Alice Waters and Chez Panisse by Thomas McNamee

I don’t remember what exactly drew me to this book, other than the cover and the title, but I was drawn to it one day when we were in the bookstore looking for the Bouchon and French Laundry cookbooks. I didn’t get it then, but when I saw it at the ALA Annual Expo in [...]

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Be Good by Stacey May Fowles

Be Good is a tale told in turn by several characters: Morgan, Hannah, Estella, Finn, Jacob, and Mr. Templeton. A web of lies is spun and the reader has a hard time deciphering the truth. At the end, it is plain to see that the truth doesn’t really matter anymore.
This book is the size of The [...]

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The Elements of Cooking by Michael Ruhlman

Michael Ruhlman’s The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef’s Craft for Every Kitchen is a reference book for cooks, professional and otherwise, who want to learn more about cooking. The book consists of eight short essays in the first fifty pages called “Notes on Cooking: From Stock to Finesse,” followed by a dictionary of cooking [...]

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Quiet, Please by Scott Douglas

Quiet, Please by Scott Douglas is a memoir of a twenty-something male librarian in Anaheim, California. It aims to be humorous and anecdotal, but fails to do either well.
As a recent graduate of library school, I took offense to most of what Douglas has to say. His stories about working with the mentally disabled, physically [...]

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The Age of the Conglomerates by Thomas Nevins

Thomas Nevins’ The Age of the Conglomerates is a gripping story reminiscent of the dystopian novels that predate it (1984, Anthem), but with a modern twist.
The setting is in 2048, and not much removed from the current state America is in now. One man, the Chairman, is running the show, with little to no opposition from [...]

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