22 Comments

Glad to see you back, Gayla. Take extra good care of yourself as you recover!

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Thanks Sarah :)

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I really like Top Chef too, although I didn’t know there were already 15+ seasons 🙈

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Countdowns, especially when you get to 3 are awesome (who cares about taxes?). Top Chef is an occasional joy for me. Will seek out the season with Fatima Ali in it. Thanks and always great to read!

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My thoughts exactly, who cares about taxes. lol Thanks for being here Mark.

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Take care of yourself. Glad your deadline clock is down to just 3!

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Thanks, I'm so glad too. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. :)

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Used to watch every season of Top Chef. I didn't Ali had died. So very sad...

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Yes, it was sad and the book was sad too. I'm glad I read it, but it definitely takes the right "head space" to be able to read it.

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Even though I write about food, I’m a little embarrassed to admit I haven’t watched Top Chef. Obviously I need to take a look! Thanks for this and for your other recommendations, especially the link to books at the intersection of crime and literary fiction. I’m a huge fan of “The Greet Gatsby” but haven’t read the others. A good list!

I just finished “Horse” by Geraldine Brooks, which I loved. I am planning to read “March,” Brooks Pulitzer Prize-winning novel reimagining the lives of the March family of “Little Women.”

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There are a lot of "chef competition" shows on several different networks and in my opinion, Top Chef has the most "professional" chefs and the production quality of the show is second to none. It's a serious show, there's no fun/games, no yelling at the contestants and they are all professional chefs. The other competition shows all have their place, my preference is TC. I wish they would do more than one season a year. It goes by too fast and then the wait is too long until the next season.

I've heard many good things about Horse, I think I'm going to have to put that on my TBR. Thanks for the recommendation. :)

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The closer you get to retirement, the harder it might be. But I love a big three countdown! You’ll have to plan a reward for each one!

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It is definitely getting harder as I get closer. :( But I love your idea about a reward for each of the 3 remaining tax deadlines. I'll have to give it some thought. Thanks for the great idea!

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Hi Gayla! Could I interview you for my podcast? I would love to chat about your podcast and Substack! I’m at claudinewolk.com if you would like to reach me through my contact. Thank you!

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Just responded to you via your link.

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Top Chef was my pandemic lockdown binge, and OMG - I didn't know it moved from Hulu! I only got up to Season 13, but watched 18 and 19 in real time. Love indie bookstores! Parnassus is definitely one I'd love to visit and The Book Loft is within 4 hours of us so my daughter and I want to do a road trip someday. I'm surprised they didn't mention Judy Blume's Books & Books in Key West - such a great store, for obvious reasons.

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TC is such a good show, I do wish they'd do more than 1 season a year. I hope to visit Parnassus and many other bookstores in the coming few years. I discovered Blume's bookstore when I did a newsletter last year about author owned bookstores. I had no idea she owned a bookstore. I've learned so much since I started this newsletter by researching topics for my newsletter. It's been an added bonus.

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Oct 15, 2022Liked by Gayla Gray

I have Savor on my Kindle and chose it for the premise. I haven't watched Top Chef and I don't know anything about her story. I'll have to look for some of the episodes before I read.

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I hope you enjoy it, well as much as one can enjoy it. So sad, but very worthwhile to read.

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Hi. I'm a free subscriber but nowhere on your site can I find a button to become a paid subscriber, or find out the price. Can you help me out? -- Mike

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At this time, I don't have paid subscriptions turned on. I appreciate you wanting to pay, thank you, but for the foreseeable future, I won't be charging. Great to have you here; Enjoy reading!

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Oh, okay, good to know, Gayla. Thanks!

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