Daily Archives: November 23, 2014

Food for Thought

We’re approaching the end of 2014 and the one New Year’s resolution I failed miserably was to shed the extra pounds I put on in 2013. And 2012. And 2011. You get the sorry picture. What’s a girl to do when she loves food? With winter weather blowing down our necks and driving us indoors, we’re entering the season of holiday feasts with family and friends. Instead of gorging on food, let’s feed our minds and devour great books … about food!

Food and drink are natural themes for fascinating reading. After all, we all eat and drink, so we are familiar with the subject. It’s the way authors mix the ingredients of unique characters and interesting situations with the food/eating theme (sometimes including actual recipes) that results in a great book. Here are some you may want to check out:

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals – Michael Pollan (non-fiction)
Chocolat – Joanne Harris
Like Water for Chocolate – Laura Esquivel
Tender at the Bone – Ruth Reichl (memoir)
Scarlet Feather – Maeve Binchy
The Belly of Paris – Emile Zola
The Flounder – Gunter Grass
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle-Stop Café – Fannie Flagg
Heartburn – Nora Ephron
In the Night Kitchen – Maurice Sendak (for children and adults)

If it’s true you are what you eat, there’s nothing more nourishing than food for thought.

Recommended

The third annual Chicago Book Expo will be held Saturday, December 6, 2014, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Columbia College Chicago, 1104 South Wabash. The centerpiece of the event will be an expo of Chicago area independent publishers and literary organizations on the first and eight floors of the building. This will be an expansion of last year’s event, which was named by New City as one of the top five literary events of 2013.

This week’s Booked webcast re-broadcast (starting November 24th) features a perfect book to give yourself or someone you care about for the holidays. Author Sue Baugh talks about the incredible global journey she took while writing Echoes of Earth and the unexpected discoveries she made along the way. This show takes full advantage of our video format to share some of the spectacular photos from the book. You can catch the show on U-Stream this week and, as always, in the Booked Archives.

Collector’s quality limited first editions of Romina Power’s moving memoir/biography, Searching for My Father, Tyrone Power are now available. Please send an email to request a special order while quantities last. In film historian Matthew Hoffman’s book review of this handsomely produced book, he says it is “… a work of love that his fans will certainly love. Considering that Power himself was an avid collector of first edition books, this was a nice homage to him. Though it took years to see the light of day in this country, I can tell you that it’s been worth the wait. This is a beautifully written and compiled book for the global fans of Tyrone Power.”