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jaclynday:

What I’ve Read: The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin and Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl

Both of these books were such an immense pleasure to read. I’ve been buried in A Song of Fire and Ice for the past couple of months with no let-up (I’m on book four, by the way), so it was nice to come up for air from Westeros into the late-1800’s Gilded Age and 1990’s New York City.

First, The American Heiress. I was completely engrossed in this book from page one and read nearly unrelentingly for three hours until I finished. It’s the embodiment of the guilty pleasure novel for me being full of period details, romance, scandal and obnoxious wealth. It’s the story of Cora Cash, a wealthy American girl, shipped from Newport, Rhode Island, to England to find herself a titled British man and some significant old-money real estate. It’s completely decadent and well-written besides. I can’t recommend a better book for your end-of-summer poolside/beachside reading fests.

Second is a book I’d never read, but had received recommendations for on several occasions. Somehow I kept forgetting to buy it or grab it at the library, but a couple weeks ago, I finally put it on my list. I’m so glad I did! Reichl’s job as food critic for the New York Times means that her face is (much to her dismay) one of the most recognizable among restauranteurs as well. Looking for an authentic experience, she develops a cache of extremely complex “characters” (complete with back story) to fool the restaurants she’s critiquing. In the end, though, this book is about more than her costumes, or her job, or even the food. It’s all about the dining experience. From start to finish, she makes it clear that the dining experience is not always about the service (but it sometimes is) or the ambiance (although that can help too). Sometimes it’s not even about the food. It’s a larger beast, hard to pin down and even harder to replicate after it’s been found once. Her writing (as you’d expect from such a prolific author) is clear, funny, touching and well-edited.

Have you read either of these books? What did you think?