New Year Charcuterie
Reads, tastes, tips, tricks & notes from The Joy Journal™, plus, little snowflakes as bullet points!
A Book:
❄ After Possession, I felt a bit slumpy. I started and very quickly stopped reading a couple of deeply philosophical books. I floundered. Eventually, I turned to dear Agatha and picked up And Then There Were None. In less than 24 hours, it cured me of all ailments. The premise? Ten guests are invited to come holiday on an isolated island off the British coast. Invited by who? Well…none of them are quite sure. Mystery abounds! Especially when they start dying off one by one. The murderer must be one of the party, but who? And how can this be so once there are only two people left alive, both quite sure that they’re innocent? Masterfully done (as per usual) and just the right amount of spooky (for me, a real scaredy-cat), I highly recommend.
A Magazine:
❄ My hard copy of The Sewanee Review arrived, and I have been savoring it. There was only one piece in this volume (Fall 2023) that didn’t really interest me, and that’s an impressive ratio. One of the non-fiction pieces, “Divided” by Pamela Royston Macfie, made me weep in the security line at JFK. It’s a beautiful piece of writing about a father and a daughter. Plus, it’s not about this, but carrying around a literary magazine makes me feel like that girl.
A Poem:
❄ “Today I Was Happy, So I Made This Poem” by James Wright
The image of the eagle crying, shouting, maybe even tearfully, “THIS IS WHAT I WANTED,” (caps mine, obvi) gives me the lump, which is how I know it’s good. Discovered via Maya C. Popa over at Poetry Today, which is where I’m getting my main dose of poetry these days—subscribe if you don’t already!!!!!!
Other Reads:
❄ I really enjoyed this advice column response by Lillian Fishman on the concept of equality in love. To majorly oversimplify, she argues that true love is not characterized by total equality, but instead by the tacit knowledge of inequalities (power here, or power there), along with the tacit agreement to not think about those inequalities—to not use them against each other. This idea ties nicely back to my thoughts on Possession. To love is to be possessed without being made to feel as though you are a possession—to surrender without being made to feel that you’ve given anything up.
❄ This Paris Review piece on the The Paris Metro was a fun read. I’m going to Paris next month (hooray!), and I’m hoping to live like I’m “really gone” while I’m there—no phone calls, no internet, just chain smoking cigarettes. Like they did it in the glory days.
❄ I stumbled upon this essay on teenage misery by Zadie Smith and found that I quite like her voice. My sister Kathryn likes everything she does, but this is the first piece I’ve ever read by her. I guess now I’ll have to read more!
Tastes:
❄ I made Colu Henry’s pasta e cece for my college friends on a blustery Sunday evening earlier this month, and it was a nourishing experience all around. I couldn’t find ditalini, so I used mini wheels (fun and properly sized). I also added half a pound of Italian sausage in ADDITION to the pancetta because I love sausage in a soup and I make the rules. Recipe can be found here :):) and Colu’s Substack here: Colu Cooks.
❄ Last weekend I was in Charleston for my sister’s birthday and we went to her favorite restaurant—The Ordinary. It’s a delectable spot, but the best thing we ate was the chicory salad. Appalling I know. A salad…?? As someone who used to not eat vegetables at all (not exaggerating, story for another time), it still feels odd to make these kinds of statements. But we all agreed. The chicory was the star of the show. If you find yourself in Charleston, check it out.
❄ The best Italian restaurant in the East Village is Lavagna. I like to go with my lover, or with my mom. Everything is good, which is the only explanation (weak though it is) that I can offer as to how it’s possible that I had never ordered the mussels before. They were quite literally the best mussels I’ve ever had. I almost wept, truly. Cannot recommend strongly enough—my mouth is watering.
❄ You actually haven’t lived if you haven’t had the pie crust cookies from Janie's Life Changing Baked Goods on Christopher Street in the West Village. I feel like I’m being really effusive with my tastes this month, and it’s smacking of insincerity, but let me assure you, I couldn’t be more sincere. I’m addicted to the pecan pie one. It’s wrong how good it is. No, it’s right.
❄ A pot of beans, ICYMI.
Tips & Tricks:
❄ Make a pan sauce when you make chicken. I did this the other night when I remembered that I had capers and a little leftover white wine in the fridge. Little grated garlic, little squeeze of lemon. So easy and oooo, baby it’s good.
❄ This is not even marginally original, but keeping a running list of things you want to buy can be somewhat effective at preventing impulsive purchases. Anything you want has to go on the list and sit there for at least a couple days before you buy it. I did order a spoon rest the other day even though it didn’t sit on the list, but like I said this method is only somewhat effective, and I mean…look at this little guy.
❄ Make sure your eyes and ears are open to the universe. There are a couple of books that have been continuously popping up in my life recently. Conversations, articles, other people on the subway. I’m paying attention!!! So, I bought the books—Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and Outline by Rachel Cusk, for the curious. That’s right, I believe the higher powers in the universe are benevolent. They want me to continue buying books even though I haven’t read all the ones I have. They think that it’s OKAY to do.
❄ Wear your scarf wrapped around your head instead of a hat. Babooshka-fy yourself. I’m actually seriously considering buying myself a knit kerchief for this exact purpose, but it has to sit on the list first.
Notes from the Joy Journal™:
❄ 1/8: Dog in a backpack
❄ 1/16: Thinking I was going to miss the bus when it drove past as I walked out my door. The light on the corner was green, I couldn’t beat it. Defeat! But then! What’s that? More people than usual at the bus stop? Enough people to keep the bus stopped there while I ran for my life. I could have gotten hit by a car, but I didn’t. I made the bus and will be early to work. The world was made for me.
❄ 1/23: A new sponge
Love you for reading this. Send it to a friend if you liked it. Don’t forget to subscribe. Drop a line and tell me about something you enjoyed this month. Until next time. Xx.
And Then There Were None is my favorite Agatha Christie novel ❤️
Love your voice. Total delight to read.