The Table Comes First: Family, France, and the Meaning of Food Audiobook

" Like a lot of New Yorker writing: smart erudite, full of itself, smug and really terrific. The ping ponging between terrific and annoying is a little exhausting though. In this, Gopnik collects his New yorker pieces on eating and restaurants and adds a few new things. Some of it is just wonderful. His dissapointment that one of his food writing idols was anti-semetic was strong. He speaks well on the changing of taste as well as the history of sweets. Then he just drones on, and name drops and that's a little much. I enjoyed my time with the book, but I am happy I am done "

" I found it to be a quite insightful, enjoyable, and unique insight into the meaning and evolution over the years of cuisine and food tastes. "

" Stopped reading this about halfway through because I found it too painfully slow and boring. "

" I was reading this book while the horsemeat scandal was unfolding. That sharpened my sense of how pretentious Gopnik is, both in the way he writes and in his subject matter. The huge cost of the meals he cooks at home, and of the meals he eats in restaurants, puts them far beyond the means of most of us, yet price is never mentioned. There are some (a few) interesting facts, but I wouldn't want to read anything else by him. "

" Way over my head - his erudition and complex writing style made this an impossible read. Some interesting tidbits tucked in.. "

" come home - that's a familiar phrase. this book takes it to another level. "

" Overly didactic and dry. I really wanted this to be better as I loved his other books. "

" Interesting but more textbook and less memoir than I expected. Thought provoking and packed with fun facts. Gopnik writes as well as ever. "

" Fabulous biography of French food! "

" There are some great chapters in this book, but the letters to Mrs. Pennell drove me crazy. I loved reading about early restaurants, early professional chefs, and even early cookbook authors, though Mrs. Pennell is one. I highly recommend skipping around and reading parts of this book. "

" At its heart a look at the sacredness of the meal. Love the heart, but the peripheral tedious. "

" Wonderful book. Beautifully written. I thoroughly enjoyed it. "

" Interesting view of the world with focus on food, modern trends and culinary history "

" It would have been great as a series of essays instead of trying to be a connected book. Also, very self-absorbed and over-written for long passages. I found myself skimming. "

" Not Gopnik's best. He made even soccer interesting to me in a New Yorker piece, but this was a snooze. "

" Almost gave up as I was not relating, but then he goes on a mission to cook local NYC food! The chicken story alone is worth it. "

" I'm finding this book very dry & boring. Putting it down for now, but maybe I'll try it again some other time. Some of the reviews are really good! It's just not a great book to curl up w/ on a cold winter day. "

" Quick and engaging. Especially enjoyed the historical, cultural aspects mixed with personal story. The table is where it's at. "

" Excellent book - full of provocative thoughts and interesting historical anecdotes. Plenty of food for thought, as always in Gopnik's writing. "

" The weakest of Adam Gopnik's works to date. The writing is less disciplined and is overly anecdotal. But still contains worthwhile information for foodies. "

" PRETENTIOUS with a capital P. Adam Gopnik is so pleased with himself. I enjoyed this for the first few chapters, but by the end I was pretty done. I guess food writing, or rather food writing about writing about food about writing, (way too abstract and theoretical Adam) is not my thing. Next! "

" An idiosyncratic book that certainly appeals to me and my interest in the meaning of why we value time at the table. "