Send us Fan Mail

An 80-year-old woman trying to disappear quietly in her neighborhood sounds calm until you learn why everyone once called her Mad Mabel. I’m sharing my latest book and food pairing, and it starts with a real moment: when I try to branch out creatively, I sometimes spiral into “is this worthy?” thinking. So I’m leaning into what feels grounded and fun right now, a good story and something tasty to go with it.

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth is a laugh-out-loud, big-hearted mystery you can dip in and out of without it feeling heavy. Mabel has a childhood shadowed by suspicious deaths, a name that followed her for years, and even a murder conviction in her past. Now she’s 80, living under a different name, hoping no one looks too closely. That plan gets messy thanks to unexpected neighborhood events and a curious seven-year-old who refuses to ignore her. The result is part mystery, part character study, and part found-family warmth.

Because the book is set in Australia, I went searching for an Australian summer dish and landed on pavlova, the classic meringue dessert topped with whipped cream and fruit. We talk through the pavlova origin debate (Australia vs New Zealand), why it shows up at barbecues and summer Christmas gatherings, and what I learned from a BBC rabbit hole. 

The surprising truth about pavlova’s origins

I also walk through the practical steps of making a berry pavlova (Ina Garten style), plus my honest verdict on whether the time and effort are worth it and how to repurpose that incredible raspberry sauce.

Mixed Berry Pavlova Recipe | Ina Garten | Food Network

If you enjoy cozy mystery books, reading recommendations, Australian food traditions, and realistic home cooking tips, hit play and come hang out. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves books and baking, and leave a review. What book would you pair with your favorite summer dessert?

Support the show

Head to the website Novel and Nosh.com to join the community, grab our monthly newsletter, and read our blog posts. 

Send us Fan Mail

A pool day book has one job: keep you hooked even when real life interrupts. I'm sharing seven poolside reads that are easy to drop and pick back up without losing the thread, with the kind of pacing that makes you say, “Just one more chapter,” before you jump in the water. If you’re building a summer reading list and want titles that feel fun, propulsive, and clear, this one is for you.

I start by defining what actually makes a great poolside read: fewer characters to track, a plot that stays readable in small bursts, and chapters that move. Then we roll through our picks across genres. I’ve got popcorn thrillers like Behind Closed Doors, suburban suspense with Never Have I Ever, and the high-stakes family nightmare of Do Not Become Alarmed. On the lighter side, we talk vacation romance with Happy Place, dark humor with My Sister the Serial Killer, and the warm, community-centered heart of The Lido as a public pool faces closure.

I also get honest about reader preferences, including how it feels when politics show up in a way that doesn’t serve the plot, and why Sandwich can be especially resonant if you’re in the midlife “sandwich” stage. Hit play, grab your sunscreen, and steal our list for your next weekend or vacation. Subscribe for more book recommendations, share this with your favorite reading friend, and leave a review if it helps, then tell us what are you reading by the pool this summer?

Support the show

Head to the website Novel and Nosh.com to join the community, grab our monthly newsletter, and read our blog posts. 

Send us Fan Mail

We fall hard for The Song Bird Of The Sorrows by Brady Otto, a romantic fantasy that mixes bird-centered world building with spies, assassins, and brutal bridal trials. We turn that mood into a bookish food pairing with a flourless chocolate cake and a toasted meringue topping, plus the baking lesson we learned the hard way. 
• picking up a surprise read from an independent bookstore and judging a cover with zero regret 
• quick spoiler-light setup of Princess Ayea, the aviary spy training, and the “songbird” assassin role 
• why the bridal trials raise the stakes and deepen the tension around identity 
• what to know about intense scenes, content warnings, and low-to-moderate spice 
• the dessert match: dark, dense flourless chocolate cake topped with light, wispy meringue 
• step by step method for the cake batter and meringue peaks 
• why springform pans can destroy meringue if it touches the sides 
• taste verdict and what topping we’d use next time 
If you want to go over to my YouTube channel under Novel and Nosh, you can watch the video so you can see the um me making this dish. You can head to novelinosh.com. You can join our community where we will be cooking through cookbooks and also reading books together.

Support the show

Head to the website Novel and Nosh.com to join the community, grab our monthly newsletter, and read our blog posts. 

Send us Fan Mail

A perfect-looking life is rarely as simple as it seems and sometimes the best way to process that truth is with a page-turner and a great snack. I’m savoring a summer that feels like it’s moving too fast, with big family transitions on the horizon and a house that looks like a dorm room exploded into it. Between kids growing up, heading to college, and shifting routines at home, I’m trying to stay present in this chapter and hold onto the moments that won’t come back. 

For a quick escape, I’m recommending Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris, a lean psychological thriller that reads like a “popcorn thriller” in the best way. It flips between past and present as the story’s timelines tighten, and it taps into that unsettling question we all ask: what’s really happening when the door closes and no one’s watching? I also share why I love going into thrillers blind and how that approach can make a fast summer read even more addictive. 

Then we make it delicious with a book and food pairing: Trader Joe’s Hot Honey Popcorn. That sweet, buttery crunch with a little kick at the end is the perfect match for a story where charm on the outside may hide something darker underneath. If you’re looking for summer reading recommendations, thriller book talk, or fresh ideas for cozy reading snacks, this pairing is a fun one to try and share. 

Listen now, then come tell me what you thought and what snack you’d pair with your next thriller. Subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a quick review so more readers can find Novel And Nosh.

Support the show

Head to the website Novel and Nosh.com to join the community, grab our monthly newsletter, and read our blog posts. 

Send us Fan Mail

I try cooking through one cookbook for a full month and realize the idea sounds better than it feels once the flavors start to repeat. I review the Honeysuckle Cookbook by Dzung Lewis with the recipes that shine, the ones that miss for me, and the techniques I’m stealing for weeknight cooking. 
• Why a monthlong cookbook challenge sounds fun but gets old fast 
• What the Honeysuckle Cookbook is like and how it’s organized 
• Matcha recipes that confirm I don’t like matcha plus one matcha loaf I do love 
• A crumble topping trick I plan to use on all quick breads 
• Breakfast hits and misses including overnight oats, chia pudding, and orange pistachio French toast 
• Salad and soup attempts that feel just ok plus two seasonal salads I still want to try 
• A sesame noodle stir fry that becomes a clean-out-the-fridge keeper 
• Weeknight mains I’d repeat and ones I wouldn’t including chicken adobo and butter chicken 
• Turkey meatballs with oats and fish sauce for moisture and umami 
• Slow cooker banh mi pork as an easy family favorite 
• A sheet-pan preheat method for crispier roasted vegetables 
• Dessert standouts including ginger cardamom lemon bars 
Make sure to head over to my Instagram. You'll see some pictures there of some of the recipes that I have made. And let me know if you've ever cooked from this cookbook what your thoughts were as well.

Support the show

Head to the website Novel and Nosh.com to join the community, grab our monthly newsletter, and read our blog posts. 

Send us Fan Mail

Spring feels like an invitation to step outside, so we share six books that spark the urge to garden, wander, and notice the world again. From children’s stories full of heart to atmospheric novels soaked in scent, marsh air, and cottage gardens, we focus on reads that bring hope and a strong sense of place. 
• six spring book recommendations for nature lovers and gardeners 
• Seedfolks as a quick read about a vacant lot garden and community change 
• how shifting viewpoints reveal prejudice and the stories we invent about others 
• The Garden Spells for magical realism and sisterly bonds rooted in plants 
• Wish Tree as a hopeful children’s book told by a tree 
• The Scent Keeper for sensory storytelling and an island coming of age arc 
• Where the Crawdads Sing for marsh atmosphere and immersive setting 
• The French Gardener for French cottage garden escapism and long held secrets 
If you have any spring books that you love and you think I'd enjoy thinking of atmosphere, let me know what they are by heading to my community. You can go to novelinosh.com, click on join the community, and let us know what books that you are loving. And feel free to share with us if you ended up trying to get out in nature more and what you noticed there as well. 

Support the show

Head to the website Novel and Nosh.com to join the community, grab our monthly newsletter, and read our blog posts. 

Send us Fan Mail

We get honest about the midlife “what if” spiral and why it shows up in the most ordinary moments. Two library-centered novels help us see that every choice carries both gifts and losses, and that peace comes from returning to the present. 
• the everyday moments that trigger rumination and second-guessing 
• a personal example of questioning a path not taken 
• how The Midnight Library frames alternate lives and decisions 
• why regret tends to highlight the ups and erase the downs 
• using fiction as a mirror for midlife perspective and self-compassion 
• how The Book of Lost Hours explores time, memory, and sacrifice 
• the danger of quietly rewriting your own history to fit a simpler story 
• seeing past decisions as protection for something you loved 
• the good things inventory as a practical presence exercise 
• resting without a phone as a way to live more fully 
Feel free to head to novelinosh.com. You can join our community, or you can jump on the newsletter where I share a monthly newsletter with information about the books I'm loving, the food I'm eating, any travel if there is any that we go on and how to live more fully. 

Support the show

Head to the website Novel and Nosh.com to join the community, grab our monthly newsletter, and read our blog posts. 

Send us Fan Mail

We explore five dystopian novels that turn food and choice into sharp mirrors, then share simple ways we prepare for storms while learning to taste ordinary life again. The thread is nourishment—physical, creative, and communal—and how to reclaim it with small, steady acts.

• framing the core question of true nourishment
• five dystopian reads linking food, choice and meaning
• Wild Dart Shore and the duty to protect seeds
• The Light Pirate and life after repeated hurricanes
• The Wolves of Winter and survival in the Yukon
• Station Eleven and art as a daily ration
• The Giver and the emptiness of managed abundance
• moving from reflection to practical preparedness
• what’s in our one‑week emergency kit
• microgreens as compact living food
• slowing down to actually taste daily life

Head over to novelandnosh.com, join the community and share with us what you're doing to live a more nourishing life this week

Support the show

Head to the website Novel and Nosh.com to join the community, grab our monthly newsletter, and read our blog posts. 

Send us Fan Mail

We speak from the threshold between who we were and who we are becoming, letting go of the need to script the future and choosing one honest step forward. We reflect on fear, faith, and why loving action reveals the path faster than perfectionism.

• naming the tension of change and threshold moments
• how control and overthinking masquerade as safety
• why outsourcing discernment to AI misses the point
• a simple lens for decisions rooted in purpose and love
• the power of one next step over a perfect plan
• trusting timing, consistency and gratitude to open doors
• our intent to share where books and food meet life

Head to novelandosh.com to learn more
I do have a community, and I'd love to have you join me over there as we start to live into this next iteration of life

Support the show

Head to the website Novel and Nosh.com to join the community, grab our monthly newsletter, and read our blog posts. 

Send us Fan Mail

January doesn’t have to be a sprint. We’re pressing pause on the “reset” rush and exploring how winter’s slower rhythm can actually make health easier: calmer mornings, warmer meals, deliberate training, and small changes that stick. Instead of chasing quick fixes, we lean into nature’s cues—shorter days, longer rest, and a softer pace—to reduce stress, improve digestion, and build strength without burnout.

We start by reclaiming the first five minutes of the day to steady cortisol and set a humane tone: a few deep breaths, a short journal note, or a warm drink without screens. From there, we reframe eating as a mindful practice—sitting down, chewing more, and giving the body time to register fullness for better digestion and natural portion control. On the movement front, we slow the tempo: controlled reps, cleaner form, and intentional recovery to grow strength and mobility while lowering injury risk. It’s progress by presence, not punishment.

We also share simple self care that works in real life: magnesium in the evening, an occasional Epsom salt bath, brief mindfulness before bed, and early daylight to support circadian rhythm and eye relief from screens. In the kitchen, we shift to seasonal comfort—roasted vegetables, blended soups without heavy cream, and a warm cacao smoothie or tea for antioxidant-rich, cozy nutrition. For goal setting, we champion one habit per month at about 80% consistency, a pace that outlasts the January hard reset. If you’re a caregiver or feeling post-holiday fatigue, this approach honors your bandwidth while still moving you forward.

Try one slow-living habit this week and notice how your body and mind respond. If this resonated, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s tired of the hustle, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.

Support the show

Head to the website Novel and Nosh.com to join the community, grab our monthly newsletter, and read our blog posts.