Book Chat Issue #29
Love and friendship and a sparkly drink
Hello reading friends
Every time I send out a newsletter I start thinking about what to put in the next issue. This means I’m constantly on the look-out for books and recipes that readers might like. Sometimes this is just a stab in the dark because although I know some of you in real life, I don’t know every subscriber personally. Despite this, I think of my readers as intelligent and funny people, with wide reading tastes.
I’m pretty sure this is an accurate description of you, but I’d love to know more about you and what you like to read, so please pop a comment in the box below. I’m keen to know about your reading habits and dilemmas. Are you the sort of person who abandons books you aren’t enjoying, or do you plough on to the end? Do you often have more than one book on the go? Do you have trouble finding books that are just right? (Goldilocks books)
Tell me more…
What I’ve been reading
I’ve had a good reading fortnight. I read Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers for my book group. It tells the story of Jean Swinney, a journalist whose monotonous life is disrupted when a reporting assignment takes her into the intimate lives of the Tilbury’s.
Gretchen Tilbury has made a sensational claim that her daughter is the product of a virgin birth and Jean is determined to uncover the truth. She becomes very close to the family and entwined in their lives.
I loved this book, which is part mystery, part love story. Set in London in the 1950s it evokes the life and times of a middle-aged spinster who yearns for more.
“In Jean’s bedroom was a dressing-table filled with things too precious ever to be used. Soaps, cosmetics, perfume, stationery – mostly gifts or the occasional rash purchase – they had been accumulated and hoarded over many years. The contemplation of these treasures, still pristine in their packaging, gave Jean far more satisfaction that using them ever could. A leather notebook with marbled endpapers and gold-tipped pages was a thing of beauty only so long as its pages remained blank. A lipstick was spoiled once it touched her lips – unused, its potential was infinite.”
It made me think of all the ways we deny ourselves small pleasures, but also how much joy there is in anticipating the use of a special hand cream or lipstick. But don’t leave it too long, because life is short.
I also read Next of Kin by Kia Abdullah. It’s a thriller with some great plot twists. I can’t really say much about it without giving anything away, but if you like well-plotted legal thrillers, this is a good one. Not recommended for anyone with toddlers in the house because it involves the death of a young child as a central plot point.
Lastly, I enjoyed a middle-grade novel called The Faraway Truth by Janae Marks. I can’t remember how I came across this book, but it’s a lovely book suitable for ages 10 - 13 or people like me, who love reading middle-grade. It’s about an aspiring young chef who gets an unexpected letter from her biological dad on her birthday. He’s in prison and she’s never had a letter from him before.
The book doesn’t skirt around big issues, for example there’s a bit where she talks about the funny looks she gets when she’s out and about with her white stepdad (whom she loves), but the book is very food positive and has a strong focus on the value of friendship. It’s a pretty good read and not too schmaltzy.
What I’ve been cooking
I have been a lazy-bones and haven’t cooked anything interesting lately, but I did come across this fascinating story about a drink called a Kir Royale. According to this article the Kir Royale, a combination of blackcurrant liqueur and white wine or champagne was named after Felix Kir, a Catholic priest and decorated member of the French Resistance.
Legend has it that the when the Nazis confiscated all the red white in Burgundy during the Second World War, Kir devised the cocktail to mimic the colour of the region’s famous red wine. I’m not sure if this is true or not, but I would certainly like to try one!
The recipe is one part creme de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) to four parts champagne (or sparkling white wine).
Lastly
If you’re new to my newsletter and would like to know a bit more about me, you might like to read this article where I talk about my blogging journey.
Keep well and keep reading!
Marg xxx
That drink looks divine! I think I’d love it!
I’ve been listening to books more than reading them for a while now as I’m stuck in multitask mode--cooking or baking something for family or to blog about, getting in my daily steps or cleaning up the household messes that are my perpetual bane while amusing my ear with a novel, podcast or music.
Often I prefer light reading--thrillers or mysteries, escapist stuff. Lately, it’s a bit more literature-oriented. I’m currently listening to “Therèse Raquin” by Émile Zola, a 19th century French novel that, like many of Dickens’ works, was written as a serial in a literary magazine. Concerning adultery and murder, it caused a bit of a sensation at the time.
Thanks for you recommendations, which sound a bit more modern!
Glad you got to take a bit of a vacation - I laughed at "horses of all shapes and sizes." Love weanlings, so gawky and goofy and feisty! I come from a horsing family, and I think you're well within your rights to call them baby horses ;)
I'm right there with you about bringing a physical book along on travels. My attention span isn't one for audio (podcasts or books), and I find that I retain less information when using an e-reader. Plus, no need for extra chargers!