Weird women write weird books
February 21st, 2007 Liz - Central Library
Well, that is not news, you say.
Yeah, but I mean hard-to-figure-out-weird, plus just weird.
Which Book? That new tome I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence. Under what influence, you ask? Drugs, for sure (she even says so.) The ‘allure’ of badly lit 70s era overly orange food photos? Plain jane 50s era food? Are those influences we want in humor? I think so. But in semi-serious Entertaining books? That’s where I get confused.
I think this is supposed to be a hybrid humor/real recipes, real entertaining advice book. I guess for me the schtick gets old fast and just plain confuses me. There’s a good looking recipe for coffee cake in there, but so much of even the food is so kitschy in it’s uber-ordinariness. I just don’t get it. Nor do I get why it is top-of-the-charts popular.
And don’t think it’s cause I don’t like or ‘get’ Amy Sedaris… I do. Or at least I thought I did. She was even on Martha Stewart’s show recently, frosting a cake. And she acted like she had no idea how to frost it, though that very cake and its recipe are in the book. What gives? Enlighten me, those who love this book!
Entry Filed under: Nonfiction
7 Comments Add your own
1. Jerri Antonia | February 21st, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Re: the Martha Stewart show, Amy said that Martha picked the ONE recipe that she wasn’t comfortable with (egg whites intimidate her like how some people are intimidated by phyllo). Her brother’s partner Hugh donated his favorite recipe (the Lady Baltimore cake) for the cookbook and she had never made it before I guess. Made for funny tv, though!
I really dont think you really do “get” Amy, sorry.
2. Sarah | February 21st, 2007 at 4:01 pm
Well, I’ll own the fact that I’ve never really thought I did “get” Amy Sedaris (never understood “Strangers with Candy,” for starters), but I thought this book was funny in small portions. It wouldn’t be a book I would buy but I was pleased to see it become a bestseller nonetheless…at least it was something different (and I do mean different)!
3. Molly | February 21st, 2007 at 4:19 pm
Just my two cents - I don’t get this book, either. I believe that Amy Sedaris is a gifted comedienne, although except for her brief stint as Finch’s girlfriend on Just Shoot Me, I don’t really “get” her at all. If this is a humorous book of anecdotes, cool. Then skip the Martha Stewart press junket and save the fun for Letterman or Conan. If it is about the recipes, though, you need to know how to bake the cake. I am tired of famous names publishing whatever sounds fun and not really knowing what’s what. I am talking to you, Madonna! Now, kudos to Martha for making everyone participate. Has anyone seen Jennifer Garner on her show? That lady knows her way around a roast turkey.
4. liz | February 21st, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Molly, I feel your fire.
Here’s the thing on the cake on Martha: she couldn’t even frost the darn thing. Forget making the frosting… when it came to actually slathering it on she was not capable. So… I concur –don’t put in the Hugh recipe for the Lady Baltimore cake if you can’t make it and can’t even frost it.
Perhaps I don’t get her, but do more than casually stand in a store and browse the book and those that do ‘get’ her may get confused too…
That said… leave it to Martha to pick the hardest recipe and show up Amy! That gal is competitive!!
5. Susan | February 27th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Actually, I think this book is hilarious. I love Amy’s absurdist (and frequently in bad taste) humor and I think the book is fun on just that level. On another level, I can actually see her (and myself) following her advice and throwing such deliciously off-kilter fetes. The uanbashedly homey, butter-and-cream-laden recipes are a refreshing change, actually, and really only something I would allow myself to eat at a party. (Note that her recipe for Macaroni & Cheese it “not recommended for nursing mothers”).
I think that in deliberately ignoring how we are “supposed” to entertain, she reminds us that it is ultimately supposed to be about having fun and about enjoying each other’s company.
Finally, I didn’t see the Martha Stewart bit, but clearly she must know how to frost a cake, since she does in reality market her cupcakes (and cheeseballs).
I dunno, maybe it’s me– most women don’t “get” me either.
6. Molly | February 27th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
I am so glad that someone who likes the book and understands the Amy Sedaris big picture responded! This book is still too far out for me, but I fully support recipes that encourage the use of full fat. Amy must know what is what when it comes to cooking - I just got lost in the wacky photographs and nude hose.
7. Liz | February 28th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Interesting angle Susan… I think you’re on the mark. She really must be saying sc**w convention, just have people over to eat what you care to make. Kinda an antidote to the Kate Spade Style books, maybe?
On the topic of the wacky photographs: I did like the first pages of the book where she’d write a letter to the reader that went on and on and was interpersed with photos of ’70s era stewardess-esque clad Amy falling asleep.
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