151. Why you Should Store your Farts in a Jar by David Haviland

BOOK REVIEW: Why you Should Store your Farts in a Jar by David Haviland

Honestly, how many of are ignorant of history facts in the medical field, especially the gross, the weird, the macabre and the downright disgusting? Yup, that's right, I can see those hands in the air. If you are able to stomach some gruesome information, then this book is the one for you.

In this delightful new book in the Oddball Yet Fascinating Series that began with the bestseller Why you Shouldn't Eat Your Boogers and Other Useless (or Gross) Information About your Body, the author plumbs the world of medicine to uncover the answers to such vitally important quaestions. Some of them are:

1. What medicinal use did the ancient Egyptians find for crocodile dung?
2. Is it safe to fly with breast implants?
3. Which renowned nineteenth-century surgeon accidentally cut off a patient's testicle.

A thoroughly enjoyable investigation into some of the most gruesome stories in medical history, from the barbaric sawbones of the ancient world, through the snake oil peddlers of the industrial age, and up to some of today's most dubious medical practices (or malpractices), this book is sure to delight fans of the obscure, absurd and grotesque.

However, please don't confront your doctors on some of his practices based on this book. He just may 'accidentally' leave a medical instrument in you during an operation....you have been warned....

150. The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman

BOOK REVIEW: The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman

Hail all girls! There is a chick-lit in town that interweaves stories with scrumptious cookie recipes. The author's irresistible debut novel provides the perfect ingredients for a fun and touching read about a group of women who gather each year to share a journey of friendship, hope, heartbreak - and recipes.

Every year at Christmastime, Marnie and her closest girlfriends mark their calendars for the cookie exchange. Everyone has to bring a batch of homemade cookies and a bottle of wine, but this year, it's their stories that are especially important - the passion and hopefulness of new romance, the betrayal and disillusionment some relationships bring, the joys and fears of motherhood, the stress of financial troubles.

On this evening, at least, the sisterly love they have for one another rises above it all. Celebrating courage and joy in spite of hard times and honoring the importance of women's friendships as well as the embracing bonds of community, Ann Pearlman's delightful novel speaks to us all.

Between each of Marnie's girlfriends' stories are short but informative passages of the commonly used ingredients in cookies. Here, I shall share with you some of the information for you to guess the ingredients that are explained in the passages:

• Wheat was probably first cultivated in Turkey about 10,000 years ago.
• Almonds are a fruit related to cherries, apricots,, and plums.
• Baking soda, baking powder, and cream of tartar provide the magic for cookies to puff up in the oven.
• Wild walnuts have been gathered and eaten since prehistoric times.
• Imported from Egypt from China 4,000 years ago, cinnamon was used to embalm bodies.
• It takes between 2 to 3 gallons of milk to form one pound of butter.
• First to cultivate vanilla were the Totonac, who lived in what is now Veracruz, Mexico.
• Dates are still a crucial crop in Iraq.
• In the late 18th century, Europeans begin experimenting with sugar produced from crops other than cane.
• Even though it's crucial for animals, salt is toxic to many land plants.
• The tree that produces the chocolate bean, the cacao tree, is native to Central and South America.
• Henry VIII instructed the mayor of London to use ginger as a plague medicine.

And that's only the beginning of the facts. With so much to learn from a non-fiction book, what is there not to love of this tantalizing novel. Dive in and before you know, you may have developed an equally sweet tooth like the book's characters!

149. The Culinarian: A Kitchen Desk Reference by Barbara Ann Kipfer and Kyle Kipfer

BOOK REVIEW: The Culinarian - A Kitchen Desk Reference by Barbara Ann Kipfer and Kyle Kipfer

How many of us have grown to love cooking and eating but still find ourselves hitting a brick wall when it comes to knowing the variety of ingredients and equipment in the preparation of food? If the answer is a resounding yes then this is a fascinating culinary reference for the discerning cook or foodie out there.

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a yam and a sweet potato? Or gotten home from the market and thought, "Now what on earth do I do with fiddlehead ferns?" This book holds the answers to these and many more culinary conundrums,such as how to trim an artichoke or choose a ripe cantaloupe.

This illuminating culinary dictionary includes clear definitions for thousands of food terms from Absinthe to Zucchini, as well as tips on selecting, storing, and using every ingredient and piece of kitchen equipment imaginable.

The ideal complement to your favorite cookbook, The Culinarian is chock-full of captivating food trivia and history (did you know that the Waldorf Salad was named after a hotel called the Waldorf Astoria Hotel?), plus information on measurements, yields and equivalents, and other useful tidbits.

Flip to any page and delve into fascinating culinary trivia, or use itto pinpoint the information you need to get dinner on the table tonight. No matter how you use it, this tome is a must-have kitchen reference for anyone who loves to cook or eat.

At the back of the book, there is even a list of foods and their best flavor pairings. For example, if you have bacon, it goes well with pears or walnuts even. Quite a handy bit of information when you need to know how certain foods pair up during a meal. Grab a copy and be immersed by the wonderment that is food.

148. Gastronaut by Stefan Gates

BOOK REVIEW: Gastronaut by Stefan Gates

Many books appear in bookstores with food as the main subject. From specialty cuisines to best restaurants around the world, foods based on gastronomy have never let us down. However, how about a book that combines fun and cooking?

Gastronaut is an irreverent journey through the crazy, twisted, mixed-up world of food. Its full of extraordinary, extravagant and bizarre culinary experiences, arcane information and practical recipes for spectacular food. 

Each of us will spend 16% of our waking lives cooking and eating. That time is far too precious to waste on chores, so why not turn cooking into an adventure? This book of strange and wonderful gastronomic quests will help you do just that.

If you've ever wondered how to stage a Bacchanalian orgy in the comfort of your own home, how to make a bum sandwich, how to cook a whole pig underground, smoke salmon in a biscuit tin, cook with gold, woodlice, reindeer, guinea pig, aftershave or breastmilk, or whether its true that you can't teach a grandmother to suck eggs, the answers are here.

This isn't a work of fiction or hyperbole. Gastronaut is thoroughly researched, tested and illustrated throughout. It also includes a survey that lifts the lid Kinsey-style, on the real eating habits of people. This book is perfect for people who are fascinated by food, who love the wilder side of cooking, who yearn for adventure or who, frankly, just like showing off. Bon appetit!

147. Rice and Beans: A Unique Dish in a Hundred Places by Richard Wilk and Livia Barbosa

BOOK REVIEW: Rice and Beans - A Unique Dish in a Hundred Places by Richard Wilk and Livia Barbosa

Rice in an Asian staple, highly regarded as the "filling" food throughout the day. Beans on the other hand has proven as a sustenance for many poor agrarian communities around the world. But just how did these two combine through the ages as a food in Jamaica highly revered as the "coat of arms" or maybe as a New Orleans style food?

This book is about the paradox of local and global. On the one hand, this is a globe-spanning dish, a simple source of complete nutrition for billions of people in hundreds of countries. In every place people insist that rice and beans is a local invention, deeply rooted in a particular history and culture.

The authors of this book explore the specific history of the versions of rice and beans beloved and indigenous in cultures from Brazil to West Africa. But they also plumb the shared African, Native American and European trans-Atlantic encounters and exchanges, and the contemporary forces of globalization and nation-building, which combine to make rice and beans a powerful substance and symbol of the relationship between food and culture.

With contributions from several famous food anthropologists, many of these articles are backed by years of research on food anthropology (the study of food history and foodways throughout the world). 

Highly informative and a refreshing respite from most books which only explain origins of the food, this book piqued my interest on the world's food commodity that feeds the poor and the rich. If you will excuse me my mum has made a porridge with black eyed peas....

146. Horror Stories by Tunku Halim

BOOK REVIEW: Horror Stories by Tunku Halim

Horror is synonymous to Asian culture and Malaysia isn't an exception. We all love the race of our heartbeats or the perspiration that trickles down our back as we are exposed to stories of pontianaks (female vampires) or pocong (shroud wrapped ghosts). How about stories from our very own Malaysian writer, Tunku Halim, spinner of horrendous fiction? 

Over 15 years in the making, this is a mid-career retrospective by Malaysia's prince of darkness Tunku Halim.

Featuring twenty of his best short stories such as Biggest Baddest Bomoh, Mr Petronas, The Rape of Martha Teoh, Night of the Pontianak, Malay Magick and Gravedigger's Kiss, this is a collection that will make you tingle in all sorts of places.

Just like how Stephen King is synonymous with horror in US, Tunku Halim is Malaysia's Stephen King. To me the stories could have been slightly scarier as my horror threshold is pretty high. However, it made for an interesting read.

145. Mysteries of the World

BOOK REVIEW: Mysteries of the World

Did you just see a blinking light in the sky? It's just a star, or is it....Ever came across animal carcasses with no known explanation for it's death except that it was completely drained of blood? Some of these questions and situations have long posed as a mystery to mankind. 

Our world is full of mysterious places, stories and phenomena about which we still know very little, even after many years of investigation. This book is devoted to legendary objects like the Holy Grail and looks at mysterious remains indicating the presence of highly developed technologies in the ancient world.

It investigates beasts like the Yeti, which are still tracked down by cryptozoologists, and many others besides. Make your way through this survey of the mysteries of the world and find interesting answers and clarifications for questions that have long excited humankind.

Detailed pictures and illustrations give us an illuminating insight into creatures that we would only have imagined about such as the Chupacabra, Tatzlwurm and other creatures that lurk in the dark recesses of our mind.

For anyone with a love of the supernatural and unexplained, this book is an excellent resource.