#57// that end of the year

a slice of cake and then some

Dear Reader,

How are you my dear friend? This might be the first year in my memory where I have not played Christmas songs in the house (unlike blasting them from November end) or watched terrible Christmas movies to tweet about how bad they are. It feels like July to me. I received a package of rum-soaked plum cake yesterday (If you must know, I like non-boozy cakes) and ate it with vanilla ice cream. I want to save the cake until Christmas day but it is quite tempting to not take a quick bite when I see it on the counter top.

I wonder if plum cakes are a tradition anywhere else in the world? It is totally a thing in Kerala (India). Plum cakes (it is mostly dried fruits and raisins, not sure how the word ‘plum’ came by. Maybe it is the same as a fruit cake? Maybe there are bits od dried plum? I will google it) soaked in fruit juice/wine/rum are a crowd puller in the local bakeries. It is gifted and re-gifted (at least one cake that you gift would make its way back to you is my theory). It was a cute tradition that has now become a commercialized nostalgia with an inflated price and premium branding, like all traditions. By the end of December, we eat so many plum cakes that we cannot stand the sight of them. So we eat no more and resort to soaking fruits for the next year’s batch of cakes.

1. Read

Today I am recommending an old favorite, Stay with me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ for everyone looking for a last minute book to gift. This book tops my hit recommendations, and by that, I mean this is the book that has gotten me the most feedback (all positive too) over the years I have recommended it. Perhaps part of its charm is that it is fast paced. Anybody can read it, from your friend who reads one book a year to the literary fuss-ball. It is so good! It is about Yejide and Akin, who met at the university and fall in love. Happily married for four years with no kids, and a new member joins them—that’s when the family introduces a new woman, Akin’s second wife. This is a charged novel about marriage, mental health, naïve women—honestly, I would love to go back in time and read it for the first time.

2. Newsletter spotlight

Aysha’s The Tea, which is one of those letters that give me an instant chamomile-tea-soothing vibes. You’ll read about being touristy in Japan, or cozy book, or her mom’s recipe, or her cat giving her company, or dinner parties, or grocery shopping—you get the gist. Everything for the creative home body who loves food, words and slow life. Her beautiful photography is a bonus.

3. Listen to Sweet Bobby podcast.

I watched the true crime documentary Sweet Bobby (about a British radio presenter Kirat Assi) on Netflix and tweeted about it. And Sofie (@sofeeeee) told me the podcast is a must-listen even if I know how it all ends. I am glad I took her advice because it was fantastic! I just could not hit pause listening to this story. How to explain being catfished for nearly a decade by your romantic interest? Worse still, not just you, but your whole family. It is a shocking dive into emotional manipulation, being blindsided by obvious red flags, patriarchy, family mindset in immigrant families of Indian origin and the societal smoke surrounding a woman in her thirties.

Sweet Bobby podcast

5. Skin care alert :

I am absolutely in love with Tony Moly face masks. You need them this winter! I love their fruit/vegetable lines (the other line had fancy names but I didn’t find them as effective) and it is a game changer for hydration. I love how my skin feels after a slow self-care day with these. My favorites so far are the rice makegeolli (makes me shine like a light bulb) and avocado.

6. Watch K-drama Judge from Hell, if you are feeling bitter towards the end of the year. This is Park Shin-Hye as a judge from literal hell, who has to live as a human and kill some criminals so that she can go back to her own world (what we call hell). There’s violence but you could argue that it’s justice. My friend recommended it to me and it was a much-needed binge watch.

Judge from Hell

7. But if you are in a festive mood, tune onto Klaus, an animated movie about a postmaster appointed to the far north (as a punishment for being an underperforming brat because of his privileged lifestyle) to the land of two feuding clans. He befriends a reclusive toymaker, Klaus. It’s heartwarming, Christmassy, STUNNING, and embodies joy.

A still from Klaus

6. Try this vocabulary game to donate rice (powered by UN World food programme) to those in need (at no cost to you; you just need to play). It is pretty cool.

7. Tick off The anti-life checklist

I hope you are taking time off and prioritizing yourself as we bid adieu to 2024. I had hoped to curate a holiday guide but I wasn’t able to finish writing it. (maybe there’s still time). If you have specific book recommendation requests, feel free to send me an email. I’d love to help you find the perfect book before time runs out. Best books of 2023 list is linked to make it easier for you <3

Whisper a good wish for me when you spot (or eat!) a fruit cake.

Love,

Resh x