Weekly Roundup October 4 – October 10

Welcome to the weekly roundup on Ink in the Archives! Every week I will share what I’ve been up to and interested in and ask you to fill me in on your week too.

Eventful Events and Happening Happenings

I don’t normally get very personal on this blog–I like to focus more on what I’m doing than how I’m feeling. But my family has just gotten news this week that my Dad needs major surgery. His prognosis is really good, but it’s still scary any time people need surgery. My anxiety level is basically through the roof (it’s always pretty high to be perfectly honest). But he’s going to have the surgery and get much better, and I’m really grateful that we know what the problem is and how it can be solved.

Books Read

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury I do really like Bradbury’s work (especially his short stories), but his books are really focused on male experiences and suggest that women are somehow not thinkers in the same way men are–that they are more content because they are more connected to the world. I think this combined with a lack of complex female characters makes his writing a little hard for me to connect with. I did however think that this book makes great October reading when the dark carnival arrives in this small town right before Halloween. A little bit of horror and magic never goes amiss in my opinion.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Manly Meals and Mom’s Home Cooking: Cookbooks and Gender in Modern America by Jessamyn Neuhaus As the title suggests, this book looks at cooking and why and how it has historically been gendered. After reading a lot of academic writing in the past month, I really appreciated how approachable this book was. It was really pleasurable to just read, which is my favorite kind of academic writing. I also think that this book filled a gap in scholarship by focusing on how cooking was gendered by examining how cookbooks were marketed towards men, and what those cookbooks were saying about how men and women were different kinds of cooks.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Movies Watched

Not much in the way of movies this week

East Side Sushi (2015) A young Mexican American woman dreams of becoming a chef but life’s immediate needs are getting in the way. In search of something new, she interviews for a job in a sushi restaurant. This is feel good film at its finest–and like my favorite feel good films it involves cultural exchange and lovely shots of food. Streaming on Netflix.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Links/Articles

Please know that I’m not paid for my opinions about anything. I just like to share things that strike me as interesting, useful, or engaging.

Have you gotten your ballot yet? Make sure you vote, and vote early! As motivation, here’s the most adorable get out the vote video from my favorite yoga teacher, Adrienne Mishler starring her blue heeler, Benji.

I thought this article about diversity and cultural appropriation in children’s books by Katie Yee in the LA Review of Books was really well written and I like how it avoids easy answers.

How was your week? Let me know in the comments!

Bi-Weekly Roundup September 20 – October 3

Welcome to the weekly roundup on Ink in the Archives! Every week I will share what I’ve been up to and interested in and ask you to fill me in on your week too.

Eventful Events and Happening Happenings

What even is an event anymore? I’m basically going crazy from staring at my computer screen at this point from too many classes with too many assignments and too many discussion boards.

I did make myself a desk though–my first IKEA hack. I’ll post about it later this week and show you the result!

Books Read

I should probably preface this list by mentioning that I’m doing historical research on cookbooks right now for a historical research methods class. So I’ve been reading and am continuing to read A LOT about food, cookbooks, gender, and so on. It’s pretty great actually, very enjoyable and interesting, but some (most) of it is very dense. So I haven’t had a lot of time to read fiction.

A Thousand Years Over a Hot Stove: A History of American Women Told Through Food, Recipes, and Remembrances by Laura Schenone If you’re interested in food and women’s history, this book is a great and very accessible place to start. Schenone’s background is in journalism and she combines interviews with in-depth historical research to provide a history of women and cooking in the United States from indigenous women’s techniques to frozen dinners. It’s a little bit dated at this point since it’s almost twenty years old, but it’s still a good read.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan Since we’ve really been trying to stay inside, and since most of our favorite places are closed, Robin Sloan’s writing about San Francisco could not be more poignant for me. I love reading about the places around the city that I love or that I haven’t discovered yet. Throw in a secret society and I’m hooked. I also really like the line Sloan walks between respect for technological advances and craft, which was also evident in Sourdough. I think this really captures some of the mindset of the Bay area.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Secret Ingredients: Race, Gender, and Class at the Dinner Table by Sherrie A. Inness The author’s writing is really accessible, and I should know because I’ve spent a lot of time reading her work in the past weeks. This book looks at the ways in which women have resisted conservative views of gender and domesticity through writing cookbooks, and it’s really got a lot of good evidence and ideas. The writing could certainly be less repetitive and the arguments could be more insightful from the details she observes, but it was definitely a worthwhile book.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Tasteful Domesticity: Women’s Rhetoric and the American Cookbook by Sarah W. Walden This book is really good–thorough, revealing, and a great addition to the history of cookbooks and women. It is extremely theoretically dense, but it’s also quite insightful. There were a couple chapters I mostly skimmed, but the chapters on virtue and race in cookbooks were really worthwhile.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Ajax Penumbra 1969 by Robin Sloan I’m not even sure I should count this novella as a book per se, but I’m going to because I read it and I’ve hardly had time to read anything. I wanted to read this novella while the book was still fresh. It’s a short prequel to the events of the novel, but it’s a nice little addition to the universe, if, like me you feel that Robin Sloan’s work is really enjoyable and that there’s not enough of it.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Pilaf, Pozole & Pad Thai, ed. by Sherrie A. Inness This book explores how “ethnic” food influences U.S. American cuisine through a series of essays by different writers. Some of the essays were brilliant and very helpful to my research, but overall I found this collection to be uneven. If you’re looking for food writing, this would not be my first suggestion.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Movies Watched

I did not make much progress in the movie watching department in the last couple of weeks. So many projects were due… However I did watch these two:

Ibiza: Love Drunk (2018) Is this movie the best? No. Did it make me laugh my ass off? Yes. Probably more so than anything I’ve seen recently. It’s a great escape from the everyday as three (improbably good looking) friends make their way to Spain, turning a work trip into a vacation and, of course, a chance at true love. Or at least some good looking dudes. It’s ridiculous, but I think it may take your mind off of life right now. As a warning, there is a lot of drug use in it. Netflix original.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Enola Holmes (2020) I mean you had me at Holmes, really. Plus with Helena Bonham Carter how could you go wrong? And Henry Cavill may be too sexy to play Sherlock, but I’m not going to complain because when Netflix gives you a horse, you shouldn’t look it in the mouth. No really don’t–there’s probably way too much corporate greed and the need to churn out content in there. Especially content that only touches in the most superficial way on women’s rights and breaks the fourth wall all the time… But still there’s something very charming about it. I find Enola to be an earnest character and I think she makes a good connection with the viewer. The clothes are fun, there’s plenty of crossdressing, and viscounts with ridiculous names… I didn’t mind escaping into this (probably too neatly tied up) whodunit through Victorian London (though it’s more of a where’dshego, really). Netflix original.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Links/Articles

Please know that I’m not paid for my opinions about anything. I just like to share things that strike me as interesting, useful, or engaging.

Are you looking to become a better ally/listener/friend/advocate? You may want to check out Amélie Lamont’s Guide to Allyship.

Does anyone else have a Skillshare subscription? My partner got one for me for my birthday, and I think it’s a great gift idea. I’m currently taking a class on drawing your feelings that I really like.

How was your week? Let me know in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Read In a Day

IMG_2962

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature from The Broke and the Bookish.

Let me just say that I’m not really good at reading books in one sitting. I’m not even very good at reading one book at a time. If I’ve “lost” my current book around the house, I’ll just pick up another one. This usually leads to a lot of library books nestled in strange corners of the couch or atop precarious laundry piles or hidden under papers I just took off my desk. I’m also not that focused as a reader, reading for an hour before getting up to do something else and then coming back to my book. Or I’ll switch a chapter on and off with one book with another book or another task. So reading a book in a day for me is very unusual. Here are ten (recent-ish books) that overcame all the odds. Or were very short.

 

Chasing the Rose: An Adventure in the English Countryside by Andrea di Robilant

I’ve talked about this book before on the blog, but it sticks in my mind. I read it years ago now, but it was one of the first books in a long time that I felt utterly consumed by. If you’re interested in Italy (and why wouldn’t you be), and you like people who chase down weird family history and/or roses, you should read this.

William Shakespeare’s Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope by Ian Doescher

I sat down to read a few pages of this at the library, and didn’t look up until the whole thing was finished. Fun and clever.

My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes that Saved My Life by Ruth Reichl

I was just captivated by the stories along with the recipes. One of the better cookbooks I’ve read in a while.

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

This book is pretty depressing, but it’s very short and well-written. So that’s something.

Ragnarok by A.S. Byatt

I really liked Possession, so when I saw another book by Byatt at the book sale, I knew I needed to read it. It’s definitely nothing like her other work, but it was really interesting and immersive (even if maybe you didn’t want to be immersed in it)

Butter Celebrates! Delicious Recipes for Special Occasions by Rosie Daykin

I read this book quickly, as there wasn’t much to it besides the recipes. I’ve only tried one so far and it didn’t really work out. This is why I get cookbooks from the library instead of buying a bunch of them. But I have hopes for the next recipe anyway.

Patience by Daniel Clowes

Read it fast to get it over with–I didn’t feel like I could not finish the graphic novel since it takes such a short time to read them, but it wasn’t my favorite by a long shot.

French Milk by Lucy Knisley

Another graphic novel, which I read quickly because it was very good.

A-Z of Wedding Style by Kate Bethune

Another very short book, with lots of pictures and white space. I really enjoyed the illustrations though. A good book for people who like fashion.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

I’ve done a lot of ranting and raving about this book, but it definitely deserves it. In addition to being a great book, it was also a very quick read.

 

So there’s 10 recent book I’ve managed to complete in a reasonable amount of time without getting too distracted by anything else. What’s the last book you read in a day or in a single sitting? Let me know in the comments!

Reading Challenge #8: A Book With Multiple Authors

14358638

Title: Bouchon Bakery

Authors: Thomas Keller & Sebastien Rouxel with Susie Heller, Matthew McDonald, Michael Ruhlman, & Amy Vogler

How it fulfills the challenge: Have you seen the list of authors? That’s a lot for one cookbook, even as big as this one is…

Genre: Cookbook

Quick Description: For the serious home or small professional baker. A collection of extremely detailed recipes for both updated and classic French treats. Lots of bread recipes.

Highlights: Absolutely gorgeous pictures and very detailed recipes.

Low Points: While I don’t consider myself a professional cook or baker in any way, I do have quite a bit of experience in the kitchen and I don’t usually think of myself as someone who is easily intimidated by a recipe. I cook across ethnic cuisines and love a new challenge. That said, I found this book to be extremely intimidating. Every step that you execute has to be done perfectly–or else. And while I admire the precision, I don’t really want to buy so many new tools to work on one recipe. This cookbook doesn’t give a lot of room for improvisation or creativity, which is one of my favorite things to do. Even though I’ve always wanted to try my hands at croissants or puff pastry, I couldn’t bring myself to cook anything for this book. But if you want to understand what a real French Bakery looks like in action, the amount of skill required to produce quality products continually, this book will make you appreciate all their efforts.

My Goodreads Rating: 4 stars, rounded up from a 3.5. The beautiful pictures and interesting story behind the bakery almost make up for how scary the recipes are. Almost. Did you know you have to weigh your eggs, and that you also have to strain them or your life will be ruined? You do now.

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books About Food I’d Love to Find Under My Tree

IMG_2962

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature from The Broke and the Bookish.

I’m not sure how many books I’m actually going to be receiving for Hanukkah/Christmas this year (considering that my fiance and I aren’t exchanging our usual bookish gifts–I got a computer instead and I’ve got different surprises in the works for him), but there’s always an insanely long list of books I’d love to have.

To narrow it down a little, I’ve limited this list to cookbooks/food memoirs. Because the holidays always make me hungry!

  • A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook by Chelsea Monroe-Cassel and Sariann Lehrer

This is exactly the book I need to take my Game of Thrones obsession to the next level.

  • How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking by Nigella Lawson

I like to think that I’m pretty much a domestic goddess already, but I’m eager to pick up some more tips. Maybe she has an idea of how to trick yourself into enjoying doing dishes…

  • Larousse Gastronomique: The World’s Greatest Culinary Encyclopedia by Larousse

I don’t know how often I’d use this book, but I want to read it from cover to cover.

  • Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing by Anya von Bremzen

Food is memories–even if those memories aren’t always the warmest or most pleasant. Food is still home.

  • The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook: From Cauldron Cakes to Knickerbocker Glory–More than 150 Magical Recipes for Wizards and Non-Wizards Alike by Dinah Bucholz

Our friends actually gave us this cookbook for Christmas and I was so excited! I can’t wait to cook something from it.

harry potter.jpg

  • Pastrami on Rye: An Overstuffed History of the Jewish Deli by Ted Merwin

Even as delis are beginning to disappear, they’re such a big part of America’s culinary history (and they’re delicious). I miss the deli that used to be close to our house growing up. When it closed I was so sad.

  • Stalking the Wild Asparagus by Euell Gibbons

I read some of Gibbon’s work for my food writing class, and I’d love to read his famous work.

  • Sugar Cube: 50 Deliciously Twisted Treats from the Sweetest Little Food Cart on the Planet by Kir Jensen

This Portland food cart has really fun desserts, and I’d love to see what in her cookbook!

  • Jamie Oliver’s Food Tube Presents: The Cake Book by Cupcake Jemma

A book of recipes by my favorite YouTube baker, Cupcake Jemma (I love her Oreo cupcakes)

  • The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime–Comfort Classics, Freezer Food, 16-minute Meals, and Other Delicious Ways to Solve Supper by Ree Drummond

This is the only Pioneer Woman cookbook I don’t own. I love her step-by-step photos and down-to-earth nature.