I feel like this wig is moulting more than
my own hair when I started losing it which is not ideal. Anyway, category is Hobbit elf summer, can
we make that thing? I am feeling at the moment rather in capable
of sitting down and filming a haul for you... I mean, I can do that, Iām doing right now
but I really enjoy matching together content so today what I want to do is yes sit down
here and talk to you about this pile of books which I feel like I have to hold up to demonstrate....
so talk to you about these, a lot of these are new releases in fact nearly all of these
are new releases talk to you about them but then I would like to make some ravioli for
lunch from scratch so cooking ....books ...theyāre both delicious things so thatās the link
and Iām doing them both so thatās another link okay so if youāre just here for the
books you can watch the beginning bit, but if you would like to stick around for some
ravioli making then you can stay for that at the end. What a good time, so letās talk about some
books. I will list them in the description box down
below. The first book on this pile is many peopleās
most anticipated release of the year, which is Sally Rooneyās third novel ābeautiful
world, where are youā. I was very kindly sent this review copy from
Faber. Now I adored her book āconversations with
friendsā, ānormal peopleā I didnāt love as much, which I think itās just because
I donāt really love love stories. I am much more here for Sally Rooneyās discussion
and depiction of friendships, social anxiety, her representation of endometriosis. Conversations with friends very much reminded
me of the film Francis ha, there are lots of references to that in there, I would love
to see Greta Gerwig and do do an adaptation of it. I have loved some of Sally with his work in
the past, I have not loved some of her work in the past, I have never actively hated anything
that she has written. What I think Iām saying is that I am not
on the mega hype train, respectfully. But I am even less here for older literary
critics and writers dismissing Rooney as āmillennial fictionā, which it is, but I mean saying
that in a sneering way instead of simply a descriptor. As though anything written about people under
the age of 35 is trite, and I think that is a very dull way to see the world, so I look
forward to reading this book. Iāll report back once Iāve read it. Next I was sent this thriller by Pushkin press
which is coming out in June, this is a story about a Murderino. This is about a podcaster who is obsessed
with the countdown killer, who was active 20 years ago and every person they killed
was a year younger than the last one. The killer is now back and the true crime
podcaster wants to solve the crime. This book is called girl 11 by Amy Suiter
Clarke. Next I was sent this for review which is by
Gareth Brooks. I have mentioned him before because I really
loved his graphic novel the black project. This is another one of his called the dancing
plague. Iāve spoken about the dancing plague of
1518 before which was the basis for the fairytale the red shoes, Iāve read non-fiction books
about it before lots of people danced in the streets until they died, this one in particular
was in Strasberg, but it happened across Europe in various different places. Scientists and historians are still trying
to work out why that might have happened. I love how Gareth has presented this, some
of the titles have used thread which I think is really cool. Next I was sent this for a view by, press,
this is one of the cities in short fiction anthologies, where they ask writers from a
certain place to write short stories for a book. So they have the book of Newcastle, the book
of Tehran, the book of Shanghai, and this is the book of Ramallah in Palestine. Iām definitely going to be reading this
book this month and I will also link resources in the description box down below if you want
to read more about what is happening in Palestine at the moment. Sending big love to everybody. Next I bought a copy of ātoo late to die
youngā by Harriet McBride Johnson, she wrote my favourite piece in the anthology disability
visibility alongside Ariel Henley. Her essay was talking about eugenics and her
giving a talk alongside another professor who thought that she should never have been
allowed to be born, absolutely horrific, and I have been desperate to read more work by
her since then. It says this is a witty and highly unconventional
memoir, opening with a lyrical meditation on death and ending with a bold sermon on
pleasure. Another non-fiction book that Iā¦ I was going to say that I bought this, I wouldāve
bought it but I have been sent a review copy by Canongate. This is small bodies of water by Nina Minya
Powles. If you have been around for the past six months
you will know that I have inhaled all her previous books. I first came across her atā¦ I mean in the anthology āat the pondā
which is a series of essays about swimming at the Hampstead ladies pond. After I read that I read her poetry collection
Magnolia and then her non-fiction book tiny moons. I think that this book is going to be an extension
of her essay in at the pond, itās about wild swimming and I believe also about chronic
illness. I just think that sounds amazing. Itās coming out in August. I have three poetry collection is here that
have been sent to me for review, this is stone fruit by Rebecca Perry. Rebeccaās first book beauty/beauty is one
of my favourite poetry collections of all time. Dom Buryās Daily collection rite of passage
has also been published this month. Dom won an Eric Gregory Award in 2016, which
was the year that I also won. I have a big soft spot for the poets who won
that year, which was me, Sam Buchanan Watts, Dom Bury, Alex McDonald and Andrew McMillan. I have a warm place in my heart for my fellow
poetry children/poetry brothers, and Iām thrilled that Domās book is published by
Bloodaxe, who also publish me. Iāve also been sent a copy of Chrissy Williamsā
new book which is called Low. I have also loved her previous books. I will list and link these poetry collections
in the description box down below, in case you want to go and read sample poems to see
if you would like to check them out yourself. Of course once I have read them I will review
them in detail. I also bought this which I think I showed
in a different video but I havenāt included it in a whole video yet, this is lonely castle
in the mirror and this is translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel, itās about
a group of teenagers who can travel through mirrors at night to a strange castle where
they have to discover it secret, but if they stay there until the Sun rises then they become
stuck. It sounds very fairytale like, I also love
the cover, also love the back cover, look at this, it says āin another world we were
already friends so I am no longer alone.ā I bought this collection which is actually
also published by blood axe it is called when I grow up I want to be a list of further possibilities
by Chen Chen. I had been meaning to buy this for ages and
forgot, until I saw Jay over at and yet the books share one of their poems on Instagram
and I remember to pick up a copy. I am hoping that Jay is going to start a book
tube channel soon. It says āin this ferocious and tender debut,
Chen Chen investigates love and family, strange relationships between mother and son, the
cost of necessary goodbyes all from Asian American immigrant and queer perspectives.ā Next I will send a review copy of this which
is called mainstream and anthology of stories from the edges, and on the back it says this
is a collection of stories by working-class, POC, and queer authors. I am obviously here for all of that representation
but when I was contacted about this book I emailed them and asked if disabled authors
were part of this collection two and they replied saying yes, so there are disable voices
in here. This cover really reminds me of something. Is it a film poster? I feel like itās reminding me something
of something that is on the tip of my tongue and I just canāt place it, can anyone work
out what that might be? Next I bought two books from the womenās
prize long list/shortlist, these are the two that appealed to me the most apart from the
ones Iāve already read. The first one is the transition, baby by Torrey
Peters. I donāt think I need to tell you the blurb
of this book because it has been everywhere. I am reading it for my in real life bookclub
next monthā¦ I say in real life, but of course it is online. I just mean that it is off-line friends but
the book club will take place online because these are the times that we are living in. I also bought transcendent kingdom by yaa
gyasi, iāve heard amazing things about this, it is about science and religion, and I think
it is slower paced than her first book homegoing which was her debut, so it gives more space
to expanding on ideas which Iām really excited to read, because I thought her writing in
that first book was fantastic, and Iāve heard that this one is even better. I was also sent a copy of Sanneās book,
her book club journal. Sanne and I are friends we have known each
other for many, many years. Sanne has a bit cheap channel too. I am really thrilled that this book of hers
is out in the world now. It is a journal where you can record thoughts
on books that you have read for your bookclub, or where you can make notes on books that
you are reading privately. There is space to record information about
formats are you reading in, characters, setting and questions that you might want to ask at
your bookclub. She has created some booklists at the back
of this journal and also an essay at the front on things you may want to consider when setting
up a book club of your own. congratulations to Sanne. Finally I have bought a copy of Circus of
wonders by Elizabeth Macneal. I already own this book, I have it in proof
form that I wanted to purchase a finished copy. I have received so many messages from people
asking if I knew of this book existed, whether I would be purchasing it and reading it, and
whether I would talk about the representation of disfigurement and disability in this book
because it is a novel set around the freakshow. My answer to all of those questions is that
I have already read it. Elizabeth Macneal is the author of the doll
factory and she is also an excellent Potter, and last year she hired me to be the sensitivity
reader for her new novel because it is a book set at a freakshow and has lots of people
in it with disabilities and disfigurements. I have lots of general thoughts surrounding
sensitivity reading which is probably for another video but when youāre working with
someone who wants a sensitivity reader and itās really invested in listening and getting
the representation right, that is great, and I am all for that. I suppose in short my thoughts on sensitivity
reading in general is that sometimes publishers will use it as a last-minute resort, almost
as a placeholder or a defence mechanism, not taking on feedback from the sensitivity reader,
but just using it so that they can say that they had one without offering any more context. I have more thoughts for another time but
I really enjoyed working with Elizabeth on this, I spoke to her about the history of
the freakshow, how certain characters will feel about their disfigurements and disabilities
at various different points in the story, some medical things, as well as general representation
concerning disability and disfigurement in literature as a whole. So that was really wonderful, this book is
fantastic, I very much recommend it, there are lots of Jane air references in here and
I know that Elizabeth is also a big fan of Michel Faberās the crimson petal on the
white, which you can tell when reading this, because of the tone, and I love that as well. This book came out last week and I would highly
recommend it. Okay those are all of the books that I wanted
to speak to you about, I will list them in the description box down below. Letās go into the kitchen now to make ravioli. I have been really enjoying making pasta from
scratch recently. Last year I did a live cook along video where
you could cook pasta with me. Iāll link that in the description box down
below. mr M has since bought me a pasta machine. You definitely do not need a pasta machine
to make pasta, you can just roll it out using a rolling pin or an old wine bottle, but using
the pasta machine is definitely help me with my arthritis and has made pasta making a more
enjoyable. so I am going to make some ravioli, the recipe
that I use is 310 g of flour. You can just use plain flour for this but
the other week Mr M got very excited and bought some 00 flour and semolina flour so Iām
going to be using a mixture of both of those. You put that flower onto a clean surface with
a pinch of salt, and make a well in the middle and add four eggs and a slug of olive oil. You then whisk that together and need it to
make a dough before rolling it out as soon as possible, using more flour to make sure
that it stays dry. Iām currently roasting some sweet potatoes
which Iām going to mix together and mash up with some cooked onion, some garlic, some
stock, and that will be my filling. I will then fry some chopped sage leaves in
butter and put that on top of the cooked ravioli, you only need to cook ravioli for about a
couple of minutes, it cooks very fast. So it is not a very healthy lunch but who
cares? Come and join me in The kitchen. I hope that you have enjoyed watching this
video, as I said I will link all of the books in the description box down below. Please let me know what you have been reading
recently and also what you have been cooking recently because I would like to know. I will be back with a new video on Thursday,
sending lots of love, bye.
