All booked up

All booked up

Spending all day in a bookshop means I'm all booked up! Har-har-har. Puns aside, I really am reading a heap at the moment. It's fantastic. I come home with armfuls of books. Although I can barely keep up, I'm having a blast.

Some recent favourites are The Mother Wound by Amani Haydar, Love &Virtue by Diana Reid, Devotion by Hannah Kent, Fault Lines by Emily Itami, and From Where I Fell by Susan Johnson. To read my reviews for Reid, Kent, and Itami's books check out my Instagram here. Let me know your thoughts if you've read any of them!

I currently reading Roots: Home is Who We Are, a collection of essays from the SBS Emerging Writers' competition. I'll do a write-up on it soon, as I am thoroughly enjoying snapping through an essay or three each lunch break.

And now that I've fully neglected to say hello - hello! - I want to ask how you are, and what you have been reading. It's been a while since I was in your inbox, and I miss getting a whole host of fun replies. What stories are catching your attention and holding it? What is on your 'to read' pile desperately trying to catch your attention from its teetering position on your side table?

Also, my apologies for the late newsletter. I promise I'll write more soon. Until then, you'll have to settle for a recap of my Halloween and yet another cake (I'm nothing if not predictable).

Until next time!

Marina

(she/they)

P.S. The uni semester is almost at an end so I'll probably be hunkered down with marking for a few weeks. While I promise to write soon, if you find me here writing a newsletter it's because I'm procrastinating... so make sure to chide me if you see me in your inbox, haha! Still gon' do it though.

'I successfully bedazzled my face!'

I realise that in last newsletter I shared two costumes, so this time I'll spare you two (although you should go check out the Matilda's Bookshop Kids Instagram if you want to see my day-time-costume). In the eve John and I dressed as Mabel and Dipper Pines from Gravity Falls. All I have to say is that if you haven't seen this show, you need to do so ASAP. It has brought me an inordinate amount of happiness through the past year (when we've been in need of an extra dose or two of joy). Plus, Mabel is voiced by Kristin Schaal who has been a favourite since I was obsessed with Flight of the Conchords in high school. Many would agree with me that Kristin Schaal makes everything she's in better. Overall it was just super fun to put jewels on my face and dance the night away. Even if my knees did hurt the next day... a reminder that I'm not a 'pretend grown-up' as I believe. I am, in fact, an actual grown-up.

Peachy keen

Can you believe I used to hate peaches? I'm not sure what lizard person was inhabiting my skin at that point in time, but my current non-lizard-person self loves them. I particularly love them in and on cake. Maybe the cake has something to do with it? Either way, yum. I whipped up this vegan vanilla and brown-butter grilled peach cake for a finance chat with some fantastic friends. It went down a bloody treat. As did the finance chat. Feels good to get my budget in order heading into the end of the year. Feels even better to eat three slices of cake in a row. Unfortunately I don't have a recipe as I didn't follow one (classic me move, and now I can never replicate it... sigh). What I can recommend is to pour half a can of peach juice into the cake mix, and if you're making a non-vegan version add yoghurt to the mix too. Mmmm.

Musings, maggies & mozzies

I have a new favourite reading spot! Really riveting stuff, I know. But hear me out; our new(ish) balcony is framed by the glow of string lights, globes, backgrounded by the warbling of maggies, and overlooks lush greenery with a hint of the city sky-line glinting in the distance. With a beer in hand and a good book, it's perfection. There are also mosquitos who seem to think my flesh is a feast which does suck. Don't fret, though, I'm now the proud owner of citronella candles. I'm not entirely convinced they'll work as I'm irresistible to those blighters, but I'll report back. Where do you like to read at home? Send me photos of cosy corners! I'd love to see them.

Watching kids shows as a grown up or "grown-up"

One of the ultimate comforts for me is watching TV shows 'meant for kids'. And, for that matter, reading kids' books! These narratives have their own takeaways for 'grown-ups' (or pretend ones) and are full of colourful, fun, adventures. So as well as dressing up as Gravity Falls characters, I recently watched The Mysterious Benedict Society which is based on one of my favourite childhood books. It's all about child geniuses being sent on a secret mission to stop the ominous 'Emergency' which is plastered across the front of every newspaper. While some elements were changed in ways I wasn't heaps keen on, and the kids' acting was at times a stretch, overall it was a brilliant romp of a story which we inhaled over a few days. I already want to watch it again. Additionally, Kristin Schaal is in it.Huh. Almost like she's the best.

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13 Grove Avenue
Marleston
Adelaide
5033
Australia