Be Ready When the Luck Happens, Ina Garten
Be Ready When the Luck Happens, Ina Garten
12 Rating(s)
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Be Ready When the Luck Happens
A Memoir

Bestseller

Author: Ina Garten

Narrator: Ina Garten

Unabridged: 8 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/01/2024

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

In her long-awaited memoir, Ina Garten—aka the Barefoot Contessa, author of thirteen bestselling cookbooks, beloved Food Network personality, Instagram sensation, and cultural icon—shares her personal story with readers hungry for a seat at her table.
 
Here, for the first time, Ina Garten presents an intimate, entertaining, and inspiring account of her remarkable journey. Ina’s gift is to make everything look easy, yet all her accomplishments have been the result of hard work, audacious choices, and exquisite attention to detail. In her unmistakable voice (no one tells a story like Ina), she brings her past and her process to life in a high-spirited and no-holds-barred memoir that chronicles decades of personal challenges, adventures (and misadventures) and unexpected career twists, all delivered with her signature combination of playfulness and purpose.
 
From a difficult childhood to meeting the love of her life, Jeffrey, and marrying him while still in college, from a boring bureaucratic job in Washington, D.C., to answering an ad for a specialty food store in the Hamptons, from the owner of one Barefoot Contessa shop to author of bestselling cookbooks and celebrated television host, Ina has blazed her own trail and, in the meantime, taught millions of people how to cook and entertain. Now, she invites them to come closer to experience her story in vivid detail and to share the important life lessons she learned along the way: do what you love because if you love it you’ll be really good at it, swing for the fences, and always Be Ready When the Luck Happens.

* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF of recipes and images from the book.

About The Author

Ina Garten is a New York Times bestselling author, the host of Be My Guest and Barefoot Contessa on Food Network and Max, for which she has won five Emmy Awards and a James Beard Award. She lives in East Hampton, New York, with her husband, Jeffrey.


Reviews

Goodreads review by B on October 10, 2024

Frothy and a bit out of touch, Be Ready When the Luck Happens isn't surprising in its lack of substance. Ina Garten bills this as a memoir, but this is more of a birdseye, sweeping overview of her career history, the famous people she hangs out with, and her real estate holdings. The book begins with......more

Goodreads review by Ali on February 07, 2025

Ina Garten wrote a whole book about how poor she was while also buying multiple properties and going on months-long trips to Europe, which is the kind of poor I wouldn’t mind being. Also her husband is too nice so they almost got divorced. If you can’t make your own childhood trauma born of physical......more

Goodreads review by Sharon on October 17, 2024

I listened to Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A Memoir and the author, phenomenal cook Ina Garten, narrates it. It felt like I was sitting across a kitchen table having a fabulous conversation with a dear friend. I did not know that Ina worked in Washington, DC in the legislative department and she......more

Goodreads review by Alexandra on October 10, 2024

I love food memoirs and have read, watched, and cooked SO much Ina Garten. But, (says in extremely quiet, barely audible whisper) …. a lot of this came off pretty insufferable :(......more

Goodreads review by Rebecca on October 17, 2024

I love a good celebrity memoir, especially on audiobook and read by the author. This one started off so strong and promising (admittedly, I was only ever vaguely aware of Ina and have never purchased her other cookbooks or watched her show), but it limped through the back half at an agonizing pace.......more


Quotes

“[Ina Garten] has created an inviting and relaxing world that’s the equivalent of one of her cocktail recipes. To use a Barefoot Contessa catchphrase, How great is that?”The New York Times (Editors’ Choice)

“A freewheeling handbook for life . . . Be Ready When the Luck Happens is a romp, filled with adventure and serendipity, a magic act that makes the hard stuff of life seem like both education and play.”The Washington Post

“Simplicity is at the core of [Ina Garten’s] appeal . . . her approachability, charisma and close connection to the sensibilities of the home cook have given her a devoted following.”The Wall Street Journal

“Though a good deal of luck often came through for her along the way, Garten’s lively memoir emphasizes how hard work and unrelenting tenacity were what made the magic happen. An entertaining foray into this well-loved cooking host’s illustrious life.”Kirkus Reviews

“Garten emphasizes the importance of doing what you love. Her story is a testament to the power of following one’s passion and the impact of hard work and dedication. . . . Whether you’re a longtime fan of the Barefoot Contessa or new to Garten’s work, this memoir is sure to leave you feeling inspired and ready to tackle your own dreams.”Medium

Be Ready When the Luck Happens is a wildly entertaining and compulsively readable story about curiosity and courage, challenges and coconut cupcakes. It’s also a love story for the ages. Smart and funny, warm and engaging, Ina Garten proves just how lucky a person can be if she’s willing to work hard, get over her past, and be fully and fearlessly engaged with life.”—Ann Patchett, author of Tom Lake