Monday Morning and Books

I am reading two books at the moment - The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher, and 32 Yolks: From My Mother's Table to Working the Line by Eric Ripert. 

 

I decided to read The Princess Diarist because I am a huge Star Wars enthusiast, and because I read two of her other books - Wishful Drinking (2008), and Shockaholic (2011), and enjoyed those, so I figured I would enjoy this book too. I am enjoying it so far. I like Fisher's writing style. She comes across as warm and funny, and also very articulate and smart. The Princess Diarist is Fisher's account of what happened during the filming of Star Wars: A New Hope, and it includes excerpts from the diaries that she kept during that time. 

 

I think that it's appropriate that I'm reading The Princess Diarist right now. 2017 marks the 40th anniversary of the theatrical release of Star Wars: A New Hope (May 25th, 1977, to be exact). I admit that I still feel a bit emotional (mostly sad) about Carrie Fisher's untimely death last year. I never met her, but I did see her one woman show (also called Wishful Drinking) when it came to Boston in 2008. Intellectually, I know that hundreds (if not thousands) of people die every day, so why am I upset because this one particular celebrity died? I think that the only way that I can explain it is because the original Star Wars trilogy meant a lot to me when I watched them for the first time on the TV in my grandmother's bedroom in 1997, and that part of that experience for me was watching Carrie Fisher portray Princess Leia. It's not an exaggeration for me to say that those movies changed my life, and made me the person that I am today. Seeing those movies for the very first time was a religious experience for me, and I've been trying to recapture that sense of awe ever since. I found something that I didn't even know that I was looking for. Maybe I should say that the movies found me, instead of the other way around.

As far as, 32 Yolks, well, I know who Eric Ripert is mostly because he's made guest appearances on Top Chef (cooking-based reality TV show on Bravo that I like), and also because he is friends with Anthony Bourdain, and has made appearances on his shows Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unnown and No Reservations, so when I heard that he was publishing a memoir, my curiosity was piqued. It also helps that I think that Eric Ripert is cute and has a sexy accent.  

 

Yep. So that's what I am reading at the moment. I'm halfway through 32 Yolks, and maybe about a third of the way through The Princess Diarist. Hoping to have finished one or both of them by the end of this month.