Howdy! Whew – i was on a mission to get all caught up on my reading and that is exactly what I did! I get a lot of my book recommendations from Instagram, and when I saw my latest read, I knew it was going to be an interesting one.
I’m talking about “The Dinner List” by Rebecca Serle. Here is the book’s description from Amazon:
“We’ve been waiting for an hour.” That’s what Audrey says. She states it with a little bit of an edge, her words just bordering on cursive. That’s the thing I think first. Not: Audrey Hepburn is at my birthday dinner, but Audrey Hepburn is annoyed.”
At one point or another, we’ve all been asked to name five people, living or dead, with whom we’d like to have dinner. Why do we choose the people we do? And what if that dinner was to actually happen? These are the questions Rebecca Serle contends with in her utterly captivating novel, THE DINNER LIST, a story imbued with the same delightful magical realism as One Day, and the life-changing romance of Me Before You.
When Sabrina arrives at her thirtieth birthday dinner she finds at the table not just her best friend, but also three significant people from her past, and well, Audrey Hepburn. As the appetizers are served, wine poured, and dinner table conversation begins, it becomes clear that there’s a reason these six people have been gathered together.
Delicious but never indulgent, sweet with just the right amount of bitter, THE DINNER LIST is a romance for our times. Bon appetit.
For starters, this book made me think about who I’d invite to dinner, given the chance. I immediately thought of celebrities, which then I was like, ok is that who I am? But of course, if given the chance, I’d love to be able to eat dinner with my dad again.
Bbbuuuut, if we’re just talking about celebrities, here’s my list:
- Jackie Collins
- Truman Capote
- Issa Rae
- John Mayer
- Andy Cohen
- Anthony Bourdain
- Dave Cullen
I was very strategic with my list in that I chose my favorite romance writer, favorite crime writer, favorite TV writer, favorite musician and lyricist, favorite pop culture writer and commentator, favorite food writer, and favorite investigative journalist.
One thing I noticed about this book is that one of the conflicts was she didn’t consider how everyone would get along at the table – this is one of the first things I thought about. In short, i would absolutely LOVE to see Jackie Collins and Truman Capote (with Andy Cohen chiming in) sitting together, and I also think Issa Rae and Dave Cullen would have some interesting conversations together, all while Anthony Bourdain orders the noodles and local beer, later to narrate the whole thing on “Parts Unknown”.
Sounds fantastic, right? I’d love to hear who YOU would invite to dinner!
I really enjoyed this book for helping me think outside of the box. But it also touched on some interesting topics, and told a romantic love story between the chapters that describe the present. It had a bit of a dark twist, but I still very much enjoyed it.
The next book Blanche’s Book Club will be reading is “Rush” by Lisa Patton. Follow me on Instagram @Orangejulius7 to see updates in real time!
The Bitter Lemon 
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