Anthony Ferrante wrote in
:

I imagine there are a lot of readers here. Which book are you
currently reading and what are your thoughts on it?

The book I carry with me and read when I find time is Le roman
d'Ysengrin, a 12th century satirical mock epic written, some believe, by
Nivardus. It is a beast fable, a type of creation popular in medieval
Europe, in which the clergy and the nobility (embodied at various times
in the person of the wolf, Ysengrin) are shown in their most unflattering
light, whereas Renart the fox (in French, le goupil), the peasant-hero,
manages by wiles and subterfuge to gain the upper hand.

It is a modern translation that attempts to recover the tongue-in-cheek
aspect of the various discourses, without attempting to reproduce the
verse forms, whether it is Ysengrin trying to justify eating Renart as he
is owed the food that Renart has eaten, or the fox arguing the opposite.

I was brought up on Le roman de Renart and the inhabitants of Malpertuis
as a child, as some of the stories in it are appropriate (somewhat) for
children. The Ysengrin is thought to be older, by a generation, and a
wittier text. It certainly is darker and less forgiving than its
successor. That would explain the popularity of the Renart.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ysengrimus

Dave Smith wrote:

Blinky the Shark wrote:


I imagine there are a lot of readers here. Which book are you
currently reading and what are your thoughts on it?

I just finished "Evil Brothers, A True Crime Story" which was hard to
read. The story revolved around two brothers who killed 9 people and
was suspected in three other murders. All of this happened in Toledo,
Ohio over a two year period.

And you?

I am currently reading an interesting book about the German resistance to
the Nazis. I usually read non fiction. Novels just don't do it for me
anymore.

I've pretty much just been reading history (heavy to WWII and the '20s
and '30s) for years, although I'm about finished with "A Farewell To
Arms", which seemed like a good thing to read along with a book I'd
started on Italy between and including the world wars.

There is a lot of interesting stuff written about WW I & II, also a lot of good
Holocaust stories. I recently read "The Mascot" and amazing story about an guy
who was raised by Latvian SS troops who, with the help of his journalist son,
traces his roots. I was also impressed with "Flyboys" about the fate of a
number of American navy fliers shot down and captured at Chichi Jima.

I don't do much in the way of individual or small-unit tales[1], but I did
recently have a good read with "The Last Stand Of The Tin Can Sailors"
which was about a group of destroyers and escort carriers attacked by the
main group of the Japanese fleet (who thought they were attacking the main
group of the US fleet) at Leyte (specifically The Battle Off Samar). It
was a huge upset by the totally outgunned USN and controversial because
the US group got no help from nearby units.

[1] You can see from my WWII section here,
http://blinkynet.net/books/histwwii01.html, that I'm more of a
large-picture reader.


--
Blinky
Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project: http://improve-usenet.org
NEW -- Now evaluating a GG-free news feed: http://usenet4all.se

KevinS wrote:

On May 10, 7:44�pm, Anthony Ferrante
wrote:

I imagine there are a lot of readers here. Which
book are you currently reading and what are your
thoughts on it?

I'm reading Oil by Upton Sinclair because I've recently seen the movie
"There will be Blood". I'm only about 50 pages in,
so too soon for thoughts. I'm also reading Basic Brown. It's
a collection of political anecdotes by (with collaboration) Brown, a
recent past Mayor of San Francisco and
Speaker of the California Assembly.

"The Physiology of Taste or Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy" by
Brillat-Savarin. This is the translation from the French by MFK Fisher.
Library doesn't have the French version

Interesting enough but have just started it. Unfortunately the layout
isn't very nice. Fisher's footnotes often take up a lot of page space,
small font and all. There are a lot of drawings in there which I don't
find add much to the 'experience'.

In article ,
Anthony Ferrante wrote:

And you?

Anthony

To report about here?
A couple recipe books (because this is a cooking group).
Some Saveur magazines (because this is a cooking group).
A free copy of some Country Something-or-Other put out by Christopher
Kimball's operation (because this is a cooking group).

--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Check my new ride: http://www.jamlady.eboard.com

Goomba38 wrote:
Anthony Ferrante wrote:
I imagine there are a lot of readers here. Which book are you
currently reading and what are your thoughts on it?



Of course you meant which cookbooks were we currently using or reading?
Being that this is a FOOD group, y'know?

Rick Bayless- Mexico, One Plate at a Time.


I'm reading three right now:

Walking on Water by Michael Ruhlman --about a pediatric cardiac surgical
hospital and its guru, Dr. Roger Mee, at Cleveland Clinic

Dreaming in Cuban by Christina Garcia -- a novel about a Cuban family
divided by the revolution

Maida Heater's Cookie Book (doh--or is that dough?)

Note: I cooked dinner today and had to look up a few of my own recipes
on Googlegroups when I couldn't find them in my various recipe boxes.
I can't decide whether it's lame or a good backup source.

gloria p

On Sun, 11 May 2008 20:45:20 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
wrote:

On Sun 11 May 2008 12:15:00p, Anthony Ferrante told us...



As far as cookbooks go, I'm also re-reading "The Alice B. Toklas
Cookbook", just for fun.

Alice B. Toklas...hum, I haven't heard that name since the last time I
watched Emory mention her in The Boys In The Band. Great movie!

Anthony


Yes, it was a great movie, and a great Broadway play before that. I have
the movie on VHS. If you haven't read the Toklas book, you should.

I knew of the stage play. If I could have watched two stage plays,
they would have been The Boys in the Band and also Fortune and Men's
Eyes with Sal Mineo and a very young Don Johnson.

I always wished they had made a sequel to The Boys in the Band, you
know, see what those queens were doing 20 years later. Did Michael
ever pay his bills? Did Emory ever get to talk to Delbert Botts,
D.D.S.? Did Hank and Larry last? Did Alan ever get to cruise Lafayette
Square?

So many questions...

Also, based on your recommendation, I am going to see if the library
has the Toklas book!

Thanks,
Anthony

On Sun, 11 May 2008 16:00:16 -0400, Dave Smith
wrote:

Anthony Ferrante wrote:

I imagine there are a lot of readers here. Which book are you
currently reading and what are your thoughts on it?

I just finished "Evil Brothers, A True Crime Story" which was hard to
read. The story revolved around two brothers who killed 9 people and
was suspected in three other murders. All of this happened in Toledo,
Ohio over a two year period.

And you?

I am currently reading an interesting book about the German resistance to
the Nazis. I usually read non fiction. Novels just don't do it for me
anymore.

What is the name of the book you are reading? Sounds interesting and
certainly will offer a much different perspective re the many German
people who did not support Hitler. If only Claus von Stauffenberg had
placed the "briefcase" on the other side of the table leg, although
some believe an officer moved it prior to the blast. I guess we'll
never know for sure.

Anthony

On Sun 11 May 2008 07:13:56p, Anthony Ferrante told us...

On Sun, 11 May 2008 20:45:20 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
wrote:

On Sun 11 May 2008 12:15:00p, Anthony Ferrante told us...



As far as cookbooks go, I'm also re-reading "The Alice B. Toklas
Cookbook", just for fun.

Alice B. Toklas...hum, I haven't heard that name since the last time I
watched Emory mention her in The Boys In The Band. Great movie!

Anthony


Yes, it was a great movie, and a great Broadway play before that. I have
the movie on VHS. If you haven't read the Toklas book, you should.

I knew of the stage play. If I could have watched two stage plays,
they would have been The Boys in the Band and also Fortune and Men's
Eyes with Sal Mineo and a very young Don Johnson.

From the 1960s thru the late 1990s I spent a lot of time in NYC and saw an
uncountable number of Broadway plays and musicals. I was also lucky to see
A Fortune in Men's Eyes. Great play!

I always wished they had made a sequel to The Boys in the Band, you
know, see what those queens were doing 20 years later. Did Michael
ever pay his bills? Did Emory ever get to talk to Delbert Botts,
D.D.S.? Did Hank and Larry last? Did Alan ever get to cruise Lafayette
Square?

So many questions...

I watch the tape at least annually, and I've often wondered some of the
same things. During the 1960s when Boy's in the Band was on Broadway and
when the film was made in 1968, gay life was very much like that
represented in the play. I remember it all too well.

Also, based on your recommendation, I am going to see if the library
has the Toklas book!

You may be surprised by the book, unless you know the background. Alice B.
Toklas was the "companion" of Gertrude Stein. Most of the book is a
memoire of their lives together and the many famous people who wafted
through their salon in Paris and in the French countryside. After Stein's
death in 1946, Alice wrote the book in 1954. It does contain some veru
moce recipes, but that's not its main teme. Another interesting book,
written by Gertrude Stein, was The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas. It
has nothing relavent to cooking, but is still very interesting. It is said
that it was actually Stein's own autobiography.

Thanks,
Anthony




--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Sunday, 05(V)/11(XI)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
Today is: Mother's Day, Pentecost
Countdown till Memorial Day
2wks 4hrs 40mins
-------------------------------------------
Do what you can, with what you have,
where you are. - T. Roosevelt
-------------------------------------------

On Mon 12 May 2008 05:00:53a, Michael "Dog3" told us...

Melba's Jammin' dropped this
: in
rec.food.cooking

In article ,
Anthony Ferrante wrote:

And you?

Anthony

To report about here?
A couple recipe books (because this is a cooking group).
Some Saveur magazines (because this is a cooking group).
A free copy of some Country Something-or-Other put out by Christopher
Kimball's operation (because this is a cooking group).

Do you *really* think he doesn't know this is a cooking group?

Michael

Yes, of course, Anthony knows. And it *is* labeled "OT".



--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Monday, 05(V)/12(XII)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
Countdown till Memorial Day
1wks 6dys 18hrs 55mins
-------------------------------------------
A clash of doctrine is not a disaster,
but an opportunity.
-------------------------------------------

On May 10, 10:44*pm, Anthony Ferrante
wrote:
I imagine there are a lot of readers here. Which book are you
currently reading and what are your thoughts on it?

I just finished "Evil Brothers, A True Crime Story" which was hard to
read. The story revolved around two brothers who killed 9 people and
was suspected in three other murders. All of this happened in Toledo,
Ohio over a two year period.

Pyramids, by Terry Pratchett.

Anthony Ferrante wrote:


I am currently reading an interesting book about the German resistance to
the Nazis. I usually read non fiction. Novels just don't do it for me
anymore.

What is the name of the book you are reading? Sounds interesting and
certainly will offer a much different perspective re the many German
people who did not support Hitler. If only Claus von Stauffenberg had
placed the "briefcase" on the other side of the table leg, although
some believe an officer moved it prior to the blast. I guess we'll
never know for sure.

It is called "An Honourable Defeat: A History of the German Resistance to
Hitler" by Anton Gil.
I am finding it factual interesting, but dry reading.

Blinky the Shark wrote:


I don't do much in the way of individual or small-unit tales[1], but I did
recently have a good read with "The Last Stand Of The Tin Can Sailors"
which was about a group of destroyers and escort carriers attacked by the
main group of the Japanese fleet (who thought they were attacking the main
group of the US fleet) at Leyte (specifically The Battle Off Samar). It
was a huge upset by the totally outgunned USN and controversial because
the US group got no help from nearby units.

[1] You can see from my WWII section here,
http://blinkynet.net/books/histwwii01.html, that I'm more of a
large-picture reader.

I have read a couple of the books on your list, Armageddon and the Battle of the
River Platte. Since you have done some reading on the Italian campaign you might be
interested in "The D Day Dodgers" which chronicles the advance of Canadian troops
through Sicily and Italy. On of my uncles is mentioned in that one. He was the first
to cross the Hitler line and ring the bell in the church at Porto Cuervo sp? to
give the all clear.


I find some of the personalized stories. They give an interesting perspective to the
events of the times. Farley Mowat has written some interesting books about his
experiences in the war. My uncle served with him and knew him quite well. "And No
Birds Sang" details his experiences in Italy. It is good reading.

I just finished reading Mitch Albom's "For One Last Day." You'll
recall that he's the author of "Tuesday's With Morrie."

This one is about a guy whose life is an absolute mess and he makes an
unsucessful attempt at suicide, by jumping off a tower. Lying on the
ground, he decides to go drive to the town where he grew up. Just
before getting there, he gets in a bad accident. He walks away from
it and makes his way to the house where he grew up, which he and his
sister still own. Inside is his mother, who has been long dead. They
spend that day together. She cooks him food, he confesses to her what
a failure he's been and how he let her down while she was alive. I
won't say more, but the book is fascinating, one of the best I've ever
read.

Yeah, yeah, it's not a food-related book, but teh subject says "OT".

Leo

On Sat, 10 May 2008 22:33:07 -0600, Christine Dabney wrote:

On Sun, 11 May 2008 00:18:11 -0400, Goomba38
wrote:

Christine

I always love Joan Nathan's Jewish Food books. Do you have any of those?

Sadly, no. There are so many cookbooks I want..but I haven't gotten.
I will never,ever catch up to Ginny....

Yabut, at least you're within striking distance, IMHO ;-)

Nothing like buying a few new cookbooks to get you out of a 'cooking rut'
- and you were right (when we discussed this before) - although there
are thousands of recipes available on-line, I'd forgotten how nice it is
to see the recipes 'in print' so to speak.
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy - who bought 3 new cookbooks the other week.

Egg tastes better when it's not on your face...

Dave Smith wrote:

Blinky the Shark wrote:


I don't do much in the way of individual or small-unit tales[1], but I
did recently have a good read with "The Last Stand Of The Tin Can
Sailors" which was about a group of destroyers and escort carriers
attacked by the main group of the Japanese fleet (who thought they were
attacking the main group of the US fleet) at Leyte (specifically The
Battle Off Samar). It was a huge upset by the totally outgunned USN
and controversial because the US group got no help from nearby units.

[1] You can see from my WWII section here,
http://blinkynet.net/books/histwwii01.html, that I'm more of a
large-picture reader.

I have read a couple of the books on your list, Armageddon and the
Battle of the River Platte. Since you have done some reading on the
Italian campaign you might be interested in "The D Day Dodgers" which
chronicles the advance of Canadian troops through Sicily and Italy. On
of my uncles is mentioned in that one. He was the first

Used to vacation in Canada, when I was growing up in Michigan about a
two-hour drive from Windsor and a little more from Sarnia.

to cross the Hitler line and ring the bell in the church at Porto Cuervo
sp? to give the all clear.

That's a nice little distinction.

I find some of the personalized stories. They give an interesting
perspective to the events of the times. Farley Mowat has written some
interesting books about his experiences in the war. My uncle served with
him and knew him quite well. "And No Birds Sang" details his experiences
in Italy. It is good reading.

"Naples '44" was a first-person account, as well, from an intel officer
assigned there after it liberation. Its picture is of the culture and its
people.

Perhaps the only WWII book I've put down is "Utah Beach" (Joseph
Balkoski). It's mostly strung-together personal accounts, with connecting
notes about every yard gained or lost. Not to discredit their work or
the author's -- but I can only read pinned-down-by-heavy-MG-fire anecdotes
so many times in one sitting, before each page becomes just like the last
one but with different squad leaders' names.


--
Blinky
Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project: http://improve-usenet.org
NEW -- Now evaluating a GG-free news feed: http://usenet4all.se