'Real' Books

Flower by Christopher Beane and Anthony Janson is a real knock out! Beane's spectacular and innovative macro photography took my breath away and has me eager for peony season (and a super macro lens . . . maybe someday.)

High on the Hog is a thoughtful and charming look at African-American cooking and its various influences. It's more than that, of course -- a whole social history emerges  in these pages.

The title comes from the custom of slave owners and later employers giving their servants the lesser bits of the pig - tail, ears, feet -- in return for hard labor at pig-killing time. When eventually the ex-slaves could raise their own pork, they could eat chops, and hams, and best of all, tenderloins -- located high on the hog!

Life, Money, and Illusion is a book I heard about somewhere  (NPR?) and was convinced I needed to read. I'll report on it later. But what a great cover!