What to Read/Watch/Listen (and cook)

What I've been loving lately...

Jan 13, 2023

Hey there,

If you’ve followed me for a long time, you know that my Read/Watch/Listen feature has been around for a while. It started on my blog and then migrated to the RAD Reading podcast, and now that we’ve wrapped up the podcast, it’s putting down its stakes over here.

If you’re new here, welcome! Read/Watch/Listen is my way of sharing the best things I’ve read, watched, or listened to lately. And in the case of this installment, I’m also including the best things I’ve cooked lately because it’s January and we all could use some comfort tacos and pie. I mean, there really isn’t a month where we don’t need pie and tacos, but January is particularly needy for some good things.

So, here we go!

Read

First, I want to preface this pick and my Listen pick by saying that I’m a mood reader and I sometimes get in the mood to deep dive into a particular thing. I don’t question these whims because often a weird urge to deep dive into something means my writer brain has a seed of a story idea that it’s fertilizing. (Sometimes not, but I can’t tell the difference so I go with it.) For instance, when I got obsessed with reading about improv (even though I would never EVER have the guts to do improv) and then Yes & I Love You popped into my brain.

So, lately, my interest has been life in the 1950s. It started with my new obsession with reading cleaning and homekeeping books that I talked about in my last newsletter because that led me to some old-school homekeeping stuff from the 50s. This also dovetailed with the fact that I’ve been putting on Turner Classic Movies in the background when I’m doing things.

Generally, I don’t read a lot of historical fiction beyond historical romances, but this mood had me seeking out stories set in the 1950s and I found Karma Brown’s Recipe for a Perfect Housewife.

About the book:

In this captivating dual narrative novel, a modern-day woman finds inspiration in hidden notes left by her home’s previous owner, a quintessential 1950s housewife. As she discovers remarkable parallels between this woman’s life and her own, it causes her to question the foundation of her own relationship with her husband–and what it means to be a wife fighting for her place in a patriarchal society.

When Alice Hale leaves a career in publicity to become a writer and follows her husband to the New York suburbs, she is unaccustomed to filling her days alone in a big, empty house. But when she finds a vintage cookbook buried in a box in the old home’s basement, she becomes captivated by the cookbook’s previous owner–1950s housewife Nellie Murdoch. As Alice cooks her way through the past, she realizes that within the cookbook’s pages Nellie left clues about her life–including a mysterious series of unsent letters penned to her mother.

Soon Alice learns that while baked Alaska and meatloaf five ways may seem harmless, Nellie’s secrets may have been anything but. When Alice uncovers a more sinister–even dangerous–side to Nellie’s marriage, and has become increasingly dissatisfied with the mounting pressures in her own relationship, she begins to take control of her life and protect herself with a few secrets of her own.

I love a dual timeline book and I found both of these storylines compelling, though I liked one lead character better than the other. The story itself was a page-turner and I finished it quickly—which is saying something because I’ve been la la la distracted lately when reading fiction. I really loved how I felt transported to the 1950s setting, which is what I was looking for. I didn’t love the ending in one timeline, but I’ve learned over the years to judge a book by the journey and not just the ending.

Also, it’s hard to find 1950s set books that are about “ordinary” people. So much of what I see set in that time is about characters who were like Cold War spies or scientists or movie stars. Those can be interesting, but sometimes I just want a peek into the every day life dramas and tribulations. So, this was perfect for that. And it has a nice little twist as well. :)

Listen

Normally, I would do Watch next, but my Listen is in a similar vein to my Read so let’s just move into that.

If you listened to RAD Reading, this is one of those audiobooks that my co-host Dawn Alexander would call one of my weird Roni picks, lol. But, y’all, this audiobook was FASCINATING!

So, The Secret History of Home Economics: How Trailblazing Women Harnessed the Power of Home and Changed the Way We Live by Danielle Dreilinger popped up on my Libby app when I was searching for something else and it caught my eye.

About the book:

The term “home economics” may conjure traumatic memories of lopsided hand-sewn pillows or sunken cakes. But obscured by common conception is the story of the revolutionary science of better living. The field exploded opportunities for women in the twentieth century by reducing domestic work and providing jobs as professors, engineers, chemists, and businesspeople that were otherwise foreclosed.

In The Secret History of Home Economics, Danielle Dreilinger traces the field’s history from small farms to the White House, from Victorian suffragists to Palo Alto techies. Home economics followed the currents of American culture even as it shaped them; Dreilinger brings forward the racism within the movement along with the strides taken by Black women who were influential leaders and innovators. She also looks at the personal lives of home economics’ women, as they chose being single, shared lives with women, or tried for egalitarian marriages. This groundbreaking and engaging history restores a maligned subject to its rightful importance.

I love a book that filters a broad swath of history through the lens of something specific. I find that I can take in the history better that way because it ties it to individual people’s stories. One of my favorite listens last year did this—Tastemakers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food In America by Mayukh Sen. This book gave me that same vibe.

I didn’t take Home Ec in school because it was out of fashion by then—and you learn WHY it wasn’t offered much anymore in school and why we all have to take things like Physics instead. (Blame Sputnik.) But now I wish I would’ve had the class. I taught myself to cook, but I have no idea how to sew a button or knit. I also would’ve probably appreciated shop class because I can barely hang a picture on my wall. There’s something enticing about being capable in those basics.

But ANYWAY, this book isn’t just about the home ec classes we all think about. It’s about what Home Economics started out as in the 1800s, how feminist it was early on, how it struggled like the rest of the country with things like racial equality, how it changed in the 50s and why, and what’s become of it since. It was so interesting to see how many things Home Economists had a role in and where those things still show up today. (Like your dried soup mix is a result of Home Economists developing food for space flight.)

So, this book will definitely not be for everyone. You have to be a little nerdy about history probably to enjoy it, but if that’s your thing, I highly recommend it. I raced through this audiobook and was sad when it was over. I also am all for a revival of Home Ec (for all, not just girls.) Everyone could use some classes in Adulting lol.

Which Adulting skill did you wish you had?

Watch

I will watch anything Mindy Kaling puts together. I absolutely love her YA show Never Have I Ever, so when I saw she was also behind the HBOMax series The Sex Lives of College Girls, I knew I had to add it to my list.

Kaling’s shows feature smart, funny women who are often bold and sex-positive. The YA show does this in a YA way, The Sex Lives of College Girls does it in a much more adult way. It can get racy, so don’t watch it at a time when your kids could walk in. But it’s well-written and funny and the characters are great. I’m only a little over halfway through the first season, but I’ve really enjoyed it so far.

Also, if anyone takes issue with my 19-year-old freshman heroine in Good Girl Fail (out on Tuesday!!!) doing some racy things at her age, I will just point them to this show of 18-year-old freshmen to remind them that college is when people are experimenting and finding themselves in many different ways. :)

And speaking of Good Girl Fail, have you pre-ordered your copy yet? (The paperback is already available on Amazon—by accident—so if you’re planning to get a hard copy, it can be at your doorstep now! If you are holding out for audio, that will be available at the end of February.)

Get the book

Cook

Y’all know I have a cookbook obsession. Kidlet decided to count my cookbooks the other day—257. He said, “Mom, I think you have a problem.” I asked, “Do you enjoy those meals I serve you?” To which he said, “Nevermind. You’re all good.” :)

Cooking soothes me and cooking new things stimulates me, so this week, when my internet decided to go out on a Monday, I decided to bake a pie. North Carolina Lemon Ice Box Pie from my Cook’s Country cookbook to be exact. I love a lemon pie, but I’d never had one with this kind of crust—made from crushed saltines, lots of butter, and corn syrup (I used maple syrup because that’s what I had.) I’m officially sold on this crust. The whole thing was freaking delicious and super easy. Here’s the recipe:

Also, from that same cookbook, I made shrimp tacos, and hands down, it was some of the best shrimp tacos I’ve ever had (and I’ve had a lot.) The sauce was simple but *chef’s kiss*. These are definitely going into my regular recipe rotation.

Alright, I think that’s all I have for you today…and now I’m hungry.

What are some of the best things you’ve read, watched, listened to, or eaten lately? I’d love to hear!