katieproctorbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I really like Shauna’s calming voice, especially in this collection of essays and stories about gathering loved ones around the table. I read it slowly, a couple essays here and there, and I found her words soothing and advice for hosting practical and helpful. Now I can’t wait to host a dinner party soon!
nomer15's review against another edition
5.0
(2013) "Bread and Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table" by Shauna Niequist is a collection of essays about life, food, hospitality, and experiencing those sacred moments that can only be found around a table. The book includes not only recipes to try, but there are discussion questions at the end for a book club or a cooking club. She also includes tips for hosting a dinner party, as well as ideas for easy weeknight meals that can be thrown together quickly.
I appreciated Niequist's heart that celebrates the union of food and the hearts of people, creating a unique fellowship around a table. Faith themes run strong through this book, especially as she dives into how gathering around a shared meal creates a special sense of community. "And I believe that Jesus asked for us to remember him during the breaking of bread and the drinking of the wine every time, every meal, every day--no matter where we are, who we are, what we've done" (p. 252).
She shares candidly about her life, her insecurities, her fears when her newborn son was ill, her struggles with having children. Her writing style and vulnerability with sharing make this book an all-around winner. I started by slowly digesting two or three essays at a time, but that quickly sped up to devouring the entire book; it's really just that good.
"The table is the place where the doing stops, the trying stops, the masks are removed, and we allow ourselves to be nourished, like children. We allow someone else to meet our need. In a word that prides people on not having needs, on going longer and faster, on going without, on powering through, the table is a place of safety and rest and humanity, where we are allowed to be as fragile as we feel. If the home is a body, the table is the heart, the beating center, the sustainer of life and health" (p. 258).
(I’ve received this complimentary book through the Book Sneeze program in exchange for a review. A positive review was not required and the views expressed in my review are strictly my own.)
I appreciated Niequist's heart that celebrates the union of food and the hearts of people, creating a unique fellowship around a table. Faith themes run strong through this book, especially as she dives into how gathering around a shared meal creates a special sense of community. "And I believe that Jesus asked for us to remember him during the breaking of bread and the drinking of the wine every time, every meal, every day--no matter where we are, who we are, what we've done" (p. 252).
She shares candidly about her life, her insecurities, her fears when her newborn son was ill, her struggles with having children. Her writing style and vulnerability with sharing make this book an all-around winner. I started by slowly digesting two or three essays at a time, but that quickly sped up to devouring the entire book; it's really just that good.
"The table is the place where the doing stops, the trying stops, the masks are removed, and we allow ourselves to be nourished, like children. We allow someone else to meet our need. In a word that prides people on not having needs, on going longer and faster, on going without, on powering through, the table is a place of safety and rest and humanity, where we are allowed to be as fragile as we feel. If the home is a body, the table is the heart, the beating center, the sustainer of life and health" (p. 258).
(I’ve received this complimentary book through the Book Sneeze program in exchange for a review. A positive review was not required and the views expressed in my review are strictly my own.)
notesonbookmarks's review against another edition
5.0
Recipes interspersed with anecdotes, all on a framwork of building community by gathering around the table. Warning: this will make you want to have dinner parties every single night just to build more, and deeper, relationships.
brendaclay's review against another edition
5.0
Bread and Wine is about the intersections of food and fellowship, food and culture, food and travel, food and memories, all within the context of a normal life. It's a celebration of food without snobbery – you won't find any reviews of five-star restaurants here. Through personal stories, Shauna Niequist demonstrates the power of sharing simple but good food with people you love, especially when life is tumbling down around your ears. Many of the chapters involve her Cooking Club, a group of friends who started cooking and eating together once a month and formed strong bonds around the table. Other chapters focus on especially memorable or meaningful meals in her past – the wedding leftovers she and her husband shared on a window seat, special dinner parties for friends' birthdays, a potluck cookout with her family after her son's baptism. She also reflects on times when others ministered to her through food.
Most of the essays end with a recipe related to the story, and they all sound amazing. Shauna also includes a helpful appendix about her pantry staples and weeknight dinner routine, and basic entertaining tips.
As much as I enjoyed the food talk, my favorite aspect of Bread and Wine was Shauna's usual vulnerability and transparency about her personal struggles. As someone who dealt with infertility for many years, then endured a rough pregnancy and a health scare with her son after he was born, she's well acquainted with life not going according to plan. She also talks openly about her overachieving nature, her experiences as a writer, and her innate need for constant community with the people she loves. I relate to her deeply. For me, reading her books is like reading letters from a wiser older sister. I feel less alone in my messiness, and inspired to handle it in a more positive, productive way. Somehow, Shauna fully validates the pain and junk of life, while simultaneously pointing to its joys, victories, and the God who rules over it all. She is an ambassador of Wholeheartedness.
Most of the essays end with a recipe related to the story, and they all sound amazing. Shauna also includes a helpful appendix about her pantry staples and weeknight dinner routine, and basic entertaining tips.
As much as I enjoyed the food talk, my favorite aspect of Bread and Wine was Shauna's usual vulnerability and transparency about her personal struggles. As someone who dealt with infertility for many years, then endured a rough pregnancy and a health scare with her son after he was born, she's well acquainted with life not going according to plan. She also talks openly about her overachieving nature, her experiences as a writer, and her innate need for constant community with the people she loves. I relate to her deeply. For me, reading her books is like reading letters from a wiser older sister. I feel less alone in my messiness, and inspired to handle it in a more positive, productive way. Somehow, Shauna fully validates the pain and junk of life, while simultaneously pointing to its joys, victories, and the God who rules over it all. She is an ambassador of Wholeheartedness.
slelswick's review against another edition
4.0
A fabulous book about sharing love with friends around the dinner table. Perfection need not apply. Shauna is very inspiring.
kristidurbs's review against another edition
3.0
Bread & Wine is a meditation about how our lives are punctuated by meals, how they mark defining moments, and bring about connection to other people. For the author, she recounts meals around joys of vacationing at the beach or sitting along the Seine in Paris, celebrating birthdays and babies. Yet food is important, for good or bad, also in the context of trials and sorrow, through miscarriages and illness and insecurities.
A big part of this book is devoted to Niequist's own struggles with fertility and parenting, which wasn't what I expected. There is also no seeming coherence whatsoever to the chapter organization. The recipes peppered throughout are ones I am interested in trying, but there was likewise no rhyme or reason to their placement in the book. There is also no chronological order -- sometimes, the writer talks about being recently married, other times of the birth of her second son, and then back again to being unable to conceive that second son.
The utter lack of chronology in her story-telling and coherence are my biggest complaints. Otherwise, this is an enjoyable, poignant read about food and faith and the things that truly matter in life.
A big part of this book is devoted to Niequist's own struggles with fertility and parenting, which wasn't what I expected. There is also no seeming coherence whatsoever to the chapter organization. The recipes peppered throughout are ones I am interested in trying, but there was likewise no rhyme or reason to their placement in the book. There is also no chronological order -- sometimes, the writer talks about being recently married, other times of the birth of her second son, and then back again to being unable to conceive that second son.
The utter lack of chronology in her story-telling and coherence are my biggest complaints. Otherwise, this is an enjoyable, poignant read about food and faith and the things that truly matter in life.
jennmair's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book! My favorite quote was "God never meant man to be a purely spiritual creature. That is why He uses material things like bread and wine to put the new life into us. We may think this rather crude and unspiritual. God does not: He invented eating. He likes matter. He invented it. "
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
I enjoyed the stories and how God used food to point his people to Him.
However, when it comes to Jesus and his purpose for eating with others, the book A Meal With Jesus is still my favorite.
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
I enjoyed the stories and how God used food to point his people to Him.
However, when it comes to Jesus and his purpose for eating with others, the book A Meal With Jesus is still my favorite.
missjillellen's review against another edition
5.0
So beautiful. So necessary. So lovely.
Read it immediately.
Read it immediately.
need_to_read's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
5.0
emilybriano's review against another edition
5.0
Inspirational. This will be the book that takes my cooking and love of eating to the next level.