February 1, 2009 - 12:33pm
Reading and Baking...
There's nothing I enjoy more than lazing around all day, dringing coffee, baking bread and reading. Assuming i'm not the only one out there, what is everyone else reading right now between mixes and folds? I'm about 2/3 of the way through Neil Gaiman's American Gods, and I wholeheartedly reccomend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy, and even those who don't. So what's everyone else reading???
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1776 by David McCullough. Likewise, I'm also 2/3 of the way through. I could easily polish it off in a day if I weren't so darn busy.
-brian
I just finished The Forsaken: An American Tragedy in Stalin's Russia, a great book but not particularly an upper.
I just picked up the latest Neil Stephenson book at the library, Anathem, so that is probably next.
Hey Floyd,
I'm reading Stephenson's Quicksilver now. Good read!
David
Honeymoon in Purdah, an Iranian Journey by Alison Wearing. Though she writes almost entirely in fragments, it's interesting enough to keep me reading. Neil Gaiman is my nephew's favourite author.
The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection, by Robert Farrar Capon. And I just picked up Tao Te Ching and The Four Agreements to re-read.
Currently re-reading Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett, but soon will re-read The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.
Modern Criminal Procedure - cases, comments, problems by Kamisar.
I'd rather be baking bread... I used the slap & fold method yesterday from Bertinet. It was delightful and turned out wonderfully. I am going to start using it exclusively.
Coincidentally, I just received a brand new copy of Good Omens by Gaiman and Pratchett for my birthday to replace a chewed-up, cover-torn-off, soaked in a rainstorm copy that one of my "hell-hounds" had gotten a hold of as a puppy. Although I read it along time ago, it's still a favorite book to randomly open and read a very funny page from anytime.
Since I was housebound and sick much of last month, I read a lot in between baking, and enjoyed Kitchen Confidential very much by Anthony Bourdain, he's a great story-teller and the chapter on his crazy baker at the restaurant who always needs someone to feed his starter for him is especially good.
I also really enjoyed the brief but sincere I, Me, Mine by George Harrison...I now understand the story behind many of my favorite songs..."But you'll have to have them all pullled out after the Savoy Truffle..."
Bread Upon the Waters
A Pilgrimage Toward Self-Discovery and Spiritual Truth
PETER REINHART
Author of Crust and Crumb
ISBN: 0-7382-0183-9
Great. I logged onto Amazon to check out this book, and ended up ordering it and Sacramental Magic, also by PR. My wife's gonna kill me!
I know what you mean. My girlfriend sometimes resents my secret love affair with bread. But she never complains when it's time to eat it. :)
I'm always looking for new authors to explore, thanks! My latest favorite is A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines. It is thought provoking, very moving and also belongs in the category of not being an upper. I think it's a must read.
Betty
Sometimes I read (really thought Kitchen Confidential was fun, Mountaindog), but the hour and a half dough resting periods are the perfect amount of time for me to go on a run and take a shower without rushing. I have also been known to tell my husband that "We need to leave RIGHT NOW," for a two hour bike ride during a final rise. Is this a little obsessive? Maybe, but when you've timed everything right all day (and usually the day before as well) you'd hate to mess up a batch of bread by over proofing by 15 minutes.