'Tis the season for "best of" lists. This one from The New Yorker brought a couple of books to my attention.
I'll seek out Tables of Contents Community Cookbook: Notes and Recipes from Writers’ Home Kitchens, and Cooking as Though You Might Cook Again (eG-friendly Amazon.com link). They both sound like good reads. Neither seem to have e-editions and both are currently out of stock at the places I've checked.
Two others caught my eye (and ear)on Evan Kleiman's KCRW Good Food best books list, once again, maybe more for reading than cooking. Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) by Mayukh Sen and The Secret History of Home Economics: How Trailblazing Women Harnessed the Power of Home and Changed the Way We Live (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) by Danielle Dreilinger.
I said they caught my ear because Evan interviewed both authors on her radio show/podcast:
Mayukh Sen interview: Reflecting on the immigrant women who shaped how America eats
Danielle Dreilinger interview: Beyond stirring and stitching: The women behind home economics
I really liked the way Kitchen Arts & Letters bookshop crafted their lists:
- Really Popular Books that Deserved to be Popular
- Wonderful Books You May Not Have Heard About
- Great Reads
Lastly, Eat Your Books asks independent cookbook shop owners from around the US and other countries to choose their own top picks. These are just lists, no commentary, but I always enjoy seeing the similarities and differences. The EYB list of lists is available at this link: Best cookbooks of 2021 by the experts
And here's EYB's overall picks: Best Cookbooks of 2021
