Book Review: The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein
Several years ago, I purchased The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein. I bought it with several other ice cream books (specifically the Ben & Jerry's one and the one published by Williams Sonoma). The Ultimate Ice Cream book is a good reference and has many obscure recipes for ice cream flavors that you won't find in many other books (like recipes for Lavendar, Rhubarb, or Red Bean Ice Creams... the latter of which I had almost every day in Taiwan during the hot and humid Taiwan summers). Most of the recipes in the book are "custard-style", meaning that you must create a thin custard out of the ingredients (with the exception of the cream) before the ice cream mixture is transferred to the ice cream maker. If there is one weakness in the book, it is probably the chocolate ice cream recipes... but I prefer non-chocolate ice cream anyway, so I'm not complaining too loudly.

Summary: A book well worth the minimal $12 price tag. Go get it.

Book Review: No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
A good friend of mine, Dave, sent me the book No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy (Dave also sent me McCarthy's The Road). I started reading the book yesterday while camping and finished it off today. In The Road, McCarthy writes of a depraved human condition that follows some cataclysmic event. In No Country For Old Men, one could say that McCarthy describes what he sees as the depravity of our current time. So in a sense, The Road follows up on themes that he establishes in No Country For Old Men. (Note: McCarthy wrote The Road immediately after No Country For Old Men.)

The story follows the events that unfold in several adjacent counties along the Texas-Mexico border. While hunting for antelope in the Texas scrub, Llelywen Moss (a welder by trade and Vietnam veteran) discovers the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong which includes about 5 dead persons, one wounded survivor (a Mexican man who begs for water), a truck bed full of drugs, and bag full of money. He takes the money and returns to his trailer park home and to his wife. But after some restless sleep, he awakens and up a gallon jug with water and returns to the grisly scene to provide aid for the wounded survivor. After leaving his truck nearby, he walks the gallon of water down to the survivor's location only to discover that the wounded man is now dead, having recently been shot by other parties that have recently arrived on the scene. Moss' mission of mercy has now landed him in extreme peril as he must flee the scene on foot and escape by jumping in a nearby river. As a result he has to abandon his truck which, which he correctly surmises, can be used to identify him and where he lives the following morning when the nearby DMV opens.

Moss returns home, instructs his wife to travel by bus to her mother's house in a nearby town, and then sets out on the lamb evading the parties from both sides of the drug deal that are looking to recover the substantial sum of drug money. One of his pursuers, Anton Chigurh, is a merciless killer that has no enemies because "anyone that has had a cross word with him are dead." Chigurh leaves a trail of dead persons during his pursuit of Moss, including another hit man hired to hunt and kill Chigurh.

Meanwhile, the local sheriff's office has discovered the dead drug dealers in the desert and are now trying to find Moss (and his wife) as well. The "old man" in this story is the local county sheriff, Sheriff Bell, who has been sheriff in the county for 40+ years - a command where he has "never had an unsolved homicide, but now has 9 of them inside of a week". Bell's philosophical thoughts are interspersed in chapters through the book (highlighted in italics) as he tries to come to an understanding of what motivates the evil actions he witnesses. He laments the state of his county (and the state of the country in general) where kids buy narcotics and walk with "green hair and nose rings" on the sidewalks of the small towns in his county. In the end, Sheriff Bell decides to retire under an overwhelming burden of failure to protect his county's residents as well as live up to the duty of the office that he feels his father did so well before him. There is no happy ending for the characters in the story, and much of what transpires leaves Sheriff Bell with a strong sense that the world is governed by some sort of divine indifference. But in the end, a sense of divine retribution prevails.

Summary: A good read. Recommended.

Book Review: I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
My brother Bryan sent me the book I Am Legend by Richard Matheson last December. I finally started reading it because Kristy rented the film I Am Legend for my benefit (in part because she loves me so much and in part to make up for the dreadful selection of Catch and Release). We didn't end up having time to watch it last night as planned (not sure why now... I'm drawing a blank on the entire day), but I expect we will watch it sometime in the next few days. Long story short: I wanted to read the book before I see the film.

I Am Legend is very short, only about 100 pages. It took me only about 5½ hours to read (including distractions), so it is a short book that is very easy to read. The story is that of Robert Neville, who is presumably the last person alive that is immune after a biological epidemic swept the earth. The story is presented as several short "diary-like" segments that cover part of Neville's post-apocalyptic life over a three year period. There is very little conversation, but we are made aware of the thoughts inside Neville's head as he comes to grip with his loss (which is disclosed using several flashbacks), and his acceptance of the complete loss of mankind. The story also categorizes the routine of his daily rituals (and how that routine is interrupted by various circumstances) and of his efforts to understand the disease, why he is immune, and investigate a possible cure.

I will say no more than that so as not to ruin the ending. Suffice it to say, Neville does not find a cure but he does find companionship.

Recommendation: Very good horror/sci-fi... Matheson is supposedly Stephen King's inspiration ("without Richard Matheson I wouldn't be around"). Recommended.

Book Review: Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
I began the 850+ page Book 5 of the Harry Potter series, Order of the Phoenix, during my down time at scout camp last weekend and finished it off tonight. I will not typically read the Harry Potter books when they are originally published, but instead wait and read them when the corresponding movie is released. The movie, Order of the Phoenix, opens tomorrow (but we probably won't get around to seeing it for a couple of weeks).

I was extremely unimpressed by the last of the Potter books, Goblet of Fire, thinking that Rowling had set the bar pretty low. Well, she has lowered the bar with Order of the Phoenix... it is, by far, the worst of the series. The entire premise of the book is just too far-fetched. The apparent unbelievability of Voldemort's return as told my Harry Potter, Dumbledore, et al could simply be solved with a little bit of the "veritaserum". Why none of these smart wizards ever figured that out is never explained. The fact that Professor Umbridge thought of using the truth-telling potion to trick Harry into divulging the location of Sirius just adds insult to injury. Um... hello? Why not just give young Mr. Potter the serum and have him relate the entire matter of Voldemort to the Daily Prophet and be done with it? We can't have that, as it would probably eliminate about 600 pages of worthless material from this colossal book. Argh.

The ending to the book is just pathetic. We find out that the Order of the Phoenix is going to great lengths to prevent Voldemort from getting something that Dumbledore explains can just be re-created by himself (on a whim) at any time. So if it so important that Voldemort does not get the "prophecy", why dontcha just destroy it now, and then maybe - I dunno - wait until Voldemort is finally thwarted, and then recreate the prophecy then? Meh. Never mind the fact that Voldemort was extending all this energy to try and get a "prophecy" which just would have told him that he must kill Harry Potter before Harry kills him?! Something Voldemort has been trying to do all along anyway! Um, gee... thanks for that Mrs. Rowling... what a compelling narrative for a book you have created. Wow. Just... wow.

Book Review: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
My friend Dave sent me a book a couple of weeks ago titled The Road by Cormac McCarthy. He sent it to me for no other reason than he thought I should read it. Dave is a good friend, so I listen to his recommendations. And he doesn't send me books that often.

I began the book while waiting to board a plane to Utah and continued reading during the flight and then stole 15 minutes here and there to consume pages until I was able to finish it late tonight. I was riveted to the beautiful imagery and symbolism from beginning to end.

The story is that of a nameless father and his son surviving in a post-apocalyptic world. They begin their journey on "The Road" at the town where his father was born. The goal is to travel down the road to the coast where the hope is that they'll find some respite from the depravity, bleakness, and nihilism that has enveloped the world.

The fact that the journey starts at the town of the father's birth and proceeds linearly toward an end goal (the coast) is an obvious symbol of our journey though life. The father and son are propelled forward on the road, never able to backtrack or to rest long during their journey. Each day is a struggle for survival. Some days are easier than others. Some days are hell on earth.

How they face the challenges to their survival is telling. The father, clearly embittered by the harsh living, acts swiftly from the emotions of raw survival and street justice. He performs his actions repetitively and instinctively. The son on the other hand reacts to situations in a much softer manner, and is far more prone to distribute mercy to others they encounter. On the one hand, you can't help but empathize with the father and the actions he performs and the choices he makes. On the other hand, the son's appeal for mercy and kindness cannot be ignored. It is a beautiful contrast.

Another strong message delivered over and over in the book is that of the "fire" within. The father and son carry the "fire" (e.g. love for each other) and that alone is worth the struggle to survive. The closing message of love (and hope) is all the more vivid after reading the previous 300+ pages of the cold, gray, harsh journey along "The Road".

Recommendation: Exceptionally well written, highly recommended.

Book Review: The Complete Book of Sauces by Sallie Y. Williams
On a whim, I purchased The Complete Book of Sauces by Sallie Y. Williams the last time I bought a bunch of cooking books at Amazon. I have now made several sauces out of this book, each with tremendous success.

This morning I made my favorite breakfast dish, Eggs Benedict, and served it with Hollandaise Sauce from the recipe in this book. Emulsified butter sauces (like Hollandaise) are tough to make just right (I have failed before), but this book really laid out a nice technique to prepare it perfectly. Next time I serve steak for dinner, I'll whip up some Bearnaise Sauce to go with it!

This is a great book to have on the shelf in your kitchen. The book is well organized and includes a section in the back that lists sauce recommendations for various categories (beef, eggs, fruit, pasta, etc). Very handy. If you are already ordering something from Amazon and are just a few dollars short of the "Free Super Saver Shipping" threshold, then toss this $11 book into your shopping cart. It's worth it.

Book Review: Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
I began the 734 page Book 4 of the Harry Potter series, Goblet of Fire, yesterday and finished it off today. Kristy reads the Harry Potter books when they are originally published, I wait and read them when the corresponding movie is released. The movie, Goblet of Fire, came out two or three weeks ago.

Well, I haven't really had an opinion one way or the other about the Harry Potter books, but this one seemed less impressive than the others. First and foremost, did it really have to go on for 700+ pages? Ok, maybe it did... I guess. Second (and this is the biggest problem), if Voldemort just needed Harry to touch an object so that Harry would be transported to the cemetery, why use the trophy and not just any object - like Harry's dinner spooon for example? I mean if Voldemort's "faithful servant" can portkey-ize the trophy and then go through the hassle to make sure Harry (who, let's be frank, isn't all that bright) wins the tournament, doesn't it seem trivial (by comparison) to portkey-ize some other object and get Harry to touch it ("Here Harry, catch this!"). Sigh.

Third (only slightly less egregious then #2), Harry's greatest skill seems to be that of Rowling's fondness for deus ex machina. When Voldemort says "Harry Potter escaped [him] by lucky chance" right before the duel in the cemetery, Voldemort had no idea that Harry (er... Rowling) had yet another ace up his sleeve! It's the old wands-that-are-brothers-cancel-each-other-out trick! Lord Voldemort really needs to hit the library more often, as everyone saw that coming.

Ah well, it wasn't supposed to be a great book. It was an entertaining read and it did set up some interesting suspense for the next books (which I won't read until right around their respective movies are released). Hopefully the movie will be entertaining as well, even if I have to hold my nose while watching it.

(Fri Dec 16 13:42:26 PST 2005 // fixed some grammatical errors)