The New York Times restaurant critic's heartbreaking and hilarious account of how he learned to love food just enough after decades of st...
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Sep 25, 2009
Aaron
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Former New York Times food critic Frank Bruni just published this book on his lifelong destructive and complex relationship towards food. Given my lifelong destructive and complex relationship towards The New York Times, I thought I'd check it out.
Perhaps I might not be the best source to comment here, as I have limited exposure to eating or addiction memoirs, so I can't begin to properly weigh Born Round's merits to similar memoirs. However, what really works strongest in this book More...
Perhaps I might not be the best source to comment here, as I have limited exposure to eating or addiction memoirs, so I can't begin to properly weigh Born Round's merits to similar memoirs. However, what really works strongest in this book More...
Nov 18, 2011
Michelle
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I loved this book for an important reason: I understood Frank and his struggle with food and weight and the way both those things can take over your mentality about healthiness and your appearance. Though obviously well-written, this book isn't the most amazing piece of literature I've ever read. Sometimes it drags a bit, with too much family background or work detail, although it is important to understand what's going in the background of Frank's life to see how his food mindset changes. I lik
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Sep 07, 2010
Terzah
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I sometimes forget that I don't really like memoirs, unless they're written by someone like Mother Teresa. So I try to read example after example of the genre, because they're so popular and sometimes their premises do grab me. But I almost always stop reading them after the first chapter, and this one, about a successful food critic's struggles with his weight, was no exception. Bruni is a good writer, much less self-absorbed than a lot of modern memoirists (Eat Pray Love, I'm talkin' about you
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Dec 26, 2011
Ashland Mystery
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Bruni's last restaurant review for the New York Times was in 2009, but he's still writing for the paper. In fact, this weekend Bruni had a feature about Christmas holidays with his large, noisy Italian family. Having just finished Born Round, I felt I knew all of them - Mark, Adelle, Harry and the legion of nieces and nephews.
As some autobiographies are, Born Round is self conscious and narcissistic. Bruni's insecurity and lack of self esteem are reiterated frequently, directly rela More...
As some autobiographies are, Born Round is self conscious and narcissistic. Bruni's insecurity and lack of self esteem are reiterated frequently, directly rela More...
Oct 11, 2011
Ciara
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i enjoyed this book a lot because i thought it was witty & well-written. but it's not quite what i expected. i was anticipating a memoir about a person actually struggling to control or come to terms with serious & significant weight issues. what i got instead was a memoir about a person struggling with some pretty extreme body dysmorphia. bruni claims that he was extra-chubby from infanthood, & he details the extremes he would go to even as a toddler beyond the reaches of logic to scam one more
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Aug 29, 2011
Tess
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Ladies, let me tell you, weight issues are not just a girl thing. Bruni chronicles about 40 years of ups and downs with his waistline. Yes, it's comforting to read the woes of a true food lover who needs to be careful of how much he indulges (I'm not alone!), but it's also cringe-inducing. Many a passage had me wanting to scream "Stop! Not another bite! You won't fit into your pants!"
As much as I idolize the Times restaurant critic and, let's face it, yearn for his job More...
As much as I idolize the Times restaurant critic and, let's face it, yearn for his job More...
May 28, 2011
Leslie
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I can not believe how much I enjoyed this book. I give it 4.25 stars.
I struggle with my relationship with food. So, initially, when I saw the cover of this book, I was intrigued, but thought, "Why in the world would I want to add someone else's food problems to my own?" It was the same reason I never watched an episode of Bridezilla when I was a stressed out wedding planner.
Then, my mom brought the book over and somewhat insisted I read it. Not so much becau More...
I struggle with my relationship with food. So, initially, when I saw the cover of this book, I was intrigued, but thought, "Why in the world would I want to add someone else's food problems to my own?" It was the same reason I never watched an episode of Bridezilla when I was a stressed out wedding planner.
Then, my mom brought the book over and somewhat insisted I read it. Not so much becau More...
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Feb 03, 2011
Dwhren
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This book was written by Frank Bruni, former New York Times restaurant critic. I actually listend to this as an audiobook on a recent road trip. The book wasn't quite what I expected in that he really only spent 1/4 if even that actually talking about his work as a restaurant critic. The rest of the book went all the way back to his early childhood to chronicle his unhealthy relationship with food. I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed this more if I had actually been reading it an able to kind o
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Dec 27, 2010
Allison
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Well. As void spackle goes, it was alright, although if you ask me, there could have been more general iridescence lurking in the white clumps.
What I mean to say is that this was a heartfelt, entertaining--moving, even--read that somehow didn't quite fully do it for me. I suspect this has to do with the fact that the bulk of the book is dedicated to the author's painstaking dissection of his early life, which, like most, was largely unremarkable. While his doing so was clearly necess More...
What I mean to say is that this was a heartfelt, entertaining--moving, even--read that somehow didn't quite fully do it for me. I suspect this has to do with the fact that the bulk of the book is dedicated to the author's painstaking dissection of his early life, which, like most, was largely unremarkable. While his doing so was clearly necess More...
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Sep 06, 2010
Andrew
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I first saw this book and was interested because of a desire to find a fellow childhood-chubster with whom I might have shared some embarrassingly painful life experiences growing up. I was sold on the glowing reviews by the New York Times, David Sedaris, Washington Post, etc. extolling the honesty and profundity of Frank Bruni's memoir on his struggle with his weight and being a New York Times food critic. I was looking for a companion to commiserate with and instead found a foppish food critic
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Jul 13, 2010
Jessi
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I very much enjoyed the portion of this book that I read. For nonfiction, which I often do not enjoy, this is very well written and interesting. It is Bruni's story of his absolute love for food and his struggle with body image. He attempts to work towards a healthy weight while also working as a food critic. The story itself is fascinating and I definitely understand where Bruni is coming from. However, when I picked it up I was looking for some inspiration in working towards my own weight loss
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Mar 30, 2010
Cori
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This was another book that I really liked but couldn’t say I loved. I don’t think I ever became full invested in Bruni’s story. For most of the book, he was ten or so pounds overweight. You’d think from the writing that this was a hundred pounds. Later, yes, he gains a significant and troubling amount of weight. But it felt a little dramatic (which, I think, was probably part of the truth — he struggled with his weight as much mentally as he did physically) to be so obsessed over ten pounds. But
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Mar 29, 2010
Suebee
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 12, 2010
Judith
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This is a delightful book by a restaurant critic for the New York Times. There is so much to like about this book, but don't read it on an empty stomach or you will run to raid your refrigerator. Frank Bruni was raised by a loving, large Italian family who made eating a competition sport. The descriptions of the foods made by his grandmother will have your mouth watering. I loved the stories of how the families competed with each other to serve the most lavish banquets for each holiday. I l
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Dec 01, 2009
Alicia
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The author of this book is the current food critic for the NY Times. However, he has had a long and difficult relationship with food. I loved this book, because I feel like I too have had a long and difficult relationship with food.
I saw so much of myself in him, in his writing, and in his feelings towards self image. There's a part about how he meets someone and they ask him out, and then he puts off the date for weeks because he always wants to lose a "few pounds" or fit More...
I saw so much of myself in him, in his writing, and in his feelings towards self image. There's a part about how he meets someone and they ask him out, and then he puts off the date for weeks because he always wants to lose a "few pounds" or fit More...
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Feb 19, 2011
Elizabeth
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Delightful memoir of the (now ex-)NY Times food critic. He lovingly describes both his rambunctious (mostly) Italian family, growing up in White Plans, NY, and his struggles to maintain a healthy weight and relationship with eating. The short answer to his dilemma with being overweight is: eat good food, eat less and exercise more. Not rocket science, but for him and for many others, hard-won self knowledge.
The last 2-3 chapters describe how he stayed slim(mer) while serving as the More...
The last 2-3 chapters describe how he stayed slim(mer) while serving as the More...
Jun 28, 2010
jess
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My intention was never to read the cannon of former NY Times Restaurant critics, but after reading Garlic and Sapphires and following it with Frank Bruni's memoir, I seem to be headed down that path. They seem to be a prolific bunch, so I have a lot of reading to do.
ANYWAY, this is about someone who has struggled with his weight for basically his entire life. He comes from an Italian-American family where cooking is a competitive sport and the main way of expressing affection. He's More...
ANYWAY, this is about someone who has struggled with his weight for basically his entire life. He comes from an Italian-American family where cooking is a competitive sport and the main way of expressing affection. He's More...
Apr 17, 2010
Avigail
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While I sometimes tired of the endless descriptions of food (which, as a foodie, I found remarkable), I never tired of reading about Frank Bruni. Partly, Bruni is the person I've always wanted to be--from a big Italian family, a gentleman and a scholar, and a well respected journalist and intellectual. I found his relationship with food to be an interesting narrative, especially his discussion of bulimia, which I think is a much more rampant problem among men than anyone would believe. I finishe
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Sep 14, 2009
christa
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Frank Bruni was a looming presence in a book published in 2007 chronicling the Manhattan restaurant Per Se's hopes for a four-star review from the New York Times tough-ass food critic. The writer, Phoebe Damrosch, was a hostess-turned-server, and one of her story's central conflicts and obsessions was spotting Bruni when he came into the restaurant, and making sure he had the best possible experience. That crumbs were swept up correctly; plates were pretty; the check presented to the correct din
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Nov 28, 2009
Melissa
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As someone who has struggled with her weight since before birth (over 9 pounds at birth with no hope of ever being tall), the title of this book drew me in. The first part of the book was quite funny, especially when Bruni describes his Outward Bound experience (reminiscent of Bill Bryson's books. Yet once the story shifts to his college years, the entire tone of the book changes and becomes a disturbing tale of an individual with a serious eating disorder. To Bruni, his "ideal" phy
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Nov 26, 2009
Jana
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The first half is his story of growing up in a gluttonous family and years of binge eating, obsessing about his shape (accentuated by being a gay man in a culture even more focused on appearance than what women go through), and dieting, throwing up, abusing laxatives and getting fatter and fatter. He somehow manages to get it all under control with a good personal trainer and exercise and then when he's hired to be a food critic, learning how to just take a few tastes of things instead of eating
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Oct 22, 2010
Sienamystic
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A book I've been waiting for a while to read, and very much enjoyed.
Frank Bruni was, up until last year or so, the food critic for the New York Times. This book is a long, personal look at his relationship with food, his growing up in a large, food-focused Italian family, and his journey towards a more peaceful relationship with food.
It's a forthright story, written in an accessible, storytelling style that is intimate, but not overly sentimental. Bruni discusses his childhoo More...
Frank Bruni was, up until last year or so, the food critic for the New York Times. This book is a long, personal look at his relationship with food, his growing up in a large, food-focused Italian family, and his journey towards a more peaceful relationship with food.
It's a forthright story, written in an accessible, storytelling style that is intimate, but not overly sentimental. Bruni discusses his childhoo More...
May 23, 2010
Trixie
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If we could do half-stars, I'd give this a 3.5. Nothing wrong with it at all -- it was a good read from my perspective -- but there's nothing great enough about it to really boost it past that. It's just his personal story that focuses on his relationship with food and weight/fitness management, brings in other stuff as appropriate (but without ever getting totally off-topic, for example with his sexuality he makes it asexual and apolitical enough that you get the point of everything, he's not h
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May 26, 2011
Rachel
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This book was not at all what I thought it was going to be. Frank Bruni became the restaurant critic for The New York Times in 2004 and I expected something more along the lines of a food memoir. And while the book jacket description calls Bruni's relationship with eating "tricky," what it did not prepare me for was that this is really the story of Bruni's lifelong eating disorders, complete with graphic descriptions of what happens when you take four times the recommended dosage of
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Jan 22, 2010
Scott
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No surprise, my favorite part of Frank Bruni's memoir was the final, as my Kindle told me, 26% of the books, when he begins his seven-year stint as the restaurant critic for the New York Times. Totally my never-to-be-obtained dream job, and he let me live it, mostly through stories of the crazy logistics of the whole thing: basically, how to eat around ten dinners a week, in restaurants all over town, sampling the entire menu at each place, trying to remain anonymous even on his third and fourth
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Nov 13, 2011
Elizabeth
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I happened upon this at the library, and I'm not sure what made me pick it up -- I've never heard of Frank Bruni, much less read his restaurant reviews. But I do know what it's like to struggle with food, and I'm really glad I read this. Even if you know nothing about the author or have a totally normal relationship with food, this is an engaging, thoughtful book. Bruni's description of growing up in a food-obsessed Italian family is both hilarious and touching, and I also appreciated his hon
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Sep 15, 2010
Molly
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Not sure why I read this - maybe because I'm into cooking more. Frank Bruni was the NY Times food reviewer for five years and this is the story of his struggle with food his whole life. He binged and purged his was through college, took laxatives, etc all to push back at his poor self-image as a fat boy - he even sabotaged many potential dates with men, putting off returning their calls or seeing them because he hadn't lost those ten pounds. Finally, they stopped pursuing him. The descriptio
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Aug 28, 2009
Subha
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I really really really wanted to love this book. The first 75% of Bruni's memoir was wondefully written and completely disarming. His candid descriptions of his battle with bulimia & negative body image were unforgiving and, despite the subject matter, appeared to be not so much written to elicit sympathy, but rather to illustrate his evolution in perspective/behavior. Some of the frankness was admittedly fun; his delight in discovering "Mexican Speed!"as a weight control mechanism whi
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Mar 07, 2010
Linnea
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This memoir is primarily about Bruni's relationship to food over the course of his life thus far, culminating in his stint as the main restaurant reviewer for the NYTimes. While the book got a little slow and repetitive in the middle as he recounted his years of struggle with his weight (I would have been much more interested in the work he was doing during this time as a reporter, altho I know that this was not the focus of the book), it really comes to life when he is describing the life of a
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Nov 17, 2009
Catherine
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Bruni writes of his obsession with food, details numerous attempts at various eating plans, his weight gains and losses, and ironically, ultimately being the restaurant reviewer for the New York Times.
As a lifelong dieter and craving wrangler myself, I found many aspects--though thankfully not all--of his stories relatable.
His recollections of family, particularly his relationship with his mother and grandmother, were touching and poignant.
The only slight crit More...
As a lifelong dieter and craving wrangler myself, I found many aspects--though thankfully not all--of his stories relatable.
His recollections of family, particularly his relationship with his mother and grandmother, were touching and poignant.
The only slight crit More...
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