Adam D. Roberts, a.k.a. the Amateur Gourmet, has taken his daily musings from the Web to print with the recently published The Amateur Gourmet: How to Shop, Chop, and Table-Hop Like a Pro (Almost). How old-school. His book is memoir-style, cataloging his trials as a sweet evangelist for good eating. He focuses on family, friends, and community, giving himself a series of challenges such as persuading cohorts to consume olives, coffee, or chopped liver or cooking for people (his family) who don’t like home cooking. Roberts’ voice—like in his blog—is earnest and endearing. You just want him to succeed: You want his friend to score with the sexy chocolate mousse; you want the Korean pal to love chopped liver. You want everyone to win, and love food, and live happily.
The Amateur Gourmet, $16.50
I’ve been reading the Amateur Gourmet for several years now, and keep waiting patiently for him to find a real job. Kudos to his parents for being so patient, and having such deep pockets. Im sure its a real comfort to them knowing that all those years in graduate and law school have produced this slim and entertaining how-to book and I hope he sells a LOT of copies. Im looking forward to Amazon sending me mine.