Just Finished:
American Cake by Anne Byrn
I started this awhile ago and finished it recently, but I can't emphasize enough how fascinating I found this book! I love how Byrn anchors the cakes in American history with references to contemporary cookbooks and interviews with contemporary cooks. It was amazing how even small things that I know tied in, like her reference to Passover cakes in the entry on flourless chocolate cake, and how pineapple upside-down cake was found in a synagogue cookbook. You can see the influence of different cultures and moments on American cake--she dates the 1990s cupcake boom to a Sex and the City episode, and she includes a Tres Leches Cake recipe for the 2010s. Highly recommend, and can't wait to read American Cookie!
Currently Reading:
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
I've been meaning to read this since it won the Pulitzer a few years ago, but I didn't love The Secret History, and it seemed like such a doorstopper. Well, I am so glad I picked this up. Unlike The Secret History (so far), it's just my cup of tea, and I realized that I tend to have a weakness for books centered on a work of art (The Art Forger, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler)--which is strange, because I'm not a huge fan of art in general!
The Other Alcott by Elise Hooper
Started listening to this audiobook I got from the library--so far, it's a bit polemical on the "you don't have to suffer to be an artist" to illustrate the difference between Louisa and May, which--eh. I dislike the consistent portrait of Louisa as suffering artist; she had fun, she supported her family, she bought her own big freaking house! And, also, I find it hard to believe that May's life was really that overshadowed by being compared to Amy March, but, we'll see.
DNF:
The Final Frontier: Stories of Exploring Space, Colonizing the Universe, and First Contact, edited by Neil Clarke
I was so excited that I was the first person to get this on hold out of the library--and then I was disappointed. The first four stories are incredibly melancholy in nature, and most or all primary characters die in each. In fact, the most hopeful story has the protagonist dying in space after (temporarily) saving the remnants of the human race. When I think about "the final frontier," I don't think about a last grand stand; I think about an ever-expanding horizon.That's how the phrase is used in the Star Trek series--Space--The Final Frontier--a new avenue for exploration, not an end! Clearly, the editor disagrees with me, which is fine, but if the first four stories are that bleak, I don't think I'm the target audience for this collection,.
Next Up:
The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
I was seriously considering getting this in Spanish, when I saw that it came into my library! I was first on the list, naturally! :-)
American Cake by Anne ByrnI started this awhile ago and finished it recently, but I can't emphasize enough how fascinating I found this book! I love how Byrn anchors the cakes in American history with references to contemporary cookbooks and interviews with contemporary cooks. It was amazing how even small things that I know tied in, like her reference to Passover cakes in the entry on flourless chocolate cake, and how pineapple upside-down cake was found in a synagogue cookbook. You can see the influence of different cultures and moments on American cake--she dates the 1990s cupcake boom to a Sex and the City episode, and she includes a Tres Leches Cake recipe for the 2010s. Highly recommend, and can't wait to read American Cookie!
Currently Reading:
I've been meaning to read this since it won the Pulitzer a few years ago, but I didn't love The Secret History, and it seemed like such a doorstopper. Well, I am so glad I picked this up. Unlike The Secret History (so far), it's just my cup of tea, and I realized that I tend to have a weakness for books centered on a work of art (The Art Forger, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler)--which is strange, because I'm not a huge fan of art in general!
The Other Alcott by Elise Hooper
Started listening to this audiobook I got from the library--so far, it's a bit polemical on the "you don't have to suffer to be an artist" to illustrate the difference between Louisa and May, which--eh. I dislike the consistent portrait of Louisa as suffering artist; she had fun, she supported her family, she bought her own big freaking house! And, also, I find it hard to believe that May's life was really that overshadowed by being compared to Amy March, but, we'll see.
DNF:
I was so excited that I was the first person to get this on hold out of the library--and then I was disappointed. The first four stories are incredibly melancholy in nature, and most or all primary characters die in each. In fact, the most hopeful story has the protagonist dying in space after (temporarily) saving the remnants of the human race. When I think about "the final frontier," I don't think about a last grand stand; I think about an ever-expanding horizon.That's how the phrase is used in the Star Trek series--Space--The Final Frontier--a new avenue for exploration, not an end! Clearly, the editor disagrees with me, which is fine, but if the first four stories are that bleak, I don't think I'm the target audience for this collection,.
Next Up:
I was seriously considering getting this in Spanish, when I saw that it came into my library! I was first on the list, naturally! :-)
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