Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
I love the topic and a lot of the history was fascinating. Some parts were more dry than others, though, and the chapters could have been more connected with each other (besides just being a history of certain items).
informative
medium-paced
there were some statements here and there that made me laugh but overall very informative and not really the type of nonfiction i've been reaching for (more witty and doesn't feel like nonfiction). this feels a lot like a straight up history book.
There's a lot of trivia here. I'm not sure there's much of a larger theme, but it's really interesting.
Takes the mundane and makes it fascinating. Be prepared to look at your kitchen appliances in a whole new light.
informative
slow-paced
This was a thoroughly enjoyable read. As an archaeologist, the evolution and backstory of everyday instruments holds special meaning. While informative, this book manages to be witty, clever, and engaging throughout. The author delivers surprising levels of detail in a well-paced and creatively crafted story of humanity and our relationship with food and tools for food use. I found this to be a page turner, and I came away daily with new morsels of information that I hope to retain. Among them, origin of the term "curfew", meaning and history of sous vide, development of the overbite, how recently the modern vegetable peeler came about, and what a voiding knife is.
A lot of the facts in this book left me slack-jawed- especially the ones I learned about the title figure: the fork. Very interesting and a great conversation starter, I'm looking at my kitchen gadgets in a new way.
I'm a sucker for food history, and this is very much a perfect companion to Bee Wilson's other book, "First Bite." It doesn't really matter, but FWIW I recommend reading this one first. This is one of those books I'm likely to read again.
I learned so much by reading this book! Everything was fascinating: how the fork is a more modern invention in terms of all of human history, the different variations of the egg whisk, and even how the wooden spoon cannot be improved. As a foodie every chapter was filled with information. Bee Wilson put a lot of research into this, as evident by the source notes in the back. Loved it!