Eric Silverstein is the author of The Peached Tortilla: Modern Asian Comfort Food from Tokyo to Texas.

TBF: Why did you write your new book? What was your inspiration?

Eric Silverstein: Originally, my agent and I were trying to circulate a pitch for a memoir. The food truck business is rough and we wanted to tell the story of trying to go from food truck to restaurant. When that pitch never got picked up, we pivoted to a cookbook/memoir.

TBF: What’s the last book you read, loved, and can’t stop recommending? Why is it so good?

ES: The E-Myth. It’s a book about being an entrepreneur, and the pitfalls most entrepreneurs and small business owners make. At the surface, the book can read kind of basic and simplistic. You read it and you think “I could run a business better than this.” “These are basic mistakes.” But the reality is I made those same mistakes once I started a company of my own. I look back on that book and shake my head. I guess I should have read it twice.

TBF: What’s the first book you remember reading? Who gave it to you?

ES: When I was really young I used to read the Berenstain Bears. I vividly remember reading The Witch by Roald Dahl. I used to read all of his books as a kid (Matilda, The Twits). I think I picked it up at the bookstore with my mom.

Eric Silverstein is one of 300 authors who will appear at the 2019 Texas Book Festival which takes place October 26-27th 2019 in downtown Austin. The Festival is free and open to the public! Check out all of this year’s authors.