Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Strandal

THIS IS MY BOOK OF THE YEAR! It's that simple.

Eva Thorvald is a once-a-lifetime palate destined to greatness, born to a foodie father and an oenophile mother. In this series of short stories, we learn about Eva's life, but we don't hear about it from Eva herself; these stories each star someone else - random characters with whom Eva has varying degrees of involvement. Yet through their eyes we get a reflected-light look at Eva's life and a truly multi-faceted story.

This book is funny, sad, and even heartbreaking. But right from the start you're drawn into the characters, their struggles, and this all-encompassing story of Eva. I wanted to know more, I couldn't get enough, and if Eva didn't show up right away in each new chapter I started peering into the shadows and around the edges to find her. How does she relate, this time? But even without Eva these are fantastic stories of common people and regular Midwestern lives.

The audiobook was narrated by Amy Ryan and Michael Stuhlbarg. The pair delivers an amazing performance of characters from snotty teenagers to harried moms, from redneck drunks to wealthy businessmen.

I have been evangelizing to everyone I meet about how SPECTACULAR this book is - it's a must-read. Don't delay in finding a copy for yourself!

The Tao of Martha: My Year of LIVING, or Why I'm Never Getting All That Glitter Off of the Dog by Jen Lancaster

Most adult women fall into two classes: those who want to be Martha Stewart, and those who are horrified by that idea. Even Martha's daughter is in on the joke with "Whatever, Martha." But you have to admit that if you want to do something right (fold a fitted sheet, grow roses, organize the pantry, throw a baby shower), Martha's got the checklist and recommendations. So it's not surprising that when Jen Lancaster decided to make changes to run her household more efficiently, she turned to Martha Stewart's counsel.

Insane ill-trained animals, drawers and cupboards shoved full of disorganized crap, and a garden that barely grows even with professional supervision - these are the hallmarks of Lancaster's home. But she's also the chick you want to have cocktails with (or get invited to one of her parties) because she's always got a good story featuring her own ineptitude. I love her books precisely because she's so relatably messed up and funny.

In the course of a year Jen hilariously agrees with Martha, disagrees with Martha, skews very far from the mission and then comes back around again. Life happens in the meantime, and eventually she builds her own Tao of Martha (and Tao of Maisy, Jen's dog) based on determining what's overkill, what's appropriate, what's worth the time and trouble, and what actually makes life "a good thing."

And you'll get to enjoy the journey without spending a whole paycheck at The Container Store or making a gift box from an acorn!

How to Cook Like a Man: A Memoir of Cookbook Obsession by Daniel Duane

Duane dealt with the birth of his first child in a unique way: he took over the dinner preparation for his family, but rather than focusing on simple food preparation and nutrition or sustenance he went off the deep-end into obsessive cookbook mania (never repeating the same recipe twice, checking recipes off toward an epic unattainable goal).

This isn't a cookbook - you'll have to find the books Dan's reading to replicate his progress. More, it's a story about his obsessive-compulsive cooking saga and the ups and downs of his life that drive it.

The book's entertaining, and Duane is a smooth, talented writer who blends the cooking mania and food preparation stories into the tale of his personal growth and family life. He twines things together in a rare way: one paragraph of biography on a famous chef may also somehow tell you about the progress of the remodeling of the Duane family home.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and both envied and pitied his wife throughout. Early on in the book (and in their relationship) Liz explains her preference for simple, uncomplicated food - which Dan resolutely and dramatically ignores for years.

Nowhere But Home by Liza Palmer

Unfortunately named sisters Queen Elizabeth and Merry Carole have spent their lives trying to live down their mama's bad reputation. While Merry Carole stayed in their hometown to build a successful beauty shop business and raise a fine, upstanding boy on her own, chef Queenie's trotted the globe, flitting from restaurant to bistro to cafe. When she's fired (again) for losing her temper, Queenie decides a trip back to Texas might give her time to decide what's next - and allow her to get to know her nephew.

But faster than she can blink an eye, Queenie finds herself with a strange new job, a handsome beau, and all the small-town drama she's been avoiding for more than a decade.

It's a cute, light book that balances heavy drama with light banter. The story's never better than when Queenie's in the kitchen - I wish there'd been more of that. My enthusiasm flagged a little with some of the more melodramatic scenes, but if you enjoy a bit of small-town cattiness and long-held grudges, this one's right up your alley.

Man with a Pan edited by John Donohue

Somehow the stereotype persists that women do all the cooking at home; if a man cooks, he's a professional chef. This book puts that idea on its head by asking 21 men who cook at home to write about their experiences.

Some discuss one recipe, others write about how they learned to cook. Many discuss the challenge of getting kids to eat anything but mac and cheese. A few of the writers are known foodies, a few are non-chef celebrities, and many of them are just regular guys who cook.

You've probably got to be a food geek to really enjoy this book - but if you're the kind of person who read cookbooks for enjoyment, you'll enjoy these "stories from the field" written by men who know their way around the kitchen.