summer reading suggestions

Seeing as how I am always looking for a good book to read, I thought I would pass on a few book recommendations for anyone who is starting to compose their summer reading list.

1. Comfort Me With Apples, by Ruth Reichl

Written by a respected food critic and cook, this is a wonderful story of Ruth's life all centered around food. I honestly laughed out loud in the first few pages and the rest of the book was just as delightful. I highly recommend this for anyone who grew up cooking with their mom or has childhood memories of their mom or grandmother cooking. Reichl's style is warm, witty, and spot-on when it comes to cooking and the memories it leaves in our lives.


2. Mistress of Spices, by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

This is a wonderful story about an Indian women with a special insight into spices. Each chapter begins by telling about a different Indian spice and weaves it into the story. Delightful and imaginative in the way it uses these spices to enrich the story. A light read with the warm of India and its heritage of spices.






3. How Green Was My Valley, by Richard Llewellyn

Although not about food, this story has a warmth and richness that I have rarely found in literature. This story follows a boy growing up in a Welsh mining village as everything around him changes: his family, the town's mining business, and most importantly the transformation of his pictureque village as he comes of age and deals with loss, joy, and the inevitable fact that life is never as it once was. The author's language is beautiful and a joy to read.