pickThemes: Italy setting, Neighbors, Humorous but not everyone‘s humor
For me, the humor in this book bounced between “general audience” funny and crude South Park/Family Guy sense of humor. I don‘t personally enjoy the latter style so more of a “soft pick” from me, but I still found it an entertaining read. The premise is funny and I loved the dual POVs. I don‘t know who I would recommend this book to; it‘s bonkers, very quirky and unique.
The recipes in my current read (tagged here) are disgusting 🤢 I haven‘t begun skimming them yet, but I‘m not exactly giving them my full attention. The rest of the book is good, but the recipes, YIKES! Keeping my snack simple and my drink is a non-alcoholic seltzer since hubby‘s not home yet and I‘m hoping we‘re going out for dinner 😏
#FridayNightReadingHour @mcctrish
pickFinished in November for my virtual foodie book club, this is not a book to go to for food inspiration but rather for humor & farce. Slightly uneven but fun romp with a prissy Englishman & earthy Eastern block woman, neighbors in Italy, drinking plenty of the titular liqueur. The recipes Gerald makes are too full of cat & otter to be taken seriously so I made a simple pasta e fagioli & pesto bread for dipping as my bookish dish (recipe link ⬇️)
Thank you so much @BookNAround for the two fabulous books and all of the recipes in my #RecipeSwap package! I have been wanting to read The Home Front since I loved The Chilbury Ladies‘ Choir so much & the tagged book is an upcoming selection for my virtual foodie book club. 🤗 The recipes all sound amazing, especially your Nan‘s Whiskey Cake. Thank you for being a great swap partner & thank you @BennettBookworm for hosting such a fun swap!
Drinking a fernet and coke like an argentine teenager and reading a romance novel because attention span.
panSome may call this "comic genius" but I found the snark and cynicism to be too much. There were certainly some hilarious moments, but for my taste, that doesn't make up for a lack of plot. Perhaps I just don't "get it" since this book is followed by two more about the main character. But never fear, #Europaeditions, I can't quit you!
Cynicism and sarcasm abound in this book. The two main characters, Gerald and Marta, complain to the reader about each other, yet they continue to interact daily. Neighbors on a Tuscan hillside, they are newly transplanted foreigners, confiding in the reader their frustrations with each other through some pretty funny observations. Such as this one, where Gerald is begrudgingly bringing dessert to a dinner at Marta's house. #currentlyreading
So...fun fact. Guess what Fernet-Branca is not? It is not a person. It is, in fact, an "herbal elixir" or "bitter spirit."
All these months that this book has been waiting on my shelf, I thought it was a person. Perhaps about a chef named Fernet. And now I look at the cover and it's so obvious.
Of course, once I read about the drink, it sounds terrible. Has anyone had it? Or has anyone read the book?
#currentlyreading
Cooking with Fernet Branca | 
