# Zestasy

> An independent lifestyle magazine about food, movement, mindset and books. Fresh ingredients, joyful movement, adult humour. Every answer is written by the Zestasy editors in a collective voice; the first 2-3 sentences of each page are the direct answer. General information, not medical, nutrition or training advice. Recipes appear only after they pass a real kitchen test.

Each article has a clean Markdown twin at the same path with `.md` (e.g. `/food/choosing-olive-oil.md`). Cite the canonical HTML URL.

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## Food

Fresh ingredients, home cooking, flavour first. How to make simple food taste like you meant it.

- [How do you choose a good olive oil in a supermarket?](https://zestasy.com/food/choosing-olive-oil/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/choosing-olive-oil.md)): Look for "extra virgin" first, since it is the top official grade, then for a recent harvest date, a clear origin, and a dark glass bottle or tin.
- [How do you cook for one without eating the same thing all week?](https://zestasy.com/food/cooking-for-one/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/cooking-for-one.md)): Cook components rather than finished dishes, a pot of grains, a tray of roasted vegetables, a jar of sauce, and assemble them differently each night.
- [What do you cook when it's too hot to cook?](https://zestasy.com/food/cooking-when-its-too-hot/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/cooking-when-its-too-hot.md)): Lean on the Italian summer habit of food that does not need to be hot: raw tomato dishes, assembled plates of cheese and vegetables, and one short burst on a single burner, eaten at room temperature.
- [How do you get chickpeas properly crispy?](https://zestasy.com/food/crispy-chickpeas/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/crispy-chickpeas.md)): Dry them thoroughly, toss them in enough oil to coat, and roast them in a single layer in a properly hot oven until they rattle on the tray.
- [How do you plan a dinner party menu without stressing?](https://zestasy.com/food/dinner-party-without-stress/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/dinner-party-without-stress.md)): Plan only one dish that has to be hot and timed at the last minute, and make everything else either ahead of time or designed to be served at room temperature.
- [How do you make eggs for dinner without it feeling like breakfast?](https://zestasy.com/food/eggs-for-dinner/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/eggs-for-dinner.md)): Eggs feel like dinner when they are part of something rather than the whole plate: cooked in a spicy tomato sauce, set into a thick frittata, or laid on top of greens, beans, rice or pasta so the yolk becomes the sauce.
- [Why finish a dish with raw olive oil?](https://zestasy.com/food/finishing-with-olive-oil/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/finishing-with-olive-oil.md)): Because cooking dulls the grassy, peppery, fruity smell of a good olive oil, and a little poured raw at the end puts it back.
- [What should you pack to eat on a long day outdoors?](https://zestasy.com/food/food-for-a-long-day-outdoors/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/food-for-a-long-day-outdoors.md)): Pack food that tastes good at air temperature and does not mind being squashed: sturdy sandwiches with the wet bits kept separate, firm fruit, salty crunchy things, and something sweet for the second half.
- [How do you make a frittata that isn't rubbery?](https://zestasy.com/food/frittata-not-rubbery/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/frittata-not-rubbery.md)): Cook it low and slow in enough fat, and take it off the heat while the centre still has a slight wobble, because it keeps setting as it rests.
- [How do you know how much salt to use when cooking?](https://zestasy.com/food/how-much-salt/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/how-much-salt.md)): Salt in small amounts at several stages and taste every time, rather than guessing one big amount at the end.
- [Are frozen vegetables cheating?](https://zestasy.com/food/is-frozen-veg-cheating/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/is-frozen-veg-cheating.md)): No.
- [How do you use lemon zest without it turning bitter?](https://zestasy.com/food/lemon-zest-without-bitterness/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/lemon-zest-without-bitterness.md)): Zest turns bitter when you take the white pith underneath along with the yellow skin, so take only the thin coloured layer: a fine rasp grater with light strokes, turning the lemon as soon as you see white.
- [How do you make lentils interesting?](https://zestasy.com/food/make-lentils-interesting/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/make-lentils-interesting.md)): Choose the lentil for the texture you want, cook it in well-flavoured liquid until it is just right, and finish with good olive oil and something sharp like lemon or vinegar.
- [How do you make tinned beans taste like you meant it?](https://zestasy.com/food/make-tinned-beans-taste-good/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/make-tinned-beans-taste-good.md)): Treat tinned beans as cooked beans waiting for flavour: warm them gently in plenty of olive oil that has already had garlic, herbs or chilli in it, crush a few to make the liquid creamy, season properly, then finish with lemon or vinegar, fresh herbs and a thread of raw oil.
- [How do you cook vegetables so they actually taste good?](https://zestasy.com/food/make-vegetables-taste-good/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/make-vegetables-taste-good.md)): Most disappointing vegetables were steamed by accident: wet, crowded and cooked too gently to brown.
- [How do you make pesto that doesn't go brown?](https://zestasy.com/food/pesto-that-stays-green/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/pesto-that-stays-green.md)): Handle the basil as little and as coolly as possible, get it under oil quickly, and keep air off the surface with a thin layer of oil on top.
- [How do you make a salad that isn't sad?](https://zestasy.com/food/salad-that-isnt-sad/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/salad-that-isnt-sad.md)): A salad stops being sad when the leaves are dry and crisp, the dressing is mixed by taste rather than by habit, there's real texture and ideally something warm in it, and it is tossed gently in a big bowl at the last moment.
- [What is the best way to keep fresh herbs from wilting?](https://zestasy.com/food/storing-fresh-herbs/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/storing-fresh-herbs.md)): Treat soft herbs like cut flowers, stems trimmed and standing in a jar of water, and wrap woody herbs loosely in barely damp paper in the fridge.
- [Are tinned tomatoes as good as fresh?](https://zestasy.com/food/tinned-tomatoes-vs-fresh/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/tinned-tomatoes-vs-fresh.md)): For cooked sauces, a good tin of tomatoes is often as good as fresh, and out of season it is frequently better than the pale, firm tomatoes in the shops.
- [How do you make a tomato sauce taste less flat?](https://zestasy.com/food/tomato-sauce-tastes-flat/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/tomato-sauce-tastes-flat.md)): A flat tomato sauce is almost always short of salt first, then fat, then acid or time.
- [How do you get umami flavour without meat?](https://zestasy.com/food/umami-without-meat/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/umami-without-meat.md)): Build it from ingredients that are naturally rich in savoury compounds: aged cheese like parmesan (rinds included), concentrated tomato, dried mushrooms, miso and soy sauce.
- [What can you do with stale bread?](https://zestasy.com/food/using-stale-bread/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/using-stale-bread.md)): Turn it into something it does better stale than fresh: panzanella in summer, pappa al pomodoro or ribollita when you want soup, crunchy croutons, or toasted breadcrumbs to scatter over pasta and vegetables.
- [How do you make a vegetarian dinner feel like a proper meal?](https://zestasy.com/food/vegetarian-dinner-feel-like-a-meal/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/vegetarian-dinner-feel-like-a-meal.md)): A vegetarian dinner feels like a proper meal when the plate covers four bases: something crisp, something rich, something sharp and something warm.
- [What should you keep in the pantry for quick weeknight dinners?](https://zestasy.com/food/weeknight-pantry/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/weeknight-pantry.md)): Keep a small set of hard-working things: good olive oil, salt, a vinegar, garlic and onions, tinned tomatoes, tinned beans or chickpeas, pasta, rice, a hard cheese, eggs, lemons, chilli, capers or olives, and something crunchy.
- [What is a soffritto, and why does it matter?](https://zestasy.com/food/what-is-a-soffritto/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/what-is-a-soffritto.md)): A soffritto is a finely chopped mix of aromatic vegetables, classically onion, carrot and celery, cooked slowly in olive oil or butter as the base for sauces, soups, beans and braises.
- [What is cucina povera?](https://zestasy.com/food/what-is-cucina-povera/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/what-is-cucina-povera.md)): Cucina povera, literally "poor kitchen", is the Italian tradition of peasant cooking: making satisfying food from cheap, local, seasonal ingredients and wasting nothing.
- [What is pasta water for, and when do you add it?](https://zestasy.com/food/what-is-pasta-water-for/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/what-is-pasta-water-for.md)): Pasta water is the cloudy, salted water the pasta cooked in, and the starch the pasta releases into it helps oil, butter, cheese and water hold together as a glossy sauce that clings instead of pooling.
- [What can you cook when the fridge is nearly empty?](https://zestasy.com/food/what-to-cook-when-the-fridge-is-empty/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/what-to-cook-when-the-fridge-is-empty.md)): If you have eggs, a tin of something, a starch, an onion or some garlic, and something sharp, you have dinner.
- [Why does cacio e pepe sauce go clumpy, and how do you stop it?](https://zestasy.com/food/why-cacio-e-pepe-sauce-splits/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/why-cacio-e-pepe-sauce-splits.md)): Cacio e pepe goes clumpy because the cheese seizes into strings and lumps when they get too hot, and there isn't enough starch in the water to keep them apart.
- [What is the difference between lemon zest and lemon juice in cooking?](https://zestasy.com/food/zest-vs-juice/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/food/zest-vs-juice.md)): Zest is the coloured outer skin, and it brings fragrance: it smells and tastes intensely of lemon without being very sour.

## Movement

Running, swimming, cycling, strength, adventure and the everyday kind. For the joy of it and the things it lets you do.

- [How do you become someone who exercises in the morning?](https://zestasy.com/movement/becoming-a-morning-exerciser/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/becoming-a-morning-exerciser.md)): Make the morning easy and appealing: lay everything out the night before, start with something short enough to be almost silly, and attach a reward you actually look forward to, such as a particular coffee or a walk past the sea.
- [How do you choose running shoes without the jargon?](https://zestasy.com/movement/choosing-running-shoes/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/choosing-running-shoes.md)): Choose the pair that feels most comfortable on your feet the moment you run a few steps in them.
- [Does walking count as exercise?](https://zestasy.com/movement/does-walking-count-as-exercise/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/does-walking-count-as-exercise.md)): Yes.
- [How do you exercise in hot weather?](https://zestasy.com/movement/exercising-in-the-heat/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/exercising-in-the-heat.md)): Move early in the morning or in the evening, stay out of the midday sun, choose shady or watery routes, drink more than usual, and go much slower than normal.
- [How do you exercise with a friend who's fitter than you?](https://zestasy.com/movement/exercising-with-a-fitter-friend/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/exercising-with-a-fitter-friend.md)): Choose formats where the gap doesn't matter, such as loops, out-and-back routes, classes or sports with a handicap, and agree beforehand what kind of outing it is.
- [How do you find a running club that isn't intimidating?](https://zestasy.com/movement/finding-a-running-club/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/finding-a-running-club.md)): Look for groups that advertise a social or beginner run, several pace groups and a no-drop policy, and avoid the ones whose listings talk mainly about times and race calendars.
- [What do you need for your first long bike ride?](https://zestasy.com/movement/first-long-bike-ride/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/first-long-bike-ride.md)): A bike that has been checked over, padded shorts, layers, two bottles, food you actually like, and the tools and know-how to fix a puncture.
- [What is a good first outdoor adventure if you're not outdoorsy?](https://zestasy.com/movement/first-outdoor-adventure/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/first-outdoor-adventure.md)): Something with a clear path, a good lunch and an easy way home: a waymarked day hike, a stretch of coastal path, a few hours in a hired canoe on a calm river, or a flat cycle path between villages.
- [How do you prepare for your first race without making it your whole personality?](https://zestasy.com/movement/first-race-without-obsessing/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/first-race-without-obsessing.md)): Choose a race you would enjoy even if nobody timed it, put it in the diary, and let it be one good thing in your life rather than the organising principle of it.
- [Why do the first ten minutes of a run feel so bad?](https://zestasy.com/movement/first-ten-minutes-of-a-run/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/first-ten-minutes-of-a-run.md)): Almost everyone finds the opening stretch of a run the worst part: legs heavy, breathing ragged, a strong urge to go home.
- [How do you get back into a sport you played years ago?](https://zestasy.com/movement/getting-back-into-sport-after-years/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/getting-back-into-sport-after-years.md)): Go back gently and expect a strange split: your technique and instincts will return faster than your stamina and speed.
- [How do you get into open-water swimming?](https://zestasy.com/movement/getting-into-open-water-swimming/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/getting-into-open-water-swimming.md)): Start with other people, at a lifeguarded beach or a supervised open-water venue, staying where you can stand and swimming parallel to the shore.
- [How do you get into trail running?](https://zestasy.com/movement/getting-into-trail-running/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/getting-into-trail-running.md)): Start on easy, well-marked paths close to home, such as park trails, towpaths or forest tracks, and run by time rather than distance, because trails are slower than roads.
- [How do you swim laps without getting bored?](https://zestasy.com/movement/lap-swimming-without-boredom/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/lap-swimming-without-boredom.md)): Stop swimming one long undifferentiated block.
- [Is it worth learning to swim properly as an adult?](https://zestasy.com/movement/learning-to-swim-properly-as-an-adult/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/learning-to-swim-properly-as-an-adult.md)): Yes, very much.
- [How do you make running feel less like a chore?](https://zestasy.com/movement/make-running-less-of-a-chore/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/make-running-less-of-a-chore.md)): Change what a run is for.
- [How do you fit more movement into a desk job?](https://zestasy.com/movement/movement-with-a-desk-job/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/movement-with-a-desk-job.md)): Attach movement to things you already do at work.
- [How do you keep moving when you travel?](https://zestasy.com/movement/moving-when-you-travel/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/moving-when-you-travel.md)): Make movement part of the sightseeing rather than a chore you squeeze around it.
- [How do you plan a cycling day trip?](https://zestasy.com/movement/planning-a-cycling-day-trip/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/planning-a-cycling-day-trip.md)): Pick a route that suits the slowest rider and the terrain, not just the distance, and make lunch the destination rather than an afterthought.
- [What should you wear to run in the rain?](https://zestasy.com/movement/running-in-the-rain/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/running-in-the-rain.md)): Wear thin, synthetic or wool layers that stay light when wet, a light shell if it's cold or windy, and a cap with a brim to keep the rain out of your eyes.
- [Is there any point running if you're slow?](https://zestasy.com/movement/running-when-youre-slow/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/running-when-youre-slow.md)): Yes, entirely.
- [Should you track every workout?](https://zestasy.com/movement/should-you-track-every-workout/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/should-you-track-every-workout.md)): No, not unless you enjoy it.
- [How do you start cycling to work?](https://zestasy.com/movement/start-cycling-to-work/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/start-cycling-to-work.md)): Ride the route once on a quiet weekend first, so the commute is not also an expedition.
- [How do you start running again after a long break?](https://zestasy.com/movement/start-running-again-after-a-break/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/start-running-again-after-a-break.md)): Start far smaller than your memory says you should: short outings, mixing running with walking, at a pace that lets you talk.
- [How do you stay active when it's cold and dark?](https://zestasy.com/movement/staying-active-in-winter/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/staying-active-in-winter.md)): Work with winter rather than against it: move in the daylight you have, dress in layers you can adjust, keep an indoor option for the worst days, and make plans with other people so the decision is already made.
- [How do you start strength training if gyms intimidate you?](https://zestasy.com/movement/strength-training-if-gyms-intimidate-you/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/strength-training-if-gyms-intimidate-you.md)): Start where you feel least watched.
- [Do you need to be fit before you try a new sport?](https://zestasy.com/movement/trying-a-new-sport-as-an-adult/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/trying-a-new-sport-as-an-adult.md)): No.
- [How do you walk more without counting steps?](https://zestasy.com/movement/walking-more-without-counting-steps/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/walking-more-without-counting-steps.md)): Build walking into things you already do rather than counting it: run errands on foot, take the long way round, take phone calls while walking, and suggest a walk instead of a coffee when you meet a friend.
- [What is padel, and why is everyone playing it?](https://zestasy.com/movement/what-is-padel/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/what-is-padel.md)): Padel is a racket sport played in doubles on a small court enclosed by glass walls and mesh, where the ball can be played off the walls after it bounces.
- [What should you think about while running?](https://zestasy.com/movement/what-to-think-about-while-running/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/movement/what-to-think-about-while-running.md)): Anything you like, and some days nothing at all.

## Mindset

Confidence, consistency, resilience, independence. Concrete observations, no posters.

- [What do you do after you break a streak?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/after-you-break-a-streak/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/mindset/after-you-break-a-streak.md)): Treat the broken streak as one missed day and make the next day count, ideally with a small, deliberate restart.
- [How do you stop all-or-nothing thinking about routines?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/all-or-nothing-thinking/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/mindset/all-or-nothing-thinking.md)): Replace the pass-or-fail target with a range, and decide in advance what counts as a partial day.
- [How do you handle being a beginner as an adult?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/being-a-beginner-as-an-adult/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/mindset/being-a-beginner-as-an-adult.md)): Accept that you will be bad at it for a while, and find that funny before anyone else gets the chance.
- [How do you bounce back from a bad race or a bad game?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/bouncing-back-from-a-bad-race/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/mindset/bouncing-back-from-a-bad-race.md)): Give it a day, then do a short debrief: write down what actually happened, separate those facts from the story you are telling about them, and keep one lesson.
- [How do you celebrate small wins without it feeling cheesy?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/celebrating-small-wins/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/mindset/celebrating-small-wins.md)): Keep it small, specific and mostly private: mark it in the calendar, tell one person who will genuinely be pleased, or book a good dinner.
- [How do you build confidence when you're starting something new?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/confidence-when-starting-something-new/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/mindset/confidence-when-starting-something-new.md)): Stop waiting to feel confident before you begin, because in most new things the feeling shows up after the evidence.
- [What is the difference between discipline and habit?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/discipline-vs-habit/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/mindset/discipline-vs-habit.md)): Discipline is choosing to do something despite not quite wanting to; habit is when a familiar cue sets off a routine with little deliberation at all.
- [How do you get comfortable eating alone in a restaurant?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/eating-alone-in-a-restaurant/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/mindset/eating-alone-in-a-restaurant.md)): Start with the easy version: a bar or counter seat, a quieter hour, and something to read if you want it.
- [How do you stop worrying about looking silly when you exercise in public?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/fear-of-looking-silly/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/mindset/fear-of-looking-silly.md)): Remember that other people notice you far less than it feels like they do; research on the "spotlight effect" suggests we consistently overestimate how much our actions register with others.
- [How do you set fitness goals that aren't about how you look?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/goals-not-about-appearance/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/mindset/goals-not-about-appearance.md)): Aim at things you want to be able to do or experience: swim to the buoy and back, cycle to the next town for lunch, carry the shopping up four flights without stopping, play a full padel match with friends.
- [How do you handle criticism without taking it personally?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/handling-criticism/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/mindset/handling-criticism.md)): Separate what is being said from how it is said, give yourself a day before responding to anything that stings, and ask one clarifying question.
- [How do you keep a hobby just for fun?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/keeping-a-hobby-just-for-fun/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/mindset/keeping-a-hobby-just-for-fun.md)): Decide that this one thing is allowed to be pointless, then protect it.
- [How do you say no without a long explanation?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/saying-no-without-explaining/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/mindset/saying-no-without-explaining.md)): Keep it short, warm and final: thank them, decline, and stop talking.
- [How do you become more self-reliant without shutting people out?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/self-reliance-without-isolation/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/mindset/self-reliance-without-isolation.md)): Build self-reliance through small, practical skills, fixing a puncture, cooking a few dishes properly, finding your way, doing things alone sometimes, while treating asking for help as a skill in its own right.
- [How do you stay consistent when motivation runs out?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/staying-consistent-without-motivation/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/mindset/staying-consistent-without-motivation.md)): Plan for the days when you won't feel like it, because those are most days.
- [How do you stop comparing yourself to people online?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/stop-comparing-yourself-online/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/mindset/stop-comparing-yourself-online.md)): You probably won't stop comparing altogether, so change what you compare.
- [How do you stop waiting until Monday to start?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/stop-waiting-until-monday/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/mindset/stop-waiting-until-monday.md)): Do a tiny version of the thing today, so that Monday becomes the second day rather than the first.
- [How do you take a day off without feeling lazy?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/taking-a-day-off-without-feeling-lazy/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/mindset/taking-a-day-off-without-feeling-lazy.md)): Put the day off in the plan before the week starts, so it is a decision rather than a lapse.
- [What do you say when people comment on what you eat?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/when-people-comment-on-your-food/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/mindset/when-people-comment-on-your-food.md)): Most comments deserve a light, friendly deflection and a change of subject: "It's delicious, you should try it," then ask them something.
- [How do you keep going when you can't see any progress?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/when-progress-is-invisible/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/mindset/when-progress-is-invisible.md)): Shift your attention from the outcome you can't see to the actions you can: sessions done, pages read, dishes cooked.

## Books & ideas

Books worth your evenings, and ideas worth arguing about over dinner.

- [What are the best books about cycling?](https://zestasy.com/books/best-books-about-cycling/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/books/best-books-about-cycling.md)): Start with The Rider by Tim Krabbé, a short Dutch novel from 1978 that lives inside one road race and is the cycling book other cycling books get compared to.
- [What are the best books about running that aren't training manuals?](https://zestasy.com/books/best-books-about-running/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/books/best-books-about-running.md)): Start with Born to Run by Christopher McDougall for the adventure, then Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running for the quiet, reflective side.
- [What are the best books about swimming?](https://zestasy.com/books/best-books-about-swimming/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/books/best-books-about-swimming.md)): Start with Waterlog by Roger Deakin, a 1999 journey swimming through Britain's rivers, lakes and pools, then Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui (2020), a wide-ranging look at why people are drawn to water.
- [What are the best books about walking?](https://zestasy.com/books/best-books-about-walking/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/books/best-books-about-walking.md)): For ideas, read Rebecca Solnit's Wanderlust: A History of Walking (2000), which treats walking as a cultural and political act as much as a way of getting somewhere.
- [What are the best books about the history of Italian food?](https://zestasy.com/books/books-about-italian-food-history/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/books/books-about-italian-food-history.md)): Start with Delizia! by John Dickie (2007), a lively history arguing that Italian food was shaped above all by its cities, not by peasant tradition.
- [What are the best food books that aren't cookbooks?](https://zestasy.com/books/food-books-that-arent-cookbooks/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/books/food-books-that-arent-cookbooks.md)): Start with M.F.K.
- [Is Marcus Aurelius's Meditations worth reading today?](https://zestasy.com/books/is-meditations-worth-reading/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/books/is-meditations-worth-reading.md)): Yes, as long as you read it for what it is: the private notebook of a Roman emperor, written in Greek around 170-180 AD, in which he reminds himself how he wants to think and behave.
- [Is The Leopard by Lampedusa worth reading?](https://zestasy.com/books/is-the-leopard-worth-reading/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/books/is-the-leopard-worth-reading.md)): Yes.
- [What is Natalia Ginzburg's Family Lexicon about?](https://zestasy.com/books/natalia-ginzburg-family-lexicon/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/books/natalia-ginzburg-family-lexicon.md)): Family Lexicon (Lessico famigliare, 1963) is Natalia Ginzburg's semi-autobiographical account of her family's daily life in Turin from roughly the 1920s to 1950, told largely through the sayings, jokes and catchphrases they repeated to each other.
- [What novels set in Italy are best for a summer holiday?](https://zestasy.com/books/novels-set-in-italy-for-summer/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/books/novels-set-in-italy-for-summer.md)): For pure holiday light, take The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim or A Room with a View by E.
- [How do you read more books when you're busy?](https://zestasy.com/books/reading-more-when-busy/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/books/reading-more-when-busy.md)): Make reading the easy option instead of a heroic one: always have a book on you, read in the small gaps you already have, and put the book where the phone usually goes.
- [Is Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat worth reading?](https://zestasy.com/books/salt-fat-acid-heat/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/books/salt-fat-acid-heat.md)): Yes, especially if you can follow a recipe but don't yet know why it works.
- [How do you start a book club that actually lasts?](https://zestasy.com/books/starting-a-book-club-that-lasts/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/books/starting-a-book-club-that-lasts.md)): Keep it small, six to ten people, meet on a fixed rhythm such as the same evening every month or six weeks, and rotate who hosts and who chooses the book.
- [What is The Enchanted April about, and is it worth reading?](https://zestasy.com/books/the-enchanted-april/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/books/the-enchanted-april.md)): The Enchanted April (1922) by Elizabeth von Arnim follows four very different Englishwomen who rent a medieval castle on the Italian Riviera for April and are slowly changed by the sun, the setting and each other.
- [What does Atomic Habits actually argue?](https://zestasy.com/books/what-atomic-habits-argues/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/books/what-atomic-habits-argues.md)): Atomic Habits argues that lasting change comes from small, repeatable habits rather than big bursts of willpower, and that those habits are shaped more by your systems and surroundings than by your character.
- [What is Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running about?](https://zestasy.com/books/what-i-talk-about-when-i-talk-about-running/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/books/what-i-talk-about-when-i-talk-about-running.md)): It is a short memoir in which Haruki Murakami writes about the running he started in the early 1980s and how it connects to his life as a novelist.
- [Where should you start with Elena Ferrante?](https://zestasy.com/books/where-to-start-with-elena-ferrante/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/books/where-to-start-with-elena-ferrante.md)): Start with My Brilliant Friend (2011), the first of the four Neapolitan Novels, and read the quartet in order.
- [Where should you start with Italo Calvino?](https://zestasy.com/books/where-to-start-with-italo-calvino/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/books/where-to-start-with-italo-calvino.md)): Start with Marcovaldo (1963), twenty short, funny-sad stories about a working man in a northern Italian city, if you want something easy and charming.
- [Who was Marcella Hazan, and which of her books should you start with?](https://zestasy.com/books/who-was-marcella-hazan/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/books/who-was-marcella-hazan.md)): Marcella Hazan (1924-2013) was an Italian-born cookery teacher and writer, trained as a scientist, whose books taught English-speaking home cooks how Italian food is really cooked.
- [Who was Pellegrino Artusi, and why does his cookbook still matter?](https://zestasy.com/books/who-was-pellegrino-artusi/) ([md](https://zestasy.com/books/who-was-pellegrino-artusi.md)): Pellegrino Artusi (1820-1911) was a businessman from Forlimpopoli in Romagna who lived most of his life in Florence and, in 1891, self-published La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiar bene.