Daily Archives: February 9, 2010

Oishinbo, Volume 6 – The Joy of Rice by Tetsu Kariya

Finally we get back to the root of what I was enjoying in some of the early volumes of this manga. In this volume we learn about Rice (surprise, surprise!). We learn what makes good rice, and bad. Why brown rice can taste so dry and tasteless. What makes a good “rice ball”. In addition to these lessons there is another showdown between Yamoaka and his father.. and to tell you the truth, I love these showdowns the most.

As always, the part of the book I’ve been enjoying the most has been in the middle, when Tetsu Kariya tells us an anecdote or gives us a short lesson on the Japanese culture. While the Japanese prefer to eat their rice separately, the Chinese prefer to shovel their rice and food into their mouths at the same time.. and yes, he does say “shovel”. He encourages this type of eating, because the flavors compliment each other so well.

I don’t know if it’s possible to develop a taste for Japanese cuisine that I’ve never tasted before by reading about it, but if it is possible I’m sure to find out soon. Within the next few months I plan on finding a nice Japanese restaurant and starting to sample some of what I’ve been reading about. You should see my pages of notes!

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Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell

I’m incredibly late to the party. I remember as a young teenager attempting to check this book out and being discouraged from it because it held some really mature themes, and I can understand now why- I wouldn’t have understood it.

When I started to work on the 1001 books to read before you die list I expected to read some good novels and a lot of novels that would bore me or I’d struggle and work my way through, because as much as I’d like to say I’d enjoy sitting down and reading books like Gone with the Wind for amusement and fun, I couldn’t honestly say that and would rather read the latest Stephanie Plum installment.

That being said I am glad I read this book. It wasn’t easy and took me the good part of four days to get through it – and that was four days of hours of interrupted reading during each day. My head hurts from attempting to decipher what Mammy and Uncle Peter would say, my heart aches for Melly, I want to smack Ashley around, love Rhett and shoot Scarlett.

While I understand the motives behind Scarlett’s actions (and while the movie had Vivien Leigh to bring charm into her character) the book makes no apologies for her being the woman that she was. And truly, the woman that she was is the only reason she and so many others survived. But it did not make me love her or even pity her.

The last 10% of the book was the most gripping for me. While I wasn’t quite moved to tears I felt the story deeply and it had a definite effect on me. If you haven’t read this book really.. take time out and read it – don’t just settle for a few hours of movie watching. The story deserves your time.

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