A London literary guide, woodworking babes, and a mint-green ring to show your singlehood
The book giveaway is 'Happy Place' by Emily Henry.
Hey everyone,
I hope the week is treating you well.
Things are ticking along nicely here. The reader survey results are in – thanks very much to everyone who took the time to pop their answers through. There were some unexpected findings.
Firstly, the most popular components of the newsletter are the random bits like photos of my cat, photo journals, and surveys. I hear ya – I’ll try to do more stuff like that in future. : ) This was followed by ‘Raves and Faves’ (which has only been making the odd appearance now and then lately – oops). I’ll tailor my future newsletters accordingly.
Eighty percent of you also indicated you’d like the playlists at the end to be embedded Spotify lists, so I’ll be trialling that in the coming weeks. Fair warning: I may switch back to the old way of doing things if it proves tricky. We’ll see how we go, though. I’m happy to give it a crack.
They’re the main things to come out of it, so I’ll concentrate on them for now and hopefully improve your reading experience. If you feel strongly about how things are moving around on here, let me know in the comments.
Cheers and as always, have a wonderful week. : )
News
1. Have you heard about this? There’s a ring you can wear to advertise your single status. Mint-green and called the ‘pear ring’ after the company that makes it, the idea has been labelled a ‘social experiment’ to see if it takes off. While at face value it seems like a useful indicator that you’re open to being asked out, I reckon it could create more problems than it solves. If they’re not interested, they can’t save everyone embarrassment by claiming they’re already in a (closed) relationship – they’ve already indicated otherwise on their finger. I’m still partial to the idea of supermarket singles nights. But hey, maybe this ring thing will catch on. As long as fashion suddenly doesn’t dictate similar rings as a current trend – all sorts of mixed signals could be thrown out there.
2. This is cool to see: an increasing number of women are taking up woodworking as a hobby. I can’t say I was an overly enthusiastic tech studies student, but woodwork was definitely more my jam than welding or plastics. It’d be nice to get back into it as a creative outlet, but also to make real-world useful things, whether it’s tiny jewellery parts or pieces of furniture. Might have to keep this in mind if I’m after a new pastime down the track.
Reviews
1. I was pleased to discover that not only is The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill centred around a library (at least to begin with), but the Boston Public Library in particular. During an ill-fated visit to Boston not long before the pandemic began, my partner and I had only about three days there, and I spent most of that time sick in the hotel room. On our final day in the city, however, I perked up enough to fly home after a visit to the BPL, which was huge and picturesque. The main character in The Woman in the Library is an Australian author staying in Boston for several weeks as a writer in (ritzy) residence. While she’s writing a crime novel, she becomes entangled in a real-life mystery. Pretty easy for me to get drawn into this one and identify with the protagonist. The list of suspects is small, but this story keeps you guessing. There’s also a story-within-a-story going on here, so you’re invested in two crime scenarios at once, which helps the plot speed along. This is not necessarily the usual sort of mystery I’d pick up at the bookstore, but this was a gem well worth a re-read.
2. When the weather turns cold, I find myself yearning for all things London-inspired. Music and books, mainly. So, I was super-excited this week to discover the New York Times has a series of articles called ‘Read Your Way Around the World’, including this one on London. A celebrated local author takes the reader on a little tour-of-words around the chosen city, including literary sites and monuments, libraries and bookshops of note, and upcoming writers to watch. Then there’s a list of books to read to evoke the city at the end. Fab if you’re planning a trip or not able to take one and still want to be transported.
3. It’s not easy to find a good cruelty-free perfume if you don’t want to smell like patchouli and hippy tears, but I was impressed this week when I tried Floral Street’s wild vanilla orchid eau de parfum. I was partial to The Body Shop’s vanilla oil back in high school, so vanilla as an ingredient was a good start. The fragrance packs a surprising punch at first, but settles into a slightly sweet, likeable background fragrance which is apparently inspired by London (this appeals to me – love that city, though I’m not sure I can really smell the Britishness). It comes in a gorgeous dark flowery bottle, which it darn-well should, given the eye-watering price ($130 for 50ml or $206 for 100ml on Mecca). Might make a good gift for someone like me who like their perfumes lighter and floral/food-scented.
What I’m Feelin’ Right Now
Toasted cheese, mushroom, onion relish, and chargrilled capsicum sandwiches
Avoiding drama
This black-and-white shirt-and-shorts set of resortwear at ASOS
The Pomodoro technique
Videos of critters looking after baby animals of a different species
Flat mules
TV shows about zombies
Deleting old apps on my phone and downloading more fun/useful ones
Giveaway
The winner of last week’s giveaway, Cold People by Tom Rob Smith, is Renee Ballantyne. Fab stuff! Renee, I’ve emailed you.
This week the giveaway is Happy Place by Emily Henry. Pop your name and email address in here to enter.
Playlist of the Week
Ehhhhhhh, we’ve changed the format. Spotify users, rejoice!
Female country singers in their pink pick-up trucks: