Zinfandel, A History of a Grape and its Wine by Charles L. Sullivan.

I opened exactly 2 bottles of Zin in the last 12 months and found this to be a lot of fun. If you're a Zin lover, this book is a must read.

PH

Hungry Ghosts, Mao's Secret Famine, by Jasper Becker.

Tuscany and Its Wines, Hugh Johnson.

Any guess what I'm drinking today?

I'm plowing through a Hugh Johnson book now, too (A Life Uncorked). I enjoy his writing a lot.

Also half-way through:
---A Hedonist in the Cellar: Adventures in Wine by Jay Mcinerney

---Guests of the Ayatollah: The Iran Hostage Crisis: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam by Mark Bowden

---Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence

House of Mondavi

Just started it, but so far its a pretty good read.

Just finished reading The Rum Diary by Hunter Thompson. Easily my favorite H.T. book.

Currently I am reading Ask and It Is Given by Esther and Jerry Hicks. But to continue on this spiritual quest I have embarked on this summer, I want to start reading this book called Nine Ways to Cross a River, by Akiko Busch. It was featured in More magazine last month, and it looks so interesting. I guess the author, having crossed various rivers, meditates on the many ways tough crossings strengthen us. Deep. I love it.

Metamorphoses
by William G. Anlyan

Recently completed:

Paul Shirley - Can I Keep My Jersey - Life of a Vagobond Basketball . . .

Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury - as part of my masochistic Faulkner retrospective.

Next up Light in August

The newspaper. Just can't get into reading off a damn computer screen for too long.

PH

Bush Country - John Podhoretz. Finished

Robert Novak "Price of Darkness". 1/2 way through. For a political junkie like myself, a fabulous read. Great inside dope covering over 40 years.

Funniest part of the book is actually a picture caption. Dan Quayle signing a photo to Novak writing "To Bob Novack" - misspelling his name. Novak writes under the photo: "....validating that he was not first in his class in spelling". Couldn't he just ask someone how to spell the #1 syndicated columnist in the country how he spells his name before giving him a personalized photo?...while VP. How lazy.


I supported Quayle and agree with most of his values, but I have to admit 20 years later maybe the media wasn't so hard on him

The Coming Collapse of China by Gordon Chang.

Hunter, I see the Prince of Darkness quite a bit in DC. He drives a Corvette. Pretty cool.

Kitchen Confidential - Bourdain

Nasty Bits is next

James Baker - Work Hard, Study and Keep Out of Politics

Black Swan by Nassim Taleb

liking it better than fooled by randomness.

LOTR, for about the fifth time. Just about to finish Fellowship. . .

Just finished

The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien

Tom Peters "Essential Leadership"

"Wonderful Tonight" by Pattie Boyd (aka Layla) light, fluff reading on a plane!

KarenT
www.jeanedwardscellars.com

Caesar - Christian Meier

Just picked up an autobiography of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. entitled, The Salad Days. Pretty good so far.

Champagne, by Kladstrup.

Just finished Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert. Attraversiamo. I already speak Spanish (poorly), and had been planning to next study French. But, I think Ms. Gilbert has swayed me toward Italian…

Can’t decide which of these three to begin next:

• Bridge of Sighs, Richard Russo. Empire Falls is on my top ten fav list, so I hesitate b/c my expectations may be too high…
  
• One Drop, Bliss Broyard
  
• The Bad Girl, Mario Vargas Llosa

Reagan Diaries - By Ronald Reagan of course...

"Peace through strength"
"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall"

The Siege of Mecca by Yaroslav Trofimov.

Amazing story of a well buried incident that was critical in the ascent of radical Islam and Wahabbism in Sauda Arabia and a precursor to many of the woes we face in that region right now. Amazing stuff.

PH