The Reluctant Tuscan: How I Discovered My Inner Italian by Phil DoranMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Part of my planning for a spring trip to Italy has me inhaling almost anything I can find to read related to Italy, especially Tuscany and Umbria. Fiction or nonfiction, I'm reading it all. Including travel guides, this is my tenth book on Italy and one of my favorites.
While much of the earlier parts revolve around the author's wife trying to convince him to give up the helter-skelter life of an L.A. TV writer, eventually he moves on to describing the Tuscan people, places and customs around the town of Cambione, and it is here where the book shines. Just from descriptions of the food I think I gained ten pounds.
The Italian life is a slower-paced one (as long as you're off the highways) than almost anywhere in America. Following the author's transition from a frantic writer straniero (foreigner) to a calm (unless he's driving), accepted resident of this wonderful slice of Italy was delightful.
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