November 2024

I so enjoyed Ina Garten’s memoir, BE READY WHEN THE LUCK HAPPENS. I have been looking forward to this book for a while, and I listened to it on audio. Ina is the narrator, which makes it all the more special.

I have cooked from her cookbooks (and this book inspired me to do that a lot more), I went to the Barefoot Contessa store when it was in East Hampton, and I watched her show on Food Network, always getting ideas from her. But what I took away from this book was advice from a savvy businesswoman far beyond how to make a brilliant dinner party, or how to use a knife or an interesting ingredient. While cooking is at the heart of what she does, there are lessons on when to go big, when to fold and when to say, “This really is not worth the time that I am putting into it.” And there was a dose of saying something to the effect of “If I had just done that sooner, it might have been better for me,” which takes time to admit.

As I was listening, I found myself evaluating so many of the things that we do --- and have done --- at The Book Report Network. It’s that kind of a read. I was thinking about the tweaks, as well as the bigger moves, to make us sharper and better at what we do. And trying to be critical of what we should be doing less of.

It’s like I came for the food and the entertaining, and I left listening to a far bigger story of building a business, including when “no” is the right word to say or to hear. But I did dig into some of Ina’s cookbooks last weekend after I finished listening and earmarked new things to try. She makes simple food really delicious, and I can hear her saying the word “delicious” as I hit the kitchen and pull out the mixer, or look in the fridge to figure out what to make.