What makes it sing is the ritual of scoring the fat, studding each diamond with cloves, and brushing on a glossy glaze that slowly turns golden in the oven. As it bakes, the kitchen fills with the kind of warmth and spice that signals celebration, even if the occasion is simply gathering around good food. Sweet, savoury, and made for sharing, this ham is the sort of centrepiece that asks you to carve slowly, pour something chilled, and savour the moment.

Ingredients

Prep Time: 20 minutesCooking Time: 40 minutes

Method

The post Victor Churchill’s recipe for baked kurobuta berkshire ham with maple syrup and clove glaze appeared first on RUSSH.

But in case you were in need of some recommendations of places to eat or recipes to try, we thought it was about time we shared our gustatory opinions outside of the RUSSH HQ walls. And this month, the editors have been devouring some great recs. From Friendsmas feasts to Hainanese Chicken Ric – this is what the RUSSH editors have been eating this December.

Cassandra Dimitroff

Features and Production Editor

I paid my first visit to Catalina in Rose Bay this month, which was breathtaking. While every dish was a 10/10, this coral trout crudo with green curry dressing was possibly one of the most delicious and beautiful dishes I’ve ever been served in my life. I also paid a visit to Darlinghurst’s new outpost of Mapo Gelato to try their watermelon granita with mascarpone gelato – the ultimate summer dessert IMO.

Sophia Serafin

Implementation Manager

I returned to Vin-cenzo’s this month, and took the opportunity to explore more of the menu. The tuna tartare – prepared in the style of classic beef tartare – was easily one of the best I’ve had. Scallops in garlic butter and fried eggplant followed, before a standout whole flounder served in a buttery sauce with vongole. On sunny days, I’ve been stopping by my local, Bar Copains, for a few glasses of wine… and inevitably, their potato scallops.

Jaime Carmody

Digital Marketing Specialist

December has been all about eating outdoors and keeping things close to home. Long lunches that turn into early evenings and meals that feel relaxed and thoughtful. I’ve been gravitating toward local favourites with frequent stops at Caravin which feels perfectly suited for Summer. This month also popped into Dear Saint Eloise for their beautiful list of natural wines.

Mia Steiber

Digital Strategy Director & Associate Publisher

I had a friend who recently turned 30 and we celebrated with the most gorgeous lunch at Il Baretto in Paddington. We had the private dining room upstairs, the food was absolutely delicious. I’ve also made a number of post-Pilates trips out to Rollers Bakehouse in December. The oat matcha and the ham and cheese croissant is my standard order – the perfect weekend treat! I’ve also been hosting a lot at home, I had 10 friends around recently and I made my versions of Hainanese Chicken Rice. I spent a large chunk of my childhood in Singapore so it was very nostalgic.

Kirsty Thatcher

Digital Editor

It would be remiss of me not to mention my Friendsmas Christmas lunch, which was easily the best meal I had this month (and I can’t take any credit for it). We started with fresh oysters from the fish market with a homemade vinaigrette alongside lots of champagne. But the next course was probably my favourite: a recreation of Fish Shop’s tuna tostada – the perfect starter on a hot day. From there, we had kingfish sashimi, steak done to perfection on the barbecue, plus salad and the most incredible herby potatoes. And to finish off, my favourite summertime dessert: sgroppino. All credits go to our chef, Eliza (@eatsbylize)!

The post All the best dishes the ‘RUSSH’ team dined on in December appeared first on RUSSH.

This iteration from Miriam Al-Noah (aka @mealswithmim on Instagram and TikTok) brings together bold Mediterranean flavours with an easy, intuitive approach to cooking. The lamb is simply marinated and quickly seared, while the salad does the heavy lifting with juicy orange, fresh mint and a honey-lemon dressing that cuts beautifully through the richness of the meat.

It’s the sort of meal that feels tailor-made for warm, summer evenings – relaxed, colourful and best enjoyed outdoors (and shared with good company).

Ingredients

Serves 2

Ingredients

Enjoy on a balmy summery evening, eat outside!

The post Miriam Al-Noah’s recipe for marinated lamb backstrap with citrus fennel salad and roast pumpkin appeared first on RUSSH.

Sophia Serafin

Implementation Manager

Watch … Trailers for films I’m excited about: The Moment by Charli xcx, Wuthering Heights by Emerald Fennell (on my twelfth-or-so rewatch), Bugonia by Yorgos Lanthimos (I loved Poor Things by him), and Mother Mary by David Lowery. Alongside that, lots of YouTube like Actors on Actors new season and vlogs from my faves Claudia Sulewski and Devon Lee Carlson.

Listen … I discovered electronic punk / bass band SEXTILE in the closing credits of Ep.6 of I Love LA. I’m obsessed specifically with Contortion and Disco. Have also rediscovered Triple J Like a Version playlist on Spotify – always a fail-safe. I am equally excited for the Wuthering Heights soundtrack…

Read … Currently reading Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid (even though I have an irrational fear of space).

Jaime Carmody

Digital Marketing Specialist

Watch… Love Actually. Need I say more?

Listen… This month has turned me into an Audrey Hobart superfan. I’ve also been revisiting The Sundays, the perfect soundtrack for slower mornings and reflective evenings.

Read… Lorrie Moore’s Self Help has been one of my standout reads of the year. Wry, sharp and tender, it’s a book I know I’ll definitely come back to.

Stacey Gaskin

Consumer Revenue Manager

Watch … How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Home Alone and The Holiday – for obvious reasons. And I am sat and ready for the fifth season of Emily In Paris, out December 18th.

Listen … You Can Call It Yours by Breathless – on repeat – along with The Downtown Lights by The Blue Nile. Also, NF’s new EP, FEAR.

Read … I have The Dressmaker’s Gift by Fiona Valpy and Katabasis by R.F. Kuang on my TBR for this month.

Cassandra Dimitroff

Features and Production Editor

Watch … Obviously, Stranger Things S5. I’m holding out for the next ep drop on Boxing Day.

Listen … Revisiting Real Estate’s In Mind album (a perfect Indie classic). And finally listening to Sombr’s I Barely Know Her (12 to 12 and Come Closer are my picks).

Read … Cameron Crowe’s memoir The Uncool. If you’re a fan of Almost Famous, this acts as a kind of extended cut.

Alys Hale

Music Editor and Creative Producer

Watch … The minutes go by until we’re all on holiday…? I jest, perhaps. I watched The Death of Bunny Munroe, the series based on Nick Cave’s 2009 novel and adored it. Parts of it were incredibly silly but the performances were so genuine and Cave’s cameo with that moustache: perfect. The new documentary on The New York Times is on my list, and I learnt a lot of new theories on the scene from the Sean Combs documentary, along with some truly harrowing behaviours. However, I will be needing some festive joy and I’m trying to convince the 7-year-old in my life to watch The Muppet’s Christmas Carol with me.

Listen … Anything but Mariah Carey, under any circumstances. I do not get behind much Christmas music so it will be business as usual over here. Tom Waits’ Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis is the only exception to my rule.

Read … I’m still on my Jonathan Frazen moment so have been reading Crossroads, a family saga set in the 70s with affairs, christian youth groups and women with secret pasts.

Kirsty Thatcher

Digital Editor

Watch… A24’s Eternity. I had such high expectations, and it really feels like a classic rom-com. I’m also rewatching Veep for the millionth time. It never fails to make me laugh, which feels very needed at the moment.

Listen… Emma Chamberlain’s guest appearance on In Your Dreams with Owen Theile. IYKYK.

Read… Heart The Lover, by Lily King. I zipped through this in a few days, it’s a great one to kick you off if you’ve been in a reading slump (like me). Next on my list is Bitter Sweet by Hattie Williams.

Samantha Corry

Social Media Coordinator & Assistant to Editor in Chief

Watch … Oh What Fun. It’s a new Christmas movie with the best cast: Dominic Sessa, Michelle Pfieffer, Havana Rose Liu, and plenty more. Also, Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man, with Josh O’Connor – do I need to say anything else? You already know it’s a 10/10 film. Also giving his character, a priest, a neck tattoo is so cunty.

Listen … A little bit of Mac DeMarco, Robyn and Jensen McCrae.

Read … Nothing – I have been so busy I haven’t touched a book!

Mia Steiber

Digital Strategy Director & Associate Publisher

Watch … I’ve been rewatching some of my favourite travel-themed movies. Call Me By Your Name, Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants and Only You. They’re the perfect movies to have on in the background for the scenery. Over the Christmas break I am planning to do a watch of the Oscars shortlist

Listen … I discovered Stand Atlantic after attending Good Things earlier in December. I technically did know them but only one or two songs. Now I’ve been listening to their whole back catalogue, they’re great.

Read … I’ve been stocking up for the December break. A Wuthering Heights reread is on my list. I’m hoping to finish the Throne of Glass series. And also, I want to make my way through the Crescent City books in preparation for the next ACOTAR book which should be coming out at the beginning of 2026.

The post What the ‘RUSSH’ editors were watching, reading and listening to in December appeared first on RUSSH.

Our weekly quizzes are a leisurely stroll through the week that was – the headlines that hijacked group chats, and the curiosities that kept us up far too late, scrolling for just one more detail. From fashion’s most talked-about collaborations and boundary-pushing collections, to the film trailers that set the internet ablaze, to those delicious morsels from the worlds of music, art, pop culture, beauty and beyond, we’ve gathered the bits that mattered and are ready to see who’s really been paying attention.

Maybe you’ve been glued to the news cycle. Maybe you’ve been blissfully offline. Either way, this quiz is your cultural pulse-check: a little competitive, a little chaotic, and entirely rooted in the spirit of *staying curious*.

To see how well you’ve been keeping up, scroll on…

Which ‘One Battle After Another’ actress just became the newest ambassador for Louis Vuitton?

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

Name one of the three women announced as co-chairs at the 2026 Met Gala.

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

Which English actress is rumoured to be the first guest heading to France for ‘The White Lotus’ Season 4?

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

Singer Chappel Roan just became the face of which cosmetics juggernaut?

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Which legendary Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress was a muse to Andy Warhol and Helmut Newton, Yves Saint Laurent and Azzadine Alaïa? (Hint: She’ll be headed to Australia next February.)

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Netflix is vying to purchase which major film studio right now?

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Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner showed up at the Marty Supreme premiere in LA in matching orange ensembles from which fashion house?

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Lily Allen appeared on SNL last weekend as the show’s musical guest. Which actress appeared on stage for a surprise cameo during her performance of the song ‘Madeline’?

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Charli XCX is starring in an A24 mockumentary about her life that just dropped a trailer this week. What’s the film titled?

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

This Saturday 20 December marks the New Moon in which zodiac sign?

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

The RUSSH Weekly Quiz will be published every Wednesday on the RUSSH website. You can also subscribe to our weekly newsletter to have it sent direct to your inbox each week.

Looking to brush up for the next quiz? You can keep across all of the latest fashion news, beauty headlines, and the latest in film, art and television on the RUSSH website, or by following us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Threads.

The post Take the ‘RUSSH’ Weekly Quiz: Wednesday 17 December 2025 appeared first on RUSSH.

Musician Tyde Levi was one of the guests inside the evening, dressed in Prada. From inside the orbit of the night, he sent RUSSH postcards – snapshots of getting ready with his siblings, of family gathered at the table, of friends caught between moments – and answered all of our burning questions.

What did you choose to wear to the NGV Gala, and how did Vivienne Westwood or Rei Kawakubo’s design philosophies influence your look for the night?

I wore Prada along with my two brothers to the gala. Prada’s new line is all about ‘raw beauty’ and featured rough edges and unfinished textures. It’s like refined imperfection. Elegant, but slightly disruptive. That’s very Westwood-Kawakubo to me.

What was playing in the background while you were getting ready – and how does your getting-ready soundtrack set the tone for an evening like this?

I put on a DJ set! Palms Trax set on The Lot Radio. It’s gotta be high energy. This set is perfect. Disco and groovy house tracks. It sets the tone whilst being easy to listen to for everyone in the house.

1/6    

Can you describe the moment you stepped into the gala? What caught your eye first – the people, the clothes, the energy?

It’s chaotic in the best way. Just looking around seeing what’s going on, where to walk, who to talk to… I’m definitely just feeling the energy out first and foremost.

Was there a particular detail, outfit, or artwork from the exhibition that stopped you in your tracks or shifted your perspective in some way?

My personal style I would say is very classic. So, it was pretty amazing to see the way both designers broke so many rules on such classic designs and silhouettes. It makes me think about how I could bring more disruption into my looks.

What was the most memorable moment of the night for you – a conversation, a performance, a feeling – that you think will stay with you?

The most special thing most of the time at these events is being able to do it with family. I look around the table and my parents are there – with my Mum holding my two week old nephew – my siblings, close friends, our partners all sharing a table. These events are always special but having family with you there just makes it that much more incredible.

1/7    

Looking back through your own photos from the evening, is there one image that captures the essence of your night at the Gala? What makes it special?

It’s this photo of a family friend of ours. Like I said before – it’s so special being there with friends and family. Its not just about the glitz and glam, but sharing it with the people around you.

If you could distil the night into a single sensory memory – a sound, a fabric, a colour, a scent – what would it be, and why does that moment linger?

I love the hum of a room full of chatter. Knowing that people are asking questions, laughing and sharing special conversations and moments with each other is always my favourite part of going to any event.

The post Tyde Levi sends postcards from the Melbourne’s NGV Gala appeared first on RUSSH.

Our weekly quizzes are a leisurely stroll through the week that was – the headlines that hijacked group chats, and the curiosities that kept us up far too late, scrolling for just one more detail. From fashion’s most talked-about collaborations and boundary-pushing collections, to the film trailers that set the internet ablaze, to those delicious morsels from the worlds of music, art, pop culture, beauty and beyond, we’ve gathered the bits that mattered and are ready to see who’s really been paying attention.

Maybe you’ve been glued to the news cycle. Maybe you’ve been blissfully offline. Either way, this quiz is your cultural pulse-check: a little competitive, a little chaotic, and entirely rooted in the spirit of *staying curious*.

To see how well you’ve been keeping up, scroll on…

What was name of Pantone’s Colour of the Year, released this week?

Reveal answer

Did you get this right or wrong ?

Which legendary architect (who designed the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao) died this week at the age of 96?

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

Prada just successfully purchased which other legacy fashion house this week?

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

What is the name of the There Will Be Blood actor Quentin Tarantino dismissed as “weak” in a recent podcast interview?

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Which music artist topped the global Spotify Wrapped as the most played artist of the year?

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This weekend, Melbourne is hosting a look-a-like contest for which British actor?

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Name one of the top three most-Googled destinations by Australians in 2025.

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

Lady Gaga is currently on tour in Australia in support of her latest album, titled what?

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

What is Barry Keoghan and Cillian Murphy’s ‘Peaky Blinders’ film called?

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

BLACKPINK’s Lisa announced she'll be making her film debut in Netflix's 'TYGO'. What is the name of the HBO show where she made her acting debut?

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

The RUSSH Weekly Quiz will be published every Wednesday on the RUSSH website. You can also subscribe to our weekly newsletter to have it sent direct to your inbox each week.

Looking to brush up for the next quiz? You can keep across all of the latest fashion news, beauty headlines, and the latest in film, art and television on the RUSSH website, or by following us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Threads.

The post Take the ‘RUSSH’ Weekly Quiz: Wednesday 10 December 2025 appeared first on RUSSH.

Our weekly quizzes are a leisurely stroll through the week that was – the headlines that hijacked group chats, and the curiosities that kept us up far too late, scrolling for just one more detail. From fashion’s most talked-about collaborations and boundary-pushing collections, to the film trailers that set the internet ablaze, to those delicious morsels from the worlds of music, art, pop culture, beauty and beyond, we’ve gathered the bits that mattered and are ready to see who’s really been paying attention.

Maybe you’ve been glued to the news cycle. Maybe you’ve been blissfully offline. Either way, this quiz is your cultural pulse-check: a little competitive, a little chaotic, and entirely rooted in the spirit of *staying curious*.

To see how well you’ve been keeping up, scroll on…

According to a major new study from the University of Cambridge, adolescence doesn’t end until what age?

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

A trailer for A24’s upcoming pop star horror flick ‘Mother Mary’ was released this week. Name one of the two leading actors in the film.

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

Which fashion designer just won ‘Designer of the Year’ for the third time in a row at the 2025 Fashion Awards in London this week?

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

Which famed British writer is making her way to the Sydney Opera House in 2026 for the venue's ‘All About Women’ event?

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

Which zodiac season are we in right now?

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

According to the Lunar zodiac, 2025 is ‘Year of the Snake’. What is 2026 going to be the year of?

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

Which American rapper just became the newest ambassador for the House of CHANEL?

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

CHANEL also held its annual Métiers d'Art runway this week in the subway of which city? (BONUS: How many times has the Maison hosted its Métiers d'Art show in this city previously?)

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

When is this month's full moon happening?

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

What is the name of the film Emma Chamberlain is making her acting debut in, which dropped a first-look trailer this week?

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Did you get this right or wrong ?

The RUSSH Weekly Quiz will be published every Wednesday on the RUSSH website. You can also subscribe to our weekly newsletter to have it sent direct to your inbox each week.

Looking to brush up for the next quiz? You can keep across all of the latest fashion news, beauty headlines, and the latest in film, art and television on the RUSSH website, or by following us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Threads.

Feature image via Pinterest.

The post Take the ‘RUSSH’ Weekly Quiz: Wednesday 3 December 2025 appeared first on RUSSH.

Her guesthouse – perched above the port, shaped by sun-faded walls, patterned tiles and open-air living – distills the island’s raw beauty into something exquisite. At Alicudi Secret Retreat, the rhythms of the Tyrrhenian Sea set the tempo, the terrace becomes the living room, and conversations with Elise drift easily into the kind of intimacy that makes you feel less like a guest and more like a welcomed friend.

In RUSSH’s November issue, writer and founder of @nomsdujour, Madeleine Woon, sends us postcards from the retreat.

Place: Alicudi Secret Retreat

Address: Near the port, Alicudi, Italy

Contact: Soprano Villas

Designed and curated by …

French-Italian artist Elise Collet Soravito, who lives there year-round with her young daughter.

I stay here because …

I’m drawn to small, beautifully designed guesthouses that capture the spirit of a place, and my idea of luxury leans elemental. While the interiors are undeniably gorgeous, life in Alicudi is lived outdoors, and the airy guesthouse reflects that – most notably with its oversized stone terrace, complete with a hammock and outdoor mattress, made for lazing. Elise and her daughter are the heartbeat of the p roperty and I loved my daily chats with them.

My last visit was …

May 2024. Late spring here is magical and not yet stifling as it can be in summer. (Expect an older, hiking-enthusiast crowd. The cool kids arrive in August.)

What I love about the room …

It’s the epitome of good taste – soulful and reflective of a lifetime spent in pursuit of beauty. I particularly loved the canopy bed and Elise’s use of colour and texture, which makes the old-world simplicity of the space feel both chic and fun. I fantasised almost constantly about living there permanently.

Amenities worth a mention …

The bathroom is gloriously oversized (why don’t we all allocate more square metreage to them at home?). The shower might just be the most beautiful in the world with its sweeping views over the Tyrrhenian sea.

It’s the details that count …

Patterned cement tiles. Lisa Corti bedspreads. An antique wrought iron daybed curling at the foot of the bed. Lace curtains in the bathroom. Elise’s artworks on the walls. Every detail speaks to her ingenuity and eye.

Room service order …

This isn’t the place for room service. Head downstairs each morning for Elise’s homemade bread and yoghurt, granola, freshly baked cakes and fruit from the garden.

Places nearby worth frequenting …

The island is blissfully devoid of options. With no cars (or street lights), donkeys carry your luggage and everything else is left to your own two feet. Distance is measured in steps. With only one restaurant at the port, locals often open their homes to visitors for dinner. Work up an appetite on the hiking trails, one of which leads to the very top of the cone-shaped island, swim at the port or spiaggia bazzina, take a boat around the island and stop by the supermarket where the baritone owner will sell you everything you need for a simple seaside lunch (bread, tomato, mortadella, mozzarella). I’d suggest pairing the trip with the neighbouring island of Filicudi, where you must eat at La Sirena.

The one thing I always return home with …

Elise’s ceramic flying heart hangs on my front door. It’s inspired by the maiara of the island (witches, or “women who fly”).

Gallery …

Pop downstairs to visit Elise’s atelier for tantric-inspired posters, jewellery, ceramics and vintage clothes. A small piece of the island to take home.

Dinner…

Go to Rosina’s for the best goat of your life and her homemade wine. Lea’s offers the most sophisticated fare on the island, including a tuna pasta I periodically think about, served on her lovely terrace overlooking the sea. The hottest ticket in town is undoubtedly at Silvio’s, the white-haired fisherman and local legend whose balcony fills with visitors from around the world eager to watch him grill his own catch.

The post Writer and founder of @nomsdujour Madeleine Woon sends postcards from Alicudi Secret Retreat, Italy appeared first on RUSSH.

Before therapy ever felt realistic, affordable or emotionally possible, reading stepped in. Stories softened the heaviness until I could carry it myself – not in a typical self-help sense, but as a very accessible form of emotional companionship; they became grounding reminders, short-term fixes and emotional life rafts during seasons when I did not yet have the tools to ask for help in any other way.

This relationship started young. I was the kid who got told off for reading instead of doing homework, the one haunting the biannual Scholastic Book Fair like it was a second home. Growing up as a POC kid in a predominantly white atmosphere, books were more than entertainment. They were refuge, education and reassurance. They gave me language for the things I did not yet know how to name. They taught me who I was and who I might become, offering glimpses of worlds bigger and kinder than the one around me.

“[Books] became grounding reminders, short-term fixes and emotional life rafts during seasons when I did not yet have the tools to ask for help in any other way.”

As an adult, that instinctive turning towards books has only grown deeper. Reading to me is comparable to therapy and, on many levels, a more accessible alternative when the real thing feels out of reach. It is not a replacement, but a stand-in. A place to go when I need escape, untangling or understanding. When my mind turns loud or tangled, books steady me. Fiction offers glimpses into other lives and creates inspiration for aspiration. Non-fiction, like a wise grandparent, advises me not to repeat history or encourages me to find strength in the footsteps of those before me. Stories reflect the emotions I feel and parallel the human condition, lending perspective beyond the catastrophising mind.

It turns out this is not just sentimental thinking but something supported by science. Research has shown that the brain doesn’t treat books as entertainment, but as experience. One study conducted showed that as a story’s events changed (e.g. a character moves, manipulates an object), the same brain regions were activated as when people actually move or perceive those things in real life. Another study even coined a term for it: “narrative transportation”, a state where attention, emotion, and imagery are “pulled into” the story world after experiments showed that when people are transported by a story, they feel emotions as if events were happening to them, and their beliefs and self-perception can shift accordingly. In other words, stories operate as “experiential simulations” that can be as psychologically impactful as direct experience.

“Stories reflect the emotions I feel and parallel the human condition, lending perspective beyond the catastrophising mind.”

Living in Melbourne, a UNESCO City of Literature, has only strengthened that bond. This city makes it easy to stay in conversation with books. Public libraries, neighbourhood book-swap fridges, independent bookstores, community reading groups and festivals like the Melbourne Writers Festival and Emerging Writers Festival all form a kind of literary habitat. And if purchasing books feels inaccessible or unsustainable, libraries are an incredibly valuable resource. Many now offer free access to audiobooks, e-books and digital reading platforms. These are services we already contribute to through our taxes, so it feels more than reasonable to make use of them.

When I first moved here in 2018 and was having a difficult time, I wish I had known how much community already existed around reading and shared curiosity. It would have made the city feel far less overwhelming.

“It turns out this is not just sentimental thinking but something supported by science. Research has shown that the brain doesn’t treat books as entertainment, but as experience.”

Now, as we move into the holiday period, I am reminded of how easily feelings can sharpen at the edges. This time of year, can be heavy for many of us: loneliness, overwhelm, complicated family dynamics, the pressure to feel cheerful. Therapy and mindfulness can feel hard to navigate, especially when emotional bandwidth is low. Books, however, remain accessible. They sit patiently by the bed or in the tote bag, always ready to offer escape, grounding or companionship.

So as the year winds down, here are six books that have acted as gentle therapy for me in different ways or offered distraction through complete immersion into other lives. I hope they can do the same for you this holiday season:

1. Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott

For when you want to feel like a fashionable, chic, slightly chaotic writer trying to carve out independence and desire in the Jazz Age. This novel is vivid and sharply observant, partly because so much of it is drawn from Parrott’s own life. It transports you straight into 1920s New York, full of smoky bars, shifting morals and women learning to exist on their own terms.

2. The Will to Change by Bell Hooks

For when you are feeling anger towards men and the state of the patriarchal world, but want to re-centre yourself and keep striving for a compassionate form of feminism. hooks unpacks how understanding, healing and dismantling internalised gendered expectations can improve life for everyone. She reframes everyday situations to show how deeply patriarchy harms men too, and how ingrained these patterns are in our daily actions, even when we are aware of our own biases.

3. Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez

For when you want to keep deliberately fuelling that rage. This book is full of statistics, research and studies on how the lack of data collection on and for women affects them in almost every aspect of their lives. It might seem like an intense addition to this list, but I find factual books like this grounding. They remind me of what matters and help me step away from rumination about intangible worries. And yes, having a few solid facts in your pocket is always useful around misogynistic family members.

4. Penance by Eliza Clark

For when you want to feel like a detective. It is easy to get lost in a crime, suspense or thriller-style novel, lingering on your theories and then scrolling through forums and online discussions to compare interpretations and opinions. It absorbs your mind in the best possible way.

5. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

For when you need something long, strange and slightly hallucinatory to fall into. This book is a true whirlwind. I recommend reading the well scenes in the bath if that is an option for you. It is surreal, dreamlike and consuming in a way that makes the outside world feel quieter.

6. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

For when you just need your brain to shut up. The only self-help book I would ever recommend, reach for or even mention. It often helps me stop ruminating or overthinking. It is great for centring the mind and feeling more in control of your emotions.

The post Why reading is still the best therapy I know appeared first on RUSSH.