My reading corner

  For those of you who love literature and food, this is the most wonderful book to recommend. It is called Kafka's Soup: A Complete History of World Literature in 14 Recipes, the first book by this English photographer.

As the subtitle indicates, this is a book of recipes but it is how the recipes are presented that makes the book unique. Each recipe is written as a narrative, but the narrative is in the style of a particular writer. Among the fourteen writers and the recipes associated with them are Raymond Chandler (Lamb with Dill Sauce), Jane Austen (Tarragon Eggs), Franz Kafka (Quick Miso Soup), Proust (Tiramisu), Steinbeck (Mushroom Risotto), Virginia Woolf (Clafoutis Grandmère), Graham Greene (Vietnamese Chicken), and Chaucer (Onion Tart). It is absolutely uncanny how Crick emulates so perfectly the writing styles of such a varied group of authors.The book is a literary tour de force.

The more familiar you are with the writers, the greater your enjoyment. However, if you’re someone who loves to read cookbooks, you might enjoy this. And if you’re looking for new recipes, here are 14 that look enticing.

1 - State of Fear - by Michael Crichton

2 - The Lodge of the Lynx - by K. Kurtz & D. Turner Harris

3 - Airframe - by Michael Crichton

4 - The Black Arrow - by R.L. Stevenson

5 - Gomorra - by Roberto Saviano

6 - The map of bones - by James Rollins
7 - Kafka's soup - by Mark Crick

8 - The Mud Bible - by Julia Navarro

9 - The third secret - by Steve Berry

10 - The Egyptologist - by Arthur Phillips
11 - Gentlemen & Players - by Joanne Harris

12 - Double Life - by Charlotte Link
13 - P.S. I love you - by Cecelia Ahern

14 - The cold moon - by Jeffery Deaver
15 - Another kind of life - by Catherine Dunne
16 - Ireland, a novel - by Frank Delaney

17 - The Quest - by Wilbur Smith

18 - The Seville Communion - by Arturo Perez-Reverte

19 - The Chalice and the Blade - by Riane Eisler

20 - If you could see me now - by Cecelia Ahern

21 - The footprints of God - by Greg Iles

22 - A maiden's grave - by Jeffery Deaver
23 - Dio ci liberi dagli inglesi....o no? - by Antonio Caprarica

24 - The Flanders Panel - by Arturo Perez-Reverte

25 – The devil's teardrop – Jeffery Deaver

26 – About a boy – by Nick Hornby

27 – Talisman: Sacred Cities, Secret Faith – by G. Hancock and R. Bauval

28 – The Official Fahrenheit 9/11 Reader – by Michael Moore

29 - Praying for sleep – by Jeffery Deaver

30 – Tutto il Grillo che conta – by Beppe Grillo

31 – Two little girls in blue – by Mary Higgins Clark

32 - The Count of Monte Cristo – by Alexandre Dumas

33 – I Segreti di Roma – by Corrado Augias

34 – An inconvenient truth – by Al Gore

35 – The mask of Atreus – by A.J. Hartley

36 – The Templar legacy – by Steve Berry

37 – The curious incident of the dog in the night-time – by Mark Haddon

38 - Dreamcatcher – by Stephen King



Really far from my goal of 50 books a year, I hope to do better in 2008!