2. Aphrodite, by Isabel Allende

[lady-jem.livejournal.com]

Isabel Allende's part-memoir, part-cookbook, part-lots-of-other-things Aphrodite is a delightful rambling study of aphrodisiac food and drink throughout history and around the world.  It is charming, witty, thought-provoking, and just a really fun read.  It made me feel like I was sitting in the kitchen with Allende listening to her tell stories while she cooked up a batch of her favorite never-fail-make-up-with-an-angry-lover soup...the recipes are scattered throughout the book, with a collection of them at the end, and she slips between anecdote and history easily.

Allende's work has always intimidated me; but this is a wonderful introduction to her voice!

(next, for something completely different: An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina--the "Hotel Rwanda" guy who saved more than 1200 Tutsis during the Rwandan genocide.)