Monday, June 1, 2009

Fully Booked

I have two good reasons for my long absence: 1) Mom, dad and my sister were here a couple of weeks ago so I didn't have much time to go online, and 2) I was fully booked.
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aFrom top to bottom; left to right: Anthony Bourdain's A Cook's Tour and Kitchen Confidential, Life With My Sister Madonna by Christopher Ciccone, Madonna Inspirations, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella.
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Yes, these books have kept me off the internet in the past couple of weeks. It was like I woke up one morning and had a huge craving for reading! I think I spent a total of three whole days hanging out in bookstores, browsing until I made my purchase. I didn't buy them all at the same time, by the way.
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To give you an idea about the books that I've been reading: In Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain tells us what inspired him to become a chef, how he rose from being a lowly dishwasher to executive chef, what exactly goes on inside the kitchen and other intriguing "adventures in the culinary underbelly". When I read this book, I fell in love with Tony all the more. He is so cool and I love that he's into rock and roll. Haha!
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This book brought me back to my Highlands days when certain assignments for the newletter and events would require me to visit the kitchen and hang out with the chefs. Aahhh, how I love those days...being in the kitchen with the chefs, watching them do their magic (I was lucky to get free tips and recipes from some of them!), admiring and lusting over the array of ingredients and equipment was truly the best part of my job in Highlands. My favorite part was doing the monthly feature on Bread and Cake of the Month, which would require me to visit the pastry chef and to take a photo of the food. The chef knows that I am a big fan of his work so he always lets me sample the food after the photoshoot. Wasn't that the best job or what? Anyway, I'm getting off topic here. Back to the book. So if you like watching Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen, you will probably like Kitchen Confidential as well.
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Remember Me? is about a girl who got amnesia from a car crash. The story revolves around her trying to remember the last three years of her life, how she went from a plain working girl to a corporate big shot with a trendy apartment, a closet full of designer clothes and a good-looking millionaire husband. It's delightful, yes, but it wasn't exactly memorable for me. You see, I've read the entire Shopaholic series of Sophie Kinsella. I loved it. It's funny, very entertaining, and I love that I was able to relate to it in some way. I was probably expecting the same from this book (not that I ever had amnesia or had been in a car crash), but I felt kinda bitin. But this won't stop me from reading the other books that she wrote. I still plan to complete my Sophie Kinsella collection in the future (two more books to go!).
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You might be wondering why I have a dictionary in the photo. I just bought it recently to help me with some of the words that I come across. I just figured that having one at arm's length while reading is a lot easier than having to look up the word on the internet!
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I will be talking about the Madonna books on a separate post :) Meanwhile, let me share with you the last book, the one that I am currently reading:
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What makes this book special is I had to search five different bookstores (Kinokuniya and Asia Books at Siam Paragon, Asia Books Warehouse at Erawan Plaza, Asia Books and B2S at Central World) for this baby. I was about to give up my search when I found one copy, in pristine condition (I'm OC so I like my books to look perfectly new with no creases on the cover and pages), at Kinokuniya Central World. If the book had a single crease on it, I would have had second thoughts about buying it, but it was perfect. Like it was just sitting there, waiting for me to bring it home (after paying, that is). I was floating on clouds and I declared it a good book shopping day.
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A Cook's Tour is about Tony going around the world and eating all sorts of stuff. This culinary tour is anything but conventional. I mean, would you count eating the beating heart of a live cobra the usual tourist foodfare? Intruiging, huh? Anyway, I haven't finished the book yet, but I'm loving it. I couldn't help but laugh out loud at Tony's wit and humor. After this book, I plan to read more of Bourdain's books. Hopefully they will not be hard to find.
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So there you have it, my latest literary adventure :) I'd like to know what you've been reading lately and if you have any book suggestions, do let me know.

4 comments:

Diwata said...

Hi Kris... Haven't read any book lately... been so busy with our Pandesal business. This response is more about Anthony Bourdain. Have you logged on to the MarketManila site yet? He was a host in Bourdain's travel to the Philippines to try out the infamous Cebu Lechon and was featured in Anthony Bourdain's show. I wonder if you got to watch this feature in the Lifestyle channel?

Domestic Goddess said...

Hi teacher Dee! Yes I saw it! Not on the tv, though but on the internet. Galing! A lot of bloggers were talking about it nga months before it was aired.

How's the pandesal business? Let me know where it is so we can tell our friends in Sta. Rosa about it :) Good luck on your new biz!

NotASinnerNotASaint said...

Hi Kris,

No wonder you haven't been blogging in a long time... i missed your blogs.

I did not realize, after being friends with you for the longest time, like 3/4 of our existence here on earth, that you didn't like buying books that had creases on it. That's interesting.

Of course when i buy something new, like a book, i'd like it to be spanking brand new, in mint condition. However, when the book is so hard to find, I eventually give in. I know how some people would not want to a single crease on their books but me, I really don't mind, especially since i travel, i bring my books with me, it is inevitable for the book to get dirty and folded. Which I don't really mind at all because I think the book will somehow have its own personality... if you know what I mean.... =)

Domestic Goddess said...

Hahaha!! Ri, freaky ba?

Actually, I only want the books to be crease-free when I buy them. Para mukhang brand new talaga :) I wouldn't mind too if they start to look old and dirty along the way. I bring them with me too when I go out. Gusto ko lang ako yung lalaspag sa kanila. Haha! Ok, it's kinda freaky nga. Heehee!