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What food-related books are you reading? (2016 -)


suzilightning

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Going to the Library of VA tonight to (I hope - first come, first served) hear Michael Twitty talk about his book, The cooking gene : a journey through African American culinary history in the Old South, which I haven't read yet - but I have it on hold at the library.  Looking forward to it very much - I've read by and about him and his food journey and he is just so interesting and smart.  

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39 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

Going to the Library of VA tonight to (I hope - first come, first served) hear Michael Twitty talk about his book, The cooking gene : a journey through African American culinary history in the Old South, which I haven't read yet - but I have it on hold at the library.  Looking forward to it very much - I've read by and about him and his food journey and he is just so interesting and smart.  

I am SOOOO jealous. The book was wonderful and I've heard him interviewed by Andrew Zimmern.

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Nothing is better than frying in lard.

Nothing.  Do not quote me on this.

 

Linda Ellerbee

Take Big Bites

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  • 1 month later...

Lost Feast: Culinary Extinction and the Future of Food, by Lenore Newman. I'm only a few chapters in. It's in the rotation with two other depressing but non-food-related books: Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right, by Anne Nelson; and Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?, by Bill McKibben

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, Act 1

 

"Imagine all the food you have eaten in your life and consider that you are simply some of that food, rearranged."  -Max Tegmark, physicist

 

Gene Weingarten, writing in the Washington Post about online news stories and the accompanying readers' comments: "I basically like 'comments,' though they can seem a little jarring: spit-flecked rants that are appended to a product that at least tries for a measure of objectivity and dignity. It's as though when you order a sirloin steak, it comes with a side of maggots."

 

"...in the mid-’90s when the internet was coming...there was a tendency to assume that when all the world’s knowledge comes online, everyone will flock to it. It turns out that if you give everyone access to the Library of Congress, what they do is watch videos on TikTok."  -Neil Stephenson, author, in The Atlantic

 

"In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer

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My addiction to food is one of a few reasons why I haven't participated in the forum much lately.

I'm currently reading this: How We Eat with Our Eyes and Think with Our Stomach: The Hidden Influences That Shape Your Eating Habits

 

"A Belgian chocolate cake topped with a velvety homemade mousse catches your eye on the menu. The next thing you know, you’ve ordered it—despite the hefty price. But do you know why?

Through over 40 compelling questions, this book explores how our eating decisions tread the line between conscious and subconscious, and enables us to be more intelligent about food. With expert insights that draw from psychology, neuroscience, popular culture, and more, learn to see the innumerable influences behind your diet and cravings—from the size and color of your plate, to the placement of products in a supermarket, to the order in which you sit when out with friends.

And the chocolate cake? Would you believe research shows that regional descriptions (Belgian!) and emotive, sensory language (homemade! velvety!) subtly affect your appetite? Know what and why you eat, when and how you do—before you next sit down to dine!"

 

 

"We make 200 conscious and unconscious decisions about food every day. Clearly, eating is no fun anymore. The authors want to cut through the juice cleanses and paleo diets to bring back some common sense."--The New York Times Book Review

"The connections between our emotions and the foods we choose are explored in fascinating detail."--Parade.com

"Easy to read and entertaining throughout, How We Eat with Our Eyes and Think with Our Stomach provides welcome clarity for those seeking to understand and change long-ingrained food habits."--Shelf Awareness

"Offers easily digestible insights to help you make more conscious choices about what goes in your stomach."--Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"The authors present their information in such a delightful fashion that even readers who have never asked, 'Why do cats sit on your lap and cows on your plate?' will be glad to have the answer to that question, and many others."--Publishers Weekly

"Of all of the books I've read on food, psychology, and eating behavior this year, How We Eat with Our Eyes and Think with Our Stomach is far and away the most interesting, useful, and entertaining."--from the foreword by Brian Wansink, PhD, author of Mindless Eating and Slim by Design

"How We Eat with Our Eyes and Think with Our Stomach is a remarkable book, which in an entertaining way takes a deep dive into our bodies and explores a world few of us ever knew. After reading this book you'll never see (or taste) food the same way again!"--Martin Lindstrom, New York Times bestselling author of Buyology and Small Data

"If you've ever wondered how to make simple and sensible diet choices this is the book for you. This is the best book I've found on the topic. It offers clarity in the midst of chaotic and conflicting information about food. It's a pleasurable read that makes thoughtful eating decisions both easier to make and more holistic to apply."--Sheena Iyengar, author of The Art of Choosing

"An entertaining tour through some of the fascinating research on how our minds govern what we like to eat. It will change the way you approach your dinner."--Bob Holmes, author of Flavor: The Science of Our Most Neglected Sense

"These essays are not only easy and amusing, they are also scientifically supported by appropriate studies and enriched with expert opinions. All this makes reading a pleasure."--MIT Technology Review (Germany)
51Nv9QBbphL._SX326_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
 
 

 

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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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@DiggingDogFarm   The influences are myriad and often bizarre. I think women feel it more. I am enormously grateful that I no longer overthink. Of course there are issues that make me go in the direction of not processed, usually sustainable seafood and produce that is not big farma (like not big pharma). In the end I only eat what I enjoy and it works for me - every BODY is different. Eating it cuz it is "good for you" is a joke at my dad's family table. He lives by it and has a sad & pathetic though long life. I do respect peple who heal through realizing what is not working for them (cue Shauna Ahern aka Gluten Free Girl). 

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  • 1 month later...

Tonight I returned to Hannah Hart's My Drunk Kitchen.  So much joy to relate with.  Under 25 and over 25.  I have not been 25 since, oh, McGovern was president.

 

"Let's face it: adulthood means that sometimes you're broke.  Sometimes we're all broke.  (Like financially speaking. Not like talking about years of personal baggage. Though that's there too. obviously.  I mean, I get drunk by myself in a kitchen, for goodness' sake.  That can't be healthy! Though true fact: my therapist says that doing YouTube was the best thing I've ever done for myself...so that's a nice thought.)"

 

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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My nightstand reading (well it spills onto both nightstands) is a  pile of New Yorkers, Melissa Clark's "In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite", "Spoon Fed" by Kim Severson, "When French Women Cook" by Madeleine Kamman, and several from Marlena de Blasi  When I can't sleep they provide comfort as well as inspiration for the next day. 

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8 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Tonight I returned to Hannah Hart's My Drunk Kitchen.  So much joy to relate with.  Under 25 and over 25.  I have not been 25 since, oh, McGovern was president.

 

 

Wishful thinking?

Don't ask. Eat it.

www.kayatthekeyboard.wordpress.com

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  • 2 weeks later...

Poilane: The Secrets of the World Famous Bread Bakery.  This is not so much a bread book as a memoir.  At times sad and tragic.  Poilane's parents died in a helicopter crash the year she was going off to Harvard.  She recounts how much she resented the night shifts at the bakery her father forced on her during her apprenticeship.  Particularly when he detested the night shifts his father forced on him.

 

What came to mind was a time almost thirty years ago when I was working for a technology company down in Princeton.  My walk home was about five miles and I often left 3:00 or 4:00 am.  My route took me past the bakery with the open door, and the most remarkable fragrance wafting out onto the road.  I would pause and watch the baker ply her craft, hoping that she wouldn't notice me.

 

It was almost sexual.  OK, it was sexual.  My poolish is ripening as we speak.

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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See the decline of French cheese.  I am browsing A Bite-sized History of France by Stephane He'naut and Jeni Mitchell.   Back to front pretty much.

 

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Nothing is better than frying in lard.

Nothing.  Do not quote me on this.

 

Linda Ellerbee

Take Big Bites

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4 hours ago, suzilightning said:

See the decline of French cheese.  I am browsing A Bite-sized History of France by Stephane He'naut and Jeni Mitchell.   Back to front pretty much.

 

 

I loved that book. I'm currently perusing "Consider the Fork: A History of How we Cook and Eat" by Bee Wilson.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks to @heidih , I've just read "Spoon Fed: How Eight Cooks Saved My Life" by Kim Severson, a fascinating reaffirmation of to-thine-own-self-be-true.

 

Now, I'm looking for another book to buy to round out my Thriftbooks order so I can get free shipping. Ha ha!

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32 minutes ago, TdeV said:

Thanks to @heidih , I've just read "Spoon Fed: How Eight Cooks Saved My Life" by Kim Severson, a fascinating reaffirmation of to-thine-own-self-be-true.

 

Now, I'm looking for another book to buy to round out my Thriftbooks order so I can get free shipping. Ha ha!

 

2 minutes ago, TdeV said:

Thanks to @David Ross and @Kim Shook, I just got "Hometown Appetites, The Story of Clementine Paddleford." 🙃

Makes me long for the days of yesterday (well, a few months now) when Ontario libraries provideded free ILL and I could order whatever I pleased to read.   Yes, I know that ILL is still available, but it costs the library mailing both ways and I cannot justify costing my small library that kind of money just for my satisfaction.

 

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Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten and Born Round, Frank Bruni. And I have just finished Best Food Writing 2010, 2016, 2017.  Also finished Kim Severson’s Spoon Fed
 

 

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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5 hours ago, Anna N said:

Born Round, Frank Bruni. And I have just finished Best Food Writing 2010, 2016, 2017.

 

Can you write some comments about these, please?

 

 

 

Teo

 

Teo

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26 minutes ago, teonzo said:

 

Can you write some comments about these, please?

 

 

 

Teo

 

I will see what I can do over the next few days. 

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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