Book Chat - Issue #22

Salad days

Hello lovely people

When I send out this newsletter or my blog posts, friends often tell me privately that they’d like to comment but can’t think of anything clever or witty to say. I sometimes feel like that too. It can be hard to find the right words, and I don’t want to say something stupid, so I just say nothing.

But I wanted to tell you that I’m always thrilled to bits when I hear from readers, so please make a comment or give feedback if you’d like to. Simple and honest will do. You don’t need to be profound.

One of the main reasons I started this newsletter is to feel more connected to other readers, especially people who are looking for their next great read and also interested in living their best life.

I’d love to know what you are reading and what kind of books you are looking for. Tell me about your funny reading habits or just say hi.

What I’ve been reading

I’ve just finished reading The Plot, by Jean Hanff-Korelitz. It’s a well written book with lots of sly in-jokes about the publishing industry and I enjoyed it, but I must confess that I did a bit of speed reading in places where the plot (ha ha) was not moving fast enough for me. This was especially true in the first third of the book where I felt that the author spent too much time being clever and witty (see above) and not enough time moving the plot forward.

The story centres on Jacob Bonner, a novelist with one moderately successful book behind him and no new ideas. He takes a job teaching creative writing and meets an arrogant young student who tells him the outline of his novel which he’s certain will be a huge success. When Jacob finds out that the young student has died without writing his book, he takes the opportunity to steal the plot and write the novel himself. Of course it’s a huge hit. He finds fame and fortune and a lovely wife.

But at the height of his glorious new life, an e-mail arrives, the first salvo in a terrifying, anonymous campaign: You are a thief, it says. And his life begins to unravel.

The Plot

What I’ve been writing

My friend Lyn lent me a jigsaw puzzle to do over Christmas and although I was a bit reluctant, I really enjoyed it. Doing puzzles gives you a sense of achievement in a world you can’t control. If you missed it, you can read it here.

What I’ve been cooking

It’s summer here in Australia and that means I’ve been eating lots of salad. I use the same basic plot (ha ha) for my lunchtime salads and it goes like this:

• Something green - usually baby spinach but sometimes lettuce, cabbage or kale

• Some carbs - brown rice, quinoa, a slice of wholewheat bread, crackers

• Something hearty - halloumi, tuna, boiled eggs, baked sweet potato, avocado

• Something crunchy - nuts (always toasted), pumpkin seeds, fried noodles

• Other assorted salad veg - tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicum etc

• Something sweet - a small handful of dried cranberries, a couple of dates, fresh blueberries

• Home-made dressing - usually some kind of vinaigrette

• Fresh herbs - whatever is in the garden, usually mint or parsley

  

  Chicken salad

  One last thing

  If you have any reading friends, please pass this newsletter on to them and ask them to subscribe.

  Until next time, stay cool and safe and keep reading,

  Marg xxx