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June 27, 2005
Book Recommendations
A few quick reviews of a few books I've read recently.
Salt: A World History
by Mark Kurlansky
This is just the type of book I love. Single topic that religious, historical, cultural and anthropological facets. It's chock full of facts and anecdotes, and will make you a font of knowledge on salt. Unfortunately the book is written without that crucial thread of narrative that keeps an epic knitted together. It like this: here's a fact, oh, and another. Here's one more. Oh, let's hop forward and talk about this. OK, now let's move back in history. Here's another fact.
Taken for what it is, it's fairly enjoyable.
Pig Perfect : Encounters with Remarkable Swine and Some Great Ways to Cook Them by Peter Kaminsky
An interesting read. I, like the author, love pork (although I'm not nearly as obsessed with Ham as he is). The book explores various species of pig, historical and cultural issue associated with Pig consumption and farming. A short, but great description of bar-b-que, and includes a recommendation for the best american ham (which we are so going to try.
The Sleeping Father by Matthew Sharpe
This book was irreverent and fun. It's a story about a man that enters a coma, and emerges in a childlike state. Cared for by the books main protagonist (a seventeen year old by) and his overtly-pious sister. The book is all over the place, with every imaginable situation a family could go through: divorce, teen pregnancy, unrequited love, the medical condition. It's a very, very funny book that uses difficult topics and social taboos as a method to move the story forward. Highly recommended.
Posted by tdotjay at June 27, 2005 04:56 PM
