If You Can't Take the Heat: Tales of Food, Feminism, and Fury | 
pickThis collection of personal essays by Geraldine DeRuiter, the James Beard award-winning writer of the Everywhereist blog, really grew on me! I knew next-to-nothing about the (audio)book or its author before starting it. At first, I felt that the composition was a little basic and on-the-nose, especially when it came to DeRuiter‘s expression of her intersectional, feminist ideology. But I didn‘t disagree with anything she said! 👇🏻
monalyisha 1/5: Ironically, I think the problem is that we‘d probably really get along & be friends (despite her having MUCH more money than I do; at least she‘s aware of her privilege). In general, her outlook is too similar to mine for her book to feel big enough or different enough to make a lasting impression. 3mo
monalyisha 2/5: Sometimes, I *also* worry that the public impression of me is, “Wow! She really likes her husband.” And, as Deruiter says when a(n uninterested) publisher accuses her of this, “…I…do?” Pair that with “Girl can eat!” and you‘ve got a baseline understanding of my personality. But there‘s more to me (us), okay?! 3mo
monalyisha 3/5: She emotes HARD when she narrates, something of which I am also guilty. Honestly, at times, this was *almost* too much for the medium. When I‘m leading Storytime, I can occasionally tell that there‘s a kiddo who agrees and that I probably need to tone it down, as well. 🙈 3mo
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monalyisha 4/5: She‘s the daughter of Italian immigrants and I am not. She enjoys cooking — and especially baking — and I do not. She‘s well-traveled whereas I can only dream of such a thing. But at our cores, it would seem there‘s a lot of overlap. Sometimes to an annoying degree. 😆 3mo
monalyisha 5/5: I enjoyed her anecdotes and reflections. I liked her as a person. Her writing is witty. She certainly knows more about pasta alle vongole than I do. And sure, my estranged father isn‘t an undercover spy (he‘s a Little Debbie salesman, which, come to think of it, would probably be the perfect cover…). But her relatable narrative didn‘t rock my world. 3mo
monalyisha To be fair, I shouldn‘t have followed “My Broken Language” up with another memoir. Hudes is a hard act to follow! 3mo
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