Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

This week, our books are touching on a sense you don't often encounter while reading: taste. Books for this prompt will make you drool and make you hungry! Whether you pick up a nonfiction memoir by a famous chef, or you go for a cozy mystery set in a small cafe, this prompt is sure to have you salivating.

Suggestions:
British Books Set in Restaurants or Cafes: https://greatbritishbookclub.com/brit...
28 Books for Foodies: https://neverenoughnovels.com/2020/02...
Novels Set in Coffee Shops: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/th...
18 Books by Chefs and Food Writers: https://www.businessinsider.com/best-...
20 Food Fiction Reads: https://modernmrsdarcy.com/fantastic-...
100 Food Fiction Books (by Genre): https://bookriot.com/100-must-read-bo...
GR Shelf - Culinary Fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

ATY Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

What are you reading for this prompt, and do you have any recommendations?

I'm planning to read Miss Graham's Cold War Cookbook by Celia Rees. The protagonist is a spy whose cover story is that she's a cookbook author. I think it sounds amazing and hope I'm not disappointed.

I also own two memoirs by food writer and chef Molly Wizenberg - A Homemade Life and The Fixed Stars - that I hope to read next year.

Another book that I think sounds interesting is Miss Eliza's English Kitchen by Annabel Abbs, which is biographical fiction about Eliza Acton, the author of the first British cookbook that was published in 1845.

I also am intrigued about Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals That Brought Me Home, which is about a woman who recovered from a debilitating brain aneurysm through "the restorative power of cooking and baking."

Anyone else get a shiver of delight when the prompt you suggested gets its thread? Just me? Ok then.

I may go non-fiction with this one and read Yes, Chef, Salt: A World History, or Food: A Love Story.

My fiction option is The School of Essential Ingredients.

I plan to read one of the 3: Poor Man's Feast: A Love Story of Comfort, Desire, and the Art of Simple Cooking, Delicious Foods, or Like Water for Chocolate. Maybe I will read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, just for fun. Dalex's suggestion of Miss Graham's Cold War Cookbook sounds really interesting, also!

A book that I loved is Strange Weather in Tokyo! They are always eating and drinking. There is also a chapter where they are mushroom hunting. And, then there is A Gentleman in Moscow, if there is anyone who hasn't read it yet!

I have so many food cozies lol This is too easy. I should probably challenge myself to read something else for this though. I would love some suggestions of something in the vein of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe I LOVED that book.

DL have you read the sequel, The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop? It's not quite as good as FGT but I enjoyed it. Though it's not food/drink-themed so doesn't work for this prompt.

@ DL,
Fried Green Tomatoes is one of a kind, but your question made me think of The Lager Queen of Minnesota. The plot and characters aren't anything like it, and it's set in Minnesota, not the south, but it has a wonderful spirit. It's full of interesting female characters - young and old - building new lives. Two of the characters are estranged sisters, and their history added a compelling depth to the story.

As a side benefit I learned a lot about craft beer which is really popular right now. My husband also loved the book, and we went to some beer tastings (pre-covid) which were fun.

Pam - thanks for the Gentleman in Moscow idea. I didn't realise that would fit and it's high up on my TBR for next year.

I was pretty set on Eat Up: Food, Appetite and Eating What You Want for this prompt but it's good to know I have another option.

@Nancy
In addition to Lager Queen of Minnesota (loved), same author has earlier book called Great Kitchens of the Midwest.

Yes, I completely agree on both Great Kitchens and Lager Queen. I feel like Lager Queen does have more of a Fried Green Tomatoes feel to it. I loved both books.

Tracy wrote: "@Nancy
In addition to Lager Queen of Minnesota (loved), same author has earlier book called Great Kitchens of the Midwest."

Thanks for the reminder. Did you read it yet? I started it, but I didn't get past the first chapter. It's organized as a series of short stories, and I lost momentum when I realized that the next chapter was about different characters. (view spoiler)[ I felt invested in the main character of the first chapter, and he dies at the end of the chapter. I took too long to "grieve" him, and let the Libby ebook expire. I think the rest of the book is about his daughter. (hide spoiler)] I might take it out again, now that I'm prepared, but the ratings/reviews aren't as strong as for Lager Queen.

NancyJ, each story is loosely connected, and it all comes together in the end. It does seem a bit fractured but I enjoyed figuring out how the characters are all related. (view spoiler)[The rest of the book is not only about the daughter. But I did not love how you got invested in one set of characters for it to switch in the next chapter. (hide spoiler)]

That said, I enjoyed Lager Queen more than Kitchens (and it's Kitchens of the Great Midwest, not Great Kitchens of the Midwest!) because it's one cohesive story.

My top choices for next year:
My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki. I hate the title, but I love this author
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto. It also fits Asia, Asian author
We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at BreakfastJonathan Safran Foer food, earthday, weather
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals or In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto - by Michael Pollan. Both of these books were highly recommended by friends.
Eat a Peach

@ Pam - Thanks. I'm adding Strange Weather in Tokyo, and Gentleman in Moscow. They are on my TBR but I didn't know they were about food.

I noticed that a lot of the fiction books in this category involve people coming together in local communities - which is related to one of the rejected prompts - a book where community plays a role: The Authenticity Project, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, Quentins by Maeve Binchy, Chocolat.

For those who like a book-movie connection, many of the books in this category were made into charming movies - Fried Green Tomatoes, Chocolat, Like Water for Chocolate, The Hundred Foot Journey, Julie and Julia, Babette's Feast, Under the Tuscan Sun, plus Two Films by Ang Lee Eat Drink Man Woman & The Wedding Banquet. A Moveable Feast might pair nicely with The Paris Wife or another book about Paris in the 1920's (lost generation, Hemingway).

For fiction, my favorites included:
The Lager Queen of Minnesota
The Storyteller (also fits Jewish author/character)
Garden Spells and First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen
Like Water for Chocolate
Amy Tan - I can't remember which ones, but some of her books have interesting details about food and Chinese culture.

If you like YA fiction, I highly recommend With the Fire on High and A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow. Both feature teen girls who have a passion for cooking!

I seem to be leaning towards memoir - Tiny Moons or Sourdough.

If you mean Sourdough by Robin Sloan, that isn't memoir....

I am hoping to listen to a much anticipated non-fic A Woman's Place Is in the Brewhouse: A Forgotten History of Alewives, Brewsters, Witches, and CEOs.

But I also have books like Garden Spells and The Girl Who Chased the Moon on my tbr for next year.

Rebecca wrote: "I am hoping to listen to a much anticipated non-fic A Woman's Place Is in the Brewhouse: A Forgotten History of Alewives, Brewsters, Witches, and CEOs.

But I also have books like [..."

Oooh the Brewhouse book looks super interesting!

My options for this prompt are

The Hungry Empire: How Britain’s Quest for Food Shaped the Modern World
Salt: A World History
The Book of Tea

Garden Spells - I've been meaning to read this for a very long time.

I read some cute cozy mysteries before I joined goodreads but the titles are all a jumble.

Right now, I'm leaning toward a cozy mystery. I purchased And Then There Were Crumbs. It's gotten great reviews. Plus, I love a good pun.



As for recommendations...

Garden Spells
First Frost
The Sugar Queen
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

@NancyJ and @Nancy: I read Great Kitchens before I read Lager Queen, and a few years apart. I enjoyed them both, but I found Lager Queen more satisfying. What I remember of Great Kitchens is that it seems to revolve around a single character, but only from everyone else’s point of view. Like everyone is taking turns in the telling of the story of the protagonist. Does that sound right? It’s been several years.

Thank you so much for the suggestions, everyone. I have indeed read The Wonder Boy of Whistlestop. I'll try The Lager Queen of Minnesota. :)

Tracy wrote: "@NancyJ and @Nancy: I read Great Kitchens before I read Lager Queen, and a few years apart. I enjoyed them both, but I found Lager Queen more satisfying. What I remember of Great Kitchens is that i..."

Sort of? It's been a while since I read it. All of the stories do lead back to one protagonist, though I don't know if I'd say they're taking turns telling the protagonist's story. It's more they each have their own story but it connects to that one protagonist's story.

An Appetite for Murder (Key West Food Critic) - Lucy Burdette
A Year in Provence - Peter Mayle
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise - Ruth Reichl

Recommendations:
Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir - Ruth Reichl
Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen - Laurie Colwin
Garden Spells - Sarah Addison Allen
The Lager Queen of Minnesota - J. Ryan Stradal

I'm leaning towards Feeding the Soul (Because It's My Business): Finding Our Way to Joy, Love, and Freedom but also considering A Short History of Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce. if not, there are so many contemporary romance novels right now that focus on baking or cooking, like Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake.

I want to finally get to Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell. I really enjoyed the movie years back and want to also get this book done.

Other options:
To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
Cherry Crush by Cathy Cassidy (I want to re-read this one so I can continue with the series).
The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart by Stephanie Burgis
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

I'm reading. Bakeries and Bones by Nic Roberts. It is actually a prequel to a new series which I didnt realise when I downloaded it so is very short. I recommend Bread Alone or Isabel's daughter, both by Judi Hendriks.

I read My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki. It's a very entertaining novel about a Japanese American woman who is coordinating the filming of a Japanese TV Show called "American Wives," sponsored by the American meat industry. Each show is set in a different state with a real-life family and a favorite recipe. The book is half set in Japan, and also features a Japanese woman and her domineering ad agency husband (who is in charge of the show). It is at times, sad, comical, revealing and thought-provoking. I really enjoyed it on audio.

We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast - Non-fiction. It also talks a lot about the meat industry. The first half of the book is terrific, but the second half is a rambling mess.

I read Black Cake.

I read Tea with Milk and Murder by HY Hanna. The victim is poisoned, and much of the book is spent trying to figure out how, with a lot of time spent on food and drink.

I read The Vegetarian by Han Kang, which is very unlike most of the other books I could think of in this category, while still being unmistakably about food (though it's often about NOT eating food.). I did consider reading a nonfiction book about eating/not eating meat (I have The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and I'm curious about Eating Animals and We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast) and might still do that later in the year.

The last time we had a prompt like this, I read Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg, which fits in all sorts of ways. In general, I don't think I read a lot of books on this topic!

I read The Midwest Survival Guide: How We Talk, Love, Work, Drink, and Eat . . . Everything with Ranch by Charlie Berens

I read Grown Ups by Marian Keyes, a book about a loving but dysfunctional family. One of the characters runs a business selling exotic food and expresses her feelings for her family in throwing parties and providing food on lavish holidays; another suffers from bulimia - that is particularly well done. A good read, though I thought the ending was a bit abrupt.

Recommendations: food plays an important part in The Galaxy, and the Ground Within. Till the Cows Come Home: The Story of Our Eternal Dependence is an interesting non-fiction book about our use of cows.

I read the most wonderful Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef, a fantastic memoir that serves up sweet and savory memories from badass chef and restaurateur Gabrielle Hamilton. Geez, this woman can cook (I'm fortunate to have eaten at her acclaimed restaurant Prune on NYC's Lower East Side) and write (she holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan). So good, I was sorry to reach the end.

For food and drink, I'd recommend anything by Ruth Reichl, Like Water for Chocolate, Chocolat, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly and Eat a Peach. I also can't wait to read Taste: My Life through Food later this year.

Has anyone read Writers & Lovers? Would it work? I'm also considering Arsenic and Adobo, Recipe for a Perfect Wife, and Lessons in Chemistry.

Recommendations: Sweetbitter, Goodbye, Vitamin, and The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.

I just finished Simmer Down for this prompt.

I read Crying in H Mart for this prompt.

I read Arsenic and Adobo.

I would recommend:
Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
Sourdough
Immoveable Feast: A Paris Christmas

I will be reading Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala but there have got to be a million cozy mysteries out there that fit the bill (Joanne Fluke, Diane Mott Davidson, etc)

I read Plenty: A Memoir of Food and Family by Hannah Howard. I rated it only 2 stars, which makes it sound worse than it was. It wasn't unpleasant to read, but could have benefited from some more rigorous editing — it was all over the place! I've recently heard that you should take note of the publishers of the books you've read and compare that to the rating you give books to see which publisher fits your reading enjoyment more. This book, and another I read a few weeks ago, I would call 'lackluster' and both were published by Little A. I'll keep an eye out to see if this is just a fluke or not.

Other books I might recommend:
Sourdough by Robin Sloan (just started yesterday but already enjoying it)
Kitchens of the Great Midwest and The Lager Queen of Minnesota both by J. Ryan Stradal
We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast by Jonathan Safran Foer (I put this under Related to Earth Day, but it could fit here as well)

For this prompt, I read:
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway - 4* - My Review
It is Hemingway's memoir of his time in Paris in the 1920s. He liked to write in cafes, and there are lots of references to food and drink.

What are you reading for this prompt?
I read A 1950s Childhood: From Tin Baths to Bread and Dripping by Paul Feeney

The food is in the title, and I have eaten a lot of bread and beef dripping over the years.

I think I'll be reading

I read Garden Spells. It was magical and very good.

For this prompt I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I had always meant to read it and I wasn't really interested in anything else. It was a cute book. Glad I can say I finally read it.

For this challenge, I read by Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett.

I read The Lager Queen of Minnesota. I highly recommend it.

I Read by Isabel Allende ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.