I am a budding foodie and reluctant food blogger. I've only recently joined Slashfood, and unlike many of my colleagues, I don't have any particular knowledge about the foodie world. I don't watch the Food Network (that would require me getting cable, and nyaaaah). I don't know much about fine cuisine. I wouldn't know a truffle from a button mushroom (or maybe I would, if somebody would buy me a truffle). And indeed, although I love food, love being in the kitchen and (trying) to feed my friends and family, the learning curve is daunting.

But I want to learn! And since I'm at least another year away from actually taking a cooking class, I've done what most writers do: I've hit the books. I thought I'd share them with you, while I'm educating myself on all things culinary.

Food is the new black. Or at least it seems that way, given the mass media interest in food and its preparations. It's not hard to compile a sizable reading list. I've culled mine mostly from suggestions on the food blogs, and here they are, in no particular order. The list isn't complete by any means, but it's a start.




My Life in France, by Julia Child -- Oh, to be a 6-foot American woman in France in the 50s. Maybe then I wouldn't be so scared of the French. I keep trying to work my way through this book, but I keep coming up against the unpronounceable. Many, many reputable food bloggers have cited this book as essential reading. Who am I to argue?

Fork it Over: The Intrepid Adventures of a Professional Eater, by Alan Richman. Funny stuff by GQ's food critic, who, if I'm to believe the first few stories, is not only a neurotic mamma's boy, but doesn't know how to boil an egg himself, either. Which makes him a man after my own heart.

Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses, by Isabel Allende -- Food, sex. Sex, food. How can you go wrong there?

Third Helpings, by Calvin Trillin -- Yeah, the book is almost 20 years old, and I don't think Trillin writes about food anymore. But anything this well-known, very funny New Yorker writer pens is worth digesting.

Letters to a Young Chef, by Daniel Bouloud -- A delicious peek into what it would take to become a world-famous chef...and proof beyond doubt that I don't have it. Still, I'm always one to live vicariously if I can.

Insatiable: Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess, by Gael Greene -- New York Magazine's food critic takes a romp through her days covering the Foodie Revolution, whatever that is. As debauched as Richman is straight-laced. I wonder if they ever met?

Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as a Kitchen Slave...etc., by Bill Bufurd. Editor meets Mario Batali. Editor decides he wants to learn how to be a chef. Wacky hi-jinx ensue.

It must Have been Something I ate, by Jeffery Steingarten -- Vogue's food writer. Bodacious. Blue-blooded. And smarter than you. Fabulously bitchy essays on everything from gourmet salts to Toro sushi.

Tender at the Bone, by Ruth Reichl -- I read this years ago, but it's one of those books I enjoyed so much I keep it around just to relive the pleasure of reading certain passages. One day I may even try her recipe for apple dumplings and hard sauce. And won't that be a hoot? I love all of Reichl's books, but this one is by far the most charming.

The Art of Eating, by M.F.K. Fisher -- The Bible of foodie books. The book I should have read years ago. But I keep having to return it to the library. With all the late fees I've paid on this one, I could have bought my own copy by now.

The enviable writer/chef Michael Ruhlman's The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef's Craft for Every Kitchen just showed up on my porch last week from Amazon, and it's living up to its promise. Formatted much like Strunk and White's legendary "Elements of Style," I'm able to read what a trained professional thinks I need to know. About veal stock. About sauces. About eggs. True, it leaves me with more questions than answers, but it's a treasure chest of knowledge, and not just for beginners, either. So what's in your foodie library? What would you recommend?