Travel & Leisure

The Saucier's Apprentice
By Bob Spitz (W.W. Norton)
NONFICTION
"I've come to learn," I said, making a kind of idiotic whisking gesture. Just in case he'd forgotten, I mentioned our mutual friend from Jadot.
    At the reference, an eyebrow shot skyward. Ah yes, it seemed to say, I must have a word with that…friend.
    He bent very close to my face and lowered his voice to a near-whisper: "Just in case you were unaware, M'sieur, this happens to be a fine-dining establishment. The day-care center is somewhere on the other side of town."
   
Turning 50 was rough for Spitz. His marriage fell apart, and he was financially and spiritually wiped out. Cooking, a longtime hobby that brought him renewal, seemed increasingly important. So he headed to Europe to study at some of the finest culinary institutes, with results that were sometimes hilarious, sometimes terrifying, but usually delicious.

Love Today
By Maxim Biller (Simon & Schuster)
FICTION
Last time she was with him, Samira tried to kill her Zelko. He had simply fallen asleep while he was talking about New Zealand, and she went into the kitchen, picked up the knife that was still lying in the pizza carton, and came back with it. She knelt above him in the bed and swung back her arm, but then the knife fell from her hand, she herself didn't know if it was by chance or on purpose. The knife flew across the room and landed on the radiator with a clang, and Zelko woke up. He saw her above him and smiled and said, "Oh, dear heart, how lovely to see you there. Come on, kiss me." And she kissed him, because she had no option.

With a yawn, a bleat, or a clang, damaged love announces its unnerving presence in 27 short stories. This is the English debut collection from Biller, a Prague-born Berliner who has been published twice in The New Yorker.

Simplexity
By Jeffrey Kluger (Hyperion)
NONFICTION
Twenty years ago, New York was considering modifying the aged Williamsburg Bridge, in part because its narrow nine-foot lanes were grossly below the modern safety standard of 12 feet. [Traffic expert Sam] Schwartz and others, however, determined that widening the lanes could actually make the accident problem worse, since a confident driver is also a cocky driver, one more inclined to take risks. Better to keep everyone just a little spooked--and moving just a little slower.

This playful but learned disquisition about getting the right mix of simplicity and complexity comes from Time senior writer Kluger, who uses the pop-science techniques of Freakonomics to ponder questions of conflict, sports, and the mysteries of technology.