Group Could Literary Eats

Group could

notyourmomma 15 years ago

A. Choose the book by vote.
B. Give a month to read the book.
C. Decide which night to have a discussion on the book.
D. Fix a treat or food closely associated to the era/feel or emotions the book evokes.
E. Raise a few questions and discuss book while sharing foods.

A virtual Read and Feed, anyone want to join in?

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justjakesmom 15 years ago said:

That was a lot to take in there, Tina. I read all the other posts first. I hope I'm responding on the right thread. I loved The Painted House, I got hungry every time I read it too. Wonderful food. And another one by Grisham where the food was fabulous was The Broker, all Italian goodies if I recall. I'm not sure if I could participate regularly with the time difference, but I'm game to try.

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notyourmomma 15 years ago said:

Thanks Donna, I'm all for expanding my reading horizons...and not necessarily my hips as well. I think we could figure out a way to talk about the plot twists and have a drink or two and a nibble of food.....A virtual book club. I appreciate the input. Now, I just want to see what book we choose......I found a lot more with fun ideas.

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pleclare 15 years ago said:

Sounds interesting. I'd be willing to give it a shot!

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a1patti 15 years ago said:

I love to read. I like the concept. Sounds like fun!

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notyourmomma 15 years ago said:

Thanks, friends.....is there a particular book you would prefer to read......Grisham sounds like a good choice, but if you have already read the book, you might not want to read it again.....I'm willing to put a list up and let everyone vote.

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mrtnzangel8 15 years ago said:

I don't mind rereading something I've already read. Putting a list up would be great.

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a1patti 15 years ago said:

I agree, rereading a book with recipes in mind changes everything!

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notyourmomma 15 years ago said:

A Painted House - John Grisham -
"The hill people and the Mexicans arrived on the same day. It was a Wednesday, early in September 1952. The Cardinals were five games behind the Dodgers with three weeks to go, and the season looked hopeless. The cotton, however, was waist-high to my father, over my head, and he and my grandfather could be heard before supper whispering words that were seldom heard. It could be a "good crop."
Thus begins the new novel from John Grisham, a story inspired by his own childhood in rural Arkansas. The narrator is a farm boy named Luke Chandler, age seven, who lives in the cotton fields with his parents and grandparents in a little house that's never been painted. The Chandlers farm eighty acres that they rent, not own, and when the cotton is ready they hire a truckload of Mexicans and a family from the Ozarks to help harvest it.

For six weeks they pick cotton, battling the heat, the rain, the fatigue, and, sometimes, each other. As the weeks pass Luke sees and hears things no seven-year-old could possibly be prepared for, and finds himself keeping secrets that not only threaten the crop but will change the lives of the Chandlers forever.

A Painted House is a moving story of one boy's journey from innocence to experience.

Food Pairings---Southern cuisine including black-eyed pea cakes, turnip greens, cheese grits, sweet potato casserole, corn bread, chocolate foolers (fold-overs) and chess pie (a custard pie that takes cornmeal instead of flour).
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notyourmomma 15 years ago said:

The Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
Synopsis Wells is a Louisiana-born Seattle actress and playwright; her loopy saga of a 40-year-old player in Seattle's hot theater scene who must come to terms with her mama's past in steamy Thornton City, Louisiana, reads like a lengthy episode of Designing Women written under the influence of mint juleps and Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom!. The Ya-Yas are the wild circle of girls who swirl around the narrator Siddalee's mama, Vivi, whose vivid voice is "part Scarlett, part Katharine Hepburn, part Tallulah." The Ya-Yas broke the no-booze rule at the cotillion, skinny-dipped their way to jail in the town water tower, disrupted the Shirley Temple look-alike contest, and bonded for life because, as one says, "It's so much fun being a bad girl!"
Siddalee must repair her busted relationship with Vivi by reading a half-century's worth of letters and clippings contained in the Ya-Ya Sisterhood's packet of "Divine Secrets." It's a contrived premise, but the secrets are really fun to learn.

Food suggestions: Gumbo Ya-Ya, Crawfish boil, Bourbon, Sazerac Cocktails, Pralines

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notyourmomma 15 years ago said:

Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs
Jacobs follows The Friday Night Knitting Club with another multigenerational tale, this time on the foodie circuit. Popular Cooking with Gusto! host Augusta Gus Simpson, a widowed mother of two adult daughters who's about to turn 50, is tiring of her many obligations, which include throwing an annual birthday bash for herself. That trial pales, however, in comparison with the introduction of saucy former beauty queen and YouTube star Carmen Vega as Gus's cohost: Carmen is younger, hotter and very tight with the boss. It's soon apparent on the set that this new situation isn't working, so the two are packed off, along with a forgettable cast of secondaries, to a corporate team-building weekend, complete with New Age guide. When the resort's head chef calls in sick, a team-building opportunity presents itself. Jacobs gives Gus a reasonable love interest and provides the requisite bickering and backstabbing, but the foodie moments lack passion, and the results yield no stars.

Food suggestions: Coconut Cake or the ultimate Coconut Cupcakes???

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notyourmomma 15 years ago said:

Eat, Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Review: Gilbert (The Last American Man) grafts the structure of romantic fiction upon the inquiries of reporting in this sprawling yet methodical travelogue of soul-searching and self-discovery. Plagued with despair after a nasty divorce, the author, in her early 30s, divides a year equally among three dissimilar countries, exploring her competing urges for earthly delights and divine transcendence. First, pleasure: savoring Italy's buffet of delights - the world's best pizza, free-flowing wine and dashing conversation partners - Gilbert consumes la dolce vita as spiritual succor. "I came to Italy pinched and thin," she writes, but soon fills out in waist and soul. Then, prayer and ascetic rigor: seeking communion with the divine at a sacred ashram in India, Gilbert emulates the ways of yogis in grueling hours of meditation, struggling to still her churning mind. Finally, a balancing act in Bali, where Gilbert tries for equipoise "betwixt and between" realms, studies with a merry medicine man and plunges into a charged love affair. Sustaining a chatty, conspiratorial tone, Gilbert fully engages readers in the year's cultural and emotional tapestry - conveying rapture with infectious brio, recalling anguish with touching candor - as she details her exotic tableau with history, anecdote and impression.

Food Suggestions: Italian meal with the best Gelato possible!!!!

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notyourmomma 15 years ago said:

Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Review: Life of Pi is one of the most profound books I've ever read. It is a story the mirrors the path one must take on the Tree of Life. The name of the Japanese ship alone Tsimtsum is the clue to the adventure this young boy has as he reaches for adulthood and spiritual completeness. To begin this book requires courage....it is not like other books you have read; it is not about a culture you are familiar with. But in the end, it is about the search we all started at birth...the maneuvering of the different paths one faces throughout life.

Food suggestions: A slice of pie----okay a bit of a stretch there.
Survival food- Freeze dried ice cream - and sushi - raw fish
Or the food you would miss the most if you were stranded on a boat.

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notyourmomma 15 years ago said:

Okay.....five to choose from - can we reach a consensus on what we would like to try for the first go round? It's up to you guys.....let me know which one "floats your boat"

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notyourmomma 15 years ago said:

Romance Reader by Pearl Abraham

This memorable book tells the story of Rachel, and what it's like to come of age within the confines of an ultraconservative Jewish sect. She is surrounded by mainstream America, she is required to follow the strict rules of a culture dating from the Jewish ghettos of 18th century Poland. Rachel wants to fit into the streets of New York kids of the 60s, a desire that nearly makes her rabbi father, dutiful mother, and indeed her entire community, come undone with shock. To readers, Rachel sneaking into the public library to read classical literature is endearing; to her family, it's akin to sacrilege. mance

Food suggestion: Picture latkes and kugel. YUM.

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