35. Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child et al.
You have to hand it to Julia for all her persistence in getting this book to print. Love her practical, no-nonsense approach to some very un-minimalist cooking. Quite like her unusual ingredients list / method layout and that she makes a note of what can be prepared ahead. Some of the recipes seem very dated – hello aspics? But the classics are still classics and well worth a look.

Get it at the bookdepository.co.uk or amazon.com.

To meet my goal of reading 26 52 books in 2010 I am cultivating the habit of reading for an hour at lunch time. Part of the habit change process is public accountability so I’ve setup this page to chronicle my reading.

read

34. Linchpin by Seth Godin
I love Seths concept of Linchpins. It’s very refreshing to read of a solution to the endless drudgery of ‘working for the man’ that doen’t involve quitting your job to follow your dreams. Found his explanation of our lizard brain and ‘the resistance’ to creating things and getting them out the door incredibly insightful and useful. We could all benefit from applying the principle that ‘perfect is the enemy of done’.

Get it at www.bookdepository.co.uk or amazon.com

33. The Food I Love by Neil Perry
While I’m a big fan of Neil Perry’s restaurants, especially both Sydney and Melbourne versions of Rockpool Bar & Grill, I’ve never been that excited by any of his books. Maybe it’s the male pony-tail thing? But I came across Food I Love at the library and decided to give it a go. And I’m really happy that I did. A great collection of classic recipes, with a few interesting twists. But the thing I really loved was Niel’s conversational style and the way he explained his reasoning for many different cooking things. It’s also a truly beautiful book with gorgeous light-filled photography – what more could a girl ask for?

Get it at the bookdepository.co.uk or amazon.com

32. Predictably Irrational – The hidden forces that shape our decisions by Dan Ariely
You have to admire Dan Arielly’s slightly nerdy love for social science. But his insights as well as his subtle sense of humour will have you fascinated and learning from start to finish. Love his approach to dealing with our irrationality in planning and putting processes in place rather than trying to fight a loosing battle. Anyone looking to sell things should at least read the chapter on the power of free.

Get it at the bookdepository.co.uk or amazon.com

31. Pork & Sons by Stephane Reynaude
This book should be mandatory reading for anyone who professes to have a love for all things pork. A gorgeous book of seriously tempting recipes coupled with the wonderful story of a family in the pork business and the people who are passionate about bringing their pork products to the world. Can’t wait to try the black pudding with walnuts & chestnuts.

Get it at the bookdepository.co.uk or amazon.com

30. The Tipping Point – how little things can make a big difference by Malcolm Gladwell
A fascinating look into what causes different phemonemon to occur. From the reduction in crime in New York city in the 90s to the reincarnation of Hush Puppies as a fashion statement it’s all there.

Get it on the bookdepository.co.uk or amazon.com

29. Julie & Julia: my year of cooking dangerously by Julie Powell
Given that my name is Jules and I love to cook, its hard not to feel an affinity for both Julie Powell and Julia Child. I’ll admit I didn’t really get into the blog – not enough pictures(!) but I loved the movie and decided to give the book a go. With fewer references to Julia Child’s life than I was expecting, I still enjoyed the book immensely. There’s something about Julie Powell’s honesty and lack of pretense that makes for compelling reading. I think her stories of her lack of ‘house-keeping prowess’ would make even the most slovenly of us feel virtuous by comparison, especially when you get to the maggot episode towards the end.

Get it at the bookdepository.co.uk or amazon.com

28. Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath
Absolutely mandatory reading for anyone who has a message they want to communicate. Love the approach of the Heaths in that they break down the key elements that make messages ‘sticky’ or memorable so that you don’t have to be a communications wizard to get the benefits of their wisdom. Some brilliant and entertaining examples pepper a well written, informative book. Probably the most useful book I’ve read this year, possibly this decade.

Get it at the bookdepository.co.uk or amazon.com.

27. Real Fast Food. by Nigel Slater
I actually picked up this paperback version in Dublin but have been saving it for a special occasion. After the depressing Toast, Real Fast Food is an inspirational little book, packed with the type of food I love. Apart from the occasional use of sun dried tomatoes, it doesn’t show its age at all. Well worth a look.
get it on amazon.com

26. The Google Story. By David A Vise
Something I picked up from the library as an audio book that has been surprisingly interesting. Really enjoyed the inspirational story behind the rise of Google. Especially love that the company mantra is ‘Don’t Be Evil’. A bit nerdy but fascinating at the same time.
Get it on amazon.com

25. Words That Work. By Frank Luntz
A book my Irishman recommended. Fascinating look at the way language shapes culture and politics. The whole premise is that ‘it’s not what you say that’s important, it’s what people hear’. Words to live by for anyone who hopes to make a living by the pen.
get it on amazon.com

24. The River Cafe Classic Italian Cookbook by Rose Grey and Ruth Rogers
A beautiful collection of classic Italian recipes from the lovely River Cafe ladies. Love having all the well known Italian classics in one place along with a few new-to-me classics I’m excited to try. Also love reading about Grey and Rogers’ favourite Italian haunts. I need to find myself a job that requires an annual visit to Italy to choose olive oil.
get it on amazon.com

23. Permission Marketing – Turning strangers into friends and friends into customers. by Seth Godin
I’m a fan of Seth’s blog and love hearing his perspective on the world in general and marketing in particular. Some excellent insights in the book as to the best way forward in marketing and how the internet can facilitate these strategies. The first audio book I’ve listened to in years.

Get it on amazon.com

22. Ottolenghi – the cookbook.
This is the most disappointing book I’ve purchased in years. Serves me right for buying it online without doing more research. The cover is beautiful and I’d heard rave reviews but the layout and food photography inside is mostly so bad I struggle to look. If it had have been unillustrated I think I would have warmed to the recipes much more. Call me superficial, but I expect my cookbooks to be a visual feast as well. I loved the story behind the London cafe and its founders and will definitely be visiting next time I find myself in that part of the world. I’m just stuggling to get the enthusiasm to cook anything out of the book. Would love to hear if someone else has had any successes with it.

21. Jamie’s America by Jamie Oliver
You have to love Jamie. When I first heard about this book and the series I had zero interest at all, but after watching a couple of episodes on a flight somewhere, I was hooked. It’s a real eye opener how diverse the American food scene really is when you take into account all the different migrant populations. After living in California for a few years, I developed a real love of the influence that the Mexican population has had but I hadn’t thought about all the other influences. Can’t wait to try the ribs and there are a few recipes using avocado cooked and served hot that I am curious to try.

Get it on amazon.com

20. Toast. The story of a boy’s hunger. by Nigel Slater
I had assumed that I would love this book. I mean any words that come from St Nigel are bound to capture the imagination. But for me, toast was mostly depressing. Sure there were some gems, like the way he remembers his Mum always burning the toast and as an aside says ‘I am nine years old and have never known butter without black bits in it’. It’s beautifully written, with that wonderful Slater sense of description that puts you immediately in the scene. But I found the experience of sitting in on Slater’s childhood terribly sad. The thought of a Dad who was distant I could cope with, and a mother who couldn’t make toast without burning it I was OK. But there’s a real loneliness that come through and an absence of a mother’s nurturing that is the polar opposite of my own childhood and it just made me feel sad. If you like your memoirs with gritty realism then this is a book for you.

get it on amazon.com

19. What Einstein Told his Cook Kitchen Science Explained by Robert L Wolke.
Catchy title for a great little book of food science for the lay person. Really enjoying being reaquainted with the science behind so many cooking phenomenon.

Get it on amazon.com

18. Marcella says… by Marcella Hazan
Am very excited about discovering Marcella and have completely fallen under the spell of this legendary Italian cooking teacher who is now based in Florida of all places. A wonderful insight into traditional Italian food through the eyes of someone who has lived in the US and understands the difficulty of sourcing some ingredients outside of Italy. Very excited about making her veal and mushroom lasagne tonight!

Get it on amazon.com

17. Nose to Tail Eating – a Kind of British Cooking by Fergus Henderson
I absolutely loved this book. It did seem a little strange to be reading a book about all sorts of crazy offal on my last weekend as a vegetarian but I quickly got over any hesitation. I love Fergus’s approach to food and the respect he shows to his produce. There were actually quite a few delicious sounding vegetable dishes between the nose and the tail. I now have a whole pigs head on my list of things to cook before I die but I think I’ll try out his bone marrow on toast first up.

Get it on amazon.com

16. How to Cook The Perfect… by Marcus Wareing
My Irishman is a big fan of Marcus, as is Gordon Ramsay apparently. I picked this up from the Irishman’s collection and really enjoyed reading cover to cover. A few interesting tips but nothing world shattering. It did inspire me to make an old school baked pasta with bolognese sauce and a decadent cheesy topping. A good reminder of why spag bol is such a popular dish.

Get it on amazon.com

15. My Life in France by Julia Child
After seeing Julie and Julia last year, I’ve been curious to know more about the lady who taught America to cook French food. I love that she didn’t start cooking or writing until she was in her mid 30s. What a dynamo. Absolutely loving seeing post WWII Paris through her eyes. Also loving the experience of navigating the perilous seas of book writing, recipe testing and publishing with a master. A complete inspiration.

Get it on amazon.com or the bookdepository.co.uk.

14. Appetite by Nigel Slater
I’ve been rationing myself through Nigel Slater’s back catalogue and it’s difficult not to devour everything he has written in one go. I thoroughly enjoyed Appetite. Some great simple recipe and tips and techniques. I love that after reading Mr Slater, you feel like you’re his new best friend. I also love his casual approach to cooking. He even inspired me to get into bread making. Now I just need to revisit it when I’m not being a vegetarian.

Get it on amazon.com

13. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
I’ve always been a big fan of Oscar Wilde’s witty quotes. I especially like ‘All things in moderation, including moderation’ and ‘The only way to remove temptation is to yield to it’ but for some reason have never read any of his work. Being in Dublin inspired me to pick up a copy of Oscar’s only novel as they are featuring it as their book of the year. Wonderfully written as one would expect and interesting premise. One of those classics that is actually also a good read.

Get it onamazon.com

12. The Art of Bring Minimalist by Everett Bogue
I’ve been a big fan of Everett’s blog, Far Beyond the Stars since I discovered it in November last year. Everett is a much more hardcore minimalist than me. He stick to the 30 day rule of getting rid of anything you don’t use after 30 days and he has his personal posessions down to 75 or so. His first ebook is an inspirational collection of essays on the benefits of becoming a minimalist and how to go about reaching minimalist nirvana. He is a big advocate of following your dreams and his own personal story of how he quit his job with only $3000 in the bank and the goal of making a living solely from his writing and his blog has been fascinating to follow.

Get it at Far Beyond the Stars.

11. Family Food – a New Approach to Cooking by Heston Blumenthal
This is a book that just happened to cross my path and I’m sure glad it did. I loved Heston’s books to accompany the TV series In Search of Perfection so when I found a copy of Family Food I just had to read it.

The focus of the book is on how Heston and his wife get their children involved in the kitchen. It’s full of classic recipes like roast chook and mashed potato. As always Heston adds a bit of science to explain the benefits of a particular method which I find fascinating. He also includes a heap of little taste experiments that both young and older cooks will learn from.

Get it at amazon.com

10. The Mindful Way Through Depression by Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel V. Segal, Jon Kabat-Zinn
OK so first up – I’m not suffering from depression although the black dog has had a strong grip on my family with my Dad and brother both in treatment. So I was interested in the book from that perspective but it was recommended to me because it covers a heap about meditation and mindfulness. It’s also big on ways to become more in touch with your thoughts and feelings. Loving the guided meditation CD that accompanies the book – just the thing for dealing with sleeplessness and overcoming jetlag.

Get it at amazon.com

9. simply car free by tammy strobel
I’ve become a fan of Tammy’s simple living blog Rowdy Kittens and was lucky enough to do a book exchange with her for my new ebook ‘How to Bake Your Family Cookbook‘. Since I’m no longer commuting ridiculous distances I’ve been thinking about whether I really need a car and ‘Simply Car Free’ did give some very useful insights into the benefits of a car-less lifestyle and some great pointers on how to take the challenge.

Get it at Rowdy Kittens.

8. movida rustica – spanish traditions and recipes by frank camorra & richard cornish
I was so tempted to pick up a copy of this book and take it with me to Barcelona last year, but luckily I was strong. A very thoughtful leaving gift from my colleagues at Arnott’s I’ve been saving this up for a while.

I absolutely loved the first Movida cookbook and from a quick flick through I’m sure this volume will be providing plenty of cooking inspiration for the coming months.

Get it on amazon.com

7. seasonal kitchen by Fratelli Fresh and Vogue Entertaining & Travel
As a massive fan of Fratelli’s Cafe Sopra, I leapt at the chance to trawl through Andy Bunn’s fabulous recipes. Most of my favourites from the cafe are there – vitello tonnato, shaved cabbage salad, zucchini flowers with 5 italian cheeses, beetroot salad with poached egg, italian meatballs with rich tomato sauce, baby cavalo nero with shaved brussels sprouts and poached egg, frittata and the warm salad of potato, oyster mushrooms and caccioccia.

If only they’d given the secret to their seriously amazing lamb ragu. and the orrechette with scallops, and the parsnip and gorgonzola soup – here’s hoping there’s a sequel.

Get it in store at Fratelli Fresh.

6. I sang for my supper: memories of a food writer by Margaret Fulton
I actually went to the library in search of Julia Child’s biography and came home with a copy of Australia’s own cookbook writing legend. To be honest I’ve never been that keen on Margaret Fulton but reading her biography was an eye opener. I hope when I’m her age I can look back on my life with so many amazing memories.

The thing that really struck me is how global her food perspective was. We tend to think that the rich multicultural food culture that we now enjoy in Oz as a relatively recent development. But as Margaret demonstrates, the variety in Australian cuisine is not new.

5. A Day at elBulli by Ferran Adria
This is easily the largest book in my collection and another that’s been waiting for some attention for a while. I picked up a copy when I saw Ferran speak in Sydney in Oct 2008, had a quick flick through and then found it a useful place as a lamp stand. I had the best intentions of reading it before I made the pilgrimage to Spain to eat at the best restaurant in the world, but didn’t get to it. Kinda regretting this now.

Apart from a plethora of photos, there are some fascinating insights into Ferran’s creative process. The references to different techniques used, such as spherification and the sample recipes paint a colourful picture of how it all works. If you have any interest in getting a taste of the experience of dining at elBulli, this book is a comprehensive behind-the-scenes look – far more detailed than the minimalist review of my dinner over at breadshoes. And given that elBulli is now closing in 2012, the book is the closest I’ll ever get to reliving my most amazing food experience yet.

Get it on amazon.com

4. The Art of Eating by MFK Fisher
This is one of those books that has been sitting patiently on my book shelf just waiting to be read. I’ve had a couple off attempts to get into MFK Fisher’s prose but she doesn’t seduce like my latest obsession – St Nigel (see below re. Nigel Slater – brilliant food wordsmith with no connection to the cricketer). This time I’m determined to at least see why she is considered one of America’s greatest food writers.

To be honest I really struggled to finish MFK. There were some interesting moments talking about frugal cooking during the war and using the liquid from canned vegetables as a stock but mostly I couldn’t get on her wavelength. ‘The gastronomical me’ was the most interesting section with autobiographical essays but even reading stories from the life of Mary Frances Kennedy didn’t make me really warm to her.

Get it on amazon.com at your own risk.

3. Tender Volume 1. A Cook and His Vegetable Patch by Nigel Slater
This was my Christmas gift to myself and I am well and truly hooked on Nigel Slater’s prose. The man can write. Love the whole package. Beautiful photography and type setting, interesting stories about vegetables and how to grow them and of course delicious sounding recipes that make you want to run out to the farmers market and get busy in the kitchen. Easily the best book I’ve read in years. Can’t wait to explore his back catalog.
Get it on fishpond.com.au or amazon.com

2. Passionate Marriage by David Schnarch.
May seem like a strange choice for a single divorced girl but when it comes to relationships I figure I can do with all the help I can get. Recommended by a friend. So far fascinating stuff. I love that it begins that ‘No one is ready for marriage but marriage makes you ready’.

Really enjoyed this book. Opened my eyes to the concept of self soothing and differentiation in relationships. Sounds a little heavy but basically Schnarch believes that in order to have a successful relationship both parties have to be able to sooth themselves when things are bad rather than relying on their partner to make everything OK. Some interesting stuff about intimacy as well. Particularly liked the concept of hugging until relaxed.

Get it on fishpond.com.au or amazon.com

1. The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
The original book on value investing by the guy who taught Warren Buffet – the world greatest investor everything he knows. I thought it was going to be incredibly dry but found it fascinating. Really appreciated the modern updates by Jason Zweig. Basic lessons learned are that it’s more important to minimise losses in stockmarket than maximising profits as losses are much more difficult to come back from. That there’s a difference between ‘investors’ and ‘speculators’. And that the best strategy is still to buy low and sell high. But there’s a wealth of information in there. Best (and only) book I’ve ever read on investing.
Get it on fishpond.com.au or amazon.com

2009 favourites

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