Review of Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

I like all of Anthony Bourdain’s TV shows and, since I had a free trial to Kindle Unlimited, I decided to read one of his books. He’s lead a pretty interesting life.

I liked reading about his life and how he got started in the business. He talked about working in some crazy places with some crazy people. It was great reading his stories abut how he was humbled in the kitchen and how he worked his way up to where he is now. He is also very honest about his past and his drug addictions. I’m happy that he’s clean now.

During some parts, such as what ingredients were in things, I got a little bored. Maybe it’s because I don’t cook much, but it just was not interesting to me at all. That’s what made the book just ok for me. For people who like to cook and/or are interested in all of the ingredients, it won’t be a problem.

Anthony gives some good advice to aspiring professional chefs and home cooks. He explains that you don’t need a ton of pans and fancy knives to make good tasting food.

If you’re a fan of Anthony Bourdain, his many shows or food you will probably like this book.

Cover Reveal for Seeing Evil by Jason Parent

Publisher: Red Adept Publishing

Publication date: August 2015

Fate in plain sight.

            Major Crimes Detective Samantha Reilly prefers to work alone – she’s seen as a maverick, and she still struggles privately with the death of her partner.  The only person who ever sees her softer side is Michael Turcotte, a teenager she’s known since she rescued him eleven years ago from the aftermath of his parents’ murder-suicide.

            In foster care since his parents’ death, Michael is a loner who tries to fly under the bullies’ radar, but a violent assault triggers a disturbing ability to view people’s dark futures.  No one believes his first vision means anything, though – not even Sam Reilly.  When reality mimics his prediction, however, Sam isn’t the only one to take notice.  A strange girl named Tessa Masterson asks Michael about her future, and what he sees sends him back to Sam – is Tessa victim or perpetrator?

            Tessa’s tangled secrets draw Michael and Sam inexorably into a deadly conflict.  Sam relies on Michael, but his only advantage is the visions he never asked for.  As they track a cold and calculating killer, one misstep could turn the hunters into prey.

About the author:

In his head, Jason Parent lives in many places, but in the real world, he calls Southeastern Massachusetts his home.  The region offers an abundance of settings for his writing and many wonderful places in which to write them.  He currently resides with his cuddly corgi, Calypso.

            In a prior life, Jason spent most of his time in front of a judge … as a civil litigator.  When he tired of Latin phrases no one knew how to pronounce and explaining to people that real lawsuits are not started, tried, and finalized within the 60-minute time-frame they see on TV, he traded in his cheap suits for flip-flops and designer stubble.  The flops got repossessed the next day, and he’s back in the legal field… sorta.  But that’s another story.

            When he’s not working, Jason likes to kayak, catch a movie, travel any place that will let him enter, and play just about any sport (except for the one with the ball tied to a pole thing where you basically whack the ball until it twists in a knot or takes somebody’s head off).  And read and write, of course.  He does that too sometimes.

Review of Rock On: An Office Power Ballad by Dan Kennedy

This is another one of my “thrift shop finds.” The book is about the time the author spent working at a major record label. It’s pretty entertaining, but sometimes I couldn’t believe the things he was doing. He spent $1,500 on photo frames and $365 on a jacket and I couldn’t imagine spending so much money just to try to impress people.

I liked reading about all the different people in the office and the author’s socially awkward behavior. I also liked the story about The Donnas making a public service announcement about school shootings. I used to listen to them. His story about the Fat Joe commercial was funny too. It seemed like the author just found himself in these random situations while he worked there.

If you like reading about the music industry, you’ll probably like this book.