Weekend Eating Reading AND Giveaway–Molly Birnbaum’s Season to Taste

…the Saturday post!

{Last week’s winner is Britt T. “Great review. I would love to win a free copy of Year of Plenty. Count me in!” Congrats, Britt!}

Weekend Eating Reading briefly discusses at least one good book that’s somehow related to ‘joyful eating.’

This week I’m delighted to offer a GIVEAWAY–one free copy of Molly Birnbaum’s Season to Taste! Leave a comment on this post to to enter; comments will be closed on Monday at 8 am EST and I’ll select a winner at random.

Don’t let the chick-lit-style cover fool you! This book is full of science, philosophy, sociology, and some great stories. Molly Birnbaum was an aspiring chef out for a run when a car accident erased her sense of smell. You might assume that she was lucky to lose only that–but you’d be wrong. Turns out, our sense of smell is so much more important than any of us might guess: it plays a big part in how we relate to others, especially romantically (wink, wink) and shapes our experience of the world as much as–or even more than–the other, seemingly more ‘important’ senses, like sight and hearing. This is a fascinating book, one that will give you new appreciation for a sense that you might have forgotten you have; one that will raise your appreciation for the extraordinary wonder of your ordinary senses and, yes, perhaps help you to eat with greater joy.

(Read more about my take on Molly Birnbaum’s book at the Christianity Today women’s blog; Birnbaum tells her own story in the New York Times and on her blog; the New York Times profile of Birnbaum and her book is here.)