Book Lovers Club

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  • apple
    apple Member Posts: 1,466
    edited July 2012

    Craig Clairborne is the most knowledgeable foodie ever.  I own a huge collection of cookbooks.. his historical writing and in depth knowledge is superb

  • voraciousreader
    voraciousreader Member Posts: 3,696
    edited July 2012

    Apple... She passed last week. She was ill for several years and kept it private. She had a very rare type of leukemia.



    I wonder if one day they might make a film about Claiborne. One of the things that I learned from the book was about his delight in bringing chefs out of the kitchen.... Celebrity chefs owe their gratitude to him because before he showcased the chefs, it was the owners or maitre d's of restaurants that were popular. Claiborne recognized the contribution chefs made to the success of a restaurant...

  • apple
    apple Member Posts: 1,466
    edited July 2012

    Clairborne.. i think it is his American food cookbook that i really like.  he writes about and explains everything

  • voraciousreader
    voraciousreader Member Posts: 3,696
    edited July 2012

    Apple...you and about another 30 million recipe enthusiasts love THAT book! According to the author, the book remains one of the most popular cook books! It really was a labor of love for him and truly helped expose Americans to a new way of eating and dining.



    Another terrific book about the history of eating and dining in New York is former Times restaurant critic Willism Grimes' book, Appetite City. It's a wonderful primer that follows the history of New Yorkers dining beginning with the first settlers. As a native New Yorker, it seems as though we have experienced a full circle from our earliest experiences with dining, since "take out" food was the first dining experience of most New Yorkers...

  • lovemyfamilysomuch
    lovemyfamilysomuch Member Posts: 762
    edited July 2012

    Did we talk about Lifeboat?  So far, I am liking it.  I think I got the recommendation from here. Love to all my bc sisters. 

    “To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.”
    ― William Somerset Maugham
    “Adquirir el hábito de la lectura es construirse un refugio contra casi todas las miserias de la vida.”
    ― William Somerset Maugham

  • wenweb
    wenweb Member Posts: 471
    edited July 2012
    lovemyfamily  That is lovely.  Thanks for sharing.
  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited July 2012
    I'm reading Cat's Table by Ondaatje.  The jury's still out - but that may be because I'm reading it on a Kindle.  Yes, I'm old fashioned, but I enjoy the interaction more with a "real" book where I can easily go back & forth.  I really liked Laura Lipman's new book The Most Dangerous Things. I need to find more of her books.  Also liked Ann Patchett's State of Wonder.  I never read her prize winning Bel Canto.
  • Ishie
    Ishie Member Posts: 11
    edited July 2012
    Phillip Caputo's Rumor of War is one of my favorite non-fiction Vietnam books. We read it for the freshman college orientation class (9 weeks) at my alma mater. 
  • moonflwr912
    moonflwr912 Member Posts: 5,938
    edited July 2012

    Ok, how did I miss this thread? I have to add this to my favorites. I read a lot, and during chemo alternated between reading all the time or not st all depending on how I was feeling. If I felt good, I would read anything for hours. If I was feeling bad, I would watch tv and nap. LOL I tend to read fluff stuff right now, though. All I can handle. So my list is heavy on romance, historical especially. Also mysteries and thrillers. When I find an author I like, I try to find all their other books and read them. My favorite series is JDRobb's In Death Series. (Nora Roberts) I think she is up to over fifty books in the series. I have all but the last two in real books, those I got in ebooks for my reader. I will purchase hard copies when I see them on sale. I guess I better stop "talking" and try to get back to sleep. Much love to all.

  • voraciousreader
    voraciousreader Member Posts: 3,696
    edited July 2012

    Ishie... Thanks for the recommendation. I just reserved the 20th anniversary edition of the book with a postscript from the author.



    Finished reading The Hunt for SKM by Terry McDermott and The NY Times has a good review of the book in today's Sunday book review section. I gave the book to one of my walking companions' husband and he too, could not put the book down. I highly recommend his other book Perfect Soldiers too. Written in 2006, I STILL rave about THAT book!

  • wenweb
    wenweb Member Posts: 471
    edited July 2012
    MinusTwo  I highly recommend that you do read Bel Canto.  It's not like any of Pachett's books that I have read, and I didn't think I would like it by description, but I loved it.
  • ruthbru
    ruthbru Member Posts: 47,697
    edited July 2012
    Just read The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin. Another 'beach read' type book but rather interesting as it takes place it a Gilded Age setting, when many extremely weathly American girls (and their mothers) were looking to marry into European titles. The facts behind the novel are true.  Many of the English aristocracy was cash strapped and it was their way to get their hands on new fortunes (Consuelo Vanderbilt went to her marriage with the Duke of Marlborough with, in modern terms, $100 million dowry). In tht age, 1/4 of the British nobility were making transatlantic marriages. Winston Churchill's mom was American, Princess Diana's great-grandmother was an American heiress.
  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited July 2012

    WenWeb - thanks since I was wavering.  I'll go ahead & pick up Bel Canto.

  • Ishie
    Ishie Member Posts: 11
    edited July 2012
    ruthbru wrote: te:

    Mystic River is a GREAT murder mystery (and I'm not usually that crazy about them), and I thought that the movie was better than 'most books to movies', of course I do really like Sean Penn so that might have had something to do with it ! I find it so interesting when I read a conversation with an author and how they often say that the characters have a life of their own that the author loses control of (like 'I was so sad when _____ died' or "I was so disapointed when _____ did that."

    I loved the movie also, but saw it just after I had my first son. Very difficult to think about as a mom! 

  • jelson
    jelson Member Posts: 622
    edited July 2012

    If you enjoy silly reading, I recommend Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters (and Jane Austen). Will have to reread the original, but enjoyed it - some laugh out loud moments - as I have other such books.

    Also Pirate King by Laurie R. King - this is the latest in her series about Sherlock Holmes and his young bride Mary Russell. Now you might think that the premise,  novels about the real life of a fictional character - might be silly, but the previous books have not actually been funny, however, this one was, well, quite the departure - in it, Mary goes undercover with a British film company which is filming a film about a film company filming a (silent) film about the Pirates of Penzance - in Lisbon and Morocco.

    Am now beginning A Trick of the Light from the murder mystery series by Louise Penny - kind of overwrought! I wonder will the series end when there is no one left alive in the quaint village of Three Pines? 

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited July 2012
    Just finished The Paris Wife.  An easy summer read.  I had to dig out my old copy of The Sun Also Rises to see if Hemmingway really dedicted it to his first wife & son - and sure enough.
  • Ishie
    Ishie Member Posts: 11
    edited July 2012

    voraciousreader,

    Let me know what you think. I've also read most of Tim O' Brian's work,  but I enjoy Caputo's style more. 

  • sweetcorn
    sweetcorn Member Posts: 96
    edited July 2012

    Thanks for suggesting The American Heiress!  I will go check it out.  And Cora on Downton Abbey, would be one of those Americans that married a British aristocrat to assist financially.

    Jane

  • voraciousreader
    voraciousreader Member Posts: 3,696
    edited July 2012

    Silly VR. Got the large print edition of The Rumor of War. Will have to request the other one. In the meanwhile, I just finished reading a very light book about Wallis Simpson, "That Woman," by Anne Sebba. It was more entertaining than informative. I read another book about her about thirty years ago and was interested in reading if there was anything "new."



    Also read Otis Webb Brawley, MD's book, "How We Do Harm.". Not going to discuss it further because it is a medical book.



    Would love to mention though a wonderful French film for all of you book lovers. "My Afternoons with Marguriette" with Gerard Depardieu. It tells the inspiring tale of an illiterate who falls in love with reading and how it profoundly affects his life and the people around him.

  • apple
    apple Member Posts: 1,466
    edited July 2012

    I am totally out of books.  Uhuru proved to be waAAAAAAY too carnal..  i mean, come on.. combining dead animals, horny  Africans and English women on vacation....

    went back to Mexico and all this guy does is kill bulls.

     i need some flowers and romance maybe some history.

  • ruthbru
    ruthbru Member Posts: 47,697
    edited July 2012
    this is not flowers and romance; but just finished every last one by Anna Quindlen. A very, very good and sad book about how a mother goes on after a tragedy. I was reading it while I was sitting at an airport, but had to stop because tears were streaming down my face and the other passengers were looking concerned!
  • jenlee
    jenlee Member Posts: 204
    edited July 2012

    Wish there was a like button or a thumbs up/thumbs down, so I could agree with some of these books or we could rate each other recommendations. I see so many here that I too enjoyed.

  • voraciousreader
    voraciousreader Member Posts: 3,696
    edited July 2012

    Ruth... There should have been a black box warning on the book... Warning you AND warning others while you read the book! Here's a tissue! ;)

  • Laurie08
    Laurie08 Member Posts: 2,047
    edited July 2012

    I started reading 1929 by M L Gardener.  I can't put it down do far!  It is about the great depression and three couple who are all friends and trying to find their way in it all.  It has it's moments but all and all I am enjoying it :)

    Ruth I added your tear jerker to my to read list :)

  • lovemyfamilysomuch
    lovemyfamilysomuch Member Posts: 762
    edited July 2012

    Finally got a   copy of Sarah's key.  I am looking forward to reading it!  I love sharing with my sister bibliophiles! xo

  • mumito
    mumito Member Posts: 2,007
    edited July 2012

    Ok ladies who has read Fifty shades of grey?I heard that the author is nothing to write home about.Do not intend to buy it unless everyone recomends it.

  • moonflwr912
    moonflwr912 Member Posts: 5,938
    edited July 2012

    I have read it, I liked it, but its good, not great. It does have some very descriptive sex scenes, which is why it has such an explosive reputation. Think of it as a love story, with a rather strong female protagonist and I'd say you've understood this book.

  • wenweb
    wenweb Member Posts: 471
    edited July 2012
    I downloaded a sample to my kindle because I knew it had very descriptive sex scenes Laughing!!  I found it difficult to enjoy the actual story line as it was boring and a bit much.  IMHO...
  • lovemyfamilysomuch
    lovemyfamilysomuch Member Posts: 762
    edited July 2012
    I just finished a memoir by Carole Radziwill, called "What Remains" her story of her life with her husband Anthony, a prince, and cousin to JFK, Jr.  It was very well written and quite an enjoyable read. 
    I liked it very much.  She is now on "Real Housewives of NYC" for those of you who partake in that guilty pleasure as I do.
  • mumito
    mumito Member Posts: 2,007
    edited July 2012

    Thanks ladies you confirmed my decision not to bother with the book. I am still trying to finish the Larson series. Saw the newer movie of the first book and really enjoyed how accurate to the book it was.May be Daniel Craig will sign on for the sequels.Laughing