Once the holiday has passed and the cold weather settles in, more of my time seems to be spent snuggled up under a blanket in our old drafty house clutching a good book. This January has been no different, although my choice of reading material is unusual for me -- a bit of non-fiction.
Life, on the Line by Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas was a great read -- very inspiring. Achatz, a famous chef and owner of Alinea and Next in Chicago, grew up in the restaurant business and it seems he has spent nearly every moment of his life striving for perfection as a chef. The book includes parts written by his business partner and friend, Nick Kokonas, which is an interesting twist.
Most of the book recounts Achatz's years as a rising star in the culinary world -- which was interesting enough -- but the later part of the book tells how he survived cancer. Since his cancer was mostly in his tongue, he was unable to taste anything for a very long time -- crazy for anyone, but especially for a chef.
Meanwhile, I was finishing up Mieville's Perdido Street Station, which is another of his Bas-Lag books. And while I found the universe quite engaging, and the story moved along nicely, I wasn't able to get lost in it as thoroughly as I did while reading The Scar. Perhaps I could better relate to the female main character in the later book. At any rate, the book was wild and interesting and a good read.
Now I'm on to Lev Grossman's The Magicians which will be ending all too soon for me. Thanks goodness the sequel is already out.
http://www.boogaj.com/the_cookie_blog/
Is my blog!!! Visit!
Posted by: Maddie | Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 09:59 AM