Daily Archives: November 22, 2015

Feast on These

Time to loosen those hooks, belts and zippers, folks. We’re heading into the feasting season, from Thanksgiving (in the U.S.; Canada got a jump-start last month) through the various winter holidays right into the New Year. We use the holidays to feed our bellies and our spirits but it’s also a great time to feed our imaginations. When the hoopla has died down and the meals are luscious memories, the coming days are perfect for curling up and seeing how food plays so well in great books. Here are some tasty suggestions spanning 1873-2012 (several so delicious they were adapted to film):

The Belly of Paris – Emile Zola
Remembrance of Things Past – Marcel Proust
Babette’s Feast — Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen)
A Moveable Feast – Ernest Hemingway
Heartburn – Nora Ephron
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Café – Fannie Flagg
Like Water for Chocolate – Laura Esquivel
The Joy Luck Club – Amy Tan
Chocolat – Joanne Harris
The Hundred-Foot Journey – Richard C. Morais
White Truffles in Winter – N.M. Kelby
Pow – Mo Yan

Recommended

BOOKS ‘n’ BOTTLES™ is excited to round out its 2015 season by welcoming award-winning bestselling author Joe Meno who will autograph his recently released novel Marvel and a Wonder at its December 5th wine tasting. The free event will run from 3-5 p.m. at TASTE Food & Wine, 1506 West Jarvis Avenue in Chicago. As always, the selected quality wines will reflect aspects of the book. “Bonus Buy” tickets will once again be available at the event for neat mementos and a 10% discount on wine purchases. The Book Cellar will handle on-site book sales.

About this wonderfully insightful book featuring the evolving relationship between a grandfather and his grandson, the New York Times Book Review said, “Meno, whose previous novel was Office Girl, has a knack for giving small happenings emotional weight… Meno knows how to make you love his characters, want what they want. ” The Wall Street Journal calls Marvel and a Wonder “(A) rugged page turner….” In a starred review, the Library Journal said, “Talented Meno has penned a wise and touching novel of love, loyalty, courage; an extraordinary book not to be missed.”