Book Chat Issue #56

Go back in time

Hello reading friends. It’s good to have you here.

This week I’m featuring two books about time travel and some salad inspiration.

But first, let’s talk about book group!

Book Chat Book Club

If you’re new around here you might not know that we have a book club for subscribers. It’s free to join and we meet online every three months.

Our first book was The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin, which everyone really enjoyed. It was a fun read with a happy/sad ending that was ultimately uplifting.

Our next book is The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. You should be able to get a copy from your library as it’s very popular.

We are meeting in JUNE (16 June in Australia/Pacific and 15 June in the US and Europe). Let me know if you think you’d like to attend and I’ll send you an invitation with a link. Just hit reply to this email or join the subscriber chat below.

What I’ve been reading

Have you ever day-dreamed about living in another time or place?

I know I have, but sometimes I’m put off by imagining how much more difficult it would be to live without modern medicine and other creature comforts. On the other hand, I love imagining what it would be like to slow down and live a simpler life.

If you could choose to live in another time and place, where would it be?

Valley of the Moon by Melanie Gideon, is a novel where the main character gets to do exactly that.

Here’s a snippet from a Kirkus review posted online May 31, 2016

It's 1975, and Lux Lysander, a 20-something single mother in San Francisco, is besieged by modern life. Working as a waitress, she's living paycheck to paycheck, with “maxed-out credit cards, beans and toast for dinner three times a week.” Her young son, Benno, is the product of a brief fling with a black soldier killed in Vietnam. To escape from her problems, Lux (Latin for “light”) goes alone on a camping trip to California’s wine country, Sonoma, also known as the Valley of the Moon. By an improbable freakish combination of full moon and dense fog, she's transported to Greengage Farm, a 1906 idealistic community trapped in a time warp that occurred because of the great San Francisco earthquake.

If you were around in 1975 you’ll enjoy the cultural references, for example listening to Kung Foo Fighters on the radio. I sympathised with Lux’s predicament because I had a baby on my own in 1975, so I know just how hard it is to manage as a young single mum. Gideon has written two more recent books (both of which I’d like to read), but this was the only one available at my library and it didn’t disappoint.

Valley of the Moon is similar in feel to The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

Both are a cross between science fiction and romance and really well done.

The Time Traveller’s Wife is a love story about Henry, a man with a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel unpredictably, and about Clare, his wife, an artist who has to cope with his frequent absences. Apparently Niffenegger, an art professor at Columbia University, wrote the story as a metaphor for her own failed relationships.

The Time Traveller’s Wife was a big hit when it came out in 2004, but if you missed it, it’s worth tracking down.

What I’ve been eating

Even though I love food I often get stuck for ideas about what to make for dinner. It seems like everything is too much trouble or will result in too much washing up. I guess being in a cooking rut is a bit like being in a reading slump. You just have to go easy on yourself and wait until it passes.

Lunch isn’t a problem because I mostly eat salad, or soup when it’s cold. Lately I’ve been a bit obsessed with making my salads as pretty as possible. This involves chopping everything into tiny pieces and adding some yummy dressing.

My current favourite dressing involves lemon juice, olive oil, sumac, ground coriander, garlic, and a dash of maple syrup. Put everything in a jar and shake. Pour over salad and eat straight away.

Two salads featuring chopped nuts

That’s all for now,

Warm wishes and happy reading!

Marg xxx