02.2016 Go Set A Watchman

Introduction:

Happy New Year!
To Kill A Mockingbird is an American classic and required reading for most high school freshman students. This month we read Harper Lee's most recent book, a sequel to the classic.

Overview:

"Maycomb, Alabama. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch—"Scout"—returns home from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise's homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town, and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt. Featuring many of the iconic characters from To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman perfectly captures a young woman, and a world, in painful yet necessary transition out of the illusions of the past—a journey that can only be guided by one's own conscience."

Book Details:

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Harper; First Edition edition (July 14, 2015)
ISBN-10: 0062409859
ISBN-13: 978-0062409850

Get Book: 

Amazon
Overdrive

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

Book Club #9.
Lesson: Be careful what and where you eat.

About the Book:

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

 

 Summary: 

Anthony Bourdain shares his initiation and experiences in the underbelly of the food industry as a culinary school graduate and eventually head chef. There is order and chaos in kitchen, industry secrets, and a wide variety of characters.

 

Characters:

• Anthony Bourdain
• BigFoot - mentor
• fellow workers

Questions:

1. Have you ever worked in the restaurant industry? If yes, in what capacity and was your experience reflected in the book?
2. Bourdain described his kitchen as a loud, lewd environment whereas he later visited another kitchen that was very quiet and had a woman in a higher kitchen position. Reality shows often depict head chefs as loud, angry, dictator types like Gordon Ramsey. Do you think this is a result of Bourdain, reflective of chef personalities, or simply for entertaining television? What do you think is the personality of most kitchens?

3. What do you think it takes to work in the professional food industry?
4. If you were to start a restaurant or food-related business, what would it be?

5. What advice from the book do you plan on implementing in your life? Do you plan on changing any of your dining habits after reading this book? What would you change?
6. Bourdain had a life-changing trip to Japan. Have you had a travel experience that had a great impact on your view of food or was particularly memorable for culinary reasons?

7. What did you feel was most compelling or memorable about the book? What did the author do that made it particularly memorable?

8. Anthony Bourdain describes lots of memorable characters in the book, then mentions them again at the end of the book. Who seemed most interesting to you?

9. Do you think it would be possible to succeed in the restaurant business without caffeine or drugs? They seemed like a big part of the restaurant culture.

 

Conversation Summary:

Discussion topics:

• running a kitchen and working a tough, time-sensitive industry like the culinary world takes a particular personality
• fans of bigfoot - establishing relationships with vendors, kitchen setup, efficiency
• changes to eating habits - no fish on Sunday, bread, eggs benedict
• stories from people who worked in the food industry
• signs of a bad restaurant - bathroom unclean, wide focus, changing menus, management turnover, etc.
• kitchen disasters and restaurant turnovers
• favorite food adventures and experiences
• well-written, bourdain has a easy-to-read and poetic writing style
• bourdain's media/celebrity climb

3/3 bears finished book and 3/3 loved it

References:

1. Anthony Bourdain tv shows: No Reservations, Layover, Parts Unknown