❤️ 🍵 Tea’s Recommendations 🍵 ❤️ [November 2025] [Things I Like That You Might Like Too] (Patreon)

Teacups!

Sometimes I get caught in a cycle of the same movies, books, activities, and whatever else. If you also suffer from this, I hope this small collection of recommendations can be of some help.

P.S. These are obviously just things I like and if you don’t like them too, then that’s absolutely okay ❤️

✨ Books:✨

Sweetpea Book Series - C.J Skuse:

Easy to read, direct and to the point, batshit and amusing. Sweetpea tells the story of Rhiannon, a sweet and seemingly placid office worker with a panache for late night vigilanteism, specifically the slicing and dicing of those she deems unfit for human consumption.

Rhiannon is an interesting character in that she’s absolutely unhinged and self-centred, but there is something undeniably compelling about her. She’s wicked, she’s vulnerable, she’s desperate and pathetic, and I think there’s a little bit of that in all of us. Maybe not something we’re proud of, but something we can recognise when we see it.

I’m only on the second book in the series, but I really do enjoy the vibe of ‘girls will be girls’ around murder. As said by many already, if women want to be taken seriously, they need to up the murder quota.

Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte:

It’s funny that I’m recommending this book as I was told to read it for school and I never did because I have demand avoidance and just couldn’t do it.

However, now that I am out of full-time education, I am making an effort with regards to self-study. As such, I decided to give Wuthering Heights a try. And it is definitely interesting. I can say wholeheartedly that I have enjoyed it, especially a lot more than I imagined I would.

People often say that the book is a twisted love story, and it definitely is, but to me it is very much more a tragedy. A tragedy about the human condition, about how classifications in society - race, gender and class cause such unnecessary hurt and hatred.

All the characters, and I do mean all, have huge flaws and are generally very unpleasant, but they are undeniably human. You can feel their pain, their passions, their hate and hurts. And it is very compelling. I can absolutely see why it caused as much controversy as it did and why it has stood the test of time. If you like reading about brutes, brats and blaggards - give this a try.

Out - Natsuo Kirino:

Four women and the dead body that connects them.

Out follows four Japanese factory workers who all have pretty depressing lives. From domestic violence, to crippling debt, to being a full-time carer to an abusive mother-in-law, to even becoming a ghost to your husband and son - all four women have reasons to want ‘out’ of their lives.

Then an opportunity arises - to get rid of bodies for cash.  It’s dirty work, but the women are no strangers to that.

It’s definitely a dark novel, but I always, always appreciate women being represented as human beings. These women are flawed, selfish, fickle, but still capable of loyalty and decency.

I have to give warnings for this book as it deals with quite heavy subject matter. Please don’t read this one if you struggle with: domestic violence, SA, blood and gore.

I have a real enjoyment of Japanese novels, particularly the ones that deal with the realities of being poor, female, overworked and underestimated. Give it a try.

✨Activities:✨

Try Dating/Making New Friends:

I know it’s painful. I’m someone who cries whilst on dating apps - and that’s even before anything uncomfortable has happened. You have to have courage when you’re trying to put yourself out there. It’s hard and painful and it makes you feel less than. But the older I’m getting, the more I’m realising that I want another team member in my family.

I am so close to my mum and my sister - but they might not always be there. I love them, no one could ever replace them, but the thought of being completely alone is terrifying. Some people might say that’s not the best reason to try and date, but I actually think it’s a core reason - no one wants to be alone. I’m not interested in flirting or sex - but I want companionship. I want to make someone feel seen and for that person to want to do that for me.

Family has always been first in my mind and I want to expand my family.

I wish I had some really good advice to share with you guys. I don’t. I’m terrible at socialising. I’m not giddy or excited about dating. But I would like to make a new friend/family member.

We are living in an age of ambivalence - and it is negatively impacting us. We need connection - whatever it looks like. People need people.

Choose Inconvenience Over Entertainment:

There’s a theme this month.

We all need time alone. No matter how little or much, we all need to sit in the dark and just conk out in front of a screen. That is valuable, but not when it takes up 90% of our downtime.

I say this with no judgement and 100% understanding. Convenience is so tempting, so seductive, so comforting - but it also isolates and depresses us. We are, as a collective, losing the art of inconveniencing ourselves. I think it’s great that we can have mental health days and put ourselves first, but if we want community and connection, somedays we have to put the needs of others before ourselves.

Inconvenience is the cost of community. I’m pushing myself, especially during the winter when it’s so tempting to stay in and not see anyone, to go out and make an effort for others and myself. Lately, I’ve been out to lunch and dinner with friends, went to see fireworks as a family, had a friend from uni stay with me and generally just made an effort to show up for the people I care about.

Again, I say none of this with a holier-than-thou attitude. I am not holier-than-thou. I am relatable as the most embarrassingly relatable short form content. I am like water - I often take the easiest path. But if I want to reap the benefits of my people, I have to make an effort - for them and myself.

✨Music:✨

Everybody X Elizabeth Taylor - Backstreet Boys x Taylor Swift (Mashup)

People Are People   - Depeche Mode

WHERE IS MY HUSBAND - RAYE

Teddy Bear’s Picnic - Henry Hall, The BBC Dance Orchestra

The Fate of Ophelia - Jessica Mazin

Everybody Scream - Florence and the Machine

The King of Wishful Thinking - Go West

BABY SAID - Måneskin

Baby One More Time - Britney Spears and Jack Black

And that’s my humble offer, guys. Stay safe, drink water and get some rest.

All the best,

Tea