#026 | Foodie Fiction: Books that make us hungry

You’d better go get some snacks, because in this episode we’re taking all about food; those books that make your mouth water all the way through the book. You know the ones. We’re talking about our favourites and even have some recipe book shout outs.

CURRENTLY READING

Each episode of Rants and Reviews we share what we’re currently reading, so you can discover our favourite genes, add some books to your TBR pile, and hear us rave and rage about characters, plot, setting and more.

Anjali is currently reading Red, White and Royal Blue by Cassie McQuiston.

Sophie is currently reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, The Toll by Neal Shusterman, and The Last by Hannah Jameson.

MAIN FEATURE

(06:50) We kick off the episode with Sophie disclaiming that if she could live off sugar and not die, she would. “I eat savoury to survive.” Most of her books are sweet-food related, however, her first pick is any of Nicky Pellegrino’s novels. Many of Pellegrino’s books are set in Italy so it would make sense that there’s a lot of food talk.

(10:40) Anjali’s first pick is a series of books, and that is a series which we both love, and actually, have both added to our lists. But feasts, sweets, magical deliciousness (that was a hint … can you guess?).

(15:20) We throwback to our childhood with Sophie’s next choice (which Anjali also has on her list - sensing a theme here!) and while we are talking about one particular book, we do have a bit of a chat about other books by the same author.

(17:45) Hobbits are mentioned and we chat about second breakfasts and elevenses. Anjali tells us about her first trip to Hobbiton.

(20:00) Sophie raves about chocolate for a few minutes, and chocolate in Paris, in particular!

(22:50) We’ve talked about Anjali’s next choice, and that is Pumpkin Heads by Rainbow Rowell and illustrated by Faith Erin Hicks. Everything pumpkin Anjali loves, and one of the main characters, Deja, wants to eat all the snacks along the way. We question what succotash is.

(25:00) We’re up to Sophie’s final choice which is The Cosy Christmas Teashop by Caroline Roberts, and there’s a lot of chatter about lemon drizzle cake (this is where Sophie’s love of cakes comes in).

(27:19) The last one on Anjali’s list didn’t make her hungry, per se, but it made her super thirsty. Tune in to find out what book she’s talking about and also how it arrived on her doorstep from the publishing company.

(29:20) Finishing off the episode like we do: shoutouts.

OUTRO

M&Ms are great book snacks; highly recommend them for reading snacks. We hope you’re not too hungry after listening to our food episode. If you’ve read any books in the past that have made you hungry, let us know! Until next time, happy reading! And snacking...but mostly reading.

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Books mentioned in this episode:

Red, White and Royal Blue by Cassie McQuiston, Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim, The Toll by Neal Shusterman, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, The Last by Hannah Jameson, A Dream of Italy by Nicky Pellegrino, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris by Jenny Colgan, Pumpkin Heads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks, The Cosy Christmas Teashop by Caroline Roberts, Dry by Neal Shusterman, The BFG by Roald Dahl, To All the Boys I loved Before series by Jenny Han, Quinntessential Baking by Frances Quinn, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.