Happy Valentine’s Day! I’m finishing up this post on Thursday mid-morning after a walk and coffee; of course it is raining again. I’m on PTO today through Monday for the long holiday weekend and my in-laws are in town!
This week I’m sharing details of a recent author chat, my version of a trending writing prompt plus some additional thoughts, an effort to catch-up on higher quality content, and a goal recap from January!
Author Chat
Last weekend I caught up on some of the Modern Mrs. Darcy book club events I’ve missed over the last few weeks. The first was the chat between Anne Bogel and author Emilia Hart about her debut novel, Weyward. I finished the book earlier this year and I was fascinated to learn about Emilia’s inspiration and writing style. It is told from three different women’s perspectives and weaves their stories together over centuries: modern-day Kate, 1940’s Violet, and 1600’s Altha (on trial for murder).
I loved hearing Emilia say that “The best kind of book is one you want to read wherever you are.” I mean, don’t we all just love when we are reading a book that we can’t put down and take with us wherever we go?
Emilia has another book coming out this year called The Sirens. It’s a dual timeline story set in 2019 and 1800. The 1800 storyline is about two women forced from their home in Ireland onto a convict ship heading to Australia.
If you are interested in joining the Modern Mrs. Darcy book club, you can get more information here! The MMD team has created a delightfully nerdy bookish community with so many members and groups!
I Met My Younger Self for Coffee Today
I met my younger self for coffee today. She was 10 minutes early, I was 1 minute late. We both brought a book, just in case.
She was wearing high heels, a skirt, and a blazer; headed to campus for a business school presentation. I was wearing jeans, boots, and a top I’ve had for years; going back home to start work for the day.
She got out her planner and showed me her class schedule. She said her English Lit & Language classes are “just for fun, like a hobby!” I told her those sound like the most exciting classes and not to underestimate their impact.
She explained that she has a part-time research job at the university where she reads dissertations about emergent leadership and employee engagement. Even though she can work from anywhere, it’s kind of boring. I told her that job actually sounds really interesting and the flexibility must be nice.
She told me all about her career plans. High-end retail. Nordstrom. Neiman Marcus. Ralph Lauren. She asked if I’m traveling a lot for work and if I get to visit a lot of cool places. I chuckled and said, “Sometimes life takes you places you’ve never dreamed about.”
We got ready to leave, both pulling out our wallets and she said, “I can’t believe how expensive this coffee is.” And so I told her, “Don’t worry, I’ve got us both.”
But what book did we each bring?
I’m so glad you asked. Since I wrote the above response to the trending writing prompt, this question has haunted me.
At one point in college, my friend let me borrow a book about planning a career path. (Together we were the types to make 5-year-plans every few months; it was fun for us and yes, I do miss those long hours spent together in the local Barnes & Noble.) Anyway, it was based on the concept of chaos theory rather than linear progression. I’m pretty sure it was called You Majored in What? by Katharine Brooks. I think about this book at least once a year along with the identity map I created when I was twenty years old. I still have the map! I would have brought this book to a coffee date with my future self because I would have definitely tried to impress 35-year-old me.
Ok so big picture, I agree it was a good book to read then and probably influenced my career path in a good way. But the more exciting question is what book would I be reading today that I would want to force into the hands of my 20-year-old self?
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab. This book falls into the magical realism category. It’s about a girl who is cursed to live forever, but nobody remembers her from one day to the next. Everything she creates is destroyed because the curse does not allow her to say her name, write, or leave her mark on the world. Eventually she learns how to create art through other people. Then, after 300 years of being forgotten, one day she is in a bookstore and someone says, “I remember you.”
Chills.
This book explores the question: What is a person, if not the marks they leave behind?
Content Catch Up
The last few weeks I have been using my “free time” to catch up on the news. Like so many others, I’m balancing how to stay informed without losing my mind! So, I have fallen behind on reading all my favorite content. Last weekend I declared Saturday and Sunday as my content catch-up days. If you are feeling the same, I highly recommend carving out a day or two for yourself to dive deep into the hobbies and content you enjoy. This may include turning off the TV, news notifications, and removing social media apps for 24 hours. Here’s some of the content I caught up on:
- The Shu Box: Sarah Hart-Unger is a writer, podcaster, planner, physician, wife, and mother of three. I listen to her podcast Best of Both Worlds co-hosted with Laura Vanderkam, but I also love reading her daily reflections on her blog.
- Happier in Hollywood Substack: This is a newsletter from writers/showrunners Liz Craft and Sarah Fain. They break down how to be happier, healthier, and more successful in Hollywood, Dollywood, or anywhere in between.
- The Visible Life of VE Schwab: You know I love a behind-the-scenes look at the writing life. This month, she wrote about the struggles of perfectionism and how Addie LaRue (my favorite book of all time) was almost never even written! You have to sign-up to receive the monthly newsletter (it’s free). She’s also coming to San Francisco in June!
January Recap
Writing: It was rocky there for a few weeks, but I still posted weekly content here. I’m forever just trying to show up. You can visit the East Bay Bookshelf home page to see prior weekly content.
Reading: I read 4 books in January, which means I’m generally on track for my annual reading goals. I haven’t been able to my “25 in 25” close reading goal, so I think I’ll have to adjust. Time is not on my side these days for close reading with a physical book.
Strength Training: I only did 12 strength training sessions in January, so I’d like to do more in February!
Mileage: I walked 80.5 miles in January and only missed two days where I didn’t walk at all. Those were travel / meeting days for me where I lost time (literally from crossing time zones) and just needed to sleep.
That’s it for this week! A few questions for you to consider:
- What’s your favorite writing prompt?
- What book would you like to share with your younger self?
- How are you balancing reading the news vs. books (and other higher quality content)?
- What worked for you in January? What didn’t?
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