Tasty Tomes (and the new nook!)

I had no sooner stepped into the house and I was surrounded by a heavenly aroma emanating from the kitchen. Keith had been slow-roasting tomatoes and peppers from our garden for three hours with olive oil and Italian seasoning. We'll be using these for some homemade pizza tomorrow night. Stay tuned...

The last couple of days have been all about my beloved book world. Sunday, Jim Brickman performed at my Barnes and Noble, grand piano and all, in our second-floor solarium. I missed it as I was working for the hotel but by all accounts it was superb.

The big announcement today was Barnes and Nobles entry into the e-reader world. The company introduced the nook which at first glance appears to be all kinds of awesome. The nook can hold up to 17,500 books, has a sleek design with touchscreen and includes the ability to even lend others an e-book. You can pre-order now(and Keith did) and we will sell them in stores as well. I have mixed feelings about e-readers as I love the printed page but the nook does seem quite cool. Take a closer look at www.bn.com.

I recently finished John DeLucie's book about his colorful life and behind-the-scenes peek at the renowned Waverly Inn in NYC where DeLucie is executive chef. It was a good read and a titillating glimpse into Graydon Carter's world. Mr. Carter is the editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair as well as the owner of the Waverly Inn and thus the restaurant is quite the celeb magnet.

I'm presently reading Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. It's an eye-opening read so far and I'll talk more about it when I've finished it. I can say that if Mr. Boudain cooks as well as he writes(and by all accounts, he does), he must be a fierce, passionate chef. I'm already looking forward to reading the Nasty Bits.

Completely unrelated to food is a children's book called Nubs: The Story of a Mutt, a Marine and a Miracle. This book tore my heart out. It's about two heroes and an unforgettable friendship between this soldier and a dog named Nubs. I can't say anymore other than to wish gourmet meals for Nubs for the rest of his life.

I must say that as a voracious reader that I will continue to talk about books occasionally. I defer the expertise, however, to my good friend Charlotte who was an invaluable resource in helping me create this blog. Char has a particularly awesome book blog called Charlotte's Web of Books. Check it out.