Kerry
Hello! I live in London, and I like reading about history, travel and literature. I also like good non-fiction about things I don't know about yet, and adventures.
Currently reading
I really like Msmarmitelover's blog, and thought her book would contain a lot of sensible things, which it which it does. She talks about the politics of food writing and is very unbullshitty and practical about things like photography (manual is good! ...but not if you're in a restaurant and taking >5min to get every shot) and making money (her advice is to have at least a part-time job, or to have your sister marry a future king). I'm still a bit taken aback by the fact that Pippa Middleton writes a Waitrose food column but Rodgers rightly points out that this is because food is a huge class signifier and that food writing, because it requires resources and access to restaurants and interesting ingredients, is a class signifier too.
Instead of saying "Do this and you'll be successful!!!" she lays out what the food writing scene looks like and why, and what to expect if you want to give it a try. That is, being encouraging without blowing smoke. Also, after an interviewee spent several hundred words talking about the good and bad parts of writing from William Leigh, AA Gill, 'Dan of Essex Eating' and 'Food Urchin', her next question was simply, "You only read men?", which was lovely.
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