Jamie Loftus

This was a big blend of memoir, travelogue, and food history with humor sprinkled throughout. I enjoyed the history of the hot dog and definitely loved learning more about the various geographical regions throughout the US as I am familiar with some but not a lot, but the personal stuff was more annoying for me unfortunately (and I’m a massive memoir fan—road trip stuff is usually my jam). I realized that I’ve listened to the author before on her podcast about joining Mensa, and so I remembered that she can be a mix of likable and unlikeable heroine which I guess covers all media she’s involved in.… (més)

I was pretty excited about this book, I thought it would be a good read. How great that someone has gone on this crazy nationwide trip to experience Hot Dogs from sea to shining sea.
Living under a rock, maybe, I wasn't aware that Jamie Loftus is a Comedian, nor was I aware of her brand of humor. Having read the book, I now know, she isn't targeting people like me, and neither is her book, which is a shame. I enjoy reading, and can appreciate different styles, techniques and descriptions, but Jamie Loftus' preferred comparisons were all vulgar. When she gets to Coney Island and the Nathan's Hot Dog Competition, she spends several paragraphs wondering who is F**king who. When she makes it to Chicago, she acknowledges their Hot Dogs are different, and her comparison is "It's fine, I'm from Boston and our 'signature soup' looks like c*m of a very sick person." And this is a common theme throughout the book. I guess my point is how does this add anything to the book?
As I said before, clearly, I am not her target audience. No one likes every book they read, and this one wasn't for me. Aspects were interesting; I hadn't realized all the regional variations and follower each has. I admire her stamina and her thoroughness.… (més)