The Overthinker’s Guide to Making Decisions by Joseph Nguyen

This book could have been called many other things, such as: Meaningful Self Reflection or How to Think About Life’s Journey. I rather suppose that the given title appeals to a wide audience because so many people see themselves  as overthinkers and grappling with even small decisions creates anxiety and self doubt.

This is a short book and a good portion of it is devoted to some journal type prompts and decision making exercises - a kind of workbook for reviewing and digesting the concepts presented in the first half. It appealed to me immediately because it is well organized, clearly written, and well researched. There are numerous quotes from recognizable sources and they are integrated into the text thoughtfully.

I don’t think of myself as someone with big decisions to make. I have a fairly peaceful and easy existence at this point in my now long life. And yet, I think the ideas contained in Nguyen’s short book might deepen that peace and offer some reassurance about even life’s tiniest ups and downs.

The things he has to say about fear, anxiety, self doubt, and uncertainty will resonate with anyone, from the busiest and most overwrought among us to those of us with a less demanding and more comfortable routine. I do not know much about Joseph Nguyen, but I intend to find out more about him because I like the way he thinks.

What Happened to You? by Oprah Winfrey and Bruce Perry

 

I wasn't prepared to like this book, but I changed my thinking only a couple chapters into it. It sometimes feels like we medicalize and over-diagnose every aspect of personality and behavior. It seems like we should leave a little room for quirky and off beat, so I don't always buy into the latest, newest scary name for the people who annoy us and make life challenging. So I was prepared to skim the book and basically give it a cursory look to assure myself that I wasn't missing anything. I ended up reading every line on every page.

 

Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken

 

Van Telleken looks at the food we eat through the lenses of economics, public and individual health, and planet health or sustainability. He observes that we basically eat what is marketed to us. The poorer we are, the better the marketing works because ultra-processed food (UPF) is much cheaper than actual food.

Ultra-processed food is refined, bleached, deodorized, modified, hydrogenated, interesterified, and perhaps most importantly, aggressively marketed. There are ingredients, such as dimethylpolysiloxane and polysorbate 80, that we consume with little to no basic understanding of their effects on the human body.

The ingredients in ultra-processed foods are there for several reasons: 1) to save money (as opposed to using costly whole food), 2) to extend shelf life, 3) to allow for wide distribution - ease of transport, and 4) to promote excess consumption.

The purpose of UPF's is to create highly profitable, convenient, hyper-palatable foods that do a pretty decent job nourishing the portfolios of shareholders, but leave consumers malnourished. It is this lack of essential nutrients that, in turn, causes people who consume these substances to overeat. The human body has evolved to eat until it has consumed what it needs.

This book is on the hefty side. Some people will find it fascinating, and some might find it overwhelming. If you read only a few chapters or pages of this, it would still be a worthwhile effort. If thick books are unpalatable, just turn the packages over and read the ingredient list. That's the gist of the book.

Metabolical by Robert Lustig

 

Since cell biology is a mysterious, complicated subject for most of us, this book is definitely not an easy read. It is, however, a very worthwhile read. For me, this book tied together and explained some information that floats around the culture and almost never seems perfectly clear.  We hear that certain things are bad for us, or we suspect on our own that something is harmful; and all of this bad news causes us to second guess ourselves. Who or what should we believe? Are we paranoid or just cautious?

Lustig does a very thorough job of explaining what goes on in our cells when we ingest certain common substances in our environment. Plastics, preservatives, Teflon coating, the myriad items we see on food labels - we know something is  worrisome about all of these things, but it is often hard to access the specifics. The author explains in detail precisely what happens to us on a cellular level  when we eat things that aren't food..

This isn't a beach read kind of book, but I'm also pretty sure you won't be able to put it down. It is true that health is wealth, and work like this makes it possible for everyone to share in that wealth.

Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten

 

I like a joyful cook, and Ina Garten has been just that kind of TV personality for several decades. Her newest show is called Be My Guest. It is as delightful as all of her earlier shows. 

She has written a memoir, and it is an astonishingly interesting and highly readable book. I don't gravitate toward memoirs, in general, but this one is a bit different. This one reads like a novel. The author has used a ghost writer, and she must be a good one. The story most definitely has a a ring of authenticity about it.

The life of Ina Garten has had some surprising twists and turns. How she navigated these is genuinely interesting.

Love Your Enemies by Arthur Brooks

 

Sometimes, quite often actually, I read for amusement, and at other times, I read with the hope of learning something that will help me to be more informed or to help me navigate life in the 21st century. When I read a book from the latter category, I occasionally come away thinking: This ought to be Required Reading for Everyone.  And this is that kind of book. Honestly, my recommendation would be that Everyone not only read this, but read it Often.

The concept of loving your enemies is always a tricky one - good in theory, and annoyingly off-putting in actual practice. Brooks has a convincing way of showing that it is worth making the effort. His stance is that improving our attitudes and our relationships is essential for our health and happiness both individually and collectively.

Some of the ideas that Brooks discusses are:

Saying no to contempt.

Moving out of your bubble.

Disagreeing better.

He advises turning away from rhetoric and diatribe that does not elevate or inform your reasoning.

And maybe most importantly, he addresses a thing that nearly all of us have done which is weaponizing our values, i.e. using our values to insult or put someone else down. He points out that doing so causes us to lose the moral content of those values. Values are a gift, and it is impossible for others to see your gift if you are using it in a combat strategy.

Arthur Brooks is a thoughtful thinker and writer, and most of us could always use more of that in our lives.

And Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash

 

To date, this is the only book by this author. If I see her name on anything else, I will definitely check it out. This is one of the best pieces of fiction I have read in my longish life as an avid reader.

The story is set during World War II, and on two hemispheres. The author handles this challenge flawlessly. Truthfully, I am cautious about reading WWII stories. But this one humanizes everyone and creates a fascinating look into what must have been a desperate and uncertain time for so many throughout the world.

This book is a joyful read, not because of any lack of seriousness, but because it is a well told story, and the time spent within the pages is quite honestly riveting.

The Good Life Book By Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz

 

Books on happiness often seem like unrealistic exercises because the authors write in general terms about things that most of us find very specific and uniquely individual. But some of us keep reading them anyway. The Good Life book is worth reading for a couple of reasons other than happiness being a very tempting subject. The book is a summary of mountains of research with a heavy emphasis on some of the most longitudinal studies ever conducted. Good research can make for very compelling reading. 

The second reason that this book is good is that the authors are great story tellers. Not everyone can take decades of research and statistics and create a truly fascinating narrative. The authors have found a way to make this book conversational by including a smattering of personal anecdotes and opinions. The combination of statistical analysis and friendly chat are a part of what makes the book highly readable. If you love research and statistics, this book will be mind candy. 

If you are not a sociologist at heart, you can still be confident that the authors have made the information as palatable as any fiction you have ever read. One of the reasons for this similarity to fiction is that there are several people in the book that are followed for essentially their whole lives. The reader gets to know and care about these folks. And then there are useful happiness ideas, such as the meditation question: What's here that I have never noticed before? This book is a blend of philosophy, and research and it makes for rich and meaningful reading. The authors tell us that there is no way to make life perfect, and even if there were, then it would not be a good life. Because a good life is forged from the things that make it hard.

 

Think Again by Adam Grant

We would all probably like a conversational environment in which ideas were more vigorously and meaningfully exchanged. We imagine that there is (or was or could be) a time and place where people listen to each other, change their minds about various topics, and just generally appreciate the opportunity to share information and viewpoints. However, this is is such a rare exception that many people are reluctant to have a conversation without first ascertaining that their listener is already in complete agreement with them. This phenomenon is known as creating "silos," or forming "idea cults."

When confronted with differing points of view we veer toward one of three tendencies:

To preach - to prove we are right or that our cause is sacred

To prosecute - to prove someone else wrong or guilty

To politick - to look for approval

These tendencies turn out to be poor methods of persuasion. They nearly always cause a listener to solidify their position. There are more scientifically based approaches that might counteract the one-sidedness and blind spots of those conversational styles.

It turns out that information gathering or interviewing people about their convictions or opinions is a more effective way of eliciting a change. In a serious attempt to explain their own ideas, many people will find the gaps or flaws in their own logic and begin to reexamine those notions.

Recognizing that there are limits to persuasion and that we all need "time for our own confusion" is an excellent method for creating the space needed for change. Humans like to sort through information and draw their own conclusions. At least, most people think that they like to do this. If they feel less pressured, there is a greater chance that they will perceive they are moving through this process independently.

Methods that are good for learning to think are crucial to creating the kind of mind that has the flexibility to incorporate new information. No surprise - textbook reading and lectures are not the mainstay of these methods. People need practice in gathering information, recognizing legitimate and illegitimate sources, and looking at data from different angles.

People also require the personal and emotional support to develop something called Confident Humility. This is a mindset that helps us "improve ourselves rather than prove ourselves."

"Escalation of commitment" in spite of signs of failure is what an individual or an organization does when they want to save face or protect reputations. Despite mounting evidence that a thing is not going well, efforts are redoubled and problems are minimized or dismissed. On a personal level, this premature commitment can be a kind of identity foreclosure - closing ourselves off from options before we've had a chance to explore all the possibilities.

This nonfiction book is so good that I didn't want it to end. It felt more like a binge watch TV series was wrapping up than a nonfiction book was coming to an end. I will definitely be looking for what else Adam Grant has written.

Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment, and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words by David Whyte

It would be hard to describe how much I love this book. More than that, I have been listening to David Whyte read it aloud and give background comments on it (on the Waking Up app). His voice is worth the price of the app. If he read aloud a set of IKEA directions, I would be willing to give it a listen. 

The title might make one think that the content is only for those in need of consoling, but there is not a single topic contained in the volume that doesn't apply to 100% of the human race. The subtitle is actually a clearer description of the content. I believe that Whyte could execute a meaningful treatise on any word in any language. He is not afraid to turn assumptions upside down and make us think about ordinary topics with totally new perspectives. Speaking for myself, I like his perspectives better than my own. For instance, he says about Anger: "Anger is the deepest form of care..." He goes on to explain this paradoxical thought in ways that make your brain come alive with new connections.

David Whyte is a poet, and this is a book of prose. It is possibly the most poetic prose ever written. Each essay is short. Each essay can be read again and again because there is more depth in each one of these essays than in many lengthy books.

This is the age of YouTube, and if you want to sample a bit of his humor and wisdom, that is as good a place as any to start. His TED talk is particularly good. Warning: You will want to buy the book.

Forging Ahead

I'm not sure why these two books seem like natural partners to me, but they were both published in early 2022, and they both address some essential questions of identity. Most of us do not get very far through life without having to reinvent ourselves at least a bit. And sometimes, there are circumstances that require a wholesale makeover whether we like it or not. Both of these authors tackle some Big Questions surrounding growth and development in adult life.

Susan Cain has written a well-researched book explaining things like why sad music makes us feel better, why some of us like rainy days, and why withdrawal and introspection are necessary parts of thriving and growing. Most people recognize intuitively that sad movies and tragic stories play an important part in our lives. Her work validates and expands on our intuition. 

Both Eastern and Western traditions teach us that joy and sorrow are intertwined. Cain makes some inroads in helping us understand how that relationship works. 

Arthur Brooks also draws on both Eastern and Western philosophy to explain some of our most crucial stumbling blocks to satisfaction and contentment. Brooks’ analysis illuminates why strategies that work in one phase of our life do not necessarily serve us well as time goes by. The success that we enjoy during our career days is not "bankable." There are some skills that are needed during the last half of our lives that we may have neglected to hone during the heyday of climbing the career ladder.

Oprah Winfrey interviewed Brooks on her Super Soul Conversations podcast, and Brene Brown did a two-part interview with Susan Cain on her podcast, Unlocking Us. The interviews are a great way to learn more about the books and the authors. 

These are two authors who address tough subjects and give us hope and encouragement. As we come to the end of our pandemic life, those are good avenues on which to be traveling.

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

Although I personally love this book, I would not recommend it for people who do not like their reality served without sweetener. This is an author who takes a position that truth is going to save you some time in the long run. Additionally, the long run isn't all that long.

A healthy, lucky human residing in a safe locale can expect to live about 80 years or approximately 4000 weeks. A few folks get more, and a few get less. The shocking business is in following Burkeman's logic and doing the simple calculation that tells you how many of your 4000 weeks you have already spent.

We have many linguistic and a few emotional tricks that prevent us from facing how fleeting our time really is. One of these tricks is referring to people in their fifties and sixties as "middle aged." It may seem like the charitable thing to say, but it skews our calculators pretty substantially. Burkeman thinks that if you don't turn away from the facts, you will end up making more sensible choices, and consequently will enjoy and appreciate your life a little more.

He points out some things that most of us conveniently ignore, such as: We are not going to be able to read all the books we would like to read; we are not going to be able to travel to all the places we would like to see, and we are not going to accomplish everything that we have dreamed of doing. These hard facts should inform the choices we make about how we spend our energy and our days and weeks.

This is a brilliant book. I think bluntness sometimes saves time and energy and brings peace of mind a little more reliably than myths like: If we plan and organize well, we can do absolutely everything we want to do. Burkeman points out that there is such a thing as being too efficient, and didn't we really suspect that?

And one more thing: it's a short book. You won't spend several of your precious weeks getting through it!

Philip Gulley

Sometimes I look on my reading blog for a book or a series of books that I am sure I have reviewed, and am astonished to find that they are not there. I have enjoyed Philip Gulley's books for many years and maybe even a couple of decades now, but  neglected somehow to record this fact on my reading blog. Time to correct this.

Gulley has written collections of essays called the Porch Talk books, and a fictional series called the Home to Harmony books. He set that fiction series aside a few years ago to write religious nonfiction, but readers apparently clamored for more of his fiction and he has revived and updated the Harmony series. I don't want to spill any plot details, but the book cover below is the beginning of his new story.

Gulley is funny; he is thoughtful; and he has a talent for capturing the foibles of human nature in a way that helps us take ourselves less seriously. Who doesn't need a lesson or two in that? In his Harmony/Hope series, he is a small town preacher in a Quaker church in rural Indiana. If you have had the pleasure of reading the Thrush Green books set in rural England and featuring a small town vicar (Miss Read), or the All Things books by Herriot you will be happily entertained by this American version of village life. 

"I don’t want to spend this last half [of my life] trying to recapture the first half. I want to stretch and grow and do bold things, question what I’ve been taught and generally alarm people with my broad-mindedness." This is the sort of optimistic self-reflection that Gulley gives his fictional character; his lighthearted ruminations are deep enough to stimulate some thought without getting too lost in it. 

Winter is around the corner; the days are already shorter. Either the Gulley essays or the fiction will provide amusement and add a little light to a long winter evening. You can find a comprehensive list of his work here.

 

Jon Hassler

One day many years ago, I was walking into a used book store and I paused at one of those carts placed outside the store with bargain books. The name, Jon Hassler, jumped out at me from the cover of a book titled: North of Hope. I noticed the name because Jon Hassler had been the name of my freshman English teacher at Brainerd State Junior College in 1969-70; now Central Lakes College.

I picked up the book and looked for the author photo. It was most definitely the same person! He was a very handsome fellow, but I think what enhanced his good looks was his extreme kindness. When all of the assignment details have faded from the courses we take, we are left with some foundational ideas and the essence of the person who made the assignments. All I remembered from freshman English was the respect and kindness that Jon Hassler showed every student regardless of their performance or ability.

I had no idea that he had been or had become a writer, and I was curious. North of Hope did not disappoint. Subsequently, I looked him up and read a few more of his works. They are easier to find in Minnesota bookstores than they are here on the West Coast, so when I go back there, I usually find a few more. I have read nearly everything he has written and passed the books along to friends.

If you don't live in the Midwest, used books are pretty easy to find on line. The following link gives the names of his works. They are, in my opinion, pretty timeless stories. The plots are good, the characters are unforgettable, and the themes are the stuff that make readers everywhere grateful for the gift of language.

Especially fun for me in this journey of discovery was an anecdote in the forward of the book Rufus at the Door and other Stories about how and when he began to write. He recounts leaving one of his classes at the Brainerd college, going to the library during his free period, and sitting down to begin writing for the first time. It was 1970.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Hassler

The Paul Stuart Stories

Treat Yourself!

There are authors and there are authors. Alexander McCall Smith is the best of the lot for several reasons. The first is that he is amazingly prolific, and not because he is farming out the writing to interns who follow a formula and crank out a book that has some vague resemblance to literature. I have honestly lost count of all the series that he writes, and they're all first rate.

Additionally,  McCall Smith's characters are so likable that I am convinced he must love people generally. If ever anyone succeeded in seeing the good in everyone, it is this author. His writing can be trusted to entertain and to provide interesting ideas and musings. Every series, every character, and every plot is pure artistry.

McCall Smith has led an interesting life and his writing is chock full of thought provoking ideas and questions. He has lived and traveled in more places than most of can name, and his writing reflects a kind of world view that is very charitable. 

This new series with Paul Stuart is infused with unparalleled whimsy with a capital W.  There are times when reading is an almost necessary escape, and these two stories will take you away from whatever you're trying to avoid. And sometimes, that's a real necessity!

Elderhood by Louise Aronson

One of the best things about Elderhood is that Aronson pushes back against all of the '70 is the new 50' rhetoric. She points out that as long as we assume 50 is somehow better than 70, we are not being fair or kind to ourselves about aging.

Elderhood is an amazingly engaging book. Aronson has skillfully woven anecdotes, research, and personal experience into a book that reads like a novel. It reminds me a little of reading Omnivore's Dilemma, another nonfiction book that qualifies as a page turner.

This is not an overtly political book, but it does challenge the profit motives of our currently constructed health care system. She says bluntly, "Families often assume doctors know best. But medical professionals are the products and purveyors of a system that pays for only certain sorts of care, even when it's more likely to prolong suffering than to restore health and even when, in report after report, most state that they would not choose that care for themselves or their loved ones."

There is ample evidence that Aronson has bucked the system, and that she has experienced both successes and disappointments, as those who take on the status quo so often do. I have every confidence that this will be a widely popular book, and that it will empower legions of people to speak up, question more, and ultimately to change the way we all interact with our various health care machinery. Changing something with so much power takes pressure from every angle. Consumers will need to do their part.

There is a universal aspect to growing older. Even if every individual does not get that chance him or herself, odds are there are older friends or family members who will require us to interact with the elderly and the systems we have to care for them. But aging is not only about health care, Aronson gives us a new way of regarding age in general, and some ways to counter longstanding and harmful stereotypes.

Readers already in the Elderhood zone will almost certainly find this book compelling, but anyone who has a reason to interact with older folks or the systems that older folks depend upon will also find this a fascinating and thought provoking book.

Save the Males:A Kitchen Survival Cookbook

I have posted about this book on my personal Facebook page a couple of times, but I have not yet included it on my Reading List blog. Full Disclosure: Chef Gordon is a long time friend of ours and we have known him since the very early 80's when he first began talking and joking about his Save the Males campaign. He explains this bit of fun in the opening pages.

Save the Males is decidedly geared toward the single male audience, but there is no doubt that many married men who would like to do a bit more of the food prep than throwing burgers on the grill would find this guide highly readable and tremendously informative. It is a nicely designed, no nonsense cookbook with a good balance of basic information, recipes, and advice. Most of the advice is technical and food related, but Chef Gordon sees the culinary arts as closely related to the art of romance, so there is a bit of advice along that line as well.

There are several charts and graphs and tables contained in this cookbook that a cooking novice, as well as seasoned cooks will find useful. Young men are, for the most part, much more likely than their baby boomer fathers to participate in food preparation in a very meaningful way. This would be a great read for any of them, no matter how far along they are in developing their chef skills, and who can't use a little advice about romance?

The book is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You can also search for "Save the Males Cookbook" on Facebook and you will get a page that allows you to buy the book, as well as see a few cooking videos and recipes. It's important to add "kitchen" or "cookbook" to your search because there is also another Save the Males book out there, and I can't vouch for that one.

FEAR by Bob Woodward

As soon as this book was released, I put my name on the library queue because, well, he's Bob Woodward. I admit that I have not read everything he has written, but I admire him immensely. He is the dictionary definition of thoughtful and intelligent with quite a bit of courage thrown in for good measure. This is not a tell-all book with salacious details designed to create sales. It is much more serious in it's content and format than several others that attempt to accomplish a similar purpose, namely: to explain our current politics.

It is fascinating to get a more complete and behind the scenes look at events that have been headlines for months or even years. This bit of realism will ring true to even the most seasoned skeptic. But the main draw of the book for me is that it delves into the most basic tenets of complicated foreign policy and economic theory in a way that is highly educational. These two areas are not my strong suits, but I am much more well informed than before I read this book. The reason that these things are explained in such plain language and simple ideas is that Woodward is chronicling the efforts of advisors and White House staff to explain these things to our current president in clear and basic outlines. I hope they are somewhat heartened by the fact that I learned something, because they have had their share of frustration.

I have never seen Woodward as a partisan fellow; he is much too wedded to journalistic integrity to veer in any particular direction. He is the embodiment of what journalists used to be before our dial-a-slant news atmosphere.

I don't imagine that a staunch supporter of this administration would enjoy the book too much, because Woodward does not bend over backward to sanitize the narrative. I do think the information is one of the most truthful and objective sources of information that can be found. It is highly readable and for some of us, highly informative. If you want it right away, you will need to buy it. On the other hand, there is one less person in line for it at the library now!

Deborah Tannen

The Tannen Books

It would be fair to say that some of us read authors rather than books. This applies to both fiction and nonfiction. Deborah Tannen is one of my favorite authors in the latter category. The first Tannen book that I read was You Just Don’t Understand: Men and Women in Conversation. I was fascinated by her insights into conversation and her understanding of how tension is created between people who approach conversation differently. I happily found that she had written a previous book called That’s Not What I Meant: How Conversational Style Make or Breaks Relationships. It proved to be equally riveting; it focused on style differences between people from different cultural backgrounds. She highlights cultural trends and values that are so embedded in everyday life that we cease to see them, but they influence our feelings and behavior, nonetheless.

Tannen’s next book was Talking from 9 to 5: Women and Men in the Workplace; Language Sex, and Power. Everyone who has ever had a job, interviewed for a job or wanted a job would do well to read this one. Tannen points out both glaring examples and barely noticeable nuances in conversation that we all recognize immediately once we hear them described. Her understanding of hierarchy and other relationship structures provides a very complete sociological and psychological look at both homes and workplaces.

The Argument Culture: Moving from Debate to Dialogue is about public discourse and how it can be improved. We may not be able to change what’s in the media, but we can change what we consume. As with her books about conversation in the more personal realms, Tannen helps us to identify and understand the language that we hear, and to communicate more effectively because we listen more carefully and with more insight.

Tannen’s books are well researched and could certainly be considered scholarly, but she is an entertaining and compassionate writer, and readers are propelled along by the numerous “Aha!” moments as they recognize themselves and their circumstances in her stories and explanations. If you are interested in improving communication and conversation in any arena of your life or just appreciate the importance of language in our lives, Tannen is a worthwhile read.

Additional titles:  I Only Say This Because I Love You: How the Way We Talk Can Make or Break Family Relationships Throughout Our Lives (2001) is a treatment of family relationships in general. She also has two others about more specific family associations:

You’re Wearing That?: Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation, and

You Were Always Mom’s Favorite!: Sisters in Conversation Throughout Their Lives

Not Cookbooks

Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden
French Country Cooking by Mimi Thorisson
Gather by Gill Meller

It is not entirely true to say these are not cookbooks, but they could be also be considered inspirational reading and viewing for cooks or diners. What I like most in any cookbook is photographs, and these three are spectacular. The subtitle of Joshua McFadden's book is: A New Way with Vegetables, and "new way" is the essence of all three of these. Sometimes, a cook is looking for a different way of seeing the same produce.

Generally speaking, the meat, vegetables, spices and condiments, and staples that we use vary only slightly. Because of clever packaging and marketing, it sometimes seems as though there is an infinite list of foodstuffs, but mostly the same things are prepared, packaged, and marketed in myriad ways. Because these three books all focus on the artistic aspects of food, the beauty of a food on its own rather than as an ingredient is an eye opener.

It is often said that we eat with our eyes first. These are books that show us that we should perhaps be taking a little longer to eat with our eyes and focus less on the fast food, 3o minute, quick, and instant approaches to eating. One way to monitor our intake of food is to slow down and really appreciate the things we eat. (If you missed Slow Food and Why French Women Don't Get Fat, it's not too late. they are both still in print!)

Cooks who savor the appearance and quality of food enjoy cooking more. If we want mechanization that can churn out formulaic foodstuffs in 30 minutes or less, we have that in abundance. The problems associated with that approach is well documented, but once we recognize the flaws in the factory food world, we need a place to turn in order to start over.

Even if you are not a cook, browsing these volumes will help you to eat with new eyes, and your tastebuds won't complain either!