As July swiftly comes to a close, some of us lament on how summer passed so quickly, while others look on the bright side and consider how to make the most of these dwindling weeks.
Yes, food is always number one on our minds– but long, warm days spent at the beach are a close second. Luckily, we’ve compiled a list of our favorite foodie reads to bring on your next beach outing.
1. Delicious by Ruth Reichl
Photo by Sierra Conine
Ruth Reichl is known for both her food writing and her culinary prowess. While she has written several impactful books on food, Delicious is Reichl’s first and only) novel. The story follows a young California girl on her cross-country move to New York to work for a food magazine.
If you love Delicious, check out Reichl’s memoirs. Tender at the Bone and Comfort Me with Apples are both touching collections of essays that discuss how food has shaped some of her most important life experiences.
2. The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Photo via Instagram courtesy of @freckledbibliophile
Don’t be fooled by the seemingly innocent title of this book. In The Vegetarian, Han Kang explores the consumption of meat and the consequences of giving it up through a dark, thrilling story of a woman committed to vegetarianism and the nightmarish life she and her husband descend into.
This uniquely disturbing book is not just a carnivorous cautionary tale. In 2016, it won the Man Booker International Prize for fiction.
3. Grain Brain by David Perlmutter & Kristin Loberg
Photo by Sierra Conine
While people frequently talk about the effects food can have on the body, people often overlook the effects of food on the mind. Grain Brain explores how what we put in our body effects one of our most important organs, the brain.
4. Deliciously Ella by Ella Woodward
Photo courtesy of flickr.com
Ella Woodward was a normal girl– until the day she suddenly fell ill, suffering from extreme fatigue and chronic pain. She later discovered that she had Postural Tachycardia Syndrome and was prescribed many different conventional medications with devastating side effects.
In an effort to restore her health, Woodward switched to a plant-based diet overnight. The results were astonishing. Inspired and reinvigorated, Woodward created a blog dedicated to sharing her recipes and lifestyle with the world.
Now, the author of two cookbooks, owner of a restaurant and founder of an organic skin-care line, Woodard is working to slowly change the way we fuel our bodies.
5. Big Girl by Kelsey Miller
Photo courtesy of refinery29.com
If you haven’t read any of Kelsey Miller’s articles on Refinery29, you’re missing out. Miller created the site’s anti-diet project, a series of publications that reject the idea of dieting and its harmful effects.
As a Senior Feature Editor, Miller turned her passion for the anti-diet project into a book about her personal experiences with dieting– and the moment she finally decided to give it all up.
6. Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
Photo via Instagram courtesy of @giselechic_blog
Stephanie Danler is only 29 years old, but her first book Sweetbitter has made a huge splash this summer. After working seven years in the restaurant industry, Danler combined her work experiences and passion for writing into a novel about love and innocence in the world of the service industry.