Monday, August 11, 2014

Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good - Review

Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good: A Memoir of Food and Love from an American Midwest Family by Kathleen Flinn

Rating: 5 Stars
Source: NetGalley

Description:  In Kathleen Flinn's 3rd book - after The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry and Kitchen Counter Cooking School - she talks about where her love of food came from by looking at her parents and their parents.  She talks about growing up in a loving but slightly quirky family whose love of adventure and sense of humor never let them down.

Genre: Nonfiction
Why I Picked This Book:  I've heard fantastic things about Flinn's other books and I love foodie memoirs so I couldn't resist picking this one up.

My Impression:
Pros:  I loved this book. I was expecting good things because I'd heard nothing but raves about Flinn's previous books but this far exceeded my expectations.  I laughed out loud at times like when the mom was stuck in the chicken coop with a cranky rooster or when she blackmailed her oldest son into building her a rock garden after a streaking incident.  I teared up over the loss of the grandfather, the dad's experiences in Korea.  Throughout the book I rooted for them and was fascinated by them.  Flinn's parents are the star of this book.  They are tough, strong and determined people with a sense of adventure and huge heart.  Even at the toughest times, of which they have plenty, they have fun together.  They did sustainable living long before it became a trend with a garden, chickens, canning and thrift store shopping.  The chicken coop story made me simultaneously laugh until I almost cried and abandon the half formed idea I had to get chickens. I could have easily sat down and read this book in one sitting.  As it was every time I had to put it down I couldn't wait to pick it up again and read the next story.  I wanted to hear more about this lovely family.  The ending was beautiful with a tie in to how important food really is to healing and showing someone how we feel.  The recipes looked wonderful and I will definitely be trying several out very soon like the German Potato Salad or her Grandmother Inez's Cinnamon Rolls.

Cons:  I really can't come up with anything.  This is one of my favorite books of the year so far. I plan on buying a paper copy because I think that works better for the pictures and the recipes.

Overall:  I loved this book.  I read excerpts aloud and bombarded my husband with little stories from it as I was reading it.  I laughed, I cried and I absolutely loved it.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Definitely!  I'm glad I already have her 2 earlier books because I would've gone out and bought them today otherwise.

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Absolutely!  If you have the slightest interest in foodie memoirs pick this one up!

18 comments:

  1. Thanks, Katherine, for a great review. I never heard of this title nor the author, but believe me, it is something right up my alley. Adding it to the wishlist now.

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    1. I hope you enjoy it! I really liked that she seemed really balanced. It was kind of like a combination of Molly Wizenberg and Ruth Reichl but without angst.

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  2. This sounds like a great memoir, Katherine. I love stories that can make me laugh and cry. I am glad you have enjoyed all her books so far!

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    1. This was really great. I haven't read her earlier books yet but they are definitely going to be read much sooner than expected since I enjoyed this one so much.

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  3. This is one of my favorite kinds of books. I'm sold!

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    1. Read it! It's pretty quick but don't read the last 1/3 in public.

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  4. I haven't read her earlier books, but you just sold me, too. This sounds wonderful!

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    1. I haven't read her earlier books either and obviously still enjoyed it. I'm betting I'll like her earlier books more because I connected to this one so much.

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  5. Sounds like a great book! I added it to my Goodreads so hopefully I'll actually get around to reading it. :)

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  6. So you did not read 1 or 2? This is good, it means I can jump in and yep I love foodie books too Katherine.

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    1. No, I haven't read the other 2 but you can bet I'll be reading them soon. In someways I think this may be a good book to read first as it's about her childhood and her family whereas her other books are more about her culinary education and her career.

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  7. I LOOOOVED The Kitchen Counter Cooking School and definitely plan to read this one, too. I highly recommend reading TKCCS!!

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    1. I own it and am looking forward to reading it. Especially after this one!

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  8. LOL, sounds so fun! I don't read many memoirs, but I think I'd enjoy this one.

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    1. This a good one especially since it's not her whole life. It's very focused. I really loved this one!

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  9. Just scanned your review because I'm going to be reading this one soon but I'm really glad to see how much you enjoyed it!

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    1. I hope you enjoy it! I expected to like it but I didn't expect to love it as much as I did.

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