Book: Let there be meat (BBQ)

This one is much more of a straight forward BBQ book - low-n-slow BBQ, where meat is smoked over a low heat for hours (upwards of 5, often 12+ hours).

I have mentioned elsewhere about the more fancy BBQ books, or the more story-telling BBQ books, but this one is a lot more straight forward - it starts with recipes about rubs, then meats (and the usual meats you'd expect - pulled pork, varieties of ribs, brisket, burgers etc), before going into normal sections for sides, drinks, deserts etc. It's an accessible read - and unlike the more fancy BBQ books,  it has lots of recipes that you might turn to if you were having friends and family over. It does have the same issue (I'm reluctant to call it an issue - its more of a feature of the BBQ book genre - besides any specific rub recipe, its just one person's - or group of people - opinion on what works for them with regards timing and temperature.

Their brisket recipe, for example, is quite a bit more detailed than the Pitt Cue recipe of cook it until its about 86 degrees internal temperature and has a sexy wobble - they recommend coffee + olive oil with the rub, and have directions how to apply the rub, as well as recommending wrapping the meat after a few hours - but ultimately, cooking slowly is a lot more forgiving, so you can do what you like - if you want to wrap it, then go ahead, and honestly, the window to wrap it is pretty big (hours) so you don't need to worry about exact timings - basically try cooking a few times, if you find something that works, stick with it! That said, their burnt beetroots are something that I have since tried (and can recommend) - again not following the recipe as much as having never really thought about sticking beets straight into the coals, I did that, and it worked well!

It is another aesthetically pleasing book - the pictures are all really appetising and a good balance between rustic/dirty and delicious!

Overall, it's a fun BBQ book, thats good to read and a good coffee table book, that non BBQ fanatics can happily pick up and browse.

Book: Hamburger Gourmet

Ok, so I have to be honest, this one is kinda half in here based on aesthetics. Its another lovely looking book, with great images. Its entirely about burgers, and is from the chefs from a Parisien burger joint called Blend, and is what it sounds - a recipe book of burgers.

As has become trendy over the last decade or so, it features a range of more adventurous burgers, with different meats, avocados, etc. It dedicates a couple pages to equipment, to the different components (cheese, buns, sauces) but the bulk is just the burger recipes. I have read it, several times, although honestly not followed any of the recipes (I'm more of a smashed beef, salt, pepper kinda burger guy), but its fun to read none the less (and I have kept it).

It's hard to really see that it offers much more beyond what you'd find on the internet, but if you know someone who is really into their burgers (making their own beef blends at home, which honestly, I have been more than a bit tempted to do) then this would be a nice gift.

Movies: Pi

This one is not as well known as some of the others in my classics list, but it is a true nerd cult classic for a few reasons:

1. It is an early film directed by Darren Aronofsky, of Black Swan fame
2. It is a FILM ABOUT MATHS - specifically about the Golden Ratio, and how it appears in nature and everywhere (trust me, once you have watched this, you will want to find out more! Its an amazing phenomona)
3. It's soundtrack was done by awesome electronic artists in the 90s including Roni Size and Aphex Twin
4. A central theme is the game "Go" which is heavily in the news at the moment, as Google's AI AlphaGo has beaten Lee Se-dol three games in a row

Movies: Blade Runner

Whilst a lot of people were (quite rightfully) raving about the more recent sequel Blade Runner 2049, there is no denying the cult status of the original. A sinisterly dark, futuristic sci-fi thriller in which Harrison Ford's character has to hunt down any rogue humanoid robots (robots that are pretending to be people, who have since been outlawed). In a future where it is permanently raining, Harrison's adventure focusses on bringing in three criminal Nexus 6's (Fun Nerd Fact: Nexus 6 is the name of the model of the robot that Harrison Ford has to hunt down, which Google gave a knowing nod to, when it released it's first foray into the tablet market with its Nexus 7 device)

Its surprising when you stop and think of the number of iconic roles that Harrison Ford has had over his career, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Blade Runner are some of the biggest cult classics and I'm really not sure I can think of anyone who has that kind of cult standing?  And that's before you get into the rest of the impressive back catalogue with films like The Fugitive, Clear and Present Danger, etc