This past week I bought and read Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford and Children of Hurin by Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien.

Heat was a wonderful read. Very funny, and it gives a great glimpse at the world of professional cooks and kitchens. I had no idea that Mario Batali liked to down 12 bottles of wine, swear like a sailor and rummage through garbage cans. But I can totally dig it. One of those rare books that entertains and informs at the same time. I could read this book over and over again.

Children of Hurin was a very fast read, I finished it in a few hours. But I didn't feel like it offered up that much more than what was already told in The Silmarillion. It was ok but I doubt I'll read it again.