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3.2 AVERAGE
3.2 AVERAGE
This was one book that while based on a blog was still well-written. And while the author's lifestyle is incredibly foreign to me (several trips abroad just for fun, hipster friends, dance parties, and underground supper parties??)-- I still liked it.
For two years she avoids eating out at restaurants- of any kind. Not too easy anywhere, but especially not in New York City. Not to say she was cooking every ingredient from scratch- which would have been pretty unbelievable. But that's why I found this really motivating- it's so easy to buy your food, eat out when you don't feel like making anything, or buy pre-made. But how often that food isn't good! And then it's harder to justify. You don't have to make your own bread and cultivate your own yogurt cultures (although she does her own bread), but you should try to make food more, if for no other reason than to get in touch with what you're putting in your body.
I found it very motivating- last night after finishing the book, I made an enchilada casserole and butterscotch ice cream. And I felt pretty awesome about it. (Sidenote: the butterscotch ice cream was not in the casserole, that would be gross.
For two years she avoids eating out at restaurants- of any kind. Not too easy anywhere, but especially not in New York City. Not to say she was cooking every ingredient from scratch- which would have been pretty unbelievable. But that's why I found this really motivating- it's so easy to buy your food, eat out when you don't feel like making anything, or buy pre-made. But how often that food isn't good! And then it's harder to justify. You don't have to make your own bread and cultivate your own yogurt cultures (although she does her own bread), but you should try to make food more, if for no other reason than to get in touch with what you're putting in your body.
I found it very motivating- last night after finishing the book, I made an enchilada casserole and butterscotch ice cream. And I felt pretty awesome about it. (Sidenote: the butterscotch ice cream was not in the casserole, that would be gross.
This book was good,it just wasn't what I was expecting it to be. I was expecting a book that was more of a how-to with recipes and some personal anecdotes, and it was actually more of a journal that was loosely tied to food/experiences with food with a recipe or two at the end of every chapter. Again, not a bad book, but it was more about what was going on in her life at the time of her experiment than the experiment itself. Interesting? Yes, definitely, just not what I thought it would be.
The memoir started off great, but the last third of the book was insufferable. That's probably because the woman who wrote it comes off as insufferable.
3.5 stars, really. This book describes the author's reasoning behind, life during and culmination of her decision to not eat out (at restaurants, lunch carts, etc.) while living in New York. I had not previously heard of the blog that she launched because of her decision: noteatingoutinny.com, though after reading the account of the process I bookmarked it.
Because I was unfamiliar with the blog, I cannot state with certainty whether or not regular blog readers will find enough extra to read about here, though my suspicion is that they will. Erway includes a lot of personal information about her life---we learn about her boyfriend, her family, and especially her friends. By the end of the book I was overwhelmed with the number of names to keep track of, though.
After every chapter a few recipes are included, and they all sound very good. Erway writes in an accessible, easy-to-enjoy style. The book has some slow chapters, but overall I liked reading about this experiment and various food events and dinners at friend's houses in New York.
Because I was unfamiliar with the blog, I cannot state with certainty whether or not regular blog readers will find enough extra to read about here, though my suspicion is that they will. Erway includes a lot of personal information about her life---we learn about her boyfriend, her family, and especially her friends. By the end of the book I was overwhelmed with the number of names to keep track of, though.
After every chapter a few recipes are included, and they all sound very good. Erway writes in an accessible, easy-to-enjoy style. The book has some slow chapters, but overall I liked reading about this experiment and various food events and dinners at friend's houses in New York.
This book honestly surprised me. On her blog, Erway can get kind of preachy, and sometimes her writing is a tad unfocused. This book couldn't have been more different - she was funny, self-effacing, and wrote about each new part of her quirky two-year journey with surprising grace. This has become one of my favorite food memoirs as a result!
A very enjoyable read! After reading, I'd consider a one month restaurant fast but two years would be too much. I'm excited to try a few recipes from the book as well.
Got halfway through this book and had to take it back to the library. The fact that I didn't really care as I DROPPED it into the library chute indicates how taken with the book I was. Which was not very. Had high hopes, as the subject matter was something I was very interested in getting someinspiration about. A few of the negative reviews here also influenced my decision to give up on this one.
Wow the reviews for this book can be scathing. I picked this up in the library only reading the title and not the subtitle. I found the anecdotes easy to read and some things bored me, but her "story" was interesting enough.
I thought the book started out interesting enough. Being in roughly the author's age demographic, I know the excitement of trying to cook on your own while being brought up in an eating-out culture. Some things she points out- people whose parents didn't cook usually don't cook at home, the price of grocery store shopping vs. eating out, urban foraging were interesting to read. The memoir style writing of it is fine as well, but she quickly loses steam and stretches the most inane stories for way too long. Supper clubs and private food parties in NYC sound fun, but when it becomes about what people are wearing and how awkward she felt and her numerous flings and how exalted she became in the foodie-NYC-sphere it becomes just so tedious and boring! She is so mean about her failed dates too, like being disgusted with one guy just because he's two years younger than her. Whatever. If her publisher didn't ask for 300 pages I'm sure she could have kept her writing much more concise and interesting, but they didn't, and she didn't.
Meh.
Meh.