Food: A Love Story

by Jim Gaffigan

Overview

“What are my qualifications to write this book? None really. So why should you read it? Here’s why: I’m a little fat. If a thin guy were to write about a love of food and eating I’d highly recommend that you do not read his book.”
 
Bacon. McDonalds. Cinnabon. Hot Pockets. Kale. Stand-up comedian and author Jim Gaffigan has made his career rhapsodizing over the most treasured dishes of the American diet (“choking on bacon is like getting murdered by your lover”) and decrying the worst offenders (“kale is the early morning of foods”). Fans flocked to his New York Times bestselling book Dad is Fat to hear him riff on fatherhood but now, in his second book, he will give them what they really crave—hundreds of pages of his thoughts on all things culinary(ish). Insights such as: why he believes coconut water was invented to get people to stop drinking coconut water, why pretzel bread is #3 on his most important inventions of humankind (behind the wheel and the computer), and the answer to the age-old question “which animal is more delicious: the pig, the cow, or the bacon cheeseburger?”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804140416
Publisher:	Crown/Archetype
Publication date:	10/21/2014
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	1,033,149
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

JIM GAFFIGAN is a New York Times bestselling author, comedian, actor, and executive producer of The Jim Gaffigan Show. When he is not eating in airports before flying to some city to eat and do stand-up comedy, he overeats in New York City and also lives there with his five young children and much smarter and thinner wife, Jeannie. 

Read an Excerpt

CURRICULUM VITAE
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Food: A Love Story"
by .
Copyright © 2015 Jim Gaffigan.
Excerpted by permission of Crown/Archetype.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

2014-11-19
Veteran comedian Gaffigan (Dad Is Fat, 2013) once again proves that the surest way to the American funny bone is through a mouthful of cheeseburger and fries, followed by a milkshake chaser.Most love stories are complex affairs, and the author's torrid relationship with pizza and bacon and everything else that is bad for you—but also so darn tasty—is no exception. In his latest book, Gaffigan waxes downright poetic about beef, barbecue, Chinese takeout and a smorgasbord of other gastronomic delights that no overweight man his age and girth can resist. The author's passion for deliciously trashy food manifests itself in a mouthwatering map of the United States that gleefully replaces red and blue states with much more representational porterhouse steaks and ribs. Gaffigan admits to never being hungry because he simply never stops eating—not that he's proud of this potentially tenuous state of affairs, because as the relentlessly self-deprecating wit implies, he is not. It's just that the gifted author is one love-struck schlub who is completely honest about the power his beloved addiction has over his life. For as many dishes as he professes to adore, there appears to be an equal number of food items that he despises. His culinary no-fly list runs the gamut from seafood to American cheese. "What's the difference between anchovies and a sweaty eyebrow?" Gaffigan wonders. "Whenever I see an anchovy I think, Someone has attacked Tom Selleck. Why would you want to put that on a pizza?" The author seasons each carton of comedy goodness with all the right seasonings: a dash of domesticity here and a pinch of zesty dialogue there. In freely exploring his ardor for all things fried, baked and sugary, Gaffigan somehow manages to work "clean" without ever becoming sickeningly saccharine. Laughs served up just right on every page.

Kirkus Reviews

A highly entertaining and opinionated rumination on food.”—Esquire

“Hilarious.”—Food & Wine

“Gaffigan is delightful company, and he has a gift for comedy that is both clever and friendly. This book is a great use of his talents, and thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish—as long as it doesn’t make you too hungry along the way.”—Splitsider

From the Publisher

Comedian, author (DAD IS FAT), and narrator Jim Gaffigan gives an applause-worthy performance of his book, which explores food and his love affair with it. His observations about food are entertaining; he says crustaceans are the bugs of the sea, for example. And his delivery is outstanding. With a slight Southern accent and strong timing, he brings out the ironic hilarity associated with national and international menus and food practices. Gaffigan’s informal narration style fits his affable-sounding personality. He’ll have the listener hooked on his humor before the appetizers arrive, and his serious contemplations will also provide the listener with some food for thought. M.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2015 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2014 - AudioFile