Diana Abu-Jaber. Crescent. 2003.

Sirine is an Iraqi-American chef working in a Lebanese restaurant in Los Angeles. She is 39 years old and single. Her parents died when she was young, killed while on an aid mission in Africa. Sirine begins to learn about her father’s culture when she falls in love with Hanif, an Iraqi who escaped Saddam Hussein’s regime but had to leave his family behind. As Hanif struggles to overcome survivor’s guilt and the pull of his beautiful but dangerous home country, Sirine wonders whether she will lose him as she lost her parents so many years ago. Crescent is a lyrical, touching love story with a bit of politics and a lot of cooking mixed in. Sirine’s culinary talents are almost as celebrated by her customers as those of the young cook in Like Water for Chocolate. There are no actual recipes, but descriptions of Middle Eastern dishes will have the reader’s mouth watering. Although this novel lacks the magic realism of Like Water, Abu-Jaber threads an amusing Arabian-style fairy tale throughout the story as told to Sirine by her uncle. A multicultural cast of lively characters adds spice to the story. The style and themes of Crescent make it a good read-alike for those who enjoyed Corelli’s Mandolin, Sophie’s Choice, Chocolat, or Like Water for Chocolate.

Margaret Atwood. The Edible Woman. 1970.

When Marian agrees to marry Peter, her mind denies her discontent but her body does not: identifying herself, subconsciously, as Peter's object of consumption, she becomes increasingly unable to eat. What alternative to the marriage does Marian have? Continued drudgery with the "office virgins" who work for Seymour Surveys, analyzing the motives behind commercial consumption? Dalliance with Duncan, an eccentric, cadaverously thin graduate student who does not claim to love her but strangely attracts her? Despite her limited options, Marian achieves a happiness of sorts, in a cake-eating conclusion that is the novel's only celebration of food. The Edible Woman has a comic satiric style evocative of Charles Dickens, Muriel Sparks, and Lewis Carroll. Outrageous characters, such as Marian's roommate, who coolly seduces a new acquaintance after deciding she wants a baby, and surreal descriptions (a pregnant friend looks like "a boa constrictor that has swallowed a watermelon") give the novel's world a weird, dream-like glaze.

Mireille Guiliano. French Women Don't Get Fat. 2005.

French women can eat bread and chocolate, three meals a day and a three course dinner with dessert and wine and not get fat. This is because they follow common French logic of quality over quantity, moderation in all things and compensation. They prefer a small portion of bitter Swiss chocolate to a Snickers bar, they eat small portions and they reduce calories in the next meal if the current meal is too caloric. American women can also accomplish these habits with the help of this book that includes recipes. American women will learn to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables to drink lots more water, to drink wine with food and to walk twenty minutes daily.

Judith Jones. The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food. 2007.

A memoir by Judith Jones, now in her 80's and a Senior Vice-President at Knopf. She helped discover Julia Childs and Marcella Hazan, among others, and was mentored by James Beard. Recipes are included, of course.

Barbara Kingsolver. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. 2007.

This book chronicles the year that Kingsolver, along with her husband and two daughters, made a commitment to become locavores - those who eat only locally grown foods. Each chapter focuses on an aspect of our food culture, and where it has gone awry as well as on the adventures that the family was having in rural Virginia as they raised, grew, and foraged for what they put on the table. With growing concerns over obesity in America, she makes the argument that it is well past time to return to our roots (literally and figuratively), to eat whole foods at the peak of freshness, locally grown and in season. But the book is more than a lecture about sustainability and health--it is also a celebration of the joys of gardening and really good food. Barbara's eldest daughter, Camille, ends each chapter with an essay of her own, which includes a recipe or two. Yum!

Nicole Mones. The Last Chinese Chef. 2007.

A widowed American food writer needs to travel to China to investigate a surprise paternity claim on her late husband's estate that luckily coincides with her editor's desire for her to profile the rising Chinese culinary star, Sam Liang. Guided by a book his grandfather wrote called "The Last Chinese Chef," Sam is participating in an audition for the Chinese national cooking team. Mystery, suspense and romance spice up this engrossing novel already filled with tantalizing descriptions of Chinese, not Chinese-American, food.

Michael Pollan. The Omnivore's Dilemma. 2006.

Michael Pollan explores what we eat and the question of how to decide what to eat as he traces the history of four meals he has eaten: a fast food meal from McDonald’s, with its roots in our farm policy and particularly corn; an “industrial organic” meal cooked from ingredients bought at chain health food supermarkets such as Whole Foods; a “beyond organic” meal cooked with ingredients from small local farms; and finally a meal made from ingredients (including a wild pig and wild mushrooms) hunted and gathered by himself. The purpose of his exploration is to help us understand the pathways food take from production to our tables and to make us think more deeply about our food and how our choices affect these larger systems of production.

Julie Powell. Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen. 2005.

Julie Powell is 30 years old, living in a tiny apartment in Queens with her husband, and working at a temp job that is taking her nowhere. She decides to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child's 1961 classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking, in the span of one year and blog about it. Thinking it will be easy, but finding it otherwise, she takes us through some funny and endearing exploits as she tries to accomplish her goal. The book reads like fiction and keeps one entertained until the end.

Eric Schlosser. Fast Food Nation. 2001.

Where you eat has revolutionized the food industry and food sources more than what you eat. The trickle down effect has been more of a flood as food industries bought up farms, ranches and anything that would speed up production, increase profits and grant them control of food standards and safety. Mr. Schlosser provides an overview of a time when convenience, speed and corporate demands changed the way and methods of the food industry creating today's food chain for consumers and industry. The McFranchising of America or how corporations which utilize the majority of food in this country impacts "what" you eat.

Morgan Spurlock. Don't Eat This Book: Fast Food and the Supersizing of America . 2007.

The author takes a look at American society by studying their eating habits, school lunch programs, fast food joints, the sharp decline in physical education in schools and rising obesity, blood pressure and diabetes in children and adults. In the past thirty years he shows how we've changed to a nation of "all you can eat buffets," super jumbo value" packs of candy, hot dog eating contests and fast food counters selling us double, triple and supersized burgers, fries, and soda for just "a few pennies more". To prove his point, he goes on a diet of nothing but McDonald's food for thirty days. He begins his diet by examinations by three different doctors and a dietician. His weight was 185, everything normal, blood pressure excellent along with liver function and general health. During the thirty days he began having bad headaches and pimples on his face. He started feeling lethargic after lunch when he went back to work and had trouble focusing. By the middle of the month, he was experiencing radical mood swings where he'd feel great right after eating, then an hour later "crash." He began thinking how long until his next meal so he could feel the upswing again. At the end of 30 days, his weight had reached 210, gaining 24 pounds in 30 days (13% of his body weight). He was getting nearly double the calories he needed, 180% of the carbohydrates, 1 ½ times the protein, and twice the fat. 450 grams of sugar was ingested each day, 84 grams of fat (230% more than he should have). His cholesterol went from 165, up 65 points to 230, the bad cholesterol shooting up significantly. The scariest statistics were recorded from his liver tests which showed his liver was inflamed and he was showing signs of liver disease called cirrhosis. There are many facts and figures throughout this book examining not only American eating habits, but the growth in the fast food industry and the declining health of Americans.