The next Books & Beyond (BAB) meeting is on Tuesday,July 18th at 6:30pm at the temporary library location at 3100 Overton Road,
35223. It is one of our biannual Reader’s Choice meetings so there is no
assigned topic, share anything you’ve been enjoying this summer! The August meeting topic is ecology and the
meeting location is up in the air at the moment, but Zoom will definitely be
available.
This week BAB met to chat about foodie fiction, novels that feature
either a setting, occupation, hobby, or character trait that centers around
food.
Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown
Cinnamon and Gunpowder is a swashbuckling epicure's
adventure simmered over a surprisingly touching love story―with a dash of the
strangest, most delightful cookbook never written. Eli Brown has crafted a
uniquely entertaining novel full of adventure: the Scheherazade story turned on
its head, at sea, with food.
The House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson
A young woman is drawn into the upper echelons of a society
where blood is power in this dark and enthralling Gothic novel from the author
of The Year of the Witching.
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging
up her sword for the last time. The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh,
opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals
stand in the way of success ― not to mention the fact that no one has the
faintest idea what coffee actually is. If Viv wants to put the blade behind her
and make her plans a reality, she won't be able to go it alone. But the true
rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And
whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup,
they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have
dreamed.
Whip, Stir, and Serve by Caitlyn Frost (Amazon only)
Maggie Jensen has one goal: make cinnamon buns, from
scratch, for her father's retirement party. She’ll do whatever it takes to
finish the job and prove she isn't a klutz in the kitchen. She’s more
comfortable in the wood shop, but how hard can this possibly be? But after her
first attempt ends in disaster, Maggie knows she needs a good luck charm to
make this happen. Enter Liam, the eye candy behind the deli counter. Their
relationship is sweet, but their chemistry is hot. Liam is in control of the
kitchen - and Maggie is ready to serve.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary
Ann Shaffer
“I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is
some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect
readers.” January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second
World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who
could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a
native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a
book by Charles Lamb. . .Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters,
this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises and of
finding connection in the most surprising ways.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (streaming on Netflix)
Directed by Mike Newell, the film stars Lily James, Matthew
Goode, Michiel Huisman, Glen Powell, Jessica Brown Findlay, and more. In 1946 a
London-based writer begins exchanging letters with residents on the island of
Guernsey, which was German-occupied during WWII. Feeling compelled to visit the
island, she starts to get a picture of what it was like during the occupation.
Love & Saffron by Kim Fay
In the vein of the classic 84, Charing Cross Road, this
witty and tender novel is a sensuous experience of food and a deep friendship
between two very different women in 1960s America.
A couple (Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult) travels to a
coastal island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef (Ralph Fiennes)
has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.
A new character-driven PBS documentary and cooking series
that takes viewers inside the life of Chef Vivian Howard, who, with her husband
Ben Knight, left the big city to open a fine dining restaurant in small-town
Eastern North Carolina.
Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (streaming on Hulu)
Award winning cookbook author, host and executive producer
Padma Lakshmi, takes audiences on a journey across America, exploring the rich
and diverse food culture of various immigrant groups, seeking out the people
who have so heavily shaped what American food is today. From indigenous
communities to recent immigrant arrivals, Padma breaks bread with Americans
across the nation to uncover the roots and relationship between our food, our
humanity and our history - ultimately revealing stories that challenge notions
of identity, belonging, and what it means to be American.
The Big Night (streaming on Kanopy)
Chef Primo (Tony Shalhoub) and businessman Secondo (Stanley
Tucci) are immigrant brothers from Italy who open their dream restaurant,
Paradise, in New Jersey. However, Primo's authentic food is too unfamiliar for
the local tastes, and the restaurant is struggling. When famous
Italian-American bandleader Louis Prima is scheduled to appear at Paradise, the
two brothers put all of their efforts into the important meal, which will
likely decide the fate of their restaurant.
Tortilla Soup (streaming on Kanopy and Hoopla)
Three grown sisters, Maribel (Tamara Mello), Leticia
(Elizabeth Peña) and Carmen (Jacqueline Obradors) try to cope and live with
their father Martin (Héctor Elizondo) ; a veteran chef who is slowly losing his
sense of taste. Martin has one simple rule: be at home for Sunday dinner and
attendance is both mandatory and non-negotiable. A rift in the family develops
when the sisters develop relationships and an obnoxious woman (Raquel Welch)
sets her sights on Martin's affections.
Jenna (Keri Russell) works in a diner in a small Southern
town and is a genius at creating luscious desserts, but her marriage to an
overbearing lout (Jeremy Sisto) makes happiness impossible. When she discovers
she is pregnant, she makes plans to skip town before her condition is obvious.
However, she begins an affair with the new town doctor (Nathan Fillion), who is
the only one who knows her secret.
Beautiful but pious sisters Martine (Birgitte Federspiel)
and Philippa (Bodil Kjer) grow to spinsterhood under the wrathful eye of their
strict pastor father on the forbidding and desolate coast of Jutland, until one
day, Philippa's former suitor sends a Parisian refugee named Babette (Stéphane
Audran) to serve as the family cook. Babette's lavish celebratory banquet
tempts the family's dwindling congregation, who abjure such fleshly pleasures
as fine foods and wines.
The youngest daughter in her family, the beautiful Tita
(Lumi Cavazos) is forbidden to marry her true love, Pedro (Marco Leonardi).
Since tradition dictates that Tita must care for her mother, Pedro weds her
older sister, Rosaura (Yareli Arizmendi), though he still loves Tita. The
situation creates much tension in the family, and Tita's powerful emotions
begin to surface in fantastical ways through her cooking. As the years pass,
unusual circumstances test the enduring love of Pedro and Tita.
Flavorful Origins (streaming on Netflix)
Chinese food is popular in America, and this series brings
viewers information about a certain type of the ethnic food, Chaoshan cuisine.
Each episode focuses on an ingredient that is often used in Chaoshan cooking,
exploring where the ingredients come from and what they are used for, as well
as bringing to light the stories of the people behind the cuisine's creation.
The featured ingredients range from common foods like olives to more exotic
fare like yusheng, a freshly sliced raw fish that is eaten with vegetables and
dipping sauce.
A Certain Hunger by Chelsea Summers
A satire of early foodieism, a critique of how gender is
defined, and a showcase of virtuoso storytelling, Chelsea G. Summers’ A
Certain Hunger introduces us to the food world’s most charming psychopath
and an exciting new voice in fiction.
Fresh (streaming on Hulu)
FRESH follows Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones), who meets the
alluring Steve (Sebastian Stan) at a grocery store and -- given her frustration
with dating apps -- takes a chance and gives him her number. After their first
date, Noa is smitten and accepts Steve's invitation to a romantic weekend
getaway. Only to find that her new paramour has been hiding some unusual
appetites.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Meet Elizabeth Zott, a gifted research chemist, absurdly
self-assured and immune to social convention in 1960s California whose
career takes a detour when she becomes the unlikely star of a beloved TV
cooking show.
Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly
The first openly nonbinary contestant on America’s favorite
cooking show falls for their clumsy competitor in this delicious romantic
comedy debut that USA Today hailed as “an essential read.”
The Cook by Maylis de Kerangal
More like a poetic biographical essay on a fictional person
than a novel, The Cook is a coming-of-age journey centered on Mauro,
a young self-taught cook. The story is told by an unnamed female narrator,
Mauro’s friend and disciple who we also suspect might be in love with him. Set
not only in Paris but in Berlin, Thailand, Burma, and other far-flung places
over the course of fifteen years, the book is hyperrealistic―to the point of
feeling, at times, like a documentary. It transcends this simplistic form,
however, through the lyricism and intensely vivid evocative nature of Maylis de
Kerangal’s prose, which conjures moods, sensations, and flavors, as well as the
exhausting rigor and sometimes violent abuses of kitchen work.
The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
Once a month on a Monday night, eight students gather in
Lillian's restaurant for a cooking class. The students have come to learn the
art behind Lillian's soulful dishes, but it soon becomes clear that each seeks
a recipe for something beyond the kitchen. And soon they are transformed by the
aromas, flavors, and textures of what they create....
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
In a garden surrounded by a tall fence, tucked away behind a
small, quiet house in an even smaller town, is an apple tree that is rumored to
bear a very special sort of fruit. In this luminous debut novel, Sarah Addison
Allen tells the story of that enchanted tree, and the extraordinary people who
tend it....
Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge
As Paris rediscovers its joie de vivre, Tabitha Knight,
recently arrived from Detroit for an extended stay with her French grandfather,
is on her own journey of discovery. Paris isn’t just the City of Light; it’s
the city of history, romance, stunning architecture . . . and food. Thanks to
her neighbor and friend Julia Child, another ex-pat who’s fallen head over
heels for Paris, Tabitha is learning how to cook for her Grandpère and Oncle
Rafe. Between tutoring Americans in French, visiting the market, and eagerly
sampling the results of Julia’s studies at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school,
Tabitha’s sojourn is proving thoroughly delightful. That is, until the cold
December day they return to Julia’s building and learn that a body has been
found in the cellar. Tabitha recognizes the victim as a woman she’d met only
the night before, at a party given by Julia’s sister, Dort. The murder weapon
found nearby is recognizable too—a knife from Julia’s kitchen.
The Thick and the Lean by Chana Porter
A startling fable of the entwined perils of capitalism, body
politics, and the stigmas women face for appetites of every kind, Chana
Porter’s profound new novel explores the reclamation of pleasure as a
revolutionary act. In Lambda Award finalist Chana Porter’s highly anticipated
new novel, an aspiring chef, a cyberthief, and a kitchen maid each break free
of a society that wants to constrain them.
https://poets.org/text/great-anthologies-food-poems
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/145091/poetry-and-food
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