#7// adventures in wilderness, the lady behind Monopoly
Adventures in wilderness...
Dear Reader,
The week has gone by in unexpected showers, much coffee and squirrel watching. I've named the three squirrels who live right beside my room as Chintu, Anto and Santiago. A weird combo of names but these three musketeers make the day a little more brighter. These days I find much joy in looking through my shelves and finding books hauled many moons ago. This exercise is a miniature version of walking through a bookstore—only difference being that these books are already pre-approved and hoarded with much interest, so there's a good chance of "OHH, I want to read that" squeals.
What I Read
I have a lot of unread books on my shelves. The ones I grab at sales, the ones that are hidden behind four or more stacks in front. So when I come across a book that I badly wanted to read once upon a time but didn’t, and come across it again at ‘the right time’, I do a small dance. Recently I chugged through the Wildwood Chronicles, a fun and adventurous middle grade book with illustrations so beautiful that they slow down your reading speed. Because wow! This series is written by Colin Meloy and illustrated by his wife Carson Ellis.
The first book, Wildwood, begins with a theft. A murder of crows steal a one-year old baby. The said baby is Prue’s brother and Prue is determined to bring him back. Prue and her friend Curtis live on the Outside (that’s Portland). There’s the wildwood and Impassable Wilderness that adults warn children to stay away from and that's where the crows have taken the baby! There’s a part in Wildwood that feels very similar to the Narnia witch and boy, which made me disappointed. Nevertheless I raced through the book. We meet evil dowagers, an Avian principality (peppermint tea with an owl is really what I need in life right now), bicycle chases, talking animals, loyal rats, bandits, coyote soldiers, mystics, Council trees and magic bridges. The book is funny, charming and you’ll find yourself wanting to give Prue and Curtis a helping hand.
The second book, Under Wildwood, is darker and more delicious. Here we meet a factory owner, Mr. Unthank, who takes in children for short term stays when their parents have to leave town and make them work, eventually marking them as ‘unadoptables’. This man is trying to find a way into the Impassable Wildnerness for which he uses these unadoptables as guinea pigs. Curtis’ sisters are the latest entrants into the group of unadoptables. Here we meet moles (and their wonderful tunnels), shapeshifters who come as English teachers, a talking circus bear with hooks for claws who loves pancakes, a blind man with a mysterious past and many children. Curtis is a bandit-in-training, and Prue gets mixed up in a Bicycle coup. In the third book, Wildwood Imperium, there’s a May queen, an evil force lurking in a magic mirror and an heir who is resurrected. There’s more politics here—guillotines, revolts, secret rebel groups. I missed Curtis in the third book after I finished reading because there’s less of him in the book. But to be honest I didn’t mind it while reading because there were so many “Oh my god” situations—in elevators, forests, everywhere—that kept me turning pages. I like how the whole series is written in a way that I can imagine it like an animated movie, scene by scene. The sudden twists, the howling, the chases—I lived through it all and enjoyed it too.
I consumed the trilogy from a paperback box set from Balzer+Bray. I wish I owned the hardcover because the paperbacks have 5-7 colour plates of illustrations only. The rest are in greyscale (not so bad; I loved them but we can all be greedy). I bought this set few years ago as a birthday gift for my husband and I don’t think these box sets or even the books are easily available now unless at a brick and mortar store. Canongate has published this series too, btw. You can find the audiobooks (as well as the e-books but the illustrations are sad looking and dull in black-and-white)—if you aren’t stubborn about wanting to look at the illustrations—on Scribd. The illustrations by Ellis are a marvel, so personally I think they elevate the reading experience.
Watch
I love food and things to do with food. Food pictures, food books and food movies. I wrote about my favourite Indian films revolving around food. You’ll love these. Don’t blame me if you keep rewatching the food snippets from said films. Wish we had many more food related films, given our diversity though. For now, these dosa cravings that turn into phone calls, shared biryanis and home cooked food in tiffins will soothe your heart.
Bake
This lemon yoghurt cake by Molly Wizenberg. One of my absolute favourites that I bake for special occasions. (I’ll be honest; I bake them when there’s nothing special and it is a dull, boring day too). You can find a free version of the recipe here. Or read the whole love story behind the cake along with tips for frosting (so good!), in A Homemade life (available on Scribd). Wizenberg writes so wonderfully that by the time I read her introduction to a recipe, I am convinced it is the best and I must try it out.
Books of Note in Steal Deals
What are you in the mood for?
For a cutesy, witty romance between the son of the President of US and the Prince in London with NDAs and Snapchat flirting—Casey Mcquiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue
Dark, deadpan, witty noir set in Lagos—My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyikan Braithwaite (check my review on Huffpost In)
If you haven’t read my favourite Sally Rooney’s Normal People yet (I talk about this book too much, so won’t repeat), now’s the time
Slow burn psychological thriller that’ll eat you up—The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Amazing links
The Story Of Food During The Lockdown (Piyasree Dasgupta, Huffpost)
"Suddenly, the chaos of my childhood in a constantly conflicted, crowded Calcutta home became the order I pined for in my new, unfamiliar life. Thus came out the lukewarm doodh bhaath, and with it, a feeling of closeness to the people who always brought order into my life — my mother, and my late grandmother."
Comfort Food: The Importance of Reading Aloud as Adults (Annie Harnett, The Millions)
"Listening to someone read out loud is like that experiment where you stare into another person’s eyes for four minutes and by the end, you’re in love with that person. It’s too intimate an experience to share with someone you dislike."
Transphobia and Growing Up with the Harry Potter Universe (Gabrielle Bellot, LitHub)
"But when our beloved artists fail us, it’s difficult to see their works as we once did. I fear that some of the series’ magic has faded for me."
Monopoly and its forgotten hero (Anmol Dhawan, Syndrome)
The dubious origins of Monopoly and its forgotten creator. An enterprising woman and a feminist icon in the early 1900s essentially created the first version of the game we love today. It had the option of a socialistic approach to the game where everybody wins. But we didn’t want everybody to win, did we?
- Colonialism in the decor: we can’t keep sweeping the past under the leopard skin rug (Elliott Ross, The Correspondent)
- We Need To Rethink Our “Pics Or It Didn’t Happen” Approach To Activism (Yomi Adekoge, Vogue)
- Researchers have found a way to eavesdrop on your conversations using light bulbs (Andrew Liszewski, Gizmodo)
- Photographing people through windows (Katy Cowan on Caroline White, Creative Boom)
- Creepy!! Bizzarre photo edits by Ellen Shiedlin (Demilked)
For books — new, classics, translations, indie press titles — and movies,
Sign up for TWO months of FREE Scribd using my Invite Link.
Until next time,
Resh x
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