Welcome to Litsy!

#12booksof2022

February was a mixed bag of a reading month. My favorite was listening to Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson. I appreciated how he didn‘t shy away from his flaws and missteps.

Close runners up were Ivanhoe (way more entertaining than I thought it‘d be going in) and Half Empty (another audiobook; highly recommend for David Sedaris fans)

My idea of a perfect date! A coffeeshop so my husband can socialize and I can read.

As I previously mentioned, this past week was pretty rough work-wise, so sitting down with my current audiobook and some coloring will help me relax a bit before the weekend is over. Thanks to the Litsy community for often feeling like an oasis amidst the chaos of life 🤪💖 #audiocoloring #listycrafters

Thanks to @CoffeeNBooks for putting this foodie memoir on my #ReadersRadar 💕I knew very little about Marcus Samuelsson other than he teamed up with Michele Obama for her healthy food/ snack initiative. While Samuelsson avoided the drugs & alcohol that chefs often fall prey to, he did put his time in before acquiring fame & notoriety. Born in #Ethiopia & then adopted by a Swedish couple, Samuelsson was able to blend his cultures through food.

I took a little break after my holiday cross stitching frenzy. Just started my next project: Pretty Little Los Angeles by Satsuma Street on Etsy to match my Pretty Little San Francisco. It‘s kind of blurry, but I got a really cute needle minder for Xmas: a cat in a teacup! 🪡🧵

Yes, Chef has so far been a great listen as I stitch away.

#audiostitching #litsycrafters

I absolutely loved this book! I love Marcus Samuelsson, and I really enjoyed reading more about his story. It was also about cooking and food, so it was a perfect book for me! I loved this #BookSpin pick! @TheAromaofBooks

Finally getting some time to read for day #3 of the #NovelNovember Readathon. Hoping to finish this book this evening. @Andrew65

#NovelNovember Readathon day 2 starts now....
I'm loving my #BookSpin pick so far! #coffeeandabook
@Andrew65

Starting my #BookSpin pick this afternoon!
@TheAromaofBooks

Interesting insight into what it takes to become a master chef. This was leftover from #FoodAndLit Ethiopia 🇪🇹

This has been on my TBR for a while, and #FoodandLit finally gave me a push to read it. Samuelsson is always one of my favorite people to see on Food Network. I really enjoyed reading about his journey becoming a chef, finding his roots, and bringing African fare to America. I highly recommend!

I love all the selection @TiminCalifornia sent to me! Great books and some productos from local business.
I can't wait to taste the coffee from Brazil, while I leafing through one of this books! Will be impressive!

#blitsyswap #blackhistorymonthswap #BHMS
Thanks @Chelleo

I'm excited to see what this will involve! I love Marcus!

My review of this memoir is on my Youtube vlog at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrNOsZNM8Vg

Enjoy!

Toddler fell asleep on way to Girl Scouts, so I‘m sitting in the car with the windows down listening to Yes, Chef while toddler sleeps and my Daisy is baking dog biscuits for the local animal shelter. #audible #audiobooking

#pick3 Is anyone here *not* going into pick books?

I don‘t love to cook, but I love READING about cooking. Plus, this guy has had a very interesting life, from being an orphan in Ethiopia to becoming a top chef. It‘s now on my bucket list to go to his restaurant in New York.

Wishing I was home finishing up the book tagged here.... to be honest I don't exactly love it but it's interesting enough and yet I can't put it down 🤷‍♀️

I never heard of Marcus until I watched Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown and he was with him in Ethiopia. Interesting story - makes me want to visit his restaurant! #audio

Listening to tagged book on #audio cleaning when I saw this... just had to share! #caturday #catsoflitsy

I am not really a foodie and have never seen "Top Chef," but I still enjoyed this memoir (recommended by @bookriot) from one of America's top chefs.

I‘m #audiocleaning today to get ready for a visit from my brother in law, his fiancé and my 3 year old nephew! We don‘t have kids, so ?? Aunt Valerie can make it through a 10 day (!) visit without pulling out my hair!

I‘m surprisingly in the mood for more food memoirs after reading two of Anthony Bourdain‘s books, and working in a kitchen 30 hours a week, so if you have any recommendations tag them below!

#emojimadness #👨🏻‍🍳

Just another book pulled from my endless tbr pile.

#bookhaul local library book sale, I got all of these for just 50 cents!!

@callielafleur Thank you so much! Honestly, I forgot that I won these but they couldn't have gotten here at a better time. I was trying to decide if my next read would be about food or something for Black History Month. Yes Chef fits both. You're the best! 😘😘😘

Thanks for the tag @dsfisher!
1) MASH. I thought Hawkeye was the dreamiest.
2) My most recent favorite was the tagged book. I love memoirs by chefs, and his life is so interesting.
3) Eggs. They make me gag.
4) Celebrating my husband's birthday. I love putting together a special day for him.
5) Will do! #friyayintro @jesshowbooks

I spent most of the day working on my day planned and syllabi for the upcoming semester, but I did make time to finish this one. It‘s my #LitsyReadingChallenge2018 book that I meant to read in 2017. I dragged my feet on it forever because celebrity chef‘s in general seem so over confident and pushy and I didn‘t want to read 300 pages of that, but it was actually very good.

I just started this today and I am only a few chapter in but so far I absolutely love it! I feel like I will give it 5 ⭐️ based on the first two chapter alone if if the rest of it is only mediocre! #marvelousmemoirs #awesomeautumnbooks

Today we had brunch at Red Rooster in Harlem. That's Marcus Samuelsson's restaurant (he won Top Chef Masters Season 2). His book is FANTASTIC and this was a bucket list trip for me.
We had cornbread w honey butter + tomato jam, French toast with creamsicle frosting and berries (inc. lingonberries), chicken and waffles, Mac n cheese n collard greens, bacon, Frose and Mimosa, and a special Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake. YUM!! #food #topchef #brunch

Well, that broke my heart a little. I miss the Os. 😔

I first heard of Samuelsson's story when I was binge watching Chopped one day and he mentioned being adopted from Ethiopia by a Swedish couple. I immediately wanted to know more so picked up his book. This memoir takes an in depth look at cultures, race, and family all through the lens of food and cooking. One of the best memoirs I've read.

#ERMadlibs #exclamation #memoir #food #diversereads

🗓📚❤📆 #BestOfJanuary #ReadJanuary

My best of this month, narrowed down to these 5 out of the total 13 books finished.

It turned out to be a very good month of audiobooks for me, seeing as how 4 out of these 5 were on audio. They totally helped me keep my sanity during my daily work commute! 🎧🚗❤

🌟🌟🌟🌟
A wonderful listen! ❤🎧😍
Samuelsson's story is filled with both grit & hard won glory with his family (both adoptive & biological) as his backbone. Besides the grueling & highly competitive culinary world, I was also introduced to the history behind various cuisines from Swedish, African & American as Marcus globtrotted his way not only to 'Celebrity Chef' status, but to the truth about his family roots & how they've helped shaped him.

Working on finishing up my 2016 Read Harder Challenge.

#titlesstartingwithXYZ I have a thing for food/chef memoirs. There's an entire bookshelf devoted to them in my library. This book is an excellent look at the rise of a popular chef, Marcus Samuelsson. Travel, food, coming-of-age.....it checks all the boxes!!☑️☑️☑️#seasonsreadings2016

I need go to Red Rooster. Marcus Samuelsson has lead a very interesting, busy and inspiring life! He seems like a down to earth guy who doesn't shy away from the less savory parts of his life. He addresses the racism in the industry and he does things to help stop it - mentoring and other philanthropic ventures as well as taking chances on chefs! #2016ReadHarder

Loved it! He is so likeable and interesting. A really enjoyable listen, he's got a great voice

New Top Chef... FINALLY!!!🤗🔪🍽❤😍

It's the only reality show I watch. I've got my ginger root tea, almond cookies, and my current bookclub book to finish during the commercials....let's do this!!!🤓
#TopChef #GuiltyPleasure #Tea #BookclubPicks

Another great read and a love letter to New York City and its diversity. Marcus Samuelsson's journey is an immigrant story and also a story about being a little bit of a jerk in service of ambition and growing up enough to change that in your life. Very enjoyable. And now I want to eat at Red Rooster.

he forgot to say upstream both ways

I'm bailing 35 chapters in. I just couldn't take another description of how Samuelson learned a particular restaurant skill or the details of breaking down a fish. Samuelson has no doubt lived a fascinating life, but food memoirs are already not my thing, and the book bogged down on the food side for me.

Obligatory #coffee and #kindle shot; reading about good food.