Currently reading

Eleven
Paul Hanley
A Month in the Country
Michael Holroyd, J.L. Carr
A Tale of the Dispossessed: A Novel
Laura Restrepo, Dolores M. Koch
Mesabi Pioneers
Jeffrey Smith, Russell Hill
The Crusades Through Arab Eyes
Jon Rothschild, Amin Maalouf
Island of a Thousand Mirrors
Nayomi Munaweera

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise - Ruth Reichl I'm not a foodie and I'm not a New Yorker and I'd never heard of Reichl before, which basically makes this book completely foreign territory for me. I listened to it while taking my Christmas road trip across the snowy midwest, munching on twizzlers as I went -- fine french cuisine? Not exactly. But you know what? I loved it. She's a great writer. I learned a great deal about food I will most likely never eat. But I also learned a great deal about interactions between people who are different from me, but very similar nonetheless. I learned about character and how the world perceives her in her different guises. I learned about the importance of knowing oneself. I learned about getting back to the simple joys of what we do and not getting caught up in image and ego. I would be happy to read her writing on just about any topic.