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Cult Classics & Cocktails with Adam Rogers
The author of “Proof: The Science of Booze” shares his favorites.
Published on July 1, 2022
Les Miserables
Victor HugoThe musical reduces me to a weepy mess, but that's because a) I’m a big softie and b) the book is a sprawling, romantic, political adventure. Come for the meditation about justice and order, but stay for Hugo's criticism of how capitalist societies treat the most vulnerable.
Last Call: A Novel
Tim PowersSo there's this magic poker game in Las Vegas played with tarot cards, and people competing to be the Fisher King, and Bugsy Siegel is involved, and the end of the world is probably coming. Tim Powers is the genre fiction reader's secret handshake. You should read him.
The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks
Amy StewartThe other way to do a book about the science of booze. Stewart is erudite, charming, funny, and knows everything about every botanical that human beings turn into alcohol. I remain very, very jealous of this book.