New category for old work

I've just created a new category for this blog: Journalism. [NB: from 03/06 the "Articles" topic] It's a repository for the longer bits of writing I've had published in recent years, and which I think its worth making available on the net as a resource. The pieces are quite long - several thousand words each - but if you have any interest in some of the things we're growing at Limestone Hills, climate change, or terroir, they're worth dipping in to. Because these pieces are not blog items as such, they won't appear on the front page. Just click on the Journalism link in the sidebar. Eventually I'll be adding something like Picosearch to the site, which will help in finding things not published on the front page or in the archives.

Sunday, April 3, 2005 12:00 am (permalink)

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The Truffle Book

Winner of the Special Jury Award at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. "Absolutely rivetting" - a well-known prince. Available as softback, limited edition hardback, and PDF. Free sample PDF.

Full text searchable in Google Book Search.

topics

current reading

It's taking me far too long to read this. I have been a fan of Pynchon since reading Gravity's Rainbow as a student. Against The Day strikes me as one of his most approachable novels, full of fantastic characters and wild invention, but I've been busy doing word things, and sometimes the last thing I want to do is read. But this is like fine wine, keeps tempting me to another glass. At 1085 pages, I'll be squiffy before I'm finished.

just read

I've read two books called Heat in the last month. One was damn scary, and one was by George Monbiot, about global warming (which has a fantastic cover). Some would say I've been and gone and had my mid-life crisis, but it didn't involve doing an apprenticeship at the altar of real Italian cuisine and a tyrannical chef. Bill Buford is not me, and for that I'm grateful. I suspect he may be too. I enjoyed it - the kitchen stuff was pretty compelling (as was the Italian butcher I may just have to visit next time I'm on Italian truffle time), but somehow the whole thing didn't hang together. I know where Bill's coming from - and I can sort of sense where he went - but his own motivation (and his family's reaction) remain mysterious.