Medium Raw

Anthony Bourdain; Medium Raw (Harper Collins; 2010; ISBN 978-0-06-171894-6; cover photography by Melanie Dunea).

This book is billed (in some venues) as a sequel to Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, but I keep having the sneaking suspicion that the "chapters" are less a unified book than a series of re-billed individual articles and the occasional transcript of a verbal discussion.

This is not to say that I did not enjoy the book: when Bourdain is good, he is very good (on the other hand, there seem to be a required number of curse words for each chapter, and some of the chapters are more uneven than others); it is just that the book did not feel like a well-crafted multi-course meal. Approach it as a series of essays, pick it open and open it at random and you'll get as much (more?) out of it than a linear approach.

I'm not sure if I'd want Bourdain in my kitchen. But I'd love to tour a town or country with him.

Made up of: The Sit Down; Selling Out; The Happy Ending; The Rich Eat Differently Than You and Me; I Drink Alone; So You Wanna Be a Chef; Virtue; The Fear; Lust; Meat; Lower Education; I'm Dancing; "Go Ask Alice";
Heroes and Villans; Alan Richman Is a Douchebag; "I Lost on Top Chef"; "It's Not You, It's Me"; The Fury; My Aim is True; The Fish-on-Monday Thing; Still Here.

Counts as 21 entries in the 2010 Year in Shorts.

FTC Disclaimer: This book was 100% a gift. From my wife, who purchased it. Take that, FTC!