Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise
 

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise

by Ruth Reichl

Fans of Tender at the Bone and Comfort Me with Apples know that Ruth Reichl is a wonderful memoirist--a funny, poignant, and candid storyteller whose books contain a happy mix of memories, recipes, and personal revelations. Amazon.com Interview
We chewed the fat with Ruth. Read our interview.

What they might not fully appreciate is that Reichl is an absolute marvel... (read more)

Top tags: foodmemoirnon-fictioncookingmemoirs (all tags)

Overview: Groups

Cook's Books 336 books / 576 members / 3055 posts This is for cooks who like books. What cookbooks do you love, what inspires your cooking, what are some of the books you've read that made you want to cook the food in them. Anyone who enjoys food is welcome here.

CONTEST WINNER FOR JULY/AUGUST: Firefly_1824 Congratulations!
What are you reading? 2290 books / 5333 members / 12180 posts A place to talk about books you have read/reading of any genre, or any book talk in general.
Mostly Biography, Classics & History 454 books / 88 members / 36 posts This book is for a group of like-minded people who wish to read various books and discuss them. To grow (and to, likely, change) in our opinions and views of the world. Please join me. Just choose from the Books To Read list and we'll discuss which to read. If you feel a book is worth reading by the group, then let me know and we'll see if it gets added to the list.
Memoir 90 books / 47 members / 202 posts Well-written memoir that touch at the heart of the issues that affect us all.
Planet Books 4 books / 2 members / 0 posts Planet Books is an on-line book club bringing readers together from all over the world.
AGLA Book Club - Nashville 56 books / 4 members / 0 posts Book Club at American General/Nashville TN
Cooking 3 books / 13 members / 0 posts Books related to cooking
50 Book Challenge! 2776 books / 2666 members / 15005 posts When asked about the new Amazon Kindle product, Steve Jobs CEO of Apple computer had this to say:

“It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” he said. “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.”

Welcome to the the 50 Book Challenge, where we fly in the face of Steve Jobs.

Basically .... the challenge is to read 50 books in one year. OR ... establish a goal for yourself more or less, it's up to you, just because we say 50 books doesn't mean that has to be your goal too.

Start a thread, WITH YOUR NAME IN THE SUBJECT OF YOUR ORIGINAL POST, and log your books. It is a very good idea to bookmark (when in your post, add it to your internet browser's favorites) your post for easy location for future updates. Things move quickly around here.

If you haven't been keeping track of the books you've read, start when you join.


Thanks for being here and have fun. If you have any suggestions or questions, feel free to contact me.

The books we loved in 2007:

1. Harry Potter the final - 15 votes
2. The Kite Runner - 12 votes
3. A Thousand Splendid Suns - 11 votes
4. Twilight - 5 votes
4. The Thirteenth Tale - 5 votes

With 4 votes each:
Water For Elephants, The Road, The Red Tent, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Middlesex, Eat, Pray, Love

With 3 votes each:
Eclipse, My Sister's Keeper, Suite Francaise, Shadow of the Wind, The Lovely Bones, Jane Eyre, His Dark Materials (plus 3 honorable mentions), The Glass Castle, Girl With the Pearl Earring, Darkly Dreaming Dexter

With 2 votes each:
19 Minutes, Black Swan Green, Dogs of Babel, Heart-Shaped Box, In the Woods, Into the Wild, Kafka on the Shore, On Chesil Beach, The Book Thief, The Memory Keepers Daughter, The Stolen Child, No Country for Old Men, Marley and Me, New Moon
24 Book Challenge + Chat 625 books / 100 members / 2220 posts The 24 Book Challenge group is currently at full capacity; thank you for your interest.



"In the case of good books, the point is not how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.", Mortimer Adler

*This is a group for book lovers who prefer to take an under-promise and over-deliver approach to their reading. It's also for those of us who quake at the thought of "committing" to read 50 books in a twelve month period.

The challenge: Set a goal for yourself to read and enjoy 2 books each month.(If 1 would be a s-t-r-e-t-c-h goal for you, that's great too! If you crave more than 2, go for it. It's your challenge :-)

If you have been keeping track of all that you've read since January 2008, feel free to include those books towards your goal. If you haven't been keeping track, simply begin now.

How it works: Put your name in the subject line of a new post, and start to add your book list. From that point on you can add to your list by replying to the first post in your thread. If you prefer to keep your thread free of others' questions or comments then you may want to include this request in your original post title (e.g. "No comments please"). If you would like questions or comments within your thread, why not include "Comments welcome" in the title? If you feel inspired to write mini-reviews or comments on any book in your list, please do. Whatever feels right for you!

The group shelf:You are also invited to add your 24 + books to the group shelf. If you did write a comment or review please also add this to your book on the shelf. In an effort to keep things simple, we're only using the "Books We've Read" shelf.


Please drop us a note if you have any questions or suggestions for improving the group. We'd love to hear from you!
PDXMetro Reads 71 books / 3 members / 0 posts This is a collection of the books read by the E&A, PDXMetroreads, MiPL book club (just some of our many names!). Right now, it's a collection of books, but if people want to discuss, go ahead!
North Denver Book Lovers 1 books / 2 members / 1 posts Ok, not a creative name for the group, but I thought with the right group it might be fun to share reviews and books we like.
Late Night Bookies 51 books / 63 members / 328 posts The Late Night Bookies is the book club that Optic Junkie and I started up about three years ago. We are located in the Rocky Mountain West in the United States--hot summers and bitter winters...but beautiful mountains and forests and wonderful people!


We called ourselves the Late Night Bookies--because we're pretty much late night people who love to read, our book clubs always go late, late into the evening...(read early morning hours)...and sometimes...if we start reading, we just can't stop until we've reached the end.


We've read a lot of books--had some book swaps, eaten some great food and had some good laughs along the way.


I wanted to share the books that we have read, as well as open up to discussion recommended books for future reading and ideas/recipes for continuing to enhance our book club experience.

I hope you enjoy the visit!


Book Shelf Key:
Books Read: Books Read by the Book Club
Books To Read: Suggested Titles for Future Book Clubs

The icon picture: Sunset, Boracay Island, The Philippines
A weekend during a business trip a few years back.
I chose it because it could be dusk or dawn--a magical time, especially for the imaginative book reader!
WCB PTO Book Club 3 books / 1 members / 0 posts This is a test group for a school assignment.
Literary Letterboxers 53 books / 28 members / 29 posts For those who enjoy the wonderful and addictive hobby of letterboxing.
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