Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

Use this space to discuss books you're reading or that might fit the 11th Read Harder task. Sign up for our new Read Harder newsletter to get recommendations for each task delivered straight to your inbox! https://bookriot.com/newsletter/read-...

I've just done this, for the second time this year. Ella Risbridger's cookbooks. So, I'm going to need to be able to replace it with something else, unless I find another one that I really want to read.

Oof. Okay, I'm making this easier on myself by doing a graphic novel cookbook. To Drink and to Eat Vol. 1: Tastes and Tales from a French Kitchen.

I can also recommend The Poorcraft Cookbook. It's about 1/3rd strategies on how to build up your first pantry, and then 2/3rds recipes.

Thanks for the ideas, Dione!

I'll be reading The Anime Chef Cookbook: 75 Iconic Dishes from Your Favorite Anime, but Let's Make Dumplings!: A Comic Book Cookbook and Let's Make Ramen!: A Comic Book Cookbook are good options too

I'm going to read The Complete Plate: 120 Recipes · 30 Meals · A Stronger, Healthier, Happier You for this one. The author is a friend of mine, and discovered a health condition when she was pregnant that meant she could no longer exercise (she had been a personal trainer before that)

Looking forward to reading An Unexpected Cookbook: The Unofficial Book of Hobbit Cookery

Betty! You helped me find the perfect book for this prompt: Nanny Ogg's Cookbook fits into my project of reading all of the Discworld books. Thanks!

I might finally get to Cook Korean!: A Comic Book with Recipes A Cookbook or Let's Make Ramen!: A Comic Book Cookbook for this task. I may see if I'm up for something more ambitious for this task though.

I’m so excited to read From Crook to Cook: Platinum Recipes from Tha Boss Dogg's Kitchen. Someone bought this for a Christmas party gift exchange I was at last weekend and I knew I needed to read it as soon as I saw it.

Second the mention of Ella Risbridger. I found Midnight Chicken: & Other Recipes Worth Living For particularly delightful.

While perusing books for the BIPOC indie book prompt, I came across tawâw: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine, which looks fabulous and I see reviewers saying it was a great cover-to-cover read.

I'm also doing a Jewish Genre Challenge and cookbooks/food books is one of the categories. Books that I'm considering for that one are:
Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew
Lemon, Love & Olive Oil
Plenty
52 Shabbats: Friday Night Dinners Inspired by a Global Jewish Kitchen
King Solomon's Table: A Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking from Around the World: A Cookbook
Mayim's Vegan Table: More than 100 Great-Tasting and Healthy Recipes from My Family to Yours

I'm reading Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking or One: Pot, Pan, Planet: A greener way to cook for you, your family and the planet.

Lailah wrote: "While perusing books for the BIPOC indie book prompt, I came across tawâw: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine, which looks fabulous and I see reviewers saying it was a great cover-to-co..."

I was going to mention tawâw: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine. I read it for the 2020 (I think?) read harder and it was fantastic. To me it was almost a mix of memoir and cookbook, so easy to get into if you're not a food/cookbook person.

My husband has been doing most of the cooking in our house since I was in a car accident and almost burned the house down. I recovered, but now he loves to cook! And I’m happy to keep it that way. I’m tackling several challenges next year, so I won’t feel guilty if I skip or alter a few. I read a lit novel with recipes in December -

Search by Michelle Huneven - it’s quite good.

ETA
I’m substituting a book about insulin resistance which links to a few recipes for people with this condition.

I was reminded of this challenge when The Unofficial Sims Cookbook: From Baked Alaska to Silly Gummy Bear Pancakes, 85+ Recipes to Satisfy the Hunger Need was advertised to me on Facebook. If I do the challenge this year (on the fence right now), this is the book I'd use for this task.

Going to read A History of Food in 100 Recipes.

Ugh, I hate this prompt. I will probably not really do this one, but I've added Cookin' Crunk: Eatin' Vegan in the Dirty South to my pile, because I have it, and I've never actually made anything from it or even really thumbed through it. I bet I actually read it and end up giving it away.

I'm going with Justice of the Pies: Sweet and Savory Pies, Quiches, and Tarts Plus Inspirational Stories from Exceptional People: A Baking Book, which I also have a list recipes to cook out of. The Fig & Pig Quiche was delicious, and next I'm trying the Strawberry Basil Key Lime Pie. All the recipes have stories about them, and there are profiles of interesting people throughout the book.

I Love New York Ingredients and Recipes. Each chapter discusses a different farm located in New York and one of the ingredients grown there.

Elizabeth wrote: "Lailah wrote: "While perusing books for the BIPOC indie book prompt, I came across tawâw: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine, which looks fabulous and I see reviewers saying it was a gr..."

Thank you both for this recommendation. It's what I'll be going with!

Instant Pot Mediterranean Diet Cookbook: 75 Quick Meals for a Healthy Lifestyle - I just happened to download this from KU so that's what I'm using. Looking through all these other recommendations though makes me want to try a couple of others as well!

Why? Why is this a prompt? I like cookbooks, and I have some that I've probably read completely over years of use and browsing, but this is not what they are for.

Why not "read a whole Chilton's manual" or "read a blank day-planner cover-to-cover"?

James wrote: "Why? Why is this a prompt? I like cookbooks, and I have some that I've probably read completely over years of use and browsing, but this is not what they are for.

Why not "read a whole Chilton's ..."

There are loads of narrative cookbooks, I read them all the time so that I understand the cultural foundation of the food I cook. Just because you don't like a genre does not mean it is not a valid reading choice for others. If you decide to read a cookbook, some suggestions My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life, Amboy: Recipes from the Filipino-American Dream, Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen A History of Food in 100 Recipes

I read this a few years ago so won't read it for this challenge but Knives & Ink: Chefs and the Stories Behind Their Tattoos is really good

James wrote: "Why? Why is this a prompt? I like cookbooks, and I have some that I've probably read completely over years of use and browsing, but this is not what they are for.

Why not "read a whole Chilton's ..."

Some are substituting other food related books or other NF topics they might usually just skim. I really liked this literary novel from the Tob long list that includes recipes:
Search by Michelle Huneven.

But ultimately - “Your challenge, your way.”
If a prompt is counterproductive to your goal to read harder, you could alter it or substitute something else you do find relevant or challenging.

I read Once Upon a Kitchen: 101 Magical Recipes
It has recipes inspired by Tolkien, Arthurian legend, Star Wars, Disney, and more.

I'm going to reread Turnip Greens & Tortillas: A Mexican Chef Spices Up the Southern Kitchen. I've been wanting to teach myself to make homemade tortillas!

Bonnie G. wrote: "James wrote: "Why? Why is this a prompt? I like cookbooks, and I have some that I've probably read completely over years of use and browsing, but this is not what they are for.

Why not "read a wh..."
Thanks for the suggestions, Bonnie.

NancyJ wrote: "James wrote: "Why? Why is this a prompt? I like cookbooks, and I have some that I've probably read completely over years of use and browsing, but this is not what they are for.

Why not "read a wh..."
Thanks, Nancy.

On the recommendation of a friend, I went with Fifty Shades of Chicken: A Parody in a Cookbook. A quick read, and fun.

One of my favorites is The Tex-Mex Cookbook: A History in Recipes and Photos by Robb Walsh. It's a fascinating history, has beautiful vintage photos, and recipes galore. Well worth the read, cover to cover.

I needed a cookbook written by a Minnesota author for my local library challenge as well as this challenge. I have Land of 10,000 Plates: Stories and Recipes from Minnesota by Patrice M. Johnson. Stories and recipes from Minnesota. I have read a couple of the stories. One is A Swede in Minnesota makes Sunday gravy. This story is about red sauce or gravy as some call it.

I love reading cookbooks, these three were so good:

Jubilee: Recipes From Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin

In Bibi's Kitchen: The Recipes and Stories From the Eight African Countries That Touch the Indian Ocean by Hawa Hassan

First Generation: Recipes from My Taiwanese-American Home by Frankie Gaw

Since I've been glancing through it already: Heroes' Feast: The Official D&D Cookbook

I'm not that much into cookbooks, but I've been wanting to try some recipes lately. The background on each species' cuisine adds some fun D&D flair that'll make a cookbook (of all things!) more immersive.

I was going to skip this prompt but then I saw someone on TikTok recommend a cookbook from the movie 'The Princess Bride' and it got me thinking about other fandoms that have cookbooks so I might go with one of those.

I know Star Wars has a lot of cookbooks so that might be fun.

Planning to read a cookbook for instant pot Mediterranean recipes. I can't find it on GR to link it, though.

Dione wrote: "Oof. Okay, I'm making this easier on myself by doing a graphic novel cookbook. To Drink and to Eat Vol. 1: Tastes and Tales from a French Kitchen.

Thanks so much for this rec Dione. My local library seem to have the 4 volumes so I'll go for that (or at least the first one for now and see how I like it)

While I'm at thanking other, I strongly recommend Relish as another excellent graphic novel cookbook.

This one was suggested to me and sounds really interesting. I'll be getting it from my local library.
Ghetto Gastro Presents Black Power Kitchen

I read The Silver Palate Cookbook

James wrote: "Why? Why is this a prompt? I like cookbooks, and I have some that I've probably read completely over years of use and browsing, but this is not what they are for.

Why not "read a whole Chilton's ..."

Um...I actually read a huge chunk of the Chilton's for my '62 Newport a few summers ago. I'll probably finish it this spring in hopes of getting the thing moved out of my dad's hay field.

Seriously, though, maybe you'd like something like Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot Cuisine? I listened to it for a different prompt, but the audiobook contained instructions for downloading a good-sized PDF of recipes from the publisher's website, so I don't think anybody would judge you for calling it a cookbook. And I don't think anybody is expected to read every recipe word-for-word. Skimming to get a sense of what each recipe is like to prepare and to eat is sufficient.

Ron wrote: "I was going to skip this prompt but then I saw someone on TikTok recommend a cookbook from the movie 'The Princess Bride' and it got me thinking about other fandoms that have cookbooks so I might g..."

My collection includes Nancy Drew, Pooh, and The Cat Who cookbooks. I also have a D&D-themed cookbook and a Tolkien-inspired cookbook and two Mystery Writers of America cookbooks. I loaned my Necronomnomnom to a friend right before the pandemic hit, so hopefully I will get that back someday.

Stina, those sound neat. I found some Star Wars ones on Amazon so I might get one at some point. No rush on this one.

Oh, those sound cool!

I really enjoyed reading through Cooking at Home: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Recipes (And Love My Microwave): A Cookbook for this challenge! It's informal and feels like being in the kitchen learning from someone who has a lot of skills and doesn't follow recipes.

I am reading the Defined Dish, Healthy and Wholesome Weeknight Recipes for this task. A Whole 30 endorsed cookbook.

This prompt is definitely on the Harder side for me.

I saw someone mention Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking which an old roommate had and I've been wanting to read. I also saw The Unofficial Sims Cookbook: From Baked Alaska to Silly Gummy Bear Pancakes, 85+ Recipes to Satisfy the Hunger Need which seems hilarious so I might go for that one as well. The last two options I'm considering is The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know and Love from a Chinese American Family: A Cookbook because I really like their blog or Ghetto Gastro Presents Black Power Kitchen. The plant based recipes will hopefully have more things I can actually try!

Briana wrote: "This prompt is definitely on the Harder side for me.

I saw someone mention Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking which an old roommate had and I've been wa..."

Omigosh, that Sims cookbook sounds amazing!

I ended up going with Hershey's Brownies and More. I was down to the wire last Friday for reading a book featuring chocolate for an April mini challenge, so I hit the FotL book sale and got this for a quarter.

It's not a cookbook per se, but I'm going with A Cheesemonger's History of The British Isles.

I've been dying to read tawâw: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine but the library doesn't have it and I don't really keep cookbooks around in my house, so I've been working through New Native Kitchen: Celebrating Modern Recipes of the American Indian and it's been interesting so far!

The last time this prompt came up I read The Island Kitchen: Recipes from Mauritius and the Indian Ocean which I highly recommend!