Welcome to Litsy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Vitale worked on all four iterations of Bourdain‘s shows, ultimately directing over 100 episodes. He loved and idolized Bourdain whose death has obvs had a profound impact on so many. This is part memoir, part travelogue, and an honest tribute to a man whose charisma allowed him to connect with the likes of me as well as scads of others. I thoroughly enjoyed Vitale‘s writing style. One of my top reads of 2024! #coverlove #botm

Thanks for the heads up! 😂

Vitale was a longtime producer and director of Bourdain‘s Parts Unknown and No Reservations. I fell down a bit of a Bourdain rabbit hole over Christmas and decided to reread this as well as watching iconic episodes and the film Roadrunner. If you want bts info, this is a great book, but two things struck me hard on this second read.

1. Tom was one of the few people who talked to Asia after Tony‘s death. She was so roundly blamed for it ⬇️

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/mDKOQ-GOfi8

Enjoy!

Poppy cannot seem to stop sniffing my library book. I wonder if the person who had it before me was eating bacon while they were reading. 🤔

The bottom 4 plus the Year of Yes were today's #libraryhaul. The top 3 left, I got from the friends of the library book sale (for $2.50). Hard to say which I'm most enthusiastic about, but I've been wanting to read the tagged one for a while.

#12booksof2022 - June - absolutely loved this and still miss this man. @Andrew65

I miss Anthony Bourdain, recently read Kitchen Confidential so picked up this memoir of his production partner describing his friendship with him. Definitely some sad parts as he talks with all that Anthony wrestled with in his life. Also some funny stories too. The author does a good job balancing reality with Bourdain‘s charisma.

I didn't know about this show until reading tagged book so spending time with Anthony tonight 💗

What a walk down memory lane from Vitale who worked with Anthony Bourdain for years. I laughed and cried and loved all the pictures.

1. Tagged book is all over the world! Still miss this man... also reading a book on Ukraine
2. The 1619 Project
3. Other Birds by SAA! Already pre-ordered
Thanks @peaknit @eggs #wondrouswednesday

My #bookspin and #doublespin picks for June! Mercy has been on my shelf for years... @TheAromaofBooks

“I think most people do the best they can, and a lot of times that means they're going to fuck you over. And you know, it's on me if I have unreasonable expectations of people, which I do."

Starting this one today and it will be my read tomorrow for the start of the #sharreadathon in memory of or bookish friend @sharread who we lost last month.
See @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks post for more info. ♥️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tom‘s whole life was devoted and revolved around Tony. This book felt like his way of working through those feelings of loss, his complicated relationship for a complicated man and coming to the realization of not knowing himself or what to do with his life now that Tony is no longer here. Pretty good book, quick read

Tony in the Congo going full Apocalypse Now😂 This book keeps cracking me up lol. Tom is an enjoyable writer. I‘m enjoying The dynamic between Tony‘s volatile mood swings and Toms anxious, some what antagonizing personality.
So far a really interesting read about the complexity of Tony‘s character. Great behind the scenes look at the show

This was heartbreaking because we lost him, but if you want to feel like you actually got to meet Anthony Bourdain, here‘s your chance. The quotations from him let you hear his voice, and Vitale in no way made this a book about him. It‘s a true tribute to Tony. If you‘ve watched a lot of the shows, it gives you a great description of what goes into each episode. This book brings Tony to life, even for a bit longer, and for that I give it 5 ⭐️.

Started this today. I know I have no personal connection to Anthony Bourdain, but this book makes me miss him more than I did. What an amazing individual. Netflix pulled his shows—does anyone know where you can watch them?

So excited-picked this for my free birthday month book from #botm! Absolutely adore Bourdain and try to catch his shows whenever possible.

Since Anthony Bourdain‘s heartbreaking death, I‘ve stayed far away from his books, his show. I just couldn‘t bring myself to but this book changed things for me. Tom was Anthony‘s producer and director. He knew the real Tony as well as anyone could. Tom‘s memoir gives a us a peak into the real Tony and his adventures. You also feel Tom‘s heartbreak and genuine love.

Received my #BOTM box yesterday, just in time for my birthday. Tagged book was my free birthday add-on for this month. I‘ve not had a lot of reading progress this month, but my bf left this morning to return to work, so I am going to try to take advantage of the alone time to focus on reading this week.

I won‘t be reading tonight, as I will be having some girlfriends over for cake, pizza, wine, and a Hamilton viewing!

#bookmail thanks @Megabooks for putting this on my radar!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Memoir of a director/producer who worked on Anthony Bourdain‘s shows for years. Stories and anecdotes from their travels, bits of insight from his relationship with Bourdain, and his attempts to find some meaning and closure. Bourdain sounded like a huge handful, but also incomparable. Recommend if you watched/enjoyed any of his shows!

Thanks, @britt_brooke and @Megabooks for the motivation to move this up to the next slot on my TBR!

Tom has been with Bourdain‘s various projects since A Cook‘s Tour. Here, he shares some of the craziest shows he‘s directed as well as who Tony was. Tony sounded like a very lonely person, and I think Tom didn‘t see the scope of it until after his suicide. While the book is 90% funny, I couldn‘t help but reflect on the good and bad that fame brought. Now I‘m excited to get my had on the other book on Bourdain that came out! Tagged ⬇️ #audiobook

I‘ve got a great all nonfiction #NewReleaseTuesday this week!

Tagged ⬆️: Bourdain‘s longtime producer shares what it was like to film with him around the world.

Tagged ⬇️: A Pulitzer Prize winner looks at what happened to a town when the major industrial plant closed.

Tagged ⬇️: An impulse hold. A TV star writes about how crafting has kept her sane. #relatable

Have a great week everyone!

Big thanks to Hachette Books for sending this to me. Anthony Bourdain is missed every day and I‘m looking forward to reading this book.