Reading Wednesday
Jan. 22nd, 2014 02:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brigdhWhat did you just finish?
Much less than last week, thankfully.
Planet India: The Turbulent Rise of the Largest Democracy and the Future of Our World by Mira Kamdar. Ugh, this book was so boring; it took me forever to finish it. The genre of contemporary issues/political science/news articles-in-book format tends not to produce a lot of page-turners, but this one was particularly bad. It's another of those books (of which I have read many) that attempts to capture a picture of 'modern India', good and bad; Planet India leans very heavily to the 'good' side, probably due to the research all having taken place in 2005-6, pre-Global Recession. On the one hand, it focuses a great deal on India-US interactions, which I am interested in for obvious reason. Most books like this pay greater attention to India-UK connections, which of course makes sense, but I'm not above wanting to read about myself. On the other hand, I have now read enough statistics on the growth rates of India's agriculture in 1990 vs 2000, or imports vs exports, or that Reliance made $5 billion in 2005, but is projected to make $6 billion in 2006, etc, etc, than I have ever wanted to do. If you're interested in the topic, there are better books.
Ice Cream: A Global History by Laura B. Weiss. Nonfiction. This was much less of a 'global' history than the title promised, focusing mostly on the US, the UK, and France. Also, most of the book was far more concerned with particular companies (though my one true love, Jeni's Ice Cream, did not get mentioned) or inventions of new machines to make ice cream, instead of focusing on the delicious food porn that any ice cream book should embrace. Ah, well. There were some interesting facts: that the triumvirate of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry didn't actually become established until around 1900 (chocolate and vanilla being obscure New World flavors earlier), and that cookbooks from the 1600s and 1700s are full of very modern-sounding flavors like eggplant, brown bread, and jasmine. That sundaes were probably invented as an "ice cream soda without the soda"- just ice cream and syrup. That ice cream sodas themselves were a) originally thought of as a health tonic, and b) given a huge boost in popularity by Prohibition. Interesting and short, but could have been more.
What are you currently reading?
Wife by Bharati Mukherjee. A novel about a young woman in 1970s Calcutta.
Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold. Finally getting back to this series. Miles! Ekaterin! Bel!
Much less than last week, thankfully.
Planet India: The Turbulent Rise of the Largest Democracy and the Future of Our World by Mira Kamdar. Ugh, this book was so boring; it took me forever to finish it. The genre of contemporary issues/political science/news articles-in-book format tends not to produce a lot of page-turners, but this one was particularly bad. It's another of those books (of which I have read many) that attempts to capture a picture of 'modern India', good and bad; Planet India leans very heavily to the 'good' side, probably due to the research all having taken place in 2005-6, pre-Global Recession. On the one hand, it focuses a great deal on India-US interactions, which I am interested in for obvious reason. Most books like this pay greater attention to India-UK connections, which of course makes sense, but I'm not above wanting to read about myself. On the other hand, I have now read enough statistics on the growth rates of India's agriculture in 1990 vs 2000, or imports vs exports, or that Reliance made $5 billion in 2005, but is projected to make $6 billion in 2006, etc, etc, than I have ever wanted to do. If you're interested in the topic, there are better books.
Ice Cream: A Global History by Laura B. Weiss. Nonfiction. This was much less of a 'global' history than the title promised, focusing mostly on the US, the UK, and France. Also, most of the book was far more concerned with particular companies (though my one true love, Jeni's Ice Cream, did not get mentioned) or inventions of new machines to make ice cream, instead of focusing on the delicious food porn that any ice cream book should embrace. Ah, well. There were some interesting facts: that the triumvirate of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry didn't actually become established until around 1900 (chocolate and vanilla being obscure New World flavors earlier), and that cookbooks from the 1600s and 1700s are full of very modern-sounding flavors like eggplant, brown bread, and jasmine. That sundaes were probably invented as an "ice cream soda without the soda"- just ice cream and syrup. That ice cream sodas themselves were a) originally thought of as a health tonic, and b) given a huge boost in popularity by Prohibition. Interesting and short, but could have been more.
What are you currently reading?
Wife by Bharati Mukherjee. A novel about a young woman in 1970s Calcutta.
Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold. Finally getting back to this series. Miles! Ekaterin! Bel!
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no subject
Date: 2014-01-22 07:59 pm (UTC)Eggplant ice cream! *contemplates*
Yay for more Vorkosiverse!
no subject
Date: 2014-01-22 08:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-23 02:43 am (UTC)This reminds me of how I always forget that the Colombian exchange was something that happened. I love medieval history. But even with that interest it's hard to imagine just how much five hundred years has affected our (my) perception of what each place is supposed to be like, and have--potatoes being a new world thing, or tomatoes. Chocolate seems to have retained a connection to "originally from New World" in the general consciousness, but a lot of foods haven't and have become shorthand for other cultures (eg tomatos and pasta). It's kind of fascinating to me how what we see as "just how things are" change.
My favourite flavour is mint and chocolate! :D Then vanilla. I just really love mint and chocolate combos.
no subject
Date: 2014-01-23 08:19 pm (UTC)Mint and chocolate is also a big favorite of mine! Though I don't think I could choose just one favorite; it depends on what mood I'm in. I'm also a big fan of spicy chocolates (often called "Mexican chocolate" or "Aztec chocolate", or something like that, usually a mix of chocolate, red pepper, and sometimes cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, etc) too.
no subject
Date: 2014-01-24 12:41 am (UTC)Oh, yeah, those are good too!
no subject
Date: 2014-01-24 03:27 am (UTC)