Month: October 2010

author: Ted Chiang
name: Elaine
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2010/10/25
date added: 2010/10/26
shelves: sci-fi
review:
Very short novel, more like a novella — I read most of it during a lunch break. But clear, clever, delightful and thoughtful. The two protagonist develop in somewhat different but parallel ways in their relationships with each other and with the digital creatures that they adopt. The whole thing feels very naturalistic and plausible. The illustrations and faux maps are a nice touch, too.

author: Ted Chiang
name: Elaine
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2010/10/25
date added: 2010/10/26
shelves: sci-fi
review:
Very short novel, more like a novella — I read most of it during a lunch break. But clear, clever, delightful and thoughtful. The two protagonist develop in somewhat different but parallel ways in their relationships with each other and with the digital creatures that they adopt. The whole thing feels very naturalistic and plausible. The illustrations and faux maps are a nice touch, too.

author: Cook’s Illustrated
name: Elaine
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2010/10/26
date added: 2010/10/26
shelves: cookbook, own
review:
Picked up at the friends of the library book sale; I paid $2 extra for it because all I had was a 5, but it’s worth every penny.

I’m not really “done” with it, since I’ve only made a handful of recipes, but those few have made it worth every penny: stir-fry, “roast” chicken, chicken teriyaki, two different variations of potatoes. They definitely finish up in about 30 minutes, a little longer the first time around — or in the case of the stir-fry, if you don’t have precut veggies — but after the first time they get faster to make. The notes about timing of preparation help, too.

Looking forward to expanding out the breadth of recipes: most cookbooks I’ve owned, I’ve had just one or two recipes that I make, and ignore most of the rest. (Which is why I photocopied those recipes and gave a bunch of cookbooks to the library.) This one, I think I’ll end up with quite a few regulars, which makes me very happy.

author: Cook’s Illustrated
name: Elaine
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2010/10/26
date added: 2010/10/26
shelves: cookbook, own
review:
Picked up at the friends of the library book sale; I paid $2 extra for it because all I had was a 5, but it’s worth every penny.

I’m not really "done" with it, since I’ve only made a handful of recipes, but those few have made it worth every penny: stir-fry, "roast" chicken, chicken teriyaki, two different variations of potatoes. They definitely finish up in about 30 minutes, a little longer the first time around — or in the case of the stir-fry, if you don’t have precut veggies — but after the first time they get faster to make. The notes about timing of preparation help, too.

Looking forward to expanding out the breadth of recipes: most cookbooks I’ve owned, I’ve had just one or two recipes that I make, and ignore most of the rest. (Which is why I photocopied those recipes and gave a bunch of cookbooks to the library.) This one, I think I’ll end up with quite a few regulars, which makes me very happy.