Publisher Weekly Best Books of the Year 2008: Lifestyle

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“May you live in interesting times” is a quote commonly attributed to Confucius, probably erroneously, but Robert F. Kennedy did use it in a speech in 1966, adding a rueful twist: “Like it or not, we live in interesting times....” Regardless of your thinking on these current times, they are certainly anything but boring, and we feel the same about the books published this year.

Once again, we take the opportunity near year's end to review the year in books, highlighting the very best of what American publishing had to offer in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, comics, religion, lifestyle and children's. There were the authors we expected to deliver, and they did: Louise Erdrich with The Plague of Doves, Richard Price with Lush Life, Jhumpa Lahiri with Unaccustomed Earth, Lydia Millet with How the Dead Dream. A breakthrough surprise about cricket, Netherland by Joseph O'Neill, delighted us, while Tim Winton's Breath took ours away. We listened to our elders in How to Live: A Search for Wisdom from Old People; thought about our planet with The Soul of the Rhino; examined our history in The Hemingses of Monticello and Abraham Lincoln: A Life; and, thanks to Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw, we even considered Jesus for President.

1. Made In Spain: Spanish Dishes For The American Kitchen By José Andrés
   
   
   (food and cooking)
   
   "Andrés brings everyday Spanish cooking to the American table in a collection that will appeal to both cooks new to Spanish cooking and experts. "
   
   


2. Italian Grill By Mario Batali
   
   
   (food and cooking)
   
   "The latest from veteran cookbook author and restaurateur Batali contains enough ingenious, imaginative riffs to keep even the most seasoned of grillmasters experimenting; an essential collection for any serious backyard cook."
   
   


3. How To Cook Everything: 2000 Simple Recipes For Great Food By Mark Bittman
   
   
   (food and cooking)
   
   "Ten years have brought many changes to the U.S. culinary landscape, and Bittman's new edition of his contemporary classic reflects that. Whether the first edition is on their shelves or not, home cooks of all skill levels will want to get this one."
   
   


4. Urban Italian: Recipes And True Stories From A Life In Food By Andrew Carmellini
   
   
   (food and cooking)
   
   "In one of the more creative yet accessible Italian cookbooks to come along, New York chef Carmellini presents spectacular recipes while opening a window onto his life with food. "
   
   


5. Bakewise: The Hows And Whys Of Successful Baking By Shirley O. Corriher
   
   
   (food and cooking)
   
   "James Beard Award–winner Corriher offers a no-nonsense approach to cakes, muffins, breads and cookies, showing that baking is, above all things, a science. "
   
   


6. Fish Without A Doubt: The Cook's Essential Companion By Rick Moonen And Roy Finamore
   
   
   (food and cooking)
   
   "Moonen shares his expertise—from how to shop for fish to how to clean it and how to cook it—in this essential cookbook for home chefs. "
   
   


7. No-nonsense Guide To Menopause By Barbara Seaman And Laura Eldridge
   
   
   (health)
   
   "Seaman (who died this year) and Eldridge articulate the myths, controversies, statistics, economics and prevailing protocols that feed continued confusion regarding women's health during what the authors see as an overmedicalized but profoundly natural experience. "
   
   


8. Eat Me: The Food And Philosophy Of Kenny Shopsin By Kenny Shopsin And Carolynn Carreño
   
   
   (food and cooking)
   
   "Shopsin hates publicity the way a magnet must hate metal filings, but this supposedly reluctant restaurateur now adds to his own legend by releasing a totally hilarious and surprisingly touching treatise on cooking, customer loyalty and family bonds. "
   
   


9. A Platter Of Figs: And Other Recipes By David Tanis
   
   
   (food and cooking)
   
   "Both a meditation on the powerful rites of cooking and serving a meal and a gentle but serious education in doing both, this book by the part-time head chef at Berkeley's Chez Panisse is an impressive ode to the simple beauty of food. "
   
   


10. Self-esteem Trap: Raising Confident And Compassionate Kids In An Age Of Self-importance By Polly Young-eisendrath
    
    
    (health, self-help, parenting)
    
    "Young-Eisendrath identifies a “threatening and perplexing problem” she calls the self-esteem trap, and encourages overbearing parents to let kids develop autonomy and experience the consequences of their decisions. "
    
    


Source:
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