Book Chat Issue #123

Comfort and Joy

Hello readers and eaters

I love to look at what people are sharing on Substack, but I often feel sad when I see someone sharing only outrage. I wrote a short piece about this on my blog and outlined some ways you can protect your mental health if you are feeling stressed. I’d love you to read it.

Less news, More Puppies: How to protect your mental health

I’ve been thinking a lot about poor concentration this week because my sister mentioned she didn’t feel up to reading Calendonian Rd, by Andrew O’Hagan. It’s a fabulous read, but requires a high level of concentration so I wasn’t surprised, even though she’s an avid reader. Just looking at that book can be daunting because it’s an absolute door-stopper. I listened to it on audio and loved it, but it’s heavy in places.

My advice was to leave it for another day: the great thing about books is that they don’t have a ‘use-by’ date.

This got me thinking about which books I turn to when I simply don’t have the energy for anything complicated.

Here are some suggestions if you are in the mood for something lighter, but still well-written.

My favourite comfort reads

Counterfeit by Kirsten Chen

A clever and entertaining read about two women who band together to produce fake handbags. It’s a dark comedy about the complicated nature of friendship as well as being a caper. Also, I learnt a LOT about luxury handbags which was surprisingly interesting.

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Jane is Trying by Isy Suttie

Jane has been trying to get pregnant but finds herself back in the sticks, making a new start and living with her over-protective parents while she gets over her boyfriend’s infidelity. This is an extremely funny book and it’s set in a bookshop, so it gets bonus points for that!

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Eddie Winston is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin.

A funny, uplifting book about the power of friendship and finding love in unexpected places. Eddie is 90 years old and works in a charity shop. Part of his job is to go through boxes donated by the families of people who have died. When he finds sentimental items (photos or letters) he puts them aside in case someone comes back for them. When a grief-stricken woman, Bella, donates some of the things belonging to her deceased boyfriend Jake, the two become friends.

This is a charming book. I really loved it.

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The Handover by David Barnett

This is a delightful book about two security guards at the Manchester Museum of Natural History who are vastly different, but both in need of redemption. Nate is chatty and works the day shift. Daisy is more reserved and a stickler for the rules. She works the night shift. They are only meant to overlap for five minutes each day, but when their handover becomes longer, they realise they have a lot in common. Although this sounds like your typical rom-com, it’s also a book about loneliness and giving yourself a second chance. A highly enjoyable read.

Some favourite comfort reads

I realise not everyone reads this genre when they are looking for comfort. If you prefer thrillers or detective novels, please let me know your favourites. I’d love some recommendations.

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What I’ve been baking

I was invited to my friend Sally’s for lunch recently and offered to bring a cake. This entailed a lot of research to find just the right recipe and I ended up making an orange cake. I normally make my friend Roz’s recipe where you blitz a whole orange, (featured in this issue) but this time I decided to try a new version. You need to remove the white pith and blitz the flesh and rind. The pith is the part of the orange that can make orange cake a little bitter so doing it this way is a bit more fiddly, but I think it was worth it. I’ll be making it again.

Here’s the recipe.

One of the guests was gluten free so I substituted GF flour and it worked out fine.

I added some extra grated zest to the icing as well as a squeeze of orange juice. Otherwise, it’s just regular butter cream icing.

Zesty whole orange cake

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International Book Club

Yesterday I sent out an invitation for the next book club meeting which will be on January 15 at 9am (Eastern Australian Daylight Saving). That’s January 14 in the US and Canada and probably the UK.

If you didn’t receive an invitation and you’d like to come along, just hit reply and let me know.

We are discussing H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald and it’s sure to be a lively discussion.

If you’ve never been to a book club and think you’d like to attend, please be brave and think about coming. We’d love to meet you. We meet online about every three months.

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Well that’s all for this issue.

Until next time, keep reading and look after yourself.

Marg xx

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