new reads

kitchen confidential, anthony bourdain (pj/NJ --> brian/NJ)
i love food. i love eating, i love cooking, i love food facts, i love everything about it. i heard about this book a few years ago, but it was portrayed more as a reference guide for diners, as a warning on what to eat and what not to eat. now, while there is mention of when is best to order fish, and how best to order your meat, this is really a small part of the book, and has much less impact than i assumed when beginning it. i was also under the impression that other cooks and chefs hated bourdain for giving away their "secrets." not only would i have doubted this after reading the book, but bourdain acknowledges this in his introduction, and shows nothing could be further from the truth. so, i've explained what this book is not about, now what is it really about?

for the most part, this is a drug and alcohol ridden stroll down memory lane for long time chef and food lover, anthony bourdain. stories of free sex and mafia- owned restaurants abound. it would seem that bourdain was no stranger to excessive derangement of the senses, regardless of whether he's working or not. most of the time he was. he also enjoys cutting down at the knees food network hacks and vegetarians alike. as i'm sure you can understand i did not necessarily aggree with the latter shots, but took them with a grain or two of salt, especially because i appreciate the fact that, for the most part, bourdain is an asshole. regardless, i enjoyed what he wrote, and the way it is written. if you like food, if you like sex, if you like drugs, then you'll definitely enjoy this book. so, you can say i definitely enjoyed this book.

the art of happiness, h.h. dalai lama and howard c. cutler
i have to admit that i was not exactly in the best state of mind when reading this, but perhaps it helped because of this. what i mean is that i was and have been a bit negative in my thoughts as of late, so reading a book about being happy and thinking positively allowed for plenty of cynicism. however, through the cynacism i did appreciate the simple, straight forward nature that the dalai lama mainains, and it allowed me to take something away without feeling like i was reading a self help book. one of my greatest friends, greg, read this book last year, and he recommended it highly, so i knew that there must be something wonderful inside. so, while i was perhaps not in the best mindset to read this, i definitely got something positive out of it, and i think that someone who is mentally and emotionally prepared to read this would greatly benefit from it.

little compass tour!

this is the second descriptive installment, and while i'm aware nobody is reading this, i take pleasure in writing. so, call it masturbation, but onward i write.

the last sin eater, francine rivers (dede/SC --> pj/NJ --> renee/AL)
i will be completely honest, i was not completely looking forward to this book. dede is one of the sweetest people i have ever met, and i love talking to her, but after previewing this book, i had a feeling it was going to be a bit to religious for my liking; however, i was gladly proven wrong. the main idea here is that a group of settlers in the late 1800's revived on old custom from ireland, in which a man known as the sin eater could take on the sins of someone after the died, allowing the deceased to sleep peacefully. throughout this story, a 10-year-old girl named cadi realizes this doesn't make sense, mainly due to the unrest she feels after her grandmother dies. eventually this story does lead to jesus and christianity as a whole, but there are a great number of ideals and learnings in it that hold up on a spiritual/non-denominational end. i am not one for religion, but love to think about and explore all avenues available that may lead to enlightenment. overall, this novel is suspenseful, exciting, thought-provoking and a rather quick read. i appreciate that dede gave to me, and rather enjoyed it, and on top of it all, it gave me many things to think about; so, i'm quite happy.

the motorcylce diaries, ernesto 'che' guevara (neil/NJ --> pj/NJ:greg/NJ)
this is the story of ernesto guevara before he became 'che,' the man of the people. this is another great travel narrative, in that it is a first person account of two young men taking on south america with just a motorcycle, and later, their feet. this is beautifully written, though one can't help but assume it was originally a series of journals that were later revised to exist in their current, floral state. i don't want to delve too much into this, because i think, in a way, it speaks for itself. two friends, a motorcycle, an adventure, beautiful writing. get into it.

the once and future king, t.h. white (nathan/SC --> pj/NJ)
this is a king arthur book. i don't mean to cut it down at its knees, i'm merely stating the truth. my personal view is that it is an enjoyable romp along with arthur, or the wart as he is known, in his younger days. well, at least that is how it starts. you meet all of the characters: merlyn, kay, lancelot, gawaine, etc., throughout the novel, so fret not. the interesting thing about this, is it is a great book for those of us that have little to no knowledge of arthur beyond 'the sword in the stone,' or other similar cartoons. we come to find that guenevere is an adultress, that gawaine is a jerk, that there is quite a bit of incest involved, and most importantly, how heavily the crown weighs on its wearer's head. while i do not wish to exit so quickly, i again feel that explaining that this is a rather full tale about king arthur should suffice. so, while it can be a bit too descriptive for its own good at times, and perhaps may lag a bit at others, for the most part, this is quite an enjoyable read, and very much one worth pursuing, if only for the basic overview of a man so many know of, yet so few know about.

and so it begins

into the wild, john krakaur (pj/NJ --> dede/SC; neil/NJ)
i bought multiple copies of this book because of some confusion, but i was happy to, as it was my first choice for a book trade book. chris mccandless leaves his home to take a life trek for an undetermined amount of time. on it he dies. i'm not ruining the story, it's a true one and this is given away on the front cover, so fret not. if you're a fan of 'on the road' style travel narratives, this is one for you. or, if you're a semi-disenchanted youth who loves to vote for the punk/vagabond/outcast, then it may be for you as well. at times you're tempted to love every essence of mccandless, and others you loathe him with a passion. he was a real person, which makes this story ring with truth and honesty. this is one of the better books i have ever read, and i still revisit whenever i need to wrap my head around something thats an easy read but really makes me think. dede from south carolina read it from a mother's perspective, as she is a mother, and gave me a whole new viewpoint on the novel as well, so for that i am appreciative. i also gave this book to neil after he left us on our tour, and headed on a 20 something hour bus ride back to jersey. he told me he can't read in vehicles, but i assured him this book would keep him company. hours later i got a call saying it was complete and wonderful. awesome!

the paradox of choice, barry schwartz (pj/NJ --> jill/DE)
too many pairs of jeans to choose from, so now my life is hard. this is the jist, as it were. with choice comes happiness, or so the thought goes, but this book argues the opposite, that with the greater choices we have the greater unfullfillment we experience, therefore creating greater unhappiness. i do see some definite truth in this, and obviously there is a limit to both sides. with no choices, we're left to nothing, with too many, we're overwhelmed. similarly, choice, much like freedom, has two sides. the freedom to choose vs. the freedom from choosing. the book lays these ideas out well, but after a while i found myself a bit bored. the only reason i traded this book in particular is because jill had already read my other book trade book, therefore rendering me useless. this was a leftover, for which i felt badly making her take, but she seemed happy to do so because she's a sweet kid.

she's come undone, wally lamb (jill/DE --> pj/NJ --> renee/AL)
if you've read barbara kingsolver's 'the poisonwood bible,' this reads similarly, in that it's broken up into sections. it differs in that kingsolver's 'bible' is seperated by character, whereas 'undone' is linear, following one girl throughout her life. the first part finds her living a semi-unhappy childhood punctuated with boughts of crushes and excitement. after the greatest tragedy falls on her, the second part shows her downward spiral and commencement of self-loathing. the third section shows semi-recovery and helps complete the picture of a young woman dealing with horrible life situations. this is not a light book, but an easy read, in that it holds your attention and allows you to see things very personally. i greatly suggest this for men, in that it is a look inside of a specific girl/woman, and while it is not an overall representation, it is something that men should strive to understand and learn to deal with properly. thanks jill.

high fidelity, nick hornby (renee/AL --> pj/NJ)
you've seen the movie, you know what it's about. but it's way better. the characters are much stronger, the internal monologue is one in which i feel i've heard a million times. the details etch out a beauty and a vision that the movie barely attempted to suggest at. i resaw the movie the day i finished the book, and spent the entire time complaining about minutia that i though changed the entire feel. rest assured, my co-watchers were annoyed beyond belief, and the fellow readers of the book told me i was an asshole for caring about such details. i maintain they made all the difference.

well, that's it for now. i have a book i'm working on now from dede, and i'll post about it when i'm done. i'm hoping to make a few more trades on this tour, and i have the motorcyle diaries by good ole che, from good ole neil to read before i can trade that as well. things are good here and hopefully there. please please let me know if you have any thoughts or questions. also, please let me know what you think about the writing/reviewing. i don't want to give too much or not enough if anyone is actually going to enjoy this. thanks so much and take care of each other.
pj

OS book trade!!!

yo, so this is where this shit is going to hang. for real! so, enjoy, treat yourself as they say. oh yea, and if you want me to post something here, just email me at pj@outsmartingsimon.com, and i'll put your review/thought up here. sweet. thanks. up the punx!