Reddit mentions: The best funny cookbooks

So ... on the one hand, there are books like Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behavior or Cultural Misunderstandings: The French-American Experience that try to tell you about all the tiny indicators of 'politeness' or 'propriety' within the scope of a particular class, register, or social scene believed to be typical and what those interactional differences look like from the point of view of an outsider or careful observer.

If those are the quirks you have in mind, I think the most important thing to say is that you shouldn't read too much into them. They're worth knowing for practical reasons, because understanding them is part of communicating effectively and getting along with others, but they're probably not coherent configurations of behavior that impart distinctive psychologies. I think that kind of thing comes from everywhere that language change also comes from: accidental drifts in collective behaviors, intentional signification of a subcultural style that gradually becomes the norm, mimicry of both individuals and groups that happen to have high status for some reason, etc.

On the other hand, you do still hear anthropologists say things like "the Pirahã do this" or "the Yanomami do that" and actually mean something about an overall cultural pattern--typically but not always in some small-scale society. And to be totally honest about it, you should doubt them. Alcida Ramos wrote a great article about how three different anthropologists have represented the Yanomami: "Reflecting on the Yanomami: Ethnographic Images and the Pursuit of the Exotic." The things that a particular society become known for have a lot to do with who is writing about them. Making an argument like "many things the Pirahã do are explained by a 'principle of the immediacy of experience'" ought to be based on a ton of verifiable evidence, and even if you believe it, you should still treat it as a shorthand theoretical construct, relevant to an extremely restricted context (in this case, around 420 people in Brazil).

Probably your question most relevant to the history of anthropology is this one: "Why are we even able to make broad based claims such as 'culture A is this' or 'culture B is that'?"

Anthropologists in the 30s-50s didn't doubt that we could, and they produced a good number of "national character studies" that tried to state something essential about the shared value orientations of large-scale societies. They were provocative but problematic. A few that you can try out for free on the internet archive are Geoffrey Gorer's Exploring English Character, G. Morris Carstairs's The Twice-Born: A Study of a Community of High-Caste Hindus, and Ruth Benedict's The Chrysanthemum and the Sword.

Just as an aside, Benedict's is probably the most famous national character study, first because of its impact/readership but perhaps more importantly because it raises fundamental questions about anthropological practice. Just googling a bit, this article by C. Douglas Lummis seems to cover issues I was aware of (e.g. that Benedict's informants were drawn from Japanese-American internment camps in the US), and it also includes a re-interview of one of Benedict's informants. And I recall this article by Joy Rohde as one that discusses the ethical dilemmas of doing work that shapes foreign policy (Benedict was writing for the Office of War Information).

Getting back to your question about making broad claims, national character studies have been challenged frequently and on numerous grounds. "Anthropology and Politics in Studies of National Character" by Federico Neiburg, Marcio Goldman, and Peter Gow includes a summary of Dante Moreira Leite's doctoral thesis that's worth quoting:
>In the book, Leite describes in detail the origins of the notion of national character, from Romanticism to the culture and personality school, analyzes the various authors who have tried to apply it to Brazilian society, and also develops a critique with three main aspects. First, from an epistemological point of view, culture and personality studies and theories of national character fail to escape from a vicious circle. Starting from empirically observed behavior in a given society, they go on to deduce what is identified as
the general pattern for that society, claiming also that this pattern is reproduced in the personalities of the society's members. This pattern is then used to explain any behavior observed among them.

>Second, from a methodological point of view, these theories and studies are inevitably marked by a confusion between the supposed deep character of a society being analyzed and the observable behavior of a small section of that society. Thus, they offer accounts of German national character when in fact they are talking only about Nazis; they imagine that they are getting at the deepest parts of being Japanese when in fact they refer only to the military who dominated Japanese politics for a certain period; they believe they have grasped the Brazilian when they only have described some rural elite.

>Finally-and this is the most important point for Leite-from a political point of view, theories of national character are no more than ideologies, in the traditional Marxist sense of the word: discourses destined to disguise reality, whether through ethnocentrism, fully compatible with the replacement of European colonialism by U.S. imperialism, or through the omission of politics, economics, or history as the genuine reasons for the differences and inequalities between societies. The result of this process is a kind of substantialization of differences, located in a tradition and at a psychological level so deep that they become almost indistinguishable from the biological rootedness of diversity which racism promoted, and from which culturalism is supposed to have distinguished itself so clearly

And Wikipedia tells me that, more recently, Terracciano A, Abdel-Khalek AM, Adám N, et al. got this published in Science:

>Most people hold beliefs about personality characteristics typical of members of their own and others' cultures. These perceptions of national character may be generalizations from personal experience, stereotypes with a “kernel of truth,” or inaccurate stereotypes. We obtained national character ratings (N = 3,989) from 49 cultures and compared them to the average personality scores of culture members assessed by observer ratings and self-reports. National character ratings were reliable, but did not converge with assessed traits (Mdn r = .04). Perceptions of national character thus appear to be unfounded stereotypes that may serve the function of maintaining a national identity.

Basically, everyone believes in stereotypes, both about other groups and about their own. A fairly common way to deal with that is to treat stereotypes as insight not into the groups they misrepresent but into how the folks who believe them think the world works. Another way to deal with it is to be really, really specific about your observations and the contexts in which you think they occur.

HAVE FUN!
Its a bit of a change from US to UK lifestyles. Go to drinks. GO! If a classmate asks you for a drink, or to the pub, just go. Its the best way to make friends.

Also join a club! Even as a grad student, (you might feel like an old person when everyone is like 18 years old) it is a great way to meet people.

Living situations are...interesting. UCL accommodation is definitely overpriced, but its a grantee of housing. I would suggest taking it for the first year, getting a feeling of where you want to live see if other people are looking (maybe one of your friends that you make at the pub will have a room open up).

Uni (not college, that's the last two years of high school for an American) is hard. Study up and go to class. You will have much more time to study, but most of your finals are in spring (even for the classes that end in December), so try to keep that information stored.

Lastly, do be afraid of the Brits. I'm not sure what your humo(u)r is like, but the Brits tend to be dry. Don't take anything they say too seriously, especially if everyone has been drinking. Don't be afraid to be sassy and sarcastic. You'll do a lot better than a fresh, green American. Lastly, look up some slang. It will help.

If you want some reading material, I would suggest [this book] (https://www.amazon.com/Watching-English-Hidden-Rules-Behavior/dp/185788616X) because it helped me get a more inside perspective on the social norms there.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. I am also an American who did a masters at UCL.

I bought a ton, and I keep going back to the Mayo Clinic book. While it has the mostly same information, I found that The Mother of All Pregnancy Books was a little less well organized.

I thought I wouldn't like it because it was un-cited fluff, but I was pleasantly surprised by the candor of the Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy. Having the two types of books back-to-back felt reassuring.

Finally, I just bought Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, and I'm really liking her approach. The first section is all natural birth stories (to counteract some of the horror stories that may be more salient in our minds) and the second section is all about the physical process of labor with her (surprisingly well-researched) tips and philosophies on how natural labor actually works. If you're low-risk and have the attitude that childbirth is a natural function (which needs obstetrical care only in extreme or unusual cases), this book is an amazing guide to labor.

I bought two for my significant other. DadLabs and Be Prepared.

Be Prepared came in first and he enjoyed it. I picked it up and flipped through it a bit. Lighthearted with just enough neat little "tips" that it makes it worth the couple bucks I spent on a nice used book. It's just kind of bathroom material now.

Then DadLabs came in. He read it cover to cover. Put bookmarks in. Highlighted stuff. He LOVED it. He isn't a big "reader" so that's saying a lot for him. I read a bit of this one too. It's practical and more serious than Be Prepared, but still fun and enjoyable to read. I also got a score on Amazon with this one, bought used, it showed up in perfect condition, and was signed by all the authors. :)

David Cohen, who was the Comcast executive named in the article, is the most influential Democrat in Philadelphia. After his stint with Bollard Spahr, he joined Ed Rendell's campaign as chief of staff. When he finished there, he took this job with Comcast. Most of the time when Obama comes to Philadelphia to do a fundraiser, it takes place at David's house.

He was once a very good man. If you have read the book, A Prayer for the City, it's that David Cohen. Here is your wiki article. Though I suggest you read the book Prayer for the City which shows the good side of David Cohen, before he began representing Comcast.

One more thing - I've had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Cohen on a few occasions. He is one of the smartest men I have ever met. He used to be great. I wish he didn't use his smarts to help Comcast get away with everything. It was so wonderful when he was a public servant. But now he's cashing in his favors and making the big bucks.

That's a broad topic. Let's see:

• Recent, still relevant baseball: The Arm by Jeff Passan. One of the best sportswriters today goes way in-depth to what's going on with pitching injuries. Fascinating read.
  
  
• Historical / Classic Reads: Roger Kahn's The Boys of Summer, about the Brooklyn Dodgers in Jackie's day. Kahn's a wonderful storyteller.
  
  
• Weird, but wonderful: Philip Roth's The Great American Novel, about the fictional Patriot League. One of these days, I want to run an OOTP sim of the league and see what happens. Completely out there, but I loved it.
  
  
• Edit: Almost forgot! The Kid Who Only Hit Homers, by Matt Christopher. First baseball book I ever read.

I've been enjoying Your Pregnancy Week by Week, but I'm told the Mayo Clinic book is even better. The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy is overly cutesy and silly, but kinda fun.

I like The Happiest Baby series for parenting. Also, I read Becoming the Parent You Want to Be.

Check out Jon Ronson! I've only read two of his books, The Psychopath Test and Lost at Sea, but they were both really good.

Here are a couple daily show interviews about the books if you want to get a feel for them. They're super entertaining. He's also had a couple segments on This American Life about similar subject matter.

On a different note, Salt is also way more interesting than it has any right to be.

There are others but oh god I really need to be studying for my exams.

I have done both.

Decide what's important to you.

Do you want total control over every aspect of the publishing process (editorial decisions, cover design, etc.), and do you want your novel to come out NOW? Are you willing to sacrifice getting your book in book stores, foreign translation rights deals, and assistance with some aspects of marketing? Then self-publish.

Do you want your book in stores? Do you want or need help with editing, cover design, etc. either because you lack the interest or time? Can you wait a few years to get through the process of finding an agent, editing your book, finding a publisher, editing your book again, then getting it into stores? Then try for traditional publishing.

Neither one is a path to instant riches. Both of them require hard work and a lot of marketing on your end. And neither one necessarily restricts you from eventually doing the other.

I self-published my Ninja Burger Handbook first, then it got traditionally published by Kensington, then I got the rights back after a time.

For my novel Blackbird, it was more important to me to go the traditional publishing route.

All depends what you want to do and when you want to do it.

I didn't want to open a debate about where some publisher is located. I just wanted to find new publishers so I have a wider selection.

I'm actually interested in buying two guides for an upcoming trip: Laos & Indonesia. I was expecting to find different publishers, so I could take a look at the most updated guide.

Here's the result of my little investigation (I don't think it's going to be too useful to anyone else, but anyway).

To be honest, it seems like there are only two good sources for both countries:

Lonely Planet
----------------
Country of origin: Australia

Headquarters: Melbourne or Tenesse (who knows)

Laos guide: Mar 2014

Indo guide: May 2013

Rough Guides
----------------
Country of origin: UK

Headquarters: London (owned by Penguin)

Laos guide: Nov 2014

Indo guide: Oct 2014

DK Eyewitness
----------------
Country of origin: UK

Headquarters: UK

Laos guide: Jan 2016

Indo guide: Feb 2010 (only Bali & Lombok)

Fodor's
----------------
Country of origin: USA

Headquarters: New York, NY

Laos guide: May 2016 (several countries)

Indo guide: They have a 2001 version (seems too old)

Let's Go
--------
Country of origin: USA

Headquarters: Cambridge, MA

Laos guide: They have a 2000 Southeast Asia guide (seems too old)

Indo guide: They have a 2000 Southeast Asia guide (seems too old)

Le Routard
----------
Country of origin: France

Headquarters: Paris

Laos guide: Aug 2015 (only in French)

Indo guide: Couldn't find it.

El País-Aguilar
---------------
(I think these are the same as DK Eyewitness but translated to Spanish (maps & drawings seem to be the same))

Country of origin: Spain

Headquarters: Madrid (owned by Penguin)

Laos guide: Feb 2012 (only in Spanish)

Indo guide: Couldn't find it.

Does Adventure Time count as fantasy? It does to me, but it may not to others.... Anyway, there are two cookbooks for Adventure Time:

Official Cookbook

Unofficial/Inspired By

Also? The same lady who did the GoT cookbook has a WoW one out, too: WoW

Finally, my favorite one: Nanny Ogg's Cookbook

1. Nothing screams France like wine, and with this book you can sip your wine, eat your cheese and grapes, smoke a long cigarette and subtly (or not-so-subtly) mock other countries. All of this serves to make you impossibly French.. and rather stereotypical. Oui oui.
   
   
2. WORD ASSOCIATION GO: broom - dust; dust - bunnies; bunnies - easter; easter - spring. And what's that in this happily jumping spring cleaner's gloved hand?? Oh yes, a broom. It's the circle of life.. I guess.
   
   
3. Fun fact: hat in Swahili is kofia. The word kofia makes me think of coffee. This item feels appropriate. Quite. (Another fun fact: I actually had to add this one to my main wishilist. Amazon is magical too)
   
   
4. ♫ Take a look, it's in a book! The reading rainboooooooooow ♫
   
   
5. Yo, I heard you like trunks, so I put some baby trunks on these baby trunks.
   
   
6. Just for you, I found an ape in a cape. No idea why the reviews are talking about phone parts.

If that was a stranger, just randomly interrupting you, he was just being obnoxious. If it was a friend, I hope you actually got to hash out what it was you meant and maybe learn a better way to conceptualize your dislike in less stark, generalizing terms.

Incidentally, my dissertation was in Indian literature, so I've got to throw in a few recommendations for you to give the region another go:

• for realism with humor, Raag Darbari by Shrilal Shukla
  
• for comedy of manners, The Windfall by Diksha Basu
  
• for short stories, Bombay Stories by Manto
  
• for brilliant poetry, Arun Kolatkar (sample poem)
  
• for (trashy, guilty-pleasure) genre fiction, check out mythological fiction by Ashok Banker or Amish Tripathi, chick lit by Anuja Chauhan, or this fun anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction.
  
• and I second the Vikram Chandra recommendation above (but I'd add Red Earth And Pouring Rain)

I was looking for a post like this. While I love basketball and football, I never really followed baseball. It just didn't seem to provide the same excitement. But after reading Phillip Roth's The Great American Novel I'm a convert. Looking forward to this season.

THIS WEEK IN SHOKUGEKI.. Shinomiya Chef gets genderbent?!

Did anyone else think that this was a real caterpillar at first? Such realistic green goop.. I'd be interested in taking a peek into that recipe book. I suppose the closest I can find to that in RL would be this.

This was quite a fun episode. The characters, their issues, and even the comic moments felt absolutely natural. Matchmaking grandparents, I swear..

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

My first thought is a riot grrl band with members who dress in a "Molly McButters" style, though that's probably unimaginatively literal.

I now realize that Molly McButters might be an obscure reference, as I have no good sense of how well that descriptor was popularized (or not). I remember seeing it in this book that I bought for a friend of mine when she was in grad school for library sciences, as it described her 25-going-on-85, skirt-and-cardigan aesthetic perfectly.

Playing for Pizza

Great book about an NFL 3rd string quarterback who blows the superbowl and plays in Italy. Can't recommend it enough

Fiction

Edit: He blows the AFC championship, not the Superbowl. Also, we know it's fiction, because the Browns were playing for the AFC title.

You're really going to have to do the work yourself if you want to learn

Written by a vet (since you hold them in such high regard)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764553186/woodhavenlabr-20

http://www.amazon.com/The-Dog-Food-Book-Weitzman/dp/0937776122/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top


I've read both of these books as well as doing online research. Here is where the dog food book recommendations came from.

Look on your bag of food. Does it clearly state that the food has been approved by the AAFCO? This agency makes sure that dog foods meet the minimum nutritional needs for a dog. If the company can't even meet the minimum standards then it is typically a crummy food.

From what I'm seeing they don't meet minimum standards "Although we could not locate AAFCO nutritional adequacy statements for these products on the Hill’s website, each product appears to be designed for a specific life stage, lifestyle, breed size or activity level."

There is so much information out there. Go out and do some research for yourself.

Modern Drunkard's Handbook. Absolutely hilarious writing by hard-drinking Denverite Frank Kelly Rich. Silly, shallow and full of horrible advice, it will make you want to perfect the week-long bender.

If you like this there is a book called Milk Eggs Vodka: Grocery Lists Lost and Found by Bill Keaggy which is literally a book full of photocopies of grocery lists people lost with commentary by Keaggy. I checked it out from my library once and it's pretty funny and enjoyable to flip through for a while.

I've been really interested in reading the updated version of Kate Fox's "Watching the English". I'm a life-long anglofile of the highest order, and I read the original version though my copy was destroyed by flooding. This copy has an extra 140 pages though, so that's pretty cool.

Thanks for the contest!

The Great American Novel
http://www.amazon.com/Great-American-Novel-Philip-Roth/dp/0679749063/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289190522&sr=8-1

Unless, of course, you're literally writing a book titled The Great American Novel.

(Which someone did.)

great job! reminds me a lot of Play With Your Food by Joost Elffers.

Great movie and also a great book!

Marion Nestle lays it out pretty well in "What to Eat"

Lost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries. Not much can preface this book, besides it's true stories from the strangeness of what exists around us; people places and things. I find this stuff extremely fascinating, and being nonfiction is what causes the tingle up my spine. Either that or a impending stroke. Link here.

EDIT spelling

May I suggest that you read Watching the English before you go? Key insight: the English believe strongly in not taking yourself too seriously.

I actually had a lot of positive experiences with the English.

If you're looking for football based fiction, check out Playing for Pizza by John Grisham.

A QB is cut from the Browns after ruining their AFC Championship dreams. He goes to Italy to play semi-pro ball.

psh, no book, haha. There's totally a manual for you. And you can check out the website too - my husband found this place very helpful.

There's also Nanny Ogg's Cookbook.

The Patrician's recipe for Bread and Water is fantastic.

[Thank You for Smoking] (https://www.amazon.com/Thank-You-Smoking-Christopher-Buckley-ebook/dp/B004089HZ2?ie=UTF8&btkr=1&ref_=dp-kindle-redirect)

Nick Naylor is a spokesman for the Academy of Tobacco Studies and he’s so good at it that he does enjoy the job, at least to begin with...

There was a whole section in this book that delves into how each Looney Toons character acts as a totem for different personalities. Also, this book is quite funny (if perhaps a bit dated now).

My favorite book

She absolutely is. If you want some English self-reflection, go and read „Watching the English“ by Kate Fox. It‘s hilarious whether you‘re English or not.

https://www.amazon.de/dp/185788616X/

love this guy. some good potential.

It should also be noted (by Terry Pratchett fans especially) that Nanny Ogg's Cookbook is a real thing you can buy for $10 digital / $15 paperback. It's got a decent collection of recipes and is actually a very humorous read.

Reminds me of the book Milk, Eggs, and Vodka. Hilarious.

http://www.amazon.com/Milk-Eggs-Vodka-Grocery-Lists/dp/144031201X

Other books by the same author: Play With Your Food, The Secret Language of Destiny, and Teddy's World.

Joost is sure the renaissance man!

I'd also have to recommend What to Eat by Marion Nestle.

One of the Play With Your Food books? https://www.amazon.com/Play-Your-Food-Joost-Elffers/dp/1556706308/

For those who want to make their own!
Nanny Ogg's Cookbook

If you haven't been through the Modern Drunkard book, website, or one of their magazines you have absolutely no idea what you missing. CA couldn't tie their drinking shoes.

Best book I own:http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Drunkard-Frank-Kelly-Rich/dp/1594481423/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

my therapist swears by The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy.

http://www.amazon.com/Girlfriends-Guide-Pregnancy-Vicki-Iovine/dp/141652472X

http://www.amazon.com/Nanny-Oggs-Cookbook-Information-Astonishing/dp/0552146730/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451767059&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=auntie+ogg%27s

or

http://www.amazon.com/Feast-Ice-Fire-Official-Companion/dp/0345534492/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1451767129&sr=8-3&keywords=fantasy+cookbook

http://www.amazon.com/Fantasy-Cookbook-Timothy-Hildebrandt/dp/0672527030/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1451767129&sr=8-4&keywords=fantasy+cookbook

http://www.amazon.com/Redwall-Cookbook-Brian-Jacques/dp/0399237917/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1451767129&sr=8-10&keywords=fantasy+cookbook

um

What to Eat by Marion Nestle.

What to eat. By Marion Nestle.

What to Eat https://www.amazon.com/dp/0865477388/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_stnRub0S3JWD1

Because Awesome!

> milk, eggs, vodka

https://www.amazon.com/Milk-Eggs-Vodka-Grocery-Lists/dp/144031201X

That reminds me of this book.

http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/1556706308

Mmmm I've gone through Quiet by Susan Cain, Watching the English by Kate Fox and am planning to read Silmarillion on the flight back.

I guess they're going to be...

Playing for Pizza

Have you seent he book Milk Eggs Vodka?

Blogspam is spammy spam spam. Joost Elffers is the shit, to be sure. But he's hardly bored, he's hardly a chef, and at a bare minimum, he deserves a little fucking credit.