The Crumbs #1
What to read, watch and eat in August 2025
Hello! If you’re new here, welcome. I’m Laura, a journalist, podcaster and author of Single Bald Female. I write about about food, books, careers and living with stage four breast cancer, and this newsletter is about living the life you want to live now, rather than waiting for some distant future that may never come.
When I launched this Substack in 2022, I included a round-up of recommendations at the end of each post, but it was far too long. So I’ve decided to relaunch The Crumbs as a separate monthly post, sharing a few of the things I’ve loved reading, watching, eating and listening to – plus a musing or two.
Welcome to The Crumbs #1!
July was a funny old month. I was meant to be training for Sir Chris Hoy’s Tour de 4 cycle event, which I’m doing to raise money and awareness for stage four breast cancer. But my cat got hit by a car, and instead I’ve spent the last month tube-feeding him, caring for him 24/7 and taking it in turns to sleep on the sofa.
Cosme is doing much better but he needs more surgery and it’s all been rather stressful. On top of working, renovating our house and dealing with tradesmen all day long, I’ve not done a huge amount of reading, watching or listening this month, so this inaugural post includes some bits I’ve enjoyed from the first half of 2025.
The Crumbs
Everything I’m loving right now…
What I’ve been reading:
— Food Person by Adam Roberts. Ailing writer gets gig to ghost write for ailing celebrity, triggering comic capers galore. Described as ‘Bridget Jones if she were in The Bear,’ this is a hilarious, heartwarming novel that takes in New York’s food scene.
I also recommend reading the author Adam Roberts’ beautiful post about his recent Parkinson’s diagnosis.
— Palm Meridian by Grace Flahive. It’s 2067 and Hannah is holding a party in her retirement home to celebrate her life (she is terminally ill and will die the next day). The novel perfectly depicts millennials at the end of their lives: basically older, wiser versions of 2025’s Hannahs, Sophies and Lauras, surviving in a frighteningly realistic, climate-change-ravaged world. It reminded me of One Day meets The Holiday and it’s absolutely destined for the big screen.
— Table for One by Emma Gannon. Willow has it all: the partner, the career, the house – until she doesn’t. This is a beautiful story of friendship, family and finding yourself, written in Emma Gannon’s easy, honest style. My favourite book so far from the Queen of Substack.
What I’ve been watching:
— Dying for Sex. Molly (played by the brilliant Michelle Williams) is diagnosed with stage four breast cancer and decides to end her marriage of 13 years to explore her sex life and go in search of the orgasm she’s never had.
I hated this at first – it felt so unrelatable (stage four breast cancer is famously not conducive to a raging sex life) but the fact that it’s based on a true story really helped. It’s extremely close to home (Molly is on the same drugs as me), so I watched it both slowly, and alone, but in the end I loved it.
I loved that it’s not the same depiction we always get of dying from breast cancer. I loved that it wasn’t all bald heads and chemo – we rarely see secondary breast cancer discussed in the films. The final episode, set in a hospice, absolutely blew me away, with a depiction of end-of-life that feels courageous, and fearless. Hard recommend. (Disney+)
What I’ve been eating:
— Savoury, mini maritozzi (below), a riff on the cream bun at Noisy Oyster in Shoreditch. They’re filled with whipped ricotta and caviar, so you get the sweet kick from the brioche, followed by savoury, and they’re a great start to a meal at this seafood-centric resto. My full review in the newsletter FOUND.
— Sardines on toast (below) by Gorka, a duo of chefs called George Husband and George Brown (Gorka means George in Basque). The pair do residencies at different restaurants around London and I ate when they were at a lovely little spot called Ken’s in Exmouth Market. It was excellent – fresh, fun, daring and delicious. Check their Instagram to see where they’re popping up next.
— I’m not the most confident cook, but I can follow a recipe, so I made a bunch of dishes from food writer Alissa Timoshkina’s brilliant Eastern European cookbook, Kapusta. I highly recommend the fennel and potato salad with mustard and dill, and the pearl barley tabbouleh with roasted carrots and walnuts, but the highlight was the Romanian sauerkraut, beef and grain bake – kind of like a lasagne, with layers of gut-healthy kraut and pearl barley. You can make a veggie version with mushroom.
Alissa has also launched her own Substack, In Her Hands.
That’s all for now! Let me know if you’ve read/watched/eaten any of the above, and whether it floated your boat!
In other news, it’s my birthday tomorrow. We were hoping for a night away, but instead we’ve paid for the cat to stay in the hospital a couple of extra nights after his latest surgery (more expensive than a nice boutique hotel in Bruton…)
We’re going for a nice local lunch tomorrow, then Dishoom on Sunday, both of which I’m excited about. To be honest, all I want for my birthday is sleep.
Thanks for reading! x
Very interesting, hope Cose is well again soon.
Happy Birthday Laura! Have a great day and wishing Cosme a return to health. 🤗💕