PLEASE NOTE – FOR FULLY UPDATED VERSION PLEASE SEE MY INSTAGRAM, @bookcooklook!
A NEW SITE FOR BOOKCOOKLOOK IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION! (Dec 2021)
This project originated from a new year’s resolution: to read more, cook more, and look for more beauty in the everyday to shoot. As I was reading a novel about Africa, I was inspired to cook one of the dishes vividly described in the story. From there, this project was born. I decided that for every book I read, I would cook something inspired by the story and document it with my camera.
My recent collab with Oprah’s Book Club creating holiday cookie pairings with book club picks was a dream come true! Click here, here and here to take a look!
Click here for more features, including Let the Kids Dress Themselves: Books + Cooking + Look = An Amazing Must-See Project! as well as Oprah’s Book Club , Reese’s Book Club and Read with Jenna via Instagram.
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The Love Songs of W.E.B DuBois
Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
“I want every one of you to meditate on the importance of the Negro woman. Without her struggles, who would our people be?”
This unforgettable and magnificent book is the coming of age story of Ailey Garfield, a young Black woman growing up in Georgia, and traverses Ailey’s ancestry on parallel tracks, from the women in her life back to the earliest slaves of the same land where she spends her summers. Through her, and their, stories, this novel heartbreakingly and beautifully explores the lifelong burdens, pain, joys and triumphs experienced by Black girls and women. With gut wrenching emotion and breathtaking tenderness, this book describes the wounds and bonds that remain for generations, through race, class, motherhood, grief, passion, betrayal and the deepest kinds of love.
The genius of this book is that despite its vast scope of themes and historical span, the story is told in so many tiny parts, each one exquisitely rendered. For a book with multiple storylines that tie together, Jeffers creates a wholly satisfying conclusion infused with hints of hope, and forward-looking questions to ponder. I confess I was at first daunted by the sheer size of the book – but the intimidating length is counterbalanced by the momentum of the story, which builds as it moves forward and carried me along like a wave. Some books are favorites, but others leave the reader changed forever. This is one of those rare books, and it is 100% worth the nearly 800 pages to get there.
Southern cooking is an important motif throughout this book, and I wanted my food choices to do justice to this momentous book. I decided to make a special “Feast for Ailey” featuring Belle’s banana pudding, Venie’s cornbread and peach preserves, Miss Rose’s sweet potato pie, and of course pecans from Uncle Root’s tree. All of these recipes are from @immaculatebites wonderful blog. While cooking I listened to Honorée Jeffers interview with Oprah – amazing!
CW: This novel has multiple trigger warnings – if you are wary of certain topics, please familiarize yourself with the content before reading.
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The Lincoln Highway
Amor Towles
DOUBLE DISH POST! “The comfort of knowing one’s sense of right and wrong was shared by another, and thus was somehow more true.”
This extraordinary new novel follows the journey of 18 year old Emmett, who in 1954 was released early from a juvenile work farm and is eager to start a new life with his younger brother – and his friends Duchess and Woolly, who stowed away in Emmett’s release car and have an altogether different adventure in mind. The foursome make their way to New York City, where their pursuit of their respective versions of the American Dream, manhood, and friendship must be continually reimagined along the way. This story, which takes place over 10 days and through multiple perspectives, is one the best I’ve read this year.
The Lincoln Highway is so richly imagined with so much discuss, I am having a little fight with IG’s character limit! I’m especially partial to coming of age novels with teen boys, since I have two of my own. Filled with Greek mythological references, American history and even some Easter eggs from Towles’s wonderful first novel, this book is lengthy but well-paced, literary but accessible, and a treat to read from start to finish. I especially loved the way Towles contrasts Emmett’s honor and integrity with Duchess’s more vigilante-style set of ethics, each character confident in his own moral compass, which are vastly different yet equally strong. But my favorite was Woolly, and I won’t soon forget his kind different-ness, his “enthusiastic sunshine” and the indelible mark he’s made on my bookshelf and heart.
@jennabhager and @amortowles Thank you for the personal challenge in your IG Live (click here for full interview ) – I understood the assignment! Here’s my double post: one order of Fettucine Mio Amore, complete with the Wolcott’s fancy table setting, and one batch of homemade biscuits with Sally’s berry preserves, with plenty of spoons for the boys at the St. Nicholas school to share, plus some big apples for NYC. I tried to make an “absotively magnificent, one-of-a-kind” post for a book that matches that description just perfectly. Thank you for the wonderful story!
Beautiful Country
Qian Julie Wang
This powerful, unforgettable book is just as beautiful as its stunning cover. By now you’ve surely seen this one making the rounds on bookstagram, and the attention it has received is so, so well deserved. Beautiful Country is a memoir of the author’s childhood as an undocumented immigrant beginning from the time she arrives in the United States from China at age seven. Once there, she and her parents live in poverty in New York City’s Chinatown, consumed with the fear that her family will be deported, toiling endlessly in sweatshops and attending school hungry every day. But the story is also one of hope and healing, a perspective-changing look at the nearly insurmountable hardships of creating a life in “Mei Guo,” the Chinese word for America that translates to beautiful country.
Just imagine, as a child, feeling that everything about you is wrong: your language; your different and sometimes dirty clothes; the way you eat your food (when there is food at all); even the shape of your features. Filled with vividly-recalled, often heartbreaking anecdotes, we see life in America through the author’s young, fearful eyes that are always hiding in the shadows. While the shame and humiliation she endures are palpable, so are her quiet courage and unrelenting resolve. The author’s ultimate success and belief in herself made me cheer and weep, in one of the most moving, enlightening books I’ve read in recent memory.
I am SO honored and overwhelmed with gratitude that Qian Julie Wang shared with me her grandmother’s pork and chive dumpling recipe for this post! The chapter that recalls making dumplings in Zhong Guo was a personal favorite: “I felt the warmth of Lao Lao’s dining table, the love of family wrapping me in its embrace, crossing borders and living on through time.” Thank you so much Qian Julie for sharing your beautiful story along with this very special recipe! You are a treasure!
The Family
Naomi Krupitsky
“The meatballs were a cure-all, the centerpiece of christenings and birthdays, but also applied as a salve for failed tests and broken hearts and the unnameable melancholy of November.”
This engrossing, original Mafia story centers on Sofia and Antonia, two best friends with an unshakable bond, both daughters of Italian immigrants turned henchmen for the mob. From their childhood in the 1920s through marriage and motherhood in the 1940s, they are part of a dangerous, insular “Family” that is both feared and loathed in their Brooklyn community and beyond. Sofia and Antonia’s paths diverge then intertwine again and again, as they contemplate whether to surrender to the grasp of the Family – or rise to the top of its power.
If you enjoy “mood books,” this one deftly sets its dark, subtly sinister tone early on, with hints of suspense as the characters navigate their violent underworld. From the first chapters, the girls’ power struggles feel palpable and their family life immersive – but with an unmistakeable undercurrent of danger. My favorite character was undoubtedly Saul, a Jewish immigrant who evaded the horrors of World War II in Europe, only to find himself unexpectedly trapped in a new life he can neither abide nor escape. His internal conflict gives the story added depth, as power, secrets and betrayal seal Sofia and Antonia’s fates.
Through celebration and unspeakable tragedy, the Family’s Sunday dinners are a constant. (Even when a loved one disappears, there will be meatballs.) So obviously I had to make my favorites, which don’t have Rosa’s beef, veal and pork, but instead are made with lean ground turkey – in case you didn’t have enough turkey lately! Also pictured here is my re-creation of the book’s Stefano’s pizza, where the novel’s description of fresh pies had me racing to the cheese counter for fresh mozzarella.
What are your must reads before the end of the year? I’m hoping to finish The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois – argh, why can’t I pick something under 800 pages?!
Five Tuesdays In Winter
Lily King
“You are supposed to feel, at the end of a book, that what has gone on is completely unimaginable, and yet inevitable.”
Lily King’s latest triumph of storytelling is actually a series of small feats in the form of a new, riveting collection, Five Tuesdays In Winter. In one short story, a teenager learns the limitations of a crush when working as a nanny for a complicated family. In another, a shy bookseller pines hopefully for an employee. One story finds a grieving mother and daughter on holiday, struggling to find common ground. The final story introduces self doubt in male human form, as he pays an unwelcome visit to an overwhelmed young mother.
This book has secured Lily King’s place as one of my few auto-buy authors. The mini plots are almost besides the point in this collection. Here, the writing is the star of the show, and readers take on the role of observer, glimpsing unexpected moments that change a character’s life for better or worse. Grief, love, resentment and hope reverberate in these intense yet nuanced stories, each one packing a powerful punch, and leaving you wanting just a little bit more.
In Five Days In Winter, mushroom soup is a tiny spark of a joke between two people deciding if they’ll flirt. I’ve actually never cooked with mushrooms but I welcomed the challenge of creating warm, cozy, winter vibes with an ingredient I never use. Plus Smitten Kitchen recipes are always perfect! And I got to finally use my new immersion blender – anyone who has one knows it’s a soup-making game changer! Recipe link here.
Do you enjoy short story collections? I loved Interpreter of Maladies; How to Love a Jamaican; You Think It, I’ll Say It; and especially connected stories like Olive Kitteridge. What are some of your favorites?
The Late Bloomers’ Club
Louise Miller
I loved this sweet gem of a book, by the same author as A City Baker’s Guide To Country Living, one of my favorites from last year! Here, Nora is the longtime owner of her family’s diner in Guthrie, Vermont, where she is content, if increasingly restless. When she and her sister become the beneficiaries of a vast plot of land that threatens to divide her small town, Nora finds that her seemingly preordained life path takes some unexpected turns. Will Nora discover the possibilities of this new inheritance, and open her heart to the people it brings into her life? Filled with small town charm and plenty of delicious food, this warm, wise novel is perfect for a lighter feel-good read to make you smile – and possibly move to Vermont!
This story beautifully reinforces the notion that we can all have second, third, maybe unlimited opportunities to find happiness, at any stage of life, if we only give ourselves that chance. I loved how Nora, and some other characters in the story, value what is constant and true – but learn to open themselves to creative paths that bring them joy. Since I turned to photography as my third career, and then came to this bookcooklook project some years after that, I deeply appreciate the idea that what makes us happy can change and grow, that we don’t ever have to be “stuck.” Also, this book has the sweetest dog-related storyline! Thank you to @andherbookspod for recommending this one – I enjoyed it so much!
Give me ALL the books with recipes in the back – this book is a cake-baking bonanza, and a burnt sugar cake with maple frosting is the star. Instead of a traditional bundt cake, I made mini bundtlettes (yes, that’s what the tin is called) which seemed like something to be served warm at a country diner during peak foliage season. The recipe lives exclusively at the end of the novel so you’ll just have to buy the book for yourself! A few other favorite novels with small town settings are All Adults Here and Early Morning Riser – what are some of yours?
Songs in Ursa Major
Emma Brodie
Songs In Ursa Major, a love letter to 1970’s music, follows the rocky affair between Jane, a Joni Mitchell-esque young singer songwriter, and Jesse, the quasi-James Taylor rock star who helps her rise to fame. As Jane’s star ascends, so does her attraction to Jesse, but dark secrets from their past lives threaten to sever their deep connection to their music, fans, and each other.
This new and Netflix-ready novel is a study in the tension between creativity and commercial success, love and attraction, independence and support. It has a wide base of fans and plenty to enjoy for many readers, but unfortunately I wasn’t one of them. I felt the writing was very uneven, especially as significant plot points were either glossed over or overblown to make the story work. I also struggled to connect with or root for the main characters, who I found lacking in depth despite their undeniable chemistry. That said, readers who adore the artists who inspired this story may have fun finding hints of their music and lives in the book. I also recommend this one for anyone who really digs the poetry of original lyrics, which are interspersed throughout and add texture to the novel. I think many readers would enjoy this one, it just wasn’t a fit for me right now!
Once in a while, when there isn’t much food in a book, I get inspired by the cover art – and this is one of the prettiest covers I’ve seen in a while. It reminds me of a still from A Star Is Born where Gaga is leaning on Brad, and the sun lights them up just so. I thought these lovely orange tones would be beautiful paired with a seasonal recipe I saw on Half Baked Harvest: brown butter pumpkin tortellini a la vodka. YUM. This is an easy recipe that is perfect for people like me whose next level love of pumpkin goes beyond desserts.
The Inheritance of Orquídea Divinia
Zoraida Cordova
Are you a reader who is all in for MAGIC? For ghosts? For trees who are human, people who are stars, and skeletons who speak? Then welcome to the world of Orquídea Divina, who mysteriously summons her descendants to witness her death and receive their inheritance. But when her grandchildren Marimar, Rey and Tatinelly arrive, they become witnesses to a mystical transformation that opens up more questions than answers about their history. Years later, when a strange figure begins targeting members of the Montoya clan, they must reunite in their grandmother’s native Ecuador to learn the origins of their magic and their family’s extraordinary past.
This lyrical novel was just the thing to kick off my spooky season and get outside of my usual reading genres. While I enjoyed the subtle magical realism in the first half a bit more than the true fantasy elements at the story’s conclusion, it is a unique and beautifully crafted novel full of lush settings and clever surprises. The dark fairy tale details in Orquídea’s home and in the traveling circus brought the story to life, as did the lovely narration by Frankie Corzo on my audiobook from @libro.fm . Recommended for fans of Addie LaRue.
Fun fact: Jameson, the Montoyas’ rooster with many lives, is called a “zombie chicken” by the story’s children, and for a while I considered making a “zombie chicken soup” for this post! But in the end I settled on white and dark chocolate bark with rose petals, because how could I ignore the rose blooms that grow out of the Montoyas’ very beings? This is an easy and delicious treat, and my first time using rose petals in a dessert. They smell amazing and look so beautiful! Are you reading anything special for fall? Something magical, scary or just cozy?
Yolk
Mary H.K. Choi
“I find that the more I hide, the more presentable I am to the world.”
I loved listening to the audio version of this poignant, clever and sharply affecting novel that focuses on Jayne, a young Korean-American student living in NYC, who is estranged from her more successful sister June – until June is diagnosed with cancer, and needs Jayne’s help to survive. As the sisters devise a scheme to get June the care she needs, it becomes evident that Jayne’s fragile emotional survival is also in jeopardy. Can they let go of the past and lean on each other in a desperate time? Or will the barriers Jayne has carefully constructed prevent her from getting close to anyone – even her ailing sister?
Yolk is one of those rare novels where the main character feels so real, it seems impossible she’s not an actual person. Jayne is not immediately lovable. She engages in selfish, vindictive and destructive behavior, mainly caused by the insecurity that writhes inside her like an internal organ, eating away at itself. But at the heart of the story is Jayne’s unflagging realness, as she learns that adulting requires her to truly care about someone else – and if she can do that, maybe she can learn to love herself, too. Yolk is also a fantastically detailed, de-glamorized immersion into real life in NYC, which Jayne wears like a badge of honor even when sleeping on someone else’s couch. By the end of the story, I wanted to hug Jayne – and to remind her that she matters, she is not invisible, and she is worthy of happiness.
Yolk has endless food, though the two dishes that stayed with me were June’s mapo tofu, and Jayne’s Shin Ramyun Black. The tofu and ramen in the story inspired this (milder) feast of stir fry tofu and miso garlicky butter ramen, all with an egg because: book title! Also, it’s a fact that almost all meals are best with a runny egg on top.
Content Warning: cancer, eating disorders
My Year Abroad
Chang-Rae Lee
“On my travels I would soon be delivered into situations that I didn’t want to partake in but somehow always did, because that’s what we fellows do, wittingly and not, and to everyone’s detriment.”
In this wild ride of a novel, college student Tiller Bardmon takes a life-changing detour to accompany Pong Lou, a charismatic Chinese American entrepreneur, on a business trip across Asia. Along the way, Pong’s associates lead them through recreational, culinary and carnal adventures that you know will eventually crash and burn. Alternating between Tiller’s sensory-exploding journey and his domestic existence in suburban anonymity, this coming of age story explores the complicated path to identity, and the limitations of the American dream.
My Year Abroad is a study in extravagant contrasts. Melancholy and exuberance. Waste and opportunity. Desolation and excess. The story is told with literary acrobatics that are tragic and hilarious, observations within observations that are both dizzying and spellbinding. To me, Tiller was a tender, naive mash-up of Catcher in the Rye’s Holden Caulfield, Theo from The Goldfinch and Breaking Bad’s Jesse Pinkman – I rooted for this vulnerable young man in his search for meaning and human connection.
For this food-filled novel, I created my first ever double post. To honor Constance’s red bean mochi, I made mochi ice cream balls in green tea and red bean to match this gorgeous cover. And, swipe for a banh mi inspired by Victor Jr’s “Thai Dixie” banh mi sandwich contest entry. Please note this is not intended to be a traditional Vietnamese banh mi – it is inspired by one in the story, which plays on food trend satire and is prepared by a child prodigy! I could fill 100 posts with food from this book. Let’s hope we can all travel again one day soon, sample incredible dishes and have some new experiences – though maybe less adventuresome than the ones in this book!
Gold Diggers
Sanjena Sathian
This wonderfully charming debut novel is everything I never knew I needed on my bookshelf! In Gold Diggers, Neil Narayan is an aimless suburban teenager who feels pressured by the expectations of his Indian-American family, and overwhelmed by his community’s obsession with the Americanized version of success. When he learns that his neighbor and longtime crush, Anita, and her mother, Anjali, have been concocting an ancient elixir made from stolen gold that offers the original owner’s ambition, Neil wants in. But when a tragedy makes them question all they thought they wanted, Neil and Anita find that shortcuts to success come at a steep price. A decade later, reunited in California, the two plot one last gold theft – and confront the history and secrets and that will break them, or make them stronger.
There is so much to love about this moving coming of age novel infused with sharp satire and insightful commentary on assimilation and identity. Interwoven with alchemy and gold rush history, the story deftly and definitively upends the notion of a “model minority” in a way that is clever and never preachy. The older generation “auntie” and “uncle” conversations had me laughing out loud, which felt great after some really somber books. In short, I didn’t want this warm, smart, surprising story to end – and I can’t wait to see what Sanjena Sathian writes next.
Isn’t this cover – inspired by Indian matchbook art – totally amazing? To match the colors, I made chickpea masala, curry chicken and pineapple skewers, mango chutney – and obviously, some of the gold-infused lemonade at the center of the story. Special thanks to my mom for loaning me these beautiful napkins from India – they reminded me of the emerald green sari mentioned in one of the final chapters. All recipes are from The Wanderlust Kitchen, one of my favorite blogs for delicious dishes from around the world.
The Four Winds
Kristin Hannah
This sweeping, immersive story documents the Great Depression through the eyes of Elsa, a young mother fighting for the survival of her family in Texas. As Elsa fights agains the raging elements on her family’s farm, she must decide whether to abandon the land that has become part of her soul, or seek a new beginning out west. Alternating perspectives between Elsa and her strong-willed daughter Loreda, The Four Winds details the struggles and sorrows faced by Americans during that time of desperation and fear.
“How can this be happening to us? This is America!” How many times have we asked ourselves this question in the past year? Reading a book about determination in the face of intense hardship feels not just timely, but necessary. But I felt the book’s true strength lies in the little details of life in the Dust Bowl – it’s impossible not to feel affected by the descriptions of dust storms and drought, desiccated land and dehydrated livestock. In Elsa’s challenges and sacrifices, it’s easy to see how small moments of humanity sustain us, and help us find strength and hope. Note: I listened to this book on audio and highly recommend Julia Whelan’s terrific narration!
Elsa’s touching relationship with her mother-in-law Rose is one of my favorites in the book. They lift each other up, comfort one another, and before poverty strikes, they cook delicious Italian food together in the farm’s kitchen. This homemade Four Winds feast consists of arancini, the first thing Rose teaches Elsa to make; Loreda’s birthday dinner of fettucini with pancetta and ricotta cassatta dessert; and Tony’s grapes from Italy. My dear friend, talented chef, and cooking teacher extraordinaire The Balaboosta Chef made these delicious arancini specifically for this post. They’re just incredible. Female friendship is one of the best parts of this book and I’m so very grateful for yours – thank you!
OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB x HOLIDAY COOKIES
When the wonderful folks at Oprah’s Book Club asked me to create these holiday cookie book pairings, it was truly a dream come true for the bookcooklook project! What fun to spread holiday cheer in the book community by making batches and batches of cookies, and photographing amazing books. Thank you Oprah’s Book Club!
From the OBC Instagram:
“Bust out those stand mixers! We’ve whipped up some delicious holiday cookies inspired by book club picks, with a helping hand from bookcooklook. You might find yourself ‘Becoming’ the hit of your socially-distanced cookie swap with Michelle Obama’s Chocolate Chip Cookies. This classic treat is always a crowd-pleaser and the former First Lady’s recipe kicks it up a notch by combining white chocolate, dark chocolate, and mint chocolate chips. Let us know if you’re adding these to your holiday cookie rotation!”
“In Deacon King Kong, the irrepressible Sportcoat’s fondness for King Kong Liquor is part of the rhythm of his days, and occasionally unleashes chaos within the Cause Houses – so what better than Kentucky Bourbon Balls for our book club cookie pairing?”
“An unconventional cookie for an unconventional heroine – these Olive Oil Sugar Cookies with Pistachio Glaze put a twist on the traditional sugar cookie as a tribute to the protagonist of Olive Again. You can get creative with your cookie shapes, icing and garnish for a dessert as memorable as Olive herself.”
Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop
Roselle Lim
This delightful confection of a book was as sweet as the delicious pastries described in it! Vanessa Yu is a young woman with a gift that feels like a curse: she can see people’s futures in tea leaves. Stuck with a boring job in San Francisco, a loving but overbearing family, and an ability that causes nothing but trouble, she is whisked off to Paris by her aunt for some fortunetelling tutelage. As Vanessa struggles to conquer her gifts, she is swept away in the whirlwind of Paris’s romance, art and most of all, food. But a plot to sabotage her aunt’s tea shop threatens to undo the magic of her trip, and Vanessa must ultimately decide whether her gifts, her relationships and her own identity can be saved.
This story is so charming, exactly what I was in the mood to read. I sought it out for the food, but it offered much more: specifically, a sparkly trip to Paris without the transatlantic flight and jet lag. Vanessa’s reverence for her family’s traditions and loyalties added depth to her character and the story overall. The author’s subtle depiction of racism masquerading as nationalism was spot on, a fitting reminder for vigilance against these sentiments. And I loved Vanessa’s touchingly nuanced bond with her Aunt Evelyn, as they seek to explore and redefine Vanessa’s gifts. I recommend this book to anyone looking for an uplifting escape filled with food, family and just the right amount of magic.
It’s virtually impossible to describe all of the food in this story: a traditional Chinese wedding feast, Parisian haute cuisine, pizzas and cacio e pepe, blackberry vanilla and raspberry rhubarb jam, platters of colorful sushi and all manner of pastries and teas. I think I gained five pounds just reading it! Whenever I’m offered too many choices I go with something simple, in this case homemade steamed pork dumplings for Lunar New Year. This was my first time making dumplings and it was so much fun! Thanks to The Woks of Life for the recipe and folding videos.
The Office of Historical Corrections
Danielle Evans
The Office of Historical Corrections is a sharp, sock-to-the-gut novella and story collection that couldn’t be more timely. Each story is deserving of its own spoiler free synopsis, but highlights include: a young woman en route to a new life who falls in love with a toddler in her care; a college student’s defiance when a photo of her in a Confederate flag bikini goes viral; and a young woman in the title novella, who must take stock of her identity and limitations while correcting historical errors for the government. Some characters have hearts hardened by tragedies that bloom darkly within them. Others face micro and macro aggressions that have nothing and everything to do with race. But all of them illustrate how race colors the landscape of opportunity and friendship, of history and hope.
A recent The Stacks podcast episode offers an in depth, insightful look at these stories, noting that the author “trusts us as readers.” If you’ve read this book (there are spoilers!), I encourage you to give it a listen. The author of this book challenges anyone who says, “I don’t see race,” to SEE. See the dark-skinned hotel guest mistaken for staff. See the campus cleaner stooped to pick up pretend plantation cotton. The best stories in the collection are packed with subtle intensity and insistence.
In the title novella, Cassie recalls Juneteenth holidays spent at backyard BBQs “eating banana pudding and peach cobbler and strawberry cake made with Jell-O mix.” I made that strawberry Jell-O cake, then went down the Juneteenth food rabbit hole and discovered the incredible Virtual Juneteenth Cookout organized by Meiko and the Dish with tons of gorgeous and delicious offerings. What a fantastic idea. Next I’m going to try Meiko’s Strawberry Cornbread Skillet Cobbler. I’m sure it would be Office of Historical Corrections-approved.
Hamnet
Maggie O’Farrell
Breathtaking and heartbreaking, Hamnet is one of the most beautifully written books I’ve read in the past year, or any year. The story reimagines the death by plague of William Shakespeare’s eleven year old son Hamnet, through a raw and unforgettable portrait of his mother, Shakespeare’s wife Agnes. In dual storylines that converge, we learn how this unlikely couple came to be: a farmer’s daughter who collects herbs for magical remedies, and a bright but aimless Latin tutor who hadn’t yet discovered his gift for theater. As the plague pings mercilessly from country to country, we are consigned to watch helplessly, holding our breath, as the young Hamnet inevitably falls ill and perishes, leaving a tidal wave of sorrow in his wake – along with the inspiration for the most famous play in history.
It can be difficult to read a tragic story in dark times, but Hamnet is so much more than an exploration of grief. It is is a luminous study of humankind, a visceral look at one woman’s love, rage, passion, pain and peace. As with The Book of Longings, it focuses on the female counterpart of a larger than life man, who is already (we think) known to us. The meticulous historical details beautifully complement the touches of mysticism. In short, it is a masterpiece.
In one of the book’s critical scenes, Agnes’s daughter brings her a posy of lavender and a basket of walnuts. Agnes’s friend, the baker’s wife, then brings her a honey cake. I combined these here, with a honey cake topped with walnuts and lavender sprigs, also in honor of Agnes’s bee skeps. In that scene, hopelessness turns into purpose and ultimately into some measure of peace. Friends, I’m wishing you hope, purpose and peace in this challenging time.
White Ivy
Susie Yang
White Ivy is a dark coming of age story about Ivy Lin, who arrives in the United States from China as a young child, and spends her teen years yearning for wealth, acceptance, and for Gideon, the son of a prominent, moneyed family. Through thievery and guile she creates an identity for herself as a young, adult, but seems unable to really feel much, other than a toxic mix of ambition, obsession, self-loathing and ego. When the only true friend from her painful past resurfaces in her tenuously crafted present, Ivy must decide if she can reconcile the chasm between the two, in a stunning and suspenseful conclusion.
This book was a page turner that features a pretty unlikeable main character, some memorable supporting characters and a few gasp-out-loud moments. As a reader who wants to like (and prefers to love) my protagonists, I decided instead to focus on Ivy’s immigrant experience, by far the most compelling part of this book. However when it came to the “why” of Ivy’s choices, I found that Ivy’s heartbreaking struggle with a feeling of otherness was complicated by the toll of psychological and physical abuse that led her to become a detached, emotionally scarred adult. Ivy’s childhood experiences arriving from China and wanting to fit in were, to me, the strongest , most poignant part of this novel. I wanted to absorb them and follow their path, without their being overshadowed by her trauma. But then, it would have been a different story from the one the author wanted to tell.
There were some delicious sounding meals here, but in the end I was intrigued by a shocking scene with peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwiches – something so uniquely American, tempting but also kind of cloying and artificial, right? When I saw these peanut butter and fluff brownies I knew I had to make them for this post. They were pretty amazing and this is the first time I’ve made brownies from scratch – what a difference! But this is the last of my holiday baking. Hopefully my next book will feature kale and a juice fast!
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
V.E. Schwab
This story is a genre-bending mix of romance, historical fiction, and magical realism, all swirling around together in this wildly popular book. In it, teenage Adeline of 17th century France is on the precipice of a forced marriage to an older man she doesn’t love. Her means of escape is a Faustian bargain with the darkness, a handsome, mysterious stranger she conjures to rescue her, but for a steep price. This choice propels Addie toward a life lived indefinitely, and “invisibly” all the way to present day NYC, where nobody who comes in contact with Addie remembers her afterwards.
I always try to write reviews that are both positive and honest. The honest part is that – with apologies to the legions of Addie fans – this book was a miss for me. That said, it is definitely outside my usual fiction zone and maybe I should just stay in my literary lane next time! On the positive side, I loved the message that we must think hard about the mark we want to make on the world, and the urgency with which we must leave it. Whether we have unlimited time, or very little at all, how do we want to make an impact, rather than merely exist? The notion of time as expansive, pliable, abbreviated, and all encompassing was thought provoking and powerful, NOTE: I want to recommend Dara Horn’s novel Eternal Life from a few years ago, a masterful, intriguing and highly entertaining take on a similar premise.
This book and some fun Brooklyn food truck eats. But friends, I am in the midst of a major smoothie marathon. January is about renewal and my eating needed a healthy reset after the holidays. Addie had a chance to start fresh pretty much eery day – well, here is mine. (Is that a stretch?) Pictured here are berry, mango and blueberry smoothies along with my current obsession, blendtopia glow smoothies.
Leave the World Behind
Rumaan Alam
Be warned: this unsettling, atmospheric, gripping novel will hum inside your brain until the last page, and for a considerable time after. Leave The World Behind begins as a social commentary, as a white Brooklyn family’s escape to the Hamptons is interrupted by a knock at the door: an older Black couple claiming to be the owners of the rental house are requesting entry due to an emergency. A weekend confined to an airbnb with strangers becomes a revealing study in manners, class, race and humanity, until … I can’t really get into the “until” of this novel without spoilers, but do read the second half of the book with the lights on.
This book was surprising and intense, with characters that feel knowable and flawed … and then are turned on their head, slowly, unavoidably unraveling. As the suspense builds, Rumaan Alam deftly holds an eerie lens to the mundane, where food, trees and ordinary tasks seem vaguely sinister. Or do they? Is everything we know about ourselves, others, and our surroundings simply a construct? And can any of it be sustained in the face of fear? This book (written pre-pandemic) is a lot for right now, with lots of questions and few answers, but that’s also what makes it a perfect for this moment. It demands that we face our own incredulity at what the world has become.
What to serve guests who aren’t guests, on a vacation that’s not a vacation, where politeness is strained and suspicion abounds? Pretty cheeseboards filled with apps from the local market sounds about right. There’s something so civilized about a cheeseboard; how can anything be wrong in the world when there are some well served nibbles and good wine? Read and find out … and let me know your thoughts via DM!
The Book of Longings
Sue Monk Kidd
“I was sent out from power … Be careful. Do not ignore me. I am she who exists in all fears and in trembling boldness.”
This magnificent novel – a new favorite of 2020 – is about a fictional character named Ana, who is depicted as the wife of Jesus. However the book is not about Jesus per se, but rather about Ana herself, the women in her life, and her own strength, bravery and determination. We first meet Ana as a gifted, rebellious teen, who secretly writes narratives giving voice to oppressed women. Promised in marriage to a much older man by her tyrannical parents, Ana’s life changes when she meets Jesus, and is immediately mesmerized. The book follows their intense and tumultuous relationship, though it is mostly a testament to Ana’s own “longings” and her connection to the women in her life. She aspires to become a person who is educated, strong willed, clever and fulfilled – and one who lifts up the women around her despite tragedy, treachery and subjugation.
The devastating loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had me thinking more about Ana’s character, who embodied female empowerment. In a eulogy for Justice Ginsburg, she was described as a “rare prophet,” able to foresee a future and then become a vehicle for it coming to pass. It gave me a new appreciation for fictional Ana, who could not ignore the possibilities for women despite the customs of her time, and had a mystical sense that helped her envision how things could be different. Full of drama, suspense and gorgeous prose, this book is infused with historical details that add depth to the beautiful writing and captivating story.
Food inspiration for this post was plentiful! The books was filled with Middle Eastern flavors. I settled on these fog tartlets with za’atar, shallots and goat cheese, a nod to Ana’s beloved goat Delilah. In a book with so many strong female characters, her minor role was a favorite!
The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living
Louise Miller
The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living is a perfectly delicious escape for anyone who wanted a fall trip to the country … but couldn’t quite get there this year. In this sweet, romantic novel, Boston-based pastry chef Livvy moves to Vermont on a whim, needing a change of scenery after a fiasco at work. Taking on a new position creating delicious desserts at the Sugar Maple Inn, she must adjust to a strict new boss, a gossipy small town, and life in the country. But when Livvy opens her heart to new friends – especially one who may become more – she finds herself wondering if her little home at an apple orchard is more than a temporary pitstop: it may be where she belonged all along.
This is a novel that makes you feel wrapped in a warm blanket, curled up by a roaring fire with a cup of tea in hand and an evergreen forest just outside the door. Often, I look to books to enlighten me, surprise me, educate me, make me reconsider what I know. But sometimes I want a book to make me feel like smiling, because it’s so cozy and warm and charming that I don’t ever want it to end. The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living was that book for me. I adored every page!
I love stories with Thanksgiving scenes, and this one is no exception. Livvy bakes pie after pie to bring to the friends who have become her family in Vermont, hoping to wow them with her talent and love in the form of flour, butter and sugar. This Thanksgiving will be a different one for me, and for all of us. It’s the first one ever where I won’t be at a long table surrounded by family. It’s the first one in a long time where we won’t be volunteering with Gods Love We Deliver, because one of my kiddos has to quarantine. But we have so much to be thankful for, and gratitude is about more than certain foods and traditions! This year has shown us a lot about counting blessings and focusing on what matters most. And ok, a little pie doesn’t hurt either. Happy, safe and healthy holiday – I’m thankful for you!
Bourbon pecan and pumpkin pie recipes can be found here and here . Apple pie recipe in the back of the novel!
This Tender Land
William Kent Krueger
Once in a while a book comes along that, when finished, makes me feel like holding it close in farewell before selecting a perfect spot on the bookshelf where I’ll be reminded of it always. This Tender Land was one of those books. I bought it on a quick curbside trip to a semi-closed bookshop early in quarantine – in a gloved and masked exchange with the owner – and knew from the first chapter it would be special.
This magnificent novel centers on the Depression-era journey of four orphans on the run from violence and despair at a tyrannical boarding school. Their makeshift family with nothing but a canoe winds its way down a river in Minnesota, and as their adventures along the way bring them closer together, others threaten to tear them apart. The narrator, Odie O’Banion, tells this coming of age story with a beauty that is immersive, and the descriptions of the setting fairly shimmer off the pages. It feels like a new American classic filled with characters who shape the course of the orphans’ odyssey. The story is gently paced, but also filled with suspense as these young vagabonds avoid the pursuit of their would-be captors. Transporting in its setting, captivating in its writing, moving in its depiction of adventure and human connection: this book was an unforgettably perfect “mood read” for hunkering down at home.
Given the Depression-era timing of the story, there is lots of soup in this book. Lentil, chicken, beef and bean. At the time of my reading, I was making matzo ball soup for Passover. It occurred to me how fitting this is for the story, which is all about freedom, family and to a degree, faith. There is a daring escape from bondage, many days and nights wandering in search of freedom, and even a character named Moses. Wishing you all an end to summer that filled with rewarding time with family, comforting food and a wonderful book to enjoy that is as satisfying and memorable as this one.
Florence Adler Swims Forever
Rachel Beanland
In this immersive and memorable summer story set in Atlantic City, 1934, an unexpected tragedy befalls the Adler family as their daughter Florence is training to swim the English Channel. In an effort to protect their eldest daughter, Fannie, who is pregnant and on bedrest, the Adlers conceal this terrible news. As their family’s secret grows in magnitude, it threatens to undo the very bonds that keep them together. Also woven into their family’s narrative is Florence’s friend Stuart, her brother-in-law Isaac, and the young German woman who lives with them, seeking refuge during the Nazis’ rise to power. A lovely, melancholy story told in alternating perspectives, this novel had me guessing until the end whether its many secrets would be revealed, and at what cost.
Based on an actual incident that occurred in the author’s family, this story is filled with tiny elements that add to its authenticity and depth. As a Jewish woman, I found that the traditions and prayers in the story resonated with me in unexpected ways, even if the characters were complicated, and their customs performed with varying degrees of love and faith. Ultimately this book is about family secrets. If a secret is told from a place of love, is it justified? When we tell ourselves a secret protects a loved one, are we really just protecting ourself? When does a secret of great magnitude become a lie? These troubling questions are set against the contrasting festivity of a summer beach town, and the dark foreboding of WWII’s approach.
The Adlers’ bakery is a critical part of the story, and since my bread maker finally arrived this month (ordered in April!) I decided to make some challah. Have you ever made homemade challah? The braiding is more complicated than it looks, but so much fun. I’m going to try to make one every Shabbat! My bread maker is already my favorite quarantine purchase by far! Much better than the power washer I used once, the high waisted jeans that are already in the donation pile, and the exercise video subscription that lapsed. Hmm, maybe time to renew if I’m going to be baking a weekly challah…?
Anxious People
Fredrik Backman
Full of heart and hope, this book centers on a hapless bank robber (whose identity is not revealed until late in the story), eight anxious hostages (who, to be fair, were anxious before they were hostages), and two big-hearted policemen. This bank-robbery-that-wasn’t becomes a vehicle for bringing all of these individuals together to get past their inner pain and find their potential for happiness. It’s a bit like a big, warm group therapy session that leaves you feeling like you want to hug these characters, and yourself, and maybe even some strangers too.
If this synopsis sounds cryptic, that’s because this book is almost impossible to summarize without spoilers! Instead, I’ll say it’s meticulously crafted with layers of humanity and connection, humor and heartbreak. It took me a few chapters to get used to the non-linear narrative format, but I ultimately found it a very rewarding and heartwarming read with an absolutely perfect and satisfying ending. Fredrik Backman reminds us that adulting can be hard, but our infallibility can bring us together.
If you aren’t craving pizza after reading this book, well, I don’t even know what. Pizza is the great global equalizer, isn’t it? Only Fredrik Backman could give us a story that has a bunch of Swedes eating Hawaiian, capriccios and plain pizza together. In this book, pizza represents a salve to the stressors of the world: a literal (and literary) comfort food. Here’s my take on all three, hold the olives please. Enjoy!
With The Fire On High
Elizabeth Acevedo
With The Fire On High was a delicious read in every way! This YA/also-loved-by-adults novel tells the story of Emoni Santiago, a talented high school senior and teenage mother who must balance her passion for cooking and hope of becoming a chef with her responsibilities to her toddler daughter. Emoni, who lives with the grandmother who raised her, is independent and loyal, strong and strong-willed. She has a hardened exterior that protects her from the judgment of others – but sometimes keeps her from letting in new friends, love, and dreams for her future. It’s only in the kitchen that Emoni can truly follow her heart and let her creativity shine. And even though Emoni has sworn off boys to focus on motherhood and her studies, a new student at school helps her see that she may not have to choose between responsibility and some happiness of her own.
With the Fire on High also offers plenty of positive messages for young readers, especially finding balance and not seeing the world in absolutes. Emoni shows perseverance and grit, not only in pursuing her post-high school dreams, but in little ways: cooperating with a difficult teacher, approaching a potential employer with confidence, maintaining integrity in her work. Each of these situations forces her character to choose between stagnation or growth, and I enjoyed watching Emoni struggle with her choices and then take one step toward adulthood each time. Emoni’s character also grows from her past relationships with boys. As she learns not to use male attention to boost her own self esteem, we watch her go from unsatisfying encounters, to avoiding boys at all, to recognizing that there can be balance in a caring relationship based on mutual respect and kindness.
The incredible food in this book is absolutely endless, and Emoni’s creative process in the kitchen was a joy to read. I did a little IG stories poll and I loved the suggestion of chocolate pudding, a culinary class assignment that Emoni spices up with a little paprika. I made a little taste test with and without paprika here and guess which won? I hope Elizabeth Acevedo writes a sequel one day – I’d love to find out what’s next for Emoni.
Everything Is Under Control
Phyllis Grant
Phyllis Grant’s compelling and deeply personal book, Everything Is Under Control, is not your usual food memoir – but then nothing about the author, or her powerfully told coming of age story, is typical. I was honored to co-host the one and only Zibby Owens’s book club to chat about Everything Is Under Control, and Phyllis Grant’s journey from dancer to chef to food blogger! Click here to see the second half of the book club, when we were joined by the author.
I went into this book with no preconceived expectations, which is an approach I recommend. To that end, I’ll keep my summary brief and say that Phyllis Grant – award winning food blogger who has worked in some of the country’s most renowned restaurants – arrived to New York City as a dancer at Juilliard, then pivoted to the restaurant world. In a style that is raw and poetic, she shares with us the exhaustion, anxiety and exhilaration of a life creating food. Early days of panic give way to creativity and joy, as Grant’s professional journey paves a path to finding personal love, community and family. Interspersed throughout memories of her grandmother – also Phyllis – were especially moving. All of this is told in a style that will be familiar to fans of her writing, with her spare, well-chosen words giving us an even more vivid picture of her story.
Without giving too much away, each of the myriad challenges faced by the author in her early adult years could easily have led to a person’s undoing. Rather than becoming unraveled, they set her on a path of growth and direction. That’s partly why I chose this pesto, one of several recipes in the back of Everything Is Under Control, which Grant describes as “resilient.” It’s an important theme of the book, and a great quality in a recipe! I’m not a “pinch of this, pinch of that” person – I’m a true recipe follower – which is why I loved this pesto. It allowed me to pretend to be an improviser in the kitchen, adding this or that to taste. And it’s one of those things that tastes so good, you almost can’t believe you made it yourself.
The Vanishing Half
Brit Bennett
The Vanishing Half is the “it” book of the summer, and with good reason. This stunning novel begins with the story of Desiree and Stella, two identical twins growing up in their small, black community in the late 1960s. Scarred by an act of violence they witness as children, restless and poverty stricken in their tiny town, they run away as teens to Louisiana – until one of them vanishes to live her life as a white woman on the other side of the country. As their paths diverge, then threaten to intersect, we witness the irreparable impact of their respective choices on those they love most, whose own lives are forever altered by the twins’ fractured bond.
Poignant and unforgettable, this story is an exploration of identity and choices. To what degree can we decide who we are? And when we do choose our race, gender or other markers of self – does it change who we are on the inside? These are not easy questions, and Brit Bennett tackles them with gorgeous writing and beautifully drawn characters. This book is filled with scenes that seem like they could be a stand alone short story – the arrival of Stella’s new neighbors come to mind – and many will stay with me long after I finished the last page. Note: don’t miss Diverse Spines fascinating conversation with Brit Bennett – I loved hearing the author’s take on her decision to present each character objectively and without judgment.
The moment I knew I was in deep with this book: Early’s visits to Desiree as a teen, with his gifts of fruit as they stood on her front step. (If I have any complaint about this book it’s this: MORE Early, please! Such a wonderful character.) So I thought I’d make a fruit-filled treat inspired by their summertime flirtations in the heat. These yogurt and fruit popsicles were a no recipe, ten minute prep, cool you down fast kind of dessert that will definitely be in the summer rotation.
Afterlife
Julie Alvarez
“Even the beauties of language, of words rightly chosen, are riddled with who we are, class and race, and whatever else will keep us—so we think—safe on the narrow path.”
In Julia Alvarez’s The Afterlife, retired English professor and Dominican immigrant Antonia is trying to regain her footing after suddenly losing her husband. Just as she begins to adjust to her new reality, Antonia is confronted by dual crises: an undocumented, pregnant teen in need of help appears on her doorstep – and Antonia’s unstable sister has gone missing. As she grapples with her responsibility toward this stranger and her dear sibling, Antonia seeks to reclaim her sense of self in the next stage of her life.
The strength of this short, introspective novel is in its lovely writing, filled with tiny details that act as a magnifying glass into Antonia’s psyche, especially her grief. The nuances of language barriers and identity struggles could only have been described with such authenticity by an “own voices” author. This story provides an interesting backdrop to unsettling questions: how much do we owe to another human being? To what degree are we all responsible for each other? While I enjoyed this book, some plot elements felt disjointed to me. I also craved more depth in the connection to the young visitor in Antonia’s life, her motivations in helping her, and how she may have been changed by that experience. That said, Afterlife is a poignant, interesting story and the issues it tackles are important and timely.
The hypocrisy of Antonia’s community toward immigrants is evident in the form of a beloved Mexican restaurant called Lulu’s. It seemed to me that the townspeople are accepting of local immigrants so long as they serve their own purposes, like providing Lulu’s delicious enchiladas – but most, save for a few good samaritans, seemed not to see these immigrants as individuals. A disheartening thought – but I have to hope that books like this one may enlighten readers and create change, one story at a time. Lulu’s enchiladas may be legendary in the book, but I opted for something a little lighter and easier to make: fish tacos with pineapple salsa, broccoli slaw and grilled corn. What’s your favorite place for tacos? Tag them below – and let me know if you’ve read this book! My favorite tacos are from @bubbasshackmaui – YUM and hope to make it back there one day.
Here For It
R. Eric Thomas
“Every story, whether truth or fiction, is an invitation to imagination. But even more so, it’s an invitation to empathy. The storyteller says, ‘I am here. Does it matter?'”
Here for It is heartfelt, hilarious and very, very human. In this fabulous-in-every-way book of essays, R. Eric Thomas, creator of Elle Magazine’s “Eric Reads The News,” writes about topics ranging from growing up Black and gay in Baltimore, to the direction of America in the Trump era. Thomas describes not quite fitting in and his sense of “otherness,” ultimately finding his identity, his dream job (via a viral Facebook post, of all things!) and his husband.
I listened to this as an audiobook, but I loved it so much I had to purchase the hard copy because I wanted it to live on my bookshelf. It’s that kind of book. A few of these essays moved me to tears, and others had me guffawing out loud. But mostly I delighted in the humanity of the stories, the perspective they offered and the insight into someone else’s experiences. The audiobook is a true treat, and reads like an intimate conversation with keenly observed anecdotes and threads of insight. If you are seeking to amplify BIPOC voices as well as celebrate LGBTQ writers this month, I urge you to pick up this wonderful book. You’re welcome!
This is my attempt at a cupcake rainbow because it’s Pride month, and because to me rainbows are also about hope. Also, because Eric makes no secret of his love of baking – he even shared on The Stacks Pod’s fantastic interview (do check it out if you loved this book!) that he enjoyed snacking on Tast-i-cakes while writing this book. I’m no baker myself but it brought a little sunshine into my kitchen to ice these beauties. Speaking of The Stacks Pod, do visit their list of books that deal with anti-Black racism. I’m here listening, learning, educating myself and I know so many of you are, too.
All Adults Here
Emma Straub
In this charming, wise family “dreamed,” three adult siblings, their children, and their strong-willed mother Astrid converge in their tiny hometown of Clapham, New York. Each of them holds secrets, resentments and insecurities that surface as small town events come to a head, threatening their fragile bonds – or perhaps bringing them closer together.
I loved getting to know the Stricks, watching them grow, learning from their mistakes and from each other. There are so many ways even the most well meaning families can mess things up, with decades old patterns of miscommunication and abdication. but this book is a warm, nuance study in owning up to mistakes – and also understanding when you are not, in fact, to blame.
Gazpacho anyone? Astrid and Elliot’s awkward lunch conversation about gazpacho made me want to hug her. Why is it so hard to just *talk* sometimes? This gazpacho is everything that is so challenging about connecting with the people we love most. Also it looks super pretty with this cheery, beautiful cover! And in case you’re wondering – chunky gazpacho all the way!
Writers & Lovers
Lily King
All the stars for Writers & Lovers, a story so beautifully written it took my breath away. In it, a young struggling writer is deep in financial debt, bereft after suddenly losing her mother, and suffering a recent heartbreak. As she descends further into physical and emotional turmoil, two different men find a place in her heart, and she must choose a path forward that will bring her to the next stage of her adult life.
This immersive novel is suffused with grief, longing and beauty. It took me a little while to get into a story with a melancholy mood during this unusual time, but as it progressed, its intensity made it impossible to put down. As Casey confronts what kind of future she will create for herself, the book skillfully captures the tension between responsibility and passion, convention and creativity, holding on and letting go. Adulting can be terrifying, and but it can hold moments of exquisitve tenderness, clarity and grace.
Casey waits tables to make ends meet, so every other page is filled with delicious food. Panna cotta. Mussels with vermouth. Baklavah. The food is endless. One of her suitors has two young boys who order blueberry pancakes with bacon, and this struck a chord with me because, these days, I’m trying to cook things I know will be a home run with my own kiddos. This breakfast disappeared in an instant and that’s how I judge my quarantine meals!
Dominicana
Angie Cruz
Dominicana is the quietly powerful story of 15 year old Ana, who arrives in 1960s New York City from the Dominican Republic after her parents marry her off to a local man more than twice her age. Emotionally alone and utterly unmoored, Ana deeply misses her boisterous family and the country she loves. She has no idea how to navigate, much less enjoy, her new city – until her husband, Juan, temporarily returns to the Dominican Republic, leaving her with his younger, charismatic brother César. As Ana’s eyes are opened to the possibility of happiness in New York, she must reconcile her traditional notions of responsibility with her newfound sense of opportunity and freedom.
This enlightening and engrossing novel drew me in immediately. Less hopeful than The Girl With The Louding Voice, but not as dark as A Woman Is No Man, this book recalled these two favorites of the past year, all with young women who are forced into miserable marriages by opportunistic parents. In Dominicana, Ana is so crushed by everyone else’s expectations that she has no space to create any of her own. As her confusion and loneliness give way to moments of joy and courage, I wanted to give her a hug of encouragement. Juan’s own struggle to adapt in New York adds depth to the story, and insight to the complicated challenges of the immigrant experience in general.
Ana’s talents shine in the kitchen, as she creates all kinds of Dominican specialties including these pastelitos with beef. As I painstakingly tried to recreate them, I could not believe how labor intensive it was to make just ten, while Ana made dozens at a time. I loved this line: “When the fridge is almost empty, I invent something. And it comes out good.” Isn’t that where we’re all at these days with quarantine cooking?
In Five Years
Rebecca Serle
This book surprised me in so many ways. I expected to enjoy it, because it was recommended by a friend with wonderful literary taste. But for some reason, I thought it would be a super light romance, with an early meet-cute, a predictable conflict, followed by a happily-ever-after conclusion. How wrong I was – and I found myself thoroughly engrossed throughout this moving story.
In it, Manhattan corporate lawyer Dannie Kohan has the job of her dreams, a fiance who adores her, a loyal, fabulous best friend and a straight path to the life she has always envisioned. Until she has an intensely realistic, unshakable dream set five years in the future, where her life looks virtually nothing like her set-in-stone plan. Over time, elements of her vision begin to emerge in real life, and Dannie begins to question everything she knows about her carefully constructed, meticulously devised existence. As Dannie’s mapped out plan for love, career and friendship falls out of focus through the lens of her dream, she comes to learn just how much of how much of her life she can control after all.
This book filled a hole in my heart missing New York City, which was home for many years when I, too, was working at midtown law firms and frequenting charming restaurants. Isolating now at my house in the burbs, I’m less than an hour away, but the changes to NYC since my last visit feel seismic. In Five Years is a thoroughly New York story, infused with a uniquely NYC energy that pulses throughout. I look forward to returning to the city when it emerges from this crisis – undoubtedly changed and deeply scarred, but still strong. If you want a memorable story that feels unexpectedly heartfelt and emotionally honest – and if you hold NYC dear to your heart – In Five Years is for you. Note: the audiobook is beautifully narrated by actress Megan Hilty.
Sarge’s Deli & Diner is featured in this book, along with other city favorites. I used to work near Sarge’s, and every so often, I’d head to that red awning and brave the line for one of their legendary sandwiches. Whether you like your bagels with whitefish like Dannie, with cream cheese and nova like me, with egg salad, or butter or any which way: bagel with a schmear is the ultimate NYC comfort food. I can’t wait to get back to my favorite city in the world.
The Lager Queen of Minnesota
J. Ryan Stradal
This delightful book is just what the world needs right now: a charming story filled with endearing characters, delicious pies and lots of beer. In it, two sisters face a deep-rooted rift when one cheats the other out of their shared inheritance. Many decades later, Edith hasn’t forgiven her sister Helen, whose lifelong obsession with beer leads her to create a wildly successful brewery. While Edith tries to make ends meet baking pies, Her granddaughter Diana helps her see that it may not be too late to take charge of her fate, fortune and family.
This book falls into one of my favorite genres, which I like to call “quirky/charming, not too silly/light, not too heavy/upsetting” (yep, it’s a mouthful). I don’t know about you but that’s exactly what I feel like reading right now. Characters who are authentic and memorable, and a heartwarming story about redemption and family. And if anyone wants to brew their own beer, this is basically an instruction manual!
This book is about beer, but it was the pies that drew me in. The markets may be slim pickings (sadly, no rhubarb) but I did find enough ingredients for these strawberry minis!
Maybe You Should Talk To Someone
Lori Gottlieb
This book was a wonderful surprise because I am seriously hypercritical of memoirs. I often find them boring, self indulgent or melodramatic. I wonder if the writers are secret narcissists – like, what made you think millions of people want to know about your life? I get very distracted by authors’ decisions to write a memoir in the first place.
All of this to say, I absolutely LOVED Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, Lori Gottlieb’s warm and wise exploration of psychotherapy told from both sides of the chair. In it, she describes her own path to becoming a therapist, and illustrates the therapy process through the stories of a few of her most interesting patients. And she talks about seeking her own therapy, after a hiccup in her life plan caused by a bad break up.
The book is a perfect balance of interesting and entertaining, and Gottlieb presents the stories with insight, humor, and charm. One key takeaway, for me, was the idea that there are no rules when it comes to needing emotional support. It’s easy to feel like there is a scale for what causes sadness or pain, from life’s minor annoyances to a terminal illness or loss of a loved one. But I love the idea, subtly posited here, that there doesn’t need to be a tiered system for difficult feelings, and that everyone can use support and guidance for how to deal with them. I rooted for Gottlieb and her patients throughout, and wanted to hear more when it was over. It’s also a super audiobook (as long as you’re fine with crying in your car a little bit).
One of the more complex patients, a brash TV writer and producer, uses his cellphone and orders in lunch during his therapy sessions. How obnoxious! Over time, though, bonding over Chinese chicken salads becomes a ritual for therapist and patient, and provide a path to progress. At first I thought I needed a recipe for this post, but then realized, I can make my own, self-actualized salad! Crunchy noodles or sesame seeds? Chicken shredded or grilled? Mandarin oranges – yuck or yes? Much like therapy, there’s no right answer, and one size does not fit all. Just explore, grow, and enjoy.
The Dutch House
Ann Patchett
In this spellbinding novel, Danny and Maeve are two sibling growing up in a grand estate known as the Dutch House – until their family circumstances change and they are exiled with nothing but their special bond between them. This story is told with so much intimacy and authenticity that it makes us feel almost nostalgic for a history that is not our own. It is a kind of immersion novel, where detailed descriptions of drapery cords and antique butter dishes transport us within the Dutch House’s walls, reverberating with the history of the family that lived there. I especially loved the way adults come to see their parents as individuals, each with their own hopes, disappointments, flaws and unique capacity to love.
Is listened to The Dutch House on audio for most of the book, and fell a little bit in love with Tom Hanks’s narration as Danny. The audio version felt more like a conversation than a book, and made for a truly beautiful way to experience this story. And that cover!
The Dutch House has quite a few Thanksgiving references, including a chance encounter on a train home for the holiday that proves life changing. I always find Thanksgiving has an air of wonder – there’s something unifying and a bit magical knowing millions of people are enjoying the same meal, isn’t there? So for this book I made some Thanksgiving favorites. Feeling pretty thankful for my book community this holiday!
The Girl with the Louding Voice
Abi Daré
“The future is always working, always busy unfolding better things, and even if it doesn’t seem so sometimes, we have hope of it.” What better time for these inspiring words! The Girl with the Louding Voice is a beautiful story of courage, about Nigerian teenager Adunni, whose father marries her off to pay the bills after her mother passes away. Adunni only wants an education so that she can raise her “louding voice” to the world. But it is hard to maintain hope when she loses almost everyone who cares about her, and everyone left reinforces that she is nothing. When Adunni is sold as a domestic servant in Lagos, she must survive the most desperate circumstances, solve a mystery in her new home, and continue to follow her dream.
I loved this book, and Adunni’s character. I wished I could wrap my arms around her and tell her that she matters! The power of hope is a salve for Adunni’s broken heart, even when she has every reason to give up. What I loved most about this story was the way Adunni allows herself to be lifted up by kindness and human connection rather than give way to bitterness and despair. The story also enlightened me about the tragic circumstances of Nigerian “housegirls,” many of whom are young, teenage domestic slaves. To learn more, I encourage you to read the author’s recent piece in the Guardian.
Now, let’s talk about plans. For this post, I had planned to make a bowl of Nigerian puff-puff, dusted with powdered sugar, surrounded by irises to complement the beautiful purple cover. Or the savory meat pies referenced in the book, which sounded so delicious. But as we have all learned, plans can unexpectedly change. Welcome to #bookcooklookathome during the COVID-19 quarantine – the markets have no flour or sugar, and we’re all making do with what’s in the pantry and freezer! So please humor me and pretend these hamburgers for my family’s dinner are Nigerian “meat pies.” Thank you to my friend, Nigerian food blogger Kitchen Butterfly, who sent me wonderful recipes that I hope to use, one day very very soon!
The Giver of Stars
Jojo Moyes
The Giver of Stars is a story of female friendship between the “Packhorse Librarians” – a group of women tasked by the Works Progress Administration with delivering books through rural mountains in post-Depression Kentucky. Each has her own reasons for embarking on this mission, but all find independence from their past life – and connection to each other – through their work. At the center of the story is Alice – a newly married transplant from England whose home life is oppressive and stifling. Her transition from refined lady to intrepid pioneer is one of the book’s strongest and most delightful storylines.
I enjoyed this sweet story of friendship and I recommend it if you are drawn to books that are plot-driven and not too heavy. A few things kept me from falling love: it’s quite light on the history and romance, as well as other issues that would have added depth (race, worker exploitation, extreme poverty). The characters felt a bit typecast in their own story – the naive one, the wild one, the spunky one, et al. And yet: I did care about these women and rooted for them wholeheartedly. I did want to find out what would happen to the Packhorse Librarians, and I did feel their growing support of and genuine love for one another. The authenticity of their bond won me over, and made me want to keep returning to this positive story of tenacity, friendship and strength. Not every story needs to break your heart and stitch it back together – this one left my heart intact and was a very satisfying and enjoyable read.
As you might imagine, there’s a whole lot of Kentucky bourbon to be had here. Since it’s holiday time, I decided to make authentic Kentucky bourbon balls. They’re covered in cocoa, confectioners sugar and crushed pistachios, and taste boozier than I expected. I used a fancy bourbon somebody gave my husband as a gift once, and I really hope nobody minds that they ended up in some holiday candy!
Olive, Again
Elizabeth Strout
Welcome back, Olive, we’ve missed you! Olive, Again may be the best written book I read in 2019 and now holds a place in my list of all time favorites. This mesmerizing collection of stories is a sort-of-sequel to Pulitzer Prize winning Olive Kitteridge, which is a must read in general – but is not required reading to enjoy this newer book.
Olive is an elderly resident of Crosby, Main who, in her later years, faces a reckoning as she reflects on her life. She can be withholding, crotchety, plainspoken to a fault, but her undeniable honesty and insight impact those around her in ways large and small. In these stories, Olive is not always the focus, but her presence shows us that there are a myriad of ways to touch another person’s life, Intentionally or not.
Many of us seek out voices that are underrepresented in literary fiction. It struck me when reading Olive, Again that stories focusing on elderly individuals belong in this category, too. Olive, Again tackles aging in all its indignity, regret, vulnerability and tenderness – without relying on stereotypes like the kindly neighbor or the lovable curmudgeon. The characters’ authenticity and complexity deepen as their orbits intersect, revealing the contrasting themes of loneliness vs. connection throughout. What we are left with is a breathtaking collection of stories that show, more than anything, the power of humanity in the very faintest of contact between people.
I made this Maine lobster chowder on a snowy, icy day when a hearty stew seemed just the thing. Lest Olive dismiss this as something a tourist might eat, apparently it is a classic from Dick Bridges, a third generation Maine lobsterman who is famous for his recipe and sounds like a character straight out of the Olive, Again. My kitchen now has all the scents of coastal Maine and it’s making me want to reread this treasure one day, like a visit with an old friend.
The Water Dancer
Ta-Nehisi Coates
“Finding freedom is only the first part … living free is a whole other.” The Water Dancer is the moving, poetic story of Hiram Walker, born a slave on a Virginia plantation and gifted with a mysterious power that saves his life as a young man. Despite his higher rank and erudite status among the “Tasked,” his burning restlessness and sense of justice lead him to seek a life of freedom. In doing so, he must learn to harness his gifts not only to save himself, but help others along his path. As this journey draws him to the fabled Underground Railroad, he must ultimately reconcile his role in a noble war with his ties to those he left behind. Hiram is hardened by loss, violence, degradation – but the beauty of this book is in his evolution from warrior to man, open to the possibilities of tenderness and love.
Historical fiction about slavery breaks my heart every time, and I’ll never stop reading about it as each novel provides a fresh perspective. At the same time, the common threads bear reinforcing again and again, and one of those is of family separation. The theme is pervasive throughout the story and leaves staggering devastation in its wake. The Water Dancer reminds us of the power of memory to restore us, to make us whole, to (quite literally, in this story) transport us to another time and place. Loved ones may be stolen, but memories cannot. They are magic.
“The gingerbread wrapped in paper (was) still warm in my hand. I wished I had smiled before I left. I wished I had said something to reward his kindness.” In this book, there are feasts of salted pork and ash-cake, sweet potatoes and terrapin soup. But my lasting impression was of a special gingerbread with hysterical qualities and memories of times past. My spread is decorated with shells, an important plot point that I won’t spoil here, but readers of this book may remember.
Such a Fun Age
Kiley Reid
Does this beautiful cover look familiar? This book has overtaken book accounts on Instagram throughout January! Such a Fun Age is about a 20 something black babysitter, Emira; her white employer, Alix; and a racially charged incident at an upscale grocery store while Emira is caring for her young charge, Briar. This situation sets into motion a series of unlikely connections that reveal the true character of all involved, and invites readers to take a hard look at themselves as the story unfolds.
A highly accessible page-turner, Such a Fun Age satirizes the layers of subtle racism and fetishization that insinuate themselves into the characters’ interactions and attitudes. The book barrels ahead like an accelerating train on a collision course – it’s almost impossible not to watch the inevitable, impending crash you know is coming. At times Alix’s total self-centeredness and juvenile choices distracted me from the book’s primary message – she becomes a caricature with so much to dislike. I also found some of the dialogue a bit … cringey. But most importantly, Such A Fun Age examines how unaware (seemingly) well-meaning white characters are of their own motivations when interacting with people whose skin color is different from their own. This book says, look closely: even if you think you’re doing it right – even if you intend to do it right – chances are you can do better.
Amira’s birthday celebration starts off with coconut shrimp, pineapple salsa, jerk chicken, cocktails and fun until … well, no spoilers here so let’s just stick with the shrimp, shall we? I discovered this delicious recipe on a food blog called – no joke – Fox & BRIAR! There’s even beer in the batter, perfect for a 20-something’s birthday bash. I’ll be making these again, and ASAP.
The Beekeeper of Aleppo
Christy Lefteri
This is a heart-wrenching novel that opens our eyes to the refugee crisis through the story of Nuri, a Syrian beekeeper, and his artist wife Afra. In it, this couple who have lost absolutely everything – including Afra’s eyesight in an explosion – must travel a dangerous path to healing and safety. Will the price they pay break them, emotionally and physically? Or will their suffering be worth the price of eventual sanctuary?
This novel, based on the author’s work at a refugee center in Athens, personalizes the Syrian refugee crisis in a way that no news article can. It brings to light the daring leaps of faith required of refugees everywhere, as well as the trust in humanity necessary to survive. If the inescapable sorrow and grief in the pages felt at times overwhelming, I think that may have been the point. Readers will leave this book filled with greater understanding, deeper compassion and appreciation of the courage to hope.
Pictured here is ka’ikeh b’a’sal, or honey cake with sesame glaze, from the Syrian Jewish cookbook A Fistful of Lentils. Friends, I am here for ALL the gooey, sweet tahini, and this cake is loaded with it. Isn’t there something so fascinating about beekeeping and making honey? Lately I feel that all my favorite recipes call for a bit of honey, and this one was no exception – though I’m sure there’d have been more cake if I hadn’t eaten so much of the batter!
Nothing to See Here
Kevin Wilson
Some things in life don’t sound awesome, but then, improbably, they just ARE. A musical about a U.S. Treasury Secretary. Green tea ice cream. Peloton. A novel about kids who catch on fire.
The odd premise of this book almost led me to shelve it forever. But then I wondered, if so many people think this book is amazing, maybe there’s something here I’d enjoy? And from minute one of listening on audio, I was along for the ride.
Nothing To See Here is about a bright but less-than-ambitious young woman, Lillian, who receives a mysterious request from her perfect-seeming boarding school roommate – would Lillian like a nanny position caring for her stepchildren? There’s only one catch, and it’s a big one: these children have been known to spontaneously burst into flames. During the course of a summer, Lillian learns to care for these unusual children, face her fraught relationship with her friend, and discover even more about herself.
I absolutely adored this book. Clever, quirky, funny and touching, this refreshing novel is my new go-to recommendation for friends. I can never predict what will make me fall in love with a book, but in this case it was Lillian’s voice – completely candid, wholly without pretense – that drew me in. For a book with supernatural stuff going on (“magical realism” seems too lofty a term for these fire kids), this story was accessible, surprising and most of all, fun.
What’s not so fun, as twins Bessie and Roland find out, is being confined to a big southern mansion for the summer. “I want ice cream at a store,” Bessie says. ” I want to watch them scoop it out and serve it to me.” Ice cream is a big highlight of their time with Lillian, and the dream of a sundae with the works looms large in their 10 year old minds. So here’s a real ice cream party just for Bessie and Roland – with hot fudge and sprinkles, as requested! (Fire extinguishers not included.)
The Grammarians
Cathleen Schine
“Grammar is good. I mean ethically good. If you think of all these words just staggering around, grammar is their social order.” I knew nothing about this addictive, clever novel other than that I wanted to become acquainted with the two mysterious twin faces on the cover. Something in their expression drew me in – was it self satisfaction? Or mischief? Is that a hint of … condescension? I had to get to know them.
The Grammarians follows the intersecting lives of twins Laurel and Daphne from birth through late adulthood. They have identical faces, Identical red hair, and identical fascination with words from the time they are toddlers with their own made up language. As they follow parallel paths, the author deftly hints at subtle shifts in their need for, influence on and power over one another. So many keenly observed details bring this book to life, and I found myself laughing aloud at their witty exchanges and wry humor. The result is a new favorite that had me charmed at the very first chapter.
If you adore a book that worships words in all forms – dialogue, poetry, definition, grammar, correspondence and more – will will absolutely devour The Grammarians. I mean, who can resist a book that describes a character as “often odious and occasionally prescient”? In The Grammarians, words and phrases are attributed qualities – a feeling, a smell, a memory – that gives them a life all their own.
This book has a special fascination with eggs, especially the township of double yolks. Between that and a mention of the old fashioned grapefruit diet, I was inspired to make a little “grammarians breakfast,” if you will. I can’t pretend there was a lot of cooking here, but I had an awfully fun time assembling this little meal!
How Not To Die Alone
Richard Roper
How Not To Die Alone is a sweet, quirky novel that charmed me from the first chapter. In it, we meet Andrew, who is crippled by his own loneliness as well as a secret that stress from a misunderstanding too far gone to correct. His solitary life is upended upon the arrival of a coworker named Peggy, whose ease and lack of pretension make Andrew question his solitude, though to move forward he must first confront painful events too unsettling to recall.
I cried a little reading this book, and I laughed out loud too. Mostly I wanted to wrap my arms around Andrew and let him know it’s all going to be ok. Fast of the Rosie Project and Eleanor Elephant will see a glimmer of those books here. If you’re like me and have a soft spot for characters navigating the world in their own unique way, I think you’ll love this book. How Not To Die Alone had the perfect mix of wit, empathy and heart.
What is it about dinner parties that invite comedic chaos and disaster? Maybe it’s that there’s so much planning, something can’t help but go wrong! And the dinner parties in this book are no exception. In one, there is a “butternut squash whatever” involved, and since I love butternut squash soup I decided to make some myself. So easy and yum in the slow cooker, and smells exactly like fall.
Fleishman Is In Trouble
Taffy Brodesser-Akner
This was my WOW book of the summer. I couldn’t put it down, couldn’t stop thinking about it when it was done, and couldn’t wait to discuss it with everyone who read it.
Toby Fleishman is a soon-to-be-divorced NYC hematologist who is just starting to enjoy – reeeally enjoy – his newly single status, when his estranged wife drops their kids at his apartment and then: vanishes. He’s annoyed, then bewildered, then enraged, then concerned, then … well, the result is a bit like watching a train wreck unfold in slow motion. What begins as a witty, acerbic send up of dating apps and Upper East Side parenting is not as straightforward as it seems. The novel becomes a darkly observant, sometimes bitter, decidedly contemporary statement on marriage, mothers with careers, and the role of 40+ women in the world.
What causes a marriage to dissolve? Who is at fault? Is marriage futile unless both partners lose themselves to a ceaseless struggle never to let their relationship evolve? Which partner bears the greater burden of this almost impossible feat?
At times this book angered me – I often disagreed with how the author answers these complicated questions. But the way they are posited in the context of this story is fascinating. I couldn’t stop turning the pages.
Not naming names, but someone gets extremely annoyed when their spouse takes credit for the chicken milanese. So, I researched some recipes and turns out, chicken milanese is just kind of a fancy chicken cutlet. Easy to make, and definitely not work fighting over bragging rights. Unless there’s tarragon ….
Inheritence
Dani Shapiro
In this mesmerizing, moving memoir, writer Dani Shapiro is stunned to learn, almost by accident, that the only faster she has ever known – the man whose faith, traditions and love were ingrained in her from the earliest age – is not her biological parent. Thus begins an artfully woven narrative, written in real time, that chronicles her search for answers and ultimately, her sense of self. Part detective story, part genealogy mystery and part identity exploration, this book is a not-to-be-missed beauty. Secrets, honor, compassion and hope are all here in abundance.
How are we connected to our family? If not for a network of DNA, what makes that connection tangible? How do we become the individuals we are – biology, circumstance, our own will to become the person we envision ourselves to be? Can there be comfort in both truth-seeking and in the unknown? I loved considering these questions along the author’s journey.
Equally fascinating was the place of donor-conceived children in the context of Orthodox Jewish tradition, and how those laws can bend and sway with the parents’ intent to create the next generation. The prayers of her upbringing, as well as Buddhist teachings, science and history help connect the dots of this thought-provoking and powerful story.
Fittingly, I finished this book between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – the Days of Awe that are mentioned at a critical point in the book. So it seemed appropriate to photograph the challahs I handmade with my children for the holiday, with apples and honey for a sweet new year. Challah-making is a mitzvah, and braiding this dough felt very much like something wonderful and special was happening in my kitchen. Something to carry on l’dor vador – from generation to generation – with love.
Three Women
Lisa Taddeo
What a lot of opinions are floating around about this book! But isn’t that the whole idea behind Three Women: to spark a conversation about what goes on behind closed bedroom doors? As you no doubt know by now, this book follows the intimate relationships of three (real) American women. It is engrossing and compelling and dark and sharply written. And a hugely impressive feat to weave these stories together into an undeniable page turner.
All that being said, why is this book being marketed as a dispositive piece on female desire? Or as the blurb says, “the deepest nonfiction portrait of desire ever written”? This book is about three very specific women and their specific situations – all of which have little to do with desire and everything to do with insecurity and manipulation. Why is the book purported to be an overarching statement about women’s desires in general?
It also irked me that the author seemed obsessed with – and repulsed by – domesticity. The book mocks families that “always have clean dish towels and never run out of eggs.” (This actually reminded me to wash my dish towels!) Married couples become “partners who pay bills together.” Children are depicted as an afterthought and an inconvenience. Can’t love and passion coexist with domesticity? I don’t buy this book’s implied “no.”
Taddeo, in her epilogue and prologue, offers a takeaway: women should judge each other less, and be more accepting. You never know another woman’s “why.” Keep an open mind and an open heart, and be kind to each other, ladies. Yes! All true! But this seems hollow and disingenuous when considered with the book’s own inherent bias – against more traditional relationships. To my original point, Three Women is a compelling, at times even riveting, book. But I enjoyed it much better as fascinating and incredibly well written non-fiction entertainment – without the schtick of being an enlightenment piece on female judgment and desire.
Here you have Sloane’s almond croissant: “(It) looked like the most beautiful pastry in the entire world. The shape of it was a perfect elbow. The flakes were crisp and fragile, the color of sunshine. She hated herself for wanting it and then hated herself for hating herself.” I don’t know if my croissants fit this lovely description, but I do know they involved puff pastry, almond paste, and a lot of standing around eating them in my own kitchen afterward. Judgment free.
The Overdue Life of Amy Byler
Kelly Harms
The next time someone asks you for a book recommendation involving the words “cute,” “light,” and “summer,” Amy Byler is your gal. Our heroine Amy is a school librarian and single mother with two kids living in Pennsylvania. She is finally over her estranged husband who’s living overseas – until he’s not. He’s returned out of the blue, with hopes of reconciling, and to prove his commitment he offers to mind the kids for the summer. Thus begins Amy’s “momspringa” in New York City – you can Google this term, coined by the book, for further explanation – which results in a sort of single mom summer fantasy of friendship, fashion, food, fitness and romance in Manhattan, until this whirlwind combusts and she must decide how to move forward as her best new self in her “real” life.
Predictable? Sure. Implausible? Well, that’s sort of the point. But sweet and fun has a place in contemporary fiction, and I think it found a home here in this book. In my opinion this book has a specific audience: Moms. Book nerds. People who love NYC. (I check all of these boxes, BTW.) With those caveats in mind, this book is very enjoyable for exactly what it is: The Overdue Life of Amy Byler is a very cute, light, summer read.
I love when a book’s setting coincides with life! I happened to read this one during a super fun summer week in Manhattan with my husband. Between trips to the theater (Hadestown! Burn This!) and the Met’s camp exhibit, we took long walks and ate way too many amazing meals. One day we ambled over to Charlie Bird for lunch where I had their famous farro and arugula salad – THE quintessential summer salad – with cider-soaked farro, fresh mint, parmesan flakes and crunchy pistachios. Sometimes there’s nothing like a light summer meal to go with a light summer read and for me, Amy Byler and this perfect salad were winning combination.
The River
Peter Heller
This wilderness adventure story has all the makings of a timeless classic. The story is spare but powerful, about two college-age best friends whose canoeing trip in the backwoods of Canada goes awry, as they are faced with a confluence of dangers in both natural and human form. Treacherous white water, a blazing, insatiable wildfire, and unexpected encounters with other explorers make for a suspenseful read.
I loved a lot about this book. The pace alternates from thrilling page turner to slow-motion nature sort, which I found unique and beautiful (fans of Where The Crawdads Sing may love the gorgeous descriptions of the flora and fauna of the wilderness). I thought the male friendship dynamic was lovely, revealing through dire circumstances two characters who initially seem alike but are not at all. And I very much enjoyed the timeless feel of the story, like something high school students might discuss in literature class 20 years from now, or might have read 20 years ago, minus a few modern day references.
But the ending! Without spoilers, I’ll just say that I felt cheated by it, not just in terms of plot but also execution. The story’s conclusion felt frustrating and anticlimactic to me given the events. Nonetheless I’m very glad to have read this beautiful story and highly recommend it.
Readers of The River will understand the need for heaps upon heaps of blueberries which, in the story, symbolize a canoeing trip that goes from carefree excursion to desperation for survival. I added a few raspberries to these biscuits because: cover color!
Less
Andrew Sean Greer
Arthur Less, I’m so glad I gave you a second (and third) chance! Some novels grab you right away and others, well, they take a bit of warming up to. After several stops and starts, I gave this book another try – as kind of a palate cleanser between other novels – and it turned out to be one of my favorites of the year so far.
Less follows the journey of a man who, upon learning that his former boyfriend is about to be married, embarks on a voyage around the world to create a plausible excuse for missing the festivities. Yes, it’s a convoluted plot. Yes, Arthur himself can be a little dull at times (“what’s so special about him anyway!?” scream the goodreads critics). But I adore travel novels. And there’s something quite sweet, old fashioned and very endearing about Arthur Less.
Don’t you love books with a character who you, the reader, know better than he knows himself? Plus – books that make me consistently laugh out loud get an extra gold star. So do wonderfully perfect endings.
Arthur goes just about everywhere and eats some very yum – and not so yum – sounding food. It’s really hot today so I went with the Moroccan part of his journey. Here’s a Moroccan couscous to spice up your day – lots of cardamom, cinnamon, chick peas and brightly colored veggies. Enjoy!
The Island of Sea Women
Lisa See
This magnificent new novel has it all: fascinating history, strong female characters and a story full of surprises. The Island of Sea Women centers on a group of haenyeo, the women divers of Jeju Island in Korea, known for their matrifocal society and fierce determination as they harvest edible treasures from the depths of the ocean. The story focuses on Young-sook, from her childhood in the 1930s to the present day, and how dangerous work and the perils of war affect her relationship with her closes friend and fellow haenyeo, Mi-ja. The meaning of friendship, family, redemption, and forgiveness are all explored beautifully in this unique and captivating story. This novel is a new favorite!
This book was gifted to me by my amazing, thoughtful friend who also happens to be a culinary talent when it comes to Korean cuisine. So when I asked her to help me prepare something special for this book, she showed up at my door with otherworldly enoki, delicious-smelling greens that are “in the chrysanthemum family” and scallions as wide as my arm. The seafood stew she assembled was so pretty in the prep stage that I had to photograph it pre-cooking. I couldn’t help but think how grateful Young-sook and her family would be for these creatures, and how long they’d hold their breath for a chance to capture each one. All hail the haenyeo….
Be sure to check out some of the amazing photographs by Hyung S. Kim of some of Jeju’s last remaining haenyeo!
The Kiss Quotient
Helen Hoang
The premise of The Kiss Quotient was sweet and refreshing. Stella, a brilliant young woman with high functioning autistic spectrum disorder, thinks it’s time she had a boyfriend. But between her demanding econometrician job, lack of dating experience and aversion to intimacy, she seeks professional guidance to get her up to speed. Enter Michael, a handsome escort who breaks down the barriers between them and finds himself falling for his new client, who is atypical in the very best kind of way.
This was a quick, fun, steamy romance, an adorable gender reversal for the classic “hooker with a heart of gold” storyline. For a book that is very spicy, I found the characters endearing and thoughtfully developed. If anything, I wanted to get to know them a little better – more about Stella’s disability, and how she discovered strategies to overcome her challenges. It would be interesting to see the same story play out in a different genre!
Loved this collaboration with my friends at Groundsea Fitness, who cooked up these delicious treats! Michael is half-Vietnamese, and there is so much delicious sounding Vietnamese food in this book. It inspired these delicious homemade Vietnamese spring rolls filled with colorful vegetables, crispy tofu and noodles with almond butter dipping sauce, and crispy sesame cauliflower. I’m ready for a sequel, just so I can have some of this delicious food again!
The Great Believers
Rebecca Makkai
This novel, which alternates between the 1980s gay community in Chicago and 2015 Paris where a mother searches for her estranged adult daughter, is admirable and enlightening. The earlier chronology centers on Yale, a young gay man whose relationships with friends and lovers are being swallowed up by the AIDS epidemic. Decades later, Yale’s dear friend Fiona is desperate to find her daughter who fell prey to a cult and disappeared in the streets of Paris – possibly with Fiona’s grandchild.
I’m very glad to have read this book. However, I wanted to love this story and its characters, and a few things held me back. Yale’s storyline is beautifully written with sensitivity, charm and sorrow. But I wanted to feel more depth and support in the characters’ friendships with one another as they faced impending tragedy. I also felt the multiple storylines-within-storylines during Fiona’s chronology were too cluttered. For me, they diluted the importance of this largely untold story of an epidemic that went unaddressed for far too long.
A book about terrible, deadly illness and its aftermath is not expected to have lots of food. Sometimes when there isn’t food in a story, I look to the cover for inspiration – The Great Believers has gorgeous cover art, with bright orange hues and interesting geometric angles that reminded me of citrus. Slices of orange, to symbolize health, hope and well being, seemed the perfect choice.
A Woman Is No Man
Etaf Rum
This compelling and courageous debut novel is nearly impossible to put down, and equally impossible to forget. Through a family of Palestinian immigrants living in Brooklyn, A Woman Is No Man explores the longstanding oppression of women in their culture, a cycle that is perpetuated from one generation to the next. The story draws us in from the first chapter, as the characters’ desperation – to be free from their dire circumstances, and to understand the secrets within their own family – builds steadily throughout this powerful story. These Arab-American women support, betray, suppress and embolden one another as they navigate the challenges of assimilation, and the even greater threats within their own home.
There’s so much to process in this novel. Do choices really exist if we lack the courage to safely make them? Why does misery beget more misery – what does it take to break this cycle? Have women played a role, historically, in prolonging female oppression in the name of preserving culture or family reputation? And when will it all end? Let’s hope that Etaf Rum’s voice is one that will be joined by others willing to stand together and say: no more.
If you’ve read this book, then you know there were countless options of what to cook to accompany this post. In the end I settled on shakshuka, and homemade hummus (with za’atar of course). While much of the cooking in this book is devoid of joy, mine was done with a newfound appreciation for the freedoms I have, in the kitchen and beyond.
The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row
Anthony Ray Hinton
“I know the sun will never refuse to shine. We may not see it, but I know it’s there. I’m not going to have hate in my heart.”
I am posting with the hope that everyone will read this unforgettable book, and will not only be moved by this story but will learn more the critical issue it highlights. The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row is a memoir by Anthony Ray Hinton, who spent nearly 30 years incarcerated on death row in Alabama for crimes he did not commit.
My feelings after reading Hinton’s story are difficult to articulate. I am so deeply inspired by his resourcefulness and determination to achieve full exoneration, never settling for anything less than acknowledgment of his innocence, no matter how long it took. I am equally awed by his ability to find humor and humanity among hate. This man created a community within one of the darkest places imaginable, surrounded by death and anguish, and committed himself to connection and growth rather than surrendering to despair. He is a symbol of hope.
But I also feel angry – at our incarceration system, and our criminal justice system as a whole. Statistically, one out of every ten people on death row is innocent. How many stories like Hinton’s will never have the chance be told? How much longer will there be racially motivated incarceration and excessive punishment? Hinton tells us that injustice is never something we should get used to. We need to recognize that change begins with awareness. Please read this book, and to learn more, visit the Equal Justice Initiative here.
Every line in this book about Hinton’s mother made me weep. He writes a lot about their relationship – and also about her cooking. I did not initially make this galette for this post, but as I placed the peaches, I remembered how much Hinton loved his mother’s pie. I thought about how the sliced peaches circling outward looked like a little sun. And I noticed the light streaming through the window, making harsh shadows like prison bars, but with light and warmth in between. Here is my humble attempt at a homemade peach galette and a photo that I hope serves this book well. I also hope the sun’s rays are shining today for you, wherever you may be.
How to Love a Jamaican
Alexia Arthurs
Jamaica is my HAPPY PLACE. My love for this island is deep, and grows every year that my family comes here to savor the warm sun, steeped in the vibrant colors, sweet smiles and bold flavors of this special place.
Experiencing this incredible collection of stories while on holiday in Jamaica was a multi sensory experience, and something like 3D poetry. Alexia Arthurs’s stories are so nuanced and beautifully imagined, and to read them while looking out at the Caribbean Sea, eating festivals, mango and plantains for breakfast, was truly magic. I highly recommend this book wherever you may read it, but especially if you plan to visit Jamaica soon, or if Jamaica has already woven its way into the fabric of your heart.
“Mi nuh want anyone but you or some other Jamaican cook Jamaican food fi me,” says one character. “Waste of time to put up wid di disappointment.” Nobody can cook authentic Jamaican food like a Jamaican. As such, I have a GUEST CHEF for this post: a talented, kind, soft spoken chef named Devin at The Tryall Club who was so lovely to make this delicious jerk chicken. Please see my Instagram stories in highlighted “About + Photos” section for some of my favorite quotes from this beautiful book and some corresponding photos I’ve taken during my trips to this magical island.
Washington Black
Eli Edugyan
Washington Black tells the profoundly moving story of an eleven year old field slave in Barbados whose circumstances change when he is selected to be an assistant to his sadistic master’s brother. As Wash is offered previously unimaginable opportunities by Christopher, who becomes a father figure to him, he struggles with conflict and guilt while everyone he has known remains enslaved. When the two ultimately flee the plantation, they embark on an odyssey that will push them to the far ends of the globe, testing their friendship and their individual perceptions of freedom.
For me, this book read like two individual stories. Without giving away too much, there is a definite before/after to the plot and I thought the “before” was superlative. There were characters who felt genuine and real, keenly observed moments that broke and then mended my heart, and a relationship that was so tender I think I’ll remember it always as a fiction favorite. The “after” part of the plot did not work as well for me, maybe because I loved the beginning so much by comparison. But the second half explored important themes about the shades and subtleties of racism that are still so relevant today. The science – especially the marine biology – of the second half was fascinating as well.
A pivotal part of Washington Black takes place in Morocco, and while there are tons of lovely Moroccan dishes I could have chosen, I happened to create this post on a snowy day when I was already planning to make The Stew: a culinary internet sensation with coconut, turmeric and chickpeas that’s super delicious. Even though The Stew isn’t Moroccan, I added some spices my mom brought back for me from the spice market at the souk in Marrakech. So I decided it counts as a Washington Black food. Do you agree?
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
Karina Yan Glaser
There’s just so much to love about The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street! This delightful story is billed as a middle grade book but I think it would best be described as a “family book” to be enjoyed by kids and adults of all ages. In it, the five Vanderbeeker siblings have one week to convince their curmudgeon landlord to renew their family’s lease, or they will have to move from the beloved Harlem brownstone they call home.
The book is contemporary yet has a nostalgic feel, and offers valuable lessons without being preachy. The characters’ tiny kindnesses – beautifully observed and subtly woven into the fabric of their neighborhood – make the story heartwarming and truly special. Patience for an elderly neighbor whose speech is slow. A favorite postal worker who proudly wears homemade buttons gifted by a young Vanderbeeker. Extra dog biscuits baked for a pet up the street. These are little things that don’t get top billing in the story, but have the cumulative effect of a big, warm hug.
Becoming
Michelle Obama
Indulge me as I join the chorus of adoring fans heaping endless praise upon this magnificent book. Some books are meant to be read and a rare few are meant to be experienced. Do yourself a favor and experience this one. It is warm, candid, moving, powerful, vulnerable and inspiring beyond words. No mini review here can possibly do it justice. Suffice it to say, I am still mesmerized.
I am embarrassed to admit that I never read nonfiction. So while I felt I *should* read Becoming (because who doesn’t love Michelle? and it’s such a cultural phenomenon!) I secretly worried I’d be the only person on earth to find it factual and maybe even dry, as I imagined an autobiography might be.
Instead I found myself immediately drawn in to her story, her voice, her vision. I organized my day around when I could steal away to read another chapter. I looked forward to long dark car rides to my son’s basketball practice so I could listen on Audible en route home. I was completely and wholly consumed.
Now, having finished, I feel almost too reflective to start reading anything new, wanting instead to live a bit longer with her humanity, hope and inspiration. To reread passages about her “work to create the world as it should be.” I feel a little changed, in a good way, for having read it. Which I guess is what the title is all about.
What to cook, I wondered, as I savored page after page. None of the meals mentioned sounded pretty enough to stand up to this gorgeous cover. Finally I realized I’d photograph the most obvious food of all: a tribute to the White House vegetable garden established proudly by Michelle Obama herself. “A symbol of diligence and faith,” she writes, “it was beautiful while also being powerful.” Sounds a lot like the author, to me.
Eternal Life
Dara Horn
“The hard part isn’t living forever … It’s making life worth living.”
This unique, enchanting novel tells the story of Rachel, who has the seriously inconvenient problem of being immortal. Alive forever because of a bargain made over two thousand years ago, she has had hundreds of families and even more children, and at the end of each life she is reinvented again into a young woman. A kind of Red Tent meets modern dysfunctional Jewish family, this novel’s chronology shifts fluidly from Roman-occupied Jerusalem to present day New York. Rachel’s on-again-off-again “boyfriend,” who is in the same can’t-die predicament, resurfaces throughout the centuries to cause havoc within her carefully ordered lives, and to threaten her well kept secret.
This book, which is at once, funny, somber, passionate and suspenseful, explores what happens when our notions of what is finite are upended. It also considers the complexity of motherhood, specifically the heartache inherent in the passage of time as parenting roles evolve. Perhaps most of all, this gem of a novel tells us that it is ok – maybe even necessary – to laugh about the things in life that are the most serious of all.
Because I’m obsessed with the color orange, I pre-ordered the paperback version of this book with this specific color. Isn’t it gorgeous? The day it arrived I discovered this fabulous color-coordinated recipe for butternut squash flatbread with za’atar and hummus. Za’atar is a traditional Israel herb that can be traced back to the Bible, where it is called eizov and actually had many medical uses in ancient times. Today you can make your own za’atar with sesame seeds, sumac, salt and dried herbs – and it is insanely delicious. I’ll be dreaming of these roasted ribbons of spiced squash for days.
How to Find Love in a Bookshop
Veronica Henry
Sometimes the right book comes along at the perfect time, and this was just that, for me. This sweet, heartwarming novel is the literary equivalent of a warm cup of tea and a cozy blanket.
The shop of the title, located in a idyllic Cotswolds town called Peasebrook, is owned by Emilia, who is determined to carry on her late father’s book store despite her inexperience and the business’s financial woes. This beloved shop proves central to the connection between various other Peasebrook residents, who are as integral to the story as Emilia. As the bookshop comes into its own, so do the relationships between these charming characters, each of whom I was rooting for until the very last page.
It can be challenging to find books that are light in subject, but still deeply satisfying. This book fit that bill perfectly, I found it heartwarming but never sappy, and while some may take issue with its slight predictability I found it sweetly reassuring. Being nestled in the Cotswolds with these earnest yet relatable characters was a I treat that I didn’t want to end!
How to Find Love In a Bookshop has a lovely Christmas Eve scene, where customers drink mulled wine in the store and children nibble on gingerbread men. I couldn’t resist recreating these little cookie people, whose smiles reminded me of the books’ characters together for the holiday. Our family celebrates Hanukkah – which is all about donuts – but I’m hoping this cookie recipe becomes a new December tradition for us – we had so much fun making them!
An American Marriage
Tayari Jones
An American Marriage is a thoroughly affecting, deeply unsettling novel that explores the relationship between Roy and Celeste, two upwardly mobile African American newlyweds in the South, as they are torn apart by racially charged circumstances beyond their control. As Roy and Celeste confront the future of their marriage with letters to one another and alternating chapter perspectives, we follow uneasily along their divergent paths, sympathizing with both yet unable to keep from taking sides.
This book is a melancholy, beautifully written study in all kinds of vulnerability. The fragility of relationships is revealed through tiny details and subtle nuances. We see, too, the powerlessness of best intentions to defend against racial injustice. American Marriage tells us that Roy and Celeste are not afforded the luxury of complacency as they pursue their personal and professional goals – guards must be up, ready for any tragic or unfair turn of events to upend carefully mapped out plans. An American Marriage delivers this point in poignant and heartbreaking ways.
Choosing an item to cook from this book was not hard. A simple pear plays a key symbolic role in this story, one of longing, desperation and shame. This pear upside-down cake from Bon Appetit was definitely intended for more experienced cooks than I am – it was labor intensive an hard to pull off but the results were delicious.
This Is How It Always Is
Laurie Frankel
There has never been a more perfect time to read this special novel that truly filled my heart. This Is How It Always Is introduces us to the Walsh-Adams family: caring, supportive parents; rambunctious brothers; a home that is a tumble of affectionate chaos and love. They’re just like every family you might know, with one difference. Their youngest son, Claude, wants to become a girl. As Claude’s evolving identity begins to require more than just open-mindedness, the family is faced with agonizing choices that affect them all.
During the course of the book, the Walsh-Adams clan begins to feel like dear friends. It’s easy to become invested in their heartbreaking setbacks, and to root for their tender triumphs. And even as this book opens our eyes wide to the world of transgender children, it is also a study of the complicated, tenuous nature of parenting. Decisions are made with fingers crossed and a “good guess” – everyone is just doing their very best to help the little people in their care to be happy, to be themselves, and to find their own “middle way.”
A pivotal part of the book takes place in Thailand, a country I visited 20 years ago and that has a special place in my heart. Nothing will compare to the delicious pad thai from street carts I sampled on that trip, but my first attempt at the homemade version is pictured (recipe here). A new dinner staple!
Homegoing
Yaa Gyasi
“When you study history, you must always ask yourself, Whose story am I missing? Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice could come forth? Once you have figured that out, you must find that story too.”
My youngest recently asked me why so many books I read are sad. I explained there are different kinds of sadness in books – often plot driven, sometimes character driven – but a certain kind of sadness calls on us to bear witness, to learn, to respect. Homegoing, in all its beauty and heartbreak, doesn’t just ask us to do all these things – it demands it. Pay attention, the chapters seem to say, and know what has happened in these pages.
Homegoing begins with the divergent paths of two sisters separated at birth in Ghana, with each chapter alternating between the descendants of the two. As one sister is sold into slavery and the other is married off to a white English slaver, the generations that follow navigate the institutional oppression and profound unfairness that existed (exists) in both America and Africa – from the earliest years of slavery, Jim Crow era, civil rights and beyond, through present times. The storytelling is powerful, moving, important – and utterly unforgettable.
The cocoa trade features prominently in Homegoing, and so I’ve made some rich chocolate squares which are wholly inadequate to represent the depth and interest of Ghanaian cocoa – though they are delicious.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
J.K. Rowling
Pumpkin pasty from the trolley witch, dears? This 19-years-later sequel is not to be missed! No review this time, under the author’s strict orders to #keepthesecrets. But you can see my story for photos from our trip to the Lyric Theater to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway . This muggle is still mesmerized!
Seven months ago, 3/4 of my family was home with the flu. We were self-quarantined when I received an email that my “virtual fan code” for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway came through. I entered an online waiting room without about 24,398 other hopeful theatergoers (they display your actual number in line). Having absolutely nowhere to go that day, I waited. And waited. And waited, watching the numbers dwindle.
Finally, after almost two hours, I bought matinee and evening tickets for mid September. It seemed so far away! After end of school tests, summer adventures. There was still snow on the ground! But finally the day arrived, and it was perfection.
Sadly I can’t tell you a single thing about it. But you simply must see it for yourselves. It is not to be believed. We laughed, we gasped, we jumped a foot out of our seats. It’s full of wonder and suspense and humor and, well, magic. Lots of magic. Do go check it out. And #keepthesecrets.
Where The Crawdads Sing
Delia Owens
Lush, dreamy and wild, the marshes of North Carolina are more than just the setting of this enchanting novel. They are the driving force that propels the story forward, its inhabitants pulsating with life, providing protection, solace, danger and even companionship to Kya, a child raising herself alone after she is abandoned by her family.
Where the Crawdads Sing is both romantic and suspenseful, with a love story and murder mystery woven beautifully through Kya’s empowering coming-of-age story. Through each chapter we are transported to the natural world of the marshland, with its fascinating creatures, sounds and colors so gorgeously rendered, we feel we are sharing Kya’s journey along with her – right up to the book’s captivating conclusion.
There’s so much delicious Southern cooking in this book I hardly knew where to begin. But I kept coming back to blackberry cobbler, which showed up a few times in the story and sounded more delicious with each mention. This baking adventure taught me the difference between pie, cobbler, crisp and crumble – it was quite an education! And made me question why I always favor the sweeter berries, when the wild and less conventional blackberry has more texture, depth and fortitude. Sounds a little like Kya, to me.
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Gail Honeyman
Eleanor, you are so much better than fine – you’re actually kind of amazing. I don’t know why I took so long to read this wonderful book. The storyline sounded somewhat uncomfortable, and the characters seemed hard to love or cheer for. Seeking levity after a particularly heavy novel, I relented am so glad I did. This book was moving, funny, heartwarming – and made me cry a little too.
Eleanor is lonely and isolated beyond reach, not the least bit fine, for layers upon layers of reasons that build upon themselves. When she meets Raymond, a new employee at the office where she works, something resembling friendship begins to bloom in Eleanor, and her reclusive, regimented life will never be the same.
My occasional tears reading this novel weren’t sad. They were for tender, kind moments, so beautifully described, that require so little yet mean so much. Maybe we can all find a bit of Raymond in ourselves, and remember that others may need our tolerance, patience and generosity of spirit more than we can ever know.
Eleanor spends her time with three things, frozen pizza, vodka and her house plant Polly. And so, here is my homemade pizza with vodka sauce. This pizza doesn’t look like most others on the outside – it is unlovely, sauced unevenly and a bit misshapen – but it is a pizza of substance, rich warm and delicious. A fitting representation of one of the best lessons that makes this story so special.
The Heart’s Invisible Furies
John Boyne
So few books succeed at being deeply moving, hilarious and heartbreaking, but The Heart’s Invisible Furies is the perfect combination of all three. In Cyril Avery (who is not a *real* Avery, mind you), author John Boyne has created a character who seems to transcend fiction as we disappear into his story. Cyril is born to an unwed mother in Dublin and raised there by adoptive parents. The novel chronicles Cyril’s younger years as he grapples with being gay in Catholic Ireland in the 1950s and 60s, and his older adult years in Amsterdam and New York as his identity evolves. Self-acceptance is elusive for Cyril – it seems shame and self-loathing are forced upon him by all of Ireland. But as the myriad relationships and events of his life unfold, we root for Cyril to wholeheartedly embrace who he is and finally seek the happiness he deserves.
This book is practically foodless, and Irish cuisine is not known for being photogenic. But this cover certainly is, so I baked an Irish soda bread and paired it with some lovely summer peaches just because they matched. (Also: can we discuss the heart-shaped peach on the lower left?) The fennel seeds and currants make it both bitter and sweet, just like Cyril’s incredible story, which was one of my absolute favorites of 2018.
The Hate U Give
Angie Thomas
“Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right.” The Hate U Give is an important powerhouse of a novel that never wavers in its intensity or message. Initially I read this book to gauge whether it would be right for my boys – but was immediately drawn in myself by this unique and heartfelt account of racism and police violence.
Sixteen year old Starr lives two distinct lives: one with her family in the poor black neighborhood where she lives, and one at the privileged, mainly white private school she attends. When her childhood best friend is killed by the police and she is the sole witness, the aftermath and her decision whether to speak out may threaten her family, her friendships and most of all her own identity. It’s beautiful and powerful to watch Starr’s voice and confidence evolve, as she learns who to trust with her feelings, who to let share her anguish and confusion, and who to let go. I was especially touched by Starr’s push and pull with her parents, as she asserts her independence but still needs their gentle affection and comfort as much as ever. This book invites a true examination for all of how racial bias – in the form of lethal violence, subtle remarks and everything in between – shapes the world around us.
The Hate U Give features a memorable moment of levity as friends debate perspectives on macaroni and cheese. Full meal or side dish? Box or oven? Breadcrumbs or no? Almost fifteen years of parenting and I suddenly realized I’d never made homemade mac ’n’ cheese. Inspired by THUG, and author Angie Thomas’s recent mac ’n’ cheese Instagram post, that changed tonight … and I may never go back!
The Great Alone
Kristin Hannah
A place of “cruel beauty and splendid isolation” – Alaska is as important to the telling of this story as teenage Leni, who finds herself in the remote Alaskan community of Kaneq when her alcoholic and abusive father inherits a plot of land there from a Vietnam war buddy. Along with her victimized mother, Leni learns to navigate the treacherous Alaskan landscape with zero preparation for the adventure they’ve undertaken. They soon realize, however, that the dangers within their own home are even more perilous than the vicious Alaskan beasts and deadly weather that surround them. This story has something for everyone: a strong female character (who not only comes of age, but is the only one adulting around here), suspense, romance and adventure. Leni is ultimately faced with harrowing choices as she aims to save herself and her mother from their circumstances, while protecting her newfound love from her father, and Alaska itself.
There are plenty of reindeer sausages and moose burgers in this book to go around, but there was never a doubt I’d be making salmon. The need to find, catch and eat salmon is a constant in Kaneq – there is even a celebration of the beginning of salmon season, started by native tribes. Salmon is what keeps the characters eating throughout the year when food is scarce. It’s also one of the only meals my whole family will eat. So, a bookcooklook win-win! This @thekitchn recipe even calls for Alaskan sockeye salmon: it was meant to be. And even though I didn’t fry any vegetables in preserved moose fat (EVOO instead!) I’d like to think this is a meal that could have come straight off of these pages.
Little Fires Everywhere
Celeste Ng
Sing Unburied Sing
Jesmyn Ward
This book gripped my heart hard from the first page, broke it in a million pieces and still has not let it go. It is the story of a road trip by a Black mother and her two children to retrieve their White father, recently released from jail – but the events of their journey are secondary to Ward’s luminous, harrowing prose and complicated, indelibly drawn characters. Sing Unburied Sing is a gut wrenching and mystical meditation on the Black experience in the south, past and present, individually and collectively, with no simple endings and no easy answers as to what the future will hold. There is so much tenderness, despair, anger, fear, all of it bound together with ghosts and departed souls, it’s hard to believe all of it can be held in a single book. It is unforgettable.
There is no red velvet cake in Sing Unburied Sing. There is only the memory of those cakes by a teenage boy, and thoughts of happier birthdays than his thirteenth in chapter one. I could bake Jojo a thousand red velvet cakes and it still would not be enough. The pages about his cake showcase Jesmyn Ward’s stunning writing by introducing these characters who will stay with us long after the story ends.
Also, kudos to all the cake bakers out there! I don’t know why it took me so many tries to make a remotely serviceable-looking cake but I commend anyone who can make a truly pretty one! My adventures in springform pans and bright red batter were definitely not photogenic!
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows
Balli Kaur Jaswal
This is in essence a coming of age story, both for a young Indian woman living in London, and also, belatedly, for the group of much older Punjabi women taking a writing class she teaches. When these older ladies inadvertently discover an erotic novel, their own writing and path to self discovery takes an unexpected turn.
The book is overall contemporary and light (and spicy!), but it tackles some weightier themes: the dangers of extremism in any culture, and the true meaning of inclusion – in one’s country, culture, community, group of friends. Ultimately it’s about women of many different generations finding empowerment, together.
Cup after cup of chai in this book! How could I resist the opportunity to learn to make a chai latte? What I learned: You can foam milk in the microwave. Star anise smells super amazing. I don’t use my teapot often enough. Two percent is the foamiest of foamy milk. And I need to find a new recipe for cardamom because I have way too many pods!
Pachinko
Min Jin Lee
Pachinko is a multi generational family saga to get lost in, a historical novel set in Japan-occupied Korea and later in Japan that spans much of the 20th century. Through four generations, the book highlights the sacrifices made and alienation felt as this family of Koreans struggle to make Japan their home. They keep and reveal secrets, nurture and betray one another, find solace amid isolation. Their history brings to light a period of history that is at once fascinating and heartbreaking.
Pajeon (Korean scallion pancakes) are only in one scene of this book but they sounded so delicious I couldn’t resist. These pancakes and homemade dipping sauce were so irresistible that basically everyone at the table liked them (which never happens). Also: my family is so supportive of this project but I’m thinking fermenting cabbage in the kitchen for kimchi may test that theory! Just a guess ….
A Gentleman In Moscow
Amor Towles
What do we need in order to live a life of purpose? Love, space, treasured belongings, companionship, meaningful work, all of the above? This novel answers these questions in such a beautiful, indelible way that I’m already going to call it one of my favorite books of the year. In it, a Russian aristocrat is sentenced to become a “former person living under house arrest” in a grand Moscow hotel he frequented before the revolution. While the Bolsheviks are exiling others to Siberia, the Count is banished to the hotel where he is to remain for the rest of his life, or be shot.
Some punishment, you may think – a prisoner in a luxury hotel? But the Count quickly learns that his changed circumstances will require a rapid revamp of all things he once held dear, including the joys of frivolity and a life of privilege. It is truly a delight to join him on his journey as he reframes his situation with resourcefulness, integrity, humor and tenderness. This book is a true gem.
There’s so much food described in this story that it needs its own blog! But I settled on a chilled summer soup called okroshka, made with plenty of fresh herbs and vegetables. This soup marks a relationship’s beginning early in the story, and a beautiful goodbye between characters at the end. I confess I would rather have warm soup on a snowy day like today, but at least I now know how to julienne radishes and peel hard boiled eggs! Side note: this novel was on Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2017 list – anyone else trying to ready each and every one?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
J. K. Rowling
I’m a little late to the Harry Potter party, but right on time for his 20th anniversary. At the insistence of my 11 year old, I began listening to the stories in my car, but soon found that I needed the faster pace of the books themselves, and the satisfaction of holding the story in my own hands. By the time I reached book seven, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I couldn’t put it down.
Everyone has their own idea of what constitutes a masterpiece, and to me, Deathly Hallows was pretty much PERFECT. But rather than review the book, which so many people already know and love (and are re-reading this year), I want to focus a bit on wandlore.
One of my favorite parts of the book was a conversation Harry has with Mr. Ollivander, renowned wandmaker, who could identify each one’s flexibility, length, type of wood, magical core, and often, the owner. “The wand chooses the wizard,” we read throughout the series. But Deathly Hallows offers a deeper look into the magic behind wandlore, and the allegiance of these wands to those who possess them.
This fascinated me, and inspired me to make these chocolate covered, pretzel rod wands. Licorice strings, coconut, sesame seeds and metallic sugar spray paint all played a role – which was handy since, you know, Whole Foods was out of unicorn hair and dragon heartstrings this week (again!).
As much as I wanted to race through the book to learn the fate of our hero, I didn’t want the series to end. So now I’ll console myself by waiting for tickets to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway … and for my local supermarket to start carrying phoenix feathers for my next batch of wands!
Hum If You Don’t Know The Words
Bianca Marais
This lovely and moving novel takes us to apartheid era South Africa where Robin, a young white girl and Beauty, a widowed black schoolteacher, find themselves connected first by violence and then by love. Their stories alternate by chapter until they ultimately intersect, and as we anticipate their inevitable connection we can see all the ways that they need one another, despite their differences – making their bond all the more compelling when it takes shape. Full of suspense and emotion, this story challenges how we traditionally define family. It also demonstrates how easily notions of hate can be taught to children, but that these ideas are malleable, and under the right circumstances can not only be dispelled but turned into love.
What’s better than an açaí bowl? I knew I’d never make the extravagant South African grills mentioned in this novel – this cover is way too colorful and gorgeous to photograph with a slab of meat! I read this book in Montauk, where my family loves to breakfast at a place called Happy Bowls where surfers wander in after riding the waves for hours and get their frozen fruit on. So I tried to recreate the açaí bowls I devoured daily while reading this book – it brought me back to summer and hope this photo will do the same for you!
Bear Town
Fredrik Backman
This seemed the perfect book to review on a snow day. In it, Fredrik Backman, author of beloved novel A Man Called Ove, writes about a tiny, frozen town in Sweden obsessed with its high school ice hockey team. When the community is gripped with a scandal that forces its members to choose sides, the moral fabric of the town begins to unravel, with unexpected and tragic consequences.
Mrs. Fletcher
Tom Perotta
I laughed, cringed and blushed my way through Mrs. Fletcher, a thoroughly entertaining novel that focuses on Eve, a newly empty-nested mom, and her son Brendan, an unabashedly self-centered lout starting his first year of college. This novel is an exploration of “Gender and Society” (also the name of a course Eve is taking at the local community college) and while it’s often funny, it also tackles the isolating loneliness that can come with life transitions, as well as the challenges of parenting a grown child. Eve’s, ahem, adventures and rationalizations for her choices, are at once sad and hilarious.
This novel may be a study in gender roles and identity, but as these characters evolve (or in this case, devolve), it also begs the question of what defines our truest self. Is it the one we present to the world – to friends, family and social media? Or the one that is reflected in our choices, and in our thoughts when we are alone? Can people be both caring and selfish, responsible and naughty, vulnerable and egotistical? This novel is a super fun way to find out. Spoiler: it’s all of the above.
Because it’s apple season, I made something allegorical: mini apple pie roses. Something traditional but prettied up and with a little extra spice, just like Eve. Move over Mrs. Robinson – there’s a new tart in town.
The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley
Hannah Tinti
This beautiful, haunting novel chronicles the relationship of Samuel Hawley, hardened criminal and sometime fugitive, and his teenage daughter Loo. Through alternating chronologies – every other chapter is a flashback to life before fatherhood – we come to understand the contradictions that comprise both characters: grief and acceptance, loss and love, violence and tenderness, loneliness and belonging.
Hawley and Loo’s gorgeous, melancholy story is interwoven with their connection to the skies above them – through Loo’s understand of and fascination with the stars – and the danger and beauty of water, in their seaside town and in the stories of their past.
This story is filled with fishermen foraging for shelled creatures, so these mussels steamed in wine and garlic from Jessica Seinfeld’s Food Swings cookbook seemed a perfect match. High on yum and low on labor, which is my kind of recipe. Plus they smell like summer by the beach.
My own Dad bought this book for me at A Tale of Two Sisters Bookshop in Montauk, another town filled with salt air and seagulls circling above. So it seems fitting to include these rocks I gathered with my boys from our favorite beach there. Seeing them on this fall day brings me back to summer, when I couldn’t put this lovely page-turner down.
Behold the Dreamers
Imbolo Mbue
What does it take for immigrants to survive, succeed and find happiness in America? Does it require optimism and an open heart? Or cunning, ambition and a willingness to sacrifice everything? This novel explores these questions and more as we follow the story of a Cameroonian couple in New York City, and their wealthy employers.
I adored this incredible story. I didn’t feel ready for it to end, nor to let go of these characters: their tender triumphs, heartbreaking disappointments and agonizing choices. As they navigate the glitter and grit that is New York City, we consider the meaning of the concept of “home” and where it can truly be found.
So much Cameroonian food in this book! Plantains, pounded yams, chin-chin (crunchy snack), egusi stew (with ground seeds found in Africa), puff puff (fried banana treat), pepper soup with cow feet and chicken gizzards … always, always with jollof rice. The recipe made so much rice I kept coming back to it again and again, much as I expect I will to this book. I feel sure I’ll re-read it in the future and in the meantime will hope for a sequel!
Lilac Girls
by Martha Hall Kelly
“It’s a miracle all this beauty emerges after such hardship, don’t you think?” asks one character to another, about her lilacs that only blossom after a harsh winter. The same could be said of this unforgettable story based on a group of survivors of Ravensbrück, a Nazi concentration camp for women. Told from the perspective of a real life New York socialite whose support brought their story to light, a Polish camp survivor and a German doctor, Lilac Girls is beautiful, haunting, heartbreaking and important. Read it and then pass it along to a mother, daughter, sister or friend. The female bonds in this story are something special to share.
There are lots of food references throughout this story, but this Polish poppy cake (makeowiec) was an easy choice. It appeared during a rare moment of joy and light – and showed that even in the most dire of circumstances, hope can still exist.
A Man Called Ove
by Frederick Backman
How I loved this story! I’ve tried to reflect on what it is about this book – about a curmudgeonly older man in Sweden who gets to know his new neighbors – that touched me so. I think it’s the beautiful simplicity of Ove’s values (rigid as they may be) along with the lovely, earnest telling of Ove’s story. I have recommended this book to so many friends with disparate reading tastes and all of them adored Ove. I laughed out loud, cried more than a few times and shared this book with anyone who is willing to open their heart to a grumpy elderly man who is now one of my favorite characters, ever.
I paired this book with Swedish pancakes stuffed with sweet ricotta cheese, topped with lingonberry jam. Ove is a man of simple culinary tastes and I’m sorry to say his favorite foods would not photograph beautifully. So I went with a traditional and pretty Swedish dish that I’m sure he’d find impractical and too sweet. But I thought the amount of sweetness was just right, much like this truly memorable gem of a book.
Commonwealth
by Ann Patchett
This book is a must read for anyone who loves the dysfunctional family genre, and/or Ann Patchett’s wonderful prose. The first chapter could be a stand alone short story, and is special in its own right. Commonwealth feels contemporary and nostalgic at the same time, and draws the reader to its real, flawed, raw characters who test the boundaries of how far family loyalty must go.
What a super fun collab with the incredibly talented chef and cooking-class boss lady The Balaboosta Chef ! Oranges factor prominently in the story’s plot, as do bees. In keeping with that theme, The Balaboosta Chef created this unbelievably delicious crostini with citrus zested ricotta, crushed pistachios, honey, and two kinds of oranges on a garlicky grilled baguette. So much fun to collaborate and talk books and more with this amazing talent!
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
by J. K. Rowling
Ever since my youngest persuaded me to resume my journey through Hogwarts – which had stalled for years at Book Three – I’ve wondered how to do these iconic books justice in BookCookLook. Finally, as I finished the brilliant and suspenseful Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, an idea: cauldron cakes, direct from the Hogwarts Express.
It’s fascinating how many recipes exist online for Harry’s Potter’s cauldron cakes. Nearly all involve a chocolate cake “cauldron” with a magical marshmallowy filling. My first batch turned out much like one of Neville Longbottom’s assignments in Potions class – but the second was devoured by my favorite Muggle kids faster than you can say expelliarmus!
Recommended pairing: a frothy glass of butter beer with a side of chocolate frogs.
The Underground Railroad
by Colson Whitehead
This is an important, magnificent and complex book. It filled me with heartbreak for these characters, and shame for this period in history. It’s the story of slavery as experienced by individual human beings – not as an institution, a cause for war, a history chapter – but through people who we come to believe in, know and embrace. And it begs the question of whether real escape – actual or metaphorical – from slavery’s grasp is ever possible.
Of the railroad itself, and those who built it: “On one end there was who you were before you went underground, and on the other end a new person steps out into the light. The up-top world must be so ordinary compared to the miracle beneath, the miracle you made with your sweat and blood. The secret triumph you keep in your heart.”
In the book’s early chapters, squares of ginger cake are enjoyed during a rare plantation birthday celebration. These are courtesy of Smitten Kitchen and as I baked them thinking about Barack Obama’s interview with the New York Times where he shared that this was the last book he read while in office. An inspiring reminder that if he makes time to read books, the rest of us can, too.
The Last Painting of Sara de Vos
by Dominic Smith
This charming book is an art lover’s dream, with plenty of history, mystery and talk of brushwork. There are two parallel stories of women artists in different centuries: a master Dutch painter, and the talented forger who copies her work. The book has one stolen painting, more than a few broken hearts, and beautifully connected themes of regret and redemption.
Here is my take on chef Jamie Oliver’s famous Dutch oven chicken braised in milk, reimagined deliciously by The Kitchn for a slow cooker. It’s as close as I could get to actually whipping up something Dutch. (So I did a little forgery here, too!)
Euphoria
by Lily King
This anthropologist love triangle set in the jungles of 1930s New Guinea is no tender treehouse romance. Loosely based on the life of Margaret Mead, it is full of danger, passion and suspense. The lush tropical setting and tribal customs drew me in – but even more fascinating was the discovery that the Western observers were, in some ways, no more “civilized” than the natives once immersed in their environment. A unique novel that keenly observes the tension and nuance between its characters like few others I’ve read.
These delicious New Guinea vegetables in spiced coconut broth smell as delicious as they taste. In the story, characters refer to wine as a symbol for what’s thrilling and sensual, and bread for what’s familiar and essential. This recipe is a little of both: utilitarian potatoes and squash with exotic, tropical coconut and ginger. Delicious and different, like the story itself.
The Marriage of Opposites
by Alice Hoffman
This beautiful book, about the mother of painter Camille Pissaro, set in St. Thomas and Paris in the 1800s is a new favorite. Through the vivid descriptions of the lush tropical setting, island animals and mystical spirits, we are immersed in an entirely different world that gives historical fiction a different world that gives historical fiction a gorgeous new twist. Exquisite and transporting, this is a story of forbidden love, and the power of faith and art to renew us.
Coconut cake appears frequently in this story. It is something to bond over, a token of affection, in some cases a peace offering. Mine is adapted from the master Ina Garten and is still intact as I write this, but not for long.
A Spool of Blue Thread
by Anne Tyler
This multi-generational novel chronicling a Baltimore family is a moving and engaging read. It’s not plot-driven; its momentum is derived from subtle family dynamics that propel the characters forward, or rather backward, as the book starts in the present and goes mostly in reverse chronology.
Each of the book’s parts serve almost as a short story. The best of these describes a pivotal day in the main character’s life that begins as a “beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green morning in July of 1959” and is referenced throughout the book. The entirety of this chapter shows how slowly, gently, inevitably, this character makes a decision that will shape her life and the lives of all the generations that follow. We know her choice already, but watching her certainty unfold throughout this chapter is a lovely read, and a testament to how decisions reside in the corners of our awareness until their presence can no longer be ignored.
It is here that biscuits are made, shaped with an upside-down drinking glass. My buttermilk biscuits may not be authentically southern, but they made me look outside my own windows at a breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon and realize I’d become very fond of this book and many of the characters in it.
Fates and Furies
by Lauren Groff
The acclaim for this National Book Award finalist – and Obama’s favorite book of 2015 – is well deserved. It’s the dual-perspective picture of a marriage, told in two parts with two disparate viewpoints. The book’s descriptions of love, obsession, narcissism, desperation, self-loathing and adoration all leave us wondering how two people could live so close together with their respective senses of reality so far apart.
There are very few positive food mentions in this often-dark novel. One main character has an unfortunate nickname referencing pie, so here’s what I thought that pie might look like in real life. Mine was much sweeter than the nickname and was gone in an instant.
Big Magic
by Elizabeth Gilbert
Please pardon the appearance of this book – I folded down so many favorite pages that I wasn’t sure it would be in good enough shape for this project!
This was the perfect book to read as I embark on a new year with bookcooklook. It was recommended by so many photographer friends (along with the brilliant Lin-Manuel Miranda on his Twitter feed) , I adored Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love and I just knew I’d love it from page one. Encouragement, inspiration, really smart hey-it’s-ok-isms and just a wonderful read.
Pomegranates seemed just the right ingredient to use for this book. Filled with beautiful glowy seeds, like little ideas inside all of us waiting to be discovered and enjoyed. Pom smoothie anyone? Raise your hand if you’re atoning for some holiday eating!
The Nightingale
by Kristin Hannah
There’s no shortage of beautiful WWII novels, but this one drew me in deep from the beginning and kept me there until the last page. It’s billed as a story about two sisters, but it’s mainly about courage, sacrifice and survival.
It’s also about critical choices and the path each one takes us on, which is why I chose this whole branzino with roasted vegetables. In this story, the gift of a fish to a hungry family in occupied France is one such choice, its acceptance fraught with moral conflict. This fish shows us that during wartime, not even a simple kindness and a shared meal are as straightforward as they seem.
Eleanor & Park
Rainbow Rowell
I may not be the intended demographic for this very touching YA romance, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying it – especially since Eleanor and Park are 1980s teenagers (like I was) and dig The Smiths and Prefab Sprout (like I did).
This book recalls what it’s like to be 16, when the world seems to orbit around your emotions and every feeling is magnified 1000%. The characters’ lovestruck charm and mutual inability to fit in won me over, even as the 40-something mom in me wants to plead “make good choices!” at them through the pages. The story had a sweet, quirky John Hughes movie vibe – and I mean that in the best possible way.
In one of the book’s pivotal scenes, an altercation stems from a holiday table with no pumpkin pie. Here’s min – perfect for this season and easy to make – but not an easy photo to snap with little hands waiting to grab a slice!
Humans of New York: Stories
by Brandon Stanton
I pre-ordered this book months ago. What a happy surprise to find it waiting in my mailbox on release day, full of faces and stories waiting to be discovered. Brandon Stanton quit his day job to photograph and interview New Yorkers, and since then has been sharing the results with his 15+ million followers on his Humans of New York blog. This book includes highlights of these images and conversations.
My favorite story is one I followed avidly as it unfolded in real time on the HONY blog: Stanton interviewed a young teen in a low income area of Brooklyn who spoke with admiration of his school principal. After a series of visits to the school, HONY followers eventually donated a total of $1 million to the school for scholarship funds and field trips to Harvard. The student, principal and photographer were later invited to the White House to meet the President.
Humans of New York amazes because it reminds us: it’s not all about you. The people we interact with every day have their own joys, sorrows, struggles, victories and passions that they may be experiencing. It’s a message that applies anywhere – just more dramatically and colorfully in New York.
For this post I made – what else? – hot dogs. I would say they ranked somewhere between the dogs at Nathan’s on Coney Island and Yankees Stadium. Not bad for a suburban grilled special.
Wonder
by RJ Palacio
I recommend reading this book aloud, with people dear to you. it is something to be experienced, discussed, delighted in and cried over. (My boys took to pelting me with pillows every time I got weepy, which was A LOT.)
I think this book should be required reading for all children at some point in their grade school years. And maybe all adults too. And basically anyone who wants to be inspired and moved by a story of growth, courage and humanity that I know will stay with me for a very long time.
“‘Shall we make a new rule of life … always to try to be a little kinder than is necessary?'” this book asks. “‘Because it’s not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed … We carry with us, as human beings, not just the capacity to be kind, but the very choice of kindness.'”
I was sad to say goodbye to this book at the last page, but it is a story to be celebrated, so we did: with a dozen cupcakes for us and one for August Pullman, my new hero.
Americanah
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Ever read a book so astute and well-observed that it seems impossible that the characters don’t actually exist? Americanah is that, and more.
This perspective-changing novel follows Ifemelu’s journey from Nigerian schoolgirl to American writer, and back to Africa again. It is a true education on race and the immigrant experience in this country, without being pedantic or preachy. Rather, we learn, and hopefully grow, through Ifemelu’s words, her wit, her loves – and the evolution of her hairstyles.
I was inspired to make this dessert during a tender moment in this story between Ifemelu and her childhood sweetheart, Obinze, whose mother is making mango pies. A touch of both Nigeria and America in this one: beautiful, sweet and a little tart, just like Ifemelu herself.
The Rocks
by Peter Nichols
I admit it: I bought this book for the cover, and the promise of a 400-page summer holiday in Mallorca. it’s a multi-generational story of love and regret, told over several decades. Through the reverse chronology narrative, the characters are propelled toward a fate that seems inevitable – but is in fact shaped by choices that affect everything thereafter.
Such gorgeous descriptions of coastal Spanish food! And of olive and lemon trees that were more loved and well-tended than any of the book’s (often deplorable) characters. Pictured here: seafood paella, much like one from a cafe near Los Roques.
Crazy Rich Asians
by Kevin Kwan
I’ve been seeing the sequel to this novel in every beach bag, so I thought I’d give the first one a try. Verdict: this book is a hoot! It’s a frequently hilarious story that will leave you with a vast knowledge of how the fantastically rich of China acquire, hoard, spend, flaunt, battle over and obsess about their limitless wealth.
But their lives are enviable than you’d think – as one character laments, “at some point, we all have to pay the price for our excesses.” True, but they sure make for a fun summer read.
Nearly every chapter of this book has exquisitely described food. I finally settled on coconut laksa, which made a glam appearance in this book, and is both rich (in flavor) and crazy (easy to make). Alamak, it was good!
Station Eleven
by Emily St. John Mandel
While making these, I thought a lot about this unforgettable book, one of my favorites. This story takes place before and after a flu pandemic that eliminates 99% of the world’s population, and civilization as we know it.
Sounds grim, but this post-apocalyptic novel is really about finding love, friendship, hope, spirituality, connection and purpose in the wake of the unthinkable. Also about appreciating the technology and modern conveniences we often think isolate us, but in many ways bring us closer. Most of all it’s about humanity, and the ways it changes a lot, but not really so much, when everything around it collapses.
Late in the story, one survivor asks another, “Do you remember chocolate-chip cookies?” And his friend responds, “I dream of chocolate-chip cookies. Don’t torture me.”
Here are mine. What would you miss? Go have some today.
Tell the Wolves I’m Home
by Carol Rifka Brunt
This novel felt like it was about someone I could have known as a suburban teen in the 80s, living not far from the setting of this story.
The characters were well developed and felt real – but I disagreed with some of their choices, and reading this story as a parent I felt both frustrated and moved by them. It’s a beautiful story and I’m glad to have read it. I even think it could be classified as YA fiction, for the right YA who can handle some of the heavier themes.
For this book, I made black and white cookies, since this dessert creates a special bond between two friends-to-be who have yet to meet. As a New Yorker I am a purist about black and white cookies, and these are not classic form. But something tells me the almost-YA audience in my house won’t mind.
Everything I Never Told You
by Celeste Ng
This book broke my heart a bit for this fractured family. Disconnect, loss and redemption in this beautiful portrayal of what unfolds in the absence of communication among loved ones. It’s a sad but so lovely read.
Lots of food themes in this book, mainly as a symbol of domestic duty, rarely for joy or comfort. Hard boiled eggs are featured often, so here are my simple deviled eggs. My mom’s secret ingredient is a little curry with the yolks. No cookbook needed.
The Rosie Project
by Graeme Simsion
I think my favorite thing about this sweet book is how hard the main character worked to learn empathy. Because it’s that something we all could do better?
Homemade lemon squares with this book, because Don knew just what to do when life gave him lemons. (OK: it’s because they look cute with the cover.)
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry
by Gabrielle Zevin
Sometimes the right book comes along at the right time, as this charming story did for me. It’s about a cantankerous but very endearing bookstore owner who finds a circuitous route to happiness via a mysterious parcel left at his shop.
While it’s not light, exactly, it felt less dense than my last succession of novels.
And it’s a true book-lover’s book, with plenty of fiction in-jokes and author references.
I made some simple cinnamon mini-donuts, as they seemed the kind of thing the bookshop might sell if it had a café. These were promptly frosted, sprinkled and devoured by my children after being photographed. A. J. Fikry himself would be appalled!
El Deafo
by Cece Bell
Kidlit edition of this project.
This wonderful graphic novel and memoir features a hearing impaired girl, portrayed as a bunny, reimagined as a superhero.
A unique take on this spunky child’s path to acceptance (hint one: got to love yourself first) and friendship (hint two: see hint one).
For this book, I made our superhero a superfood smoothie.
Full disclosure: my own kiddos devoured the book but not the veggies. Something tells me little Cece would approve.
The Girl on the Train
by Paul Hawkins
I didn’t want to like this book.
Psychological thrillers are not my genre.
I’ve only ever read two – also with Girl in the title – one Dragon Tattooed and one Gone.
But there’s something to be said for a page-turner you can read in two days flat.
And there’s definitely nothing wrong with some dark suspense when you’re snowed in.
Here’s a little blackout cake in honor of our boozy heroine – those who have read it will know why.
All the Light We Cannot See
by Anthony Doerr
There’s nothing I could possibly add that hasn’t been said already about this magnificent WWII novel, the most beautiful story I’ve read in ages.
What to cook? There’s scarcely any food mentioned, only longing for food.
Canned peaches, shared. A simple galette.
Here’s mine, homemade with peaches and plums
I’m hoping the sea salt is from somewhere near Saint-Malo.
Cutting for Stone
by Abraham Verghese
My experience with this beautiful book was a little like making this mesir wot.
We had a few false starts. I wasn’t sure at first how we’d get along.
And then the rich texture, and the sense of traveling to the other side of the world, won me over completely.
Plus, it’s about brothers. Sold.
I was sorry to see it end. But at least my kitchen still smells like coriander and ginger.
The One and Only Ivan
by Katherine Applegate
New photo project! This year I resolved to read more, cook more, and look for more everyday beauty to shoot. Voila: a new project was born.
For each book I read this year I hope to cook something new inspired by the story and document it with my camera.
First, this lovely family story about a sweet gorilla named Ivan. Don’t miss this book: it’s like Charlotte’s Web with circus animals. Based on an actual gorilla who was abducted from the jungle and brought to live in a shopping mall, it’s filled with characters whose compassion made me weep, and tenderness I won’t soon forget.
I thought I’d make some banana bread in Ivan’s honor – with lots of chocolate chips in honor of the little readers in my home who enjoyed this story over many bedtimes.
Follow along on Instagram: @bookcooklook
Click here for bookcooklook’s feature on Let the Kids Dress Themselves: Books + Cooking + Look = An Amazing Must-See Project!
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