Other books that might interest you

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  The Dish - The Story of One...

  Andrew Friedman

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  “A thorough, lively work of on-the-ground reportage. ... Friedman shares a remarkable story."" —Wall Street Journal 
  Acclaimed “chef writer” Andrew Friedman introduces readers to all the people and processes that come together in a single restaurant dish, creating an entertaining, vivid snapshot of the contemporary restaurant community, modern farming industry, and food-supply chain.  
  On a typical evening, in a contemporary American restaurant, a table orders their dinner from a server. It’s an exchange that happens dozens, or hundreds, of times a night—the core transaction that keeps the place churning. In this book, acclaimed chef writer Andrew Friedman slows down time to focus on a single dish at Chicago’s Wherewithall restaurant, following its production and provenances via real-time kitchen and in-the-field reportage, from the moment the order is placed to when the finished dish is delivered to the table. 
  As various components of this one dish are prepared by the kitchen team, Friedman introduces readers to the players responsible for producing it, from the chefs who conceived the dish and manage the kitchen, to the line cooks and sous chefs who carry out the actual cooking, and the dishwashers who keep pace with the dining room. 
  Readers will also meet the producers, farmers, and ranchers, who supply the restaurant, as Friedman visits each stop in the supply chain and profiles the key characters whose expertise and effort play essential roles in making the dish possible—they will walk rows of crops that line Midwestern farms, feel the chill of the cooler where beef dry-ages, harvest grapes at a Michigan winery, ride along with a delivery-truck driver, and hear the immigration sagas prevalent amongst often unseen and unheralded farm and restaurant workers. 
  The Dish is a rollicking ride inside every aspect of a restaurant dish. Both a fascinating window onto our food systems, and a celebration of the unsung heroes of restaurants and the collaborative nature of professional kitchen work, The Dish will ensure that readers never look at any restaurant meal the same way again.  
  ""Masterful. ... Friedman excels at bringing the dining room to boisterous life with vivid, telling details. ... This will sate gastronomes and casual foodies alike."" — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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  Earwitness - A Search for Sonic...

  Ed Garland

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  In his twenties, Ed Garland came close to suicide but later discovered reading to help him cope with hearing loss and tinnitus. In this unique blend of memoir and literary criticism, right at the cutting edge of research drawing on both the literary and the medical worlds, the author reveals his own journey – through music then fiction – towards an understanding of sonic loss and, ultimately, towards healing. A genre-busting mix of literary criticism, sound studies and memoir, the essays explore what fictional sonic experiences can tell us about sound in everyday life. Written with humorous honesty about the ups and downs – mostly downs – of a young man's mental health, this is a thoughtful and original exploration of recovey, and of literature's ability to challenge preconceptions.
  The English-language fiction classics of Wales explored include the work of Margiad Evans, Bernice Rubens, and Deborah Kay Davies. The international titles are by Annie Proulx and Samuel Beckett. Earwitness amplifies the rich connections between literature, auditory perception and mental wellbeing.

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  Social Class and Mobility -...

  Fred Grandsen

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  Social class and mobility are central concepts in understanding how societies function and evolve. The classification of individuals into different social classes based on income, occupation, education, and wealth shapes life experiences, opportunities, and access to resources. At the same time, social mobility—the ability of individuals or groups to move within a social hierarchy—determines whether societies remain rigidly stratified or allow for upward and downward movement. These dynamics influence economic stability, political structures, and cultural identities, making the study of social class and mobility essential for comprehending broader social patterns. 
  Social class is typically divided into broad categories such as the upper class, middle class, working class, and lower class. Each class has distinct characteristics that define access to wealth, education, job opportunities, and social networks. For example, the upper class often benefits from inherited wealth and exclusive professional opportunities, while the working and lower classes may experience financial instability and limited career advancement. These disparities create divisions that influence daily life, from the quality of healthcare received to the neighborhoods people can afford to live in. 
  Social mobility refers to changes in an individual’s or family’s social position over time. Mobility can be upward, where individuals improve their socioeconomic status, or downward, where they experience a decline. It can also be intergenerational, occurring across multiple generations, or intragenerational, happening within an individual’s lifetime. Various factors influence mobility, including education, economic conditions, public policies, and structural barriers such as discrimination or unequal access to opportunities.

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  The Book of Grief and Hamburgers

  Stuart Ross

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  A poignant meditation on mortality from a beloved Canadian poet
  		 
  A writer friend once pointed out that whenever Stuart Ross got close to something heavy and “real” in a poem, a hamburger would inevitably appear for comic relief. In this hybrid essay/memoir/poetic meditation, Ross shoves aside the heaping plate of burgers to wrestle with what it means to grieve the people one loves and what it means to go on living in the face of an enormous accumulation of loss. Written during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, shortly after the sudden death of his brother left him the last living member of his family and as a catastrophic diagnosis meant anticipating the death of his closest friend, this meditation on mortality — a kind of literary shiva — is Ross’s most personal book to date. More than a catalogue of losses, The Book of Grief and Hamburgers is a moving act of resistance against self-annihilation and a desperate attempt to embrace all that was good in his relationships with those most dear to him.

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  The Odyssey

  Homer

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  The Odyssey by Homer in the Samuel Butler translation, narrated by Michael Bronks. Follow Odysseus through treacherous seas, encounters with gods like Athena and Poseidon, and mythical creatures such as the Cyclops and Sirens. Experience the epic journey of Greek mythology, heroism, and adventure that defines The Odyssey in its full, timeless form.

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  When God Became White -...

  Grace Ji-Sun Kim, David P. Gushee

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  When Western Christians think about God, the default image that comes to mind is usually white and male. How did that happen? 
   
   
   
  Christianity is rooted in the ancient Near East among people of darker skin. But over time, European Christians cast Jesus in their own image, with art that imagined a fair-skinned Savior in the style of imperial rulers. Grace Ji-Sun Kim explores the historical origins and theological implications of how Jesus became white and God became a white male. The myth of the white male God has had a devastating effect as it enabled Christianity to have a profoundly colonialist posture across the globe. Kim examines the roots of the distortion, its harmful impact on the world, and shows what it looks like to recover the biblical reality of a nonwhite, nongendered God. Rediscovering God as Spirit leads us to a more just faith and a better church and world.

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