Book Discussion | Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™

FOOD WHORE by Jessica Tom

October 29, 2015

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A Novel of Dining and Deceit

I do love me some foodie fiction so I was very excited to hear about this debut novel. Jessica Tom is a food blogger from Brooklyn, NY who blogs about dining in New York and also posts her own recipes. I poked around her site and found out the original title was “Bad Taste” which I have to say I much prefer. Food Whore will be a turnoff for some people and I wasn’t particularly enamored of it. But the publisher was, so there you go.

The book centers around Yale graduate Tia Monroe who has been accepted into a graduate food studies program at NYU. She moves to NYC as does her boyfriend, a botanist, who lands the job of his dreams. Tia has applied for an internship with her idol, Helen Lansky (think Ruth Reichl) and brings a gift of cookies for her. She is waylaid by Michael Saltz, the uber powerful NY Times restaurant critic, who tosses the cookies and keeps her from Helen.

Saltz is enamored of her palate and facility with language and offers her a deal she can’t refuse. His palate has gone awry; he has lost all sense of taste. He offers her an unlimited budget and access to a personal shopper at Bergdorfs, lunches and dinners at the best and hottest restaurants in NY in exchange for her writing his reviews (that he revises at will) and she is sucked in. He dangles the internship with Helen as she struggles to resolve the internship she’s been assigned at one of New York’s finest restaurants – in the coat room.

This tangled web eventually closes in on Tia, but not before she ruins several relationships along the way. The publisher is promoting this as “The Devil Wears Prada meets Kitchen Confidential,” which certainly got me to read it, but it is more about the evils of ambition then what really goes on…where? In a restaurant? At the New York Times? At the graduate school of New York University? Really none of those, so that was a bit disappointing. Nonetheless this was a good story, it drew me in even though I really didn’t like any of the characters. I know I was supposed to forgive Tia, even understand why she did what she did, but maybe I’m not the most forgiving person because I couldn’t.

10/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

FOOD WHORE by Jessica Tom. William Morrow Paperbacks (October 27, 2015). ISBN 978-0062387004. 352p.

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A WINDOW OPENS by Elisabeth Egan

September 30, 2015

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If you love charming, quirky novels, you have come to the right place! This book is being compared with Where’d You Go, Bernadette and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, two of my favorites, and as far as I’m concerned, I’m happy to say it ranks right up there with them.

Alice Pearse is happily married with three young children. She is the part time books editor at the fictional woman’s magazine, You. She is an avid reader and a true book lover, which I could totally relate to.

Alice’s husband Nicholas is a lawyer who comes home one day and tells her he’s not making partner, had a hissy fit at work and is opening his own office. And by the way, would she mind getting a full time job until he gets his business going?

Alice finds what she thinks will be the perfect job as “arbiter of taste” for a new start up, a book/reading salon that sounds too good to be true – and of course it is. While she struggles to get with the technology and fit in with all the nerds at work, she also has to deal with her father, who suffers a serious setback in his fight against throat cancer.

Nicholas steps up to do more with the kids, the cooking and the housework. Babysitter Jessie puts in more hours but Alice’s best friend owns a traditional, small bookstore and considers Alice as having made a deal with the devil, straining their friendship.

Alice soldiers on as best as she can, and we can’t help rooting for her in this delightful debut novel. The techie nightmare she finds herself in is uncannily like the recent NY Times story about what it’s like to work at Amazon.com (while this book was written more than a year before that article appeared along with its subsequent publicity.) The characters are wonderfully drawn and we can’t help but care about them. It is a fast read and frankly, I couldn’t put it down. Book clubs will love it as much as I did.

9/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

A WINDOW OPENS by Elisabeth Egan. Simon & Schuster (August 25, 2015). ISBN 978-1501105432. 384p.

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THIS IS YOUR LIFE, HARRIET CHANCE! by Jonathan Evison

September 25, 2015

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This book was recommended to me by the same person who recommended one of my favorite books of 2014, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. I was told it was a charming, quirky book, which are hard to find and something really I love. Like Fikry. Or The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Or Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple.

I didn’t love this one so much. It was quirky for sure, but really could have used a bit more charm, which I found lacking.

The story revolves around the eponymous Harriet Chance, a 79 year-old widow. Her husband has died but still visits her on occasion, to the displeasure of the angels and her children and pastor, who thinks she’s losing it. She finds out that her husband has won a cruise to Alaska and she takes it as a sign that she should go. She invites her best friend, who cancels at the last minute and eventually her estranged daughter shows up on board. And slowly, Harriet finds out that much of her life and the people around her have been full of secrets and lies.

The book is a series of short chapters that jump around to various specific days in Harriet’s life showing her at different ages. The chapters do not move chronologically but are nonetheless easy to follow. Harriet is an odd duck at best, as are her husband, family and friends, which adds to the quirkiness of the story. But I just couldn’t get attached to her, and without that, the story just meanders pointlessly. It was a fast read, and I’m not sorry I read it but it was a bit of a letdown.

9/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THIS IS YOUR LIFE, HARRIET CHANCE! by Jonathan Evison. Algonquin Books (September 8, 2015). ISBN 978-1616202613. 304p.

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THE COINCIDENCE OF COCONUT CAKE by Amy E. Reichert

August 27, 2015

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One of my favorite movies is You’ve Got Mail, the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan romcom written by Nora & Delia Ephron that is set around NYC bookstores. Much as You’ve Got Mail was a love letter to New York City, Coconut Cake is a love letter to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Reichert did an amazing job – I want to go! The Coincidence of Coconut Cake is the foodie equivalent of Mail, and that completely worked for me.

Lou is a talented chef who is sweating away trying to make a success of her small French restaurant, Luella’s, named after her beloved grandmother. She has a core group of regulars, and is just making ends meet. Her personal life is a little bit better; her fiancé is successful but not entirely supportive of her endeavors. And then everything falls apart.

Lou walks in on her fiancé with another woman and she dumps him. She’s off to work, heartbroken, humiliated and angry, not the best way to cook. She alienates most of her staff, and the food suffers terribly.

Of course this is the night that the new food critic in town visits the restaurant. Al is quite acerbic in his reviews and is building a nice following. One meal at Luella’s is all that he needs to eviscerate the restaurant, sounding the death knoll for the struggling restaurant.

Meanwhile, Lou and Al literally run into each other and she decides to show him around Milwaukee, a city he is sorry he landed in. By the time she’s through with him, he loves the city and Lou – but it takes a while before he realizes who she is and she finds out who he is. Fireworks ensue, but it is the journey that is so delicious.

This was a fast moving story with warm, likeable characters and a fun plot.

8/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE COINCIDENCE OF COCONUT CAKE by Amy E. Reichert. Gallery Books (July 21, 2015). ISBN 978-1501100710. 336p.

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2 Comments | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction | Tagged: Book Discussion, Food | Permalink
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WHO DO YOU LOVE by Jennifer Weiner

August 11, 2015

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Two reviews…first up: Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

I have loved Jennifer Weiner since her first book, Good in Bed, and she has grown since then, graduating from smart chick-lit to smart women’s fiction, and this new one is a coming of age/contemporary romance at its best – and it’s still smart.

Rachel Blum is a sickly child, born with a heart condition that requires constant monitoring and many surgeries. During one hospitalization, she wanders into the ER, bored and looking for a story. She meets Andy Landis, a biracial young boy with a broken arm and a missing mother. She keeps him company, tells him a story and gives him a stuffed animal. Eventually his mother shows up and Rachel is sent back to her room.

Fast forward to college and Rachel is on a trip to Atlanta for a charitable organization. A good looking young man catches her eye, and yes, it is Andy. Thus begins a life-long love affair that survives different socio-economic classes, geographical separations, breakups, other relationships, a scandal, and so much more.

Weiner makes us wonder, is there such a thing as a one-and-only love? Can you meet your soulmate as a child and love them forever? Can a spoiled Jewish princess find happiness with an Olympic runner from the Philadelphia projects?

These characters are complex and real, and this is a beautiful coming of age story in addition to a sweeping romance. Best of all, the book is totally unputdownable – I couldn’t stop turning the pages and when I finished it, I couldn’t stop thinking about these characters, and that is the highest praise I can give. Don’t miss it.

From Becky LeJeune:

Eight-year-old Rachel Blum is recovering from her latest heart surgery when she meets Andy Landis. He’s brought into the emergency room with a broken arm, his mother nowhere to be found, so Rachel decides to keep him company.

As teens they cross paths again, this time on a volunteer trip to Atlanta. Andy remembers the girl who sat with him in the waiting room – Rachel Blum. Bloom like flower… For Rachel it’s love at first sight but for Andy, the trip marks the first time he really sees the differences that stand in their way.

For years, the two connect and part ways, date and break up, and fall in and out of love. Only time will tell, though, whether Rachel and Andy are truly meant for one another or if their fate lies elsewhere.

Weiner’s latest is a sweet but very realistic love story. Rachel and Andy grow and change as the years pass and face a lot of things most people never will – a life threatening heart condition, the pressure of being an Olympic athlete – but they also face a lot of things the average reader can relate to. They learn from one another, they make mistakes, and they piss each other off. Royally. It lends an air of believability and realism that I think most stories of this kind are missing. And it’s exactly this realism that ultimately pulls the reader in: Rachel and Andy could be your best friends, your sister, your brother, or even you… You’ll laugh with them, cry with them, and root for them all the way through the final pages.

WHO DO YOU LOVE by Jennifer Weiner. Atria Books (August 11, 2015). ISBN 978-1451617818. 400p.

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8/15

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ANA OF CALIFORNIA by Andi Teran

July 31, 2015

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One of my favorite books is Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. I read it as a child, and then again when I was in library school taking “History of Children’s Literature.” It was an even better read as an adult, or at least it felt that way to me. So when I heard about this modern retelling, I must admit I was skeptical. But I braved it out and started Ana…and was immediately hooked. I loved how Teran brought this story into the 21st century and kept the charm and spunk of the original.

If you haven’t read the Montgomery book, I urge you to do so. I recently watched the movie and was startled to see that the actress playing Anne was named Anne Shirley, the same name as the character. That caused me to do some digging and apparently she was moved enough by the story (or the studio) to legally change her name to that of this most beloved character. The movie was okay but I would recommend the book over it any day.

Back to Ana…it is absolutely not necessary to have read Anne to enjoy this book. Ana is a 15 year old Mexican American, and a product of the foster care system. Eventually she gets thrown out of one too many homes and is offered a last chance; to work as an intern on a farm further up the California coast. If she can manage to hang on until she turns 16, she will be old enough to become emancipated.

Garber Farm is run by brother and sister Abbie and Emmett. Emmett is all in favor of an intern, but he’s expecting a boy and grudgingly decides to give Ana a one month trial period. Abbie is delighted to have a girl around the house, and Ana quickly finds that she enjoys life on the farm. Things get a little more difficult when school starts and there is boy trouble, friends and drug trouble, and other road blocks to happiness thrown in her path. But slowly she starts making a difference in the lives of those around her.

For fans of Anne, all I can say is some of the most memorable scenes are updated here. Ana has a run in with a neighbor, her best friend’s accidental drunkenness is now a psilocybin mushroom trip, there is a major hair mishap, and so forth. Every one of these scenes felt like finding a little nugget of happiness.

Ana is a charmer and this is a warm, wonderful coming of age story that should appeal to adults and young adults too. Great for book discussions – check out the Reading Group Guide

7/15 Stacy Alesi

ANA OF CALIFORNIA by Andi Teran. Penguin Books (June 30, 2015). ISBN 978-0143126492. 368p.

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1 Comment | Book Reviews, Fiction, Women's Fiction | Tagged: Book Discussion, Young Adult | Permalink
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KITCHENS OF THE GREAT MIDWEST by J. Ryan Stradal

July 28, 2015

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Let me start by saying this is one of the best books I’ve read this year. It has everything; great characters, terrific setting, a creative premise and mouthwatering meals.

Cynthia and Lars have a baby, she freaks out, has an affair with a sommelier at the restaurant where she works and they run off together. Lars brings up Eva by himself, with the help of some friends.

Eva is an unusual child; really a savant, and her gift is her palate. She will try anything, and as a child grows her own chilies, selling them to neighborhood restaurants. She grows up to become a celebrity chef extraordinaire, opening a pop up restaurant that moves around the country from one spectacular location to another. Foodies pay thousands of dollars for one her meals, and wait years to get an invite.

Eva’s journey is documented chapter by chapter, each focusing on a different dish and a different character, from lutefisk to cookie bars. Eventually all the strings are tied together, in a memorable meal.

This is a story about fathers and daughters, mothers and daughters, and community. It’s always about the Midwest and the foodie culture that has pervaded America. There are a lot of laughs, poignant moments that brought me to tears, and everything in between. The prose is beautiful, almost poetic at times, but it is the characters that completely stole my heart.

It is a book that begs to be read slowly and savored, and book that craves to be discussed. Don’t miss it.

7/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

KITCHENS OF THE GREAT MIDWEST by J. Ryan Stradal. Pamela Dorman Books (July 28, 2015). ISBN 978-0525429142. 320p.

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GREY by E.L. James

July 24, 2015

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Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian

The announcement of this new book, a mere 18 days prior to publication, took the publishing world by storm, and that includes bookstores and libraries. I had gotten an email early in the morning so I was aware, but when I got to work a co-worker told me she had been asked for the “Christian Fifty Shades” and thought there was, somehow, a religious version of the book out there! A quick internet search revealed the new book, but that sure was a fun way to learn about it.

I read the Fifty Shades trilogy back in 2012 (and reviewed here) and these were my final thoughts…and they still hold true for Grey. The appeal of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy (and now just a series, I guess) lies with the characters and their great love affair. We can’t help but root for the insecure girl who lands the gorgeous rich guy, and the damaged man she brings out of the dark.

Ana and Christian save each other, inspire each other so that their sum together is greater than their parts. Their torrid love affair, the “mommy porn” aspect is candy to some, inflaming imaginations and libidos, while others will fly past those pages. Nonetheless, Ana and her 50 Shades bring to mind other great loves in literature like Romeo and Juliet, and Scarlett and Rhett, with apologies to Shakespeare and Mitchell. Most romance readers are looking for that, and those that don’t usually read romance are perhaps surprised at how they are swept away with Ana and Christian, enough to overlook the abysmal writing, the lip biting, the smirking. I know I was.

All that said, I got the feeling that James wrote Grey by pulling up the manuscript of the original, and changing the “she thought” to “he thought” and adding in a bit more of Christian’s background. But the writing seemed much better to me, not nearly so repetitive and deplete of those awful series of superlatives and multiple mentions of Ana’s “inner goddess.” So I’m thinking Random House got to put a strong editor on this since it hadn’t been previously self-published.

I liked seeing Christian’s point of view. The character development was better, the story was better if somehow still the same, and I am glad I read it. It probably helped that there were three years between books. Whatever her faults, E.L. James created a hot romance with lots of sizzling kinky sex, and that was all still there. It isn’t nearly as shocking, unless you haven’t read the other books, I guess. If you’re a fan of the series, enjoy. If you haven’t read them, this is a good place to start. And don’t get me started on the movie! (Love to hear your comments about any of this.)

7/15 Stacy Alesi AKA the BookBitch

GREY: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian by E.L. James. Vintage (June 18, 2015). ISBN 978-1101946343. 576p.

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THE NIGHT, THE DAY by Andrew Kane

April 8, 2015

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This is the third novel from author Andrew Kane, and it is another Jewish themed book. This time it is what I think of as a contemporary Holocaust story, which seems to be something of a trend with Kristin Hannah’s terrific The Nightingale, Susan Wigg’s The Beekeepers Ball, Once We Were Brothers by Ron Balson, Moving Day by Jonathan Stone and others.

Jacques Benoît is a wealthy hotel tycoon so when he attempts suicide, his wife just can’t understand it. The hospital refers him to Dr. Marty Rosen, a renowned psychologist, for continued therapy. Rosen does not find his new patient entirely forthcoming or even truthful, but continues to work with him.

Rosen has a lot going on in his own life. He has been widowed for a couple of years, and is picked up in his favorite bar by a stunning woman with a British accent. He falls hard for her, but when he visits her home he is struck with an uneasy feeling. As a psychologist, he tends to listen to his gut feelings but he can’t quite put his finger on what is wrong.

Some of the other subplots deal with the Vichy government in France during WWII, and the modern day Mossad, but the crux of the story is slowly revealed as Kane weaves a complex and interesting tale with a rather shocking ending.

4/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

The Night, the Day by Andrew Kane. Berwick Court Publishing (March 31, 2015). ISBN 978-0990951520. 338p.

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JOSHUA: A Brooklyn Tale by Andrew Kane

March 16, 2015

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This is one of those books that I picked up because my library patrons kept raving about it and the reserve list is quite long. It also had the added attraction of being set in Brooklyn, my birthplace and my son’s current home. When there is that much interest in a book, I like to take a look at it, and I’m very glad I did.

At its heart, it is a coming of age story but it is also a history of the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, starting in the late 1950s but with some additional historic information going back to the 1800s.

There are three main characters, four if you count Crown Heights and I certainly do. Joshua Eubanks is a young black boy whose mother is a maid for the Sims, a wealthy Jewish family on Long Island. Mr. Sims owns some apartments in Brooklyn, where he moves his maid/mistress and their son, but Joshua doesn’t know about his father. He does hear a lot about Paul Sims, his half-brother, and while they don’t know about their relationship they do know about one another.

Joshua befriends the only other black child in the building, Jerome, and as they approach adolescence, he falls in love with Jerome’s sister, Celeste. Unbeknownst to Joshua, she is having serious problems at home that have long reaching repercussions.

As Paul Sims approaches his bar mitzvah age, he is tutored by Rabbi Weissman, a Hasidic rabbi in Crown Heights. Paul falls in love with the rabbi’s daughter Rachel, but it is not meant to be. Paul’s family left their religious life behind when they Americanized their name, and are appalled that he is pursuing a more orthodox lifestyle.

Rachel makes up the last of the triumvirate. The rabbi’s daughter wants to become a doctor, but that is just not done in the Hasidic community. Women are expected to marry and produce lots of children, and not much more than that. She befriends Joshua, and their relationship has considerable influence on both their lives.

Crown Heights is the last main character, and also comes of age in this story. The community changes from Italian and Irish to African American but the Hasidim are the constant throughout, despite bigotry going in every direction and eventual race riots.

This a completely engrossing story, with well defined characters that the reader can’t help but care about. The tumultuous times add a lot of drama and action, making this a fast paced story as well. What I really liked is that the author showed both the good and the bad in all these racial and religious groups. There was no black and white, only the more realistic shades of gray.

There is a lot for book groups to discuss here, and I would highly recommend it for book discussion. I really enjoyed it, and will be thanking my patrons for recommending it.

1/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

JOSHUA: A Brooklyn Tale by Andrew Kane. Berwick Court Publishing (February 26, 2015). ISBN 978-0990951544. 480p.

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