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43+ Works 12,397 Members 481 Reviews 25 Favorited

About the Author

Ruth Reichl was born in New York City on January 16, 1948. In 1970, she graduated from the University of Michigan with a M.A. in art history. She became a food writer and magazine editor for New West magazine. Later she worked for the Los Angeles Times, first as the restaurant editor and then food show more editor. She received two James Beard Awards. In 1993, she moved back to New York to become the restaurant critic for The New York Times. She was the editor in chief of Gourmet Magazine for ten years. She is the author of the memoirs Garlic and Sapphires, Tender at the Bone, and Comfort Me with Apples and the novel Delicious! Her latest book, My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life, was published in 2015. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Courtesy of Allen and Unwin

Series

Works by Ruth Reichl

Delicious (2014) 1,073 copies
The Gourmet Cookbook Volumes I and II (2004) — Editor — 968 copies
Endless Feasts: Sixty Years of Writing from Gourmet (2002) — Editor — 251 copies
The Best American Food Writing 2018 (2018) — Editor; Introduction — 87 copies
The Paris Novel (2024) 17 copies
Mmmmmmm: a feastiary (1972) 16 copies
The Queen of Mold (2005) 9 copies

Associated Works

The Gastronomical Me (1989) — Introduction, some editions — 611 copies
Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art (1980) — Foreword, some editions — 519 copies
Cooking with Pomiane (1962) — Introduction, some editions — 176 copies
This Is My Best: Great Writers Share Their Favorite Work (2004) — Contributor — 159 copies
The Measure of Her Powers: An M.F.K. Fisher Reader (1999) — Introduction — 123 copies
Best Food Writing 2005 (Best Food Writing) (2005) — Contributor — 99 copies
Best Food Writing 2009 (2009) — Contributor — 86 copies
Her Fork in the Road: Women Celebrate Food and Travel (2001) — Contributor — 79 copies
Best Food Writing 2001 (2001) — Contributor — 66 copies
Best Food Writing 2000 (2000) — Contributor — 60 copies

Tagged

2014 (35) 2019 (33) adult (33) American (39) audiobook (44) autobiography (178) biography (250) biography-memoir (50) cookbook (290) cookbooks (116) cookery (112) cooking (598) culinary (36) ebook (37) essays (69) family (37) fiction (145) food (1,369) food and cooking (51) food and drink (50) food critic (49) food writers (36) food writing (323) gourmet (44) Gourmet Magazine (50) humor (48) journalism (34) Kindle (50) library (63) memoir (1,266) New York (108) New York City (66) non-fiction (893) own (41) read (123) recipes (128) restaurants (100) Ruth Reichl (61) to-read (566) unread (39)

Common Knowledge

Members

Reviews

 
Flagged
kitber | 35 other reviews | Feb 3, 2024 |
This book feels like a fantasy, a fairy-tale where the main character gets all her wishes fulfilled. That wasn't what I was expecting. but it has definitely stayed with me much longer than I expected as well, and I love the dreaminess of it. I guess it must be nice to be Stella and have all your wishes magically come true thanks to Paris and friends with money -- oh, and slender, gamin, beauty doesn't hurt at all -- but at least her adventures were interesting and full of passionate connoisseurs of art and literature and food.

Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.
… (more)
 
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jennybeast | 2 other reviews | Jan 31, 2024 |
Ruth Reichl is one of those famous people that I wish I knew in real life so we could just hang out. She seems no nice and fun and the way she writes about food makes me think maybe I could actually, willingly, eat pig brains or rabbits cooked in their own blood if only I was dining with Ruth.

This particular memoir is about her unexpected stint as editor in chief at Gourmet magazine and I liked it as much as her other books.

I’m not sure if this book is really for everyone but if you enjoy food writing or her, I think this is a winner.… (more)
 
Flagged
hmonkeyreads | 45 other reviews | Jan 25, 2024 |
I want to give this 3.5 stars. I'm not completely sure which way to round the figure -- I want to give it 4 because overall I feel good about the book but I'm settling on three because there is just too much stuff here. In the book they talk about a thing called snowball cookies -- and I think this book is the snowball cookie of books. Good ingredients, good intention, but not quite anything but sweet in the end.

There's a little bit of everything here: quirky characters, charming settings, romance, mystery, WWII history lessons, evocative food descriptions, even a recipe as a bonus. The trick, I think, is that the balance isn't exactly right.

The book starts out a little bit too twee but eventually gets into a mystery involving old letters and a secret room. The letters are nice but not as intriguing as the characters in the book find them so at first this section feels a little forced. Eventually, I was swept up into the mystery of the letters and the librarian who hid them.

I liked the people, I liked the story, I liked the romance but I feel like this needed a little something else to make it truly sing.

Worth reading when you're in the mood for a cozy and sweet book.
… (more)
 
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hmonkeyreads | 114 other reviews | Jan 25, 2024 |

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Associated Authors

Silvia Killingsworth Foreword, Series Editor
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Mary H.K. Choi Contributor
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Harold McGee Contributor
Julia O'Malley Contributor
Marissa Higgins Contributor
Karen Brooks Contributor
Anya Von Bremzen Contributor
Beth Kowitt Contributor
Ligaya Mishan Contributor
Clint Rainey Contributor
Tejal Rao Contributor
Helen Rosner Contributor
Khushbu Shah Contributor
Wyatt Williams Contributor
Amanda Cohen Contributor
John T. Edge Contributor
Jane Black Contributor
Alex Halberstadt Contributor
John O'Connor Contributor
Chris Offutt Contributor
Dana Goodyear Contributor
Jonathan Gold Contributor
Francis Lam Contributor
Ted Genoways Contributor
André L. Simon Contributor
Everett Wood Contributor
Gerald Asher Contributor
Frank Schoonmaker Contributor
Kate Coleman Contributor
James A. Beard Contributor
Iles Brody Contributor
Roy Brady Contributor
James Rodewald Contributor
Hugh Johnson Contributor
Chandler Burr Contributor
William Hamilton Contributor
Ray Bradbury Contributor

Statistics

Works
43
Also by
16
Members
12,397
Popularity
#1,892
Rating
3.9
Reviews
481
ISBNs
137
Languages
8
Favorited
25

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