The 2019 Wild Carrot Awards
The 2019 Wild Carrot Awards
Second to cooking (and eating), comes my love of reading. Even though I love burrowing into the couch with a blanket and good book, I never feel like I am able to get through enough of them. I always have a “to read list” stacked on my nightstand and loaded onto my e-reader. Hence, one of my resolutions for next year is to read 40 books (nearly doubling my count from this year, which totaled 19). But before I do that, I want to share the books I read and listened to in 2019. To make this a bit more fun (and food related) I’ve decided to give my first annual series of the Wild Carrot Awards to celebrate some of the stand-outs!
I’m creating these awards to highlight my favorite books read and listened to over the last year. Below are the winners of the 2019 Wild Carrot Awards:
The Golden Carrot: goes to my favorite overall book of 2019.
Winner: The Clockmaker’s Daughter - Kate Morton - I’ve always loved Kate Morton. I think she is the modern Daphne De Maurier who wrote the famed Rebecca. I’ve given Morton the Gold Carrot Award because she consistently delivers novels that are full of soft suspense, and the most intricate plot lines that are woven through generations and connect masterfully in the end. Although it took me a while to get into this one (getting lost in the opening descriptions and passages on Audible), once I was passed the first few chapters I was entranced. I highly recommend this book and all of Kate Morton’s other works to anyone who loves masters of plot.
Runner Up: Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir - Ruth Reichl - I connected with this book as a woman with an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for food. I was impressed by Reichl’s authenticity and approachability in storytelling. I loved that she actually gives recipes throughout the book that contributed to moving moments throughout her life. This memoir is both captivating and delicious, and if I could give two Golden Carrots to books this year, I would.
The Heirloom Carrot: goes to my favorite book read in 2019 that was written more than 10 years ago.
Winner: The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood - This was actually a re-read for me. You will see below that I have my reading list for 2020, of which The Testaments (a sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale ) is a part. I first read this book in 8th or 9th grade, and it moved me then as much as it did this time around, although I did find Claire Danes’ narration particularly stirring. If you haven’t read this classic (or haven’t read it in the last 10 years), find a copy and do so immediately.
Runner Up: Outliers: The Story of Success - Malcom Gladwell - I was late to the Malcom Gladwell party. I had never read any of his works to date, but decided to give Outliers a try via audiobook this fall. I found his research compelling and outright interesting, and his narration was a pleasure.
The Purple Dragon Carrot: goes to a favorite mystery or suspense book read in 2019.
Winner: How the Light Gets In - Louise Penny - Louise Penny is one of my mentors. She is an amazing food writer and novelist, known for the Inspector Armand Gamache series, through which she has created a fictional world in Three Pines, Canada that I would love to visit. I imagine spending an afternoon in Olivier’s Bistro and mingling with her hilarious and diverse cast of characters. If you haven’t read any of her works, start at the beginning (this was the sound advice my Aunt gave me a few years ago). Both of these works were equal contenders for the top spot in my mystery category, with How the Light Gets In only edging out The Long Way Home slightly because the former took place in Three Pines itself, which I always find more fun.
Runner Up: The Long Way Home - Louise Penny
The Roasted Carrot: goes to my favorite book related to food and wine read in 2019.
Winner: Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste - Bianca Bosker - This light-hearted, deeply researched memoir was a breath of fresh air and a superb introduction to the wacky world of wine enthusiasts and aficionados. I gave Bosker the title in this category because I believe this work truly evokes the best of food and wine writing as a specific category. It’s approachable, informed, interesting and honest. I loved every minute of it.
Runner Up: Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir - Ruth Reichl
The Solar Yellow Carrot: goes to my favorite book of creative fiction that evoked joy while reading in 2019.
Winner: The Overdue Life of Amy Byler - Kelly Harms - This book was downright hilarious. It was the perfect romantic comedy I needed this spring when I was feeling stressed. I immediately passed it off to my cousin and said, “you HAVE to read this one! It is so funny and good!” This should be a book packed in every vacationing woman’s suitcases for years to come.
Runner Up: Nine Perfect Strangers - Liane Moriarty - I fell in love with Liane Moriarty’s writing years ago and wait patiently for new novels to come out. I found Nine Perfect Strangers to be full of hilarity as usual, but just not as “clutch to your chest fantastic” as some of her earlier works. That said, the hot flash scene in the opening chapters was so raw and perfect, and her character development of Frances I found to be particularly splendid and truly “Moriartian” , and I will savor both into 2020 and beyond.
The Orange Carrot: goes to a favorite book of non-fiction read in 2019.
Winner: The Tenth Island: Finding Joy, Beauty, and Unexpected Love in the Azores - Diana Marcum - I’ll be honest, this book surprised me. I think think I got it on a deal or as a free audiobook, but let it sit in my Audible library for many months before I started listening to it. I finally dove in on a long car ride to Lake Chelan and boy was I surprised by the originality of the story and the beautiful writing. The scene midway through when Diana drinks black mold from the rim of her friend’s water bottle did me in. It was so relatable and beautiful and full of hope, I am pleased to pronounce the work with the Orange Carrot award in 2019.
Runner Up: Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet - Claire L. Evans - I listened to this book, and often found myself getting lost in the different characters. That said, this is an important story for people to read. I knew almost none of this history and am thankful for the opportunity to learn about all of the females that were forgotten or force out of the Internet’s history.
The Carrot Soup: goes to a favorite cookbook discovered in 2019:
Winner: Wine & Food: Perfect Pairings Every Time - Jane Parkinson - I started trying to pair food with wine seriously this year. I could not have done it as well without the approachable advice Parkinson captures in the pages of this book. For any foodie looking to integrate wine more smartly into their dinners, or any wine lover seeking a perfect meal to pair with that bottle you’ve been saving for years, my advice is: consult this book!
Runner Up: Copenhagen Food - Trine Hahnemann - two words: Carrot Soup. For more words, read my review of this book in full here.
That’s it for the 2019 Wild Carrot Awards! Below is the list of eligible contenders, my current reading list, and what’s sitting on my nightstand for 2020. Email (ruthie@the-wildcarrot.com) or DM me (IG @the_wildcarrot) if you have further suggestions!
Print Books: (7 read)
Mystery:
The Beautiful Mystery - Louise Penny
How the Light Gets In - Louise Penny
The Long Way Home - Louise Penny
Personal, Career and Business Development:
Growing Influence - Ron Price and Stacy Ennis
The Happiness Advantage - Shawn Achor
Contemporary Fiction
Nine Perfect Strangers - Liane Moriarty
The Overdue Life of Amy Byler - Kelly Harms
Audiobooks: (12 listened to)
Mystery:
Bertrams Hotel - Agatha Christie
A Caribbean Mystery - Agatha Christie
Nemesis - A Miss Marple Mystery - Agatha Christie
Sleeping Murder: Miss Marple’s Last Case - Agatha Christie
Creative Non-Fiction:
Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet - Claire L. Evans
Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir - Ruth Reichl
Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste - Bianca Bosker
The Truffle Underground: A Tale of Mystery, Mayhem, and Manipulation in the Shadowy Market of the World's Most Expensive Fungus - Ryan Jacobs, Ari Fliakos
Outliers: The Story of Success - Malcom Gladwell
Memoir:
The Tenth Island: Finding Joy, Beauty, and Unexpected Love in the Azores - Diana Marcum
The Clockmaker’s Daughter - Kate Morton
Classics and Literature:
The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
Currently Reading:
In Print: The Witch Elm - Tana French
E-Reader: The Great Alone - Kristin Hannah
Audiobook: The Curse of Oak Island: The Story of the World’s Longest Treasure Hunt - Randall Sullivan
2020 Reading List:
Will Write for Food - Dianne Jacob
The Testaments - Margaret Atwood
Everything is Figureoutable - Marie Forleo
The Guest Book - Sarah Blake
That Wild Country: An Epic Journey through the Past, Present, and Future of America's Public Lands - Mark Kenyon
The End of Ice: Bearing Witness and Finding Meaning in the Path of Climate Disruption - Dahr Jamail
Meditation Is Not What You Think: Mindfulness and Why It Is So Important - Jon Kabat-Zinn
The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health - Mayer, Emeran
