Books that get READ

So, some book you just read. And some books you READ. I’m currently working on two books that one must READ.

First up, I’m reading On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen.

Wow, this book is amazing. I started it the summer of 2011, so that means I’ve been reading it for a year, and only the 600s (pages) of 800 some-odd. I have minor in chemistry from undergrad and am unceasingly hungry for knowledge. This book meets both needs (chemistry info and knowledge), plus food. There is history of all types of food, information on the chemical changes that occur as you mix, cook, sear, bake, grill or whatever you might do to the food you are working with. He discusses the traditional ways of doing this, that and the other, and the more common modern or industrial ways. He explains why somethings just aren’t done at home any more. I’m currently in the chapter about sauces, and I suspect I will want to experiment with the next sauce I make. Hubby won’t like that, I don’t think.

I’m also working on Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook: The Essential Guide to Caring for Everything in Your Home. Its different from Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House, but I’m still thinking through how they are different. The two books do overlap in some ways, and it seems, intuitively, that Home Comforts is more timeless (and Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook more bound to current times), but I’m not able to articulate exactly what makes me think this. The two books are organized quite differently, and Home Comforts, despite being thinner, is a full 120 some-odd pages longer. Home Comforts has many, many fewer and smaller pictures and smaller text, while the Handbook has some very nice, large black and white pictures. The text is more non-academic-reader friendly (its a bit bigger), but Home Comforts never struck me as “academic”.

So, when I finally finish the Handbook, I plan to write a nice detailed discussion of how the two are different. I suspect that to happen in a month or so.

Anyone else working on books that need to be READ?

Reading

As of Monday, June 4, the links are fixed! Thanks to WordPress help for helping me figure out that some of the html was just wonky. He fixed on, and I used it to fix the others. Wow — I just edited straight hmtl.

I currently have 5 books going. Yes, all at once. See, there are specific times I read certain books. I can’t read “On Food and Cooking” while nursing, because its just too big. But trying to read “Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Manuel” is rather dry reading for long stretches. Here’s what I got going right now…

I actually reading the one without the second introduction. I’ve enjoyed the book and am just about finished. The author has a lot to say, and it deserves a response. I hope to give an indepth response soon.

I am LOVING this book. I’m half way through, and though I can only read a bit at time, its quite engrossing. Basically, its a chemistry of food book, and it satisfies my various chef/cook/chemist desires.

I picked this up because it was free for kindle and looked interesting. Its a run of the mill fantasy story. Fun to read and easy to read.

I got this audio book from the library. I really, really enjoyed “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” by the same author. I noted that I’d read it at GoodReads, and so got a notice when they had an interview with Seth Grahame-Smith (the author of both). I think, to do justice to the book, I need to get the book (not just the audiobook), but the few chapters I’ve listened to so far are quite interesting. I want to read Grahame-Smith’s “Unholy Nights” also, when I can get it from the library. I really enjoy the way he writes (and what he writes).

Hubby and I are listening to this audio book. We are slowly-slowly working our way through the series listening together. Its the listening together that is hard. But worth the effort.

Am I the only one who keeps multiple books going at once? What are you reading now?