Oooh, That's Sharp!

The lone entry on my 2008 Christmas list was a Global 24-cm chef's knife, and I was lucky enough to get it. I have to say, it is not like any other knife I've ever used. I'm just getting interested in cooking, really, and I don't have much experience -- this is my first real chef's knife. I now have all kinds of respect for Japanese steel. This knife's job is to part matter, and it does it incredibly well. And it does it without prejudice, happily parting human flesh along with anything else that gets in its way. You may surmise, and correctly, that I found this out the hard way. My chef's knife is like a lightsaber, and I guess "Slater" is not a Jedi name.

The Good Thief

Just finished reading The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti, on my Kindle. A terrific book, I thought. An adventure story full of action, mystery, likable rogues, pretty nasty villains, and some imagery that I think will stay with me forever. Every single character was flawed, as all of us are, but it was easy to like the good guys and hope that they found what they were looking for. Read, and enjoy!

Letters of Mozart

Another book I read on my Kindle over my break was The Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Vol. I. Turns out that for all his genius Mozart was a real guy, who caught colds and got in trouble from his dad and sometimes failed in doing the things we know him for today, almost 220 years after his death. A fun read -- I'm going to look for Vol. II.

Flood

While I was in California for the Holidays, I read the thriller Flood, by Andrew Vachss, on my Kindle, and was duly thrilled. I believe it was a free download, and boy was it ever worth the price. Nicely done for a first novel, maybe due at least in part to some of the author's real-life experience. I found it to be pretty engrossing throughout, although there was a sort of Gilligan's Island Reunion part toward the end that I found to be a little unlikely, where most of the characters (each of whom is a loner and a misfit in their own ways) get together to do a job. Enjoy!