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»
ISBN: 0007205163
"Walking through the gardens of memory, I discover that my recollections are associated with the senses". Encompassing a multicultural history of seduction through food, ancient and modern stories about sex and eating, and titillating recipes are all part of Allende's fascinating odyssey. ... one of the best combinations of travel, food and storytelling
-- IslingtonCountry of origin: Chile
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
ISBN: 0091908930
Fascinating memoir of the author's Indian childhood, with mouthwatering memories of food and tempting recipes.
-- Newham
She has been such an influential writer, as well as an actress, and this is the story of her childhood and family, with lots of photos and recipes.She writes with such enthusiasm about food, and yet she couldn't cook until after she left home. Fascinating.
-- Southwark
An evocative story, rich with the tastes and aromas of Indian food and cooking.
-- Kingston
Actress turned cookery writer, Madhur Jaffrey's memoirs of her childhood
-- EalingCountry of origin: India
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
ISBN: 0747558213
Bourdain travels the world in search of the indigestible and this tale is not for those that like conventional cooking. Like it says on the cover 'a Cook's tour is an adventure story sure to give you indigestion'! The meals are bizarre and his humour is acidic. Fancy eating a cobra's heart whilst it's still beating?
-- IslingtonCountry of origin: France
Corfu banquet: a memoir with seasonal recipes - Emma Tennant
ISBN: 1840243813
This describes her parent's house in Rovinia and the heat-soaked Corfiot way of life. Interspersed with the memories are the wonderful recipes of the food that was enjoyed each season. I was inspired by this book to go on a culinary walking tour of Corfu town and although I enjoyed the company I was with, the tour guide was not so informative as Emma Tennant. She brings the sights and smells of the Mediterranean to the reader with none of the calories!
-- EalingCountry of origin: Greece
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
-- 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 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
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
