I thought this would be a fun foodie memoir to read during a difficult time (my father-in-law just died and my dad is freshly out of the hospital after a long stay) but The French Ingredient: Making a Life in Paris One Lesson at a Time by Jane Bertch was a big disappointment. For some … Continue reading
I wish Geraldine DeRuiter had written a memoir or personal essay collection instead of trying to shoehorn facts into her book of essays. The connection between the topic, the some sort of personal story she’d include and the facts she footnotes was often very tenuous. She does not seem to be an academic, a reporter or … Continue reading
Snacking Bakes was a little repetitive and contradictory at times. The author lists espresso powder and malted milk powder (in detail) twice in her pantry chapter, just a few pages apart. The author makes a big deal about how you never have to refrigerate the dough when making cookies after going on about how tiny … Continue reading
I was impressed with Silverton’s confidence in The Cookie…! In the introduction she talks about how she took the “perfect” peanut butter cookie recipe from a former employee (Roxana Jullapat)’s yet up published book and made it even more perfect! She then took her doctored recipe to her agent and pitched a book about making … Continue reading
I was so excited to read Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs by Jamie Loftus that I stopped what I was doing to read the second I got the notification from Netgalley that I got the galley. I had been looking forward to this book since I first saw her tweet about the deal. Continue reading
Honestly, this was kind of a disaster of a book. It felt like it was cobbled together at the last minute and was written largely by people who didn’t seem to know what the theme was or care about it at all. One or two essays were okay but largely they were a bunch of … Continue reading
Bon Appétempt: A Coming of Age Story (with recipes!) by Amelia Morris is one of those memoirs written by a person who doesn’t seem to understand what she is telling us about herself. Some warnings—She has massive unreflected on privilege and an eating disorder she passes off as “dieting”. She got the book deal off … Continue reading
I started The Man Who Ate Too Much: The Life of James Beard by John Birdsall as an ARC and couldn’t get through it then tried again when it was published. This time I was able to put my finger on what bothered me. I understand the impulse to make the subject of a biography … Continue reading
This Is Big: How the Founder of Weight Watchers Changed the World is sort of a memoir hybrid with Meltzer exploring the history of Weight Watchers though the lens of her lifelong battle with her weight. While she is very honest about how much she doesn’t like her body, the negative attention it attracts, her … Continue reading
I had to hurry on this one because it couldn’t be renewed and I’m headed to the beach for a few days and need to return it ASAP. I had some mixed feelings. I liked the eight flavors she chose because they were quite varied and reflected a lot of different cultures and regions. She … Continue reading
Rachel Reads Books 