Yesterday I started a Twitter meme called #palatecleansingbooks. I read three new-ish novels in one weekend — “The Pregnant Widow” by Martin Amis, “Day for Night” by Frederick Reiken, and “The Imperfectionists” by Tom Rachman. I needed to clear my head, and for me that head-clearing after a heavy bout of reading usually involves one or more of M.F.K. Fisher’s essay collections. In this case, the first title on my kitchen bookcase (um, yes, I have books in every room of the house, dining room and bathrooms included) was “With Bold Knife and Fork,” Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher’s late-life reflections on which foods are best in every category from nibbles to preserves.
My own “palate-cleansing books” happen to be books about food, so the tag was an easy one for me to append. However, turns out that everyone’s definition of a book that refreshes is different. (As the French say of the gender divide, Vive la difference!) I thought I’d share a few of the responses I received here:
sherlock holmes. the end. #palatecleansingbooks
Lia Horton
LibraryLia
I turn to the under-appreciated category of chick-lit after a peticularly hard read. #palatecleansingbooks
jenna rostek
auntie_jenn
#palatecleansingbooks A little anthology ENGLISH COUNTRY HOUSE MYSTERIES Among inclusion parameters: Absolutely no character named Lefty
Joanne Lessner
joannelessner
#palatecleansingbooks Jane Austen: cool, clean, melon light, notes of cucumber.
Diana Abu Jaber
dabujaber
Laurie Colwin, Laurie Colwin, and then some more Laurie Colwin. #palatecleansingbooks. (My summer ritual, along w/GREAT GATSBY)
Reagan Arthur
reaganart
@joe_hill Anything without spectroscopy, the words ‘included hardware’, or egg-like caricatures falling off a wall. #palatecleansingbooks
RebeccaV
notesbyamom
For me it’s Larry Block, Walter Mosley, John D. MacDonald & @elmoreleonard. They’re my reset button. #palatecleansingbooks
Joe Hill
joe_hill
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