Night of the Avenging Blowfish:
A novel of Covert Operations, Love, and Luncheon Meat posted: 9.01.04
by John Welter

It all starts with a covert baseball game between the CIA and the Secret Service – so highly covert, in fact, that both teams need to figure out where the game is going to be held. This book is very, very odd, and you've got to have a warped sense of humor to appreciate it. Fortunately, I have one of the most twisted senses of humor on the market, so I love this book! The dialogue is quick and the situations border on the absurd, but there's also a sweetness and poignancy, from a guy who, as a Secret Service agent, can't get close to anyone. Definitely check this one out.

Urban Legend posted: 9.01.04
by Erica Orloff
Silhouette Bombshell

One of the launch authors for the Silhouette Bombshell line of romances, this book kicks butt… literally. It's lighter on the romance, but it's got a heroine that is both intriguing and very, very dark. I love Erica Orloff's writing (for those with more of a Chick Lit jones, try out her Diary of a Blues Goddess), and this book showcases her deft touch with serious subject matter. She doesn't shy away from the dark stuff, and her heroine is both vicious and yet very sympathetic. She also has a nice way with the vampire genre, carving out her own niche in the very crowded convention. If you like strong females, then this book's a definite.

Last Chance Saloon posted: 1.01.03
by Marian Keyes

Marian Keyes is called the mother of Chick Lit for a reason. She’s brilliant, funny, and one hell of a writer. Last Chance Saloon is a story about choices, changes and second chances, centering around the lives of two women, self-indulgent Tara and anal-retentive Katherine, and their best gay-boy friend, Fintan. People who read the genre avidly will see the groundwork for Chick Lit staples of the hard-partying codependent, the uptight control freak, and the fabulously flamboyant gay guy, but nobody does it quite like Keyes. After Fintan is diagnosed with a chronic illness, he commands his two best friends to change their ways and make their lives more worthwhile. It’s the transformation that each goes through that make the book both humorous and touching.

It’s got a big, fat “Carpe Diem” message, obviously… but hey, I can think of worse messages to start the new year with.

Kitchen Confidential posted: 8.30.02
by Anthony Bourdain
Ecco Press, 2001

Also known as the bizarre chef with a heavy New York accent on the Food Network’s "A Cook’s Tour" show, Tony Bourdain has written a fantastic book for anybody who loves food, restaurants, or behind-the-scenes glimpses into another world. For those people who think fine dining is prepared by snooty, high-browed chefs who probably speak with a French accent and wouldn’t curse if parboiled in their own béchamel sauce, Tony steers the lay person straight by introducing them to the chaotic, crude and downright raunchy world of the restaurant kitchen and its various inhabitants. In a word: this book is a blast. Everything from drug escapades to mob-owned eateries to why you shouldn’t order fish on Monday is covered in a hilarious ongoing monologue. He explains how his introduction to haute cuisine was developed largely as an attempt to gross out his family. He lovingly details a drunken restaurant-crawl in Tokyo, or when he finally "got" Italian cooking. It’s a food-lovers delight (and, in various chapters, horror) and it’s all told in a conversational way that makes you feel like you know Tony personally.

If you get the reprint, read the introduction to the second edition after you read the story all the way through... then, his comments will make more sense (and they’re even more ironic and funny.) Either way, just get your hands on a copy of this and table-for-one with it at your closest restaurant. This book will be perfect company.

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