5 Novels Told Through Letters
I read The Correspondent by Virginia Evans and I loved it! It inspired me to read more novels told through letters. Which, as it turns out, is referred to epistolary novels. Here’s my new to be read list.
I read The Correspondent by Virginia Evans and I loved it! It inspired me to read more novels told through letters. Which, as it turns out, is referred to epistolary novels. Here’s my to be read list.
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
a witty and uplifting novel told through one woman's unforgettable letters. Sybil Van Antwerp: stubborn, cantankerous, opinionated. through her letters and the occasional responses we see her work through the trials of her family, her love life and her health.
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
A real-life correspondence between a New York writer and a London bookseller that unfolds over 20 years. Smart, funny, tender, and completely irresistible.
If you loved The Correspondent, start here.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Told through the heartfelt letters of Celie, a young Black woman in the American South, this novel traces her journey from pain to self-acceptance. Raw, redemptive, and deeply spiritual, it’s a testament to resilience, sisterhood, and the power of finding one’s voice.
Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce
Written through letters and diary entries in WWII London, about a young woman answering advice letters during the Blitz.
A perfect mix of charm, bravery, and friendship.
Love, Nina: Despatches from Family Life by Nina Stibbe
Real letters from a young nanny working for a London literary family in the 1980s. Dry humor, warmth, and wonderfully ordinary details.
If you like the voicey, observational humor of correspondence, this one sparkles.
Heart the Lover, Loved the Book
On loving writers and reviewing books.
I love reading, but I hate writing book reviews. I don’t even like assigning stars on Goodreads. For one thing, do you know how hard it is to write a halfway decent book? SO HARD. To my mind, an author should get 2 stars just for finishing the damn thing. And anyway, who am I to say that a book deserves only 3 stars instead of 4 or even 5? Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for it. Maybe if I’d read it at different time of life, I’d have said the book was life-changing. Or maybe I just wasn’t smart/cultured/worldly enough to appreciate it.
Also, tastes change over the course of a lifetime. For most of fourth grade, my favourite book Encyclopedia Brown Solves Them All. Then it was Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase. And then it was Forever by Judy Blume.
In my 20s, living in Prague, my favourite book was any free book I could get my hands on. I couldn’t afford to buy my own books, so I read what other people put in my hands: Milan Kundera, Ivan Klima, Toni Morrison, John Irving and every novel ever written set in 1920s Paris. Each new book was my favourite, like I had discovered reading for the first time. But I now realise that most of those books were my favourite simply because I was 25 years old and living in Prague.
My point is, book reviews are 100% subjective and entirely based on who you are at the time of reading.
Nevertheless, I am now going to review a book because I need to tell you that Heart the Lover absolutely wrecked me in the best possible way. Oh, Lily King — your book is extraordinary. Bless your heart and all its loves.
Heart the Lover is an achingly beautiful story about longing, becoming, and the courage to keep going when everything falls apart. It’s part coming-of-age, part existential love story.
♥️ If the title flummoxes you, not to worry. It isn’t a literary reference that you’re not educated enough to understand. Heart the Lover refers to a card game some of the main characters play in college. It’s also just beautiful and poetic. (Chat GPT suggests that it may be a play on words from Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence, a book that the main characters read while in college. But if that’s true, it went right over my head.)
📍 I like to know the location of the story I’m reading. And I want to know where we’re going. Maybe you’re the same? This book is set in a college in New England (Harvard maybe?) - then Tennessee, Paris and New York.
🎧 I loved this book so much and think you should read it. Or better yet - listen to it! The audible version is narrated by Rebecca Lowman who generally enhances and never distracts. Let the story wash over you.
🏫 Imagine yourself studying literature at Harvard and longing for all the places you’ll go.
xo, L
p.s. I’m back on Goodreads. No stars, no reviews, just lists.
On Friends and Kitchen Tables
On friendship, banana bread and the poetry of ordinary life.
As I type this, I’m sitting at my kitchen table, looking out at the park and the trees turning orange. I’m eating homemade banana bread - gifted to me by a friend as a housewarming gift. How nice is that? Friends are the best.
I’ve been thinking about friends a lot lately. I was going through boxes and found some old photos of us dressed up, glammed up, sparkling and smiling into the camera. We looked so beautiful! Our young skin was flawless, our eyes bright and optimistic. We were so carefree. So happy, happy! Good times.
But it’s not the good times, alone, that cement friendships. When I look at that old photo of K, for example, I don’t think of that fancy party - the one we couldn’t believe we got invited to. I think of how two weeks later, she rubbed my back while I cried and stayed with me until I fell asleep. And when I woke up, she’d cleaned my kitchen.
I don’t mean to be so dramatic - life isn’t black and white, joy or despair. Mostly, it’s normal, average - dull, even. And having a friend means someone to keep you company during the mundane days of life. Someone to complain to when you haven’t seen the sun in ten days. Someone to tell you what to make for dinner. Someone to help you through February. February! Can anyone survive February without a friend? I don’t see how.
Anyway, that’s what I love about this poem. It’s about the significance of a kitchen table, but really it’s about friendship and life itself. I hope you like it.
Perhaps the World Ends Here
BY JOY HARJO
The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live.
The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on the table. So it has been since creation, and it will go on.
We chase chickens or dogs away from it. Babies teethe at the corners. They scrape their knees under it.
It is here that children are given instructions on what it means to be human. We make men at it, we make women.
At this table we gossip, recall enemies and the ghosts of lovers.
Our dreams drink coffee with us as they put their arms around our children. They laugh with us at our poor falling-down selves and as we put ourselves back together once again at the table.
This table has been a house in the rain, an umbrella in the sun.
Wars have begun and ended at this table. It is a place to hide in the shadow of terror. A place to celebrate the terrible victory.
We have given birth on this table, and have prepared our parents for burial here.
At this table we sing with joy, with sorrow. We pray of suffering and remorse. We give thanks.
Perhaps the world will end at the kitchen table, while we are laughing and crying, eating of the last sweet bite.
Until next week!
xo, L
p.s. Alternative kitchen table images, because I couldn’t decide.
p.p.s. The banana bread recipe (with light brown sugar but less of it, plus walnuts).
Sofia, Dorothy, Rose and Blanche
Me, Myself and AI
Books, travel and ideas worth sharing.
artist: alphonse mucha
Hi friends!
I’m writing to you this morning from Prague, where I just had the best oatmeal of my life. It was warm and soft and topped with a rose-infused berry sauce and chopped pistachios. Totally unexpected delight.
Here are a few things I thought worth sharing this week…
☕️ 1. Very few decisions are “rest of your life” decisions. Iwana Johnsen talks about this idea in an article titled, Reinvention as a Core Life Skill. She says:
Reinvention, it turns out, is less about making one big decision and more about stacking small ones. Try a project. Write a post. Join a community. See how it feels. …. stay in motion without needing everything figured out [today].
I needed this reminder because I tend to wake up in the morning and set a goal like TODAY I WILL FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITH THE REST OF MY LIFE. Then I drink some buckets of coffee and I come up with a few brilliant ideas, and then the coffee wears off I spiral so far down inside myself that I can’t get off the couch. (It’s not like that everyday. But more days than I’d like to admit.)
Thankfully, I have a friend who likes me enough to yank me out of my despair. In fact, she routinely has to remind me Girl you’re doing it again. Why do you set unrealistic goals for yourself and then punish yourself for not achieving them? Stop striving so hard.
Thanks, K.
artist: alexandr onishenko
😳 2. Which brings me to another issue I’ve been thinking a lot about: “Whatever you are best at, AI will be better.” This isn’t exactly an uplifting newsletter so far is it? 🤣 Stay with me though, because actually, this article by Lisa-Marie Cabrelli is surprisingly empowering. It’s called While Everyone Panics About AI, Midlife Women Are Having the Last Laugh. She says that women in midlife are uniquely ready for this AI era:
We’ve already discovered that when everything external gets stripped away, something essential remains.
We’ve reinvented ourselves a thousand times over - from girl to woman, from woman to mother, from mother to woman again. We reinvent. That’s what we do.
Sure, it’s important to think critically and know how to use new tools. But it’s more important to know yourself. To be able to sift through all the noise and to find your own small voice. And then - critically - learn to trust it. To trust your own lived experience. In other words, to be human.
artist: petr sís
👟 3. Speaking of which, I only wear flat, comfortable shoes now and it’s been life changing.
📚 4. It’s Banned Book Week in the UK and US, which was created to shine a spotlight on books that have been banned in states or schools. Here are two of my favourites:
Banned Books I recommend: 1) The Handmaid’s Tale - dark but a classic. If you haven’t read before, you must. 2) It’s Perfectly Normal - My daughters LOVED this book when they were little!
🥣 5. Where to get great oatmeal: The Grand Cafe inside the Grand Hotel Europa.
Until next week.
xo, L
Two months. One project. Let’s go.
Join me for a 6-week co-working circle. For anyone who wants a burst of momentum to finish the year strong.
Hey friends!
Before the Christmas chaos kicks in, I’m running a small creative experiment called The Creative Workshop — a 6-week co-working circle for anyone who wants a burst of momentum to finish the year strong.
✉️ Each week — starting THIS MONDAY! — I’ll send a short email and/or video sharing what I’m working on, what I’ve learned, and an idea to keep us all moving. Think of it as a weekly creative accountability message in your inbox — encouraging, human and real.
💻 On Wednesdays, we’ll meet for a short Zoom session — a low-pressure space to share progress, ask questions, and cheer each other on. No critique, no prep — just a small circle of awesome women finishing a project before December gets crazy.
Spots are limited (around 8 people) so it stays small and real. I’m charging £50 for the 6-week session to ensure commitment. If this sounds good to you, hit reply and I’ll send details.
You don’t need to be a writer or an artist — just someone who wants to finish the year feeling awesome instead of scattered.
Some ideas (based on real-life examples… wink wink nudge nudge):
Get back into journaling
Brush up on your French
Sell your husband’s car parts on eBay
Create content for the newsletter you want to start in 2026
Think about (or daydream about) starting a new business next year
Put together a family cookbook (Christmas presents?!)
Learn how to use AI to feel more empowered in your day-to-day life
👀 I see you! I’m here for it. Let me know if you’re in.
Please forward this to any nice women you know. No haters.
xoxo,
Laurie
p.s. Zoom dates are the following Wednesdays:
Oct 15 · Oct 22 · Oct 29 · Nov 5 · Nov 12 · Nov 19
🕔 Time: we’ll find a quorum.
A New Beginning
A creative reset: new projects, books, and adventures ahead. Plus an audio recording!
I tried to record a video version of this newsletter. I don’t know why. It seemed like a fun idea at the time, but now I’m terrified and I simply cannot share it with you. But since I JUST SAID that I would do scary things, fine: Here’s an audio version.
A Little Life Update
Hello and welcome back to my newsletter! A lot has changed lately - and with it, this newsletter is getting a little refresh.
🪹 For one thing: I’m now officially an empty nester! But I really don’t like that phrase, so let me know if you have an a better one. The word “empty” nest just feels so … “empty” I guess? And actually, my new life feels expansive and exciting. Full disclosure - on the second day of my new, empty nest life I had a full-on existential crisis. (I have since recovered.) Granted, There are more hours in the day than I expected - and I don’t always know how to fill them! But that’s the exciting part - figuring out what comes next.
🏡 The first thing I did was move! We still live in London - but we moved from a traditional family home to a super cool loft-style flat. The light is amazing - it’s got a whole wall of windows that looks over the park and a glass ceiling that runs the length of the flat. It has a great vibe, and I'm loving it! My favourite thing to do is drink my morning coffee in front of the windows and day dream about books, travel and creative business ideas…
📩 Which brings me back to this newsletter! I don’t know exactly what comes next for me, but I know I want more. Maybe write another book? Maybe start a new business venture? Maybe get a job? I don’t really know! But rather than wait until I have it all figured out, I thought I’d bring you along for the ride.
Are you in a period of transformation?
Are you a new empty-nester and trying to figure out what comes next?
Or, maybe you’re like my beautiful niece who just had her first baby, and the thought of doing anything other than survive is laughable.
In any case, to paraphrase myself from two and half years ago: I’m writing to you, small-town girls with oversized dreams. And to you, women of a certain age. Starting something new feels scary and embarrassing. Let’s do it anyway. *
Current Projects
🌮 Family Favourites from Around the World — Several months ago I created and produced a cookbook—or rather - a recipe collection called Family Favourites from Around the World. It’s a beautiful hardback book which is essentially a collection of our favourite recipes based on all the places we’ve lived or travelled to extensively. I made it mostly for myself. But it turned out so well that I’ve decided to print several more copies and give them to family and friends for the holidays.
What I can't do is sell the book because I straight‑up stole the recipes and photos from the internet. I gave credit to the creators, but even so - I don’t have permission to use their words /images. Here’s the only part I can show you!
🌞 Notes from a Summer — I’ve started working on a new book! The working title is Notes from a Summer and I think it will be a collection of poetry, micro essays and photographs. Get this - I am co-creating it with my daughter, Sophia! It’s early stages so I can’t say more… but it feels fresh and exciting.
💌 Website and newsletter refresh — Here’s what I did this summer. Moving forward, I’m trying to make this newsletter something fun, easy and sustainable. I’ve even thought about having a video component… but not sure if I’m brave enough to pull it off! Maybe I make it private somehow? I don’t know. We’ll see.
What I’m Reading
📖 For pleasure
I’m almost finished with Summer Island by Kristin Hannah which has been fun and light. Next up: Bluets by Maggie Nelson, which reads like a series of short essays. Sasha just wrote a college essay about this book, which inspired me to pick it up again.
📚 For research
Which, it should be said, is also reading for pleasure! But I guess this difference is, when I’m reading for research I don’t necessarily read every single page. When I’m reading for research I’m skimming for information and inspiration:
Some books inspiring Notes of Summer
Personal & Travel
🇨🇿 And finally in Personal/Travel news - I’m going to Prague this month to visit some friends and family. I go to Prague with some regularity - if you want to see my Prague recommendations, they are here.
🇬🇧 Later this month, Sasha will come home for fall break! Which means I’ll be falling back into mom mode - cooking all her favourite meals and doing fun London-y things.
🇫🇷 Then at the end of the month, I think I’ll make a return trip to France to finish moving some of our things down there. I told the manager of the storage unit that I only needed the space for a few months and he said: Yeah, that’s what they all say. You’ll be here at least 3 years. And I had to laugh because that’s all I needed to hear. Now I’m determined to prove him wrong!
This was a long post - the next one will be shorter, I promise! :)
xo, L
The Berkshires, CT and NYC
One line a day, one day at time: A trip through The Berkshires, Connecticut and New York.
Monday - After an emotional goodbye at Vassar, we drove 2 hours north and east, deep into the heart of the Berkshires. We’re staying with friends in their gorgeous mountain cabin. By the time we arrived, it was late and pitch black, so we lay outside on the deck and watched the stars until we got cold.
Tuesday - Today we drove into town to get sandwiches for lunch and I had to stop the car in the middle of nowhere so that chickens could cross the road. True story! Yes I asked my friend Why are the chickens crossing the road? and Yes, he said To get to the other side! Absolutely trues tory. Later, while we were eating our sandwiches on the deck and listening to the silence, we heard a tree fall in the woods.
Wednesday - I drove over the mountains and through the woods to get to Albany and pick up sophia who came up from the city. We stopped on the way home and got groceries, and when we got home, we prepared an asian feast for dinner: Fried rice with terriyake tofu, roasted veggies and peanuts. Also potstickers, egg rolls and kimchi. And some wine. And chocolates. We ate dinner in the screened in porch and we laughed and talked and told stories and it was brilliant. Exactly what we came for and exactly what life is about i think. :) Then we played three games of fooseball and it was outrageiously stressful and hilarious! We had all worked up a sweat, so we went back outside, laid down on the deck and watched the stars until we felt small and calm.
Thursday - Today I was almost eaten by an ACTUAL BEAR. We were walking along the trail, minding our own business, chattering away and as we rounded the bend in the trail, we saw a baby bear cub, sitting on the benSch in front of a lake. She saw us, made eye contact with me (!), then lumbered off the bench to come say hi. We immediately backed up and got the hell out of there. We hightailed it to the nearest farm house and walked home by the main road. Jesus God Almighty, that is the last time I take a walk in the woods.
Friday - Drove to Connecticut last night to hang out with K before heading to New York. Their house is so all-American beautiful that they often get requests from film companies who want to shoot scenes there. We took walks, ate pizza and dunkin donuts and laughed our faces off watching hilarious movies. I did not see a bear, so it was a good stay.
Saturday - Another travel day: Connecticut —> Poughkeepsie (to return the car —> train to NYC. Checked into The Moxy Lower East Village, then went out for the night! Dinner at Behemian Spirit (of course, and I’m sorry, but it was disappointing) and then went to 59E59 to see Gene and Gilda which was spectacular.
Sunday - Very cool brunch at The Roxy hotel lounge, followed by a long stroll through Soho. Then I went to Queens to watch Sophia work/interview some performers at a theater festival. Then had THE BEST DINNER I’ve had in a very long time at Planta Queen.
6 Books for Creative Inspiration
These books sit on my desk at all time. Collectively they serve as my personal Board of Directors for all my creative projects.
These books sit on my desk at all time. Collectively they serve as my personal Board of Directors for all my creative projects.
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear — Elizabeth Gilbert - creativity doesn't require suffering, and you don't need permission or approval to make things.
The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity — Julia Cameron - Morning pages and artist dates—Cameron's 12-week program for unblocking your creative self. It's equal parts permission slip and kick in the pants.
The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life — Twyla Tharp - Tharp, a legendary choreographer, makes the case that creativity is about discipline, not divine inspiration. Show up, do the work, build the habit—the rest follows.
The Creative Act: A Way of Being — Rick Rubin - Less about making art, more about becoming the kind of person who can receive it.
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life — Anne Lamott - A no-bullshit guide to writing and life: take it one small step at a time, embrace the shitty first draft, and trust the process.
Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity - David Lynch - "Ideas are like fish. If you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. But if you want to catch the big fish, you've got to go deeper."
A Week of Hibernation
I went to the lake house and here is what I did.
Artist: James MacKeow
I went to the lake house and here is what I did.
In the morning,
I drank coffee and watched
the lake turn from charcoal to turquoise.
I scribbled in my notebook
until my anxieties felt seen
and my mind got quiet.
I took Míša for a walk
by the lake
every morning
and every evening.
And in between,
I read book after book
after book.
That’s it, that’s everything.
That’s all I did.
Two of those days I felt like
a boring, waste of space
who will never amount to anything.
Three of those days I felt like
I was living my best life.
- LAURIE MUCHA
My Favourite Poets and Poetry Books
Poetry for people who think they don’t like poetry.
Kate Baer - What Kind of Woman, and the upcoming How About Now - Kate Baer writes about motherhood, marriage, and selfhood with a clarity that feels like someone finally saying the quiet part out loud. Her poems are short, sharp, and devastatingly honest—the kind you'll screenshot and send to friends.
Maggie Smith - Good Bones - This collection is anchored by its title poem, which went viral for good reason—it captures the bittersweet work of trying to make the world bearable for the people we love. I also loved Maggie’s memoir You Could Make This Place Beautiful.
Joy Sullivan - Instructions for Travelling West - Sullivan's debut is a meditation on landscape and what it means to keep moving forward. Her poems feel like they were written in transit.
Mary Oliver - Devotions - If you've never read Mary Oliver, start here. This retrospective spans fifty years of her work, offering her luminous observations on nature, attention, and living deliberately.
Ada Limon - The Carrying - Limón writes about bodies, desire, loss, and longing with a generosity that feels rare. The Carrying grapples with what it means to want something—a child, a life, a future—and what happens when that wanting goes unfulfilled.
The Poetry Pharmacy Collection - Think of this as your literary medicine cabinet. Compiled by poet William Sieghart, it prescribes poems for every emotional ailment—heartbreak, anxiety, boredom, joy. There are three in the series and I love them all!
Notes from Vassar College
A college drop off!
The Library at Vassar College
I could live in this room.
Vassar Atheneum at The Heartwood
International Students Welcome Day!
It’s all happening!
The oldest tree on campus.
A rainy day at The Heartwood
My morning routine.
Woodlands and wetlands surrounding Vassar Farm.
Curious deer roaming campus.
Evening in the dorm.
Vassar Chapel
Inside Vassar Chapel
xo
xoxo
By Wallace Stevens
One-Line-a-Day
Monday, August 18 -
London. I’m drowning in boxes, post-it notes and spreadsheets. I eat, sleep and dream this move. In fact, the only difference between being awake and being asleep is that when I’m asleep I’m not holding a clipboard.
Tuesday, August 19 -
Travel day! Somehow managed to pull myself out of the moving spiral to pack for this trip. We’re taking our baby girl to college! LHR —> JFK —> Poughkeepsie.
Wednesday, August 20 -
Poughkeepsie, New York - Vassar College! Today was an international admin day. We set-up Sasha with a US bank account and telephone number. Sounds simple, took all day. It rained all day, which didn’t dampen our excitement for move-in day. I’ve had three rootbeers and I’ve only been here for 36 hours.
Thursday, August 21 -
International student move-in day! Daniel wore so much Vassar gear that it looked like he was the coach of the baseball team. We hauled three giant suitcases and a dozen amazon boxes up three flights of stairs because the elevator was broken. Great dorm room with a nice view!
Friday, August 22 -
Explored campus (stunning) and stumbled into a gem of an art gallery - The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center.
Saturday, August 23 -
Took a 2+ hour hike through the woods and wetlands at Vassar Farm. Lunch from a taco truck, which was decent - but honestly, this region is set up for vegetarians to survive, not thrive. Came home and found an acorn in my bra.
Sunday, August 24 -
Walkway across the Hudson River! More walks around campus! More pizza! More rootbeer!
How long is your past, how far is your future
Thinking about what comes next.
Laura Battle, Collection of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College
Hi friends! I’m at Vassar College this week, dropping off my youngest daughter and helping her get settled. There’s so much I could tell you about her journey to this specific place and time. Alas, she is a private person, so I’m authorised only to say this: I’m so proud of her!
Everyone keeps asking if I’m okay.
Reader, I am very okay. No shade to my mother friends who are sad and a little freaked out - but I feel happy and free as a bird. After all, we raised two kind, intelligent daughters who are reasonably healthy and well-adjusted. I’m so relieved! And frankly excited about what’s next…
Second half of 2025
We’re moving out of our family home in London and into a smaller, two bedroom loft-style apartment. We still need a London footprint for work purposes - but we’re happy to have something smaller and easier to manage. Our lake house in France will become the new “family” home.
Travel! Our travel schedule is no longer dictated by school breaks! In the next four months, I have trips planned to New York, Prague, France, Indiana and India. Yes, INDIA! I’m so excited.
Writing more books! I’ve got two book ideas in my head that are banging around and trying to get out. I think if I set my mind to it, I can finish one of them by Christmas.
First half of 2026
French! I’m looking into various French intensive courses. I’m embarrassed about how bad my French has become and I need to course correct.
The Haute Route! We’ve long daydreamed about this trip and it’s time to make it happen. The Haute Route is a multi-day, hut-to-hut trek through the mountains from Chamonix, France to Zermatt, Switzerland. We’ll do this in the summer, when the terrain isn’t so punishing, but even so this hike is no joke. I need to start training asap.
All of this has me asking myself - what is this blog about, now that my life is shifting? I’ve been struggling to keep up with weekly posts. I think mostly because I don’t like to write about my family/friends - and this summer has been all about family/friends.
So then what should I post about? Especially, when so much of my life moving forward will be about travel and creative projects…. Here’s what I’m thinking:
A Sunday photo dump. And if I have the time/energy for it - one line a day from my journal. Like instagram, but just for me.
Once a month: an update on my works in progress. What I’m working on, how it’s going. (Like this post!)
The overachiever in me would also like to post one poem a week, but that’s probably pushing it if I’m also trying to write a book before Christmas. So I will resist the temptation for now. Maybe do this in 2026?
Look at me! Making progress on my goals.
Xo, L
3 Novels to Read Before Travelling to Southern India
I’m going to Southern India later this year for a wedding! Here’s my reading list.
I’m going to southern India in a few months! Here’s my reading list. Why are two these books over 700 pages long? That’s just crazy.
The Covenant of Water by Rohinton Mistry - By all accounts, this book is supposed to be amazing, but seriousl?! It’s over 700 pages long ( 36 hours on audible). I’ll need to get both formats so I can get through it more quickly.
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy - This was my mother-in-law’s favourite book - now feels like a good time to pick it up. If I like it, I’ll also read Mother Mary Comes to Me by the same author.
*A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry - This one is not set in Southern India, but it’s considered to be the great Indian novel for the 20th century so it feels like it should go on the list.
Venice is a human city
There are no cars. The canals are arteries, the streets are veins, and the people are the blood, the life force.
How I Learned Bliss
On road trips and bliss.
I spied everything. The North Dakota license,
the “Baby on Board” signs, dead raccoons, and deer carcasses.
The Garfields clinging to car windows—the musky traces of old coffee.
I was single-minded in the buzz saw tour I took through
the flatlands of the country to get home. I just wanted to get there.
Never mind the antecedent. I had lost stations miles ago
and was living on cassettes and caffeine. Ahead, brushstrokes
of smoke from annual fires. Only ahead to the last days of summer
and to the dying theme of youth. How pitch-perfect
the tire-on-shoulder sound was to mask the hiss of the tape deck ribbons.
Everything. Perfect. As Wyoming collapses over the car
like a wave. And then another mile marker. Another.
How can I say this more clearly? It was like opening a heavy book,
letting the pages feather themselves and finding a dried flower.
- OLIVER DE LA PAZ
Notes (and photos) from Prague, CZ
One line a day + a camera roll
One-Line-a-Day Journal
Monday, July 7 -
Flew to Prague to visit Sasha and see her new place. Sasha has a place! Where she lives. Alone. wtf? Wild. Sophia flying in for the week also - we’re staying at The Hotel Paris which is now my favourite hotel in Prague.
Tuesday, July 8 -
Walked around town and visited some of our favourite places… Frank, of course! Plus Old Town Square, The Globe, etc. Bought three books. Dinner on the water, overlooking the castle.
Wednesday, July 9 -
Explored Holisovice which is becoming a super cool area with an art gallery, hipster cafes and boutique shops. Went into DOX and fell in love with two exhibitions: The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk and Up in Flames, the David Lynch Exhibition. Walked home by way of Mala Strana and bought three more books.
Thursday, July 10 -
Took a tour of the Jewish quarter because we hadn’t done that in almost a decade. Later, we met up with A and Frank for dinner and some live music at The Jazz Dock. Even later - Sophia and I went to open mic night at a comedy club!
Friday, July 11 -
Quick tour of the new Mucha Museum, before heading to the airport to fly back to Geneva. Had dinner with B at Le Pecheur to talk about the week. xo
Wild Geese
My favourite poem by Mary Oliver. xo
Artist: Lucy Grossmith
Our first set of guests have come and gone. Among them, my sister-in-law who, among other sparkling qualities, is an amazing cook. This woman can turn an ordinary vegetable into a dazzling culinary experience. I don’t know how she does it, but I’m going to convince her to let me help her publish a cookbook. (She doesn’t know this yet.) As per usual, I took NO PHOTOS because I was too distracted by the food and the conversation. I really must do better. I really do want to capture this summer in all its beauty.
Instead of photos, I will leave you with this - my favourite poem.
Wild Geese
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing yoru place
in the family of things.
- MARY OLIVER
Champagne Problems
You’ll have to get your serious news elsewhere.
Just another sunset on Lake Annecy, France.
It’s been so hot here on Lake Annecy. We don’t need to talk about it, do we? Chances are it’s hot where you live too. And yes. I realise the world is on fire both literally and figuratively, but you’ll have to get your serious news elsewhere. I tend to write about ridiculous problems, so buckle up.
Pool Emergency
My first day at the lake house. It’s 86° and the water in my swimming pool is so thick and slimy that you can’t see the bottom. I can’t get anyone out here to look at it for at least two days because… apparently every single swimming pool in the region is affected by algae??? The reason I keep getting is: well, it’s been very hot…. But isn’t that the whole POINT of a swimming pool? To provide refuge from the heat?
Outside temp: 86°
Pool colour: pond-scum green
Pool Emergency, Day 3
The pool guy came over! Like many of the local pool guys he was a delicious 20-something who cleans pools in the summer and teaches skiing in the winter. My friends like to be here when the pool needs to be serviced and that’s all I’m going to say about that. Anyway, he repaired something in the pool room, gave the system a “shock treatment” and said the water would be clean and clear in 24-48 hours. Thank God!
Outside temp: 88°
Pool colour: pond-scum green with patches of cloudy yellow
Pool Emergency, Day 4
The pool is a little better, but definitely not swimmable. I’m worried because I have a girls weekend planned in just a few days. I called the pool guys again, but they said to wait the full 48 hours and then call back if it’s still bad. I can’t look at it, so I left the house and spent the day shopping for summer essentials: cases of sparkling water and rosé, some extra water shoes and beach chairs.
Outside temp: 90°
Pool colour: infected-wound yellow
Pool Emergency, Day 5
I can see the bottom of my pool now, but it’s murky and slimy, instead of blue and sparkly. Apparently “it’s fine - it’s just dead algae.” But, seriously, NO. I’m not swimming in dead algae. I begged the guy to come over again and he just said, “I’ll put you on the list.”
It was bad time for the pool to be beige because we had a previously scheduled commercial photoshoot here today. But in the end, the pool colour was no big deal - the producers decided they could fix it in post production.
Outside temp: 92°
Pool colour: dirty-dishwater
Pool Emergency, Day 6
A new pool guy came. He was more like a pool man and he seemed to know what he was talking about - the problem is I didn’t know what we were talking about. He used words I don’t understand in English, much less in French. Plus I only know the grammatical basics of past, present and future. I don’t know how to say: The last guy did this, because the time before that he did this other thing. But if he would’ve replaced that part from the beginning, we wouldn’t be in this situation now.
I’m super frustrated because it’s clear that the previous guy was just distracting me with his shirtlessness and clearly he had no idea what he was doing. There’s literally a giant piece of plumbing missing in the pool room. But I couldn’t show my frustration, because I don’t want to be a whiny rich woman complaining about her swimming pool when these guys are working, like, 14 hours a day. Actually, we’re in France, so they’re probably only working 6 hours a day, but still. They are knowledgeable and this guy was trying to be helpful so I tried to be friendly and grateful.
But just as we were nearing the crux of the issue (with the aid of google translate) a small swarm of bees (maybe 5?) flew up my kaftan and started stinging me on the butt. I started shrieking and spinning around in circles and spanking my own ass. But you know what? It’s really hard to kill bees when they are angry and swarming under your clothes. The only option was to lift up my dress and try to swat them off me. The pool man smirked and took this opportunity to try to leave- but I didn’t want him to go. Wait! I said. We’re not finished! Don’t leave! I took a deep breath and tried to regain my compusure, speak calmly with him in French about plumbing parts and filtration systems while simoultaneously, nonchalantly picking stingers out of my butt.
He said he would come back tomorrow with a new pump and a new robot to clean the pool. I made him promise, which was super awkward and I regretted it as soon as it left my mouth.
I have three red welts on my right butt cheek and I can’t sit down properly.
Temp: 94°
Pool colour: dirty-dishwater with dead floating bees on top
Pool Emergency, Day 7
He came back! He replaced the pump and brought an aquatic electric vacuume cleaner that properly cleans the pool and doesn’t just kill whatever’s in it. The only catch is that in order for him (his name is SuperAquaBob) to be efficient, I need to scrub the pool floor just in front of wherever he goes, so that the dead algae floats and he can suck it up. Picture underwater curling. My arms are super sore but thankfully my butt welts no longer hurt, they are just super itchy.
And just like that…
My pool is pristine blue again! My girlfriends are here from London and we've had the most perfect few days - swimming in both the pool and the lake, long walks, boat rides, incredible food, and best of all, 48 hours of non-stop laughter and conversation. They are worth every bee sting. ;)
Creative Projects ~
I’m supposed to be writing short essays and poetry for my collaboration with Sophia. But so far, I’ve just been daydreaming while scrubbing the pool.
Books ~
I’m currently reading Orbital by Samantha Harvey and listening to The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton. Will let you know my thoughts next week!
xo, L
Summer hours, reinstated
Yesterday I woke up in London, loaded the car with six boxes of books and drove to our lake house in France.
View from my bedroom. Sunset over Lake Annecy, France.
Travel ~
Yesterday I woke up in London, loaded the car with six boxes of books and drove to our lake house in France. It took 13 hours - during which time I drank way too much coffee and listened to every single podcast ever recorded until all the words and ideas turned into noise and I had to switch it all off.
But I made it here safely, and the dog didn’t puke, so life is good.
The house is quiet. I like to arrive a week before everyone else - to stock up on essentials and see what needs fixing. June has been super hot, and the garden needs some love. The path down to the lake needs clearing. And where did the deck chairs go? They’ve disappeared. Later this week I’ll dig through the plastic storage bins and look for the life vests and bicycle helmets and flip flops and beach blankets. The pool needs to be serviced and the propane tanks need to be filled. And then, finally, a big trip to the supermarket for essentials: bags of ice and cases of rosé and sparkling water, plus more toilet paper than seems necessary - but it will never be enough.
But today was a day of rest. :) I banned myself from listening to podcasts and instead listened to this playlist. I also went to the market and came home with a beautiful bounty:
One cavaillon melon
Three heavy peaches
Two handfuls of sweet cherries
A single perfect tomato (the kind you can’t find in a supermarket)
A handful of fresh green beans
Some new potatoes
A handful of fresh spinach
Salted butter from Normandy
Local goat’s cheese
Some local yogurt for breakfast
A fresh baguette, still warm
All of it went into this super cute basket that I bought in Provence ten years ago which was handmade exactly for this purpose. It was such a main character morning! I even wore a sundress. But I didn’t take a photo because I never think to take photos and now the moment’s gone so you’ll just have to believe me. The scene was cinematic, the soundtrack was awesome and my hair looked f.
Books ~
A writer friend told me once that the hardest part of writing dual-timeline books is that readers are invariably drawn to one storyline over the other. I thought of that recently when I read Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. It was a fine book - but I found myself speeding through the love-story timeline so I could get back to the outer space one. I love TJR! Maybe I was just in the mood for something different, something more adventurous? So then I read a Dean Koontz novel, which was exactly what I thought a Dean Koontz novel would be like. And then Heartwood by Amity Gaige, which is a mystery set on the Appalachian Trail, which was fun, if forgettable.
Creative projects ~
Sophia and I are working on a collaborative poetry/photography book! I can’t say more because that will suck the joy out of it. But it’s so fun to be working with her!
Other important goals for the week: floating, swimming, reading and daydreaming.
xo, L