I unintentionally took a week off, and I hadn’t realised how much I needed it. Last Monday rolled around, and my doc was full of dribs and drabs that I couldn’t pull together because I felt sick. I don’t schedule posts in advance and typically tweak on the day of, so when the unforeseen happens (feeling ill), it can throw me off completely. No such excuses for Thursday, I suppose. But on Tuesday, I went on a do-nothing holiday, and without enough of a draft ready to polish off, I decided against forcing it. It’s worked like a charm. My notes app is full of thoughts and ideas, and notes on all the little wisps of magic that found me as I sat still. I read (almost) three books in four days, indulged in frequent naps and forgot what it felt like to be vertical. I have had a hard restart (reopen windows when logging back in).
I just alluded to the extent of my reading, so it’s a bit of a quickfire today. I finished Rental Person Who Does Nothing by Shoji Morimoto. It was quite surface-level. The requests he received on Twitter to ‘do nothing’ with someone could have been expanded beyond recounting the request and explored through the widespread surge in loneliness or the importance of community. It felt like opportunities missed. I started reading A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez (translated from Spanish into English by Megan McDowell). A collection of short stories told through themes of ghosts, spirits, death, and Argentinian culture and history. I’m halfway through - it’s on my Kindle, which I wanted to leave at home for my holiday. Usually, I wouldn’t have the strength to leave a book unfinished, but I justified it because each short story can be read in isolation. On the whole, I’m enjoying Enriquez’s fascination for what lies in the shadows - secrets, disgust, and the unexplainable.
Holiday reads - I kicked off with Perfection by Vincenzo (translated from Italian into English by Sophie Hughes). We follow millennial expats Anna and Tom who live in Berlin. The style of writing wasn’t what I expected, but I enjoyed the crux of it all - the inevitable passing of time and grappling with a sense of belonging. Next up was Evening and Weekends by Oisín McKenna which I really loved. Maggie, Ed, and Phil’s lives are entwined and over the course of one weekend everything unravels. I found McKenna’s long descriptive language a joy and smirked at mentions of Dalston Superstore. I’m now finishing Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors. I read her first novel Cleopatra and Frankenstein while on a solo trip in Barcelona and was spellbound. It’s hard not to compare but Blue Sisters isn’t yet having the same impact. It’s not that I’m disliking it, but it’s more of a slow burn.
And of course, not forgetting the audiobooks. I finished Atalanta by Jennifer Saint, which was perfect timing. You know I love retellings of Greek myths. Actually listening to them while in Greece is magical. I’m now working my way through Ann Patchett’s collection of essays, These Precious Days. Ann Patchett has a beautiful voice and it’s a real gem of a book so far.
Other links:
Lena Dunham’s break-up with New York
Laura Bates on Misogyny, Technology and Artificial Intelligence
Ben Cohen, CoFounder of Ben & Jerry’s, was arrested after protesting war in Gaza
Is the next great American novel being published on Substack?
Women need to be more delusional
- Haggling is like sex or flirting
- Women hate women who go for what they want
There are about 4987 things I want to buy - summer wardrobe pending. I am resisting… for the most part. I only want to buy things I love and things that will be worn until they’re fraying and full of holes. I’m conscious of finding a good flow for the things I want to part with, uploading to Vinted, donating to charity, or taking them to the textile recycling bin.
Favourite thing I bought last week:
I’ve become increasingly engrossed in watching TV in hotels abroad. Almost always, you can find a recognisable film or show that’s originally in English but has been dubbed in another language, usually one different to the country you’re in.
Scary Movie 3 was on in Greece, an entire franchise that I forgot existed. I scoured the Wikipedia page and saw there’s another in the works. An interesting revival given Final Destination’s recent release, genuinely intrigued for the new parodies they’ll come up with.
This week, I’m going for dinner at Khao Bird, the Thai restaurant above The Globe Tavern in London Bridge, AKA Bridget Jones’ old flat. Excited for the food. Even more excited by the trivia.
Freshly cut flowers are one of the most satisfying things to buy as a little treat. I see what I can buy from M&S for less than a fiver: tulips, roses, carnations. The smell of dying freshly cut flowers is diabolical. It’s best described as a mix of rotting vegetables and cat piss. The cycle continues.
I wanted to find something this week to honour the excessive hours I have spent asleep and napping in the sun. Some Emily Dickinson will suffice.
A long, long sleep, a famous sleep
That makes no show for dawn
By stretch of limb or stir of lid, -
An independent one.
Was ever idleness like this?
Within a hut of stone
To bask the Centuries away
Nor once look up for noon?
TY for sharing my piece. I too have been excessively sleeping 🫡❤️ we are BLESSED