Inspired by a post on the Washington Times' food-related blog, I started thinking about my summer reading. Granted, these days, most of the reading I do is off the screen on my laptop, but there are occasions when I want to grab physical reading material and sit outside (in the shade of an umbrella with a glass of Prosecco, of course). Nicole has done a great job of covering a cookbook a day, which are great for leisurely flipping, but sometimes I want to read actual sentences that make up a story.
The blog author Kim O'Donnell's food-related book recommendations are Gael Greene's Insatiable: Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess, Steve Almond's Candy Freak, Jane and Michael Stern's Two for the Road, and the 98-page supplement to the August issue of Gourmet magazine.
Here are my picks for food-related books that you might want to toss into your beach tote. Not all of them are necessarily new, and some I've read, others I am hoping to:
- I am caught between the sheets, smack dab in the sultry, sexy middle of Insatiable myself, and I am loving it. I highly recommend this book to everyone, but just be warned that Gael's memoirs reflect a very active social life, and by "social," I don't mean "going to her weekly book club meeting."
- Tony Bourdain's The Nasty Bits, along with anything else my idol has written
- Julia Child and grandnephew Alex Prud-Homme's My Life in France
- Bill Buford's Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany
- Ruth Reichl's Garlic and Sapphires
- The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
- I am working my way through On Food & Cooking by Harold McGee. It's not what I'd call "light summer reading," but it's great to have as a reference for later. Personally, I don't mid reading though a few pages every night, as if I were studying.
- This one's for you. What food-related books are you reading and would recommend to fellow Slashfoodies?
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The Backyard Boom - The Hungry Bride
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-10-2006 @ 12:49PM
jenny williams said...
What to eat by Marion Nestle. Not exactly a light read, but very informative.
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8-10-2006 @ 1:01PM
MP said...
Giving Good Weight, by John McPhee is an excellent collection of short stories -- most of them food related. The title story in particular.
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8-10-2006 @ 2:09PM
Boutros said...
Michael Ruhlman's chef books are good, too. I recently finished The Reach of a Chef.
I second the Heat recommendation. That book was great.
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8-10-2006 @ 2:43PM
Jules said...
I'm not sure if this fits the genre, but I've always loved Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. One recipe or more per steamy chapter!
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8-10-2006 @ 3:32PM
Ande said...
I'm reading Cooking for Mr. Latte, written by Amanda Hesser. It's delightful!!
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8-10-2006 @ 3:33PM
Connie said...
"Real Food: What to Eat and Why" by Nina Plank. Excellent read and solid research.
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8-10-2006 @ 4:26PM
peggy said...
like whater for chocolate is definitely on the list, and anything by dianne mott davidson's series about goldie the caterer. she is like the mis marple of aspen grove, colorado. they are fun to read and contain recepies that are part of the stories. i have made a couple and they were pretty good.
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8-10-2006 @ 4:53PM
Megan said...
Isabel Allende - Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses. It's about food and sensuality - both in a sexy way, and in an indulgent eat-the-ice-cream-and-damn-the-consequences way. The hard-cover version is heavy paper and has many lovely color paintings - don't know about the paperback. Recipes included!
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8-10-2006 @ 9:35PM
Jen said...
I'm a Michael Ruhlman fan as well, though _Reach of a Chef_ was a little all over the place for me. I much prefer _Soul of a Chef_ and _Making of a Chef_.
I look forward to the annual Best Food Writing anthology every year, and the new one is due out next month.
_Julie and Julia_ was lots of fun.
On a slightly different tack, _Love By the Glass_ by Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher is a sweet love story nicely soaked in wine. They write the Tastings column for the Wall Street Journal weekend edition.
Currently reading _The United States of Arugula_ (an advance readers copy - the joy of working in a bookstore :) and I'm finding it a little hard to get into, but with potential.
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8-10-2006 @ 9:42PM
Ricardo Rabago said...
Hello Everyone:
If interested Organically Speaking a Seattle base website has released a conversation with Michael Pollan podcast (audio conversation). Interesting tidbits on farmers markets, CSAs, and more!
Some Podcast Show Note Questions:
Q) Why the price difference between conventional food and organic and how do we go about bringing down organic food prices?
Q) How can small local organic farmers remain local in a capitalistic system?
Q) What is the "Food Web" you briefly touch on in your book, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.
http://OrganicallySpeaking.org
All the best,
-Ricardo
Holistic Conversations for a Sustainable World Who Share Your Passion for:
* high quality organic food
* natural, sustainable lifestyle
* ecology
* holistic health
Reply
8-10-2006 @ 10:26PM
Sera said...
I recommend "Untangling My Chopsticks" by Victoria Abbott Riccardi. It's part diary/memoir and part cookbook. It's about Mrs. Abbor Riccardi's move to Kyoto to study the rare art of Tea Kaiseki. Each chapter she reveals interesting and insighful cultural infomation, and of course, is followed by several recipes so you can re-create her experiences in your own kitchen. I just loved it, especially as one who loves Japanese cooking.
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8-11-2006 @ 10:09AM
mella said...
Anything by Calvin Trillin. His books are full of great food stories, but they are also hysterically funny. He's a great writer with a wonderful grasp on how ordinary people (non-professionals in the food indutry) think about and enjoy food. And his descriptions make my mouth water!
I also enjoy Food in History by Reay Tannahill. Perhaps its a bit academic, but it's still a very interesting read.
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