Review: 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

This is a curious book with a curious notion behind it: That one must read certain books in order to feel well-read. It's not enough to be a voracious reader if all we read are the latest magazines and newspapers, or the latest best-seller, or loads of junklit. This is a book which purports to be a reference to literature which has had an impact on the world, and on our collective imagination, but it omits such obvious influences as Shakespeare and The Bible without explanation of any sort. Surely these two works have had as much influence on the Western world as all the rest put together, and Shakespeare, at least, has a universal appeal which cuts across any religious lines.

A quick examination shows a volume weighted heavily towards contemporary literature. More than 700 of its 900+ pages are devoted to 20th and 21st century works. While I don't doubt that many, if not most, of these works are worth reading, I would question the notion that all have and will continue to have a great impact on world thought. While I am heartened to find works by many non-Western authors within the same two chapters, I have to wonder why so few appear in earlier chapters. I also can't help but wonder about why pre-eighteenth century literature is limited to about 20 pages, and we go from Aesop to the 19th century in about 150 pages.

I spent a couple of hours marking each book I'd already read - an occupation more amusing than useful - and discovered to my dismay that I'm not nearly as well-read as I'd hoped. At least by the standards of this book. And yet by most standards I know I am well-read. Again, curious.

In all honesty, as interesting and even useful as I find this book, I find that my objections to both inclusions and exclusions to be about equal. While the commentary is good, often fascinating, I don't see that it can make up for the weight given to contemporary and Western literature, particularly English-language works.

Review: 'wichcraft

The sandwich is a creature born of convenience, and a certain amount of negligence, a Just-slap-it-on-a-slice-of-bread-and-I'm-outta-here mentality. So when someone comes along and raises the lowly sandwich to a work of art, it's worth a look. Tom Colicchio and Sisha Ortúzar have done just that with “'wichcraft” a beautiful book that takes sandwiches to a higher level.

The book is broken down by the sort of sandwich you might want to create: Breakfast, cold sandwiches which are particularly well-suited for lunches, and hot sandwiches which are heartier. There is also a section on sweet sandwiches which range from sandwich cookies to towers built of cake slices, ice cream and fruit. While there are some familiar sandwiches such as BLTs, most are either new takes on other dishes such as Salad Lyonnaise or very new concoctions such as the beer-braised beef short ribs with pickled vegetables, sharp cheddar and horseradish. There are also sections on sandwich information: The history of the sandwich, good sandwich architecture and so forth. There is even a section on the sandwich as a meal, and how less is more when it comes to piling the food on the plate. Excellent advice.

If I have a problem with this book, it's a minor one, but still worth discussing. Many of the sandwiches require a number of special ingredients. Now granted you can make many of these yourself; the recipes are included. But it almost pre-supposes that you're cooking for more than one or two people. And leftovers are often good for a week, which means you'll either be eating the same sandwich all week, or throwing a lot of relishes and garnishes out. I don't think this will keep many people from creating the sandwiches in the book, but it might mean they'll make them less often, or substitute other ingredients.

On the whole, though, I think that if you're a sandwich lover as I am, this book will set you to imagining all the amazing sandwiches you might whip up. It might provoke you to entertain more!