Diane Leach

Diane Leach has a Master's Degree in English Literature from Humboldt State University. She writes for PopMatters.com and blogs at Theinsufficientkitchen.com. She can be reached at [email protected].
‘Don’t Be a Snob’ and Other Things I Learned from Anthony Bourdain’s ‘Les Halles Cookbook’

‘Don’t Be a Snob’ and Other Things I Learned from Anthony Bourdain’s ‘Les Halles Cookbook’

Les Halles Cookbook isn’t so much a narrative as it is a harangue delivered in what would become Bourdain’s trademark blend of insolence, irreverence, and profanity.

On Porochista Khakpour’s ‘Sick’, or, When Marginal Identifiers Are No Excuse

On Porochista Khakpour’s ‘Sick’, or, When Marginal Identifiers Are No Excuse

A reader will understand and sympathize with the illness and its ramifications presented here. But with the unreliable narrator -- not so much.

Life Makes Us Better Readers: Tess Gallagher’s ‘The Man from Kinvara’

Life Makes Us Better Readers: Tess Gallagher’s ‘The Man from Kinvara’

Gallagher's work often suffers unfairly beside famous husband's Raymond Carver. The Man from Kinvara should permanently remedy this.

Sometimes, a Budweiser Is Better

Sometimes, a Budweiser Is Better

Recreating the world's oldest fermented drinks should make for entertaining reading material. It doesn't.
Joyce Carol Oates’ ‘Dis Mem Ber’ Paces the Blurred Line Between Horror and Reality

Joyce Carol Oates’ ‘Dis Mem Ber’ Paces the Blurred Line Between Horror and Reality

For all the horror, the blood and ugliness, nothing in these pages is all that unthinkable.
‘Food City’ Will Challenge Your Appetite

‘Food City’ Will Challenge Your Appetite

From sugar to butchery to candy making, early food manufacture was crude, dangerous, and dirty.

The View From There: Joan Didion’s ‘South and West’

‘Is It All In Your Head?’ When Imaginary Illness Is Real

‘Is It All In Your Head?’ When Imaginary Illness Is Real

Is it all in your head? According to neurologist Suzanne O'Sullivan, it doesn't really matter.
Take a Vacation from Despair with ‘The Dark and Other Love Stories’

Take a Vacation from Despair with ‘The Dark and Other Love Stories’

Deborah Willis enchants and transports with 11 stories of adolescent friendship, Canada, and birds in The Dark and Other Love Stories.

Three Americans Visited Cuba…

Three Americans Visited Cuba…

Dan Goldberg, Andrea Kuhn and Jody Eddy visited Cuba three times. Then they wrote a cookbook.
Home Culinary Exploration Has Never Been More Fervent

Home Culinary Exploration Has Never Been More Fervent

Ever wondered what the difference between cinnamon and cassia is? The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs will teach you.
Is There Anything Left to Say About Julia Child? A Great Deal, in Fact

Is There Anything Left to Say About Julia Child? A Great Deal, in Fact

With The French Chef In America, readers get a fresh look at a beloved personality.