Book Chat - Issue #12
Recent reads and walnut cakes
Hello reading friends!
Welcome to another edition of Book Chat, a newsletter for readers and writers. In this edition, I’ll be sharing my recent reads, a recipe for walnut cake, and some beautiful music.
What I've been reading
Sometimes it seems like the world is trying to make us feel guilty about everything we do. We don’t do enough exercise; we don’t eat enough vegetables, and some of us drink too much wine. (Ahem). And whilst I think we should try to live our best lives, I don’t think we should ever feel guilty about our reading choices.
So this week I’ve been looking after myself by indulging in my one of my favourite genres, British mysteries featuring slightly self-destructive female detectives. Think Scott and Bailey, or Prime Suspect, and you’ll be in the right area. It only took me 72 hours to read the first book in this series and I’m keen to read the next one. Bring it on!
Book covers for Missing, Presumed and Persons Unknown
What I've been writing
Yesterday I was looking for the title of a Scottish book and ended up in a completely different place, so I wrote a post about cosy mysteries. Don’t you just love the internet? It’s endlessly entertaining.
If you missed my post, you can read it here.
Which British author wrote 160 books in her lifetime?
How do you spell that again?
There are lots of words that people commonly misspell (and funnily enough, one of them is misspell). My rule is that if there is a squiggly line under a word on your screen, then do yourself a favour and check the spelling. It could be your computer trying to tell you something.
One word that people often have trouble spelling is separate. I must admit that this one used to stump me, and I had to refer to a yellow sticky note stuck onto the edge of my computer screen. Now I just think about their being A RAT in there. Keep that rat separate.
What I've been cooking
Two of my lovely friends had birthdays recently, so I could entertain myself by doing a bit of cooking for them. I made little walnut cakes for my friend Lynda (recipe here), but I frosted them instead of serving them with cream. I think they would be delicious with jam and cream, so I might just do that next time.
And I made beef ragu with pappardelle for my friend Catherine. Recipe here.
Little walnut cakes
Some nice piano music to brighten your day
Jon Batiste Performing Blackbird - 09 FEB 2016
That’s all for now. Stay safe and look after yourself.
Marg xxx