Kevin Connors

Story Too Long, Substance Too Little

Revisado: 10-20-24

I'm a total foodie and work in the Industry, so I was looking forward to Kevin's take on the rise and demise of the American culinary scene. The book follows chefs/restaurants from various cities across the country and gets into *waaaay* too many irrelevant details. (i.e. talking about totally unrelated businesses in each restaurant's neighborhood). The story could easily have been completed in half the time. The author also allows his political views to bleed into the story-line repeatedly, which has zero relevance on the plot and was just additional rhetoric in an already long book.

The book just kind of ends without any real reckoning on why the culinary scene is dead. There are some allusions to it, but I was hoping for a more more cohesive argument from the author. There were some cool factoids along the way, but it's really just a retelling of several different restaurants without much overlap or interplay. If you're big into the Portland or Nashville scene, you may appreciate the extra details provided, but my overall take on the book is kind of 'meh'.

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Never Goes Anywhere

Revisado: 04-25-22

I listen to a lot of culinary books and I really gave this one a chance. Sadly, the characters aren't that engaging and the main character, Leo, is just not someone you really end up caring about at all. Storyline is scattered and often you'll have character threads start, but then just stop and the plot moves elsewhere. Leo is a pretty vapid, selfish character which makes it tough to care about any predicaments he ends up in. Narration is pretty good, but when the story itself is meh then the person reading it really can't save it. I got about 4 hours into it and eventually called it quits.

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Wine Nerd Heaven

Revisado: 05-03-20

I really enjoyed this book and have recommended it to several of my friends and colleagues. It’s geared towards wine enthusiasts who are looking to expand their palates, so I’m guessing casual wine drinkers would start yawning as soon as things like Chesselas come up. However, these ‘Godforsaken Grapes’ make some of the most fascinating wines you will ever drink. It’s just as much of a story about the unique places where these varietals hail from as it is about the wines themselves. If you dare to go off the beaten path and you will find some true gems. This book may not be for everyone, but I found it very entertaining and informative.

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Wine Lovers Will Approve

Revisado: 05-03-20

Wine is a part of my personal and professional life, so I’m always looking for books that are entertaining and informative. I feel Natalie does a good job appealing to both wine noobs and experts alike. There are a few sections that get mired in details which don’t really add value to the story, but overall it’s an entertaining book. She provides some good factoids that even the most diehard wine nerds may not know, yet also makes much of the material accessible for people just getting into enjoying wine.
I especially enjoyed the compare/contrast between Parker and Robinson since both are serious forces in shaping how wine is viewed and valued to this day.

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Good content, but Computer Narration is just OK

Revisado: 05-03-20

I’d you’re a wine geek, you’ll like this book. The caveat is you will need to accept that it seems apparent the narration is done via computer translation. The pronunciation of so many wine terms and varietals is what you would expect when you ask Siri to read a wine label. The dialogue and inflection is very flat, so set expectations accordingly. The content itself is pretty solid, but it is definitely something where the listener needs to be forewarned that many of the terms used are mispronounced.

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Could be way better

Revisado: 07-09-19

I am a true wine nerd and work in the wine industry, so I was excited for this book. Sadly, the story is mired down with unnecessary details, a myriad of foreign names you will not be able to keep track of, and the story jumps around in time very often. I think if the author stuck to giving a small amount of backstory on DRC and why it's so important and then discussed the crime committed against it, the book would flow better and keep the listener engaged. The painful detail on some of the history behind DRC made me lose interest quickly. I'll still research this crime on my own as it's fascinating, so at least the author got me interested, but I couldn't handle the litany of names, facts, dates, and endless inconsequential details presented in the book.

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