For the love of a good book

and a recipe for a delightfully easy smoked trout pâté to share with friends

Every morning when I wake up I have the same struggle.

While the night fairies sprinkle their dust over my eyes and lure me to sleep, invisible cogs and wheels are spitting out words. By the time I awaken, the information floodgates have opened in countless ways. Tweets and texts. Instagram, IMs and InMail. CBC, CNN, CNBC. The New York Times, The Week, The Economist, The Onion. A dizzying array of newsletters I’ve subscribed to. And that’s before I’ve attended to my urgent emails.

I’m officially suffering from information overload.

Of course it’s not a new malady. From the time that Gutenberg invented movable type, and the first book was printed, we humans have been manufacturing words far more quickly than we can digest them. Add in the lightening speed of digital and it’s clear that we spend every waking minutes awash in words.

Faced with the paradox of choosing what to read, what to skim and what to skip, don’t you sometimes worry that you’re missing that one important nugget, fact, story or idea that will make all the difference? Just five minutes more, we think, only to realise an hour has been squandered on the long scroll. It’s enough to make me allergic to reading anything at all.

And then I reach for a favourite book and all is right in the world.

Photo by Ed Robertson on Unsplash

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”

Charles W. Eliot

If it’s increasingly hard to carve out time for everything we want to take in, reading a book at a leisurely pace sometimes seems a Herculean task. Thank goodness for my book club.

It began with an email sent by a woman through our neighbourhood association. Would anyone, the email said, be interested in starting a book club? Eleven years later we are still going strong. While the group’s size has shifted, and members have come and gone - families, professions, obligations, moves and life getting in the way - a core group of us remain. On the last Thursday of every month but two, we gather. Some of us have long histories together that existed outside of this cosy group, while others of us have formed friendships based on these few precious hours spent together each month.

By now we know one another’s proclivities: who cares most about the trueness of the character development; who is a stickler for good writing or who likes to be challenged by the language; which of us wants to escape into happier tales and who wants to explore the dark side of life; which of us really likes everything. No matter how I feel about the book, I’m always rewarded by the perspectives of the group. There’s new meaning, nuances and ideas I hadn’t considered, or simply missed. The richness of the reward of both carving the time out to read and then having the privilege of intelligent, thought-provoking conversation has been all the more meaningful in a world of disposable, snackable content.

Best of all, I have books that would have never crossed my path. Just like my movie club, my world view has been stretched beyond its original form. Hungarian writers, Indigenous writers, Trinidadian writers. Classics like East of Eden and To the Lighthouse. Young adult fiction, science fiction and memoirs. And lots of Canadian content. Our books reflect the range and interests of a very special group of women. While we rarely universally agree on a book, I think we all agree on one thing - the Regal Heights Book Club is a calming and welcome oasis in a topsy turvy world.

(with thanks to you, dear reader, for taking the time to read my weekly musings❤️)

Smoked trout pâté

serves 6

At Book Club there are always snacks. The more creatives hosts amongst us match snack to book, always with delicious results. We’ve had Trinidadian doubles and a display of fabulous Carnival costumes to go along with The Dragon Can’t Dance. The conversation around Embers, a wonderful book by Hungarian author Sándor Márai, was made all the better with lesco, a delicious vegetable dish made with peppers and and tomatoes, of course seasoned with paprika.

Although I love thematics, when I host, I tend to go to tried and true easy favourites. This smoked trout pâté has been on offer at every Book Club gathering I’ve hosted. While I can’t guarantee your next gathering will be as lively and stimulating as ours, I can guarantee that the pâté will be a topic of conversation.

8 ounces skinned and boned smoked trout

4 ounces softened butter

4 ounces softened cream cheese

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon horseradish

1 teaspoon each finely chopped fresh parsley and fresh chives

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Mix together the trout, butter and cream cheese in a food processor for about 20 seconds, or until smooth. 

2. Add the lemon juice, horseradish, parsley and chives and process until just blended. Add salt and pepper to taste, and more lemon juice, if desired. 

3. Transfer to small serving bowl, and serve with crackers or assorted veggies.

The pâté can be made up to one day ahead and refrigerated. Be sure to take it out of the refrigerator at least one a hour before serving.