What I'm Reading Now: Bread & Wine

When I heard Shauna Niequist was writing a new book I was instantly excited to get my hands on it and devour her inspiring words. Well the best part about her latest book Bread & Wine* is that you can also devour some of her favorite recipes that are scattered throughout the book (warning: this book will make you hungry). Shauna has an incredible gift of connecting with the reader with her stories that make you feel like you're reading a letter from your best friend. Her intention with writing this book is that you'll read the pages curled up on your couch and then bring it to the kitchen, turning pages, breaking the spine and spilling red wine on it while you chop and play music in your messy kitchen. This is exactly how I found myself reading the book with a pen in my hand highlighting different passages and bookmarking recipes to make.

Since I grew up in Grand Rapids, MI and currently live in Chicago it was really fun to read through references and recipes from each of these two cities I call "home." To be honest I laughed and cried as I was reading the book and came away with a clear understanding of how food not only feeds our body but also our soul. This quote at the end of the book sums it up well, "I want you to gobble life up in huge bites, tasting everything, trying every new flavor, remembering every smell and texture like it's the best thing you've ever had. I want you to live with wild gorgeous abandon, throwing yourself into each day, telling the truth about who you are and who you are not, writing a love song to the world itself and to the God who made every inch of it."

Shauna's other books Cold Tangerines and Bittersweet were life changing books that I still flip through from time to time. The chapter "Twenty-Five" from Bittersweet has always been one of my favorites for this reminder, "Don't get stuck in the past, and don't try to fast-forward yourself into a future you haven't yet earned. Give today all the love and intensity and courage you can, and keep traveling honestly along life's path." I find myself keeping these books close at hand for times when I need a little inspiration, and they make awesome gifts for friends and family members.

Stay tuned tomorrow for my Tasty Tuesday post featuring the Goat Cheese Biscuits from Table Fifty-Two here in Chicago and the Green Well Salad and Gaia Cookies from Grand Rapids that are featured in Bread & Wine.

xoxo

PS

*Bread and Wine will be released April 9, 2013 and is available for pre-order on Amazon.