[tps_title] For food lovers [/tps_title]

Taste by Stanley Tucci | Fig Tree | Hardback | £20

Taste is an intimate reflection on the intersection of food and life, filled with anecdotes about growing up in Westchester, NY, preparing for and filming the foodie films Big Night and Julie & Julia, falling in love over dinner, and teaming up with his wife to create conversation-starting meals for their children. Each morsel of this gastronomic journey through good times and bad, five-star meals and burnt dishes, is as heartfelt and delicious as the last. Written with Stanley’s signature wry humor and nostalgia, Taste is a heartwarming read for anyone who knows the power of a home-cooked meal.

An A-Z of Pasta by Rachel Roddy | Fig Tree | Hardback | £25

This is a story of pasta. In it, Guardian columnist and award-winning food writer Rachel Roddy condenses everything she has learned about Italy’s favourite food in a practical, easy- to-use and mouth-watering collection of over 120 essential pasta and sauce recipes.

The post Our 2021 Christmas Gift Guide for Every Reader In Your Life appeared first on off the record.

Pick up a copy of the book here.

Natasha Lunn’s book Conversations on Love – published this week though Viking in the UK – is an earnest celebration of love in all its forms. It is an unmissable, riveting collection of explorations into love, and is the result of her hugely successful fortnightly email newsletter, interviewing an array of public figures from Candice Carty-Williams to Dolly Alderton, Esther Perel and Roxanne Gay. This is the ultimate post-lockdown read, for those contemplating and re-evaluating relationships, in all their forms, as we slowly come out of the pandemic. This shift will make us more alert to love and the ‘subtle opportunities for love which are woven through our daily lives.’ The book strikes a chord from start to finish – even the dedication ‘For anyone who feels lost in longing.’ I don’t think I’ve ever read a dedication so profound that gets so close to the heart and purpose of the reader, as those lines. Each chapter of the book are perfectly polished jewels that dive into the subtleties and nuance of love in a way that is deeply engaging, and touching without being sentimental. What Lunn accomplishes so masterfully throughout is an ability to show the breadth, depth and variety of the complex emotion we call love. Throughout, Lunn subtly weaves in the development of her own relationship and the mistakes she made when it comes to love throughout her twenties, while avoiding being patronising to those souls who are currently falling prey to the mistakes she made in the past, managing instead to display ‘older sister’ characteristics. Though this main thread involves romantic relationships, the more compelling pages of the book deal with friendships, parents and siblings – their complications, their failures and disappointments and their integral joys. 

Conversations on Love is a deeply compelling read that feels profound, a call to value every relationship in life with just as much weight and importance as the value with which we hold romantic relationships, even with strangers as Melanie Reid details. Although, importantly it should be noted that the lens of the participants she interviews is narrow – Lunn only interviews two men for the collection and Roxane Gay’s analysis of love is the only one that is not heteronormative – still the breath of love she covers is vast. More than anything, Conversations on Love will leave you with a profound joy and appreciation for love in all its forms and an ability to appreciate every kind of love with as much zeal as the value with which we hold romantic love. Lunn will leave you in love with the very concept of love itself.

, 

The post REVIEW: Conversations on Love – Natasha Lunn appeared first on off the record.

Holding Her Breath, Eimear Ryan (Penguin, 2021), C+

Eimear Ryan’s forthcoming novel tells the coming of age story of Beth Crowe, as she starts her journey at university, shadowed by the ghostof  her potential as a competitive swimmer and as she attempts to create an identity for herself outside both her swimming career and her family history (she is the granddaughter of a famous poet). For fans of Sally Rooney, this is a fresh and exciting summer read.

Pre-order a copy here.

Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell (Tinder Press, 2020), A+

Maggie O’Farrell’s first historical novel is the fictional story behind Shakespeare’s famous play – the story of the death of Shakespeare’s son and the effect on his life.

Read our full review here.

Pick up a copy here.

Conversations on Love, Natasha Lunn (Penguin, 2021), A+

Natasha Lunn’s Conversations on Love examines love in all of its many forms – it’s an astonishing, joyful celebration of love, from some of the most important voices in literature.

Pre-order a copy here.

The Last Thing He Told Me, Laura Dave (Profile Books, 2021) B+

The Last Thing He Told Me is a propulsive mystery. Hannah finds out that her husband Owen has gone missing and she seeks to uncover the truth behind his disappearance with her step-daughter Bailey.

Read our full review here.

Pick up a copy here.

Malibu Rising, Taylor Jenkins Reid  (Cornerstone, 2021) A

Taylor Jenkins Reid’s latest novel is as compelling and propulsive as Daisy Jones, it’s the story of siblings growing up in Malibu and the events that unfold around one night.

Pick up a copy here.

Eat a Peach, David Chang (Penguin, 2020), A-

David Chang’s phenomenal memoir is the story of a man succeeding against the odds – it’s an inspiring story even for those for whom Momofuku means nothing.

Read our full review here.

Pick up a copy here.

The Push, Ashley Audrain (Penguin, 2021) B+

The Push is a psychological drama, telling the story of the unravelling of a family – a woman whose initial experience with motherhood does not live up to her expectations.

Read our full review here.

Pick up a copy here.

The post Everything We Read in May 2021 appeared first on off the record.