The story of a congregation looking for a minister to succeed the one who is retiring is told in the form
of a committee and its hearings (and there are wonderful recipes and food to gloat over) whilst we go through
with all the meetings that follow.

The congregational search is in itself divided. There seems to be fairly well established rules for the entire
process but very early on the group seems to be divided by young and old, conservative views and definitely more
radical ones. My knowledge of church leaders if very narrow so it was an eye opener for me. Ministers using
every trick in the book to keep a congregation happy. Theatrics, yoga, comparative religions, plenty of music of
every kind, a few under hand tricks as well to get a Ministership (?) if thats what its called with a negotiation
which would do a corporate proud to get the best deal.

The book meandered chapter by chapter but it did not hide the passion of the church members to do what they feel
is best for their church. Unfortunately many of the feelings clashed and most were intractable. Those who gave in
gracefully "for the common good" felt cheated at the end that the result was not worth the sacrifice of principles
and ethics.

The story is an unusual one, and is a page turner.

Very good. This is an enjoyable story, well told, with interesting characters and some humor along the way. Recommended.

I really appreciate the free review copy for review!!

I thoroughly enjoy the journey that the author took to find a minister. Even though I read the synopsis about the book, I didn't know what I would find until I started reading it. And what I found is that searching for a new minister is as complicated and time consuming as picking the next candidate for President of the United States.
First there has to be a committee, than they have to get to know each other, than they have to go through packets of candidates and finally they invite the applicant to preach and from there they pick the minister.
But wait it isn't that simple, there is politics and pressure to convince that one applicant is better than the next, but it doesn't mean the best was chosen, and that is where the story is. The story is in how the people in the committee acted toward one another and are accountability to what is best for all, not just what is right for one, but it didn't happen that way.
And I found that the author found her truth and that she try her darnest to stand in it, but she thought about the all and not herself.

I loved the restaurant reviews because they were fun and also they were in towns in Los Angeles that I am very familiar with, since I grew up in Eagle Rock. I also like all the animals in her life and her reflection about all the characters she encounter while on her search, I could feel her frustration over certain commiittee members or fondness toward present and pass ministers and it made the story that more real. I'm glad I read this tale.

I want to thank PENGUIN GROUP The Penguin Press, Penguin Press and NetGalley for this interesting tale

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I requested a copy of Search to review - but sometimes it pays to look outside your reading comfort zone … this was a fascinating and engrossing read!

The narrative takes the form of a memoire, told from the perspective of Dana Potowski, describing her experience as a committee member in her Altadena Ca. church's search for a new senior minister. When the incumbent, Tom Fox, announces his intention to retire in a year's time, eight members of the congregation - including 50-something food critic Dana - are appointed to select his replacement. They're a diverse group, representing long-standing and more recent members, different life stages and widely divergent views on what the AUUCC (Arroyo Unitarian Universalist Community Church) most needs to secure its ongoing prosperity.

Dana joins the search committee in good faith, though with some reservations as to what it will require of her. While the church's theology is multi-faith and extremely liberal, human nature proves fairly universal. Before long, Dana's having some less-than-charitable thoughts about some of her fellow committee members. People who make excuses and under-deliver, those with a single, unshakeable agenda, brow-beaters, conciliators, fuss-pots and sticks-in-the-mud. While I'm not a practising member of any religious denomination or spiritual association, I found many of Dana's experiences and reflections chimed with my own recollections of having served on project groups, and especially employee selection committees.

I found Search a thoroughly entertaining and thought-provoking read, the heavier spiritual and group dynamic themes enhanced by the lighter food-related sub-plot and inclusion of delicious recipes at the end of the book. I'll be incorporating some of these into my own meal-planning over the next few weeks! I should also mention the gorgeous cover, featuring an artwork entitled "Mountain Path" by artist Astrid Preston.

I'd heartily recommend Search to any reader who enjoys contemporary human drama and great characters. Readership is in no way limited to those who have a religious affiliation, although readers with an interest in the way such institutions operate will particularly enjoy the novel.

My thanks to the author, Michelle Huneven, publisher Penguin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this excellent title.

Ever served on a church committee? You are in for a treat with this storyline about a committee charged with the responsibility of presenting to the congregation a new minister for their consideration. It is filled with dripping culinary tales of drink and food. Every person on the committee has his/her own agenda for becoming a committee member including a local food critic who acts as the secretary for the group. Her passion for the responsibility grows as the search continues. Writing a food critic article for the local newspaper, she is able to indulge the various committee members their particular favorite food as she invites them to join her as she visits a restaurant and, thus, has an opportunity to better understand each other’s motive for being a part of the group. Recipes of food and drinks are also included as the group gathers for a meal before they conduct their meeting. I also liked the cover for the book as it represents a long ride of searching and being aware of the bumps along the way. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Press for an ARC of this book; this is my honest review.

A thoroughly enjoyable book about a committee at a church formed to find their new pastor? Yes! It is so engrossing, yet also uncomfortable and relatable.

There was so much about this book that was so very familiar. I've attended and been a member of many churches in my lifetime. I consider myself an evangelical/protestant Christian, so a book about a Universalist/Unitarian pastor search was a little more "out there" than what I've experienced in the church world. However, as I was reading, even though it didn't feature the same belief system I adhere to, I came to realize that any organized group, particularly any organized church group, is going to be more similar than it is different.

I loved the dynamics of the search committee, how each member brought in their own worldview and past experiences to create a small microcosm of the rest of the church body. I appreciated the dilemmas they encountered as they went about their search and the obstacles that stood in their way. I related to so much of the drama and the desire for their church to grow, yet also to not leave everything familiar behind in order to meet that desire.

There are also recipes included in the end, along with a great number of delectable meals and foods consumed along the way. If you're looking for a captivating book with interesting characters and situations, I recommend giving this a try because you just might be as surprised as I was at how much you like it.

I am the same age, gender, and frame-of-mind as the narrator of this novel, which is written in the form of a memoir with recipes. I am from the area in which this novel is set. Anyone who knows me would say that this book was written specifically for me. A terrier who loves carrots even makes appearances on a number of its pages. But I cannot love it. The author writes vivid, thoughtful prose, especially when food is involved. It's not that it's not well written. It is. Maybe it's a case of the extended-dance version not working as well as the fun idea/compelling cover blurb. It felt too much like I was at the search committee meetings, but I didn't have enoguh skin in the game to be interested in their proceedings. I couldn't get past the examples, albeit brief, of meeting minutes. I will continue to follow this author, but I'm not ready to recommend this book.

[Thanks to PENGUIN GROUP The Penguin Press and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of this book.]

Well, ok! I will start by saying that I will read absolutely anything Michelle Huneven writes. I fell in love with her when I read Blame - so original, so visceral, so thrilling! I have never read anything quite like this but I did like it a lot. Here's the scoop:

If you have ever wondered about the inside politics of the Unitarian Universalist Church -- look no further. Through the tale of a search committee for a new pastor, you learn the ins and outs of the church and its values. The search committee as a body -- wildly varied personalities with varied agendas, working together to pick a new leader -- is the main character of this book. The way they function (or dysfunction), communicate, compromise, and don't, and the resentment and damage this leads to, is really the plot. And it's a twisting, intricate plot, eloquently laid out.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this compelling book.

Can eight people decide on the new minister for Altadena Unitarian Universalist Church? Well, of course they eventually will but this is all about how they get there. Dana, who once studied to be a minister herself but instead become a food writer, documents the ins and outs of the negotiations while also writing about well, food. It's more entertaining that this description might make it seem as the various members of the committee will both amuse and frustrate you. There's a dollop of theology along with the gentle satire. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

The novel setting was one unfamiliar to me — the search for a new minister. I found none of the characters particularly sympathetic and their pettiness became more annoying as the book progressed. Perhaps that really is what church life is like? It was a tedious read.

I didn't love (or even like) this book but it's my own fault. While the summary (and title) specifically stated that this novel would be about a search for a new minister, I expected there to be more of a focus on food. The main character is a restaurant critic and food writer, much like the James Beard Award-winning author Michelle Huneven, but by the 20% mark she had only had one meal at a restaurant and there weren't any details. I had to throw in the towel.

DNF.

Found it difficult to get into this one - mainly, I think, because I don't believe I actually requested it. From what I read, I do think that readers who are interested in these themes will enjoy the story, but the subject matter was not for me.

This book didn’t really capture my attention, as the Unitarian Christian themes didn’t really resonate with me. However, the cover is beautiful and I’m sure there’s a demographic that will love it.

Search is a novel disguised as memoir -- a clever idea from author Michelle Huneven. This "memoir" highlights Dana Podowski's (restaurant critic and food writer) role as a member of her Unitarian Universalist's search committee. Podowski is part of a select group of individuals chosen to find a new minister for their church.

Huneven includes a diverse set of individuals for this committee, but for me, many of these characters tend to be rather one-dimensional and a little stereotypical. Writing about a search committee's work in selecting a new minister sounds dry -- and at times it was -- though the author does create enough tension and interesting interactions among members and prospective ministers to move the story along. Huneven manages to create a story of what makes people tick as they work alongside others in a tightknit group.

While the book felt a little long to me, I kept reading and was rewarded by an interesting and satisfying ending.
Since the committee met during many dinner meetings, Huneven includes a number of recipes, some of which I plan on making. Her book has also piqued my interest in learning more about the Unitarian church.

A clever read and solid read for me. I would like to thank #NetGalley and Penguin Group/Penguin Press for reviewing this electronic ARC of #Search.

Search is a wry, clever novel that explores how committees work and how they don’t. Watching a search committee try to select a new pastor for their Southern California Unitarian Universalist church through the eyes of a member to hopes to turn the experience into a book, is an exercise in the way leadership influences decision making. Purposefully over-the-top characters and their selfish decisions wreak havoc.

Search by Michelle Huneven


Searching v for vac new pastor, Quite an ordeal, lots of drama.. No murder, no mystery.. not my kind of book.

couldn't get into this. did not finish. Sounded pretty good but wasn't for me.. might try this at another time.

Oh, people are so crazy and complicated. Having served on a church search committee myself, this book rang so true, and gave me a few flashbacks. In my experience all go the candidates came to us, so taking this herd of cats on the road made such an interesting pressure cooker! It was endlessly interesting and I love all the recipes as well.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy of this book!I have not read anything else by Huneven, but I think I have to. This was a solid 5 stars for me-I absolutely loved it. I read it pretty quickly because I found it not just engrossing, but hard to put down. I couldn't wait to see what happened next. Which is a really weird thing to say (and I kept thinking this) about a book that didn't really have plot twists, adventure, enormous drama or suspense (though there is a suspenseful element, just kind of a long one-what will happen at the end?) and whose subject matter was about a church selection committee.
Dana is a food writer and long time member of a Unitarian Universalist church in California. This is her story of being on a search committee for a new minister for their church. It's an intense commitment but she is ready to be devoted to choosing the perfect new spiritual leader for their community. The committee is made up of a variety of characters, including the thorn in Dana and the reader's side--a young woman who is just awful. Oh I just wanted to smack her!
Quite a bit of the book is Dana's fairly thoughtful reflections on the church, religion, spirituality, etc. and honestly those parts were truly interesting. [If nothing else this book made me take a hard look at my own beliefs and realize that really a UU church would be a way better fit for me than my current practice.] The insights into the UU people were fascinating, particularly when they interviewed the different candidates.
I loved the storytelling style-Dana is telling us this story from some point in the future when all is said and done, so she knows the outcome. I am fond of books that just tell you what happened, and this is one of them. And despite what I said in the beginning-there definitely is drama and suspense. Like Dana you become really invested in this process and really angry with people who hinder and thwart it.

Definitely one of my top books so far this year. I predict it'll be on my top ten of 2022.
One funny thing about this--because I got this based on a friend's recommendation and hadn't seen it on Goodreads or read a description and read it on my Kindle, so didn't have a back cover to look at, I wasn't really sure the context of this book. So when I read the "author's note" (or prologue, I forget what it was) at the beginning, I thought it was true and thought it was nonfiction for the first two chapters and didn't really absorb the prologue or remember it. When I got to the end of the book I went back and read the prologue again, which made a lot more sense to me then, and also fit in pretty well as another ending

Wow. This book had wonderful characters, gutting conflict, a strong ending. It’s sticking with me in the best way. I also loved the unique premise of the minister search and how it showed the highs and lows of all the characters.