shelf care #6
Recommendations on reading and consuming plus a roundup of my favourite shelf offering essays from this year
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Everyday now when I wake up in my new surroundings, I immediately go to the window opposite the bed, pull the curtains slightly back to see if the calico cat is sitting on the steps of the flat opposite me. If it is, I call out to it and we both spend a few seconds looking at each other. Then I think I’ll have a great day. If not, I reassure myself that it’ll emerge later. That it’s still going to be a decent day, even if it’s grey, cloudy and gloomy. And then I get dressed, head to the kitchen to make breakfast and coffee, eat a banana, shower and head to the park to walk, gather my thoughts, and read a little.
I’ve been feeling overwhelmed these last two months and it has been difficult trying to put pen to paper. I’ve been trying to make sense of it all, adjusting to life in a new country, while also trying to sort things for the future1, so as a result I’ve been focusing less on writing and more on reading. I’m reminded of what Devin Kate Pope wrote about a book finding you again, about uncanny coincidences, about the centre of ourselves, and about the agony of self.
This led me to (as always) Louise Glück. So I conducted a reading experiment while writing this: taking my copy of Glück’s collected poems (1962-2020) from the ironing board (where it now lives), holding it in between my hands, closing my eyes and meditating about myself in the present moment. I don’t think she saw herself this way but I’ve come to consider Glück as my personal oracle; her book as an accordion of fortune poetry. She didn’t disappoint. My hands opened the book to page 388, to the poem Eurydice:
Transition is difficult. And moving between two worlds especially so; the tension is very great.
But to live with human faithlessnessis another matter.
Here’s what I’ve been consuming since the previous shelf care newsletter.
Books
I picked up a second hand copy of Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino at Crisis in Peckham (a charity shop, which is where most of my shopping is done these days). I never read it when it came out and I thought maybe it’s finally time. I am always thumbing through my copy of Louise Glück’s collected poems, and if you read this newsletter you’ll be shaking your head knowingly. I also picked up a second hand copy of Why Public Space Matters by Setha Low, which I’m very keen on starting soon! I have written about this before, on the importance and value of shared spaces through commensality. Like me, my books are divided between two cities, so I’m going through the ones I left behind in London two years ago and ones I brought with me from Chennai. My park read of choice is A Corner of a Foreign Field by Ramachandra Guha, which is a book on the history of cricket but also the making of India.
Words wide web
I get the weekly newsletter from It’s Nice That, so I’m just going to put their site here instead of recommending individual pieces (I know so lazy). This essay in The Dial on forensic linguists using vocabulary to solve cold cases is fascinating and I love the line: “It is the German who is so uncourteous to his verbs.” I also recommend their fiction issue. I really enjoy David Bailey’s comics. Going back to Don’t Hesitate by Mary Oliver: If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it.” This amazing paper on memory being stored in other places in the body besides the brain; eg an omnivore who received the heart of a vegetarian now cannot look at meat without throwing up!!! This shocking piece of theft of cheese worth over £300,000 from Neal’s Yard Dairy. A stunningly laid out piece on the longhorn’s journey to becoming a Texas icon.
Other newsletters
Three newsletters and their writers have been of so much influence over me and my work, so this is a recommendation to read their work because individual recs will just not be enough: Devin Kate Pope, Dr Sarah Duignan, and Jon Randell Smith. Three mini essays by Alicia Kennedy on turning 39. Untitled Thought Project’s 144-word essays. Subtle Maneuvers on Cindy Lee’s advice to practising craft reached me at the right time. The Onion Papers’ essay on repetitive patterns. Napkin Manifestos on not being surprised by Trump 2.0. The Fool Story on the two of swords and charging forward. Interruptions on the fox and hero in fairytales. A Vittles essay on Fergus Henderson and his influence on London restaurants. An FFJ essay on body size and Nigerian beauty standards. let them eat cake on the spoon as a talisman. I’ve been really looking forward to making darn good by devan grimsrud’s pumpkin risotto. Lots to think about in Ultracold’s essay on living our lives the way we want, navigating creativity through a capitalist world. There’s more to include but I’m running out of both patience and time!
Cooking and eating
Finally made the pilgrimage to TOAD and got my hands on the everything bagel croissant. There are no words to describe this pastry. So many crumpets for breakfast. Noodle soups and curries cooked by my partner. Duck fat chips with melted raclette on top in the pouring rain. Dal over rice. Sambar over rice. Lentil stew over rice. Some great bottles of wine, including La Vie En Orange and Doom Juice. Sausages over mash and gravy. Sweet potato parathas and quick carrot pickle. Roasted pumpkin khichdi. Stir fried cabbage and leek over rice with dumplings. Summer blackberries frozen and turned into a crumble joined by autumn apples by my partner’s mother with clotted cream ice cream. A delightful lunch with
at Cafe Deco which included fried cheese atop cold dill-potato salad, olives, stuffed cabbage, and spiced apple fritters and ice cream. Marcella Hazan’s smothered cabbage and rice, with some spices for good measure. Gundu dosai (aka paniyaaram) and charred leek curry at Rambutan. Three bean chilli. Plum and cornmeal cake. Sweet potato fries, bbq corn ribs, and a hash brown bao at Mr Bao. Peanut butter noodles and lots of hummus and tzatziki.Work
I now have an archive of recipes(!) at Something Curated.
A small interview with Tunde Wey for Kinfolk. The piece is for a recipe but the conversation was wonderful, warm, and thoughtful! One more for Kinfolk, another small interview with chef Tara Thomas to go along with her recipe for a sweet potato shepherd’s pie, which is yet to be out.
Two poems out for Filler’s latest issue on the kitchen. Always so grateful to have my poetry published!
Working on the first issue of chlorophyll, which has taken more time than I thought. To those who submitted, we are on it I promise!
Edited a piece for FFJ’s BODY issue which I’m excited to read!
Watching/Listening to
A lot of Khruangbin on walks and for writing and editing. Watched A Man on the Inside with my partner over a Sunday, which was quite sweet. When I’m doing housework or just eating my lunch I watch Fat Friends, which I’ve become hooked on to!
Would love to know what you’ve been reading, browsing, thinking, and listening to!
A look back
2024 has been a solid year for this newsletter. I’ve explored a myriad of topics I’ve always wanted to write about but equally giving into last minute essays that took shape quite organically. If I can repeat 2024 with a little more discipline in 2025, I’ll be overjoyed. Thank you to everyone who read my words, left comments, and showed support – I’m grateful for your presence. A special thank you to my small cohort of paid subscribers, especially those of you who have tried my recipes and reported back. I hope there’s more of you soon!
I’m listing below some of my favourite pieces of this year, especially ones that I think deserve more love:
Not trying to be cryptic on purpose!
I have had the best hour reading through all these older pieces!! Thank you for bringing them back into the feed
ooh i love Khruangbin!! also in my hometown there were three llamas at the zoo, and if you drove past and they were all outside, it was a “three llama day” so that meant good luck (my calico cat haha!)