Coffee

Object Lessons

by Dinah Lenney

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. Coffee--it's the thing that gets us through, and over, and around. The thing--the beverage, the break, the ritual--we choose to slow ourselves down or speed ourselves up. The excuse to pause; the reason to meet; the charge we who drink it allow ourselves in lieu of something stronger or scarier. Coffee goes to lifestyle, and character, and where do we buy it, how do we brew it, how strong can we take it, how often, how hot, how cold? How does coffee remind us, stir us, comfort us? But Coffee is about more than it's a personal history and a promise to self; in her confrontation with the hours (with time--big picture, little picture), Dinah Lenney faces head-on the challenges of growing older and carrying on. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.

Genres: Nonfiction, Food, Memoir, Essays

140 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 16, 2020

About the author

Dinah Lenney wrote The Object Parade, Bigger than Life: A Murder, a Memoir, and co-authored Acting for Young Actors. Her prose has been published in many journals and anthologies, among them The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Agni, Creative Nonfiction, The Washington Post, the Paris Review Daily, and Brevity. She serves as core faculty for in the Bennington Writing Seminars. Her TED talk is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBo-h.... And her new book, COFFEE, is forthcoming from Bloomsbury. http:// www.dinahlenney.com.

Reviews

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 2 out of 5]

Essayistic collection of ruminations on coffee, that are so scattered in nature, it feels like someone blasting a shotgun to hit an ant.

Coffee! I drink it! A lot! And I do love it! So I went into this with a cuppa by my side, and was slightly disappointed.

The author has a hard time zeroing in on what she wants to talk about regarding coffee, or at least that's the impression I got. She goes a bit after the technical and biological side, how is it grown, how do experts feel it should be brewed and drank. Then there's the inevitable pushback against the experts, how do regular people drink their coffee, and while it's awful coffee it is also good coffee (the People's Coffee). And it's a weird tangent for her to go off in, I think, because her real fascination is with the personal - what is the role of coffee in daily life, and specifically her family's life. There are moments where she delves into this - very moving is the description of her father always making coffee for her mother. Even when he became too I'll to drink it himself, there he was, brewing coffee for her. It is where coffee intersects with memory and with the time-stamping quality it has (this-is-morning coffee, this-is-evening coffee, etc.).

The author sends out questionnaires to her friends and family, asking about their memories and preferences. And it doesn't really go anywhere.

She reads about how a writer said drinking espressos from midnight till morning yields great writing, and then she spends a page or so fussing why she couldn't do this and I'm left thinking, why not try it? For a week, do the nightly espresso binge and see what happens! You're writing a book about coffee, there is no better excuse.

The author adopts a light, bubbly tone, that I think is supposed to be wry and witty, but for me comes off a bit panicky.

It all feels very scatterbrained an approach to the subject, as if the book was written while being overcaffeinated.

(Kindly received an ARC from Bloomsbury through Netgalley)

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful. One gets the feeling reading this book that the author was highly caffeinated during the writing of it, flitting here and there from one subject to the next, from personal memories of a life in coffee to observations about coffee culture. The writing is a bit skittish, as if the author can't find her keys, but charming in its skittishness. Haven't we all felt skittish after our fifth cup of coffee?

I was hooked when Lenney professed: "A bad cup of coffee isn't bad. On the other hand, a weak cup of coffee?" There's just no reason in the world..." I couldn't agree more. I'm a huge fan of the Bloomberg OBJECT series (especially High Heel by Summer Brennan). Having once written an entire novel about coffee, I was keen to dig into this one.

[Story · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a pleasant enough little book but not as engaging as I hoped it might be. I would have preferred far fewer anecdotes about the author's not-very-interesting personal life and many more anecdotes about the fascinating history of coffee.

[Theediscerning · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh dear. In returning to this series of books – sometimes wonderful, sometimes dreadful – this series of frustratingly edited books, after too long away, I find one of the frustrating ones. But this is worse; it's infuriating. I'd got a quarter of the way through the book without, it seemed, learning anything, except the author was fond of pretentiously long sentences, and that she had a mother. Or something. I suppose I ought to have expected pretentiousness in a book about a subject that clearly raises so much pretention – the flavours of coffee, the presentation, the ways of making it, the ways of plucking it from civet shit and dusting it off for the even more pretentious purchaser… The best books under this umbrella would have guided me as a happy scoffer through all that and I'll still be thinking about it over my morning cup of instant tomorrow. I did see the book turn to actually presenting some information, but I really had fallen out with the author long before then – because this is one of the worst books under this umbrella. It's full of needless detours, personal asides, longueurs, yacking seemingly for the point of yacking, and flipping parents. So my search for a quick, erudite lesson into all things coffee hit a right singular brick.

[Benjamin Helge · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a regular coffee drinker (speciality coffee that is), I found myself in almost every chapter of Dinah Lenney’s writing. Ultimately, she guides us to think about what coffee is all about. She does this through anecdote, interviews, and what seems like stream of consciousness. I can’t wait to pick this up again in the near future.

[Laura Hoffman Brauman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this long form essay felt a little like I had too much coffee. It jumps all over the place and doesn't feel like it strikes a consistent tone. There were moments that I loved -- the reflection that when you ask someone about the best cup of coffee they have had, it will be as much about the experience (looking at the mountains, sitting with a grandparent, etc) as it is about the flavor of the drink or the section on Dr. Ford when she testified at the Kavanaugh confirmation (absolutely masterful writing), but then it would jump around and lose focus again. I've loved many of the installments in the Object Lessons series, but this one fell short for me.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming combination of research journalism, casual interviews and personal insights into why coffee has such an iconoclastic role in daily life. As I also feel strongly about these beverage, I found it highly enjoyable. Going to have to work my way through the “Object Lessons” back catalogue as I am now in love with this format.

ARC from publisher via NetGalley but the opinions are my own.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished the book standing over a boiling pot of water for the night’s ravioli dinner. Picked up for an office bookclub and it’s a good thing I love food writing. This book started slow but everything after was gold. It reads like Nora Ephron. I recommend.

[The Idle Woman · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first Bloomsbury Object Lessons book I read was High Heel (I’ll post on it soon), and I can’t help feeling that it spoiled me. I’ve since been working my way through other titles in the series and, so far, nothing quite lives up to the poetic blend of history, mythology and social history which High Heel accomplished, and which set my expectations (unreasonably high?) for the rest of the books. Take Coffee, for example. If the aim of this series is to present everyday objects in a new light, informing readers about their place in economic, social or art history, or enlightening us about how they’re made, you’d have thought that coffee was an easy thing to do well. I’m not much of a coffee drinker myself, but my boyfriend is, and I was hoping to find lots of interesting pieces of coffee trivia with which to impress him. Instead, I found myself ploughing through a bizarre stream of consciousness about the author’s life and how she drinks, buys and feels about her own coffee. The few pieces of context that I did pick up were squirrelled away in footnotes, and it’s rather disappointing when the two things you take away from a book about coffee are: a) a recommendation of another book that seems to do what this one should have done; and b) an amusing Jewish joke...

https://theidlewoman.net/2020/04/26/c...

[Joanne Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dinah Lenney’s, Coffee, is a fast-paced ride through all that is coffee. We learn about the history of coffee, the ever-changing norms (along with what’s currently cool and what’s not), and forays into friends' views on our (well, my) favorite drink. All of this in coffee cup sized essays that are a pleasure to read. My favorite part of the book? How it begins and ends with family—because ultimately, for me, coffee is about ritual, about gatherings, about new beginnings. Lenny’s book, part of the Object Lessons series, is a wonderful exploration into all that we value about coffee, and (I have to say it) a nice way to start the day!

[Mabearbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable little gem, a memoir of sorts but also filled with fun and quirky facts and musings about a comfort and commodity known as coffee. Dinah Lenney has a unique and witty style of writing that engages readers through nostalgia and leaves room for contemplation. This book is definitely one to read and reflect on with your favorite cup of Joe, minus any hash brownies or chocolate covered blueberries for understandable health and safety reasons. 🙂

[Elizabeth Wenger · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the Bloomsbury Object Lessons Series, Coffee is a beautifully written meditation on the eponymous caffeinated drink. Dinah Lenney brings her prose to life with an energized style that keeps you zipping from one page to the next. With descriptions that make your belly ache for those sacred beans, you’ll find yourself pausing between chapters to brew yourself a cup.
What is so magical about this book is that it shows how coffee is more than just a way to wake up. It is a ritual, a way of remembering (places, moments, people, conversations), a community, and an excuse to pause and enjoy life’s little things.
This book is a great gift for any coffee drinker. Aside from Lenney’s more personal ruminations, Coffee also includes interesting facts from history and legends, to farming, roasting, and brewing techniques. Even for those who prefer other libations, this quick read has some of the finest prose. The writing is exemplary and would be excellent teaching material for creative non-fiction classes. Get your fill on this book’s language! Sit down with some a cup o’ joe and get to reading.

[Kitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about coffee.....but really a series of deeply personal, often quite funny essays. Such a joy to read, even for this tea drinker.

[Heather Harpham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Total fun. A close look at coffee -- how it is made, how it reaches us, what it means to us.
But more, a deliciously observed memoir in snapshots of the author's life as a watcher, a coffee drinker, a sister, a mother and a woman who is watching and learning, sip by sip.

[Anete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
Quotes from the book:
"Nobody gets to judge the other guy’s coffee - coffee is personal. Coffee is particular.”
and
“If we only realized: coffee, a personal trigger that it is, connects us with people we’ll probably never meet. If we thought about that, couldn’t it change our attitudes not just toward coffee but toward other human beings?”

"Coffee" by Dinah Lenney is a book from the series Object Lessons. The book is a balance between the author's personal life stories that include coffee and some facts about the drink itself. As a coffee lover that I am myself, I expected the book to be more about stories of the history of coffee and less personal life. Coffee really is more than a drink, it is a whole culture, it has the power to unite people. And the history of coffee and even the process of making it should have been more written about in the book (so I think).

[Callista Goh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a complementary copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Coffee by Dinah Lenney explores the author's personal significance of coffee and its role in various stages of her life. Lenney is insightful in exploring and analysing the importance of coffee, and does so in an easy-to-read but gratifying manner.

This book is part of the series, Object Lessons, that explores the significance of everyday objects, symbols and signs.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even if you've read a lot about coffee, you've never had this much fun doing it. Besides, when Lenney writes about coffee she writes about pleasure, death, presence, time, the inquiry of ideas, writing, family, love, life. I'd no sooner give up this book than my morning cup.

[Linda Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun Read

Coffee is such a “thing” for so many people and this is almost a stream of consciousness journaling about that. Plus, so many interesting notes and facts inserted. A true joy to sit with...organized so one can pick it up and read a bit and come back later, slipping right into the flow.

[joyce w. laudon · Rating 4 out of 5]

My days start out with one of my favorite activities, sipping coffee and reading.  For me, coffee is a favorite beverage in all its many drink forms from iced to brewed to lattes and more.  So, I was intrigued to find this title which is part of a series on everyday items.


The book opens with a quote from Virginia Woolf that lets readers know that her time with her coffee cup was welcome.  It goes on to share the author's experience with this beverage.


Ms. Lenney clearly enjoys her brew.  She opens the book taking readers on her morning coffee preparation routine.  It is clear that this ritual matters to her. This title goes on in a very chatty and personal style to make clear the important role of this drink.


I enjoyed spending time with Ms. Lenney as her thoughts went here and there on the topic of coffee in general, her coffee, her family and more.  I am not sure that this title is for everyone but i definitely enjoyed it...while I drank my coffee!


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

[David W. Berner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful little book.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is one in a series called “Object Lessons” where the focus is on one object, this book is clearly enough about coffee. I love the idea of this series, and I have a few of the books checked out from the library, yet this is the first one I’ve actually read. I thought it would be more focused on coffee but instead it was more a meandering with the author’s life.

After reading the book I found that is actually within the scope of the series, so it was my misunderstanding. Okay, but still I did want a bit more about coffee than I did get here. I understand it isn’t to be fully comprehensive, there are other books for that. But even within the pages, Lenney tells us early on about a survey she sent out to people about coffee for writing this book but it seems to drop off early on and we didn’t get much out of that. It felt odd to bring it up so thoroughly yet not discuss it in details.

In any case the book is enjoyable, the writing decent. I liked the coffee diaries entries, and overall the light tone of the book.

Book rating: 3.5 stars


Thanks to Bloomsbury Academic and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the inherent challenges of the Object Lessons series is that the topics are vast and coverage is inconsistent from author to author. I had every expectation of thoughtful essays on the topic of coffee and ritual, our reliance on it to stimulate us as well as the economy, and a great number of other possibilities to link it back to our need to connect with people. This ended up being more about her personal reflections and was generally scattered in its approach; it was a little disorienting in its jumping from idea to idea. This is not necessarily a poor choice, but one that did not resonate with my interests. I did not read past the first couple of sections, and had suggested it to a colleague for her love of coffee in hopes that it would be a better fit for her. She didn't end up finishing it either.

[Jon Zellweger · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this, oh so ironically, this past night when I could not sleep (I cannot, sadly, blame the beverage). Second volume of the “Object Lessons” series that I have acquired (see my previous IG post on Morton’s “Spacecraft” << highly recommended). Perhaps it was reading it in the dead of night without a cup of joe by my side but this book on Coffee just didn’t land. The style of writing began as irritatingly fractured anecdotes where the author constantly interrupted themselves with parenthetical remarks and footnoted sidebars. An ADHD mind that needed another cup of, well, coffee I suppose. By the end it morphed into a bit more collected and crafted memoir offering the volume a bit of redemption along with more complex dimension. It was a way to pass the time, unfortunately not amusing when it I believe they meant to be. Moving along….

[Neal Tognazzini · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading the Object Lessons on wine and gin, I decided to take up the one on coffee. (Noticing a pattern here?) It’s remarkable how different each of them is from the other two. This one feels almost like a novel, with a highly caffeinated narrator who writes in a stream-of-consciousness style (with many parenthetical asides). For the first half I was feeling bewildered because I didn’t really feel like it was going anywhere, just a bunch of vignettes jumbled together, but then for the back half I sort of settled into the vibe, started getting okay with the novelistic feeling, and was able to enjoy myself. It was definitely a unique sort of ride.

[Curt Bobbitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spotty details about coffee as a plant appeared within personal narratives about the drinks it has led to. Most of the author's stories involve the social realms of coffee beverages. Lenney includes a bibliography she calls "My Coffee Book Fort," including the following titles that sound closer to my expectations of her reflections.

Uncommon Grounds by Mark Pendergrast.
The New Coffee Rules by Michelman and Carlsen.
The Measure of Her Powers by MFK Fisher.
The Coffee Dictionary by Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood.

[Aleksandr Popov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dinah Lenney's book introduced me to the "Object Lessons" series and got me hooked immediately. I had never even thought that one can write a story of ones own daily life by focusing on a hot liquid most of us digest for pure survival reasons. Boy was I wrong!
I was turning the pages being completely immersed in the story of the author. A bit of new info here, a heart warming note there ... By the time I reached the end of the book I was ready to get to the barricades and demand more coffee!

[John Kinkade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming writing but gets indulgent after a while--personal stories are welcome but they come to be the only thing happening in the book. I did like the description of historical waves of coffee in the 20th century: first wave, Maxwell House/Folgers; then moving on to things like Starbucks and Peet's; then moving on to more craft versions. Enjoyed reading it but would also like more discussion of historical contexts around coffee.

[Katie Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Coffee is a lot more than just a drink; it’s something happening. Not as in hip, but like an event, a place to be, but not like a location, but like somewhere within yourself. It gives you time, but not actual hours or minutes, but a chance to be, like be yourself, and have a second cup.” - Gertrude Stein

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I’m not a coffee snob, however I do believe that coffee brings community. I also welcome the art of Fika whenever possible.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love books. I love coffee. How could I go wrong with a book about coffee? But it didn't work for me. It wandered around and went here and there and I was left with nothing. I didn't even feel like I got a good sip.

I was eagerly looking forward to reading some of these Object Lessons series books, but now I think I will skip the rest.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to be a little disjointed and that made it hard for me to properly enjoy it.
While there were some interesting things discussed, the way it was all compiled together was a little off putting for me personally.