Chhaaaaaaarrrrgggge!

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is an interesting book. Its not what I was expecting from the reviews, certainly. And its definitely a story, not only about parenting, but expectations, and 'different strokes for different folks'. Its a great book, not only about where we've gone wrong with our children, but how a lot of people go wrong with their kids... Not only about the issues of "Western parenting" (which she tars with a broad brush), but also some of the issues in so-called Chinese parenting. Its about knowing your limits, your children's limits, but also standing up as a family and as a parent.....

And its about how an approach can succeed with one child, but be wrong with the other. At the same time, its a defense of being a demanding parent....

Bittersweet Book

Ok, initially, I loved this book, until I got about halfway through. I loved it so much I put a hold on it for a library patron whom I thought would appreciate it. I suggested it to my sister as an idea for a fictionalized movie...

And it is a great book, I still love it, but no longer want to own it, reread it... Its called Day of Honey, by a woman named Annia Ciezadlo. Subtitled A memoir of food, love, and war. Its fascinating reading, because its about the Middle East, about Baghdad and Beirut. I recognized some of the foods she mentioned, just because of my own personal history...

Its a wonderful book, showing the human side of the conflicts, the people enmeshed in the conflicts.... the people trapped in war zones, and also showing how war affects people, not only journalists, but everyday citizens who are trying to go about their lives.

She frames the book with food. The foods of her childhood, mostly Midwestern, but with a salting of Greek, the food of her husband's family, the foods of Baghdad, of Beirut... So she talks about kibbe, about tea, about the foods of war and the foods of peace, and how the foods changed with the times and events...

She has recipes at the end. She has a great index as well. And this book is not only a memoir of the external, but you see how much she has grown and changed as a person through the book.... My one issue is that she seemed to get a little long-winded/rambling in the second half of the book. The first half was perfectly framed, then it started to get a little off-kilter...but got back on track again...

I would still highly reccommend this book.

The Distant Hours of My French Table...

Two very dissimilar books, reviewed in one swell foop. The first, a non-fiction, a cookbook, is by the legendary Dorie Greenspan. Around My French Table. This is a fantastic cookbook. I've already gotten some wonderful ideas from it. She has little notes alongside the recipes for: making ahead (which components can be), storage (and reheating), and then something (or sometimes more than one) called a Bonne Idee, or Good Idea, which is either a riff or reimagining of the recipe. I've got this cookbook on my to-buy list (it was a library checkout, already terribly overdue...) My one issue with it is as a celiac. There are a lot of recipes with flour. Things where the meat is dredged, but otherwise its free of flour... or its got 1/2 cup somewhere in it. And, of course, being Dorie, she has a lot of baked goods. But there are also a lot of recipes that can be modified to be completely gluten-free. Again, because the meat is only dredged in flour, one can skip that, or use cornstarch or a gluten-free blend. She also uses bouillion cubes. Other than that, most of the recipes are easily adaptable and sound wonderful! I'm looking forward to Vanilla vegetable salad or crab avocado "ravioli" (am I the only person in the world who ends up with too many avocadoes at once?).. and maybe finish with a citrus-berry terrine. The thing I love about this is not only the personal stories, but also the Bonne idees. Because these give you some different directions in which to play around...

The fiction book here is The Distant Hours, by Kate Morton. Wow. If you have ever read The Forgotten Garden, by the same author, you will also love this book. It is so richly layered, that even if you think you know the answer, it will surprise you by the end. She intersperses eras, people, generations... in a wonderful, satisfying story. I didn't recall any sour notes, although, just to warn you, there is a section, near the end, which was a little stomach-turning. I was completely engrossed in this book, which is a rarity for me these days.