Jennifer 8. Lee. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food. Twelve, 2008.
Submitted by Jennifer (Wheeler) Rothschild '02
In this book, Lee explores three major things: the history of fortune cookies (they're actaully Japanese and internment had a big role in making them a Chinese restaurant favorite), the phenomenon that is Chinese-American food (as opposed to authentic Chinese food), and how Chinese-American food shapes the Chinese immigrant experience and vice versa.
Fascinating and extremely readable, Lee's journey starts with what happened when an unexpectedly large amount of people got 5 out of 6 numbers right on the Powerball lottery. It turns out they were playing fortune cookie numbers.
Lee traces Chinese restaurants around the world, sometimes following the cookies, sometimes the workers, sometimes the food. She has essays on the evolution of Chop Suey and General Tso's chicken (both very American dishes, while Kung Pao chicken is "authentic" Chinese.) She talks about the advent of delivery and the quest to find the greatest Chinese restaurant in the world. Lee delves into crimes committed on Chinese deliverymen in New York, and how most Chinese restaurants in the states are staffed from an agency under the Manhattan Bridge. She also has great examination on why Jewish people love Chinese food and the story of the Great Kosher Duck Scandal in 1989.
Some random facts from the book:
There are two Chinese restaurants for every McDonald's in the US.
Almost all fortunes are written by just two guys.
Cheap Chinese restaurants in South America are called chifa (chee-fah) which is derived from the Chinese words chi fan (chir fan) which means "to eat food"
Almost all of those little soy sauce packets are made by one company and don't have soy in them.
The writing is engaging and accessible, but well-researched. I highly recommend it, but plan on having Chinese food for dinner.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
Leap Days: Chronicles of a Midlife Move
Katherine Lanpher. Leap Days: Chronicles of a Midlife Move. Boston: Springboard Press, 2006.
Submitted by R. Stuhr
Lanpher is a newspaper journalist and radio host. She was born and raised in Illinois (across the river from Iowa) and worked in Minneapolis for most of her career and in 2004 moved to NYC to co-host a new radio program with Al Franken. In this book, she writes as much or more about her childhood and career and how she came to make her move from her spacious St. Paul house, friends, and career, to a small (but lovely) Greenwich Village apartment in New York City, than she does about her actual move and transition, her work at Air America with Al Franken, or what she is doing currently. Although she has since left her radio show at Air America, she continues to live in New York City, suggesting that her transition is complete.
Submitted by R. Stuhr
Lanpher is a newspaper journalist and radio host. She was born and raised in Illinois (across the river from Iowa) and worked in Minneapolis for most of her career and in 2004 moved to NYC to co-host a new radio program with Al Franken. In this book, she writes as much or more about her childhood and career and how she came to make her move from her spacious St. Paul house, friends, and career, to a small (but lovely) Greenwich Village apartment in New York City, than she does about her actual move and transition, her work at Air America with Al Franken, or what she is doing currently. Although she has since left her radio show at Air America, she continues to live in New York City, suggesting that her transition is complete.
The Bookseller of Kabul
The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad. Translated by Ingrid Christophersen. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
Submitted by R. Stuhr
Seierstad has been a journalist Chechnya, the Balkans, Iraq, and Afghanistan. She got to know "Sultan" and his family and asked if she could live with them to write this work. She has written it in the form of a novel and changed all of the names. Seierstad provides a lot of interesting detail about daily life for one family in Kabul, but she layers this with her own point of view. One doesn't know whether to blame the author or the translator for the condescending tone. Still, I think we need to know as much as we can about these countries that the United States has invaded and is occupying. We need to read widely just because much what we have available to us is written in a highly subjective manner and by Westerners.
Burling 1st Floor CT 1877.5 .K48 S45 2003
Submitted by R. Stuhr
Seierstad has been a journalist Chechnya, the Balkans, Iraq, and Afghanistan. She got to know "Sultan" and his family and asked if she could live with them to write this work. She has written it in the form of a novel and changed all of the names. Seierstad provides a lot of interesting detail about daily life for one family in Kabul, but she layers this with her own point of view. One doesn't know whether to blame the author or the translator for the condescending tone. Still, I think we need to know as much as we can about these countries that the United States has invaded and is occupying. We need to read widely just because much what we have available to us is written in a highly subjective manner and by Westerners.
Burling 1st Floor CT 1877.5 .K48 S45 2003
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Martin Stuhr-Rommereim '14 recommends . . .
Monster Island: A Zombie Novel by David Wellington. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2006.
Once you start you don't want to stop reading this super-special-awsome book. It is set in New York City six weeks after a zombie epidemic. The surviving population fights for survival.
Blood Fever by Charles Higson (based on the Ian Flemming character, James Bond). New York: Hyperion, 2006. This is the second in a series of books that feature a young James Bond. He is a member of the Danger Society. Even as a youngster, Bond is clever and manages to foil Count C., who is fascinated with ancient art, in his plot to become the next emperor of Italy.
Once you start you don't want to stop reading this super-special-awsome book. It is set in New York City six weeks after a zombie epidemic. The surviving population fights for survival.
Blood Fever by Charles Higson (based on the Ian Flemming character, James Bond). New York: Hyperion, 2006. This is the second in a series of books that feature a young James Bond. He is a member of the Danger Society. Even as a youngster, Bond is clever and manages to foil Count C., who is fascinated with ancient art, in his plot to become the next emperor of Italy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
