Food: A Love Story

We really enjoy this comedian as a family.

Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan is a very highly recommended hilarious book about, well, loving food and a culinary tour, of sorts, across the USA.As Gaffigan points out: “What are my qualifications to write this book? None really. So why should you read it? Here’s why: I’m a little fat. If a thin guy were to write about a love of food and eating I’d highly recommend that you do not read his book." Cheeseburgers and bacon are high on the list, for obvious reasons, but that is a starting point for what Gaffigan loves. He makes it quite clear that he loves to eat, eats basically all the time, thinks about food constantly, and is ready to share his informed opinion about what he likes to eat across the USA. The Geography of American Food according to Gaffigan is: Seabugland; Eating BBQland; Super Bowl Sunday Foodland; Mexican Foodland; Wineland; Coffeeland; Food Anxietyland.He also makes it clear in a humorous way what he doesn't enjoy. "Ten years ago nobody ate kale. Then someone (probably a kale farmer or Satan) discovered that kale had some health benefits, and off kale went. Now we are in the middle of a full-fledged kale trend or, as I call it, a kale epidemic." Kale is just one of the foods that are a no-go for him and he is entertaining while he covers what he doesn't like as much as what he likes.This is my first Gaffigan book and I quite enjoyed the clean comedy, the inclusion of his wife and children in the stories, and that it is an entertaining lighthearted book about the foods he loves. Admittedly, I approached reading it with a bit of trepidation after recent not funny political comments from him, but this was written years before that and was great escapism during a trying time. I found myself laughing or chuckling throughout the whole book. I'm going to leave with two quotes: "There are some people who don’t like ketchup. I think they are called losers." and something that needs to be made into one of those inspirational wall plaques, "I mostly eat ice cream at night in sweatpants, the uniform of ice cream eating."

Thought I was getting a good deal but was charged $7 for shipping and it is only a book that can ship media mail. It is not free Prime.The book is hilarious. Highly recommend.

I dared read “Food: a love story” because I very rarely read comedy, and I found myself with a book that is, primarily, an honest approach to the writer’s affair with food and eating. It is not meant to be a mockery of food habits, customs, or desires, but rather a book that, in its passionate comments, guides us through the mind of an eating man, a man that finds joy in eating and also shares this joy with family, friends, and his audience. I find it heartwarming that Jim Gaffigan speaks so candidly and humorously about his family and his Catholic faith in the book, and, while still far from Chesterton, he also jokes with the faith. Always a good sign.

I thought Jim Gaffigan's latest book, FOOD: A LOVE STORY, was often pretty funny, but bear in mind that I don't have cable and had not had the opportunity to hear the jokes before. On TIM HORTON'S: "I'm applying for dual citizenship." WHOLE FOODS: "Our local Whole Foods store even sells T-shirts that have KALE printed on them. I suppose this does help us identify people nobody wants to talk to." SNACKS: "There are Triscuits people, and then there are Wheat Thins people." Some observations: This kind of thing is much funnier when encountered for the first time. In a way, I have a home-court advantage because I never heard Jim Gaffigan speak these sentiments on television. I don't have cable TV, and all I get to hear him talk about are the service improvements from his own cable company. Another remark: Not all these observations are even THAT funny. He does a turn about how miffed he is when waiters introduce themselves by name. Hasn't this been done to death already, say, back to Robert Klein if not earlier?This is a fairly generous book, over 300 pages, but the comedy is a little uneven and I'm pretty sure it doesn't improve upon repetition (something I learned from SEIN LANGUAGE over twenty years ago). If I had heard most of these squibs on cable TV beforehand, I might even be tempted to give FOOD: A LOVE STORY three stars. But, being generous, I'll go with four.

My interest in Jim Gaffigan’s work has followed a strange path. Never very familiar with him as a stand-up comic, I read his book Dad Is Fat because that was a sentence I heard often from my own children. That book turned out to be laugh-out-loud funny, so it’s no surprise that I took a look at his follow-up, Food: A Love Story. Once again, I was impressed by the number of belly-laughs I got out of this book. I do not consider myself particularly funny, which makes my appreciation of those who are that much greater.The other odd thing which struck me again as I was reading this was how similar Mr. Gaffigan and I are (apart from the funny thing). Though we’ve never crossed paths, we tread much of the same ground in NYC, bringing up our kids and trying not to upset our healthy-minded wives too much with our eating habits. Our palates also seem to be equally warped by a meat & potatoes 1970’s Midwestern upbringing. It’s something that stands out in relief as we try to make our way in the Big Apple.In the days since reading Dad Is Fat I have watched a few of Mr. Gaffigan’s performances online so I can better place a voice with the text. It’s certainly not necessary for enjoyment of his books, but it does give reading his work a bit more flavor (a weak pun is the best I can do). I have to say, I’m already looking forward to whatever else he comes up with next.

What's not to love?

Jim's first book was much better.

Hard to read as I was having trouble holding it still due to constant giggling.

This isn’t great writing. In fact it reads more like a blog than a book, but, it is very, very funny. The dry caustic wit reads just like his stand up routine, and in fact I often could visualize shows that I’ve seen him in as I read. I had to give it four stars just because I laughed out loud so often, sometimes until tears streamed. Great entertainment. This book reminded me to lighten up, and that life is meant to be enjoyed whether it be with humour or food. Recommended reading for all ages.

Does as it claims. However, cords like ethernet and VGA which are designed to clip on or screw in do not have a place to anchor so they will pull out with little to no effort. I had to "tie" the ethernet cord on so it did not randomly pull out.