#2 The Culture Club 📚

A round up of the best links, books, podcasts and recipes I've been enjoying!

It’s that time again, welcome to The Culture Club, my recommendations round up!

Everything on this list is something I’ve found interesting or enriching — articles, books, films, podcasts, comedy shows and food. This month, given it’s Nowruz (Iranian New Year), I have a particular emphasis on exploring Iranian culture, from Oscar-winning movies to my favourite books of fiction, memoir and reportage from Iranian authors. As always, let me know what you think in the comments!

• The terrifying cult of good taste by Farrah Storr is a very funny write up of visiting the ‘world’s best restaurant’ Noma in Copenhagen and sums up exactly why I’ve never had any interest in going.

• No pain, plenty of gain: why taking it easy can be the key to getting fitter and happier is a theme I could bang on about all day. Luckily Joel Snape wrote about this so I don’t have to!

• Sick of spending all your time staring at your devices? Here’s how to strike a healthier balance.

• A 4-day work week sounds great, but could a reduced-hour week be better for women? Lots of my friends who run organisations are implementing or trialing a four day week, but this got me thinking about the different models for reducing work pressures.

• The women forced out of Iran: ‘Every act of resistance is a spark of hope’ was such a beautiful, powerful, sad yet hopeful read. It summed up so many of the feelings that me and my family have experienced.

• The writer changing how London thinks about its food - I’ve been a subscriber to the Vittles Substack since its inception so its great to see its founder, Jonathan Nunn, getting a profile in a little publication they call The New Yorker.

• Following on from the themes covered in my interview with Life Coach Fiona Buckland last week, here are some tips on how to find joy through play as an adult.

• My fertility sadness: and what not to say to childless women — an extract from Elizabeth Day’s new book, Friendaholic: Confessions of a Friendship Addict

• 20 years on, memories of the Iraq war may have faded, but it shaped the diminished UK we know today.

Fiction

Love Marriage by Monica Ali — I just finished this novel and I loved it! (And not just because the main character is called Yasmin Khan). It’s an entertaining exploration of being Muslim, multicultural British identity and all the complications and contradictions of life, desire, marriage and family.

The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak — I’m off to Istanbul next month for the first time in four years. To get me in the mood I revisited this book, which is my favourite Elif Shafak novel and immediately transports me to the sounds, sights, smells and tastes of that amazing city. It’s an incredible feminist novel and if you haven’t read her books before, this is a great one to start with.

Non Fiction

Shah of Shahs by Ryszard Kapuscinski — A powerful and poetic book that everyone curious about what is going on in Iran today should read. It was written at the time of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and explores what led to the fall of the Shah and the very nature of revolution. I love it so much, I choose it for my book pick for Radio 4’s A Good Read a few years back and you can listen to me (and novelist David Mitchell) discuss it here

We Are Iran by Nasrin Alevi — For years this was my go-to book to gift people who were interested in Iran. It’s a collection of young Iranians, speaking in their own voices from their blogs.