I watch the shows and I follow him on twitter so so of course I was going to like this book. It is a scrapbook of the early season of the show grouped by continent. You don't get that much more than you do from watching the show but it was a fun quick read and I didn't have to sit and watch several seasons of shows to remember to tell myself that I need to travel more. 

 

I wasn't sure if I was going to like reading this or not since I was one of those people that I think will always think of Pluto as a planet. The book does explain why he took this side of the argument but to be honest I don't think that was the best part of the book. The side story of an argument on who discovered another object in the sky I think was even more interesting in shedding like on the process of academic discovery. Glad I read it and honestly would recommend it to people to read.

                           

I got this from a review program on Goodreads and I have to admit I would have bought the book even without being given the book to review. This is a great companion book to read after  Kitchen Confidential since there is a chapter that deals with people that get mentioned in the book and the some of the fallout from the book.  One of my favorite chapters in the book deals with very short descriptions of food that he has come across during his travels with his TV show. Every paragraph just makes you want to go and try the dish he is describing in such loving detail.  Bourdain shows himself warts and all and certainly hasn't glossed over his mistakes in his life in this book.  A great read for fans of his show or fans of food books. 

                                                                       

I am combining both of these together since there isn't much to say about the books if you are familiar with the project then you know what it is about. If you are not in a nutshell, people sen in their secrets on a postcard and some are displayed on the web or in traveling art exhibits.  There are 5 books out now and i grabbed the first and the fifth book to read.
The first one wasn't themed and the fifth one was but it didn't feel like it stuck to the theme all that much. Maybe it was because after a while most of the secrets tend to blend together.  This is the website for Postsecret.

                                                                          

It has been several years since I have read any non fiction about Japan. This was interesting not so much as a "true crime" novel but also showing day to day work life in Japan in the the early 90's. Jake admits to his errors that cost the life of one of his friends during the investigation of one story. This is a book I would recommend to anyone interested in Japanese culture and it sidesteps the usual light side of life.

It has been a while since I read a food book but after hearing several reviews of the book on NPR I decided to pick it up. The book does come to an answer about where did the cookies come from. The journey though does make for a good read. There are several sections that discuss immigration issues with people coming to the US for a better life. I liked the book and if you are interested in food and how "Chinese " is different around the world.

I got this months ago at BEA in New York and got to meet Tim Gunn. So needless to say I was quite happy to get it signed to me. The book doesn't got into things you must do. More like common sense stuff of buying good quality pieces that fit you and your style. It was a fun book that didn't talk down to the reader and poke fun at some of the more outlandish fashion trends over the years. I will have to remember to read bits of it before I go on a spending spree to resupply my wardrobe.