I generally have a rule when I share what I’ve read for the month. I only share books I’ve finished reading. The truth is, I start many more books than I share here on the blog, but many of them just don’t hold my interest or I’m not feeling them at the moment. So my rule here is that I’m not going to blog about something unless I’ve finished it.
But this month, I’m breaking that rule with the King Arthur Baking School book. While I didn’t read this book cover to cover, I did spend a lot of time pouring over it, and I’ve already made (to varying degrees of success) a number of recipes, including croissants, Cornish pasties, pizza dough, French bread, and koign-ammann.
That’s right, I’ve become a baker now. Back in December, I watched The Big Brunch on HBO Max, and inspired by one of the contestants, I decided I wanted to start baking. Prior to that, my baking exploits involved chocolate chip cookies from store-bought dough, banana bread muffins, and the occasional drop biscuit or cornbread from pre-made (though often slightly doctored) mix.
Fortunately, my sister had bought the King Arthur Baking School book for her husband, and I poured over his copy at our family Christmas gathering in a rental house in Georgia.With my brother-in-law as guide, I made the koign-ammann recipe from the book. (And became pretty much hooked on layered pastries.) Before leaving Savannah, I picked up a copy of the book at a fantastic local bookstore, and I’ve been making my through it since.
My newfound interest in baking also prompted me to pull Michael Pollan’s book Cooked off my shelf and give it another go. Back in the day, I was a fan of Pollan’s The Botany of Desire and Omnivore’s Dilemma, so of course, when Cooked was released I bought a copy. I started it but didn’t get very far, probably because ten years ago I wasn’t really interested in cooking or baking in any form. With my new hobby, this time I was determined to get through it.
Ultimately, I feel mixed about Cooked. I really enjoyed the parts on Fire (about barbecue) and Water (about braising) and was really interested in the discussions on why we cook less and the idea of using our leisure time to do something productive. However, I was disappointed in the section on bread, which should have been the part I loved most, but I felt that Pollan was unusually harsh towards white flour (it felt like he was dipping dangerously close to diet culture bullshit). This was particularly frustrating because he didn’t bring that same energy to the downsides of alcohol, which he talks about in the final section. Ultimately, there were things I liked about the book, but it’s long and by the end, I felt like I was forcing myself to finish it.
All this baking doesn’t mean I’m any less interested in art. Apparently this was a month for pulling things off my shelf, because I also read Enchanted Lives, Enchanted Objects by Diane Macleod, a book about women art collectors in the US, which I bought ages ago. I’m always interested in any book that talks about why people buy art, and this didn’t disappoint. I loved that Macleod goes into the psychological reasons people collect art and that she didn’t shy away from the pleasure of touch as a reason to collect. I was a little disappointed that the scope of the book only looked at rich, white women and it’s definitely academic, so I would really only recommend it if this is a particular topic of interest. But it did give me a lot to think about and a long list of additional reading I want to check out!
My interest in reading about textiles didn’t stop this month either, as I came across Sundressed: Natural Fabrics and the Future of Clothing by Lucianne Tonti at one of my local stores. I loved this book on so many levels, and would put it right up there with Worn as a must-read! Actually, I might put it above Worn, partly because it’s shorter length makes it a more approachable start, and partly because I loved how Tonti talks about how sustainability also involves understanding the emotional connection we have with our clothes. It reminded me of another book I often come back to, Emotionally Durable Design. (Though that book is far more academic than Sundressed.)
Of all the books I’ve read about fibers and clothing over the past few years, Sundressed, more than any, has me looking and thinking critically about the things I have in my wardrobe and what is it that draws me back to certain pieces again and again. (Like this black and white dress.)
My final read for the month was an interesting combination of business and my new baking obsession. Will Guidara was one of the judges on The Big Brunch, and when I saw he had written a business book called Unreasonable Hospitality, about his experience running restaurants, I put it on my list.
I used to read a lot more business books, but lately I’ve found the genre a little disappointing. Either poorly written or the same stuff over and over again. But I loved Guidara’s book. It’s such a great blend of engaging storytelling and advice, and I poured through it in a couple of days. I don’t envision myself running a restaurant (though I did work food service jobs in college, so there was plenty I could relate to) but I found enough ideas in the books that made me think about my own business. (And it even sparked a new project.) But even when it didn’t strictly apply, I was drawn into Guidara’s stories.
And of course, I couldn’t resist putting my new book, The Artists & Profit Makers Guide to Selling to Stores, onto the pile for the month. Between final edits and recording the audiobook, it’s safe to say I read it at least a few times! It’s available now in my online store!
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