Book Chat Issue #86
How do you choose your next book?
Hello reading friends
This week I’ve been thinking about reading choices and whether they are influenced by the seasons. I think this is because my social media feed is filled with ‘summer reading guides’, even though it’s winter here in Australia. It seems we are all expected to read lighter books in summer (nothing wrong with lighter books), and gravitate towards longer and perhaps more literary books in the cooler months.
Does this reflect your reading patterns, or like me, do you find yourself switching genres based entirely on your mood and/or levels of energy? I’d love to know more about how you choose your next book.
What I’ve been reading
My great-grandmother was christened Everett Langley Everett, for reasons that are unknown to me, although I assume it was an attempt to retain the family name, which was indeed lost when she married my great-grandfather, Edgar Hawkes.
Such are the mysteries of the past. It can be interpreted in a myriad of ways, depending on who is doing the telling.
When I started reading James, by Percival Everett, I kept thinking about my own background about how history is misinterpreted because some people in society are denied a voice. Traditionally, this has been women and people of colour, although thankfully this is changing.
As you might be aware, James is a re-telling of Huckleberry Finn, written from the perspective of Jim, or James, as he prefers to be called. I haven’t read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (by Mark Twain) so I approached this book with some trepidation, thinking it would be hard-going and difficult to read.
I was very surprised. I’d read lots of excellent reviews, but no-one really said that despite portraying the cruelty and racism of the time, it’s also a cracking story and frequently extremely funny. I found myself laughing out loud when Everett describes the attitudes and assumptions of white people, especially when they assume that all black people are stupid or illiterate.
This is an important book, but not a hard book, although it’s frequently confronting. In this interview, Everett says…
I don’t go to work with a message or a mission, but I do hope to generate thought.
I don’t have any stake in what people think, but I certainly want to live in a world where people think.
Many readers will enjoy this beautifully written, illuminating book. Highly recommended.
What I’ve been cooking
We had a family dinner to farewell my youngest daughter who is moving to Brisbane to take up a new position. She requested roast lamb which I dutifully made using this recipe for Slow Roasted Lamb with Eggplant. It was delicious but I forgot to take a photo. Sorry!
It’s cool here so we had it with steamed broccoli and green beans, but in summer I would serve it with an orange and fennel salad, as the recipe suggests.
For dessert, I made a sticky date pudding with caramel sauce using this very simple recipe. What I loved about this recipe was being able to make it a day in advance, which I find infinitely less stressful than making dinner and dessert on the same day. The instructions are excellent and it makes a good amount for six people, but not too much. I find a lot of dessert recipes are too large, and I’m left with a pile of left-overs which no-one really needs. I liked that we could eat it all in one sitting.
It also pleased me that my dessert looked exactly like the one in the recipe and the figs were a lovely fresh addition. This is an easy dessert that has a big impact. I’ll be making this again. In the meantime, check out Katie’s website for some more recipe ideas.
International Book Club
Invitations have gone out for the next book club discussion (Oh, Sister by Jodie Chapman) so if you haven’t received an invitation and would like to come along, please hit reply and let me know and I’ll send you a calendar invite.
Alternatively, you can click on this link at the appropriate time:
Book Chat Book Club - Oh, Sister by Jodie Chapman
Sunday, August 4 · 10:00 – 11:00am
Time zone: Australia/Sydney
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/fhb-qyky-gqi
I’d love to see you there. All subscribers are welcome.
That’s all for this edition,
Happy reading and look after yourself,
Marg xx
so I thought that I would be looking for lighter fare this summer, even created a whole summer TBR that included some easy books, but instead I've read two classics and a massive family drama. Such is life! 😎
I loved the interview. And figs - now that we live in a warmer climate we are looking forward to planting fig trees. Wonderful issue Marg.