Right before I left for LA, I finally finished Chaim Potok's Wandering. I'd have to say I like his novels better, but for a nearly 600 page book about the Jews throughout history it was fairly interesting. I read this one on the train over the span of a month or so.

On the plane I read Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto. It's the first of hers that I've read, and I believe the first she wrote. The book contains 3 novellas, two of which are linked. It was a bit surprising to start the third expecting more of the same story only to have it drastically shift on me. Decent overall, but I wasn't entirely overwhelmed. I'll have to read some of her later work and see how she's matured.

Next up was Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. A friend had been bugging me to read it for at least a year, and his urging was warranted. Parts made me a bit nervous about eating out, or at least ever requesting anything on the side.

On the way home I read Mark Salzman's The Laughing Sutra. It reminded me the most of Barry Hughart's Bridge of Birds except set in the modern day.
posted by Kristin Buxton at 12:16 PM