Sponsored by Harper Perennial and The First Ten Years by Joseph Fink and Meg Bashwiner.
A sometimes hilarious, occasionally heartbreaking, and always entertaining joint memoir by Joseph Fink, cocreator of Welcome to Night Vale, and his wife, writer and performer Meg Bashwiner, chronicling the first ten years of their relationship from both sides. In this candid, soul-baring memoir, Joseph and Meg recount their first ten years together, each telling their story as they remember it, without having consulted the other.
As we have discussed before in this newsletter, nonfiction is vast and mighty. It’s pretty impressive if you think about it. This week, we’re gonna talk about some food-themed books, of which there are many. SO MANY. This shall be but a SOUPÇON of those available. Side note: I definitely thought soupçon had a food etymology, despite supposedly knowing better, but it does NOT; it’s just primarily used in the food space because as Americans, we see the word ‘soup’ and go ‘ahhh.’ ENJOY:
Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton
How can a chef get her own restaurant? Hamilton’s memoir goes from rural Pennsylvania to New York City and across Europe as she gathers cooking knowledge, gets married, and starts her restaurant Prune. This was a NYT bestseller that has been described as “gritty.” Also, look at that cover. It is A+.
Yes, Chef: A Memoir by Marcus Samuelsson
Samuelsson was born in Ethiopia, grew up in Sweden, and moved to America. He cooked in Switzerland, on cruise ships, and “became the youngest chef ever to be awarded a coveted three-star rating from the New York Times.” He also cooked for Obama and won Top Chef Masters, which I have not SEEN, but it sounds very impressive. I’m gonna be honest, the part of his extremely varied life I am most fascinated by is cooking on a cruise ship. The writing immediately draws you in and if you’re going to read a chef book, this one is great.
A Tiger in the Kitchen: A Memoir of Food and Family by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan
This has recipes! Tan was born in Singapore in the Year of the Tiger (hence the title!). At eighteen, she moved to the U.S. and became a fashion writer, but in her 30s, she began to seriously miss Singaporean cooking. By cooking with her family, she not only learns the recipes of her childhood, but the stories of her family. You meet her parents, aunts, uncles, and grandmother. She “learns to infuse her New York lifestyle with the rich lessons of the Singaporean kitchen, ultimately reconnecting with her family and herself.”
Don’t forget our soon-to-be-ending iPad giveaway, for the chance to win an iPad Mini. For more nonfiction new releases, check out the For Real podcast which I co-host with the excellent Kim here at Book Riot. If you have any questions/comments/book suggestions, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.