Reader’s Notebook, 10/2/25

In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain – Tom Vitale
A book that has been out three years but I managed not to hear about until just now. Written by one of Anthony Bourdain’s closest associates, it is definitely a warts and all accounting of what it was like to work with the late chef/TV personality. It should not be a surprise that Bourdain was, at times, prickly, quarrelsome, thin-skinned, impatient. Basically all the things that plague anyone who travels, let alone someone who does it full time and films a TV show in the process. He was prone to wild mood swings which Vitale, and others around him, often bore the brunt of. Again, no surprises.

That honesty is what made this book enjoyable. It would be easy to portray Bourdain in the way so many admirers of him have: as a counter the typical toxically masculine American man. And there were a lot of things about Bourdain worth integrating into our lives. But he was, like all of us, flawed, deeply and in many ways. I think Bourdain would have been thrilled that Vitale didn’t hide those less glamorous aspects back.

But Vitale did show what drew so many to Bourdain. His curiosity. His sense of empathy for people who were different than him. His desire to tell stories that didn’t fit into the standard, made for TV boxes.

I think this passage summed up the whole of Anthony Bourdain best:

Tony’s demons ensured he was a difficult and, at times, fearsome person to be around. Anthony Bourdain was a great man, even though he could, at times, be a less successful human being.

The Ministry of Time – Kaliane Bradley
I must admit that sometimes books about time travel don’t always work with my brain. I appreciate the opportunities the genre presents. But when there are the inevitable twists that can only exist because of the time travel element, I often find my brain rapidly switching back-and-forth between options, trying to make sense of them. Like when you shift your gaze quickly between two objects, trying to determine which deserves your attention. Obviously a me problem.

This time travel story was pretty good. Taking place in the modern era, a young, never named British woman is recruited into a secret group in His Majesty’s government that is shepherding a group of folks from the past into modern society. Her subject is a dashing polar explorer from the early 1800s. Other members of the group are drawn from the trenches of World War I, a battle in the 17th century, and the great plague of the 1600s, each of whom has their own “Bridge” to the 21st Century.

As you might imagine, integrating these people into modern society is a bit of a chore. And mindfuck. Much of the story is told with great humor, the absurdities of taking a man from pre-Victorian England and placing him in a world where women have jobs and dress provocatively and crass language is common played up to maximum effect. Eventually the inevitable romance between the main character and her “ex-pat” fires as well, complicating matters.

Oh, there’s another rather large complication, as the Bridges uncover the reality of how their expats arrived in modern London, the implications of the existence of the portal that brought them forward in time, the knowledge that the portal isn’t secret, and the reality that their government is working to use the portal in nefarious ways.

I thought it was quite a good story at its core. There was a little clumsiness with one element. I thought it was interesting that some others found that part of the story fine, but had similar complaints about another plot element. Which I think would make this a solid B+ for most readers.

Dungeon Crawler Carl – Matt Dinniman
I’ve heard about this book in multiple, random, unconnected ways over the past year or so. On message boards focused on other subjects. In book blogs. On a podcast or two. I finally took a stab at it. While not heavy lifting, it is one of my favorite reads of the year for pure entertainment value.

Carl lives in Seattle with his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend’s cat. Late one night he and the cat survive a sudden cataclysmic event that ends the world as they know it. Soon they discover an entry level to a “dungeon” below the earth’s surface, with instructions that should they enter, they can earn their safety before the final process in the planet’s total destruction begins.

Carl and the cat, Princess Donut, enter and are quickly transformed. Not only can Donut talk, but both she and Carl now have attributes like characters in a role playing game. They begin encountering “monsters” and must battle for their survival. They learn that they are, in fact, in a massive, completely real RPG that they must fight their way through in order to survive. As they defeat opponents, they gain powers, weapons, and bonuses. And they discover they are not only fighting for their lives, but are also participants in a Survival-like show that lifeforms around the universe are watching.

There’s a lot more depth to it than that, but it’s more fun to discover it on your own.

For me, who has always loved the idea of RPGs but not necessarily their execution or time it takes to figure them out up front, this was great stuff. The book is very violent, in a cartoony way. Dinniman fills his story with hilarious moments, and a lot of critiques of modern society. Carl and Donut have just made it to level three of the dungeon by the book’s end. I’m absolutely going to continue to follow their journey.