Cooking

In addition to a book on European history, my recent bedtime reading is Gordon Ramsay's Home Cooking.

For those who are not familiar with the field, Gordon Ramsay is one of the chefs with the most Michelin stars in the world. I must say his cookbooks are always enjoyable, but Home Cooking is better than most of the others. It is not merely a collection of recipes and tips, but covers many important but neglected areas of amateurish cooking - from what utensils to buy and how to plan a dinner party for friends to how to make use of leftovers and prepare a meal for a single person.

The lessons that he shares do not only apply to cookery but almost everything in life: Plan things well ahead, and don't be over-ambitious.

PS. Other than cookery, Ramsay is famous for his colourful and spicy vocabulary.

Go watch Hell's Kitchen.