Stalking the catalogue: Movie dinners - Reel recipes from your favourite films

"A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chanti."
- Sir Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs

This isn't just any ordinary cookbook. Oh, no sir, it's not. In fact...

"Let us get one thing straight here: The delectable dishes celebrated in this book are not available at your local multiplex cinema concession stands. Gloopy nachos and fluffy hotdogs are not what this book is about. These lovingly made recipes are for those movie moments that made you look away from the popcorn bucket, and up at the big screen and think 'Ooh, I bet that tastes amazing.!'
 - Becky Thorn in Movie Dinners

Bridget Jones' Diary had blue soup. A Fish Called Wanda had fish ceviche. Diner had poutine. American Pie had apple pie. Blazing Saddle had rude baked beans. Sweeney Todd had meat pie. (In a word: UGH). Garfield had lasagna. Annie Hall had lobster. Fatal Attraction had rabbit stew. Lost? Thorn's Movie Dinners is a cookbook of the strangest kind in that it contains recipes from big screen movies. Is it just me, or does that seem like a win/win situation? Food. And drink. (Including a velvet hammer from Cocktail, although I'm not so in love with the idea of a chocolate martini or a 'a horse's neck,' WHAT EVEN IS THAT?). And film. And dessert. WIN. And yes, before you ask, you will find a recipe here for liver, fava beans (and a nice Chianti) because no self-respecting movie cookbook would be without it. (Although EWW I'm not eating it).

If strange cookbooks with a rather unusual theme are your kind of schtick, look no further than here. Allons-y.

Title: Movie dinners: Reel recipes from y our favourite films
Author: Becky Thorn
Publisher: London: Portico, 2010

5 ways in which dogs are better than cats

"I am not a cat man, but a dog man, and all felines can tell this at a glance - a sharp, vindictive glance."
- James Thurber

Title: Why dogs are better than cats
Author: Bradley Trevor Greive (photographs by Rachael Hale)
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Pub.
Published: c2009

I'm not a cat person. Nor a dog person. Or, in truth, a child-friendly person. This isn't to say that I'm UNfriendly to any of the above. I just don't have strong feelings about them either way. I can take or leave animals and/or kids. Weirdly, this makes them like me more. It's like they can sense my feelings - or lack of them - and want to squish me that much harder (children I meet for the first time), jump on me that much more (dogs and cats I meet for the first time), and find ways to sneak into my room and put their mark all over my things. (Yes, Mr2, I'm talking about YOU). So do I truly believe dogs are better than cats? Irrelevant! The point is, this book's author does :) And here are 5 reasons (from the many) for why Monsieur Greive believes that dogs have oh so much more awesomeness than cats.

Are you a dog person? Or a cat person? OR a child person?

Dogs want love. Cats want fish
Dogs offer us such vast amounts of help and happiness and yet seek almost nothing in return.

Dogs have helped us explore our world and our universe
The heroic actions of dogs are the stuff of legend. Can you even imagine a cat saving you from drowning? How about dragging you out of a burning building? Or digging you free from an icy avalanche? I don't think so. Cats don't rescue anybody - they just get rescued. And they never ever say, "Thank you." (pages 168-171)

Dogs see you as a parent, partner, best friend, and soul mate
Cats see you as a source of warmth and food. (page 71)

Dogs are social, cats are sociopaths
The reason dogs surpass all other species is quite simple: They get people - they really do. It's been this way since dogs and humans first bumped into one another and thought, "Hey, this could work!" (page 61)

There is a dog for everybody
Dogs come in all shapes, sizes, colours, and most important, dispositions - from gentle giants to little dogs with big personalities. This canine cornucopia means that the perfect dog is out there to complement every single human being's personality and lifestyle. Regardless of where you live, no matter how noble your endeavours, or how twisted and shameful your secret quirks, there is a dog that is just right for you. I guarantee it. (page 29)

5 books with WHAT ON EARTH titles

"Almost everything strange washes up near Miami."
― Rick Riordan

Wrong. Almost everything strange ends up on a bookshelf in a library near you. Book titles. We have them by the bucketload, and some of them are bound to have titles that raise your eyebrows. I randomly came across Crap dates : disastrous encounters from single life by Marsden, which is the image attached to this intro. I thought it would be funny. It seemed like it would be funny. While some of the experiences are, just as many are sad and (even if you don't squint) an outright declaration of sexual kinks on the first date. (Some within the first few minutes, actually). It did make me wonder what other kind of strange titles we have and, a few weird, deliberate searches later, I had THIS LIST: 5 books with WHAT ON EARTH titles!

What strange/wonderful titles have you come across on our shelves?