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		List Price: $27.50		Publisher: Putnam Adult Salesrank: 125437 Released: 24 October, 2002
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		Media: Hardcover
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Customer Reviews:
if you like the shop, then you’ll like the book
tea and sympathy is my favorite place to eat in new york. when i saw they had a cookbook i was thrilled and evneutally i got a copy.

lilke what most others have been saying, this is something that if you like the shop, the restraunt, then you’ll like the book. it gives some of the behind the scenes going on of the book, the stories and people that work there, or frequent it.

This is not primarily a cookbook. It does have recipes in it. But it’s primary purpose does not seem to be just recipes. It splits it between the behind the scenes and the recipes. Just be prepared.

I have not made it through the recipes yet, so i can’t vouch for them. but they look delicious.

if you don’t care about the shop, then don’t get this book. you’ll probably do better with another english tea shop or british cookbook. maybe tea at the ritz?

Authentic British Feel Good Food!
Having lived in London in the late 60s and early 70s, I was surprised to find there were no real authentic British restaurants in New York City. I am not a Pub person, so sitting alone with a pint in some dark-wooded, beer-smelling bar was not for me. And one day, there it was! Tea & Sympathy. As I looked through the windows into the tiny space that was packed with people, I said to my friend; Isn’t that Rupert Everett! Indeed, it was. I always tend to eat the same dish; lamb shepherds pie, along with ginger beer and sticky toffee pudding, so I cannot comment on how great all the other dishes are there. But I am told they are equally as yummy.

When I bought this book I had Nicky Perry (owner & co-contributor to book) sign it for me. She will be delighted to sign yours, too if you drop by. They have a darling shop next door that sells incredible teapots and other British items you cannot find anywhere in New York City and beyond. I bought one of their cat teapots for my friend Ruth, and a cat teapot with a different design for me.

As if their incredible food and ambiance isn’t enough, they have opened a fish and chips place next to the gift shop which they have named: A Salt & Battery. Aside from the various kinds of fish you can also ordered fried candy bars.

So the Perry’s pretty much have all their bases covered. The cookbook is a treasure trove of British recipes. As the winter (2007)finally arrives in Manhattan, if you can’t make it to Tea & Sympathy, you have the cookbook to create your own feel good dishes.

I highly recommend both book and boite. You simply can’t go wrong.

Better than Expected
I wanted to get recipes because I can’t afford to order from T&S. I have to give it to them: their straightforward food is very easy to eat and always good. I find that Pepperidge Farm makes the right bread to recreate their sandwiches. This book isn’t about the sandwiches but more about their pies with the mashed potato topping. I actually have the ingredients for many of their recipes so I expect that I will be getting some use out of them. The stories didn’t bother me and I got over my disappointment at the dearth of sandwich recipes. There is a recipe for the Victoria Sandwich which is a cake that is always included in the full tea ($26!!!) The cake doesn’t seem to be such a big deal but I always manage to pick away the entire slice.

I was worried that there would be more than I wanted to know about the place but it wasn’t that revealing (thank goodness) so it’s okay. I breezed through the book in one go and having read a number of cookbooks of varying popularity, I say that the writers did an above average job getting these recipes down in a clear and encouraging manner.

		List Price: $9.00		Publisher: G & R Pub Salesrank: 269218 Released: May, 2002
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		Media: Spiral-bound
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		List Price:		Publisher: Picnic-Time
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		List Price: $24.95		Publisher: Tuttle Publishing Salesrank: 663846 Released: November, 2001
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		Media: Paperback
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Customer Reviews:
Not for beginners, great none the less
I purchased this book thinking that it would be a very good source for beginners, it is not.

However this book is a MUST HAVE for more advanced tea ceremony praticioners. The book is very detailed and contains a vast wealth of knowledge and information. The book has a history section, and even goes itno the various elements of tea gardens. Everything and anything I can think of is covered in this book, its an amazing reference.

If you are a beginner look elsewhere - this book is perfect for indepth knowledge and research into the matter.

An important overview, with fascinating anecdotes.
I have the ninth edition (1989) which does not credit Michele Sadler. This is the most enjoyable and informative overview of the topic I have yet found. It covers everything from the shapes of the tea kettles to the landscape design surrounding famous tea rooms.

The book is interesting in that it discusses many particulars of the tea ceremony and its equipment, but balances this information nicely with many anecdotes which convey the “feeling” of the tea ceremony. The book also provides the reader with valuable historical insight about the development of the tea ceremony.

An important feature of the book is that the index contains the Kanji characters for the items listed.

I did not give the book a five star rating because it has black and white plates which do not adequately convey the colors of the tea bowls, and because many particulars of the tea ceremony could have been given more comprehensive treatment.

I have, however, re-read my copy several times, and I think that it is well worth adding to your book collection.

		List Price: $16.95		Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin Salesrank: 13452 Released: 20 November, 2003
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Customer Reviews:
wonderful book
I plan to start roasting my own coffee and was told to read this book first. I did, and that was good advice. It’s very readable and full of excellent reference material. I had already done enough research to know what roaster I would start with, but it was nice to have such a full description of the pros and cons of each kind. There’s a great deal of useful, even crucial, information to learn here about coffee. Also, the book is so well organized that it will be easy to use as a reference.

Romancing this book
Great history. I learned a lot from this book. I would recommend it to anyone that is alreaday roasting coffee.

Coffee roasting, explained
Although my coffee roasting apparatus (homemade) is not included in this book,

virtually all of the commercial roasters, and some homemade, are, and

in great detail. Easy to read, well articulated without being pompous, he

describes the origins of the coffee beans, processing, and shipping. Now

I know why canned coffee tastes so awful! He describes the entire roast

process, all the way from storage of the green beans to grinding and brewing,

and even some coffee flavorings to spice things up for those who enjoy that.

An engaging book for someone who really enjoys coffee, and especially for

those home roasters.

		List Price: $14.95		Publisher: Coffee House Press Salesrank: 796253 Released: May, 2006
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Customer Reviews:
Exuberance of Invention, Bleakness of Subject
The New Yorker reviewer called these stories “dazzlingly original,” a descriptive that may, appropriately enough, be a warning to some and a lure to others.

To fans of Sorrentino’s previous work, I can say that much of the narrative lines, and tone, recall his earlier “Aberration of Starlight” rather than his works of comedy (e.g. “Blue Pastoral”) or full-bore literary prestigitation (e.g., “Pack of Lies”). So extramarital affairs, booze, breakup and visitation squabbles, the mundane despairs of little lives dominate the subject matter. The author is 76, so references range from Philco radios and Johnny Weissmuller to organic food stores and Meryl Streep. Interspersed with the narratives, incidentally, must be some of the most convincing dream sequences in all literature.

Sorrentino’s prodigious intellect has set himself the project of making 52 discrete mini-stories as enfolding and nuanced and complete as another author’s novellas. Some only a page long, interweaving certainly, teasingly recycling the same cast members (or just names) and circumstances and props, nevertheless they are discrete entities and not “chapters.” Age, perhaps, has inclined Sorrentino to a breathtaking economy. If you read not merely to consume stories and characters but to savor the forms and surprises possible with literary art, this writer is a must.

I modestly hold that Gilbert Sorrentino may be the best living American author. If you aren’t familiar with him, as I wasn’t only four years ago, but you enjoy innovative and modernist or proto-modernist literature of, for example, the best of Lawrence Sterne, Machado de Assis, James Joyce, William Faulkner, Samuel Beckett, Milan Kundera, Peter Handke, Georges Perec, Robert Coover, Nicholson Baker, Julian Barnes, or Jeanette Winterson, you should go for Sorrentino immediately. This book is very accessible, but “Little Casino” might be an even better, because less bleak, place to start. Then research the others: you can make up for our book culture’s outrageous oversight. It has long held Sorrentino a “writer’s writer,” but I beg to differ.

Reality in metafiction
This book quickly reminded me of a childhood experience - what I thought was an accidental drowning, I later discovered my older brother believed to be suicide and my Mother believed to be murder. Sorrentino has captured that fractured view of the world as the stories/chapters circle around the same themes and characters. Was it incest or a lover? cancer, accident or still alive? Who cheats on whom? The short chapters, many standing as short-shorts in their own right, have an honesty and humor that makes delightful reading - and leave you with the same almost but not quite grasped sensation as reality.