My life is overflowing with books to read right now and as usual there is just not enough time to read the all. These, however, are the ones I’m most excited to get through.
1. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles – I’ve heard great things about this book which follows a young woman in Greenwich Village during the 1930s who has a chance encounter with a man that propels her into New York Society. Sounds like Real Housewives of New York: The More Literary Verison.
2. Best Food Writing 2011 by Holly Hughes – I always love these compilations of the best curated food writing from magazines, the internet, and sometimes surprising literary contributions. It’s always a mixed bag, I never love everything, but there are always a few gems. The new one just came out, but I haven’t even made my way through last year’s yet. I’m looking forward to doing so little by little.
3. Little Children by Tom Perotta – Both Garrett and I are reading this for Book Club and it’s our turn to host the dinner to accompany the discussion. The subject matter doesn’t sound to uplifting, so I haven’t quite come up with a menu, but I think I’m going to do lots of finger food since we are going to watch the movie version too when we all get together.
4. Ad Hoc At Home by Thomas Keller – Family style recipes made with fresh ingredients inspired by Keller’s casual restaurant out in Sonoma County. A surprising number of the recipes are Paleo to begin with, but regardless the cookbook itself is inspiring on a number of levels. I’m having fun checking out cookbooks for my own writing/design inspiration and this one totally delivers. When Michelle mentioned it recently I knew it must be worth checking out because that gal has good cookbook taste. And it totally delivers!
5. The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Goff – This is an older book that I just recently read about, and honestly I can’t even remember where, but I immediately put it my To-Read list. Something about it just sounds weird and appealing so I want to read it. You can read the plot summary here.
6. The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas For the Creative Cook by Niki Segnit – I think the super long title sort of explains what this is about, but I picked it up on Mel’s recommendation a couple of weeks ago and it is right up my alley. (PS – that post is FULL of awesome foodie fun, check it out if you’re looking for some cookbook inspiration too!)
7. The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings – Just like I am a sucker for books about New Orleans, I will basically always read a book that takes place in Hawaii. Remember? Hawaii and I have a special bond. Also I really wanted to see this movie and generally if there is an award winning movie made from a book, I like to read the book first. (Isn’t the book usually better?) Anyway, I’ve been eyeballing this for a while and finally it has made its way to the To Read Queue. I hope it’s good!
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What’s on your nightstand right now?
Oh! I started “Rules of Civility” and then had to return it to the library. I really liked what I’d read. Am adding back on my list now.
And “Little Children.” Ooofff. The movie came out while I was home on maternity leave with Ezra, and I STILL think about random scenes from it from time to time. Is interesting (and kinda bleak).
“The Descendants” is a bit (actually, a lot) heavy, emotionally. Hope you have a lighter book in line to read immediately after that one. I recommend “Ready Player One” as a good mental palate cleanser. It’s way fun.
OMG. Flavor Thesaurus. It’s a book version of “You Know How You Could Do That.” I LOVE her writing style, and the ideas make my imagination burst in the best way possible.
I’m in a reading rut because I’m making my way through the 1100-page Bronte biography. It’s a good read, but it’s slow going and now the kind of hting I can pick up and read for 10 minutes while my breakfast is sauteeing. It’s bringing down my monthly reading average!
But tonight I’m getting John Taylor’s autobiography, so maybe I’ll alternate the two. What a combo!
Monsters of Templeton is one of the books I am evangelical about. I love Lauren Groff.
I’m reading a really silly little book (“Summer In The City,” I think?) that I acquired somehow (no idea), but found on my bookshelf. It’s set in the ’90s and people are using FAX machines and Palm Pilots and pagers and there are WASPs and it’s really kind of stupid, but I’m almost finished.
If you haven’t read anything by Louise Erdrich, you might want to give her a try. She is awesome. Waiting patiently for my local library to get her new one “The Round House”.
Happy Reading!
I always want to read books before seeing the movie, but I didn’t know The Descendants was based on a book until after I saw it! The movie was great (I thought), but apparently people who’ve read the book hate it for oversimplifying and cutting too much. It’s on my to-read list and I think I’m happy I watched the movie first, so I could enjoy it then get more detail from the book.
I just read :Rules of Civility” for my book club. Really enjoyed it. Washington’s rules at the back of the book are a hoot! This month’s book club selection is “Cutting for Stone.”
Good luck on your 1/2 marathon this weekend. I ran my first half two weeks ago in the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco. It was rough! I even have the black toe nail souvenir to prove it. : (
Oooh, I’m excited to get my hands on The Flavor Thesaurus! I haven’t read any of those books on your nightstand, but they sound interesting! Particularly the flavor book, and the literary version of “Desperate Housewives”. 😛
I have to say that “Rules of Civility” is fantastic. I just read it based on your recommendation and there are lines in it that I could only dream that I had written myself. I find myself highlighting lines like crazy on my kindle just to remember them. Thanks for recommending this gem. Loved it!