Book Chat Issue #76

Sailing into calmer waters

Hello reading friends,

This week I’ve been thinking about reading slumps and I’ve come to the conclusion that many people are simply too exhausted, frazzled, or stressed to read anything too depressing or serious. If this is you, please don’t give yourself a hard time worrying about what you should or shouldn’t be reading.

How are you travelling? Are you feeling flat or energised about your reading life?

It seems like there’s a lot of grief in the world and we could all do with some love and a big hug, so I hope this newsletter brings a little joy into your day. Thanks for your support.

Let’s dive in.

What I’ve been reading

This week I finished The Quickening: creation and community at the ends of the earth, a thoughtful book about travelling to Antartica, having babies, climate change, and hope. Written by author and journalist Elizabeth Rush, it tells of her journey to Antartica aboard the Nathanial B Palmer with 57 scientists and crew, as they gather scientific data from the mysterious Thwaites Glacier.

Interspersed with information about the research program, Elizabeth ponders whether she should bring a child into the world and what kind of world we are leaving for future generations. She interviews the scientists and crew about their birth stories and this gives the book warmth and an added dimension. It’s an interesting approach and makes for an enjoyable read. I especially loved the way the author takes the time to describe all the effort that go into maintaining the physical and mental health of everyone on the ship. Thanks to my friend Valorie Hallinan for recommending this book.

---

I read this lovely article by Elle Griffin on the magic of childhood this morning. I don’t want to grow up either.

I Don't Want to Grow Up

A made-up recipe

When I make cakes I usually follow the recipe fairly closely. I might substitute an ingredient here or there, (sometimes with disastrous results), but I usually try to stick to the instructions. Not so with savoury dishes, when I tend to add anything and everything and it seems to work (mostly). I think as long as you have a basic understanding of which flavours usually sit happily together, you probably can’t go wrong.

Yesterday I mixed it up by combining a few different things to make a tasty chicken stew. I love eating chicken that has been cooked until it falls off the bone and this recipe only uses one pan. Bonus!

Easy chicken stew

Brown some chicken thighs (bone in) in oil with garlic (as much as you like).

Add a a chopped onion and any other veggies you have hanging around (I used capsicum, zucchini, and the last of the cherry tomatoes from the garden).

Cook for another five minutes and then ddd enough chicken stock to cover meat and vegetables. Add some fresh herbs (oregano and thyme) and a couple of handfuls of short pasta. (A small handful for each person). Makes sure there’s plenty of liquid so the pasta can absorb the stock. You could add a bit of white wine if you had some, but I just used stock cubes and it was fine. Add a cup of green olives (remove the stones if you are worried about your teeth).

Simmer on a low heat for 45 mins to 1 hour, checking every now and then to make sure there’s enough liquid. It should be quite runny.

Grate lemon rind over the pan before serving with fresh crusty bread.

Easy Chicken Stew

Book club news

I know you’ll all be excited to hear what the next book will be!

It’s How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney.

Here’s a description from the publisher.

Jamie O'Neill loves the colour red. He also loves tall trees, patterns, rain that comes with wind, the curvature of many objects, books with dust jackets, cats, rivers and Edgar Allan Poe. At age 13 there are two things he especially wants in life: to build a Perpetual Motion Machine, and to connect with his mother Noelle, who died when he was born. In his mind these things are intimately linked. And at his new school, where all else is disorientating and overwhelming, he finds two people who might just be able to help him.

I read this book last year and loved it, and I can’t wait to see what you think.

If you’re new around here, book club is free for subscribers and you are very welcome to join in. All you need to do is let me know and I will add your email to the invitation list. This book club is low-key and friendly. Don’t be shy!

Next meeting - May 3rd Australian Eastern Standard Time at 10.30am (this will be the afternoon of Thursday May 2nd for those of you in the US and Canada).

---

That’s all for this edition.

Happy reading and look after yourself!

Marg xxx

---

A little bit about me…

Hi, I’m Margaret Moon, a writer and editor living on the sunny Central Coast in New South Wales, Australia. My passion is reading, and most of my conversations revolve around books and eating. If you’d like to connect on Instagram, you can find me here.