Indulge Yourself: 2011's Best Celebrity Tell-Alls

and — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Ah, 'tis the season to be indulgent. Another glass of champagne? Please, have some homemade cookies. Does anyone want to go to the movies instead of the gym? As far as I'm concerned, December is Guilty Pleasures Time.

Yep. Time to kick back with all those books I secretly love but hate to admit reading. My literary drug of choice? Behind-the-scenes reads about the rich and famous. Five of the best of 2011 — by a rock star; a hotel concierge; a stuntman; a Brat Packer; and an Emmy-winning, Voguing lesbian — offer backstage passes to their lives as well as others'.

They Came, They Saw, They Cooked: 5 Food Memoirs

Susan Jane Gilman and Susan Jane Gilman — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:00:00 +0000

During summer vacation, part of me wants to spend my hard-earned sheckles traveling the world and eating amazing food. The other part of me just wants to lie on the couch with a good book. Now, thanks to five delicious new food memoirs, I can do both.

The books — written by a reluctant, bad-girl chef; an avant-garde restaurateur; a slacker with a love of roast chicken; a Mideast war correspondent; and an American in Paris — are about love affairs with food, and the journeys that led their authors into the kitchen.

Granted, the term "food memoir" usually makes me cringe.