You know we love a good memoir. And we've had plenty of great ones on the site this year! So when we came across Giulia Melucci's I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti: A Memoir of Good Food and Bad Boyfriends, we knew we HAD to read it. and after we read it, we knew we HAD to crown Giulia as the next Lit IT Girl.
When Giulia moved out of her family's Brooklyn home, she dreamed of finding the perfect guy-but fresh ingredients proved scarce. After years of dating, she found herself with a heap of tempting recipes she used to both seduce her men and console herself when the relationships ended. From an affectionate alcoholic, to the classic New York City commitment-phobe, to a hipster aged past his sell date, and not one, but two novelists with Peter Pan complexes, Giulia has cooked for them all. She suffers each disappointment with resolute cheer (after a few tears) and a bowl of pastina and has lived to tell the tale so that other women may go out, hopefully with greater success, and if that’s not possible, at least have something good to eat.
You'll love Giulia's hilarious commentary and your mouth will water as she prepares each recipe. (She even includes them for you to try yourself!) Fun and heartwarming, we think y'all will enjoy this delicious memoir.
And we've got FIVE copies to give away! You know what to do-leave a comment and we'll choose the winners on Sunday night after 6pm PST.
CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: LIT IT GIRL: GIULIA MELUCCI
1. How many agents did you query before you found "the one"? I was turned down by three; the fourth was the charm. The one who took me on was perfect, and all those others would have been wrong. Just like all the men who turned me down were all wrong for me and the one I’m with is just right.
2. What was your rock bottom moment during the process? Getting rejected by agents was discouraging, but not for long. I believed in my project and I knew the right one would come along. (Again, like love, because everything is like love.) I found having the book out more painful than the business part and the writing part. Then it was just out there and there was nothing I could do for it. Lots of people liked it; a few did not. It was out of my hands, my baby had flown the coop. I had a hard time letting go. I became obsessed with checking my Amazon numbers. I did all the things you shouldn’t do.
3. How long did it take to write your book? It was a year of writing and a month of recipe testing. I had lots of dinner parties that month.
4. What did you do to celebrate your book deal? I think I went home and cleaned the kitchen the night it happened. Though a couple of nights later I had planned a party for work friend who was moving to Hawaii. I expanded that event into a little fete for me too. I celebrated with my friends from Harper’s Magazine, where I had been working when it all went down.
5. Knowing what you know now about publishing your first novel, what would you have done differently? I knew plenty about publishing already, having worked in the business for nearly 20 years, still, that didn’t stop me from having huge expectations. I thought I was above all that but I was not. I was very happy with the amount of attention my book got. But I was certain it would coast on the New York Times Best Seller list for months. It did not. That was disappointing. Still, I can’t say I wish I had lower expectations. I’m happy that I had the biggest dreams for my book. If I wasn’t going to, who would?
6. Who is your writer crush? Rob Sheffield, who wrote Love is A Mix Tape and Talking to Girls About Duran Duran. There was a piece about him in the New York Times “Beliefs” column a couple of weeks ago. It was about his Catholicism and it mentioned he was looking for a church in Brooklyn. I wrote right away to tell him about my fabulous Brooklyn church. He hasn’t written back yet. Maybe he thinks I’m stalking him. “Rob, I’m very much in love with my boyfriend. I only worry for your soul!”
7. What's your biggest distraction or vice while writing? I do not shut down the internet. I go back and forth from the page, to my mail, Facebook, Twitter. Oh, and I need regular snacks.
8. GNO drink of choice? Wine, red or white depending on my mood, the weather, and the menu.
9. Favorite trashy TV show? GOSSIP GIRL!
10. What celeb would you love to have a Twitter war with? Make Twitter love, not Twitter war. That’s what I always say.
Thanks Giulia! xo, L&L
To read more about the fabulous Guilia, head on over to her website or find her on Facebook and Twitter.