Fans pick 100 books like The Coincidence of Coconut Cake

By Amy E Reichert,

Here are 100 books that The Coincidence of Coconut Cake fans have personally recommended if you like The Coincidence of Coconut Cake. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of A Proposal They Can't Refuse

Delise Torres Author Of One Tough Cookie

From my list on foodie businesses that will leave you hungry.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a food scientist, I’ve always been interested in the processing of food and developing new recipes. Foodie fiction can take us into that process, showing us the behind-the-scenes of what it takes to run a foodie business and how to create dishes that people will love, even if you can only taste them through your imagination. And food and books just go together! Or am I the only one reading while eating?

Delise's book list on foodie businesses that will leave you hungry

Delise Torres Why did Delise love this book?

This is a cute rom-com featuring unique characters, food, and nosy families. Being Puerto Rican, I gravitated immediately to the Puerto Rican flag on the cover.

I loved everything about it: the characters (especially the abuelos), the setting of the Puerto Rican restaurant and the whiskey distillery, the Spanish sprinkled every now and then, and the plot.

I was rooting for Kamilah and Liam to fulfill their career goals and fall in love. I loved that both Kamilah and Liam are flawed and need to grow in order to achieve their goals and have a mature romantic relationship. 

By Natalie Caña,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked A Proposal They Can't Refuse as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Utterly charming… A Proposal They Can't Refuse is a surefire winner!” —Mia Sosa, USA Today bestselling author of The Worst Best Man

Natalie Caña turns up the heat, humor and heart in this debut rom-com about a Puerto Rican chef and an Irish American whiskey distiller forced into a fake engagement by their scheming octogenarian grandfathers.

Kamilah Vega is desperate to convince her family to update their Puerto Rican restaurant and enter it into the Fall Foodie Tour. With the gentrification of their Chicago neighborhood, it's the only way to save the place. The fly in her mofongo—her blackmailing abuelo…


Book cover of How to Eat A Cupcake

Delise Torres Author Of One Tough Cookie

From my list on foodie businesses that will leave you hungry.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a food scientist, I’ve always been interested in the processing of food and developing new recipes. Foodie fiction can take us into that process, showing us the behind-the-scenes of what it takes to run a foodie business and how to create dishes that people will love, even if you can only taste them through your imagination. And food and books just go together! Or am I the only one reading while eating?

Delise's book list on foodie businesses that will leave you hungry

Delise Torres Why did Delise love this book?

This is a cute story about friendship, family, and food.

Annie and Julie are childhood best friends who reconnect in adulthood and decide to start a cupcakery called Treat. I loved reading about the start of their business and the descriptions of the cupcakes. I also loved how the title was applied to the story in that each character ate cupcakes differently, which revealed an aspect of their personalities.

Both main characters were well-developed, and I enjoyed seeing how they dealt with their problems and how their perspectives changed over time. 

By Meg Donohue,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How to Eat A Cupcake as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"A sparkling, witty story about an unlikely, yet redemptive, friendship....Grab one of these for your best friend and read it together--preferably with a plate of Meyer Lemon cupcakes nearby."
--Katie Crouch, bestselling author of Girls in Trucks and Men and Dogs
"Beautifully written and quietly wise, Meg Donohue's How to Eat a Cupcake is an achingly honest portrayal of the many layers of friendship--a story so vividly told, you can (almost) taste the buttercream." (Sarah Jio, bestselling author of The Violets of March and The Bungalow )

Author Meg Donohue has cooked up an absolutely scrumptious debut novel, How to…


Book cover of The Chicken Sisters

Michelle Stimpson Author Of Sisters with a Side of Greens

From my list on tumultuous relationships between siblings.

Why am I passionate about this?

My mom says I always had my head in a book. In fact, I got in trouble once for reading a questionable book while sitting in the choir stand at church. I’ve always been a reluctant rule-follower. Reading allowed me to explore worlds that I wasn’t allowed to talk about, let alone visit. Even now, as an adult, my life is pretty boring. But the books I read and the stories I write—that’s where it all goes down, baby!

Michelle's book list on tumultuous relationships between siblings

Michelle Stimpson Why did Michelle love this book?

This was a feel-good read about a 3-generation rivalry between two sisters in a small town involving fried chicken. (You cannot go wrong with southern food in a novel, I’m just saying.)

What I thoroughly enjoyed about this book was how the plot got thicker and thicker, revealing the backstory throughout the story in a way that made me #TeamAmanda one minute and #TeamMae the next. I like digging deep into a character’s life, and this one did so in a way that made me sympathetic to both sisters, rooting for their reunion until the very end.

I’m trying my best not to give away the ending…suffice it to say; it helped me reframe my thinking around getting to the heart of a long feud that started before you even got here.

By KJ Dell'Antonia,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Chicken Sisters as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK

"A charming, hilarious, feel-good story about the kind of bonds & rivalries only sisters can share. Also, a great present for your sister for the holidays!!"--Reese Witherspoon

Three generations. Two chicken shacks. One recipe for disaster.

In tiny Merinac, Kansas, Chicken Mimi's and Chicken Frannie's have spent a century vying to serve up the best fried chicken in the state--and the legendary feud between their respective owners, the Moores and the Pogociellos, has lasted just as long. No one feels the impact more than thirty-five-year-old widow Amanda Moore, who grew…


Book cover of So We Meet Again

Delise Torres Author Of One Tough Cookie

From my list on foodie businesses that will leave you hungry.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a food scientist, I’ve always been interested in the processing of food and developing new recipes. Foodie fiction can take us into that process, showing us the behind-the-scenes of what it takes to run a foodie business and how to create dishes that people will love, even if you can only taste them through your imagination. And food and books just go together! Or am I the only one reading while eating?

Delise's book list on foodie businesses that will leave you hungry

Delise Torres Why did Delise love this book?

This is a humorous story about starting over, family, and having the courage to take risks.

Jessie starts a business creating meal kit supplements inspired by her Korean heritage. I loved the originality of this business, which combines not only food prep but technology since Jessie uses YouTube cooking videos to promote her business.

Lucky for me, my husband has become an expert in Korean cooking, and I was familiar with some of the dishes described. I, of course, had him cook Korean food while I was reading this book. The author also includes a recipe that I can’t wait to try.

By Suzanne Park,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked So We Meet Again as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

As seen on The Today Show! One of the best fall reads!

"A cinematic, charming heart-squeeze-of-a-book that has found its way to my Ultimate Comfort Reads shelf." -Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author

From the author of the "genuinely funny" and "delightful" Loathe at First Sight (NPR), a young Korean American woman's journey to finding a new career and new love means learning to embrace the awkward and unexpected-exploring familial expectations, finding your voice, and unimaginably falling for your childhood rival.

When investment banker Jessie Kim is laid off in a virtual meeting and then overhears why ("she's…


Book cover of Hungry: Eating, Road-Tripping, and Risking It All with the Greatest Chef in the World

Emmanuel Laroche Author Of Conversations Behind the Kitchen Door: 50 American Chefs Chart Today’s Food Culture

From my list on food lovers and anyone passionate about food culture.

Why am I passionate about this?

The passion I have for food was born during my childhood in France when I learned how to cook and bake with my mother, and it never faded away. I still continue to explore, and I have the chance to participate in more than sixty tastings a year. When traveling, I always prepare my trips by searching the web for unique restaurants, coffee roasters, breweries, and local bakeries. When I interview culinary leaders, I am curious about their innovation and their creative process. Chef Elizabeth Falkner wrote in my book foreword, “Emmanuel genuinely seems like he is trying to solve a puzzle, which is why his book is an important piece of writing.”

Emmanuel's book list on food lovers and anyone passionate about food culture

Emmanuel Laroche Why did Emmanuel love this book?

Chef Rene Redzepi from the three-Michelin star restaurant Noma in Copenhagen is internationally recognized for his unique reinterpretation of Scandinavian cuisine and for using locally sourced ingredients. Redzepi also focuses on fermentation and experimenting with using as much of the plants, meat, and fish as possible. Jeff Gordiner spent four years spent traveling with René Redzepi and Hungry takes us along on their journey from Mexico to Australia, to Norway, and Denmark, and offers a glimpse into the mind of this amazing and complex chef who has changed the way we look at fine dining. This is a must-read to better understand the creative process in modern restaurant culture.

By Jeff Gordinier,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hungry as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A food critic chronicles four years spent traveling with René Redzepi, the renowned chef of Noma, in search of the most tantalizing flavors the world has to offer.
 
“If you want to understand modern restaurant culture, you need to read this book.”—Ruth Reichl, author of Save Me the Plums
 
Hungry is a book about not only the hunger for food, but for risk, for reinvention, for creative breakthroughs, and for connection. Feeling stuck in his work and home life, writer Jeff Gordinier happened into a fateful meeting with Danish chef René Redzepi, whose restaurant, Noma, has been called the best…


Book cover of Taste: My Life Through Food

Arlene S. Bice Author Of Running with the Horses: A Memoir of Travel, Racetracks, & Foods

From my list on memoirs and personal stories that capture something special.

Why am I passionate about this?

I firmly believe we each have a unique story to tell, to record in order to help others and to record a history. I love the ordinary person who lives an extraordinary life. So many people don’t realize how wonderful they are. It is also cathartic to write your story, in doing so you forgive others as you forgive yourself for decisions poorly made.

Arlene's book list on memoirs and personal stories that capture something special

Arlene S. Bice Why did Arlene love this book?

Stanley Tucci makes this book personal. He connects to any reader that loves the world of cooking and entertaining friends at his table and who loves to travel, too. He takes the reader into his personal life, not just memories of his good times, but his errors, too. He’s honest. He’s intriguing, letting you know who he truly is. He loves his life, all of it, and he passes that love onto you.

By Stanley Tucci,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Taste as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

A Guardian book of the year
A Times book of the year
A Daily Mail book of the year

From award-winning actor and food obsessive Stanley Tucci comes an intimate and charming memoir of life in and out of the kitchen. For Stanley and foodie fans, this is the perfect, irresistible gift.

'It's impossible to read this without becoming ravenous!' -- Nigella Lawson

'It is as infectious as it is delicious, as funny as it is insightful. The only reason to put this book down, is to go cook and eat from it' -- Heston…


Book cover of Long Ago in France: The Years in Dijon

Sharon Farmer Author Of Surviving Poverty in Medieval Paris: Gender, Ideology, and the Daily Lives of the Poor

From my list on the culture of France and medieval modern poverty.

Why am I passionate about this?

I started out as a religion major in college, but soon became frustrated with the abstract thoughts of privileged white males. I wanted to understand the passions and struggles of ordinary people, and soon became convinced that the examination of the distant past sheds important light on the present. It’s not that I don’t care about the world around me right now. Rather, I am convinced that those who look only at this decade, this century, or even the last century fail to recognize some of the most powerful cultural forces that have shaped our most fundamental understandings of gender, wealth, poverty, work, and so much more.

Sharon's book list on the culture of France and medieval modern poverty

Sharon Farmer Why did Sharon love this book?

Looking back across six decades, MFK Fisher, one of the most astute and evocative travel and gastronomical authors ever to put pen to paper, recalls the year when everything for her was new: France, Europe, marriage, food, culture. Based in provincial Dijon, Mary studied French, shopped in the open markets, learned to cook, and jotted down astute observations concerning everyone she met, while her husband wrote his dissertation. My first encounter with Tours, in 1979, reminds me of Fisher’s encounter with Dijon in 1929. Like her, I was warmed by the joy of discovery, the sense that every stone and leaf, every living thing that I encountered had layers upon layers of meaning, and it was my job to uncover some of them, revealing meanings that no one had seen before. 

By M.F.K. Fisher,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Long Ago in France as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 1929, Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher arrived in Dijon, the provincial capital of Burgundy and the gastronomical capital of France, there to be initiated into the ways of love and life.

Long Ago in France is Fisher's exquisitely evocative, deliciously candid memoir of her three-year stay in Dijon. It is a delightful journey backward - in the grandest of company - into a voluptuous, genteel world that has vanished forever.


Book cover of Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir

Emmanuel Laroche Author Of Conversations Behind the Kitchen Door: 50 American Chefs Chart Today’s Food Culture

From my list on food lovers and anyone passionate about food culture.

Why am I passionate about this?

The passion I have for food was born during my childhood in France when I learned how to cook and bake with my mother, and it never faded away. I still continue to explore, and I have the chance to participate in more than sixty tastings a year. When traveling, I always prepare my trips by searching the web for unique restaurants, coffee roasters, breweries, and local bakeries. When I interview culinary leaders, I am curious about their innovation and their creative process. Chef Elizabeth Falkner wrote in my book foreword, “Emmanuel genuinely seems like he is trying to solve a puzzle, which is why his book is an important piece of writing.”

Emmanuel's book list on food lovers and anyone passionate about food culture

Emmanuel Laroche Why did Emmanuel love this book?

I love Ruth Reichl's writing style. I read through this book like tasting a fine wine, one phrase at a time. I picked up a copy at a tiny bookstore on Cape Cod, when I was writing my own book. I loved Reichl’s way of telling stories. Her book is the story of the behind-the-scenes look at the famous Gourmet magazine and its transformation into a cutting-edge publication under Reichl’s leadership. Reichl was the restaurant critic for The New York Times when Conde Nast recruited her to be the editor-in-chief of Gourmet. In her book, Reichl shares vivid anecdotes of people she’s encountered during the golden age of magazine publishing before the internet turned the magazine world upside down. A must for any food lover.

By Ruth Reichl,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Save Me the Plums as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Trailblazing food writer and beloved restaurant critic Ruth Reichl took the job (and the risk) of a lifetime when she entered the high-stakes world of magazine publishing. Now, for the first time, she chronicles her groundbreaking tenure as editor in chief of Gourmet.

“A must for any food lover . . . Reichl is a warm, intimate writer. She peels back the curtain to a glamorous time of magazine-making. You’ll tear through this memoir.”—Refinery29

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Real Simple • Good Housekeeping • Town & Country

When Condé…


Book cover of Hungry

Dawn Goodwin Author Of When We Were Young

From my list on escapism on a rainy Autumn evening.

Why am I passionate about this?

I may be a writer of psychological dramas, but I am first and foremost an avid reader who is addicted to books. My go-to genre is the psychological thriller, but I also love any books that use light and shade, balancing humour and darkness, inverting stereotypes, and generally keeping me guessing on plot twists and turns. All of the books I have recommended would keep you warm and cosy – and certainly distracted – on an autumnal evening when the nights are long and cold. 

Dawn's book list on escapism on a rainy Autumn evening

Dawn Goodwin Why did Dawn love this book?

This is a memoir that took me straight back to those beige culinary days of my Geordie upbringing, when the best thing about Autumn was rice pudding and the comfort food of the eighties. Grace writes with charm and wit, interspersing her career highs and lows with some wonderfully warm moments of nostalgia. Very moving and will make you reach for a can of Heinz tomato soup.

By Grace Dent,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hungry as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

WINNER OF THE FORTNUM & MASON DEBUT FOOD BOOK AWARD 2021
WINNER OF 2021 LAKELAND BOOK OF THE YEAR

'Extraordinary. Vivid, irreverent, heartbreaking.' NIGEL SLATER

'So funny and so delicious. I could eat it.' DAWN O'PORTER

'Delicious.' THE OBSERVER

From an early age, Grace Dent was hungry. As a little girl growing up in Currock, Carlisle, she yearned to be something bigger, to go somewhere better.

Hungry traces her story from growing up eating beige food to becoming one of Britain's best-loved food writers. It's also everyone's story - from cheese and pineapple hedgehogs and treats with your nan, to…


Book cover of Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise

Ma Thanegi Author Of Nor Iron Bars a Cage

From my list on a combination of personalities, travel, and food.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a painter and a writer from Myanmar. The former profession is what I chose when I was 15 and began at 21, featured in a group exhibition of modern art and the only woman among several men. Since then I have exhibited in several group shows and have had seven solos. In the early 2000s by chance - and financial need - I became the Contributing Editor for the Myanmar Times weekly and a travel magazine until they closed down. Since then I have written around 20 books on food, culture, and travels and it kept me so busy that my art was put on hoId, but I hope to resume one day soon.

Ma's book list on a combination of personalities, travel, and food

Ma Thanegi Why did Ma love this book?

Among the many genres of literature that I enjoy from Harry Potter to The Brothers Karamazov, I like best those that are about food and people with vibrant personalities. This book hits the jackpot: its all about haute cuisine of mouth-watering fusion of tastes with elegant plating and, the best of it, the glamorous and sexy or quirky or snooty individuals enjoying an excellent. .... or not....meal. The author already has one bombshell of a personality and the many identities she assumed to remain incognito in her job as a food critic for the New York Times all came alive. I wish I could have been right at their table.

By Ruth Reichl,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Garlic and Sapphires as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Author of Save Me the Plums Ruth Reichl’s iconic, bestselling memoir of her time as an undercover restaurant critic for The New York Times

"Expansive and funny." —Entertainment Weekly

Ruth Reichl, world-renowned food critic and former editor in chief of Gourmet magazine, knows a thing or two about food. She also knows that as the most important food critic in the country, you need to be anonymous when reviewing some of the most high-profile establishments in the biggest restaurant town in the world—a charge she took very seriously, taking on the guise of a series of eccentric personalities. In Garlic…


Book cover of A Proposal They Can't Refuse
Book cover of How to Eat A Cupcake
Book cover of The Chicken Sisters

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