The Northwest Essantials, Greg Atkinson
A charming cookbook we picked up in Victoria on our honeymoon at Munro's. Good solid recipes with ingredients that are sometimes local here - some of them are a bit of a stretch. Well-written and organized.
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The Goblin Companion, Brian Froud and Terry Jones
I re-read this while finding ideas for the Little Shed of Horrors party. Brian Froud and Terry Jones are so good at what they do - their illustrations and the writing on faerie creatures is spellbinding.
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The Cafe Cookbook: Italian Recipes for London's River Cafe, Ruth Rogers, Rose Gray
A birthday offering from Beca & Tad. Solidly written, the recipes look simple and tasty. Well-organized. The two recipes i've tried so far were spot-on with instructions & advice, and were quite tasty.
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The Quotable Sandman, Neil Gaiman
A charming compilation of quotes with some of the gorgeous art from the Sandman series. A birthday gift from R.
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Bone - Ghost Circles, Jeff Smith
Bone is just great. I continue to recommend this awesome comic series.
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Q is for Quark - A Science Alphabet Book, David M. Schwartz
One of the best science books AND one of the best alphabet books i've seen in a long time. Not just for kids! Mike and Mere know what i like. The book is full of both good science and silly puns with friendly writing and illustrations.
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Flavours, Donna Hay
A stunningly photographed cookbook with clear thoughts on basic flavors and good combinations and what look like solid recipes. Hay is not afraid to include basic recipes as well as the fancier ones. I haven't cooked out of this yet, but i'll report back in the food pages when i do!
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Calculating God, Robert J. Sawyer
A decent read, and probably a better book than the others i've read by Sawyer. The postulation of alien-who-believes-in-god talking to atheist-earthling-scientist cleverly allows Sawyer to sidestep a lot of the oft-repeated god vs. science debates you see in day-to-day life and instead concentrate on an interesting and thoughtful exploration of the topic. I found the first half of the book interesting and engaging, but felt like the ending was weak and a bit of a cop-out.
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The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse
This is an amazing book. It's a little hard to start, and it's not good for 10-15 minute reading bouts, but it is perfect for a 'sit down and become engrossed'. Set in the far future, you'll follow Joseph Knecht through his eduction and indoctrination into a community for the intellectual elite, rise through the orginization, and ultimately leave. James recommended it to me ages ago, and i heartily pass on the advice to you.
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The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
A creepy little book, though not quite as macabe as i was expecting, given all the hype. Well-written - but if you have problems with violence towards animals, this book will probably be hard for you to read.
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Cocktail-O-Matic, Suzanne Matczuk
Our cocktail tome at home has been American Bar forever; this book is a nice counterpoint. Good recipes are perched at the top of a running commentary on the history of cocktails, cocktail parties, and cocktail culture. Amusing anecdotes and good turns of phrase almost make up for her persistent use of commas where there should be semi-colons. ;)
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