6 Books to Savor Over Thanksgiving

Before you can relax with a book while someone else does the dishes, the meal does need to get made. Turn to everyone’s favorite Food Network personality, Giada De Laurentiis, whose cookbook will make meal prep a snap. The Italian-born chef—who didn’t start celebrating Thanksgiving until she was a teenager—creates cross-cultural recipes that combine her heritage into traditional dishes. Don’t miss her take on dessert: Persimmon Pumpkin Pie. Yum!

When Ruth Reichl was offered the Editor-in-Chief position at Gourmet, she turned it down. She was a free-spirited writer, not a manager. But, as she details in this thoughtful and reflective memoir, she reconsidered and helmed one of the most important food magazines for over a decade—until it was shuttered in 2009. Replete with recipes, this is the story of one woman’s discovery of her power and herself as she chased her dreams and followed her gut.

When two writers, both captivated by food, meet and fall in love, it is (of course) over a delicious meal and a shared dessert of chocolate soufflé. But in the year leading up to their marriage, after getting engaged and cohabitating, the question of “What should we have for dinner tonight?” leads the couple into some tricky territory. This memoir explores what it means to be a modern wife and, more acutely, what it means to take care of the people we love.

Roberta is trying desperately to not take up space. She suppresses her passion and her appetite until she meets Stevie, an energetic artist, who draws Roberta out of her shell. Together, the women form the Supper Club, a group of women who gather together to celebrate their hunger. After dark, they meet to feast. Suddenly, they are taking up real physical space as a result of their changing bodies and societal rebellion and the Supper Club members will never be the same as a result.

Natalie hasn’t spoken to her mother since she refused to support her lifelong ambition of becoming a chef. So, she’s devastated to learn of her mother’s death and…surprised to learn she’s inherited her grandmother’s restaurant in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The neighborhood is fading, but Natalie will need her neighbors’ support if her restaurant venture will succeed—and possibly a new romance? Only time will tell.

Ten years ago, 30-year-old writer and blogger Andie Mitchell weighed nearly 300 pounds. In this memoir, she brings readers along on her journey as she loses half her body weight and learns to love herself again. In this moving account of self-acceptance, Mitchell delves deeply into the emotional relationships we have with food, and how we can all make them a little bit healthier. Inspiring, funny, and feel-good, you’ll fall in love with Mitchell’s honesty.