The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge, and the World's Greatest Piece of Cheese - Michael Paterniti. Oh. EM GEE!!!!!!!!!!!! This book. I almost quit in the middle. Or maybe much nearer the beginning. I fell for its premise. The author was working part time in a deli, writing blurbs for their in-house handout describing the month's selections. Not much income. Certainly none that was disposable. None earmarked for a tiny slice of cheese that cost twenty bucks. Untasted by him, the story of the cheese - a small village in Spain, the geography, the animals, the determination of the man who made it - captured his imagination. In fact, he was so intrigued by it all, he made a trip to Spain to find the place and the players - repeatedly. For years. It was cool to view the scene. It was nice to hear about places B and I have visited. But, a man who considers himself a journalist fell for a large loudmouthed blow hard, who preferred to bloviate in the presence of captive audiences, family and neighbors brought together largely because of the wine and food offered. A man who told preposterous stories, acted out in a childish and demanding manner, lied about his best friend, and - get this - no longer makes the cheese! Meanwhile, the author/journalist missed deadlines, failed to ask reasonable questions, and neglected to realize that the residents of the idyllic village were more than mere backdrops to the whims of the cheesemaker and his story. Not to mention the writing was weird. So, yeah. NOT a ringing endorsement.
Not sure why I feel compelled to finish books I start, even when I don't care for them. B doesn't understand it AT ALL!!! I guess I figure, "I've made it this far. Surely there is something of value here!" Only book I've started and not finished was Salman Rushdie's, Satanic Verses - twice! Maybe I'll read it someday?
Ella Minnow Pea - Mark Dunn. A linguistic triumph, told through a series of letters (Ha!) much like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, that relates the horror and mayhem inflicted upon the inhabitants of the island of Nollop. As letters fall from the pangram, The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog, attached with now decayed paste to the base of a statue dedicated to its author, the island's Council interpret the fallen tiles as a message from his grave. They issue a decree that once a letter has fallen, it can never again be used, written or spoken, by the residents under penalty of stocks, whippings, removal from the island, and worse. The letters are written in keeping the rules, creating a vocabulary building, puzzle filled read. Silly you say? Such ridiculous rulings, much less the cruel enforcement could never happen - you contend? Well. Read on, my friend. Read on...
Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency - Michael Wolf. Why am I torturing myself? I don't really know. I guess I am on a search for understanding. This is the first of three new publications on the same topic. Wolf writes well, if somewhat sensationally. Revelations thus far? Greed, grift, self aggrandizement, and a desire for protection and power make the man. Not as if that wasn't clear from the descent down the escalator into an even deeper swamp than imagined.
Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump LOST - Michael Bender. Better writer. Likely with better sources. Enjoyed the personal footnotes. Revelations as above, though with more horrifying details. Bender spent a great deal of time with "The Front Row Joes". Folks who traveled many miles, repeatedly, to T**** rallies despite not really having the funds to do so, creating their own club. For the evil at the top, as a human with the power of reason and a conscience, I cannot comprehend living your life in his manner and still being able to sleep at night. Greed, grift, power, delusions of grandeur, can do that to some, I suppose. But, how do you explain the fascination, fantasy, and infatuation of the followers? Folks He Who Shall Not Be Named held in great disdain. Referred to as "the unwashed". That, I really cannot grasp.
Next up - I Alone Can Fix It - Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker. Yes, I must be a sucker for punishment!
Happy (?) reading! - les
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