Friday, October 24, 2008

Suggestions for Future Foodie Book Club Picks

Deb, Johanna and I welcome your ideas for future Cook the Books selections.  We would love to read a mix of foodie fiction and non-fiction food Books and hope to put together a list of several future Cook the Books picks at a time so that participants can make arrangements to buy or borrow them ahead of the bimonthly deadlines.

Do you have a great book lounging on your bookshelf that you have not read yet?  A wish list of foodie books that you would purchase or borrow?  Please leave a comment below to let us know what your book recommendations are.

If you need some inspiration, Rachel has put together a list of some foodie fiction titles at the Crispy Cook 2 blog which is updated periodically.   A short but interesting list of non-fiction food writing can be found here.

La Cucina puts the focus on the food of Italy and Sicily.  Maybe we can travel around the world with our Foodie Book Club picks!

Looking forward to your book ideas!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

First Book: La Cucina, by Lily Prior

The Sicilian version of proto-foodie novel “Like Water for Chocolate”, in which our middle-aged librarian protagonist, Rosa Fiore, leaves her raucous rural peasant family, comprised of six older brothers, a pair of younger Siamese twins, and her frequently absent parents when her lover is murdered by the Mafia. She becomes an academic librarian in Palermo and saves her passions for her cooking, until a mysterious English visitor, L’Inglese, enters her life.

The book discussion is taking place here. However, if you haven’t yet read the book, or are in the process of reading it, there might be some spoilers!

You can order a new or used copy of the book from your local bookstore or on the Internet, or borrow a copy from a library or friend.  There are many used copies of the book available from booksellers on the Internet here.

SUBMISSIONS DEADLINE IS 15th DECEMBER