Archives: Thoughts on Miscellaneous Nonfiction

Naked by David Sedaris

This book is hysterical. Sedaris tells tales of strange happenings in his life, mostly from his childhood. The very idea that someone had such a freaky childhood was sufficiently fascinating to keep me reading this book, but Sedaris is also a great writer. It reminded me of Running with Scissors, another memoir of a bizarre childhood. It's pretty raunchy, though. I was going to recommend it to my mom, but after reading some parts, I'm not so sure that I will.

The Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffery Steingarten

I am somewhat in love with Jeffery after I read his Vogue article about cooking the whole pig for his wife's birthday. This book only reinforced that. I only wish I had the time to do all the food and eating experiments he does. One of my favorite essays is about figuring out the best way to make French fries. He tries all kinds of potatoes and fats and fryers in search of the perfect fry, and he explains along the way why certain ones work better than others. Almost every essay includes a recipe, too. Some of them require obscure ingredients or just too much time, but I did make the orange granita with great success.

Feeding a Yen by Calvin Trillin

I love Calvin Trillin, especially when he writes about food.  This is more of the same kind of stuff from The Tummy Trilogy, but I can't get enough.  Bring on the food!