pickRead by Ina herself, this audiobook is very much like her cooking show where she‘s warm and welcoming, often telling stories alongside her cooking demonstrations. I remember watching the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network way back in the day and I always enjoyed her soft tone and approach. This covers her early days/parents (not so good) her husband Jeffry (really loves him), purchasing the specialty food store in the Hamptons, tv, Paris, more.
so-soI read this for book club. Otherwise I NEVER would have picked it up. I had heard of Ina Garten because I work at a bookstore & we carry her cookbooks. But I am not interested in cooking, cookbooks or cooking shows so this really wasn‘t my thing.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Just delightful! I was only vaguely familiar with the “Barefoot Contessa,” but that didn‘t hinder my enjoyment at all. Turns out there are some random similarities from the early years of our marriages, so that was a happy coincidence. Garten is a fantastic, candid storyteller. Highly recommend! So happy I got this in our book club‘s recent “Blind Date with a Book” swap!
pick5/5
This is a really fascinating memoir about Ina's life from her childhood and meeting Jeffrey to opening her store and eventually working on her cookbooks and TV show. It's an interesting book about someone who has lived an interesting life, and I thought it had a really good message about being prepared for when good luck finds you.
ebook: Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
audiobook: A Quiet Life in the Country by T. E. Kinsey
#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain
pickoved this! Honest, vulnerable, funny and exposing her hard work ethic, it was both inspiring and entertaining. Loved reading about her approach to good food and living. Her genuine authenticity was clear through this quick book!
pickI finished this today moving my youngest home from Uni. This is the tidy storage unit holding his stuff until his next adventure. My house is not tidy 😩 I liked this audio book but I didn‘t love it
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Lovely and charming, like Ina Garten herself. It‘s probably exactly what you think it is—Garten telling her story, starting with childhood with emotionally difficult parents, falling in love with Jeffrey as a teenager, and then her paths through school, travel, education, and work all the way to Barefoot Contessa and TV. Perfectly enjoyable, not difficult or surprising.
pickVery enjoyable listen and I also bought the book for pictures and recipes!
so-soLukewarm about this. 🤷♀️ She does a lot of name dropping and complaining about how awful her parents were, both of which I dislike.🥮
Listening to this one while I start holiday baking. I feel like I‘m missing something, so I keep checking the book for the pictures.
So very excited to learn more about Ina‘s childhood and life story. She is so sweet and i am truly amazed at all the hard work it took to run her Barefoot Contessa store.
pickI‘ve always liked Ina. I enjoyed watching a feminist perspective inform her personal and professional growth. But this is a light pick for me. I think I just wasn‘t the right reader for this book, at least not in this moment in time/history.
Further thoughts in spoiler comment below! Not spoilers per se, but I wouldn‘t want to mar anyone's experience of escaping into this one, as the food (and many other) aspects are delightful!
pickI learned how to cook watching Ina and Giada on the Food Network years ago, and have always been a Barefoot Contessa fan. Her life is even more fascinating than I expected, and I loved reading about her relationship with Jeffrey, warts and all. I‘m a Hamptons girl myself and her warm and breezy aesthetic reflects all the best things about this area. Listening to this was a balm for the past week and all the horrendous news here in the US.
pickI‘ve only watched bits of BC here and there but heard good things about this, so I decided to give it a go when it popped up at my library. I enjoyed spending some time with Ina and hearing her story. Only a small bit of this talks about her show and I liked that. She‘s very relatable, and I like her life philosophy enshrined in the title.
pickI‘ve harbored a crush on Ina for as long as I can remember. A crush in the sense that I wanted to be in her orbit, read her books, watch her shows, make her recipes and be as cool as her. What a wonderful story of hard work, stubbornness and perseverance, not to mention a thread of her love story with Jeffrey throughout. Well told in her own words and voice.
Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A Memoir | 
