Monday, May 12, 2014

2014 book 102

Ruth Reichl's Delicious!
I have really enjoyed Reichl's memoirs, and was looking forward to her first novel. And it was mostly enjoyable! Just maybe a little bit . . . lighter than I had anticipated. It's about a young woman, Billie, who drops out of college to work as an assistant at a famous food magazine, the titular Delicious! But in spite of having an amazing palate and great cooking skills, cooking causes her panic attacks because of a MYSTERIOUS SECRET.  In general, the writing here is fine, though some of the dialogue (particularly Sammy's) rings REALLY false, and a lot of the plot strains credulity and/or is overly predictable. There's also a fairly ridiculous makeover montage (As a glasses-wearer, I hate that instead of getting cute glasses, Billie gets contacts and suddenly everyone is talking about how great she looks). But I do like that a large chunk of it involves doing LIBRARY RESEARCH! Anyway, this is a pretty cute book, a perfect read for foodies at the beach. B.

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