Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
funny
hopeful
reflective
funny
reflective
slow-paced
medium-paced
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
I love food. I love Italy. And I love Stanley Tucci.
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
I am a huge foodie - I love trying new restaurants and foods and seeing all the ways that ingredients can play together. So I loved that aspect of this book - my mouth was watering so many times. It also included some recipes, that if I had the print version of the book, I would definitely be trying.
The major, and pervasive, detractor from this story is the "(and related thoughts)" portion of the title, when he deviates from discussing food. He describes various anecdotes from his day to day life, interactions with the public, his family, and celebrity friends that are neither relatable nor interesting. More than this, none of this is described warmly. He makes several digs about his wife; he barely sees his kids - one of his "revelations" is that they should eat meals together as a family rather than separately (his children are very young - like duh? and his son is heartbreakingly excited that he gets to eat dinner with his parents. its just sad).
The rants he goes on come across petty, childish, and entitled - the woes of not getting business class for a flight, or TSA not allowing you to bring an entire bottle of water through - which everyone knows. I found myself rolling my eyes when he went on one of his rants, like humoring an aging crotchety relative. When considering the abstract, the "lessons learned", the thoughts are shallow at best, and nothing I wouldn't have been able to think myself in high school. Food is one of the great loves of life, and I wish he had focused more on other beautiful things, instead of complaining about everything for the overwhelming majority of the book.
I will also mention I listened to the audiobook version, which is narrated by Stanley Tucci himself, and that aspect was superb. The snark and sarcasm especially came through especially well.
The major, and pervasive, detractor from this story is the "(and related thoughts)" portion of the title, when he deviates from discussing food. He describes various anecdotes from his day to day life, interactions with the public, his family, and celebrity friends that are neither relatable nor interesting. More than this, none of this is described warmly. He makes several digs about his wife; he barely sees his kids - one of his "revelations" is that they should eat meals together as a family rather than separately (his children are very young - like duh? and his son is heartbreakingly excited that he gets to eat dinner with his parents. its just sad).
The rants he goes on come across petty, childish, and entitled - the woes of not getting business class for a flight, or TSA not allowing you to bring an entire bottle of water through - which everyone knows. I found myself rolling my eyes when he went on one of his rants, like humoring an aging crotchety relative. When considering the abstract, the "lessons learned", the thoughts are shallow at best, and nothing I wouldn't have been able to think myself in high school. Food is one of the great loves of life, and I wish he had focused more on other beautiful things, instead of complaining about everything for the overwhelming majority of the book.
I will also mention I listened to the audiobook version, which is narrated by Stanley Tucci himself, and that aspect was superb. The snark and sarcasm especially came through especially well.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death
fast-paced
i love giving other people my food diary (rundown of every meal eaten) after a trip so it’s no wonder i enjoyed this so much. haven’t read Stanley’s other, more traditionally formatted memoir, but this was a hoot. what a cool guy. also saw Conclave recently so the filming BTS was fun. overall wry, introspective, don’t read it when hungry!!
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
lighthearted
medium-paced
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted