The House of Hidden Meanings

 The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir by RuPaul  256 pp.

As RuPaul says, "We are all born naked, the rest is drag." Beginning with life as a queer kid with the unusual name of RuPaul Andre Charles, growing up with problematic parents in San Diego, through his evolution into a celebrity icon RuPaul doesn't hide the reality of the wild years, the relationships gone bad, homelessness and couch surfing, and extreme substance abuse. RuPaul is his own creation that evolved over many years, surviving the AIDS crisis of the '80s while others fell around him. And then there is the drugs, so many drugs. I find it hard to believe he was able to function as a rising international star while continually using multiple substances. And yet, he did it and became a phenomenon, recognizable in and out of drag around the world. Then there is the moment of realization as his husband, George, enters rehab, that he also needed to rehabilitate himself from what, until then, he thought was just recreational drug use. Unfortunately the book ends before the creation of "RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars" which hopefully will be in a second volume. The audiobook was read by the author. 

The Devil in the Kitchen

The Devil in the Kitchen: Sex, Pain, Madness, and the Making of a Great Chef by Marco Pierre White  244 pp.

I never heard of Marco Pierre White until I got this book for a couple bucks on sale at Audible. It turns out that White was both the youngest and the first British chef to earn three Michelin stars for his work in various restaurants in England. He is also a television personality in Great Britain having been on the British version of "Hell's Kitchen" and other food related shows including ones in the U.S. Born to an English father, also a chef, and an Italian mother, White grew up in Leeds, West Yorkshire. After leaving school before graduating and leaving home because he didn't want to deal with a new stepmother, White began working in restaurant kitchens, working his way up to high end establishments through hutzpah, talent, and sheer hard work to some of the best restaurants in England. Along the way he earned his Michelin stars, worked with chefs like Mario Batali and Gordon Ramsey, and opened his own restaurants, one in partnership with actor Michael Caine. The books ends at his retirement from being a working chef in 1999. White is a self-proclaimed workaholic who decided it was time to actually spend some time with his family. He is brutally honest in this book about his fits of temper, wild life which did not include the drug use of many other celebrity chefs, and obsession with creating perfect meals.