Book Blog #233: The Weight of a Piano by Chris Cander

Title: The Weight of a Piano
Author: Chris Cander
# of Pages: 336 (ebook)
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: In 1962, in the Soviet Union, eight-year-old Katya is bequeathed what will become the love of her life: a Blüthner piano, built at the turn of the century in Germany, on which she discovers everything that she herself can do with music and what music, in turn, does for her. Yet after marrying, she emigrates with her young family from Russia to America, at her husband's frantic insistence, and her piano is lost in the shuffle. In 2012, in Bakersfield, California, twenty-six-year-old Clara Lundy loses another boyfriend and again has to find a new apartment, which is complicated by the gift her father had given her for her twelfth birthday, shortly before he and her mother died in a fire that burned their house down: a Blüthner upright she has never learned to play. Orphaned, she was raised by her aunt and uncle, who in his car-repair shop trained her to become a first-rate mechanic, much to the surprise of her subsequent customers. But this work, her true mainstay in a scattered life, is put on hold when her hand gets broken while the piano's being moved--and in sudden frustration she chooses to sell it. And what becomes crucial is who the most interested party turns out to be...
Review: I received an advanced copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. This story was much more complex than I thought it was going to be.

The Weight of a Piano tells two stories; one of Katya in the Soviet Union in 1962 and the other of Clara in 2012. Although their stories take place during different times, Katya and Clara are connected through a collection of complicated relationships, each revolving around music and a piano.

This story is told in third person, and each chapter alternates between Katya's and Clara's POV. For this story, I think it's appropriate. It felt like peeling two onions at the same time. There's some overlap in the telling of these two stories which is necessary since these stories are happening at different times with different people but is still a bit bothersome for the reader.

My biggest complaint for this book is Clara's romantic life. She's a mess, which is probably on purpose for the sake of the rest of the story. But she's so all over the place, it makes it hard for me to like her and how she treats those around her. Her journey is very much focused on her own healing, without much care for how this process is effecting others.

Overall, it was a good read. It's quick and entertaining, so I'd definitely recommend it!

Book Blog #232: A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

Title: A Spark of Light
Author: Jodi Picoult
# of Pages: 352 (hardback)
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary,
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis: The warm fall day starts like any other at the Center—a women’s reproductive health services clinic—its staff offering care to anyone who passes through its doors. Then, in late morning, a desperate and distraught gunman bursts in and opens fire, taking all inside hostage. After rushing to the scene, Hugh McElroy, a police hostage negotiator, sets up a perimeter and begins making a plan to communicate with the gunman. As his phone vibrates with incoming text messages he glances at it and, to his horror, finds out that his fifteen-year-old daughter, Wren, is inside the clinic. But Wren is not alone. She will share the next and tensest few hours of her young life with a cast of unforgettable characters: A nurse who calms her own panic in order save the life of a wounded woman. A doctor who does his work not in spite of his faith but because of it, and who will find that faith tested as never before. A pro-life protester disguised as a patient, who now stands in the cross hairs of the same rage she herself has felt. A young woman who has come to terminate her pregnancy. And the disturbed individual himself, vowing to be heard.
Review: This book sits somewhere between three stars and four stars.

A Spark of Light is not just a story of an abortion clinic shoot and hostage situation. It’s about all the people who are somehow connected to the situation and how they ended up at the woman’s center in that day.

What’s strange about this book is how it is told. The book tells the story BACKWARDS; it starts at 5pm and then works backwards hour by hour until it gets to 8am of the same day. I don’t know see the benefits in telling the story this way; it might reinforce the importance of the journey over the outcome. If this is the case, a better way to organize the story is to start with the 5pm hour like Picoult already does, but the go back all the way to 8am and go through the hours in order. Going backward only confuses the reader, leads to repeated information, and bores the reader as the time gets farther and farther from the main event in the book.

Of course, another big issue is the third person POV switching. Usually the fact that it’s in third person would make the POV switching more tolerable (Picoult said it herself, third person makes POV switching less confusing than if it’s in first person), but she using a whopping 10 characters’ POVs. And to think she initially wanted to including 8 additional POVs! I get that Picoult wanted to tell multiple people’s stories, but sometimes it’s better to keep it simple.

With this book, Picoult is trying to create a dialogue about abortion. However, it is extremely clear that Picoult is pro choice (most of the characters are pro choice). Picoult tries to present both sides evenly and fails; the pro life representation in the book is significantly weaker than pro choice’s. You can tell just by counting characters; the only people who are pro life are the gunman, a spy, and a prosecutor who’s a jerk. There’s still very interesting arguments in the book, but it didn’t feel right with the pro life side not fairly represented.

Books like this should leave you thoughtful. It should have you seriously considering the other side’s perspective. This book did not do that for me. If you are interested in the topic of abortion, go ahead and give this book a shot. However, I believe there are better books out there to learn about the topic.

Book Blog #231: Under the Bridge by Anne Bishop

Title: Under the Bridge
Author: Anne Bishop
# of Pages:  340 (ebook)
Genre: Fiction, Politics, Poverty
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis: When stress causes an old trauma to surface, Lucy, a longtime community organizer, teacher and anti-poverty activist, loses control of her life. On probation and living on the streets of Halifax's North End, all she has left is friends. Faithful friends like Judith, her lawyer, who is helping her take back her life. Lucy begins to regularly sneak into Judith's basement to take refuge from the cold. But Lucy's presence in the house betrays their friendship, and she uncovers mysteries from Judith's past. As events draw their lives closer, Lucy and Judith are forced to face the toll taken by their secrets. Each of them must choose between confronting past pain or remaining broken.
Review: I received an advanced copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Under the Bridge is a whimsical story uncovering the past of Lucy, a 60-something year old socialist homeless woman who was once a well-known and well-respected poverty activist. Bishop does not sugar coat anything; she reveals the grit and grime of the uncivilized fashion the disadvantaged have to live in to survive in capitalistic Canada.

Although Lucy is an extreme leftist, her friends balance out her ideals to create an interesting narrative for the civil rights of the poor. One such voice is Bara, one of Lucy's younger friends. The voice Bishop gave Bara may seem unrealistic and stereotypical of someone in high school, but it is simply how Lucy (from an older generation) perceives people her age.

A simple read meant for those who may be interested in politics and poverty advocacy.

Book Blog #230: A Dog's Way Home by W. Bruce Cameron

Title: A Dog's Way Home
Author: W. Bruce Cameron
# of Pages: 297 (paperback)
Genre: Fiction, Animals, Adventure
Rating: ★★★★★
Synopsis: After Bella is picked up by Animal Control because pit bulls are banned in Denver, Lucas has no choice but to send her to a foster home until he can figure out what to do. But Bella, distraught at the separation, doesn't plan to wait. With four hundred miles of dangerous Colorado wilderness between her and her person, Bella sets off on a seemingly impossible and completely unforgettable adventure home.
Review: This book is so good, I had dreams about.

Okay, that's an exaggerating. And for the record, I had only one dream about it (I read the first half of the book before I went to sleep, and my brain decided to dream up an ending). By no means is this booking going to be winning any big prizes. However, it might just change a set of ridiculous laws referred to as Breed-Specific Legislature.

A Dog's Way Home focuses on the story of a dog (who may or may not be part pit-bull) who is living in Denver with his beloved owner. This may sound like a pretty generic story if it weren't for the fact that Denver has a ban on pit-bulls.

The reason this ridiculous ban was created in the first place is because two pit-bull attacks. Back in the 1980s, a man was attacked by a pit-bull in an alley behind his home and suffered many injuries (I feel bad for the man; this is one of the cases where the pit-bull was probably at fault). However, the second case that encouraged this ban to be passed was when a 3 year old was killed by a  pit-bull. It's always incredibly horrifying to hear someone so young to be killed, but the dog was chained up in its own yard and the child WANDERED in. Thus the ban was put in place in Denver (you can read more about the ban here: https://www.denverpost.com/2010/06/18/pet-beat-tide-may-be-turning-for-denvers-pit-bull-ban/).

Pit-bulls are stereotyped to be vicious dogs, but this is definitely not always the case. This is why this book is so interesting; a dog that does not even 100% look like a pit-bull is affected by this legislature. There have been many educated people backing up this ban, but hopefully this book will help more people see how judging a dog by its breed is not the way to protect the public from "vicious" animals.

W. Bruce Cameron said he has been criticized for using "simple, plain descriptions" throughout his book. This story is told from a dog's point of view, which is what he uses to justify this writing style. I didn't see this to be a problem. The story will definitely still interest adult readers, but the simple/plain descriptions make it easier for younger readers to be able to read and enjoy this book too.


That being said, this book will definitely not be for everyone. I felt like I was holding my breath the entire book, hoping that Bella (the dog protagonist) will be able to survive her next ordeal. There's a mix of happy and sad moments that might be too much for young children. However, it's important for people of all ages to be introduced to tough topics, so I believe those around middle school age an older can read and appreciate this book.


I'm a huge fan of A Dog's Purpose, and I could tell this book came from the same author based purely on the writing style and the flow of the plot. Him including Bella's sense of purpose and how she wants to help her human companions exhibits similar themes seen in his other books.


This is a quickly, heart-wrenching read with an important message. I recommend this book to everyone.

Book Blog #229: The Enchanter Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

Title: The Enchanter Heir
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
# of Pages: 455 (paperback)
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Synopsis: They called it the Thorn Hill Massacre-the brutal attack on a once-thriving Weir community. Though Jonah Kinlock lived through it, he did not emerge unscathed: like the other survivors Jonah possesses unique magical gifts that set him apart from members of the mainline guilds. At seventeen, Jonah has become the deadliest assassin in Nightshade, a network that hunts the undead. Emma Claire Greenwood grew up worlds away, raised by a grandfather who taught her music rather than magic. An unschooled wild child, she runs the streets until the night she finds her grandfather dying, gripping a note warning Emma that she might be in danger. The clue he leaves behind leads Emma into Jonah's life-and a shared legacy of secrets and lingering questions.
Review: This shouldn't be part of the Heir Chronicles.

The series should have stayed a trilogy. Jonah and Emma are completely new characters. Although some of characters from the previous three books appear in the book, reading the first three books in the series is not at all necessary to read this book. For those of you who are wondering whether you should re-read the first three to maximize enjoyment of this book, don't bother. I haven't read the first three books in years but the characters from the previous books don't play a big enough role in this story to make a reread worth it.

I'm a HUGE fan of Cinda Williams Chima's Seven Realms series, but wasn't as big of a fan of the Heir Chronicles. The reason why she decided to add two more books that are for the most part unrelated stories (other than it takes place in the same world as the previous three) is beyond me.

The first issue is the third person POV switching. There's only two protagonists, so I was expecting a somewhat even distribution of chapters between these two characters. However, it seemed like there were way more chapters with Jonah than Emma (which made me feel like I knew less about Emma than Jonah).

The second issue is the poor character development. Emma is suppose to be a strong and independent teen with some delinquent tendencies. However, since there isn't a lot of focus on her in the book (because she didn't get as many chapters as Jonah), the author tells the reader these qualities rather than shows them through actions. Other characters (and sometimes Emma herself) say that she doesn't like going to school but emphasize how she isn't dumb (she's one of those types who doesn't think what she learns is school will be relevant to her in regular life). The reader is suppose to appreciate her spunk and how she "isn't like other girls." This character type is incredibly overused, especially in stories you'd find on Wattpad and/or on fan fiction sites. To top it off, I didn't buy her character portrayal; she seemed fake to me.

The third issue is the weak plot. This is half of a book; nothing is resolved in this book, which pretty much forces the reader to read The Sorcerer Heir if they want any kind of closure. It's not even that the book ends with a cliffhanger; when I finished the book I was thinking "This is it?!" The story just stops without any conclusion whatsoever. My theory; this story should have only taken up one book, but to make more money, it was split into two.

The fourth and final problem; the romance sucked. It was incredibly predicable and unpleasant to read. If it wasn't obvious by the general trend of YA books, the two protagonists Jonah and Emma are the couple under fire here. There's too much sexual tension between two characters who barely know each other. But sex sells so why not right? (I'm not saying there's sex scenes in this book; there aren't). I'm pretty sure most people would be put off if a guy they just met started spooning with them, but apparently that is not the case with Emma.

I almost gave this book 3 stars because I was biased toward the author. However, I was comparing it to City of Bones (by Cassandra Clare), and I realized this book might actually be WORSE.

For those of you who thought Warrior Heir (and/or the following two books) was mediocre or worse, don't waste your time with this book. If you're new to Cinda Williams Chima's books, start with the Seven Realms series instead. If you don't fall into either of those categories and you haven't read any of the Heir Chronicles books, start with Warrior Heir instead of this one and then refer back to this review after you've read it. Overall, I think it's not worth the read.

Book Blog #228: Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by Eliezer Yudkowsky

Title: Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality
Author: Eliezer Yudkowsky
# of Pages: 2007 (ebook)
Genre: Fan Fiction, Fantasy, Philosophy
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality is a work of alternate-universe Harry Potter fan-fiction wherein Petunia Evans has married an Oxford biochemistry professor and young genius Harry grows up fascinated by science and science fiction. When he finds out that he is a wizard, he tries to apply scientific principles to his study of magic, with sometimes surprising results.
Review: This is probably the best, most well-written fan fiction I've ever read.

This is not your ordinary fan fiction. It's not written by a 12 year old girl in her dark bedroom typing out her pubescent fantasies. Eliezer Yudkowsky is an AI researcher who put a playful twist on the Harry Potter story by making Harry more rational than he is in the original series. When you read HPMOR, you'll forget you're reading something that is technically clumped in the same genre as dracoxharry erotica.

I was wavering between giving HPMOR 3 stars and 4 stars (so it's actual rating is probably more like a 3.5). I loved the beginning and ending third of the book, but some plots made me lose interest in the story (and made me want to stop reading the fic in general).

One example of this would be Hermione's feminism subplot. I'm all for feminism, but the way it was portrayed was foolish and mostly useless to the rest of the story.

The second subplot I didn't enjoy was the ongoing battle between Chaos (Harry's army), Sunshine (Hermione's army), and Dragon (Draco's army). Maybe it's just my overall distaste for reading about a lot of action, but I found myself skimming a lot of those parts.

However, after I finished reading, I couldn't stop thinking about what I read. I browsed the HPMOR subreddit to fill the new void in my life (I've been slowly reading the first half of this book since January and read the second half over the last few days). I like a book that leaves me thinking, thus the additional star.

That being said, it's difficult to rate this book amongst traditionally published books. There are other factors working against it; it didn't get a run through by a professional editor (this could have helped Yudkowsky tie the subplots closer together or remove ones that are unnecessary).

It is also EXTREMELY long (this might be the nature of fan fictions as they are not constrained length-wise as ebooks). Goodreads has this book listed twice; one being one large book and the other being a series of 6 stories (the large book is broken up into 6 parts). If this were a traditionally-published work, this would be closer to how it would appear in book stores.

However, each of these 6 parts is not a self-contained story. It is best read as a whole, back to back, thus should be considered to be one book. The problem with this is 2000 pages is a huge commitment for most readers (I was reading it through the HPMOR website and was wondering why it was taking me so long to get through it). To prevent reading fatigue, this book SHOULD have somehow been broken up into multiple, self-contained parts.

Nevertheless, I would HIGHLY recommend this fan fiction to anyone who is already a fan of the Harry Potter series. Some parts of this fan fiction act as a parody of the original (which includes poking fun at it), but this is a big part of the fun of the book. Not only will it have you thinking about certain situations from the original Harry Potter books more rationally, but it will also have you laughing throughout the journey.

Book Blog #227: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Title: All the Light We Cannot See
Author: Anthony Doerr
# of Pages: 530 (paperback)
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, War
Rating: ★★★★★
Synopsis: Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel. In a mining town in Germany, Werner Pfennig, an orphan, grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find that brings them news and stories from places they have never seen or imagined. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments and is enlisted to use his talent to track down the resistance. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another.
Review: When people were raving about how good this book is, I didn't quite believe them.

What caught my attention first was the cover. It's stunning aerial view of the city (what I believe is Saint-Malo, the story's setting) with such a mysterious title largely printed across the sky. I only saw this book because it was nominated for The Best of the Best Goodreads awards (where it ended up placing second). If this book is one of the best of the best, it must be worth reading.

The cashier at the bookstore I bought it from said I would be crying throughout the whole book. This is not entirely accurate. I didn't cry at all. There are some occurrences which may warrant tears, but many of such events are not presented in such a way that would incite it. While this book did not emotionally ruin me, it didn't stop me from loving the story.

Set during World War II, All the Light We Cannot See tells the story of two children on opposite sides of the war in parallel. Both children are born into the conflict and neither have a strong desire to be involved in the war. However, circumstance brings the war to them and leaves them behind in its destruction. Their struggle to live their own lives is gripping and harrowing, making this book a real page turner.

This book is completely comprised of third person POV switching. Yes, there were a lot of times where I wanted the story to switch its focus to a different character at times (this is the usual problem I have with POV switching). However, to tell these stories in parallel, POV is essential. Also, many of the chapters are fairly short, so I never felt like I was "stuck" with one character for too long.

A bigger problem I noticed people complaining about is the time period switching. The book switches between 1944 ("present day" setting for this book) and the character's pasts (ten-ish years prior) in chunks. However, I did not find this confusing at all mostly because the chunks in 1944 progressed rather slowly (only a few days at most). The story of the protagonist's pasts comprised the main part of the story, with the occasional check-in with the characters in 1944. The story wouldn't be as interesting if it were to not have with time-period-switching element; the characters' pasts slowly reveal how the characters found themselves in the situation they're in during 1944.

Is this a happy read? No. But life is not always full of daisies and roses. Is this book worth reading? Absolutely. 

Book Blog #226: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Six of Crows
Author: Leigh Bardugo
# of Pages: 621 (ebook)
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Adventure
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price–and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone… A convict with a thirst for revenge. A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager. A runaway with a privileged past. A spy known as the Wraith. A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.
Review: I wish I read Six of Crows closer to when I read Shadow and Bone.

What everyone says is definitely true; you do not have to read the Grisha trilogy to read the Six of Crows duology. However, since they take place in the same universe, it would have been nice to start the book having already experienced the world building (so I could concentrate on getting to know the characters instead). Also, I would have liked to compare this book with Shadow and Bone; everyone seems to believe Six of Crows is worlds better, but I can't remember it well enough to make a fair comparison (I wouldn't be able to tell you if the four stars I'm giving this book right now is actually four stars or more like the 3.5 stars I gave Shadow and Bone).

I did not think I was going to like this book. The first chapter had me hooked, but it should have been labelled as the book's prologue instead because the characters don't really appear again in the rest of the book. The second chapter, on the other hand, was extremely confusing; not only is the reader just thrown into the world without any background, but there are a bunch of new characters who are introduced all at once. This is a risky choice; I bet there were a handful of readers who were put off from the book after reading this second chapter.

The following chapters were much better. This is definitely one of those books that gets better as you read. Something I noticed right away was something I also dread: POV switching. If it was first person POV switching, I might not have read the book at all. However, by the end of the book I found  I was pleasantly surprised. There are many authors who mess this up. What I usually don't like about it is how POVs tend to overlap (the book might be thick, but it's actually covering the same time period from multiple perspectives). However, Bardugo doesn't do this. Sure, every once in a while some of the POVs overlap. But for the most part, one POV picks up from where the other left off. If each chapter wasn't labelled with a different character, Six of Crows could have been a book told in third person (I wouldn't have labelled it as a book with multiple POVs as I distastefully do with so many others).

There was such a distinct cast of characters in this book. Although not all of them are explicitly together, the pairings are obvious.

Kaz and Inej: The "protagonist couple." Bardugo makes sure the hints are obvious. Although they don't get together at the end of the book, Kaz's not-so-hidden affection for Inej is the reason why there's a second book. Six of Crows delved deep into both of their backstories, but for some reason I feel like I know more about Kaz than I do about Inej. Since Inej is the quiet "spider" type, I always picture Inej to be younger than she is, and I'm never quite able to picture correctly in my head. Yes it makes sense that she has an acrobatic background, but personality-wise, I don't know what to think of her. Hopefully her character and her relationship with Kaz is more fully developed in the second book.

Matthias and Nina: The "second couple syndrome" couple. Every story with a lot of characters seems to have one (see Finnick and Annie in Hunger Games and Seo Dae-Young and Yoon Myeong-Joo in the k-drama Descendants of the Sun). This relationship is the only one that is truly "a thing" by the end of the book. What I love about their relationship is how solid it is; they've already fought (about some pretty serious topics too) and yet their love for each other is still as strong as ever. If this couple has survived each others' "betrayals," this couple can survive anything.

Jesper and Wylan: The "closeted gay" couple. Of course the author is not going to introduce these characters as LGBTQ+; she's going to ease these characters into the plot and make the reader wonder what their purpose is before the slow reveal that they're meant for each other. It's so subtle, some readers may miss it entirely (and for this book's conservative readers, it can be ignored entirely...for now). But the chemistry between these two characters is definitely there, even if they're not sure what their relationship is themselves. For example:
1. Wylan tells Jesper he's doesn't like a lot of things, but he likes math, numbers, and equations. Jesper then replies,

"If only you could talk to girls in equations." There was a long silence, and then, eyes trained on the notch they'd created in the link, Wylan said, "Just girls?" Jesper restrained a grin. "No, Not just girls."

If that isn't flirting, I don't know what is.

2. Wylan has been transformed to look like the Kuwei, and Jesper is upset because he might not be able to change back. Wylen asks,

"Why does it matter?" "I don't know!" Jesper said angrily. "Maybe I liked your stupid face."

Jesper doesn't even understand his own feelings. Hopefully Wylan will help him with that in the next book.

Would I read this book again? Probably not; I had a very entertaining read, but I don't think I need to read this book again. Would I read the second book? I'd be willing to give it a shot; I want to know what happens to these characters? Would I recommend this book to someone else? Yes and no. Six of Crows reads very much like a young adult novel to me (although it's story is unique, it still contains the same-old hints of romance and standard dramatic structure), so if you are interested in reading an interesting YA book, this is for you.

Book Blog #225: Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

Title: Kitchen Confidential
Author: Anthony Bourdain
# of Pages: 321 (ebook)
Genre: Nonfiction, Food, Autobiography
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis: After twenty-five years of 'sex, drugs, bad behavior and haute cuisine', chef and novelist Anthony Bourdain has decided to tell all. From his first oyster in the Gironde to his lowly position as a dishwasher in a honky-tonk fish restaurant in Provincetown; from the kitchen of the Rainbow Room atop the Rockefeller Center to drug dealers in the East Village, from Tokyo to Paris and back to New York again, Bourdain's tales of the kitchen are as passionate as they are unpredictable, as shocking as they are funny.
Review: I took way too long to finish this book.

Since I didn't know much about Anthony Bourdain before he committed suicide, I wanted to take the time to understand the grief people were feeling over the loss of this well-respect figure in the culinary world.

Bourdain was a much better writer than I was expecting. There are many people outside of the literary world (I'm looking at you Youtube authors) who were not meant to write novels and merely do so because they have the platform to do so. However, Bourdain did write for the sake of saying he wrote a book; he actually has experiences and knowledge that are worth sharing, and he can actually WRITE.

Although his crazy tales of what happens behind the scenes at restaurants began to blend together (I never truly understood all of the lingo), I found the beginning half of the book to be incredibly relatable. Most notably, I liked the chapter called "What do you know about meat?" (anyone who has had some cringe-y interview experiences will be able to relate to this chapter).

However the latter half of the book, especially the last chapter, is best appreciated by those with culinary experience. He even goes as far as to give tips to the reader on how to succeed in the restaurant business (some advice I will probably never use, but others may find extremely helpful). While I love reading about food, I found that I was unable to appreciate the dishes he talked about with such passion. I'm no food critic; one chef's beef bourguignon is the same as the next's as long as they are half decent at cooking. But I'm sure the admiration Bourdain expressed in his book over the way Adam cooked his bread and Bryan ran his kitchen will be appreciated by someone.

My perception of the restaurant industry has completely changed and not necessarily for the better. From Bourdain's perspective, what I once perceived as a classy operation (something along the lines of what you'd see in the movie Ratatouille) is more like a pirate operation (rough working conditions, crude conversation, etc.).

This book was a decent read; I definitely don't regret reading it at all. However, if you are not interested at all in the culinary business, I would hold off on reading it; you'll lose interest fairly quickly. On the other hand, if you have some background in the business then you'll probably be fairly interested in this book.