Hungry: What Eighty Ravenous Guys Taught Me about Life, Love, and the Power of Good Food is a memoir written by Darlene Barnes. Darlene has always loved food and loved to cook. Some of her earliest memories are of the good fresh food eaten at her grandparent’s home and to this day she feels strongly about buying locally and fresh. I’m not sure she ever imagined herself as the chef at the fraternity Alpha Sigma Phi feeding fifty to eighty young guys at any one time but that’s exactly the path her life took and ultimately it changed her — in good ways.
In the long run working as a chef at the fraternity was a good move for Darlene for a few reasons. First she got to do what she loved and also introduced these young men to food a whole lot better for them than Mac and Cheese. Secondly nobody else would likely have her – at one point she makes a comment that a self-attached muzzle could be helpful at times. That made me laugh out loud! Darlene doesn’t hesitate to let us know in her memoir that she’s very outspoken and spunky and this is all packed into a woman not much over five feet tall. She tells it how it is and fights for the things she believes in such as sourcing food locally and using only fresh ingredients. She made life a nightmare for her suppliers and I admired her for sticking to her guns. So while life with these guys was more often than not driving her crazy it was still a place she could ultimately be herself and that’s never a bad thing. Funny enough she would be planning on leaving every year and then one of the guys would say ‘I love you Darlene’ and she’d be back for another round.
I enjoyed reading this and I admire Darlene’s support of sourcing local and fresh food. She would likely have a heart attack if she saw some of the ‘fake’ food I sometimes eat. I will say that reading this invigorated my wanting to eat more fresh and for the most part I already do. I also enjoyed reading about the relationships that Darlene formed with some of these guys. There were many she didn’t connect with but there were also a lot she did and those are friendships formed for life. Many think that life in a fraternity is just one big party and while there are a lot of parties Darlene opens our eyes to the fact that it is also just a bunch of young guys living a normal everyday life.
Even better are the recipes that Darlene includes at the end of each chapter and what I liked best about them is that they are good old home cooking – my favorite! She reiterates something I firmly believe in and that’s that so many of our memories are tied into food and many of mine come from the plain but yummy food my mom has always cooked. Some of the recipes from the book that I’d like to eventually try are: Black Bottom Pie, Parker House Rolls, Blueberry Cornbread and so many others and because I love soups so much – Chicken Tortellini Soup and Chicken Tortilla Soup. I think this is a memoir that would appeal to foodies and to people interested in a behind the scenes look at a frat house but also a look at a woman who learned a lot about herself from a bunch of frat guys!
Darlene Barnes is on tour with her novel Hungry over at TLC Book Tours so be sure to check out the other tour stops! You can find Darlene on her website, Facebook, and Twitter. You can pick up your own copy of Hungry at Amazon and Amazon Canada.
GIVEAWAY DETAILS (US/Canada)
I have one copy of Hungry by Darlene Barnes to share with my readers. To enter…
- Leave a comment for 1 entry.
- Tweet, share on Facebook, or blog for 2 extra entries.
This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only (no PO boxes) and I will draw for the winner on August 29/13. Good luck!
Source: Review copy provided by TLC Book Tours and the Publisher. Giveaway copy via the Publisher. No compensation was received for this review and all opinions are my own.
Sounds like a good one! My mouth is watering already!
I listed this on my blog today.
http://mytime2read.blogspot.com/2013/08/giveaway-friday-august-23.html
Keeping my fingers crossed for the win!
Sounds very interesting. thanks.
This book sounds unique and fascinating. Thanks for this great feature and giveaway.
Very interesting. Thank you for the giveaway.
I really enjoy food memoirs. This one really has a different twist. I would love to read this. Thanks for the giveaway.
What a great-sounding story, and Darlene sounds like a real character. I’d love to read about her experiences and the recipes sound good too. Thanks for the giveaway.
Love food books.
Looks great!
This sounds like a good book. Thank you for the chance to try and win.
Anyone who has a son know how hungry they get.
I tweeted.
….
Hungry by Darlene Barnes & Giveaway (US/Canada)
Sounds like a good read!
a memoir with recipes-yum.
pjames330 at aol dot com
https://twitter.com/pj436/status/368071486554112000
What a very special book that appeals to me. Many thanks.
Sounds great. Would love to read it.
Thank you for a chance to win.
Did tweet and post on facebook
I love books about food, books set on college campuses, and memoirs so it sounds like this book was written for me. Thanks for the giveaway!
Sounds like a scrumptious story! Thank you for the chance to win!
texaggs2000 at gmail dot com
This book sounds like a interesting read. The recipes sound delicious!
I tweeted about this giveaway. Macjam47.
I love memoirs, food, and cooking. This book sounds really interesting and fits me to a tee.
“She tells it how it is and fights for the things she believes in such as sourcing food locally and using only fresh ingredients. She made life a nightmare for her suppliers and I admired her for sticking to her guns.”
I felt this way as well. Change can only take place when people stand up for what they believe in, and that’s not always popular. Eventually though, even many of those who are not on board from the beginning, are glad when the change takes place. Thank goodness for tough women like Darlene! 🙂
This sounds like an interesting book. The recipes sound great too.
I like memoirs that make me want to do better, such as eating more fresh foods! Please enter me:
laurafabiani at videotron dot ca
That must have been an interesting job.
I tweeted: https://twitter.com/MaureenCE/status/368458068805156864
I felt inspired to eat more fresh food, too. Great review!! (no need to enter me in the giveaway, I’m on the blog tour, just stopping by!)
Chicken tortilla soup??? Yummy! This sounds like a good book just for the recipes alone. J/K It does sound like a great read though…thanks for sharing!
Sounds like a story about a great lady. I would enjoy reading it. Thanks for having the giveaway.
Memoir is quickly becoming my favorite genre, and I’m hungry for this book! Great review!
I’m always fired up to eat better after I read books like this! I did really appreciate Barnes’ honesty about her own shortcomings and her balanced portrayal of the guys.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this one! Thank you so much for being on the tour!
Thanks for being on the tour.