Books That Cook: the Making of a Literary Meal

I tried to read an ebook version of Books that Cook: The Making of a Literary Meal in both the Bluefire and Kindle apps, but frankly, I am having a hard time "picturing" this book. Will there be images? Will it mimic a modern cookbook in that way, but with lengthier excerpts from novels and memoirs?

The idea of exploring literature related to the theme of food is intriguing and editors Cognard-Black and Goldthwaite do an excellent job of introducing their research on food as it influences our lives and emotions.  However, I am looking forward to finding a physical copy (the public library has it on order) of Books that Cook so that I can better evaluate purchase.  With clearer formatting from New York University Press, it will be easier to sample the smorgasbord of excerpts from writers like Fannie Flagg, Sherman Alexie and Maya Angelou in addition to those from James Beard and Julia Child.

I will certainly consider Books that Cook and will likely order it due to student interest and use of such titles as Standage's A History of the World in 6 Glasses or Pollan's Cooked or Kurlansky's Salt. Also, Consider the Fork (Wilson) or Three Squares (Carroll) or Salt Sugar Fat (Moss) are all popular titles for projects in History and Kinetic Wellness classes so it will be interesting to see if Books that Cook sparks some new reading assignments by our high school English teachers. After all, as its forward says, "basic food texts –cookbooks and recipes–are as much a form of literature as are fiction, nonfiction, memoirs and poetry. And why not? They tell stories.  They convey myths. … they offer plenty to talk about: culture, religion, ethics, personal identity."

Here is a fun, recent article which asks for suggestions on the best fictional meal ever (from The Atlantic).