What I read and watched: Up until the end of February 2018

Does anyone care about books and watching material?

Let me know.

I won’t do them any more if no one actually uses the info or reads this post…

Or maybe I can do them less often, every quarter instead of every month as I am suddenly swamped between all three facets of my life – Work, Personal and Blog.

(Yes, “Blog” is now a facet of my life.)

WHAT I WATCHED

I am currently obsessed with the following shows:

• Modern Family – Still can’t get over how GOOD Ed and Sofia are as actors on the show
• This is Us – Obsessed. Every episode I swear, makes me cry.
• The Good Fight – the incredible sequel to The Good Wife (what a fabulous, brilliant series)
• Project Runway All-Stars – Just for the fashion
• Top Chef – OBVIOUSLY.

I tried watching but then gave up:

• The Good Witch – Too slow for me, and a little too …. sweet.

I’ve also been recommended to watch:

• Ozark – About money laundering
• The Crown – The monarchy
• Homeland – CIA Agent & terrorism

WHAT I READ

Talking with my mouth full – My Life as a Professional Eater

“I eat. I yap. I leave.”

I. Love. Gail. Simmons. I am a huge Top Chef fan, but really, I just love seeing what she’ll wear. Her dresses and outfits are FANTASTIC, as are Padma’s, and I’m smitten with her clothing choices.

She wears every dress that I covet to have in my wardrobe, so I was pleased to find she had a short biography out, and I was even more excited to learn more about her, get into her brain, learn about her background…

It’s a nice, easy read. Not anything I would say groundbreaking or deep like Padma’s biography Love Loss and What we Ate and her struggle with endomyometritis, but still a great read.

I liked learning about how she got into the job, and … I seriously just want her entire fake Top Chef wardrobe (she doesn’t own any of the items). Her last white dress with only one shoulder for that meal on Top Chef Season 15 was KILLER. I can’t find a picture, but it was a one shoulder white sheath dress.

Simple and just.. perfect. A lot like this BR knockoff I bought actually but definitely way more expensive, not as Grecian, and SUPER fitted.

 

How to sell your art online

I flipped through it quickly. I’m not an artist by any means but it made me curious.

Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures

An excellent fiction. I didn’t think I’d like it, but Straub always surprises me with her books.

This character was pretty complex. I know it sounds like she was shallow based on the reviews online, but I really enjoyed reading the book because it was interesting to follow her journey to where she ended up, and how it all changed in the end.

No spoiler alerts here, but I did enjoy reading it. I kept turning page after page.

Soul of a Chef

LOVE Ruhlman. This is an excellent book that really went into the depth of what a “soul” of a chef is.

Is it technical finesse codified by a test of how much you know about Escoffier’s techniques and specifics?

Is it just innate instinct you can’t buy or learn? Is it all about the money?

Is it the perfectionist tendencies in these chefs to reach and dream up of next level creations?

I kept reading and reading, and I am even more determined to one day, eat at French Laundry while Thomas Keller is still cooking there.

Creating the Illusion

If you’re into Hollywood costumes and fashion, this is an interesting book. I’m not into costumes but I liked flipping through the pages, skimming the content.

Food Anatomy

Another very pretty food book to put on your coffee table. It goes into beautifully illustrated detail about all the different cutlery, the types of foods, the places to eat… from all over the world from hawker centers in each country, to different breakfasts.

Very fun to flip through and read. Best done in a real physical colour book and not on an e-reader, because I was losing a lot of the experience when doing it in black and white.

Front Roe

I don’t know who she is, but I liked her title as her name is Louise Roe, and I picked it up on a whim.

She gives decent, if at times misguided advice, like how certain vitamins and supplements do this and that (long story short, your genes play a huge role ..mmmkay?).. and she goes into fashion, style, food… even gives recipes which I am tempted to try.

Brilliance and Fire

If you’re into jewellery, reading about it, diamonds and the whole business behind it, then read this book. It goes from the very, super fascinating start of diamonds all the way to present day and how the industry is controlled.

50 Ways to wear Denim

A great book, again, probably best in-person and in-colour as on an e-book I lost of a lot of the richness, but picked up a few ideas on how to cuff my collared shirts and jeans.

A decade of French Fashion

A good skim through for fashion history geeks.

Beautiful Fall

All about fashion, and the superstars in the fashion world who have pushed the industry forward. I have to say I didn’t really find it THAT engrossing and got bored halfway through but then wanted to find out what happened so I finished it just to know.

Elon Musk

An excellent look into the man behind all of the newest innovations today. Someone recommended I read his bio and I put it off for a long time because I can’t seem to get into biographies of business people (I like food people biographies, obviously)… but I am glad I read it.

He seems to have been a wunderkind even from a very young age, and it is incredible how he went from Paypal to Spaceships to Electric Cars. A great business biography to read, from an objective third party (he was reluctant to even open his life to this book, and to cede any kind of control to what was going to be printed).

Books you don’t actually “read”:

I don’t even know why I flippin’ get these books. I don’t have time to even think about making a recipe and I don’t even DO the cooking in the family. WTF, Sherry..

Anyway still suckered in, I flipped through both books to get recipe ideas for one day, when Little Bun is older and we can maybe make meals together… or I can just print out the recipe and hand it to my partner to treat me. LOL

Bergdorf Goodman Cookbook

Saveur: The new comfort food cookbook

Books I tried to read but gave up on:

Yawn. I don’t even know what they’re about and I dun care.

• Amazing Grace
• Behind the beautiful forevers
• New Order
• Beekman 1802 Style
• Safe living

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Here are all of my other What I read posts.