Perfection, by Julie Metz – Book Review

Perfection, by Julie Metz

“The subject of his book was umami, a Japanese word that translates as “perfection”, usually as it relates to food. Umami also translates as “the fifth taste”, best described for Westerners as “savory”.   The other tastes are sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Umami is the feeling of mouthwatering deliciousness during, and complete satiety after, a [...]

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Last Dickens, by Matthew Pearl – Book Review

The Last Dickens

James Osgood is a partner at Boston publishing company Fields, Osgood & Co., a firm recently honored with the unprecedented opportunity to publish famed author Charles Dickens’ The Mystery of Edwin Drood in America.  It’s a cut-throat time to be in the publishing business (I don’t know, maybe it still is that) and they are [...]

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