Hi there! Happy mid-March. Today is my husband’s birthday and all he’s asked for is to buy himself a VR headset. I’m not entirely sure what it will do to our family dynamics, but that’s happening. (: Happy Birthday, Chris!!
Here’s what I’ve been up to!
Reading
I finished The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright last week. There were a couple of scenes that are seared into my brain and were tough for me to read, but overall it was such a well-written and well-developed story of generational trauma, abandonment, love, motherhood, and loneliness. I did love it though wish I could forget those scenes.
I also finished The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight by Andrew Leland. I did this one on audio, and I highly recommend that route as it’s read by the author and he’s got a really engaging voice. This was such a compelling and enlightening read about Leland losing his eyesight due to retinitis pigmentosa. It’s a comprehensive overview of the world of the blind - the policies affecting blind people (and many others), the communities they have created and the politics within, and it’s a beautiful catalog of his own experience in becoming blind and what it all means to him. It was excellent.
Then, I started Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe. This one comes out June 11, and I definitely recommend getting your holds in now! It’s so funny and smart and such a fresh take on a universal story. Margo’s a new mom who needs money, and after a series of letdowns, she starts an OnlyFans account to make ends meet. The side characters are lovable, the writing is witty, and the general vibes are just delightful.
Baking
I have a friend who said that he had some baked good of mine a few years ago and it was, and I quote, “the best thing [he’s] ever eaten.” And we have no idea what it was. So, I’m on a mission to find it. All he could remember was that it was chocolate and he thinks it was glossy on top. We think it was 2020, so I went through my photos—by that time, I was pretty good about documenting my bakes—and only found one chocolate thing that came close. It was the Magical Chocolate Chess Pie from Sally’s Baking Addiction. I made it this past weekend for our game night and, nope, that wasn’t it. He reiterated that his memory is telling him it was glossy. But then we started going through my cookbooks and he found what was my utter failure in 2020, the Hazelnut Chocolate Torte from the Great British Bake Off cookbook. Back when I made it, I could’ve sent that home with him even though it had collapsed, but I don’t think I frosted it or anything… Either way, since I failed last time, I have been wanting to try again anyway so I’ll make that for him next and see if we have a winner. Also, maybe it’ll be a fun lesson that a baking “failure” is someone else’s treasure!
Also, I had class tonight so wasn’t able to make it yet but Christopher wanted a Victoria Sponge cake for his birthday (we were inspired by a Peppa Pig book wherein the family makes and stacks a Victoria Sponge Cake, a chocolate cake, and a carrot cake—I vetoed the stacking but haven’t made a Victoria Sponge before so that’s what we’re doing!). Picture coming next week, hopefully!
Living
With the Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist announcement last week, I’ve started my reading challenge and I’m reading along with a great group hosted by @busybusyreading and @sllyllyd. We did The Wren, The Wren together last week, and this week is Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad.
I (finally) started my The Office Legos set. So fun. All very cute. I’ve been updating in my Instagram stories as I go.
This is the third week of a course I’m the teacher assistant for and it’s been lovely being able to go back to school a bit. This is a copyediting course, and therefore we’re all having a lot of fun debating the different style guides, how to query authors, what’s the right way to write out times, etc. etc. etc.
We went to the aquarium this weekend and the girls are just at such a cute stage where it was all so magical to them. I love this photo:
I had the most amazing time at the NOLA Book Fest this past weekend. Read more about my experience here. I’m so glad I went. I hadn’t really planned on it since I didn’t have anyone to go with, but I just got some impulse to be brave and do it anyway, and it was so wonderful. I was such a nerd in my happy place. I’ll definitely be going every year, even if by myself (maybe even, preferably!). I got these four books signed, and, the next day, I got We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin signed. Meeting these authors and engaging with them for just 2-3 minutes was very humbling and rewarding. They were genuinely all very kind and lovely.
That’s all for now. I hope you have a lovely rest of the week!
Gabrielle