Books by food bloggers: a list, plus comments?

[Fat Guy]

I'd be interested in assembling a list of commercially published books by food bloggers. Even better, if you've read any of these books, and especially how they compare to and reflect the blogs that inspired them, please share your comments. So far on my list I've got:

"Chocolate and Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen," by Clotilde Dusoulier, based on the chocolateandzucchini.com blog.

"Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen," by Julie Powell, and while I know she has a blog now I'm actually not sure where the Julie/Julia blog is archived.

"The Amateur Gourmet: How to Shop, Chop and Table Hop Like a Pro (Almost)," by Adam D. Roberts, based on the amateurgourmet.com blog.

[rancho_gordo]

Heidi Swanson of 101cookbooks.com has two books, Cook 1.0 and Super Natural Cooking.

Heidi is a member here and posts now and again.

[tsquare]

Gluten Free Girl has one coming out this fall - you can pre-order on Amazon.

"How I Found the Food That Loves Me Back"

see 24 April 2007

Orangette has a contract and is writing one.

can't find the story, but it's here somewhere

[Carrot Top]

Ayun Halliday has a book based on her blog Dirty Sugar Cookies, but it looks like the archives of the blog only go back to several months before the book's release, so perhaps it is really a blog based on her book, sort of, somehow? I don't know.

[Leonard Kim]

"Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen," by Julie Powell, and while I know she has a blog now I'm actually not sure where the Julie/Julia blog is archived.

My wife bought me this book for my birthday a week ago, then proceeded to read it before me. Anyway, I've basically just finished it.

The blog itself is in the same old place:

http://blogs.salon.com/0001399/

I don't have anything illuminating to say that the reviewers haven't already said. The writer's voice is the same. The NYT review contended the structure of the book is indebted to blogging (a defect in that reviewer's opinion.) I guess the reviewer saw it as a blog about the blog.

(It's not the blog itself--reading the book is not a substitute for reading the blog. The book, of course, quotes the blog, but actually does it less than you might expect.)

There is the literary conceit of having the chapters interspersed with fictionalized snapshots of Julia and her husband's courtship. These brief episodes show Powell's blog voice is not her only one. I think that's worth considering within the topic of "books by bloggers."

For me, the most affecting part of this book as it relates to the blog was the revelation of Julia Child's own unkind comments just as the project was coming to a close. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that was mentioned in the original blog (though Julia's mixed reaction was in fact alluded to in a thread here).

[mukki]

I checked out Chocolate and Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen from my library and read through most of it. In general, I liked it; it certainly isn't a repeat of stuff from her blog. There are a number of recipes I'd like to try, such as her tomato-parmesan pain perdu, Flemish carbonade, pain d'epices (I have yet to make a great one), and Warm Bean Salad with Walnut-Arugula Pesto. The writing was interesting to a point, but would have been better heavily condensed/edited, especially her sections on "My Cooking Philosophy" and "Dinner Party". Many of the recipes just don't appeal to me, particularly broccoli and apple quiche, tuna and green apple mousse, and eggplant and cod terrine.

[Fat Guy]

Just saw this book: "Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass," by Natalie MacLean of www.natdecants.com.

[McDermitt]

Chefs Aki Kamozawa & H. Alexander Talbot from Ideas In Food have published a book of photographs.

[IndolentAgain]

Adam from Amateur Gourmet has just published a new book.