What are we reading for the holidays?
An unusual festive post. I’m not telling you what you could read or gift, but what I am planning to read for the holidays.
Christmas holidays are my favourite moment of the year for reading. If I have to depict a blissful moment during Christmas time, it would involve an armchair, a book, a piece of dark chocolate, and a roaring wood burning stove. At the end of an intense, challenging year, I decided to gift myself time to read during the holidays, so I started researching the perfect books.
It is quite an unusual festive post, though. I’m not telling you what you should read or gift, but what I am planning to read. Let’s make a long list of unmissable titles!
What I’ll be reading (or re-reading) this month (I’m quite optimistic):
The Little Library Cookbook and The Little Library Year, by Kate Young. I’ve been following Kate Young on Instagram for a while now - you can find her as @bakingfiction - but I had still to put my hands on one of her books. Inspired by a recent issue of Sfoglia, I bought in the twinkling of an eye these two books, and now I’m slowly reading through her recipes, reading suggestions, and seasonal inspiration. I bookmarked a couple of recipes for Christmas, and I’ll let you know how they will turn out.
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, by Agatha Christie (inspired by a recent post by
Sinù Fogarizzu on Dash of Prosecco). Christmastime is for crime stories, and I could not resist this title. It’s a collection of stories, selected by Agatha Christie herself, who loved this time of the year. Yes, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple are there, too.
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, by Samin Nosrat. This is one of those books that once in a while I like to reread. I picked it from my bookshelf as I want to devote these slower months to perfecting some recipes, honing my cooking skills, and understanding better the way ingredients work.
La Scienza delle Verdure, by Dario Bressanini. I chose this book for the same reason I picked Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. I bought it years ago, and it was lingering there, on the shelves, unread. It’s about the science and chemistry of vegetables, how to cut them, cook them, and extract their best flavour.
Il Brodo di Natale in Emilia Romagna, by Irene Fossa e Mattia Fiandaca. This book came totally unexpected, a gift I received while teaching a Food and Recipe Writing workshop in Parma last Sunday. There are recipes, essays and illustrated maps about Emilia Romagna’s traditions, focused on fresh pasta and Christmas stock. Yes, it is just as comforting as it sounds.
Searching for some inspiration? Check these posts:
Christmas-Themed Food and Drink Books, by Nic Miller, on Tales From Topographic Kitchens. She also mentions The Little Library Christmas by Kate Young (I feel like I’ll need this soon, too) and my all-time favourite, Nigel Slater’s The Christmas Chronicles.
Wordloaf Holiday Bread Basket, on Wordloaf. Here you can find many cookbook ideas for the bakers in your family (and essential tools).
Sfoglia la guida ai regali di Natale, by Francesca Romana De Bernardino, who writes Sfoglia. The post is in Italian, but if you can read it, it is a juicy list of books to gift for Christmas, with a couple of unmissable gems, such as Il Brodo di Natale in Emilia Romagna.
What are you reading for the holidays? Which kind of books do you like to pick from the shelves during Christmastime?
P.S. Last week I sent out the latest Q&A for Other People’s pantries with my friend Emanuela Regi, but I made a mess, so probably you didn’t get the chance to read it. Here’s the post:
December Cook Along and Live Chat
We’re going to have so much fun, it will be our Christmas party!
Save the date: on December the 18th we’ll be back with our monthly Cook Along and Live Chat reserved for subscribers (you’ll receive the link for the live events in the next days). We will meet at 9 pm CEST - 3 pm EDT - 12 pm PDT. We’re going to prepare some of the iconic sweets from Siena: Ricciarelli!
Give Letters from Tuscany as a Holiday Gift!
Are you searching for a sustainable and original gift for your loved ones? Don’t look any further! You can gift a subscription to Letters from Tuscany to your friend who wants to learn to cook, or to your daughter who’s missing Italy, or your mum, dad, aunt, brother, grandma… anyone interested in Italian food!
You can schedule your gift to arrive on the date you prefer, and you can even download a gift certificate.
Thank you for sharing my Holiday Guide, Giulia!!
Thank you so much Giulia for tagging me, I just finished reading The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, and Murder on the Orient Express is next...what a delight!
I didn't know Sfoglia, just subscribed :)