Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good

A Memoir of Food and Love from an American Midwest Family

By: Kathleen Flinn

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

A delicious memoir from the author of The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry

In this family history interwoven with recipes, Kathleen Flinn returns listeners to the mix of food and memoir beloved by fans of her best-selling The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry. Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good explores the very beginnings of her love affair with food and its connection to home. It is the story of her Midwestern childhood, its memorable home cooks, and the delicious recipes she grew up with. Flinn shares tales of her parents' pizza parlor in San Francisco, where they sold Uncle Clarence's popular oven-fried chicken, as well as recipes for the chili made by former army cook Grandpa Charles, fluffy Swedish pancakes from Grandma Inez, and cinnamon rolls for birthday breakfasts. Through these dishes, Flinn came to understand how meals can be memories and how cooking can be a form of communication.

Brimming with warmth and wit, this book is sure to appeal to Flinn's many fans, as well as fans of Marcus Samuelsson, Ruth Reichl, and Julie Powell.

©2014 Kathleen Flinn (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

inspired

These stories and gold nuggets of wisdom have transformed the way I view my young life as a young wife & mother. It's good to be reminded of what truly matters in life and of how others have done well with what they were given.

a light story

his book made me reminisce about my upbringing family life and what things are truly important.

Engaging and enjoyable story

I really enjoyed this audiobook. I could relate to the author's memories of her childhood since I grew up in the same era, and in the same general area. I now live where her mother grew up and it was fun hearing the description of how people lived here in the 1950s. However, the narrator was rather distracting. Her voice is clear and strong, but her approach was a bit pretentious and off-putting. Considering this story is in the first person, her performance should have been less posh East Coast, and more working-class Michigan.

Well-read and profoundly moving

Memoirs are my favorite genre, and this book is one of the best memoirs I've read. The story and the storyteller make you feel like part of the family. This is a book I'll listen to again and again.

Great story about a family.

I really enjoyed this story about the Flinn family. It moved along well, was interesting and made me a little sad at the end.

A terrific true story.

What a great story! Much of it was like a walk down memory lane for me, just set in different areas of the country. I can see that the author spent a lot of time gathering stories from the family, then put herself into weaving this book together. Wonderful!

Good story, good narration

Really enjoyed this book. I’m going to look up what other books from this author.

This was a lovely family story!

This little book completely enraptured me! As a midwesterner, I experienced similar life experiences, and
this family sounds like many families I knew in my childhood. The endearing parents, the hilarious
siblings, and how they managed to make a life even when facing hardships.
This is like a great home cooked meal that feels so family, that is comforting,
nourishing and satisfying. Loved it!

I grew up there also!

When I started hearing about Coldwater Rd my attention perked up. Holloway dam, St Joseph hospital in Flint, and most of all Cottrell Elementary school are all places I’ve gone to or attended. I also graduated from Davison HS, playing in the band, and went to MSU to major in Music. I loved hearing about your reminisce of everything. Quite an enjoyable flash to my past. Thanks

A happy Midwest family story

Heavy on Swedish hard work and not wasting a thing. Kathleen has a lovely tone throughout. I’m prepared to follow her to her next book.