Il primo l'avevo trovato più coinvolgente, ma Ruth Reichl si conferma una compagnia estremamente piacevole. Cibo e vita si mischiano nel racconto degli anni centrali dell'autrice, quelli di affermazione professionale e crescita personale.

I read this book on one part of a flight, and ended up in tears on the plane. Oh, she is such a beautiful writer, and just the type of writer that I love. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I kept reading sections to my foodie husband, and it was just a delight to, on top of that, read about berkeley and boonville and truckee... living in oakland, my husband cooked at the boonville hotel, and my parents live in tahoe.

Her love stories are so beautifully honest, and reminded me of one of my favorite authors, Marion Winick. Her stories of trying to get pregnant, and her attempts to adopt - left me in tears. Now, do I loan this book out, or keep it close in my bookshelf...

Boring and self-centred.

I admit that I was a bit shocked by what happens in her life! Oh my! I really like her voice and the way she writes. And what a brave eater she is!

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“When I got on the plane, I didn’t really know why I was [going to Barcelona]. But I [did] now. I needed to find out that sometimes even your best is not good enough. And that in those times you have to give it everything you’ve got. And then move on.”

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In reading Reichl’s culinary memoirs, I don’t know how I skipped over this one! This volume chronicles a momentous decade in her life that ultimately shaped her into the outstanding food writer and editor she is today. Reading her previous books made a fan out of me, but Comfort Me with Apples really cemented my admiration for this amazing woman. In it, Reichl faces some pretty heavy challenges such as difficulties in her marriage, jumping into a career as a food critic, death of a loved one, and the desire to find a soulmate and start a family. She didn’t always know what to do when a challenge presented itself, and there were quite a few things I’m sure she wished she could do over, but the way she unapologeticly relayed her shortcomings made her just that more endearing and relatable.

She certainly came through on her food writing, and in this memoir she travels around the world! My favorite chapters were those based on her travels in China and Thailand. Also noteworthy were chapters on a few now famous chefs who were just flowering when Ruth crossed paths with them, such as Wolfgang Puck. She was gracious enough to include a plethora of recipes from these chefs, and quite a few of her own! Three I’m excited to try include her “Like Water for Chocolate” chocolate cake (that’s my title for it based on how she came about the recipe), Dottie’s spinach (pictured above with my dog, Dottie) and her mushroom soup, which I’ll never think of the same way after reading her introduction to it:

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“That fall, in New York, I made mushroom soup almost every night for my mother. And for myself. It’s the most soothing soup I know, with no sharp edges to jar the palate, no sneaky unexpected spices. It is the perfect prescription for those in need of solace.”

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How precious is that? What better way to describe a simple soup? A highly recommended read. If you’re new to Reichl, make sure to read Tender at the Bone before this one, and then follow this book with Garlic and Sapphires. You won’t regret it.

Over the past few years Food Writing/Memoirs has become one of my favorite genres. It's like reading an extended episode of Netflix's "Chef's Table", which is as brilliant in storytelling as it is in cinematography.

Reichl's second memoir was easy to read, but offered some depth, seen mostly through her travels, and complex relationships. What I often enjoy most in this genre are the descriptions of food, and Reichl's point of view as a food critic was very refreshing. This book definitely hit the spot, and has helped fill the void of the recently announced death of my favorite quarterly, Lucky Peach.

This book covers the beginning of Reichl's career as a food critic, but more than that it covers some of her affairs and the disintegration of her marriage. It was a bit cringey, and not enough about food for my taste, but still very readable.

I didn't like this quite as much as Tender at the Bone or Garlic and Sapphires. There wasn't as much food description, and I wasn't as interested in the details of Reichl's personal life here as I was in her childhood (in TatB) or her restaurant reviewing and sociological observations (in GaS). Still, there's much food goodness, and I like how she conveys her sense of comfort in food and eating.

It is a memoir and well worth the read. It tells of her beginnings as a food critic and her bohemian lifestyle in the 60's. Fascinating read along with some good recipes.

Wasn’t intending to read this book (sometimes the ILL librarian gives me a different book with the same title) but it was extremely fun to read. Badly behaved yet extremely charming heterosexual women can be such a delight

By the time I was a quarter through this book I was freaking out (bet that is a Berkley term). I was telling myself, "Don't judge! Stop judging! Take a deep cleansing breath, another!" It only helped so much. I was definitely judging! By the time Ruth and Doug have their honest conversation I was furious. I had to keep telling myself, "This is Ruth's life not yours, Doug is not your husband so you don't have to kill him." I mean I was judging Ruth too, but man (another Berkleyism I'm sure) Doug took the cake (well actually Michael got the cake but never mind that). I liked Michael and was glad when they finally got married. She had better not reveal in the next book what a creep he actually was. That was what happened with Doug, he was such a great guy in the first book, and then the second book, whammo, Doug is a creep.
She eats a lot of, in my opinion, gross food in this book. Things like jellyfish, baby eels, frogs, brains, and something the Chinese told her was an armadillo, hahaha, they have no armadillos in China. Probably dog I'd guess. Her China story is interesting though, I admired her chutzpah. After she marries Michael they adopt a baby in unusual circumstances. Birth mother comes back and claims the baby. I think I know Ruth and Michael's pain. They lost a child as did I. Mine died and theirs was taken away, but the result was the same, bereavement. I stopped judging Ruth finally.
The story ends on a very upbeat note, very happy. She writes very well and her story is interesting, even if I did get upset for awhile there.

This book is much more intimate than Tender at the Bone, and in a way, much less about food. Reichl's writing about her choices within relationships can be raw at times, and absolutely riveting. I admire the openness with which she wrote about her decisions, and the goodness it takes to be honest and real about choices that some might perceive to be bad. Her boldness and vulnerability are the same thing; it's what I like about her most.