Over the Counter #173

What books caught my eye this week as they passed over the library counter and under the scanner?

Well, it was the cover of Nine Lives by Brandon Baltzley that first caught my eye. The subtitle: A Chef's Journey from Chaos to Control. Not what I expected with my first glance at the cover.

From Gotham Books:

"A rising young chef lays bare his gripping story of culinary triumphs, consuming drug additions, and his continuing quest to stay on top while staying sober.

At twenty-six years old, Brandon Baltzley was poised for his star turn as the opening chef at Chicago’s hotspot Tribute. People called him a prodigy—the Salvador Dali of cooking—and foodie blogs followed his every move. Instead, Brandon walked away from it all and entered rehab to deal with the alcohol and cocaine addiction that had enslaved him most of his adult life.

Brandon grew up in the South with no father and an addict mother. At eight, he was prepping vegetables in the back of a gay bar. From there, he went on to deep-frying with Paula Deen to cooking in an array of Michelin-starred restaurants, including Grant Achatz’s world-renowned Alinea. In between, he was touring the country with his heavy metal band, Kylesa—and doing his first stint in rehab.

Like Gabrielle Hamilton’s Blood, Butter and Bones, Brandon’s Nine Lives is about blazing a way out from a rough childhood through talent and an unbridled passion for the craft of cooking. A story that’s still being written as Brandon begins work at Crux Restaurant in Chicago, Nine Lives serves up a raw and riveting memoir about food, rock-and-roll, and redemption."

And the title of Kelly Oxford's book caught my attention - Everything is Perfect When You're a Liar. "A Twitter sensation and popular writer uses her trademark blend of biting wit and self-deprecation to find hilarity in everyday life."

From Harper Collins:

"Kelly Oxford is …

A wunderkind producer of pirated stage productions for six-year-olds
Not the queen of the world
An underage schnitzel-house dishwasher
The kid who stood up to a bully and almost passed out from the resulting adrenaline rush
A born salesman
Capable of willing her eyesight to be 20/20
That girl who peed her pants in the gas station that one time
Totally an expert on strep throat
Incapable of making Leonardo DiCaprio her boyfriend
A writer
A certified therapy assistant who heals with Metallica mixtapes
“Not fat enough to be super snuggly.” —Bea, age 4
Not above using raspberry-studded sh*t to get out of a speeding ticket
“Bitingly funny. But everybody knows that.” —Roger Ebert
Sad that David Copperfield doesn’t own a falcon
A terrible liar"

(Over the Counter is a regular feature at A Bookworm's World. I've sadly come to the realization that I cannot physically read every book that catches my interest as it crosses over my counter at the library. But...I can mention them and maybe one of them will catch your eye as well. See if your local library has them on their shelves!)