You are feeling very hungry… no wait, that’s us! Now that our February/March book display is up, we’ve had food on our minds all month!
Our three favorite things are books, puns, and food, which is why it may not surprise you to know that our display theme this time is Flavorful Reads– aka, books that are all about food! And although we might be biased, we like to think they’re all rather delectable. We know every reader’s reading tastes are different, so we chose books of various genres to whet your palette. Here are a sampling of some of our favorites!
To start us off, The Peach Rebellion by Wendelin Van Draanen is a peachy keen historical fiction novel. Set in post World War II California, the book features dual narration by best friends Ginny and Peggy– the daughters of farm owners and peach pickers respectively. Check this out if you’re looking for a story of friendship, sisterhood, and bittersweet historical vibes.
Next, Theo’s story is one of self-discovery in Michael Ruhlman's If You Can’t Take the Heat. Theo has always been a stellar football player, but after a devastating leg injury, he discovers a new zest for life in the form of a new job at a prestigious French restaurant. Like all good things in life, Theo discovers that great cooking takes thyme– ahem, we mean time.
If rom-coms are more your speed, you’ll find The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz to be un-brie-lievably satisfying! This heart-melting graphic novel is a sapphic romance between Lady Camembert and Princess Brie of Fromage that features hidden identities, playful romance, and of course, grilled cheese sandwiches! The story also features tons of fun cheese puns, so this time we have an excuse to say it’s very gouda!
Last but certainly not least, check out With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo if you’re in the mood for a contemporary read. Emoni is a high school senior who dreams of being a chef, but life has been throwing plenty of complications in her way. Dealing with school, motherhood, and a long-distance relationship with her father, Emoni feels like she has too much on her plate. Her story is one of family and learning when to spice things up, culminating in a flavorful book you won’t want to put down.
So if you’re hungry for a good book, come check them out in person or look at our Flavorful Reads reading list online!
To spare you the pain of our berry silly puns, we’ll take a pause on the food talk for now to remind everyone that the next Super Smash Bros Ultimate Tournament is coming up this Sunday on March 2nd. We loved seeing so many Nintendo lovers join us last time, so we’re looking forward to seeing you again soon!
To end things off, we thought it would be fitting to think about one of our favorite food quotes: “If a person’s greatest quality is like a pickled plum in a rice ball, that ‘plum’ might be stuck on the back side.” This quote is from the ever optimistic protagonist of Fruits Basket, Tohru Honda.
The full quote (shown above) is a touching metaphor that talks about how there are always qualities that make us special, even if we can’t see them ourselves. In this sense, Tohru encourages both characters and readers alike to be confident and kind to themselves– encouragement that we can all benefit from in current times. In short, Tohru Honda is an angel and we readers don’t deserve her.
We’d like to encourage you to listen to Tohru and reflect on the plum on your back and be proud of what makes you unique.