibility that his past may not be what he has always believed.
A spellbinding standalone from one of the best suspense writers working today, The Witch Elm asks what we become, and what we’re capable of, when we no longer know who we are.
What I Say:
This is the second book that I have read by Tana French. It is dark, depressing, and filled with very human very relatable characters who are not often likable. It takes a slow meandering pace full of nuances, red herrings, and back story and Ms. French keeps one guessing. I like that Ms. French got her idea of hiding a body in a witch elm from a real life mystery of Bella who's body was found in a trunk of an English Witch Elm in 1943.
I also like the sly way Ms. French took a swipe at the treatment of women by the patriarchal medical establishment and by OB/GYN's in particular. If 3 stars is "I liked it" and 4 stars is "I liked this a lot" then I would rate this with 3.6 stars, but I'm bumping her up for this very timely bit of awareness raising. Reading time well spent.
I saw this book mentioned often by other book reviewers on Twitter and it got a lot of praise. It is set against the Pendle Witch Trials of 1612 making it a perfect fit for this witchy themed category. The author clearly did her research and I give her high marks for sticking to what little is known about the actual history of her main characters. I love a book that builds fiction out of history's dark past and the mystery of Alice Gray leaves a lovely loophole for the imagination to wander.
I am a birth doula and childbirth educator by trade and a woman who reads A LOT about the history of childbirth. Early 17th century England was a place very different than today, and while the physiological nature of childbirth has remained unchanged, it is also true that there is much more understanding of the science and the workings of the human body in today's world. One shudders at what was once commonly believed and what was common practice in the 1600's. That said-- I often took the author to task when she put Fleetwood astride a horse, out in the cold and the rain, and in the direct path of infection for the sake of this thrilling plot. I'm a doula I can't think otherwise--especially given all those previous miscarriages.
There was a lot going on during this age, doctors were becoming more common, midwives and healers stood in their way as they quested towards more lucrative careers and discrediting these women as witches was one such horrible tool that the patriarchy used to clear their path. You learn a lot of unfortunate truths when you read about childbirth's past.
I applaud this author for putting power in the hands of her women characters giving them control of their decisions and their bodies. They had excellent role models in Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, and with a touch of evil--Catherine de Medici, powerful women who reigned in the 16th century..
What Amazon says:
This rich and compelling novel draws its characters from historical figures as it explores the lives and rights of seventeenth-century women, ultimately raising the question: Is witch-hunting really just women-hunting? Fleetwood Shuttleworth is 17 years old, married, and pregnant for the fourth time. But as the mistress at Gawthorpe Hall, she still has no living child, and her husband Richard is anxious for an heir. When Fleetwood finds a letter she isn't supposed to read from the doctor who delivered her third stillbirth, she is dealt the crushing blow that she will not survive another pregnancy.
Then she crosses paths by chance with Alice Gray, a young midwife. Alice promises to help her give birth to a healthy baby, and to prove the physician wrong. As Alice is drawn into the witchcraft accusations that are sweeping the North-West, Fleetwood risks everything by trying to help her. But is there more to Alice than meets the eye? Soon the two women's lives will become inextricably bound together as the legendary trial at Lancaster approaches, and Fleetwood's stomach continues to grow. Time is running out, and both their lives are at stake.
Set in the Vermont countryside, Water Witches is a tale of the clash between progress and tradition, science and magic. In the midst of a nightmarish New England drought, cynical ski industry lobbyist Scottie Winston is trying to get a large ski resort the permits it needs to tap already beleaguered rivers for snow. His wife, his little girl, and his sister-in-law -- dowsers or "water witches" all -- hope to stop him, however, in this gentle, comic, life-affirming novel.
What I say:
I really enjoyed this book. This is the second book that I have read by this author, I was so pleased to find a title of his that fit with this theme, and I will continue to read more of his work. He has an easy readable style of writing and creates characters that you are glad to meet, even the ones you might not like so much. His books continue to be reading time well spent.
A sweeping historical saga that traces five generations of fiercely powerful mothers and daughters -- witches whose magical inheritance is both a dangerous threat and an extraordinary gift. Brittany, 1821. After Grand-mère Ursule gives her life to save her family, their magic seems to die with her. Even so, the Orchieres fight to keep the old ways alive, practicing half-remembered spells and arcane rites in hopes of a revival. And when their youngest daughter comes of age, magic flows anew. The lineage continues, though new generations struggle not only to master their power, but also to keep it hidden. But when World War II looms on the horizon, magic is needed more urgently than ever - not for simple potions or visions, but to change the entire course of history.
What I say:
This is a book that got a lot of so so reviews. What can I say? I loved it. The book followed the Orchiere witches through five generations, with each story hitting as that particular witch came into her power. I liked that all the witches had different levels and strengths and that not all used their power for good. I loved the WWII angle and did a little Googling.
The Queen Mother Elizabeth II is distantly connected to the Glamis witches of Scotland through Janet Douglas and there are plenty of stories out there on the interweb concerning the use of witchcraft during WWII especially at the time of D-Day when Allied Forces invaded France. I briefly tweeted with Ms. Morgan and she tells me that this is not the first time that she has used actual facts to support her fiction. At some point I will do more reading, currently I'm back with Mary Queen of Scots (lots of witches back then).
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare completed 11/2019
This is one of my all time favorite books, it lives on my forever shelf, loved it as a young girl, loved it as a young mother, and still love it as a crazy old cat lady.
It is an innocent tale about the perils of being "different" and an intelligent woman in Puritan New England. There is romance, family, and friendship. If you have never read it I highly suggest that you do.
The Witch With No Name by Kim Harrison
This was supposed to be the last book (#13) in this series about the adventures of Cincinnati witch Rachel Morgan but I recently learned that there is to be a 14th coming out this Spring. A couple of chapters into this one I began to realize that while I thought I had read the 12th installment (The Dead Pool) I clearly had not. I didn't feel as out of the loop as I thought AND as the action started on page 1, I was already hooked, so I carried on. Obviously I love Rachel and the regular cast of characters. I've known her long enough that she's family and as family she does have some quirks that get on my nerves--that being said she would not be Rachel if she didn't.
Ms. Harrison narrates these books through the stream of consciousness delivery of Rachel Morgan and what ever is going on in Rachel's head we "hear" about it. She is a witch with heightened senses so we get intimate details on what she smells, feels, hears, sees, tastes, and every single one of her thoughts. We always know what color pixie dust, what Trent's hair is doing, and that Al has goat slitted demon eyes. She constantly keeps track of those she is responsible for including the whereabouts of Mr. Fish.
Almost every single page Rachel thinks that while she loves Trent she is bad for him and is ruining his life. Almost every single page Rachel thinks that while she is bad for her also, she loves Ivy and that she will do anything to save her soul. (Trent is an Elf and Ivy is a Vampire) IRL that is how brains work setting up endless feedback loops that run over and over in our heads, BUT and just like with our own loops it gets tiresome after awhile. We get it. In between those two thoughts she often saves the world--again.
But what makes me sad is that:
No matter how powerful, how much good she has done, she still bad mouths herself and that is our Rachel. She's family I love her in spite of all this negative self talk. I'd really like to see her take on that demon, those real life demons that infest our brains with endless self defeating non stop chatter. But I imagine Ku Sox is walk in the park compared to conquering her brain's DMN (Default Mode Network).
I really enjoyed reading how Kim Harrison neatly tied up the final action scenes as a culmination of themes she had carefully cultivated and built over time in her series. I plan on dipping back to read The Dead Pool and eagerly anticipate The American Demon coming this Spring.
After I read through a book for each of the seasons, I did a bunch of random categories mostly based on books I already had laying around on my shelves. Categories such as birds, weather conditions and body parts. Body parts--yes body parts.
I created this category so that I could justify reading the last two Diana Gabaldon Outlander books and Bring up the bodies by Hilary Mantel. I rounded off the category by reading The Golden Calf and Fingersmith.
I am only including this list because it has led to a recent spate of Royal Reading. I'm glad to see it making a comeback in my reading life.
I love the entire series of Outlander books, I love the TV series on Starz. This is the seventh book in the series that follows 18th century Scotsman and 20th century Claire Randall from Scotland, to England, to America. The majority of this novel takes place in the American colonies, during the American Revolution. A lot of "readers" complain about the slow pace and the over abundance of detail but I love them, while reading you totally get immersed in the world of the Fraziers. I will say that it pays not to read them too close together. After I'm done with one of her books they linger, I feel a little lost, perhaps and forgive me--they echo in my bones.
Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel's 2009 Man Booker Prize winner is a fleshed out "biography" of the life of Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII's most faithful counselor and a very powerful man. Bring Up the Bodies is the sequel anddelves into the heart of Tudor history with the downfall of Anne Boleyn as witnessed through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell. Years ago, I watched The Tudors on HBO, a pretty version, of the early reign of King Henry VIII and three of his six wives. I picked up a copy of Wolf Hall sometime after that series came to an end. This book, even though I loved Wolf Hall lingered on my shelf for years but I'm glad I waited, it was the perfect addition to this category.
One day one of my regular yoga students asked if I liked reading detective and mystery novels, I said yes. The next time she came to class she brought a whole bag of books. This book is deep into the popular Swedish crime series featuring Detective Inspector Irene Huss. It was a good read, I would read more of her books, but I would have to go back to the beginning and I am not sure if all of her novels are translated.
This is a Dickensian novel full of thrills, plot twists, and reversals. An orphan, a rich gentlewoman, a baby farmer, gin, petty thieves, fancy thieves, London slums, rich estates, a plot to steal a vast inheritance and a little bit of lesbian romance. Dark twisted and a good read.
I have a row of books that sit on a shelf beside my bed. I have stacks of unread books all over my home. Before I thought to read books by category, I would pick my next book by moving from stack to stack and reading the next one. A book by Jasper Fforde was at the beginning of the next stack, so I decided to combine practices and developed a category around the title. All these books surround characters who live very bookish lives.
Two books went on my shelf of favorites, that rarest of book--those that I would happily spend precious reading time to read again! These two books also happen to fall into my very favorite style of book--stories that are told through letters (84 Charing Cross Road and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society).
Sometimes a category will develop a deeper level of connection, this one in particular shares much deeper connections. Three of the books share England, book stores, and letters. All the books have and abiding and deep love of literature and most of these selections add an element of mystery. Two share the love of the all but forgotten author Charles Lamb, a quirky connection, but still.
This is the second novel in a futuristic crime series set in an alternate version of England and follows the cases of literary detective, Thursday Next, it is a sequel to The Eyre Affair. This book was originally published in 2004 and I bought the paperback version. I remember enjoying the first book but yet this book grew dust on my shelves for years. Mission finally accomplished in 2018--but I don't think I will read anymore of this series, and I'm not entirely sure why.
The debut book by this author. The story revolves around a bookish Swedish girl who travels to a tiny town in Iowa to visit her pen pal, an elderly lady who passes away while the girl is en route. The townspeople encourage her to stay, live in her pen pal's house and she decides to open up a tiny bookstore in this tiny town--both romance and immigration issues ensue. This book reads like a made-for Hallmark movie to me, but interestingly enough my mother and her neighbor (both avid Hallmark movie watchers) didn't like the book at all. I did, especially since the character suggested all types of reading to her customers not just "the classics" and because the recently deceased pen pal had lived in a bedroom piled high with books.
This book is mostly set in the San Francisco bay area and revolves around a recently laid off young man who takes the night shift job in a small 24-hour book store. Things are strange, very few customers, and the regulars stop by to borrow large obscure books hidden deep in the shop. It ends up being a much bigger story, the battle between digital and bound books. It morphs into a bit of a mystical adventure. I liked it, it is weird, I hope to get around to reading his next book.
This book is about the grumpy judgmental owner of a bookstore set on a tiny island, I think in the north east but I could be remembering that wrong. He judges his clientele for having the temerity to read what they like and not what he thinks they should like. Needless to say his store is not thriving and then someone steals his most expensive rare book. There is an ex-wife, a daughter, and a police friend, and a new girlfriend. I mostly liked reading this book, it referenced a lot of other books, albeit mostly the "tried and true" mainstay classics that everyone insists are must reads.
A very simple, short story--a classic tale of a friendship that grew out of the shared love of books. This true story is told through the 20 years of transatlantic correspondence between New York City based author, Helene Hanff and the English proprietor and staff of Messrs. Marks & Co., the sellers of rare and secondhand books located at 84 Charing Cross Road, London. The book is mostly set in the late 1940's and 50's giving a compelling look at the deprivation felt by Englanders immediately following the second World War. I will read this book again and again.
I had often glanced at this book as I browsed through the shelves of many a book store. I am glad I resisted its lure until now as it was a perfect fit into this category. I will read this book again with pleasure. This book is also set in England, as it emerges out of the shadow of the second World War. A London author who is looking for the subject for her next book receives a letter from a stranger who lives on the island of Guernsey--he had found her address in a book he had bought secondhand. They begin a correspondence, she travels to Guernsey, it turns into a love story, not just romance, but the power of books to transform lives. This novel has a strong back drop of history and is told using the literary style of correspondence, a style I adore, we read the letters shared between herself, this stranger, her editor, her fiancee, and the fellow members of this Guernsey based literary society.
I picked up this book because I love Maeve Binchy and hadn’t read any of her books in about 20 years. I have a thing for English writers--I have a thing for all things English. But here's the weird thing-- while Im reading a book like this I fall in love with the idea of scrubbed pine tables and carbolic acid cleaners, gardening in the rain, puttering around in old cars and old clothes the older the better. Cleaning and scrubbing and order. A hard core work ethic.
Reading about them is one thing— thank goodness this fascination has never transferred over into my actual life even though sometimes I wish it would-- at least until my garden is in order and my house is clean and tidy. Old bare indian rugs and beeswax-- wide open windows. Farms and cottages old manor houses and London terraces and flats. Rosamunde Pilcher and Maeve Binchy do this best.
The only book not set in England. I had trouble locating a book with Spring in the title. It involved sexual abuse, minors, and people taking justice into their own hands. It was an okay read if a little thin and far fetched.
The English theme continues. This book is part of a very popular detective series that follows the casework of Ian Rutledge. I hate reading out of order and this book was deep into the series. I decided to read it anyway as luck would have it the book was out of sequence itself. The other novels follow Ian after he came back shell-shocked and haunted from the first World War, this one however, imagines his life as an inspector before the war. I really liked it and have gone back and started the series at the beginning.
A very English writer, not as concerned with cleanliness, this book was about the lives of four co-workers nearing retirement, it was a little dark, but I liked it. I would like to read more of her books.
After finishing up The Paris Wife by Paula Mclain I slowly made my way out of A Parisian Categorie by reading about Julia Child. An extraordinary woman who has now wormed her book (My Life in France) into three different categories. A 1950's version of a career wife (The Wives Between Us) who lived in Paris (A Parisian Categorie) and a fabulous chef (Back of the House). She is a personal hero of mine.
Ironically, this category got its start because I wanted to read more about the English Queen- Elizabeth I who never married and was nicknamed "The Virgin Queen". I decided to read the biography written by Alison Weir but if you want to read about Elizabeth's entire life you have to start with her book "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" as she is the daughter of Henry and Anne Boleyn, continue on with "The Children of Henry VIII" before reading the biography of Elizabeth I which details her life as Queen. Quite the marketing scheme but since I love historical Royal Reading and the Tudors I was more than game.
My original "clever" intention was to read six books in honor of Henry's six wives but I ended up reading eight--what can I say there are a lot of wive themed books out there, unfortunately most of them seem themed around domestic abuse. I don't know what it says about humans (and I am certainly no exception) but we sure do love the theme of violence in our entertainments. Real and imagined--Sorry Henry but you were not particularly wife friendly.
The author obviously used both public records and personal letters from the early 1500's to pen her comprehensive factual version of the tumultuous lives of Henry VIII and the six women he took as wives. I like Ms. Weir, her books are very readable and I certainly learned a lot, but sometimes it seems just a collection of lists and historical records. I did some fact checking and it turns out that other Tudor scholars seem dubious about her work. No doubt, way more accurate than HBO's version: The Tudors. I will have to read deeper--darn the luck.
A dark twisty book about an unmarried wife and her "husband" of twenty some years, set in Chicago, this novel obviously gets compared to Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, it is even getting made into a movie as they were as well. You know from the beginning "who did it" and it is told in alternating voices between score-settling wife and cheating husband. It is a very psychological read, none of the characters are particularly sympathetic or likable but I definitely enjoyed the book and the writing skills of this author. I will go see the movie.
I couldn't resist adding a second silent wife to the category, this one is set in England, and involves two Italian brothers, their controlling mother, their wives (past and present), and their children. This seemingly perfect family falls apart in a web of dark secrets, domestic violence, infidelity, and lies when Maggie (Nico's second wife) finds a hidden letter in the attic. The story is told in the alternating voices of Maggie and Lara (Massimo's second wife) and features some satisfying twists and turns, although these silent wives are definitely not as dark and twisted as Ms. Harrison's version of a silent wife.
This book is set in rural Wisconsin in 1909 and the story revolves around a successful business man who places an advertisement in the paper for a reliable wife, the woman who answers the ad and becomes his wife is anything but...this is a complex dark tale with truly repulsive characters-across the board--I read it, it is well written-- but I was REALLY glad when I was done. A very violent book. Weirdly enough this makes at least the third book that I have read that makes reference to a book called The Wisconsin Death Trap--so I guess I am going to have to source this book out some future day. Perhaps if I ever do a category for the 50 states.
I came close to not buying this book even though it got a lot of praise, press and acclaim when it was first published, I am just not a fan of mystical "fever dream" writing. The book was okay. In my opinion, there were too many different storylines, picking one or even two would have made for a better book. Furthermore--even this book kept my theory alive that it is the preference of authors who put the word "wife" in the title of their books to weave in a storyline of domestic abuse.
Hands down one of my all time favorite books and a refreshing relief from the proceeding non-stop tales of domestic violence. It is a book I keep on my My Shelf, this is the second time I have read it and I think I liked it even more than the first time. It is the romantic, and sad, and beautiful love story of time-traveling Henry, who has "chronological displacement disorder" which means his travels both forward and back in time are random and out of his control. It is also the story of Clare the woman who becomes his wife. I look forward to reading this again and again.
This is one book with a ton of twists, in my opinion maybe even a couple too many, but nevertheless you are very reluctant to put it down until you are done. I successfully avoided most of my family during Thanksgiving because my nose was pretty much always stuck in this book. Read between the lies, might have been a better title--you can't trust anyone or anything in this book. I will definitely read their next book, if only to see if they did manage to leave any plot twists behind for the future use.
A so-so book, not very memorable, but it did have an interesting twist, a lot people complain that the ending is unsatisfying but I don't even remember how it ended, but I don't remember being disappointed either. It is a little slow in places and of course it has its domestic violence elements.
I am glad to be finally moving on from this category. Only The Time Traveler's Wife will go back on My Shelf and I look forward to reading it again and again.
I was curious to know how other authors wrote about their reading lives. I figured it was valuable research as I plan to do the same in Categorically Well Read. I didn't find many titles. But the sheer quantity of books these authors claim to have read seriously intimidates me. I also wanted to find book suggestions that were more than just moldy old lists of should be read "classics". I have issues with the value of using my valuable reading time reading a book just because it is a classic--it also has to be a good read. Such as Middlemarch by George Eliot, Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen and Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.
After reading The Shelf and Morningstar-- my category ran into a little technical difficulty. As I was exploring other "reading and book themed" websites I stumbled across Modern Mrs. Darcy a popular blog created by Anne Bogel. It is very easy to get sucked down a rabbit hole on her site. I noticed she had written a book about her reading life. During a deep dive on her website I found another author, Kathleen Norris with a very intriguing somewhat theme related title and topic. While I was on Amazon buying these two books I found Amazon recommending a third, titled "Book Girl" and I bought it as well.
What I failed to note at first glance was the Christian slant of ALL of these books and websites. While Anne Bogel does a good job keeping her book and her website "secular" rather than overtly "spiritual" -- her book is ranked on Amazon under Christian living and a lot of her followers are definitely living Christians. Nothing wrong with this, to each their own...Anne has a very good eye for very good reading material. In fact I have another category going based on a list of can't put down books I found on her website. And I will be ever grateful for stumbling across Kathleen Norris's book on her site.
I am giving Kathleen Norris a pass on the religious front as the word "monk" is included in the title and particularly because her book gave me the key to unlocking the mysterious malaise I often feel about living life. I have been unable to accurately describe it and now I can. I knew going in that this was a religious book written by a woman with a devout faith, but the demon of which she writes is a universal element in the makeup of human minds.
I skimmed through the included lists but could not make myself read Book Girlby Sarah Clarkson and I tried. I am a little peeved at both Amazon and the publisher to tell the truth. You read "20+ recommended reading lists, the treasures and transforming power of reading, the joys of being a "book girl" but what you never find out until you start reading is that this book has serious religious tones. This fact was not mentioned in the description or on the back cover. The lists--sorry to say-- are more about what to read if you want to be a good Christian and given that the author is an Oxford divinity scholar completely understandable. These comments are in retrospect--I wish this slant had been more fully divulged and I could have saved my book fund the expense.
Unfortunately, I found her writing style irritating, too ingratiating and chummy. And I know I just skimmed but I kept getting this sneaking feeling that she hadn't read all the books she put into her lists. For the record, I do have a rather immense "To Be Read" stack of books but I do not recommend them as must reads (if warranted) until after I have actually read them.
Once again, to each their own, and if these types of religious reading lists are where you choose to spend your precious reading time, it is no business of mine. Just realize that I mostly find my solace and truths elsewhere and read from those lists.
Most of these authors, whose books I did read, wrote a lot about books that influenced their reading lives as they were growing up, which encouraged me to examine mine. I am acquiring my titles for a future reading list.
I was a little afraid to read this book as I was sure I would feel compelled to either read "her shelf" or pick a "shelf of my own" but in the end I felt neither urge. I will admit it is an intriguing idea--although if I do succumb it will consist of me reading through one of my "home composed shelves of unread books"--that idea might be worth pursuing! My "Umberto Ecco Anti-Library" currently consists of at least five such shelves. (Thanks Mr. Taleb for making me proud of this fact.) The shelf Ms. Rose read was very unappealing to me and in the end I think mostly to her as well. This book has a lot of filler--interesting filler but filler none the less and her writing about these books/filler was way more interesting than the books.
Her idea was to pick a somewhat random shelf in a New York City library (she set some ground rules for shelf selection) and read her way through. She became a little obsessed about one--a Russian "classic" that she read over and over until she could convince her mind that it was a classic. I didn't get it. There is a whole class of authors who books (like this one) have been deemed classics that glorify the macho male and their mistreatment of women or who blatantly indulge the author's "fictionalized fantasies" that usually involved forbidden lusts and/or minors. It makes me wonder living in this #metoo moment that perhaps this "classification" needs to be re-thought. I don't want to be a hypocrite though as I love a good mystery/thriller as much as the next reader, it just has me wondering about the human taste for violence in our choices of entertainment.
Ms. Rose has no problem criticizing authors and books or revealing plots twists, endings, and solutions to crimes. She is a bit harsh at times and claims at one point to not read negative reviews of her own writings. Dishing it out but not taking it. Over all though I liked this book, even though I didn't always agree with the author. In fact, the one book that she decided not to read ended up being the only one that I felt was interesting. A book called Eleanor by Rhoda Lerman--it is about Eleanor Roosevelt and I am so close to having a whole category of Eleanor books.
An autobiographical exploration of the books that influenced an Italian girl growing up in Rhode Island in the 60's and 70's. I too am a child of this era, I too was influenced by the author Herman Wouk but I am not sure I ever read Marjorie Morningstar, I know I read War and Remembrance and Winds of War and liked them both. My plan is to rectify this omission, she is going into a category soon. I really enjoyed this book and plan on reading more by this author, hopefully soon.
I liked her book, I liked reading about her life, I like her website and often go there for reading inspiration. While I am amazed at the quantity of books she reads, personally I would never get the same amount of reading satisfaction out of giving a book a "quick" read. I am slow, I savor and ponder, indeed I approach my whole life at the pace of a leisurely stroll.
The demon of acedia--also called the noonday demon--is the one that causes the most trouble of all...he strikes during the heat of the day, you are hungry and fatigued, and open to the suggestion that commitment to work, your dream, your passion, your meditation is not worth the effort. Nothing is worth the effort and the demon laughs and mocks you for ever thinking anything ever was. You lay down and struggle to get back up. This demon certainly lives in my head, but I think it is a universal element of the human brain. Kathleen is in the end way too "religious" for me, that she suffers from acedia (and depression) rolls off of every page. I really hopes she finds her peace.
I consider this book a starting point for a major research project as I need more secular scientific answers and thanks to Ms. Norris I have plenty of places to look. For the record this book is way more about her writing life than it is about her reading life.
I have been spending my reading life in Paris of late but now my reading sees me heading off into the back of the house lives of some famous chefs and food writers. The two titles I am starting with keep me both in Paris and finally gets me to read a book that has languished for many years on my shelf. This is a very personal category as I spent many years "back of the house" in many restaurant kitchens, my life has moved on--but I am still an avid home cook. You can follow my cooking adventures in Gourmappetit.
I loved this book from its rambling quirkiness to its often insightful prose, it is a fascinating glimpse into a life of a restaurant and its chef. The author spent several months working in the kitchen of the three Michelin star Paris restaurant, Taillevant. His tenure at the restaurant culminated with a five hour meal shared with his wife, in the 19th century dining room--a meal meticulously prepared and served-just like this book. The writing is a clever juxtaposition of the meal, the back of the house, history, and the love of food.
I got this book as a Christmas present back in 2006. I'm not quite sure why I never read it, it languished on my shelf for close to twelve years. As many aspiring female chefs do I consider Julia Child to be an inspiration and a role model in so many ways--not just as a chef. Julia was a tall, large-boned, "handsome" woman who could have easily slid into the role of an American housewife in Paris when her husband Paul was stationed there in 1948 after WWII. I admire her because it just never seemed to occur to her that she couldn't conquer Paris, master French Cooking, get accepted at the Cordon Bleu, teach classes, write books, or become a TV personality. An ordinary woman with the spirit to become quite extraordinary.
Julia wrote this memoir about her years in France with the assistance from her grandnephew Alex, she passed away in 2004, I believe just after completing the first draft, her love and joy for life sing through these pages and since I am crying while I write these words I imagine that this is part of the reason it took me so long to finally read this book.
The author is the chef of the acclaimed NYC restaurant Prune and a very talented writer. Before she opened Prune, Gabrielle spent 20 some fierce hard-living years working in bars, summer camps, catering companies and restaurants in America, France, Greece, and Turkey. She had an idyllic childhood in upstate New York mostly spent with her French mother in the kitchen, her parents were locally famous for their large food themed parties. This world was destroyed when her parents split and her mother left the family behind. Ms. Hamilton went to college in Michigan where she earned an M.F.A. in writing. She also got her first catering job there.
The book details her life, her family, her prickly marriage with an Italian, motherhood, her restaurant and her restaurant family. She is an honest gritty writer, she is not always likable and I certainly don't agree with all of her choices but she is a great talent both in the kitchen and as a writer. Her work ethic alone is enough to make me lie down and weep. As I got an inadvertent education in yoga and eventually became a reluctant yoga instructor I can relate to the experience of coming into a career through the back door, so to speak.
Second book in this category that features a writer who wanted to get a look at the "back of the house" and this book is in its own separate way also reading time well spent. The author is a clinical psychologist and a well regarded food writer who wanted to get a look into the minds of some top American chefs. The book features some of the conversations that he had with several such chefs but it mostly features the James Beard Award winning, Boston chef, Tony Maws. Scott spent 18 months immersed into Tony's kitchen life at his restaurant Craigie on Main, and he became a part of the restaurant family.
This book is less about what makes the food so amazing, the author captures the excitement and drama of the kitchen but not the food and the artistry of cooking. Instead his focus is on the actions of chefs and the employees, looking at the back of the house through the eyes of a clinical psychologist. He examines the flaws, the staff turnovers, relationship troubles and does a good job of showing the reality of life as lived in the kitchen behind a famous restaurant. Truthfully though I found the "head shrinking" elements a little tiresome and overreaching at times but still really liked the book.
This is a collection of essays about the joys of simple slow food everything from boiling water to cooking eggs and beans, how to use the odds and ends of one meal to start the next one. She believes that almost all kitchen mistakes can be remedied, cooking resourcefully and not wastefully. Tamar is a writer and a cook who has logged serious time on the line of restaurants big, small, famous and humble. She spent time at Chez Panisse working with Alice Waters and time at Prune working with Gabrielle Hamilton. I just love when books in my categories mesh and interweave in myriad ways.
Her way of cooking leads one to end up with a refrigerator and freezer full of mostly unlabeled odds and ends but out of my growing collection I have made some inventive tasty meals. She is also of the opinion that everything tastes better with a sprinkle of parsley, a squirt of lemon, a dash of parmesan cheese, and a spray of breadcrumbs--and I have found that indeed she is pretty much spot on.
I know, I know. Technically this book does not belong in this category, I found it stuffed in between "An Everlasting Meal" and "Blood, Butter, and Bones" on the shelf at Half Priced Books and couldn't resist. It is a red herring. I was expecting this to be a book about how certain foods became human staples, I guess. But no, instead the book explores the amazing role of food, especially plant food in history--as a tool of social transformation, political organization, geopolitical competition, industrial development, military conflict, and economic expansion.
The book spans the time from the emergence of farming in China by 7,500 BCE to today's use of corn and sugar to produce ethanol, it is a different way of looking at history that is both eye-opening and changed the way I view the world. I found it to be a bit of a palate cleanser--it took me out of the "tiny" back of the house world of individual restaurants to looking at food from a much larger perspective.
This is the only fictional "back of the house" in this category and while it hails itself as a novel it reads more like a collection of interweaving short stories. Lillian is a successful chef/restauranteur who conducts cooking classes "back of the house" where she teaches the essential basics of cooking. To me, she was the most interesting character, and at times I wished the whole book was about her but this is not what the author had in mind for her book. Each chapter follows the life of one of the eight students who take this particular round of cooking classes.
It is about the healing energy of cooking, the soul satisfying work of nourishing yourself and others with thoughtfully prepared simple food, and the mind stilling quality of "hands on doing" that the often repetitive tasks of cooking and baking bring. If you pay attention when watching a cooking competition or show you will often hear the chefs credit their back of house cooking life as the one that made all the difference, the one that turned their life around and gave their life meaning and purpose.
Hi! I'm Debbie. Here at Categorically Well-Read I give an extra layer to the reading life. Learn more about me, check out my current category of books, submit your own suggestion, or check out my latest post.
The Witch Elm: A Novel
The Familiars: A Novel
Water Witches
A Secret History of Witches: A Novel
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare completed 11/2019
The Witch With No Name by Kim Harrison
by Diana Gabaldon 
by Hilary Mantel
by Helene Tursten 
by Sarah Waters
by Jasper Fforde
by Katarina Bivald
by Robin Sloan
by Gabrielle Zevin
by Helene Hanff
by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
by Maeve Binchy 
by Charles Todd
by Barbara Pym
by Alison Weir
by A.S.A. Harrison
by Kerry Fisher
by Robert Goolrick
by Tea Obreht
by Audrey Niffenegger 
by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
by Emma Chapman
by Sarah Clarkson and I tried. I am a little peeved at both Amazon and the publisher to tell the truth. You read "20+ recommended reading lists, the treasures and transforming power of reading, the joys of being a "book girl" but what you never find out until you start reading is that this book has serious religious tones. This fact was not mentioned in the description or on the back cover. The lists--sorry to say-- are more about what to read if you want to be a good Christian and given that the author is an Oxford divinity scholar completely understandable. These comments are in retrospect--I wish this slant had been more fully divulged and I could have saved my book fund the expense.
by Phyllis Rose
by Ann Hood
by Anne Bogel
by Kathleen Norris
by Andrew Todhunter 
by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme
by Gabrielle Hamilton
by Scott Haas
by Tamar Adler
by Tom Standage
by Erica Bauermeister
