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Roots: Where Food Comes From and Where It Takes Us: A BlogHer Anthology
A BlogHer anthology about food—and the warmth, nostalgia, and sense of belonging it inspires in all of us
Roots is a love story about food—an exploration of its rich interconnectedness with culture, memory, and discovery, penned by over forty authors and personalities from the culinary blogosphere. The anthology’s deeply personal essays serve up family history, local lore, and tantalizing stories of worlds newly discovered through food, accompanied by original photography and a collection of recipes that, no matter how far flung, taste like home.
Roots is a love story about food—an exploration of its rich interconnectedness with culture, memory, and discovery, penned by over forty authors and personalities from the culinary blogosphere. The anthology’s deeply personal essays serve up family history, local lore, and tantalizing stories of worlds newly discovered through food, accompanied by original photography and a collection of recipes that, no matter how far flung, taste like home.
210 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2013
About the author
Rita Arens
13 books179 followersMy latest novel,
The Birthright of Parker Cleaves
, was published in August 2019 by InkSpell Publishing. Let me know if you check it out!
My first young adult novel is The Obvious Game from InkSpell Publishing. The Obvious Game is available in paperback and ebook (all formats) online at Kobo, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, InkSpell Publishing and Indiebound and is a 2016 Library Journal Self-e Selection.
Together with Stacy Morrison and Julie Ross Godar, I edited ROOTS (Open Road, 2013). My work has appeared in BlogHer Voices of the Year: 2012 (Open Road, 2012) and Kirtsy Takes a Bow (Bright Sky Press, 2009).
I edited Sleep Is for the Weak (Chicago Review Press, 2008), which won a 2009 National Parenting Publications Award.
My first young adult novel is The Obvious Game from InkSpell Publishing. The Obvious Game is available in paperback and ebook (all formats) online at Kobo, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, InkSpell Publishing and Indiebound and is a 2016 Library Journal Self-e Selection.
Together with Stacy Morrison and Julie Ross Godar, I edited ROOTS (Open Road, 2013). My work has appeared in BlogHer Voices of the Year: 2012 (Open Road, 2012) and Kirtsy Takes a Bow (Bright Sky Press, 2009).
I edited Sleep Is for the Weak (Chicago Review Press, 2008), which won a 2009 National Parenting Publications Award.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 24, 2013
It is perhaps insincere to post a review for a book one has edited onself, but I can't resist, because I really enjoyed ROOTS so much. It's 35 essays by 35 writers, cookbook editors and authors from the culinary internet, and yes, the book is delicious. I read and re-read these pieces—a love song pork roll, and a beautiful memory of being a fruit picker in the '50s; a tale of being taught Italian cooking by an aging family matriarch, without a word being spoken, and a haunting story about how harsh words over broken whipped cream defined a mother-daughter relationship for years—dozens of time, and each time I re-read them, I found something more to love. I finished every read completely satisfied, just like after an excellent meal. Highly recommend, and it will lead you to new writers to love and add to your blog reader.
July 25, 2013
This is an anthology, or collection, about food and its connection to our inner self through culture, memory, discovery and feeling. All told over 40 different authors have contributed their thoughts and feelings to this collection.
Looking through the list of essays there are certainly many interesting titles, but whether the interest stops with the title might be in the mind of the reader. Titles such as “Cheap Cream Cake”, “Pancakes and Remembrance”, “A Mother’s Hands” and "He Had Me at Bruschetta” can certainly draw you in and you need to read a little more to be more informed.
Reviewing a book like this is always a challenge as it is capable of creating diverging opinions. For this particularly reviewer something was missing, there was no spark other than professional curiosity. That does not mean that this is a bad book, just that its appeal might not be so broad and widespread as it perhaps could be. Similarly there is nothing to specifically criticise the book for - one person's like is, after all, another person's dislike or ambivalence, and if you can gel with this book you will certainly get your money's worth reading-wise. It is just that you really need to get it in your hands and dig around a little instead of perhaps "buying blind".
Within the various essays are a few supporting recipes and some colour photographs that are relatively harmless but don't particularly bring something to the party either.
If you look at the individual essays in their own right, some of them did grasp this reviewer's attention, such as the look at a Moroccan kitchen, so the hesitancy is really focussed on the overall package, the entirety of the book. That is something that the prospective purchaser and reader has to weigh up for themselves. For this reviewer it didn't entirely work, it may work for you and if it does then you will have got a good read and excellent value-for-money. Our rating is a bit of a "hmm…yes, err, hmm… possibly" conclusion. If you can, check it out!
Roots: Where Food Comes From and Where It Takes Us: A BlogHer Anthology, edited by Stacy Morrison, Julie Ross Godar & Rita Arens and published by Open Road Integrated Media/BlogHer. ISBN 9781453297094, 308 pages. Typical price: USD14.99. YYY.
// This review appeared in YUM.fi and is reproduced here in full with permission of YUM.fi. YUM.fi celebrates the worldwide diversity of food and drink, as presented through the humble book. Whether you call it a cookery book, cook book, recipe book or something else (in the language of your choice) YUM will provide you with news and reviews of the latest books on the marketplace. //
Looking through the list of essays there are certainly many interesting titles, but whether the interest stops with the title might be in the mind of the reader. Titles such as “Cheap Cream Cake”, “Pancakes and Remembrance”, “A Mother’s Hands” and "He Had Me at Bruschetta” can certainly draw you in and you need to read a little more to be more informed.
Reviewing a book like this is always a challenge as it is capable of creating diverging opinions. For this particularly reviewer something was missing, there was no spark other than professional curiosity. That does not mean that this is a bad book, just that its appeal might not be so broad and widespread as it perhaps could be. Similarly there is nothing to specifically criticise the book for - one person's like is, after all, another person's dislike or ambivalence, and if you can gel with this book you will certainly get your money's worth reading-wise. It is just that you really need to get it in your hands and dig around a little instead of perhaps "buying blind".
Within the various essays are a few supporting recipes and some colour photographs that are relatively harmless but don't particularly bring something to the party either.
If you look at the individual essays in their own right, some of them did grasp this reviewer's attention, such as the look at a Moroccan kitchen, so the hesitancy is really focussed on the overall package, the entirety of the book. That is something that the prospective purchaser and reader has to weigh up for themselves. For this reviewer it didn't entirely work, it may work for you and if it does then you will have got a good read and excellent value-for-money. Our rating is a bit of a "hmm…yes, err, hmm… possibly" conclusion. If you can, check it out!
Roots: Where Food Comes From and Where It Takes Us: A BlogHer Anthology, edited by Stacy Morrison, Julie Ross Godar & Rita Arens and published by Open Road Integrated Media/BlogHer. ISBN 9781453297094, 308 pages. Typical price: USD14.99. YYY.
// This review appeared in YUM.fi and is reproduced here in full with permission of YUM.fi. YUM.fi celebrates the worldwide diversity of food and drink, as presented through the humble book. Whether you call it a cookery book, cook book, recipe book or something else (in the language of your choice) YUM will provide you with news and reviews of the latest books on the marketplace. //
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews