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closePC Reads all about food in 'Garlic and Sapphires'
By Avani Nadkarni/of The Herald
When searching for a book for the 2010 Pierce County Reads program, the half-dozen members of the selection committee looked for one whose subject would appeal to both genders, all ages and a variety of demographics.
After reading dozens of books, they found the perfect subject: Food. They chose the memoir, “Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise” by former New York Times restaurant critic Ruth Reichl.
“We really avoid genres, such as romance or western...anything that is so specific that it would appeal to one group,” said Pierce County Library System Communications Director Mary Getchell, who is part of the selection committee. “We want a book that can be received and read by a vast number of people. This book was perfect.”
“Can (people) share about it? Can they talk about it?” Getchell said. “We work with 20-plus community partners and have 50-plus free events (during Pierce County Reads). Can we build themes and events out of the book?”
“Garlic and Sapphires” fit all the criteria, Getchell said. The book, Reichl’s third memoir, tells the tale of her secret life as a food critic who dined undercover at New York City’s top restaurants in elaborate disguises.
“People are so curious about what it’s like to be a food critic,” Reichl explained. “I really felt that what had happened to me as I...put on these costumes was...(I came) to understand myself.”
She hopes the story, while focused on her life, can be universal, she said.
“I had read a lot of books about...women being transformed,” she said. “But it was always from the outside, always something that had happened to them. This was from the inside. You really do have the ability to change yourself.”
Getchell agrees with Reichl’s assessment.
“It is absolutely laugh-out-loud funny,” Getchell explained of the book. “(But) it’s also very insightful...it definitely has that introspective moment.”
To cap off the 10-week, countywide program, Reichl will fly in to give a presentation and book signing at Clover Park Technical College in Lakewood in late March. She has many friends in Washington, she said, so she’s looking forward to visiting.
“And the food is great,” she added.
In the meantime, Pierce County Library System and the Pierce County Reads partners, which include Puyallup Public Library, Sumner Arts Commission and the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, are holding a host of free events, including several discussion groups, presentations on the art of disguise and frugal grocery shopping seminars.
“The program is all about community and bringing people from throughout Pierce County together to enjoy free events, talk and share as a community,” Pierce County Library System Executive Director Neel Parikh said.
In that vein, Emergency Food Network, one of the partners for the program, is asking people who attend the free events, including Reichl’s presentation, to bring non-perishable food items, like baby food, diapers, canned foods and pasta to donate.
Getchell said the book selection committee is already poring over a stack of books to decide the 2011 Pierce County Reads selection and added that they’ll be introducing a new aspect next year: Public voting.
“For next year’s book, we’ll narrow it down to three to five books and have the public vote,” she said. “This is all about the residents of Pierce County.”