Born Round (Penguin Press, $25.95) is a remarkable memoir about Frank Bruni’s lifelong struggle with two obsessions: fitness and food.  For many of us, Bruni, as chief restaurant critic for The New York Times, has helped frame our dining-out and eating-in habits.  His descriptions of elaborate Thanksgiving dinner preparations and the various “food periods” that marked his childhood are every bit as mouthwatering as his retelling of a 20-course dinner at the French Laundry.  But what makes this book so compelling is Bruni’s ability to take our most wistful “wouldn’t-it-be-great-to-get-paid-to-eat” daydreams and disenchant us. His tips on selecting the perfect ice cream treat, guidelines for taking Mexican diet pills, and accounts of the chronic yo-yo of weight loss-and-regain, draw a vivid and unexpected self-portrait.