i moved and it’s the best decision, a new start. i live in a northern town with potholes and snow drifts and friendly people who’ve welcomed me. my house is warm in winter and cool in summer, and the vegetable garden grows well. i walk the ravine and i’m writing. it’s a simple life, you know?
Books
ALL FOURS by Miranda July (fiction).
this is strange pick for me because in many ways i didn’t like this book, but it was compelling and magical and audacious, and i think that’s why it’s a great book. it made me feel things, difficult things, particularly about menopause, and i remember it so clearly. it reminded me of spending time with a fascinating, irritating half-friend who is so full of life that you can hardly stand it.
i’m happy to say that my concentration for reading has returned after 5 years of distraction. this is a relief. i’m able to finish more books and hope to increase my yearly list. it’s halved from the 2010s and that makes me feel like an absolute fake of a writer.
Music
I don’t know. I’m completely out of the loop with new music, even when I pay attention. I’ve lost my capacity to keep up and it depresses me, this loss. but this artist is fascinating and energetic and incomprehensible for a 60-year-old woman like me:
then there’s an epiphany in music that is lily allen’s album ‘west end girl’. it’s perfect and it hurts. what can i say?
TV
i watch a lot of limited series mostly european in origin, and britbox is my favourite streaming service. shows like ADOLESCENCE; LUDWIG: BLUE LIGHTS; CRIME; and the nordic mysteries from both britbox and netflix like THE ARE MURDERS, THE GLASS DOME, BORDERTOWN, and so on.
that said, i quite liked THE PITT for the ER thrill of it and season 2 is coming soon.
Podcasts
i love a good podcast. here are some of my favourites: otherppl podcast; talk easy; writers and company (archives) on repeat. but this is my current obsession, fashion neurosis, with Bella Freud:
in this episode, Nick Cave talks about a pair of itchy herringbone pants he wore in the 70s, and it’s a bittersweet story of teen angst, obsession, tights, and bullying. also, the episode with Zadie Smith is awkwardly charming–she struggles with analysis, i think. agony on the couch and i sense she’s questioning every aspect of her existence.
sounds familiar.
onward.