Remember back in late March, early April when we were hoping to be back together by May 1? And now we’re at June 1! Alas, at least some good reads have come along the way (along with a number of puzzles in our place). And just as has been the theme these last few months, this collection for what to read this month is a little all over the place.
First. Variety is the spice of life. Second. I think we’re all looking for the same ole, familiar as well as something that’s different and exciting. So here are three picks to satisfy all your needs. Sending you happy reads from my couch (well, bed since I only read in the evenings these days) to yours!
Simply Living Well by Julia Watkins
Marketed as a motivational guide, Simply Living Well wasn’t what I expected, but I love it more than I could have imagined. Watkins has basically created a recipe book for creating less waste in your home – from the food you create in your kitchen to keeping your bathrooms clean and indulging in clean beauty skincare.
As you read through the book, you can feel an aura of a calm, clean home all with homemade goodness. Everything from carrot top pesto (to eliminate having to compost those carrot top greens) to toilet tablet recipes, this book has something for every need.
I started randomly opening the book and letting the chance of it all take me to new pages, inspired by so many fun things to try at home. Each time reminded me of some of the things my family and I have done for years. Others inspired me to try something altogether new.
Somehow this “home cookbook,” as I like to call it, is your new go-to source as you’re slowly looking for more ways to have less waste in your house, you’ll love this coffee table-worthy read!
Get this from Helen Milan Home
The Rogue Not Taken by Sarah MacLean
Well, if the title doesn’t start you laughing, the contents certainly will! Lady Sophie Talbot is the youngest daughter of a coal baron made Earl, sister to some of the most purposefully scandalous debutantes on the market. She finds herself needing to flee a ball after an incident with her eldest sister’s husband, a duke, leaves her persona non grata.
She of course decides to do it dressed as a footman and clinging to the back of the Marquess of Eversley’s carriage. The fact that Eversley just happens to be one of London’s most notorious rakes seems neither here nor there…..
Until, of course, it transpires that Eversley is not headed back into London at all, that he immediately sees through her footman guise, and that they have the most crackling chemistry.
Shenanigans ensue on the road north to Cumbria. A mail coach is held up and Sophie’s bravery leads her to being shot (of course). All along the way, the two bicker their way into falling in love, naturally.
Many obstacles are put in their path, but as with all romance novels, Sophie and Eversley are meant for each other, despite neither thinking they are well suited for the other. The Rogue Not Taken ends happily ever after, leaving us to turn immediately to the next book in the series. The perfect distraction for a world in upheaval.
Everything is Under Control by Phyllis Grant
A gem of a memoir, crystallised down to what almost reads as poetry. It’s entirely possible to devour (pun entirely intended) Everything is Under Control in an evening, but it also bears extended, slow reading as well.
Grant writes of her life as a dancer, a student, a teacher, a wife, a mother, a daughter and a granddaughter, and, most of all, all along, as a cook, in both home kitchens and professional.
She lovingly sketches out the lives of her parents and grandparents, and the influences on her own. She is honest and unsparing when looking at her own life, especially the difficulties brought on by postpartum depression with the births of her children.
And then, of course, there is the food. Ever present in the narrative, you rather feel as you’ve consumed a six-course tasting menu by the end of the book, and this is backed up with beautiful and useful recipes at the end, to get you cooking.
Read this one when you want to luxuriate in great writing and to be invited fully into someone’s life – and when you want to be inspired to put down the book and walk into the kitchen. Absolutely beautiful.
What to Read This Month…
What to Read This Month…
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