I'm about ¼ through this essay collection, having just finished the selections by Joseph Addison (1672-1719), which I've really enjoyed.
He was co-founder of The Spectator magazine, the title of which was borrowed by a still-extant conservative periodical, which is ironic given that Addison's satirical essay, "The Tory Fox-Hunter" lampoons the Little Englander mentality that still prevails amongst current Spectator & Daily Mail reading folk. ⬇️
so-soI wanted to start into something culinary, when I get the free time over the coming summer, and figured reading an anthology of food essays by Vogue food writer and critic Jeffrey Steingarten would be the best start. The panoply of food he discusses (paired with his tried and true recipes) is mind-boggling and drool-inducing: from sourdough starter and Sicilian granita, to Tunisian bkaila and a good apple pie (hint: never use cinnamon).
When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free
pickAs a fellow daughter of Chicago suburban decadence I liked this a lot
“By the time I was ten or eleven, everyone had moved on from sticker collecting—everyone, that is, except for me…I particularly loved the fruits…
God, I loved scratch and sniff bananas. They didn‘t smell like bananas; they smelled like the Platonic Ideal of bananas. If real bananas were a note played on a home piano, scratch and sniff bananas were that same note played on a church‘s pipe organ.”
pickI used to try to read aloud to my pet house rabbit and, though she was my little soul-twin in many ways, she was decidedly uninterested; she preferred a cozy silence.
Bite by Bite will go down in personal memory as the first book I read aloud to my pup. He *loved* it. We started with Nezhukumatathil‘s essay on potatoes. Jett is now my “best spud.” 🥔 He also loved the chapter on maple syrup. As such, I‘m unable to rate this book objectively.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Channeling Chuck Klosterman; a compliment! I love these kind of funny, pop-culture focused, personal essays. Bonus that I‘m familiar with many of his Milwaukee references from the time we lived there. The perfect palate-cleanser. A fun read!
Note: Elder Millennial = Generation Catalano. #iykyk
pickThis heartfelt collection of Conroy‘s most touching blogs, speeches & interviews is certainly a fitting tribute to this most loved author. Though he passed away almost a decade ago, Pat‘s legacy still lives on in his autobiographical novels. He loved writing, though never considered himself anywhere near the high ranks of his own favorite authors. Above all, Pat adored meeting his fans & listening to their stories.
#BookishMonopoly
@AkashaVampie
We had the absolute pleasure while visiting Wisconsin of stopping into two excellent bookstores. One was named for the tagged book and almost all of their inventory was #LGBTQIA books, and the other was another queer-owned shop my friends frequent. I even managed to pick up a cozy fantasy by a Wisconsin local author. #Bookstore
![[tagged book]](https://image.librarything.com/pics/litsy_webpics/icon_taggedBook@3x.png){kind=icon}
Next up is an Alexander Pope essay, "On Epic Poetry". 5h