A perfect Sunday with... Justin Lee Anderson
Assam tea, pure wonder, and how to turn off your brain!
Every week, a top writer, artist or creator reveals how they’d fill their perfect Sunday, sharing their favourite comfort reads, movies, food… anything that would make their weekend great.
Today, it’s the turn of The Bitter Crown author, Justin Lee Anderson
Justin’s perfect Sunday… brunch
Has to be fresh-baked blueberry muffins, cut in half and buttered. I first had these as a kid in the Top of the World restaurant at Disney World and to this day the smell just makes me happy.
If I get to be indulgent, I’d also like a toasted Aberdeen buttery, topped with butter and golden syrup. Inherited that love from my grandparents, who’re both from Aberdeenshire. All paired with a nice cup of Assam tea. Milk and two, please.
Justin’s perfect Sunday… read
Anything from Joe Abercrombie’s First Law world. Brilliant, immersive and escapist, even allowing for their grimdark nature.
Justin’s perfect Sunday… comic
This one’s easy. Sandman, by Neil Gaiman. I don’t re-read much, but I do read this every now and again. Just pure wonder and incredible imagination.
Justin’s perfect Sunday… movie
It’s a Wonderful Life. I watch it every Christmas. It’s just so life-affirming and familiar – like hanging out with old friends in a life I never lived.
Justin’s perfect Sunday… TV binge
Firefly. Same reason, really. It’s like hanging out with friends I don’t get to see often. Criminal it only got one season. Has to be topped off with the Serenity movie too, obviously.
Justin’s perfect Sunday… podcast
Not exactly relaxing, but I really enjoy The Rest is Politics with Alistair Campbell and Rory Stewart. Often don’t agree with their opinions, but I enjoy the insight into the backrooms of politics.
Justin’s perfect Sunday… album
I actually have a playlist called ‘Sunday’ for exactly this purpose! But if I have to pick one album, I’ve been bingeing on Tori Amos’s Little Earthquakes this year and I adore it. Nobody makes a piano sing like Tori.
Justin’s perfect Sunday… treat
My kids and my wife got me into playing Fortnite a few years ago and now I am completely addicted. I can lose hours in it, but I definitely enjoy it more playing in squads with friends and family. It’s oddly relaxing – just turns off the brain to everything else.
The Bitter Crown by Justin Lee Anderson is out now from Orbit.
A war once held in the shadows now escalates into full-scale revolution in the second novel of Justin Lee Anderson’s epic Eidyn Saga.
The fog of war is lifted and the conspiracy at the heart of Eidyn finally exposed. Now that they know the truth, Aranok and his allies must find a way to free a country that doesn’t know it’s held captive. But with divided loyalties and his closest friendship shaken, can their alliance hold against overwhelming odds? The quest to retake the country begins here.
Justin Lee Anderson was a professional writer and editor for 15 years before his debut novel Carpet Diem was published and won the 2018 Audie award for humour. His second novel, The Lost War, won the 2020 SPFBO award. Born in Scotland, he spent his childhood in the US thanks to his dad's football (soccer) career, and also lived in the south of France for three years. He now lives with his family just outside his hometown of Edinburgh.