Guidebooks

Whilst reading The Singapore School of Villainy, I came across the term kiasu. A fear of missing out. It's a powerful motivator. Presumably it's why people line up to buy into the latest fad. . . it's also what drives me to read guide books. . . I travel so infrequently, I want to know everything about my prospective destination before hand. Baden-Powell would be proud. . .

Though the Inspector Singh books are more about the short, fat, sweaty and hirsute Sikh Inspector, with his fondness for cigarettes, sweet coffee and chappati, they are also about place. More than the various travel books I have read, Shamini Flint's 3rd book, manages to give Singapore a coat of grime and interest.

I've had The Flavour Thesaurus for only a few days, but already it seems indispensable. My young daughter is a fan, having located a simple eight line recipe for lemonade. There's a single illustration - which is repeated on the cover and twice within. A wheel classifying foods by their salient flavour. It sets the tone and challenges you to think. The short entries provides cogent explanation and refreshingly stripped down recipes and instruction. Freed from images, the text shines, with its balance, clarity and context (scientific, historic and gastronomic).