You're Essentially a Traitor, According to Anthony Bourdain, Unless You've Read These Books
Between publishing Anthony Bourdain books (an imprint of Ecco Press), the vast collection of book forewords he has written, and whatever book he's currently Instagramming, Anthony Bourdain has a ton of titles he wants you to read. But he's not going to always encourage you in the nicest way. In fact, if you aren't reading what Anthony is, he will unapologetically tell you to "unf*ck yourself" or that every second you aren't reading it "should feel like the ninth circle of hell" (aka the area of hell designated for traitors). Yikes! But don't you worry about a thing, because I've pulled together a reading list for you so you can enter Anthony's version of verbal paradiso.
- Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir by Padma Lakshmi
- something to food about: Exploring Creativity with Innovative Chefs by Questlove
"Food can be magic. It is magic. And yet it's not. it comes from somewhere — and from someplace and someone . . . Quest love gets to the heart of the matter. And so, here he is, getting to it."
- Rice, Noodle, Fish: Deep Travels Through Japan's Food Culture by Matt Goulding
"I don't know if you know this but I've found that if you sat at a table with eight or nine of the worlds best chefs — from France, Brazil, America, wherever — and you asked them where they'd choose if they had to eat in one, and only one country, for the rest of their lives, they would ALL of them pick Japan without hesitation. We both know why."
- You're Better Than Me: A Memoir by Bonnie McFarlane
"Some people have a unique voice . . . Others have a story. Very people have both . . . I knew, too, that if I was put on Earth to publish anyone it was Bonnie McFarlane."
- Eating Viet Nam: Dispatches From a Blue Plastic Table by Graham Holliday
"This is — and will remain — an essential account for anyone considering travel to Việt Nam. But it should be a deeply rewarding read as well for those who wont be getting that opportunity anytime soon."
- My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals / Portraits, Interviews, and Recipes by Melanie Dunea
"And yet, when we ask ourselves and each other the question, what — if strapped to a chair, facing a fatal surge of electricity — would we want as that last taste of life, we seem to crave reminders of simpler, harder times. A crust of bread and butter . . . Poor-people food."