What sticks?

We don’t get out much. I can’t remember the last movie I saw at the theater. Maybe “Wall-E.” And that was sometime last year, right? This is the reason why we pay the cable company an outrageous amount every month, because we have to have some source of entertainment.

We are very fond of cooking shows, and there are so many of them. Our favorite is Top Chef, followed by Hell’s Kitchen, Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, Man vs. Food, Chopped, and, finally, Food Detectives.

The last one is more of the Mythbusters variety: experiments to test certain hypotheses. In one episode, they flung cooked spaghetti at a wall to see if it would stick—and prove the myth that if it sticks, the spaghetti is completely cooked.

It wasn’t.

I am of the mind that publishers throw books at the wall to see if they’ll stick. All this talk about how PI novels are dead, cozies are dead, thrillers are in—I don’t think it means a thing. Readers want a good book, and sometimes that book is something so completely different than what the publishers think the market wants that it leaves everyone scratching their heads while screaming for more of the same.

The DaVinci Code, Twilight, Harry Potter—all of these are books that stuck to the wall. Now you can’t get away from religious thrillers or fantasies about teenagers who are vampires, werewolves, or wizards.

But then there’s a quiet little book that somehow manages to squeeze through all those blockbuster myths and make a statement all its own. A quiet little book that’s spawned several more and now an HBO series.

I read The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency a few years back when it first came out and eagerly read the books that followed. It’s a soft-spoken series that has a lot to say, and the cast of characters and setting are distinct. When we tuned into the premiere of the HBO series based on the books, I was not disappointed. It left us wondering why network TV can’t produce something like this: it’s not typical HBO with a lot of nudity and four letter words. Instead, it’s channeled Andrew McCall Smith’s words and left us wanting more.

It makes me realize that a book can stick to the wall if it’s good enough, so we shouldn’t abandon what we want to write for something that might be considered more commercially viable. Who knew that a traditionally built Botswanan woman would be commercially viable?

And the question for today: What’s your favorite food show?

Karen

Comments

[Jeff Shelby]

Man Vs. Food. The stuff that guy eats is amazing and I'm hoping that if they ever need a guest host, they will call me.

[David Terrenoire]

I don't have a favorite food show. In fact, I'm finding I watch very little TV lately, which is a departure from the rest of my life.

I do watch movies. Lots of movies. So how about my favorite food movies?

Big Night
Chocolate
Babette's Feast
(a Chinese movie about a daughter who cooks for her father - I forget the name)
9 1/2 Weeks

As far as writing what sells, there's a book about Hollywood written by William Goldman, the screenwriter for Butch Cassidy, All the President's Men and a bunch of other great films. It's called Adventures in the Screen Trade and one of his verities is, Nobody Knows Anything.

So write the best book you can write, work hard, and let the fickle public make it the next Da Vinci Code or not. That's out of your control.

That's my thought for the day.

[N]

Ramsey's British version of KITCHEN NIGHTMARES. He doesn't yell as much, but he's still uncomfortably honest and blunt. And the drama is real, not manufactured by bombastic music and obvious fucked-up timeline edits.

[Clair Lamb]

David, I think you're thinking of "Eat Man Drink Woman." Great movie.

Does Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations count as a food show, or a travel show? I love it. I love him. He shows up in my dreams sometimes, and ... never mind.

[Karen Olson]

Yes, that's Eat Drink Man Woman. Great movie. Also another super Chinese film that features food is The Wedding Banquet.

I can't believe I forgot No Reservations! Love love love Tony Bourdain. I actually got to meet him, and my husband interviewed him a few years back when he was still on the Food Network. He made fun of Emeril. I hear he's working on another crime novel, although I haven't read his other ones so I'm not sure how they are. Loved Kitchen Confidential.

[David Terrenoire]

Thanks, Clair, that's the one I was thinking of. I'm going to rent that again.

Karen, making fun of Emeril should be a national sport, although it is a little like arm-wrestling children.

[patty smiley]

I think the only food show I ever watched was the British show Two Fat Women (I think that's what it was called). In fact, expect for news programs, I don't watch TV at all. I'm currently reading Dennis Lehane's new book ANY GIVEN DAY. Do you suppose it includes recipes?

[AlisonGaylin]

Loved Eat Drink Man Woman. My favorite food show is Iron Chef, both Japanese and American versions.

[norby]

I heart Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I don't know if he's been to Sam's No. 3 here in Denver, but he needs to come if not.

I also like Unwrapped, No Reservations and Man vs. Food.

[John]

I don't watch food shows because they lead to excessive food consumption! (What can I say? I'm weak...) But Chelsey loves Cake Wars. (I think thats the name.) And I find Paula Dean quite appealing on the rare occasion that I watch. Also, I agree about books-keep throwing them at the wall because, like food, if they're made with love (and a few key ingredients), they'll eventually stick. Wow...is that profound or does it make no sense whatsoever? Hey, it's been a long day...

[Eleanor]

I've always liked Good Eats with Alton Brown. He's kind of a food wonk who explains everything. I also like his approach to kitchen gear -- why buy a special gadget if you can improvise something out of junk you have in your garage? I know he annoys some people, but I like his shtick.

[Victor Gischler]

Iron Chef.

[Becky Hutchison]

I don't watch much TV these days, either. (I do watch BONES on the web though...LOVE that show!) I used to watch Jeff Smith's cooking shows, Two Fat Women, and Yan Can Cook. No Reservations is the only cooking show I've seen recently.