quarantine lurking
The book launched last week and I think it went pretty well! I was thrilled to see this review in Esquire that breaks down all of its many parts while assessing the book as a whole. And the most wonderful thing happened after the launch at Books are Magic. I had barely checked my phone all night. When I finally did, I noticed I was mentioned in a tweet from Krish Raghav, a writer/illustrator in China:
It was in reference to his piece that was published that day, “Quarantine Cooking: Finding Relief from Coronavirus Anxiety in the Kitchen,” which I read on the train ride back. (The link on The New Yorker website appears to be broken at the moment, but here’s a link to a link.)
The comic is about using the internet to exchange recipes and find community in this solitary pursuit at a time when sharing a meal with friends is not possible. Everyone in the kitchen has "overabundance of time and a scarcity of ingredients.” It is really beautifully written and illustrated.
I paused on this panel and took a screenshot:
The next morning, I looked back at the tweet where I was mentioned and I saw it appeared after an image of the panel that I paused on—the panel with the text "We often think of the Chinese web as just a battleground - censors and dissidents locked in conflict. But parts of it are also homey and comforting. This is one of those - capturing a generation's boredom, loneliness, creativity and desire for connection amid anxiety and panic."
I don’t have words for the incredible feeling when I saw the book mentioned this way; that the book might have been even a tiny bit of inspiration for another work that I admire a great deal. Mostly it felt freeing: finally, after all this time, it is not just my friends who know the book exists—it can now find its way and find its people.
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The next newsletter edition will be more of a traditional update with some of the books I’ve been reading and some thoughts about the show Devs (I have a lot of *thoughts*), but since you’ve made it this far, please consider picking up a copy or requesting a book from the library.
Thanks for reading.