Hello there! This week I have two delicious meals and one amazing book to share. Let’s start with the food!
Last week Birchwood Pie shared this recipe for Sweet and Spicy Gochujang Bowls. The recipe calls for chicken- Birchwood used soy curls- and I used tofu (my daughter doesn’tlike soy curls.) I cut the amount of sugar in half, and it was so, so good. I’m putting this on the list of things to make when my son comes home.
Next up, I made these Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers from Nora Cooks. These are delicious- if you like your veggie burgers to taste like beans and vegetables, and be slightly mushy. Luckily, this is the kind of veggie burger I like. My husband likes a meat-ier texture, like Beyond or Impossible burgers, but I knew he would like just about anything served on a ciabatta roll, and I was right. We both liked this meal. AND, the recipe made five burgers (it was supposed to make six, oops) so we had them again a few nights later, and there’s one more in the freezer. Yay.
Moving on to books. I finally read this…
I’ve heard people talk about this book for a long time, and even heard Steven Pressfield interviewed on a podcast, but never felt like reading it, even though it’s been sitting on the bookshelf in our bedroom for, oh, about twenty years.
I guess I never read it because I thought it was for… artists? But it’s actually for anyone who is trying to move from a lower sphere to a higher in any way- whether you’re writing a novel, starting a business, going back to school, starting a meditation practice… Pressfield says that everyone encounters Resistance. Resistance is the negative force trying to prevent you from moving forward.
I was about halfway through this book before something clicked in my brain. Like many (most?) people, I have a voice in my head saying “You can’t do that. You’re not good enough. Other people can do that, but it’s not for you.” The thing is, I’ve always had the nagging feeling that that voice is the Truth, and everything I’m telling myself to combat it is actually sugar-coated BS. While I was reading I had this epiphany- that voice is NOT the truth. It’s Resistance, and it’s false. There’s no reason to argue with it; just label it as Resistance and move on. I actually think reading this book will be life-changing for me. Glad I took it off the bookshelf and read it, finally!
One more book-ish topic. On Monday’s CBBC discussion of My Brilliant Friend, there was talk about the “title drop,” where the title appeared in the text in an unexpected way. It reminded me of Anna Quindlen’s book, Every Last One. Not only was that one of the best books I’ve read in the past- oh, ten years or so- but the title drop gave me chills. Seriously- if you haven’t read it, I highly recommend.
Have you read War of Art?
Have you read Every Last One? Do you remember the title drop?
Header photo by Asal Lotfi on Unsplash
22 Responses
I haven’t read either of those books! I just looked up Every Last One and I think I’ll wait on that one! I don’t think I’m quite in the mental space for that, based on the synopsis.
Those voices, we all get them, but honestly – why not us? I read a poem that I cannot remember at the moment because it’s 5:23 am, but it had to do with that exactly. And as the Desiderata says “You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars, you have a right to be here.” I like that, I like thinking about that. We ARE good enough, we can do the things!
Yes, Every Last One has a pretty intense storyline but it’s just so well done. I actually didn’t know much, going into it so everything that happened was pretty shocking.
I do like an easy dinner bowl as well usually with tofu, tempeh and now trying to eat more fish.
Deborah, you would like this one! It was delicious and a little different than the same old stir fry I usually end up making.
I have read neither (well I started My Brilliant friend and quit)… the other looks intriguing. But I have so many books on my to read list!!!
I know, Darlene! I wish I could spend a month just reading (well- reading and running.) I still wouldn’t get through the books on my TBR.
I’ve never read any Anna Quindlen, but she wrote the foreword to my copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and upon realizing this, I went back to the CBBC discussion and you wrote about Every Last One in a comment about that. On Goodreads, it was described as “heartbreaking and gut-wrenching” and maybe I’m not up for that right now? Or would I be? I’m on the fence. Convince me!
Okay Engie! I actually think you could handle this book. I would go into it not knowing too much about the plot- all I knew was that something bad was going to happen but I didn’t know what. Then when the Thing does happen, the writing is just so, so good. And the way the characters handle it is so interesting to read about, and ultimately uplifting. There’s a subplot about the woman’s relationship with her mother, and how that evolves, and I loved that part.
I made another Nora Cooks recipe this week and it was delicious! Such a solid inspiration for food ideas.
MBF was a slog for me, but I’m so glad others have loved it! I’ve never read Every Last One but the synposis makes it sounds INTENSE but also very engaging.
I read War of Art and was sooo disappointed. That said, it was years ago and I am tempted to try again because it is just such a popular book. As I recall it’s pretty short, too, so if I give it another go it won’t take a ton of time!
It is short! And, for about half the book I was disappointed, I guess because I felt like I had heard it all before. But then like I said I had that epiphany and ended up getting SO much out of it.
I’m definitely ready for another round of the gochujang bowls.
Hey just because you buy a book doesn’t mean that you can’t read it 20 years later! I think with most things, the attitude to take is “if other people can do that, so can I!” But we all have those little voices that we use to talk ourselves down.
Taking note of Anna Quindlen. My reading is slowing down since my nightly reading spot has been displaced by a late night puppy walk, but I am looking for more “real” books in addition to all of the “comfort reading” of mysteries and thrillers.
That was my favorite nna Quindlen, by far. She wrote some other ones, but that one was outstanding.
Every last one was SO GOOD! But such a sad and heavy topic. It’s probably been 10 years since I read it and I can still remember how that book made me feel. I made my sister read it, too, and she loved it. But gah it was so heart breaking! I haven’t read the Art of War, but it sounds like something that would resound with me!
Those black bean burgers sound good! I don’t need a meaty texture in a black bean burger. And it would be extra good on a ciabatta bun (which I obv can’t have being gluten free but sure looks good!!).
Those buns came from Trader Joes, and I’m pretty positive they have gluten free buns too!
Yes, I still think of parts of Every Last One. One of the thingsI thought was so good was, although the Big Event was so, so terrible, it didn’t feel like gratuitous horribleness, you know? Like the whole story was woven together in a very artistic way.
Oh that tricky little voice inside our head. In the social anxiety book I just read, the author called it our Inner Critic and I have been thinking about giving that voice its own name so I can talk back to it when it tries to tell me I can’t do something or I’m too quiet and boring. I really understand where you’re coming from there!
Yes, just say, “Shut up, Harvey!” Or… you may be thinking of a different name, ha ha.
War of Art sounds intriguing, I too deal with that nagging inner voice and I feel like it holds me back in a lot of things in life! Plus I tend to gravitate towards self-help books and memoirs rather than fiction so I might have to read this one.
Ohhhhh the gochujang bowl looks really good! I always love a stir fry especially if it has some extra spice!
You would like this then! And it was really easy.
You could read War of Art in one sitting if you wanted. I think it’s worth it!
Oh my stars, Jenny – that epiphany about the voice being Resistance?!?! Blew my mind. I’ve done so much work recognizing when my inner voice is being driven by anxiety or shame or fear, but so much of that has been more focused on arguing with it which always felt so weird and awkward. Just acknowledging it as Resistance and being done with that moment is so much easier and puts so much less energy into what it’s saying, right??
YES! I feel like at least 50% of my energy normally goes into arguing with that voice (while still having the nagging feeling that the voice is actually the correct voice.). It’s really made a huge difference to me to call it Resistance and move on. But, you don’t even have to call it anything. A simple “shut up, voice” would also suffice.
I pinned that recipe and put The War of Art on my tbr list! Thanks for sharing!
I love the idea of those Gochujang Bowls, but I never manage to get my cooking rhythms figured out in time to have them for lunch. My current rhythm is a late lunch (like, 4 pm) and then just a small salad for dinner. It works for me, but switching up what I make for lunch is harder than it should be, LOL. Time to break out of my rut! 🙂