Books on the Nightstand discussion

I'm sure there are so many books that fit this but I'm coming up blank - please give suggestions.

I have this one on my bingo card as well and plan on reading Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work. I love cooking and science and this sounds like a book that brings them together!

Chocolat by Joanne Harris is a great one for this category if you haven't already read it.

Toast by Nigel Slater would be a good fit too. A memoir where each chapter is based on a particular food that evokes memories of a certain time and place in his life.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life

Salt: A World History

Like Water for Chocolate

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The Chocolate War

A Year in Provence

Cod by Mark Kurlansky. Or for lighter reading Delicious by Ruth Reichl.

I also liked Delicious by Ruth Reichl, and here are some additional non-fiction suggestions:
Heat - Bill Buford
Poor Man's Feast - Elissa Altman
On the Noodle Road - Jen Lin Liu
Life on the Line - Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas
Gumbo Tales - Sara Roahen
Blood, Bones and Butter - Gabrielle Hamilton

Ellen wrote: "I'm sure there are so many books that fit this but I'm coming up blank - please give suggestions."

Linda and I must think alike as I loved 2 she mentioned

Like Water for ChocolateLike Water for Chocolate
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life

May I add three more non-fiction
The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise
1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List

There are so many cozy mysteries that feature food that I wouldn't even attempt to mention many but here are a couple of series that seem popular

Diane Mott Davidson's Goldy Bear Schultze Culinary Mysteries
Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen

and don't forget
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

I am presently reading Food Lit: A Reader's Guide to Epicurean Nonfictionso should be finding many new books to read with this theme.

I would imagine this topic is supposed to be section but For non-fiction but on our library book sale "about food":
fast food nation,
high on the hog,
salt, a world history,
anything by Anthony bourdain
, candy freak by Steve almond,

Sorry for the punctuation, I'm using voice recognition and haven't yet figured out how to make things pretty!

Open just found another one on our fiction shelves, called "the School of Easential Ingredients" by Erica Bauermeister. The cover quote from Marissa de los Santos says "A delicate, meltingly lovely hymn to food and friendship." I have this square so I might take this one for myself.

And the hits just keep on coming, the next book I found while sorting for the book sale: "Never Eat Your Heart Out" by Judith Moore.

I guess the bottom line is you need to come to our book sale. Do you live anywhere near Media, Pennsylvania?

Karin wrote: "Open just found another one on our fiction shelves, called "the School of Easential Ingredients" by Erica Bauermeister. The cover quote from Marissa de los Santos says "A delicate, meltingly lovel..."

It was a great book -- enjoy!

Provence, 1970: M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard, and the Reinvention of American Taste

Any of the Local Foods Mystery series by Edith Maxwell. They take place in the world of organic farming. Farmed and Dangerous is the latest one. The food figures heavily in the plot.

The Zen of Sushi: the Story of Fish by Trevor Corson is a great read!

Awesome ideas. The funny thing is that I read Like Water for Chocolate years ago and it was the only book I could think about and I'm trying to do all new-to-me books for my bingo. I decided to go with Delicious by Ruth Reichel because it was easy to get from my library and I was intrigued by it when it came out. I should have thought of all those great non-fic ideas (I've read several) but its summer and I just want to read fiction in this heat. Thanks everyone!

Yes, Chef is also awesome.

Delancey: A Man, A Woman, A Restaurant, A Marriage
by Molly Wizenberg

A really terrific memoir by the blogger of award-winning food blog Orangette on the funny and frustrating journey with her husband to open an artisan pizza restaurant, Delancey, in Seattle.

There's an interesting list here with 10 novels about food, and quick summaries. At first glance, I loved the film The Hundred Foot Journey, and there are some others on the list I haven't heard of. And I adored A Moveable Feast, although it's not a novel!

http://firstwefeast.com/eat/10-great-...

Melissa wrote: "There's an interesting list here with 10 novels about food, and quick summaries. At first glance, I loved the film The Hundred Foot Journey, and there are some others on the list I haven't heard of..."

this is a great link. i bookmarked it so i can refer back once i get through some of my tbr stuff. i've always wanted to read a moveable feast and i liked the sample paragraph of hemingway's food descriptions. looks good!

The book I received the first year I did the BOTNS secret Santa exchange was The Last Chinese Chef, all about traditional Chinese cooking, and I absolutely adored it.

The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg.

I wish I had this square as I am currently reading BY Sarah Vaughan and can't work it into any of my squares

Recipes for love and murder by Sally Andrew was all about food, and a good story. It's also set in Africa, so I haven't yet decided which box to check off!

Ruth Reichl was a food critic and has several.

Bento Box in the Heartland by Linda Furiya and (more importantly) The Tea House Fire by Ellis Avery.

And isn't A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro about a tea house or restaurant as well?

I recommend anything by Ruth Reichl (her memoirs or her novel Delicious!) or Kitchens of the Great Midwest.

As a former pastry chef, I actually have a foodie list here in Goodreads, which includes fiction and non-fiction.

One thing not mentioned so far are cozy mysteries that are food focused. A few authors that come to mind are Laura Childs (Tea Shop Mysteries) and Joanne Fluke (Hannah Swensen).

For a spin on New Orleans crime fiction, check out Poppy Z. Brite - her chef is a very memorable character and the setting is well-written, plus it has gay characters that are gay as just one part of their character like actual humans. Heh. Liquor is the first one.

I saw MFK Fisher mentioned, but I mention her again because I knew nothing about her until this year. And then a local writer (to me) wrote a fictionalized account about her love triangle, so if you want foodie steamy romance, check out The Arrangement by Ashley Warlick.

I wish I could recommend The City Baker's Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller because it was a super fun read but it doesn't come out until August. I DO recommend it. For next year. :)

I really enjoyed Voracious by Cara Nicoletti! Short chapters with memoir connected to each book that she discusses and recipes.