Charlie grew up in San Mateo and frequently found himself at Kepler's as a kid. He loves reading literature in translation, science fiction and fantasy, cookbooks, graphic novels and books on film criticism. When he's not reading, he's playing and thinking about basketball, or trying to perfect a butter mochi recipe.
Stevens writes a clever biography of Keaton’s career, with informative tangents on other silent stars and modern inventions that made our world modern. ~Charlie
Rushkoff surveys the psychology of some of the richest people on the planet, and though disconcerting, uses his sardonic and earnest voice to try to suggest an alternative - Charlie
If the future doesn’t look too bright, take a note from the past! Did bands of hunter-gatherers spend all their time on food? Were early farmers creating dominating hierarchies? These scholars carefully and thoughtfully use recent studies to argue for a more interesting approach to our species' past. --Charlie
Try as we might to get the best ingredients and best produce each time we cook, sometimes time, budget, and mistakes plague our cooking process. Peternell, who spent two decades at Chez Panisse, teaches us how to right our wrongs deliciously, and to transform ordinary staples into treasured meals. --Charlie
Posnanski guides the reader through the best players in baseball history and definitively ranks each from 100 to 1, with some choices which are bound to be controversial. From the inception of the game to the present, he shares many fascinating stories about the legends that made baseball America’s favorite pastime. --Charlie
A Chinese mecha fantasy with a feminist revenge plot? What more does one need? Zhao is able to write action and adventure viscerally, with careful attention to detail in describing ancient Chinese themes and future universal dangers. A vivid page-turner that will leave you craving more. --Charlie
A neglected housewife finds solace in the appearance of a man-sized frog man. A perfect novel that encapsulates loneliness, and the pleasure of friendship. --Charlie
Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing guides us through the strange and magical world of the Matsutake mushroom, whose fantastic flavor and odd growth patterns tell a tale that weaves through Japanese haute cuisine, Pacific Northwest foraging communities, and South Asian refugee policies. This ethnography reads so beautifully, and sheds light on how interconnected our world is. --Charlie
One of the most daring and innovative books I've ever read, a powerful argument that the novel form is alive and kicking. Helen DeWitt's debut is expansive and molecular at the same time, a magnificent narrative of motherhood and the frightening power of genius. Single mother Sibylla can barely support her son Ludo and herself, let alone give him the educational stimulus that he craves. As a substitute for a masculine presence, Sibylla repeatedly shows her son the Akira Kurosawa movie Seven Samurai. A touching and strange tale ensues, about what cultivating taste can do for a mother and child. --Charlie
How do we eat and cook sustainably, in a world ruled by monoculture and industrial meat and vegetable production? Michelin-starred chef Dan Barber highlights sustainable agriculture practices that value flavor and freshness over profit and shelf life. From fishermen in Spain to seasonal farmers in New York, Barber suggests a systemic overhaul for the way we purchase and cook the food we take for granted. --Charlie
Doblin is a less common name you hear when you think of the modernist masterpieces, but Berlin Alexanderplatz feels so lively and vibrant that it could be directed by the Safdie Brothers. Doblin's voice is masterfully translated by Michael Hoffman, who really captures the voice of a city, filled to the brim with petty dramas and carnivalesque folly. Magnificent. --Charlie
The greatest book ever written on the "little art" of translation. Tender and melancholic, Briggs grapples with the difficulty of what it means to transform language, and what gets lost and gained in translation. --Charlie
The greatest essayist you've never heard of. Every Weinberger essay extends the arms of literature around the world, to ancient Chinese scholars to the poetic significance of the wind, he deftly rejuvenates the essay form to previously unexplored terrain. --Charlie