Tea Time with flo.
Cozy up with a cup of tea for a recap of our favourite November reads!
Erin—nonfiction editor
This month has been about finding pockets of comfort in an otherwise chaotic time of year so I’ve been rereading an old favourite: Chorus of Mushrooms by Hiromi Goto. I always find comfort in Goto’s practice of storytelling that spans across generations, languages and cultures.
This novel pairs well with raspberry leaf tea—a tea not known for its taste, but for its relieving of aches and pain, just like an old, familiar, well loved story.
rating: 🍵🍵🍵🍵
Senka—poetry & visual arts editor
I picked up Bahar Orang’s Where Things Touch: A Meditation on Beauty at the Ottawa Small Press Book Fair a few weekends ago. Published by Book*hug Press in 2020, Where Things Touch weaves together notions of self, other, and the abject to source a vocabulary with which to define beauty. Orang continually reimagines this vocabulary as she grapples with her experiences as a human, a lover, and a student of medicine. This book gently reminded me to consider what exists in between the language; in between the things we think we understand.
I would recommend reading (and rereading) Where Things Touch with a ginger tea to alleviate the existential motion sickness Orang’s poetry may induce.
rating: 🍵🍵🍵🍵🍵
Katrina—fiction editor
Since the end of summer I’ve found it exceedingly difficult to pick up a book for pleasure. Up until the middle of November I had strictly been reading for school which seemed to only pull me deeper into my slump. I needed something light and easy. I needed something happy. So I picked up Heartstopper by Alice Oseman and devoured all 4 volumes in 3 days. It’s a story I would have loved to have growing up and I’m so incredibly thankful it exists.
Lavender tea sweetened with honey is the perfect drink to sip while reading (or watching) Heartstopper. The tea is calm and soothing just like the characters, relationships, and artwork featured in this story.
rating: 🍵🍵🍵🍵🍵
Jen—poetry first reader
As November draws to a close and winter blankets the sky with a cold, grey haze, I find myself falling back on familiarity—stories and tastes that warm my heart no matter how many times I experience them. I just finished rereading Faraway's collection of poetry, Sad Birds Still Sing. It is a book I always come back to when I need to be reminded of all the healing and warmth that can be found from within.
With that in mind, I have been gravitating towards the most comforting teas I have in my pantry! Moondrop Dreams is a rooibus tea blend from the British indie tea shop Bird & Blend. It is a dreamy medley of lemon, lavender, rosehip, and sweet rooibus tea. A cup of this tea and a few pages of this book create a perfect combination for a cozy and comforting night in.
rating: 🍵🍵🍵🍵🍵