The crumbs of November, 2024
Historical novels & upmarket tater tots
Does anyone else feel like there’s some weird, frenzied energy in the air?
I never know how to feel about the end of the year; sure there’s the parties and I suppose, the satisfaction of ‘wrapping things up’. Yet, it also feels like a bit of a slog – people are tired and not paying attention, particularly on the roads.
Be safe, slow down and take care of yourself for these last few weeks of 2024.
What was cooking in November
November was nice, in that I got back in the kitchen somewhat – mostly propelled there by the Ayurvedic sattvic cleanse I did around mid-way through. I’m very grateful to now have a dishwasher and not spend nearly as much time washing up as I do cooking.
I’m in a real mood at the moment for easy-to-make stir-frys and noodle dishes, where you can chop up whatever veggies are in season/available and throw them in with an array of sauces. One such mix I got out of a cookbook and really like:
2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
2 tbsp fish sauce
100 ml veg stock
2 tbsp of cornflour (to thicken the sauce)
1 tbsp oyster sauce.
A few nice meals out to write home about too. Dropped into Kirk’s Wine Bar, which is a favourite little haunt in the city with some family at the start of the month. Tried a pet nat and a chilled, I think it was Sangiovese that was utterly delicious. For food, a plate of grilled asparagus layered on yoghurt and Kirk’s homemade chilli oil entered my heart via direct pathway from my mouth.
Spent an evening with a couple of pals at The Wine Corner Store in Carlton. That particular ‘burb is full of these cute little wine bars, serving up tiny plates of delicious and it must be said, spenny food. The wines were nice and I enjoyed the tiny plates we ordered, including the crab toast (pictured above) even if they were $12 a piece. 😱
I finally made it to Moon Dog Wild West. 🤠 I’d heard… not great things about the wait time for food or the food itself when it opened, around six months ago (apparently very expensive and not particularly edible). So, I thought I’d wait until they found their footing to visit. Well, I’m not sure if that’s ever going to be the case for this honky tonk bar. Can’t really report back on the food ordered, as it never arrived. It instead got delivered to another table who just… took it, I guess?! It’s a large venue and there are challenges in managing that for sure, but it ain’t Moon Dog’s first time at the rodeo in this regard. Melbourne has a high standard – lift your game.
Rounding out the culinary adventures around town at Kumo Izakaya in East Brunswick with some dear old friends. I love Japanese food, whether it’s cheap as chips sushi or an upmarket kaiseki bar. This landed somewhere in the middle. A standout dish was the ramen gnocchi with crispy Grana Padano and a spicy, creamy sauce (pictured). Reminiscent of potato gems or ‘tater tots’, I’ll be thinking about them forever, now.
What was booking in November
Books read
A great month for some good books, mostly of the lighthearted variety (much-needed after a rocky month worldwide).
You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry
You and Me on Vacation is classic EmHen. Two friends go on holiday together every year. They have a falling out and haven’t spoken since. Somehow stuck in a rut at her dream job at a travel magazine, Poppy asks Alex for one more rendezvous. She has one week to turn things around and save the friendship.
I’m now sadly caught up on EmHen novels and eagerly awaiting the next one.
Rapture by Emily Maguire
Another strong contender for the best book of the year. Loosely based on the legend of the first female Pope Joan, this piece of historical fiction follows Agnes, the female child of an English priest, living in ninth-century Mainz. She loves God and isn’t particularly keen in being married off, and so disguises herself as a man to escape to a Fulda monastery, where she can indulge her love of reading and learning. From there it’s on to Athens and finally, landing in Rome. A surprisingly romantic and horny book, and a delight to read.
The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story by Olga Tokarczuk
I’m not usually a historical fiction fangirly, but somehow read my way through two this month. I wasn’t sure of what to expect from the The Empusium – reading the title, I initially imagined something a little more modern (perhaps along the lines of Liane Moriarty’s Nine Perfect Strangers?).
Mieczysław Wojnicz arrives at Wilhelm Opitz’s Guesthouse for Gentlemen in September 1913 to an interesting array of characters. Disturbing events start to happen around the resort. This gothic horror is a dreamy slow build, with musings on gender, misogyny, the environment and philosophy.
All Fours by Miranda July
This book has firmly cemented July as a must-read author for me. We follow a semi-famous artist who embarks upon a cross-country road trip from LA to NYC… only to spend two weeks at a hotel half an hour from their home. Laugh out loud funny, combined with commentary on menopause, marriage, modern parenting, monogamy and female sexuality.
Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe
Margo’s Got Money Troubles and can’t we all relate? Margo is knocked up by one of her college professors and decides to keep the baby. Yet parenting costs big money and how is an unemployed college drop-out possibly going to make a living? Enter Only Fans and the guidance of her father, an ex-pro wrestler. Margo’s gonna set out and make a go of it on her own. Another book you’ll sit, read and laugh your way through – a tonic in these trying times.
The Close-Up by Pip Drysdale
The Close-Up is the perfect read for a rainy Sunday. I look forward to Pip Drysdale’s thrillers every year – they’re fun, lighthearted and easily digestible in one sitting. Ann Zoe Weiss is a British novelist living in LA. Her highly hyped debut flopped and two years on, she finds herself working a dead-end job, plagued by crippling writer’s block. A chance encounter with ex-flame Zach Hamilton, who now happens to be a famous movie star, ignites a new literary idea and with it, a chance to turn her life around. Then, a stalker obsessed with Zach starts following Zoe, re-enacting events from her violent first novel. Can she get ahead of the stalker and finish her book, before it’s too late?
Currently reading and listening to:
The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop (audiobook)
Why women grow: stories of soil, sisterhood and survival by Alice Vincent (hard copy library book)
The Valley by Chris Hammer (hard copy library book)
Books bought
Someone recently made a statement somewhere that buying books is a different hobby to reading books. I wholeheartedly agree with this.
Here are the books I added to my collection in the last month:
Our Familiars: The Meaning of Animals in Our Lives by Anne Coombs
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron (audio book)
For Life by Ailsa Piper (audio book)
Juice by Tim Winton
The Close-Up by Pip Drysdale
The Season by Helen Garner
In case you missed it
I was quite happy with the quality of posts this month, and hope you enjoy reading them.
November saw a small series, designed around taking back your time through the pursuit of hobbies, and making time for rest and daydreaming.
And I engaged in a three-day Ayurvedic cleanse. The fall-out is below:
Some stray links
An interesting read on the rise of romance novels over the last five years.
Amy Odell of Back Row wrote an interesting stack about 2025’s biggest predicted trend – lying down.
This is linked within the above but I thought worth pulling out – RFK Jr’s potential impact on USA healthcare and food regulations. Eek.
And finally, life lately
I mentioned it in last week’s newsletter, but I’m highly enjoying a re-watch of OG Charmed (1998-2006) - it’s perfect end of year fodder, for when your brain is just done. I’m primarily using it as a background show while cooking, or something to wind down with when I’m too tired to read (it sucks, but it happens).
Have recently been getting into aerial yoga – I find it a bit scary at times, but it’s a great way of practising inversions with support, ideal for people who may not particularly enjoy handstands or have a fear of falling (guilty).
A recent journey out to a popular birdwatching site brought with it glimpses of some rare shorebirds - avocets, dotterel and stilts. Some of these little feathered beasts travel upwards of 24,000kms a year, flying from the Arctic Circle to Southern Australia and then back again. Amazing creatures and sighting them in the flesh was phenomenal.
We’ve four more newsletter for the year to go! A couple of reflective posts (including a wrap up of the best books of the year) and then we’ll be finishing things up with the crumbs of 2024.
‘Til next week, stay well, well-fed and well-read.
-Celine
Likes and comments are appreciated by moi and sadly also work as offerings to the algorithm gods.
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Ooh a new Helen Garner! As always, you've made me pine for Melbourne's restaurant and bar scene!
Mmmm, it's amazing how far asparagus can go on it's own. That grilled asparagus dish sounds delish! And the simple stir fries are always a winner.
Interested to know how far the Charmed rewatch goes. Even for a brain switch-off show, I wonder if you'll drop out quickly once season four rolls around.