#17// writer-in-disguise, parisian glam & tiktok houses

New series — WORDED

Dear Reader,
How are you? I’ve got exciting news. A new interview series on The Book Satchel, some mindless TV watching, and also the wittiest, charming, darling books for some hygge reads.
 

Read

This is the time of the year when I long for cosy, comforting reads. And nothing better than Miss. Buncle to make you laugh, rolling in your sheets, and make you late for the work day. D. E. Stevenson’s Miss. Buncle's book is about countryside folks who lead quiet, mind-your-own-business lives. UNTIL a book that eerily imitates their life (and titled ‘Disturber of Peace’, no less) is published. People keep buying, reading, cribbing, sharing and of course, the book becomes a bestseller. John Smith, the author, is in demand and more books are published.
 
Now the big secret is that there is no John Smith. John Smith is actually Miss. Barbara Buncle, a thirty something, single lady who lives in Silverstream. She is struggling to make ends meet and decides to write a book. Not being an imaginative person, she writes about the residents of the Silverstream village—names changed of course. So Silverstream becomes the village of Copperfield, Colonel Weatherhead becomes Major Waterfoot Dr. Walker is the fictional Dr. Rider. And that’s not all. Secret pasts, secret crushes come to light and in some cases, the book events—marriage, travel—become a reality. In John Smith’s book, it is a golden boy who disturbs the peace but in the Miss. Buncle’s book, it is the quiet spinster who shakes things up. Some residents chuckle reading the book, some don’t want to read between the lines, but there’s also a witch hunt for the mysterious John Smith, headed by  Mrs Featherstone-Hoggs who is annoyed that her past as chorus girl revealed. There’s so much to laugh about. If you like English novels that follow a group of quaint characters, definitely pick it up.
 
The novel is written in 1934 and I am amused seeing that 30 something unmarried women are considered very old. For example would you look at that old cover?

 
The second book, Miss. Buncle Married, is just as fun. Of course, no spoiler that the publisher Mr. Arthur Abbott and Barbara Buncle get married at the end of Book #1. In Book #2, they leave their home (Miss. Buncle ran away from Silverstream, then got married; Mr. Abbott’s housekeeper does not like her, and Barbara wants to begin anew in a new place) to settle in a new village. Their new home is the neglected Archway House in Wandlebury. A perfect house according to Barbara. Also she meets the ‘golden boy’—the only imaginative part in her first novel—here.

There are some parts in Miss. Buncle Married that felt a tad boring (should’ve been edited out) but overall it still had the charm and fun of a typical D. E. Stevenson or should I say Buncle book. So now we have unusual wills (what is with English novels and ridiculous wills?) that don’t let two young people in love be married—our heroine Barbara Buncle, now Mrs. Abbott—happens to see the will. So she tries to keep the lovers—Mr. Abbott’s nephew Sam and her friend Jerry—apart until things are safe (because Barbara cannot reveal the truth about this unusual will of a rich, dying lady). She tries to accomplish this in hilarious ways, like hiding the Sam’s trousers (and Sam is left wondering in her pyjamas ‘How did I get from London to here without the trousers, I definitely brought them/wore them’). There are three mischievous children as the Abbotts’ neighbours; also the eccentric artist, father of the children, whom Mr. Abbott gets mildly jealous of. There are one too many ghosts, including a ghost in Edwardian clothes. Such fun, such giggles, and many quirky, lovely characters. Oh, I almost forgot, everyone is worried if Mrs. Abbott will write another book based on these new neighbours and thus earn the wrath of the villagers, like how the Silverstream episode turned out, but Mr. Abbott is quite encouraging.

 
Now the third book, The Two Mrs. Abbotts, is nice, in a way, but the wit has certainly fizzled out. I remember nothing much about it though I do remember craving for Barbara Buncle to have more page-time. C’mon, we are all here for Barbara. Let minor characters stay minor characters. Barbara is a mother now—is that why we don't see much of her? There's lots of Jerry, another writer, etc etc. I would rate Miss. Buncle’s Book 5 stars, Miss. Buncle Married 4.5 stars (yes, the boring bits do get lot of upliftment later on and there are brownie points for laughs) and The Two Mrs Abbotts 3 stars (but you’ll read it anyway because Barbara is a dear!). And really, there’s nothing better than cosy, comfort reads especially when we are marching towards winter.
 

Introducing WORDED

AHA! If you follow me on Twitter, you would’ve seen my announcement for a new series on The Book Satchel. Introducing WORDED—an interview series where I interview creatives. You’ll find me in conversation with writers, artists, entrepreneurs, readers, creators and other inspirational people. Each month will have one or two guests. These interviews will be slightly long winded and casual and they’ll have all those questions you’ve always wanted to ask your favourite people. So brace yourself to read about the more serious stuff like process and creativity and also get a peek into their hobbies, reading piles and even the kitchen. And I would recommend a hot drink alongside. Because these are long, and chatty!
 
I’ve been planning this series forever—brainstormed the name two years ago—and I am glad I could give it the green signal before the end of 2020. I hope you’ll love reading the series. Do send comments/feedback/smiles/anything. My first guest is Clarissa Goenawan, author of Rainbirds and The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida—two lovely books btw. We talk about Japanese manga, Murakami, saving up before taking the writerly leap, naming manuscripts, reading lists and more. Read it here.
 

Watch

Emily in Paris on Netflix. An American in Paris. Cooped up in your homes, what is better than watching a show with Paris, fashion and French cafes? Ah! I crave croissants and pain au chocolat. And there’s no place to ring for some (The times I miss my Mumbai life). Don’t get too excited though. Because there’s nothing much in the show to LOVE, it is simple—pretty things, many men, the usual. But I still watched it, often while doing other things. So this is a show that you can completely ignore when you are suddenly steeped in work and let it play in the background. When you come back, you would’ve missed nothing but also you’ll feel right at home in Paris. The finding-it-hard-speaking-French was not funny to be honest (and there were so many ‘jokes’) but I loved the style, the glam, the Insta influencer world, snooty colleagues, trying to get people at your new workplace to love you—all that.
Is it the Sex and the City redefined? Nope, watch the Sex and the City instead. Is it fun? Yes. Do I think it is hyped? Also yes.
 

Amazing links

- We battle-cry over defeated corsets but are we actually free or have we modelled ourselves on our expectations? Excellent read—Quarantining with the Cool Girl about whether the things we do are really the things we want to (Sophia Wilson Pelton, Human Parts)
 
"The Cool Girl (the ideal we’re being sold from every direction at all times) is a fickle bitch. She’s updating at an exponential rate. She has to. Otherwise, she wouldn’t adhere to the current marketplace-friendly brand of feminism. The market is well aware of my scepticism — of my upper class, liberal arts, feminist ideologies — and wants to convince me I’m pure of heart in all of my feminine pursuits. An expensive, 10-step skin care regime is now “self-care,” something you do wholly for yourself. Athleisure is in! Girls can wear sweats too! Billie Eilish is doing it! You’re not wearing that Outdoor Voices set to shape your body; you’re wearing it because it’s comfortable and easy and simple. You don’t use Glossier to adhere to current beauty standards; you use it because you’re embracing (enhancing) your natural beauty... The Cool Girl doesn’t post photos because of a trend, she does it because she’s feeling herself. I posted one too. "

 
- The mask barons of Etsy—a few millions, sleepless nights featuring mompreneurs and pop up shops (The Verge)

 - Profile of Taffy Brodesser-Akner who has profiled many celebrities is the perfect read. It made me go on a deep dive into Taffy’s work (some I enjoyed include Gwyneth Paltrow’s weird wellness industry, sugar daddies, but I did not like her profile of Marie Kondo where she has a whole paragraph talking abour her appearance and really not exploring much of her work. It is more Taffy than Kondo in the piece. Big eyeroll.). Open this in a new window because you will surely have too many tabs at the end of the day.

“When I started doing the ‘I don't get out of bed for less than $4 a word’ thing, people started paying me $4 a word,” she says...She has been accused of being the reason Bradley Cooper didn’t get an Oscar nod. Her surreal profile of the unrepentant figure skater Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie played her in I, Tonya) may or may not have contributed to Harding getting fired by her publicist a day after it published, when Harding proposed to fine any future journalists who ask about her past."
 
- Tiktok collab houses of LA, 19 year olds aiming for the big money,  and a Kris Jenner-like mother + mentor to aspiring social media stars (Rebecca Jennings, Vox)

- Good movies as old book (via The Alipore post)

- This graphic essay makes you salute parents—One week of remote learning (Aubrey Hirsch, Vox)

 
I keep apologising for long emails, but maybe long is good? I hope you have a great week.
 
Until next time,
Resh x

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