And speaking of idiosyncratic observations about the world, Ecco has released World Travel: An Irreverent Guide, a proper memorial to Anthony Bourdain's work as a travel guide and world-weary raconteur. Bourdain, who hit the spotlight with Kitchen Confidential—his tell-all about the deliriously bonkers world of the modern chef experience—became a tireless advocate for the spirit of community and the preservation of individual cultural heritages and experiences. World Travel is an all-too-brief guidebook to a somewhat arbitrary forty-five countries of the world. Compiled by Laurie Woolever (Bourdain passed in 2018), World Travel is not so much a critical guide to hot spots around the world as it is a love letter to the cultural heartbeat of these places.
Oh, whoops. We jumped right into things there, didn't we? Well, here's the cover. As Laurie Woolever mentions in an interview this week with The Washington Post, some of the inspiration for World Travel came from the Atlas Obscura guidebook, which we dig quite a bit. In fact, let's make that the theme this week: Oh, the Places We Can Think About Visiting (Soon, Really).
And here's Ben Aitken's The Gran Tour: Travels With My Elders. Aitken takes a handful of bus tours with a bunch of pensioners, because he—wisely—realizes that grand commentary on the world is better in the company of folks a couple hundred times older than he is. See England through the eyes of folks who can honestly remember when all routes were uphill the whole way.
Meanwhile, Bill Buford hauls his family to France to figure out what the heck is the big deal about French cooking. Of course, Bufford never trained as a chef, but he does know how to write a sentence that highlights his clumsiness in the kitchen as well as distilling some aspect of culinary history to a paragraph that sings. We may never make a decent omelette ourselves, but in Bufford, we certainly have an earnest enthusiast who will never stop trying.
And while we are on the topic of culinary traditions, here is Melissa Martin's Mosquito Supper Club: Cajun Recipes from a Disappearing Bayou. Martin takes us outside New Orleans, into the murk and swamp of the bayou, sharing all sorts of traditions and history about classic dishes that are an indelible part of her upbringing. Understanding a culture can't truly happen without becoming intimately familiar with its food, and we're delighted that Martin not only showcases some tasty dishes, but also grounds them in a vital culture.
And speaking of stories and cooking, Nigella Lawson is back this week with Cook, Eat, Repeat: Ingredients, Recipes, and Stories. Lawson tailors a lot of these recipes to be enough food for two, which lends a delightful intimacy to the process of cooking, eating, and sharing. In the kitchen, you build a repertoire of dishes you can readily craft, and this repetition brings with it an accretion of memory and narrative. "Hey, you remember the last time I made this . . . ?" Or "We had this at that little bistro in . . ."
It's not just about the chow, you know.
Meanwhile, Erika Fatland reports back on a sixty-thousand-plus trip along Russian's border. The full title of this book is The Border: A Journey Around Russia Through North Korea, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Belorussia, Lithuania—hang on, we have to go find a physical copy because all the listings trail off at this point—Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Norway, and The Northeast Passage. There. That's a lot of border. Armchair travelers and Russian history enthusiasts may rejoice.
She probably went right past the secret tomb of Genghis Khan, though the tour kiosk and gift shop was probably closed that day.
And speaking of road trips, Samantha Downing's whip-crack of a family trip from hell is out in paperback this week. Filled with the worst sort of sibling rivals and more twists and turns than a logging road that dead-ends at an abandoned serial killer summer camp, He Started It is a delightfully addictive tale of lies, lies, and more lies.
Okay, fine. In light of that last book, maybe it's not quite time to go dashing out for road trips. Let's stay home a few more weeks. What projects are left to do? Well, Max Humphrey and Chase Reynold Ewald have some ideas in Modern Americana, a do-it-at-home book that embraces all the kitsch and charm of modern hoarding—er, home decorating. Remember: "three of anything is a collection." Humphreys is, among other things, a sought-after retail catalog designer. Seriously. This guy practically invented Instragram-ready staging.
That's the list this week, dear readers. Now, get some pants on and go find a food truck and eat a marvelous meal out in the sun.
Oh, and Saturday is Independent Bookstore Day. Come visit us (but not all at once). We are celebrating this year with a new book in the Hodge & Podge Library of Idiosyncratic Editions.
As you may have noticed, our store bookmarks have adorable little stories about the sorts of books that various animals species read. You might have started a collection of the bookmarks. You have probably also realized that you should have started a long time ago, and yes, we understand there's a bit of an underground market for the elusive bat and cuttlefish bookmarks. Well, we've put together a little pocket book that collects all thirty-seven of the existing animals. AND, we're giving you an exclusive sneak preview of the next thirteen critters! That's right. Fifty silly stories about what animals like to read.
We'll be giving out a free copy of Nature Reads with each purchase this weekend. If you are one of our dear readers who newsletters from afar, drop us a line and we'll see about sending you a copy.
