Throwing pebbles
Recommended substack posts and a new reading list
“I write to give myself strength. I write to be the characters that I am not. I write to explore all the things I'm afraid of. ”
― Joss Whedon
It is the last week of the month, which means it is pebble time! If you are new here, this is the week where I share some of the posts I have enjoyed on substack the last couple of weeks, and this month has been quite good. I have no less than nine (!) posts that I want to highlight in this newsletter. To nobody’s surprise I have found my fellow readers on here and it has been a pure joy to connect with other readers and writers, find more books to add to my ever growing TBR pile and more books to put on my Wishlist.
What I have taken with me after reading these posts, is not only how much we adore reading - but how writing gives us something too. There are some writers here that have dreams larger than life, some are happy with just cultivating their hobbies in their own little corner of the internet (and substack), while some are just taking their first leaps and giving writing a go. We really do write to give ourselves strengths, to learn to be the characters we are not and to explore all our fears. Taking the leap has been the scariest thing ever - but I am also noticing the strength it gives me. I am not just a reader, I am writer too. Which is something I would have never called myself before.
Well then, here is a shiny bunch of recommended pebbles from me to you this month:
I will diminish, and go into the West by Brian’s Brain
The Lord of the Rings has been on my mind quite a bit lately, and I am considering doing a reread of it (yes, again) - just because I fell in love with it all over again on my last reread. Which brings me to Brian’s post about him rereading these amazing books and everything he learned along the way.
The Curator: the pleasures of buddy reading by Subverse Reads
Writing about the pleasures of buddy reading and the craving of a community - which is also one of the reasons I love buddy reads!
Don’t judge others’ reading habits by read, watch, binge
A post that I took to heart, especially since I have seen a change on the apps that I am still on - there is so much shaming about how other people read. Where is all this coming from? Should we not just be happy that people are reading and enjoying it so much that they want to share that joy with others?
FYI: If you tell me audiobooks do not count, we will have a problem. Yes I am willing to die on that hill.
Why Reading Is So Amazing by Everything Is Amazing
Such an interesting article about reading and reading online - it was a long one, but worth reading through. And I did end up reflecting on how my reading focus has changed and been reshaped over the last few years. Reading offline, not a bad idea at all.
35 books I love by closely reading
I love looking over other peoples favourite books so when I saw this post I simply had to click on it and find out what her 35 favourite books were.
Quietly adding more books to my TBR pile…
Issue 64: The (re)birth of a reader by a reading life
About the act of choosing what book to read next and what we tell ourselves when we do it. I love how this newsletter brought me into its topic on such a personal level.
I’m a bad writer by Lover of Stories
A post that definitely hit home here. The self doubt, the inner critic, the desperate wish to be a good writer - a personal favourite this month.
You Are Not the Failure Point by A Year of Mental Health
I will just leave you with the quote that has remained with me ever since reading this post:
«Radical acceptance does not mean radical resignation. It dosen’t mean we remain entirely passive, especially if there’s something we can do to create a better situation.»
This weeks final post, is one that had me go down a rabbit hole of my own: My Lifetime Reading Plan by The Honest Broker. A post about how you can give yourself an education through reading books and how this has been an extreme, but quite fascinating reading plan.
The Unread Pile
I will not be doing the same for my reading plans for the next couple of years, but it did prompt me to go through my own unread pile, which now, has been reduced from 135 books to 127 (applause please). I spent the majority of my weekend going through the boxes and shelves and setting everything up in a google sheets - that I am very pleased with. A complete overview over my unread books, and I even added a priority section to it.
The thing is, I love buying books, I am however, not very good at reading the books that I do have before buying new ones. Frankly, sometimes I have even discovered that I have bought the same book twice because I simply forgot it was on my unread shelf/box.
Oh the shame.
But no more!
Or at least I hope it won’t happen again. (Do not come after me if it happens again.)
There has certainly been a few interesting debates with myself on how to prioritise books, what am I in the mood for now and which ones I should just admit I will probably never read. Surprisingly, I realised that this was true for just one book - so that one will be going to the «leave a book, take a book» shelf at work. In deciding where to place the various books on my priority list (it is a simple High/Medium/Low priority) I just did a Marie Kondo book edition: «does this book spark any joy, excitement or curiosity in me?» If the answer was strong, it got bumped higher up on the list.
I also added in the factor that I have two reading projects going on; 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time and 12 months & 12 books, the latter being my yearly reading goal. This made it easier to determine where to place the books if I was stuck between two priorities. Overall, I have to say I am very pleased with myself and it became a fun weekend of rediscovering books that I had forgotten I had bought ages ago.
One day I will get through them all.
Not this year though, but maybe within the next 2-3 years or so? Fingers crossed!
“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.”
― Douglas Adams,
Deadlines.
My deadly enemies who make very pleasing whooshing noises as they fly past me. I am however, dedicated to try to at least keeping them. After all, it is very pleasing to finish a piece in advance and not spend the week being anxious about making time to write the post. And then only to finish it moments before it is supposed to go out and not really have time to go through it.
I have gone through several different stages with this newsletter. The very ambitious routine, of posting multiple times a week - turns out, I just do not have that much to say. One newsletter a week is more than enough, and more importantly it sustainable for me.
Another habit I tried was dedicating one day of the week for my writing, it sort of worked? Until life became very busy and I had to move things around in my schedule and I just could commit to that specific time. Then I decided, its fine! I am just gonna be chill about it! Not overthink, just write whatever comes to mind and see where it goes. Turns out, I hated that idea.
There is honest to god, nothing more daunting than an empty page staring back at you and your mind going *blank*. And then the deadline to post is approaching fast. Too fast. That is probably why I am a bad writer hit home. I was suddenly face to face with my inner critic and just, could not get anything out. If anything came out, I was overthinking it. I have accepted that I am simply not that chill about this newsletter.
Which is fine.
I had restructure and figure out another way. For now, my go to has been writing down ideas, bullet points in my commonplace notebook and then when I have time during the week - I sit down and write a rough draft of what I want to talk about. Handwritten. No distractions. Or, I do allow myself some music. But I have to write this by hand. Then a couple of days later, I’ll sit down with my computer and start writing it out. I have found this method to be less…daunting. Less scary. I already have a vague idea of what I want to write about, and it still evolving. At least I am not staring at an empty page.
The fun thing is, that the more I write by hand - the more I actually want to write in general. So for once, this newsletter was actually finished in advance, not just the minute before publishing. *gasp* Cudos to me!
(I am told it is important to celebrate the small wins in life).
Until next time,
happy reading! ✨
Impressive spreadsheet you have there!
I love this!! Also thank you for the article recs - it’s been a joy to find fellow readers and writers. 🤍