Max Miller’s Tasting History

Max Miller rocketed to fame in the early days of the pandemic because his relatively new YouTube channel Tasting History about food and history was well-made and interesting. And since he had been furloughed from his job, he didn’t have anything else to do but make videos about things like how to make your own Roman-style garum at a time when a lot of other people had plenty of free time to watch videos on how to make garum. It took off so much that he ended up quitting his job and getting a cookbook published from Simon and Schuster. Not bad for someone who started making YouTube videos as a hobby at the urging of his friends, whom he jokingly suspects of doing so just because they wanted him to offload his food history trivia on strangers rather than them.

I’ve been a Tasting History fan for a couple of years now and eagerly awaited the release of the book. I was not disappointed. Thanks so much to Julie for purchasing a copy for the library and my brother for buying me a personal copy for my birthday! 🙂

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Edna Lewis’s The Taste of Country Cooking (2006)

When I was profiling Southern cookbooks back in March, Vanessa from Food in Books suggested The Taste of Country Cooking. When Vanessa recommends something, I pay attention, so I immediately requested we purchase the book and add it to the collection. In fact, I liked the book so much that I bought a personal copy for myself. Thanks so much to Vanessa for the wonderful suggestion and to Julie for adding Edna Lewis’s book to our holdings!

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Book Buzz: Mythological Fan Fiction, Dysfunctional Childhoods, and Literary Cookbooks

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For June, we’re looking at a reworking of the myth of Circe, an ultimately triumphant memoir about a difficult Idaho childhood, and a literary-tinged Victorian cookbook.

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Book Buzz: Mysterious Tea Cakes, Ill-Fated Arctic Expeditions, and Tasty Bread Recipes

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For May, we’re looking at a story of a mother and daughter long separated,  a really cold camping trip, and an ode to bread. . . .

In honor of the upcoming Books in Bloom festival, each of the books we’re profiling is also from a Books in Bloom author. It’s not too late to check out a copy and read it just in time to meet the author in person at Books in Bloom on Sunday, May 20th, at the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

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Literary Eats

porridge

Now, here’s some food for thought. Literally!

Do you plan your cooking around your reading? Do you plan your reading around your eating? Or do they never correlate in your mind?

I must confess, it isn’t something I thought a lot about until I recently was catching up with Elise Bishop, one of my former college professors/bosses. She’s a regular blog reader, and when I told her I was always open to blog post idea suggestions, she told me I ought to write about the connection between literature and food. Thanks for the great suggestion, Mrs. B.!

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