London Libraries Recommend...An Appetite for Reading is a selection of around 50 titles chosen and reviewed by the capital's librarians. The recommendations deliberately avoid pure recipe books but amongst the stories and memoirs you will find some ideas to get you cooking too.
Below are books that tell the tales of the origins of our food - from the history of fish through to fast food.
The selections includes books which are available in accessible formats on revealweb (i.e. large print, talking books or Braille) and these are indicated with 
Check out more Appetite for Reading titles:
fictionTo find the book in your local library click on the ISBN below and for a printable version of the full list click here»
Arabesque: a taste of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon - Claudia Roden
ISBN: 071814581X
Not just a recipe book but insights into the culture beyond the kitchen from a knowledgeable and entertaining writer.
Country of origin: Morocco
Bad food Britain: how a nation ruined its appetitie - Joanna Blythman
ISBN: 0007219946
It's interesting to see the difference between some Britons attitudes to food and food shopping compared to other cultures and in this book the author lobbies for a return to home cooking with fresh ingredients
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Bread and oil: Majorcan culture's last stand - Tomas Graves
ISBN: 1904943527
Translation of writer Robert Graves' grandson's part travelogue, part recipe book of the food and history of the Balearic island of Majorca.
Country of origin: Spain
Bread matters - Andrew Whitley
ISBN: 0007203748
Organic baker Andrew Whitley offers an investigation into mass produced bread with alternative recipes for home baking
Country of origin: United Kingdom
British food - an extraordinary thousand years history - Colin Spencer
ISBN: 1904010709
A culinary history of the British Isles by a well-known food writer
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Chew on this - Eric Schlosser
ISBN: 0141318449
Based on Eric Schlosser's best seller: Fast food nation, this book examines the role of the modern food industry in America
Country of origin: United States
Cod - Mark Kurlansky
ISBN: 0099268701
Beautifully written, this book bought me back to 'non - fiction' reading when I picked it up - fascinated by the notion of anything interesting being written about a large wet grey fish - especially one as unglamorous as the cod. Infact, they are rather beautiful, as the reader will discover. The destructiveness of our collective appetite is interwoven with the histories of such diverse peoples as the Basques and the Vikings. There are recipes too - but sadly, very few cod left to fish. It is an inspiring, sad and informative little book - with a great cover!
-- CamdenCountry of origin: other
The Devil's picnic: tour of everything the governments of the world don't want you to try - Taras Gescoe
ISBN: 1403045817
Never in history have we seemed to have such global freedom, such an opportunity to indulge our wildest tastes. We think we live in a time of unprecedented choice. But as Taras Grescoe discovers, this is just an illusion. In this witty expose, our intrepid author goes in search of the things that the rulers of the world will punish you for trying - all the time asking the question: why in ostensibly free states should we be criminalized for behaviour that concerns no one but ourselves? In a travelogue that takes in Swiss absinthe, Cuban cigars, Bolivian coca tea and stinking French cheese, Taras Grescoe drinks, smokes and eats his way to finding out. Fun, philosophical, and unafraid of the big questions, this is a journey for free-thinkers, not the faint-hearted. As insightful and outraged as "Fast Food Nation" and as funny and astute as "Dude, Where's My Country" , "The Devil's Picnic" is a feast for anyone who has ever made a stand for personal liberty.
-- EalingCountry of origin: other
ISBN: 0953522733
A charming story of a Sussex farmer who relocates to a remote corner of Southern Spain - it's an amusing series of misadventures with peasant farmers, new age travellers and ex-pats as he struggles to make a success of a life growing olives, almonds and lemons. A highly acclaimed book looking at food from the grower's perspective
-- Bromley
A charming story of a Sussex farmer who relocates to a remote corner of Southern Spain - it's an amusing series of misadventures with peasant farmers, new age travellers and ex-pats as he struggles to make a success of a life growing olives, almonds and lemons. A highly acclaimed book looking at food from the grower's perspective
-- BromleyCountry of origin: Spain
Eating up Italy: voyages on a Vespa - Matthew Fort
ISBN: 0007214812
A scooter trip through the Italian peninsular exploring variations in regional gastronomy and culinary culture
-- Tower Hamlets
A scooter trip through the Italian peninsular exploring variations in regional gastronomy and culinary culture
-- Tower HamletsCountry of origin: Italy
The End of the line: how overfishing is changing the world - Charles Clover
ISBN: 0091897815
Country of origin: other
Fish, flesh & good red herring: a gallimaufry - Alice Ellis Thomas
ISBN: 1844080862
A veritable feast of culinary customs, recipes and eating habits from past to present. The fates that befell the cooks to Henry VIII and Ivan the Terrible make Gordon Ramsey look benign! A literary hors d'oeuvre to dip into.
-- KingstonCountry of origin: other
French leave - John Burton Race
ISBN: 0091898307
The chef who prepared my all-time favourite meal (and at the time, the most expensive) at his restaurant, L'Ortolan, came up with a winner in this book/TV series. The combination of cookery and narrative of his time in France, appeal and the recipes are surprisingly good and reasonably easy to prepare. Book of an excellent series on Channel 4, which many people will have enjoyed and want to pick up more in the book
-- WandsworthCountry of origin: France
ISBN: 0718149084
Two Northern bikers set off on a culinary journey then write about it
-- Brent
Two Northern bikers set off on a culinary journey then write about it
-- Brent
Dave and Si - a couple of northern bikers and food lovers - travel the world in search of culinary delights. They ride across Namibia, Transylvania and Vietnam, to name just a few, collecting anecdotes, recipes and cooking tips - anyone for crocodile kebabs with cashew nut satay? More than just a recipe book, this is the story of real men, not afraid to catch their own food, and then prepare and cook it, at the side of the road, on a boat or a beach.
-- BexleyCountry of origin: United Kingdom
Honey from a weed - Patience Gray
ISBN: 190301820X
The author's experience of the food and culture of countries she lived in, including Spain, Greece and Italy
-- Tower Hamlets
The author's experience of the food and culture of countries she lived in, including Spain, Greece and Italy
-- Tower HamletsCountry of origin: Greece
ISBN: 0747572496
A personal journey intto the mysteries of hunger and addiction - a story of food, fat and addiction which will change the way you look at food forever.
-- RichmondCountry of origin: United Kingdom
In the Devil's garden - Stewart Lee Allen
ISBN: 1841954055
From the forbidden fruit of the Old Testament to the numerous laws broken at Francois Mitterand's final meal, In the Devil's Garden is a mouth-watering history of food taboos from around the world - a smorgasbord of culinary titbits to spice up any after-dinner conversation. In a history peppered with religious extremists who would rather starve to death than violate ancient taboos - and in an age when half the world's population - from cow-loving Hindus to Kosher Jews and Western vegetarians - still live with harsh dietary restrictions, Allen reveals just how significant, and pervasive, our relationship with food is.
-- BrentCountry of origin: other
Jane Grigson's fruit book - Jane Grigson
ISBN: 0140469982
Lovely recipes and interesting to read. Links together food and recipes - an excellent book to dip into
-- Hammersmith and FulhamCountry of origin: United Kingdom
The Man who ate everything - Jeffrey Steingarten
ISBN: 0755315200
The author is an American lawyer turned food writer. The book tells the story of his adventures around the world with food; such as persuading himself to eat foods he doesn’t like, the search for the ultimate mashed potato and how waiters really operate. This is a very funny book which will make you question what you eat and make you hungry!
-- Croydon
The author is an American lawyer turned food writer. The book tells the story of his adventures around the world with food; such as persuading himself to eat foods he doesn’t like, the search for the ultimate mashed potato and how waiters really operate. This is a very funny book which will make you question what you eat and make you hungry!
-- Croydon
The craziest, most obsessive writer on food, witty, extreme, bonkers! This man will do anything in his quest for the perfect dish.
-- EnfieldCountry of origin: other
ISBN: 0340766050
More than the account of an extended pub crawl, Pete McCarthy writes with humour of his travels in Ireland where he decided to visit every bar which shared his family name
More than the account of an extended pub crawl, Pete McCarthy writes with humour of his travels in Ireland where he decided to visit every bar which shared his family name
Country of origin: Ireland
ISBN: 0752877623
A refreshingly original account of life on a dilapidated olive farm in the South of France. Carol incorporates snippets of history as well as detailed descriptions of olive farming and is a gifted storyteller.
-- Havering
A refreshingly original account of life on a dilapidated olive farm in the South of France. Carol incorporates snippets of history as well as detailed descriptions of olive farming and is a gifted storyteller.
-- HaveringCountry of origin: France
