#59 The Offcuts
Pregnancy cover shoots and juicy boxsets
Last week I was sleepy. A thick fog coated my brain and made it hard to concentrate. I had a lot of naps and took things easy. I’m learning to listen to what my mind and body ask for from me (rest) and trying to resist less against it. I’m challenging the idea that productivity equals output. Not everything I do has to contribute to the success of a certain achievement or goal. Or maybe it does, but the stakes can be lower. The goal is feeling rested, therefore, the contribution is a nap.
I started listening to My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. I wrote a little about it in my newsletter on Thursday. I’m enjoying the setting of the early 2000s and the potency of pre 9/11 New York. It draws similarities to Fight Club for me, too. A narrator struggling with their mental health and finding purpose at the turn of the millennium, suffering from blackouts and the ensuing consequences. The narrator is dislikable and a little disgusting, but she’s honest. Which also made me think of I’m A Fan by Sheena Patel and The Coin by Yasmin Zaher.
I’m just over halfway through Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano, and I’m not sure what to make of it. I love the tale of the four Padavano sisters entwined in their closeness from their upbringing. The book intends to show how generational trauma can be stopped from passing onwards, which works as a great central theme to this story. But overall, I don’t think it’s for me.
Other links:
- The 100 least shitty books
- List of cool things
The real threat to women’s safety
Cancer incidence rates are 82% higher for women under 50 compared to their male counterparts
Kids say the most existential things
I have nearly finished a journal, and it’s bringing me immense satisfaction. I have numerous journals on the go at once for different purposes. For morning pages, I took inspiration from
to use Rhodia notebooks. Often, the more beautiful and special a notebook, the harder it is to allow thoughts to flow. Their messy and unarticulated form is hindered by your reluctance to mess up the book. Rhodia notebooks are sturdy, reliable, and functional - it’s time to stock up.
I’ve had a line that Amanda Bynes delivers in She’s The Man stuck in my head all week. If you know the film, then you’ll know exactly where I’m going with this. Amanda Bynes' movies are some of the best Noughties chick flicks. She’s amazing in Easy A, and I watched What a Girl Wants for the first time only a few weeks ago. Of course, it’s been years since she last acted, and she’s struggled with her mental health and the pressure of being in the spotlight. It seems things are on more of an even keel for her these days, and I’m forever grateful for the outrageous personality she poured into her roles.
I started watching Desperate Housewives and now I simply cannot stop. I have NO idea why I hadn’t started watching it any earlier. I’m just grateful I left it no later to start. I can vaguely remember it airing when new episodes were still coming out, but I would have been 16 during the final season, so a show about housewives probably wasn’t all that appealing. I must have put it in a box and left it there. The drama on Wisteria Lane has now found me, and we have a total of 123 hours to get acquainted.
What is all this Peppa Pig Mummy Pig pregnancy gender reveal PR campaign all about? There’s a sentence I never thought I’d say. I am confused. From what little I understand, kids love Bluey now. Gen A has great taste. Peppa’s been knocked off the top spot and has responded with a campaign taking aim at… kids who watch Good Morning Britain? If a child doesn’t want to watch a show, no amount of parental convincing will work - not even a Grazia pregnancy cover shoot.
This week I learnt a new word - Tsundoku. It’s Japanese for acquiring books, letting them all pile up, while they sit waiting to be read. I would say that I engage in tsundoku, and if anything, I enjoy contributing to the tsundoku that takes place on my shelves and bedside table by continuing to buy new books despite not having read the others I already have.
