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!