PicoBlog

I love social media. We get to hear stories and commentary from people who otherwise wouldn’t have a voice because of the gatekeeping chosen ones in traditional media and publishing. (And politicians, who are now trying to ban TikTok again because they cannot control our voices. Or maybe it’s “China”. Or election season.)

I reluctantly joined Threads (the Meta version of Twitter, erm X, which isn’t a complete dumpster fire). Instagram is boring me to death, so I thought Threads would be the same, but no! There is juice. Gossip. Scandal. Unhinged comments. And a communal rallying cry to support an author who got shit on by a NYT reporter.

Geraldine DeRuiter, author of All Over the Place (which I have not yet read), has a new book coming out tomorrow—If You Can’t Take the Heat: Tales of Food, Feminism, and Fury. She is a traveling foodie and the funny, sarcastic writer behind The Everywhereist. (The blog tagline is “An Award-Winning Cry for Help.” Target audience reached.)

Two days ago, three days before the book's release (March 12), the NYT had the following compliments (condensed for your pleasure, quoted accordingly) to share about DeRuiter’s new book:

• “Brimming with venom and verve” the book “showcase[s] DeRuiter’s mastery of irony, profanity and stream-of-consciousness indignation.” (Venom, verve, and profanity are my favorite ingredients.)

• “DeRuiter has an “all eyes on me” narrative persona — ravenous, pugnacious, irrational, loud. Unmodulated, her voice is ideal for delivering a rant” (I mean, she DID write the book about HER experiences. And we love a rant, don’t we?)

• “But rather than exploring this tranquil space [recipe comment section] with delicacy and gentle wit, she swamps it with salty all-caps asides and sarcastic mini-diatribes.” (GENTLE WIT IS FOR SUCKERS. Honestly, I think Geraldine and I would be fast friends.)

• Then the reporter called her an attention-seeking writer who sometimes triggered admiration, but mostly, exasperation.

Naturally, when I saw this flabbergasted author talking about how the NYT wrote this horrible review and included an illustration of someone eating her decapitated head (red lipstick to match her author photo and all), I became 100% invested in reading this book (audiobook pre-ordered!)

And I am not the only one. Hundreds of comments, thousands of likes, and Geraldine’s new book is now a bestseller on Amazon—and, wouldn’t it be funny if it hit the NYT list, too? If this was reverse book-selling psychology, then well done! But I think it was readers standing behind an author and celebrating her voice, the accomplishment of writing a book, and sharing her experience online. When Geraldine shared the story, she did not see this coming. (Oh, Ger-Bear, we came. Hard. You’re welcome!)

I cannot wait to listen to this book, narrated by the author, and return to you with my full review of how salty, sweary, and venomous it is! (My tolerance is high, so bring it on.)

If you, too, are interested in hilarious lady writers (you are reading THIS, after all) and sticking it to the self-important taste(less) makers of the world, and you love unhinged stories about food and feminism, pre-order If You Can’t Take the Heat today. (Currently ranked #1 in Feminist Theory, #2 in Humor Essays, #2 in Traveler & Explorer Biographies, and #396 in top 100 books on Amazon.)

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