The Book Club Cookbook [Paperback]

Judy Gelman (Author), Vicki Levy Krupp (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 6, 2004

This first cookbook created specifically for book clubs shows readers how to add a delightfully delicious angle to their book club gatherings.

Featuring recipes and food-related discussion ideas for one hundred popular book club selections, The Book Club Cookbook guides readers in selecting and preparing culinary masterpieces that tie in just right with the literary masterpieces their club is reading. From "Honey Cakes" to go along with The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd to "Eggplant Caponata" to go with Bel Canto by Ann Patchett; from "Lemony Goat Cheese Tart" with Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel to "Shrimp Flautas" for Empire Falls by Richard Russo; The Book Club Cookbook makes adding foods that stem from the books your club reads fun and easy.

Vicki Levy Krupp and Judy Gelman polled hundreds of book clubs all over the country to determine what their members are reading and to discover the creative ways that they're integrating food into their meetings. With recipes and colorful background information on the role that food plays in the reading choices-much of which was contributed by the authors of the book club selections themselves-The Book Club Cookbook will add some real flavor to your book club meetings.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Whether you’re looking to start a book club, choose your book club’s next reading selection, find a recipe to match with a book or gather fresh food ideas, this volume can help," declare authors Gelman and Krupp, a PR consultant and an educator, respectively. To gather all that material, they contacted members of dozens of book clubs throughout the country—from clubs of Jewish moms in Atlanta to psychotherapists in Connecticut—and quickly discovered that these chatty groups are diverse, passionate and boast an impressive camaraderie. It’s logical, then, that this collaborative project offers all sorts of anecdotes and food ideas from club members and profiles of various clubs, in addition to recipes drawn from favorite books. (Short plot summaries of each suggested title are also included.) The choices range from Anna Karenina’s Wild Mushrooms on Toast and Life of Pi’s Tandoori Shrimp to The Hours’s Crab Casserole and Nickel and Dimed’s Mozzarella Sticks. Part cookbook, part celebration of the written word, the volume illustrates how books and ideas can bring people together. And considering that there’s an estimated seven million people in America involved in book clubs these days, this should prove to be a popular volume.
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About the Author

Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp have participated in many book clubs. After taking a cooking class together, they began meeting regularly at a local sandwich shop. There, over stacks of library books, endless cups of coffee, and bagel sandwiches, The Book Club Cookbook was born.

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher (May 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158542322X
• ISBN-13: 978-1585423224
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 1.5 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #656,226 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp are cooks, book enthusiasts and friends. Seeking to combine their passion for books, food, and book clubs, they met over stacks of books and endless cups of coffee at a local sandwich shop, where THE BOOK CLUB COOKBOOK was born. The first cookbook for book clubs, THE BOOK CLUB COOKBOOK has become a classic guide to pairing food and literature. The revised edition of THE BOOK CLUB COOKBOOK is being released on March 1, 2012.

Judy and Vicki were motivated to write their second book, THE KIDS' BOOK CLUB BOOK, after librarians, parents, and teachers who attended their talks asked for a similar book for the growing number of youth book clubs across the country.

Their third book, TABLE OF CONTENTS features book related recipes from fifty of today's most popular authors.

Judy and Vicki enjoy speaking about book clubs and appreciate their ongoing conversations, both in person and via their websites, with book and food enthusiasts across the country.

They live with their families in the Boston area.

Visit their websites:
http://www.bookclubcookbook.com
http://www.kidsbookclubbook.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great reading, great recipes. June 22, 2004

By Mary Whipple HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

While many of us enjoy "reading" cookbooks, checking through recipes and making notes of new discoveries, this cookbook provides a totally different type of reading experience. Authors Gelman and Krupp, both members of several book clubs, decided that instead of organizing a cookbook around the foods and recipes mentioned in particular novels, memoirs, or non-fiction (which has been done before), that they would start instead by choosing the one hundred favorite books of book clubs from around the country. The list they developed includes the classics, such as Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence; current affairs, such as Reading Lolita in Tehran; contemporary fiction, such as Empire Falls; historical fiction, such as Ahab's Wife; history, such as No Ordinary Time; and memoirs, such as Wild Swans.

Having chosen the one hundred books first, the authors then checked to see if foods were featured in the book, and if so, they looked for the best recipes they could find for each of these foods. If food did not play an important role in the book, they contacted the book clubs to see what they might have served in conjunction with their discussions of these books, sometimes tapping into favorite family recipes of club members and sometimes seeking recipes from specialty restaurants. On occasion, they even contacted the authors of the books themselves. In every case, they found recipes, some from well known sources, that compliment the books and their discussions.

Each of the one hundred books is summarized at the beginning of the section and accompanied not only by one or more recipes but also with a profile of a participating book club, noting the activities each club sponsored in conjunction with the book, and describing what makes each club unique. The recipes are as varied as the countries of origin of the books and fall into categories ranging from appetizers to desserts and beverages. Featured recipes include Artichoke-Jalapeno Spread on Baguettes with Tomato Bruschetta Topping, Shrimp Flautas, Biryani, Spiced Plum Kolaches, Hmong Eggrolls, and a to-die-for dessert called Death by Chocolate. The only weakness I have found is with the index, which contains the standard breakdown into appetizers, desserts, etc., but simply lists the page numbers where a reader can find examples of these categories, and does not list the names of the recipes themselves, an omission that is time-consuming for the cook who wants to use this as a regular cookbook. Mary Whipple

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Great Culinary Companion to Book Clubs July 24, 2004

By John Kwok HALL OF FAMEVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Have you ever wondered how to serve a suitable meal for a book discussion at your local book club? Whether you can serve a meal which is thematically related to the book being discussed? If the answers to both are yes, then the perfect solution is acquiring a copy of Judy Gelman's and Vicki Levy Krupp's "The Book Club Cook Book". The authors contacted members from over one hundred book clubs within the United States, soliciting comments not only the books themselves, but also on the meals served at these discussions (For the record, I am an outgoing coordinator of a book club, and am quoted in several entries.).

Each book listed is accompanied by a brief summary, including comments from book club members, and a recipe for an appropriate dish (For example, for Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes", is a recipe for Irish Soda Bread.). There is also an in-depth profile of a book club. So if you are wondering what to serve for a discussion of Yann Martel's novel "Life of Pi", then a suitable dish might be the Tandoori Shrimp featured for this entry.

This is a fun, highly informative book which will interest long-time book club members and those who are just joining. To their credit, the authors also provide some excellent tips on how to organize your own book club. Without question, "The Book Club Cook Book" may become the essential reference guide to serving meals at book club meetings.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Book July 11, 2004

By ed wolowicz

Format:Paperback

I totally enjoyed reading this book. Although a lot of my friends consider me a "foodie", I really enjoyed reading the entries about the books and about what book clubs are doing across the country. My wife belongs to a book club, and we have been fighting over who gets the book each night. The recipes and the book summaries are great. I particularly enjoyed the mojitos and the honey cake, but so many of the recipes have been useful and intriguing. Great book.