2023andme

[2023andme]

January Book Pile

I have always liked books but I've had a lot of trouble my whole life getting into books. I spent a lot of my life reading series and then just repeatedly reading the same series over a number of years. As a result, the list of books I wanted to read just kept growing and it started to become overwhelming.

Last year I set a goal for myself. To read 34 books. The number may seem arbitrary but I chose the age I turned last year - it seemed like a reasonable goal, one I could build on each year but at the same time would be a challenge. I was literally going from one book to 34, just like that.

By December 31 I had hit my goal! It felt like a great achievement and better than that, I really enjoyed the stories that filled my life last year. It was a dark year and some of my best memories are the worlds I escaped to during it.

So a new tradition has formed. This year I'm reading 35 books. I like to get a good head start in January so that by the time the world is moving at speed again, I can read at a leisurely pace.

This year started off strong with one of the best books I have ever read - Sea of Tranquillity by Emily St John Mandel. I finally tucked into Station Eleven last year and immediately fell in love with her writing but Sea of Tranquillity was even more mind blowingly good. I enjoyed it so much I have decided I will read it again as my final book for the year too.

Glass Hotel would be my next favourite so far. While it is my least favourite of Emily St John Mandel's books, her incredible ability to weave the narrative across so many of her books and also throughout each story is so impressive.

Our Missing Hearts was sad an enraging and full of hope. It was hard to read at times and has a very important message about racism and injustice. I'm really glad I read it.

The others were just enjoyable. Olive Kitteridge I have want to read for years and while I usually like Strout's books but I found this one lacking. The novel by short story didn't work for me in this case and I found myself not caring about Olive or the people in her perifery.

The Maid was an easy read but tried to be too much like Eleanor Oliphant and came up short.

And I didn't make it past chapter four of Klara and the Sun. I decided to just cut that one loose and move onto the next one on the list.

February is off to a strong start with Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.

[2023andme]

This year has been a slow start. We had Jane staying with us for three weeks so life was put on pause for a bit.

This year has already brought some wonderful experiences and my new Instagram ban has made me feel more present for them all. Highlights have been; lunch in the shaded back terrace of Origini; an adventure over to Maldon where I finally walked to the Rock of Ages (and we had a ridiculous time outside the newsagent on a scratchie streak of a lifetime); lunch at the Chefs Table at Chauncy; a brief stop in Melbourne where we flew down streets on lime scooters and ate a meal at Roccos of Bologna Discotecca that I cannot stop thinking about (especially the pickled seafood covered in lardo and with a sprinkling of chilli); and harvesting all our garlic.

I am not sure yet what my frequency of recording these events will be but I am hoping now life is back to more normalcy that I will record these events in real time.

[2023andme]

My ins and outs list for this year to refer back to.

[2023andme]

2023. Let’s fucking go.

The pandemic has had a cumulative effect on my mental health and outlook. It’s a combination of ignoring a lot of things for many years, being forced to confront them, completely detaching and going inward. The result is that I am becoming someone I am not proud of. Someone who is so far away from the person I am always striving to me. And it just seems to be a continuous spiral down.

So, I am going to push myself out of my comfort zone this year. Do the things that make me uncomfortable. Keep up with the things I usually drop even though they make me happy and healthy. Just try something different. If doing the same thing and expecting different results is a sign of madness, I am heavily down that garden path.

This is my way of recording my journey. And of being accountable. It’s really important for me to have lists, to refer back to what I have said and a place to reflect on what I have done. So I hope this can be my little corner of the internet.