Lucia Fabio

As I carried bag after bag heavy with books into the space, I was stunned by the feelings of injustice and unfaithfulness I had towards those titles I decided would not be included on my three designated shelves. I chose books that feature multiple authors or alternative viewpoints, and when presented together possess the potential to forge new dialogues between their respective fields. As if I were constructing a self-portrait of the present, I selected titles that focus on my overlapping interests and passions, and illustrate my desire for nourishing both mind and body.

Three books are from Sir Robert Loescher’s famous food class at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the last one he taught before he died. Loescher is fundamentally responsible for a large amount of these texts, as it was in his class that I was exposed to the rich culture of American cuisine and the plethora of artists using food as either muse or medium. He also indulged in all of life’s pleasures without reservations, and so I have included titles that give me great joy. This joy does not solely derive from subject matter, but also from the hedonistic enjoyment of the book as object: its weight, paper quality, and printed imagery. I hope those browsing these titles will share in my gratification of consuming stories solely for the pleasure of reading.