Sound Bites: Eating on Tour with Franz Ferdinand

This book gives a little bit of insight into touring with Franz Ferdinand, but you certainly don't need to be a fan of the band to enjoy the book, just a fan of food and new experiences. Descriptions of meals at exclusive restaurants are interspersed with childhood food memories, all the little stories involving something special, new or interesting. His genuine enthusiasm for trying new foods is umistakeable, but not overbearing, and I like the honesty in what experiences he did not particularly like. If you like food, you will like this book.

People might not think this book would be at all interesting. Let's face it, if people aren't completely perplexed by the idea of a rock band's lead singer writing a book about food, they'd probably find it laughable. However, it's currently my favorite book, and I believe it's worth every penny I paid for it. This started out as a series of columns in a paper based in the UK because Franz Ferdinand is a Scottish band. I started following the columns online, and I was entranced by the plain but descriptive style of the stories, which are much better in a collection.

Alex Kapranos isn't merely a musician. During his various odd jobs that he used to make money on his way to fame, he worked in food a few times. This doesn't make him a food show more snob in the least; in fact, he has just as much of an appreciation for really good if more 'common' meals. The combination of his past experience with food and his current access to the vast bulk of the world gives some unique perspective on the food of regions, but, more importantly, the world as described in his book gives a wonderful view of the people he travels with and interacted with in the past and the cultures of his destinations. show less

All or almost all of the essays in this collection were written as newspaper columns, and there isn't much to link them together or transition from one to the next. I enjoyed reading about exotic food locales that Kapranos visited on tour, but I found his stream of consciousness style a little tiresome after the first few stories.

I love the way this book was written - quick, blog-style entries with an equal amount of imagery and opinion. It was a quick read.