Reading the news at a time "we can bury anyone"

And a book about coercive control that you must read.

Welcome to my head - a round up of what I have been thinking about, reading and eating.

Thinking

I’ve been listening to and reading about the Blake Lively smear campaign and it’s made me feel really uncomfortable about the media and the way I ingest it. I don’t consciously follow celebrity gossip (I couldn’t actually pick out Blake Lively in a line up of ten blonde women) but I am a big consumer of pop culture and current affairs. I didn’t even realise I was thinking about her during the publicity for It Ends With Us, but when I listened to details about the campaign I realise that subliminally, I had absorbed it all. I had formed an opinion on Blake Lively without even knowing I was thinking about her.

And while my opinion on Blake Lively does not mean anything to anyone, it has made me think about all the ‘news’ I read especially on social media.

I am not comparing celebrity gossip to the situation in the Middle East but I am considering the ramifications of what we read on social media and in the news and how it shapes our opinions. It’s something I’ve been sitting with since 7 October 2023 when half the world became experts on Israel and Palestine. I am not one of these experts although I do have some knowledge about the history of Israel and the Jewish people. But I know how I feel - gutted for every Palestinian person starving, killed, wounded or affected by the war at the same time as being gutted for every Israeli person raped, abducted, killed or affected by the war.

Needless to say my social media feeds have been filled with many opinions on this heartbreaking war. Also people posting bits of news out of context or memes that have very little basis in truth. People from both sides hurting and angry posting ‘the facts’ based on their feelings.

And while what it is going on in Gaza is clearly horrendous and tragic and I don’t want to take anything away from that, it has made me think more about what is happening outside of Gaza, in our homes and in our hearts. How much of what we are taking in is fuelled by reality and how much by fear? How do we separate the anger from the truth, the fear from the vitriol?

There are clear, plain facts about the war that we should know and care about. But if we absorb news about celebrity through a targeted PR smear campaign, imagine what we are absorbing about the war and the people involved in it through social media.

Makes me think. Also makes me petrified that we will never know the absolute truth about anything we read about.

Reading

I picked up this book to read because I quite love Emma Grey. I met her through my job at Mamamia where she regularly wrote for the site. It was the early heady days of Mamamia and I got the opportunity to really engage with, and befriend many of the people who contributed to the site. That’s how I met Emma, then we became friends on Facebook and I have watched her star rise and rise. I have also watched her endure tragic loss - which she writes about in her first novel The Last Love Note.

I had no idea what Pictures of You was about when I started to read it, but I thought it was a clever construct when a woman wakes in hospital with amnesia after an accident in which her husband dies. Evie cannot recall anything that happened to her in the last six years and has no way of uncovering her past because the contacts list on her phone is empty and she is not in touch with a single friend or family member. And while it starts almost as a rom-com and a light holiday read, it unwinds into something so much more meaningful and impactful.

At its heart it’s a book about coercive control and although it’s tied up prettily in what can feel like a love story, its themes are important and weighty. It’s hard not to get caught up in Evie’s life and see how she is changed by the ‘love’ of her boyfriend and how subtly and quickly these changes happen. It’s a brilliant insight into domestic violence and how even the strongest, smartest people, with supportive families and friends can fall victim in plain sight.

Put it on your TBR pile and in the meantime look at the awesome treatment Megispaintingpages has given it on instagram.

megispaintingpages

A post shared by @megispaintingpages

Eating

Recently I bought this cookbook because I already own the first two books Better Together Kitchen have written and they are in my top 5 rotation for dinner inspiration.

They are simple recipes with simple instructions and all of them are packed with flavour. I cannot recommend their books enough. Also follow them on Instagram here

Tonight we are eating their Cajun Salmon Tacos.

bettertogetherkitchen

A post shared by @bettertogetherkitchen

I am also planning on making the Sashimi Wonton Party on the weekend and the Not Stuffed Peppers Rice. And the Sticky Salmon Bite Bowls. And the Pan Fried Gnocchi with Caramelised Onions. I could go on and on but I need to go grocery shopping…

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Thanks for reading my rambling thoughts. Hope this liminal space between Christmas and New Year is treating you well.

See you next week

Lana