More Reading for Solace

I've been marveling at all the people online who have gotten into cooking and baking all day long. I wish I felt compelled or had the ambition for this since I certainly love to eat and drink. But alas, I guess I'd rather read about food than prepare it. Food memoirs are another genre that I turn to for satisfaction in difficult times. They are especially fulfilling if they combine travel and recipes.

 I can't offer enough praise for My Life in France by the inimitable Julia Child. Going along on her odyssey from a small conservative town in California to life with her beloved husband Paul, a photographer and diplomat of sorts, as they travel the world, settling in Paris where Child bucked the misoginistic system of the Cordon Bleu, is pure delight. Her joie de vivre emmanates from every

page, along with her love of cooking, entertaining, and the establishment of life-long friendships along the way. For added fun you can go to PBS and watch episodes of her infamous, groundbreaking cooking show which leans heavily on recipes from her award-winning book Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Another food writer I can't get enough of is Ruth Reichl. She is so funny and down to earth even though she's held such prestigious jobs as food critic for the New York Times and Editor-in-Chief of Gourmet Magazine. She lured me in with her first memoir Tender at the Bone, and won me all over again with Comfort Me With Apples. Just the titles of her books takes your blood pressure down a peg or two. I wrote about her and so many others here: https://bit.ly/2KjCQ5t

If you're longing to travel again, to spend a leisurely afternoon in a European cafe or a street market in some out of the way Asian city, then head to Netflix and binge watch Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown and No Reservations. Renowned for his love of street food and astute political commentary, his shows are like nothing you've ever seen before. But to meet Anthony as a kid and to discover what propelled him to the heights of celebrity chefdom, begin your

inquiries with his first memoir Kitchen Confidential. This book shocked many when it first came out with its gritty look at what happens behing the scenes at the world's finest restaurants. But he also takes time to reminisce about his family's trips through Europe, how his parents inculcated an appreciation of food and adventure into their two boys, and how he came to associate pure love with his mother's grilled cheese sandwiches and Campbell's soup. Comfort foods for all of us!

For all the parents who are valiantly working from home while trying to homeschool and set boundaries for mommy/daddy time I suggest the delightful Four Seasons in Rome by the novelist who inspired us with his phenomenal debut and Pulitzer Prize-winner, All The Light You Cannot See. (Another book worth a second look) Doerr and his wife, brand new parents of twins, gamely take up a grant offer for him to write for a year in Rome. But apartments in Europe bear little ressemblance to even the smallest accommodations here in the states and, with two little ones, Doerr would have given his soul for a place to self-isolate! His writing is funny, engaging, and has a "you are there" quality that is balm for the soul. https://bit.ly/2VqB3ls

And for those women "of a certain age" who feel downright claustrophobic in isolation, rueing every event that we cannot attend, every friend we cannot spend the little time we have left with, I highly recommend the vibrant, "I am woman, hear my roar" sentiments in the memoir of editor and publisher Diana Athill. Alive, Alive, Oh! is a resounding paeon to the wonders of every stage of this glorious life we're given, with no pious regrets, recriminations, or moaning over the road not taken. Read my review here: https://bit.ly/3anJmm4

That's it for today everyone. Again, let me know what you're reading and loving right now, what speaks to your heart, what helps you sleep at night. We are not alone and knowing that makes all the difference.