You Devoured the Great British Bake Off

Want to recognize Veterans Day or are looking for page-turner

Hi friends,

Hope you had a nice weekend. Last week, I finished two more sequels: The Secret of Secrets, Dan Brown’s latest novel about symbologist Robert Langdon, and the latest installment of Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache/Three Pines series, The Black Wolf. The Secret of Secrets was … fine and while I enjoyed The Black Wolf, I really hope Penny goes back to more classic whodunnits instead of geopolitical thrillers. But, I don’t see myself leaving Three Pines anytime soon.

And, now, what to read if …

You Devoured¹ the Latest Season of Great British Bake Off

All Consuming by Ruby Tandoh

I am behind on Bakeoff (and have somehow managed not to be spoiled yet, so please don’t ruin it!), but the winner of everyone’s favorite cozy competition show was crowned last week. If you’re craving more British culinary goodness, check out All Consuming by Ruby Tandoh, a former Bakeoff contestant.

All Consuming attempts to explain why we eat the foods we do, exploring how food trends start, take off and fade out. I think of it as Meryl Streep’s famous cerulean sweater monologue from “Devil Wears Prada,” where she explains how a handful of fashion insiders dictate even what the least stylish of us wear. Tandoh applies a similar lens to things like boba tea, ice cream novelties and wellness drinks, while also documenting the history of cookbooks and the rise of the TikTok food critic.

I had a lot of fun with All Consuming. Tandoh is a knowledgeable and entertaining guide to the food world. I love that she takes fast food as seriously as she does fine dining, showing that both tell us about culture and the world we live in. Consider listening to it while doing your pre-Thanksgiving grocery shop.

You Want to Recognize Veterans Day

In Memoriam by Alice Winn

Veterans Day, known as Remembrance Day in Europe, occurs Tuesday, 107 years after World War I ended. In recognition, I wanted to highlight Alice Winn’s In Memoriam, a searing WWI novel that has stayed with me, again.

When I saw my book club was reading In Memoriam for our May 2024 meeting, I was hesitant. I don’t typically read war books, and nearly 400 pages on the horrors of trench warfare sounded like a lot. I ended up captivated by it, finishing days sooner than I expected, and found reading it in the days leading up to Memorial Day surprisingly moving. It was a stark reminder that the holiday isn’t just the unofficial start of the summer season or an excuse for a three-day weekend, but a day to honor military members who died while serving.

As In Memoriam opens in 1914, Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood are safely ensconced at their posh British boarding schools, each focused on hiding their feelings for the other one, not the violence at the front. That changes when the half-German Gaunt enlists, after his mother and sister say it will protect them from rising anti-German sentiment. He hopes the time away from Ellwood will help him to move on, but his friend — and their classmates — follow him to the front, where death is a daily occurrence.

In Memoriam is a stunning debut. I cannot believe it’s Alice Winn’s first book. She does not shy away from depicting the horrors of trench warfare, yet the love story and some genuinely funny scenes give it a “certain lightness,” as Elizabeth Harris wrote in the New York Times. I’ll be thinking about this book and Gaunt and Ellwood for a long time

You’re Ready to Stay Up All Night

You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott

I downloaded the audiobook of You Will Know Me on a whim after seeing it available in Libby and ended up so engrossed I borrowed a print copy as well, so I could finish it faster. Meaning, if you’re looking for something addictive, put this one at the top of your list.

You Will Know Me follows Katie Knox, the mother of gymnastics prodigy Devon. Katie and her husband, Eric, have built their lives around ensuring Devon makes the Olympic team — and then wins gold. Katie takes on graphic design freelance work from the training center, they spend their weekends crisscrossing the country for tournaments and have mortgaged their house to pay for Devon’s elite training. Devon and her parents by extension are the stars of the local gymnastics scene, until a tragic death fractures the tight-knit community.

As rumors swirl around the gym and her daughter becomes increasingly on edge, Katie finds herself obsessed with the crime. As she grows closer to the truth, she discovers dangerous secrets in the community, her marriage and her daughter’s life — and is ultimately forced to consider if there’s anything she wouldn’t give up to achieve Devon’s Olympic dreams.

You Will Know Me proves — again — that Megan Abbott is the queen of taut thrillers about the secret lives of teenage girls. I stayed up far past my (admittedly early) bedtime to finish this one and was stressed reading it even as I guessed the ending. It grows tenser with each page, making a suburban home and an elite gymnastics facility feel like minefields.

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1. Pun very much intended.