Best foodie books(not cookbooks) you read this year

[KristiB]

I love reading about food and how people eat. I also like reading about the lives of chefs because I worked in kitchen restaurants for years.

Some of these may not have been published this year but I think most were:

Omnivires Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Hungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio

What to Eat by Marion Nestle

United States of Arugula: How We Became a Gourmet Nation by David Kamp

Heat: An amateurs Adventures as Kitchen slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and apprentice to a Dante Quoting Butcher in Tuscany :by Bill Buford

The Perfectionist: Life and Death in Haute Cuisine by Rudolph Chelminski

The Reach of a Chef: Beyond the Kitchen by Michael Ruhlman

Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichel

Take Big Bites by Linda Ellerbee

My Life in France by Julia Child

[misskitty100]

All of Ruth Riechl's books....soooooooooooo good!!

[Angelina]

My favorite was:

The Revolution will not be Microwaved by Sandor Katz. Even buying it was fun...I had to order it at Borders and when I went to pick it up, they couldn't find it...so the cashiers were shouting all around the store "The Revolution will NOT be microwaved!" and really getting into it.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this book. Very educational.

Angela

[stacy7272]

Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan was my absolute favorite book, of any type of book, that I read this year. It has had the biggest impact on what I buy at the grocery store.

What to Eat by Marion Nestle was good too and I especially enjoyed the chapter on fish. Too bad I read it right after Omnivore's Dilemma because it paled in comparison.

Hungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio was fine to look at but it didn't interest me enough to read it cover to cover. Some of those pictures have really stuck in my mind though.

Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichel was a very interesting book - it may have been last year that I read it, I can't quite remember.

With how my list compares to yours, Kristi, you can see that I read all these books with recommendations from this board. :D

I've started to read Cookoff: Recipe Fever in America by Amy Sutherland but it just isn't doing it for me so I decided not to finish it. It was funny that I was just reading this book and it talked about a woman who enters tons (and wins tons) of food competitions and when I put the book down and picked up December's EW I saw that this same woman won first prize in their cookie competition.

I'm looking for my next foodie book to read - Kristi, which from your list (that isn't on mine) would you recommend?

[KristiB]

I'm looking for my next foodie book to read - Kristi, which from your list (that isn't on mine) would you recommend?

I think you'll like Take Big Bites by Linda Ellerbee. I want to travel with her!

The United States of Arugula is pretty interesting but a lot of the material has been covered in other books. The chapters on San Franciso are interesting. I didn't know much about the personal lives of Deborah Madison and Alice Waters. I guess it was the 60's and 70's ;)

The recipe woman you're talking about is Roxanne Chan. Since I read Recipe Fever I see her name everywhere now. If I hadn' read the book I'd never notice how prolific she is.

[newtricks]

I'm on a roll with these right now:

Cooking for Mr. Latte - Amanda Hesser. Liked the story and her writing but generally I don't think I share her palate/ aesthetic really.

Julie and Julia -- Julie Powell. Loved this!

Comfort me with Apples -- Ruth Reichl. Loved this too because I lived in California. She was *everywhere* in the early California food scene.

Kitchen Confidential -Anthony Bourdain. You either love him or hate him. I love him.

Heat -- Bill Buford. Parts of this were enjoyable but after a while it seemed like one big vanity project.

[stacy7272]

I think you'll like Take Big Bites by Linda Ellerbee. I want to travel with her!

The United States of Arugula is pretty interesting but a lot of the material has been covered in other books. The chapters on San Franciso are interesting. I didn't know much about the personal lives of Deborah Madison and Alice Waters. I guess it was the 60's and 70's ;)

The recipe woman you're talking about is Roxanne Chan. Since I read Recipe Fever I see her name everywhere now. If I hadn' read the book I'd never notice how prolific she is.

Thanks so much!

I'd forgotten that I also started Fast Food Nation and couldn't get into it. I think I was trying to read too many books in succession (there were other non-foodie books I had read as well) and was getting tired. It doesn't help that I get these books from the library, often sent from other libraries, so I'm pressured to read them in 3 weeks. I can't renew books from other libraries and since I go to a small and new library, most of the books I get are sent from other libraries.

[jjcokc]

I second the recommendation for Take Big Bites by Linda Ellerbee . She has such a great attitude about traveling and eating local.

Julie

[erin elizabeth]

I enjoyed Heat all the way to the end. The Italy part wasn't as good as the rest IMHO.

Hidden Kitchens by Nikki Silva and Davia Nelson was interesting. Based on their NPR show.

Just read Death by Pad Thai edited by Douglas Bauer--loved it!

Also, Women who Eat edited by Leslie Miller.

I am also a big fan of The Best of Food Writing series.

[Kay Henderson]

I read this a while back, but Noel Riley Fitch's 1997 biography of Julia Child, Appetite for Life, is a GREAT read. Here's the Amazon reference: Biography of Julia Child (http://www.amazon.com/Appetite-Life-Noel-Riley-Fitch/dp/038548335X/sr=1-3/qid=1164846263/ref=pd_bbs_3/104-6317861-2330305?ie=UTF8&s=books).

Kay

[Sookie]

Over the week-end I bought and read How I Learned to Cook. Wow, what a fun book to read. This book is a bunch of short stories by some of the great chefs. I especially loved the story by Jonathan Eismann. Hysterical. Here is a blurb from Amazon:

"In this spectacular sequel to Don’t Try This at Home, forty of the world’s greatest chefs relate true tales about learning to cook. Hilarious, touching, and always surprising, these essays cover everything from early adversity to unexpected, seminal triumphs. How I Learned to Cook is an irresistible treat for cooks (and foodies) of all levels of abilities, and includes stories by culinary giants such as Dan Barber, Mario Batali, Daniel Boulud, Anthony Bourdain, Gabrielle Hamilton, Fergus Henderson, Paul Kahan, Pino Luongo, Michel Richard, Norman Van Aken, and more."

[Varaile]

My Year in France by Julia Child. Inspired me to go out and finally buy Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Heat by Bill Buford. Inspired me to make my own pasta (haven't yet though :rolleyes: )

The Making of A Chef by Mark Ruhlman.

Hmm...I thought there was a couple more. I'll have to go home and check my shelf. Meanwhile I must scribble down all the great suggestions for those I haven't read yet! :D

[emncar]

I Like You by Amy Sedaris is pretty funny. I'm thinking about buying a couple of copies for my hard to shop for friends.
http://www.amazon.com/Like-You-Hospitality-Under-Influence/dp/0446578843/sr=8-1/qid=1161620410/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-8613354-2501741?ie=UTF8

[gardenmom]

I just finished My Year in France as well, and Mastering the Art of French Cooking is on my Christmas list too. Wonderful story!