Lit events, Hurricane Season and learning to rest
Hello,
I had the most wonderful discussion with Dr Sofia Rehman on IG Live this afternoon and it’s left me with a warm feeling. I feel so lucky to be living in a time of such uplifting community and connections between people. If you would like to, you can catch up on our chat here. I’ve admired Sofia for a long time now but this was our first chat. I am so touched by her close reading of My Past is a Foreign Country and the generosity of her questions and insights. I got multiple messages after from friends gushing about her. If you are on Instagram and interested in in-depth book reviews on a plethora of subjects, do make sure to follow Sofia. I’m always discovering new books thanks to her.
It was my last book event of the year and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the year. It got me thinking about my journey as a published author over these months. My paperback came out in February this year and I still remember the excitement I felt about the events that were lined up for me in 2020. At least I got to enjoy a book launch last year with my hardback. This year has seen such big losses, sometimes we forget to mourn the small ones. I worry that if we don’t, they will add up to become big and unbearable.
It’s been a quiet day otherwise. I stayed in bed for an hour after I woke up, just thinking. When I got out of bed I went straight to my favourite armchair and read for 2 hours. I’m reading Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor, translated by Sophie Hughes and I absolutely can’t get over it. A great book masterfully translated to maintain the fast pace of the story. Please note trigger warnings for sexual assault, child abuse, rape, misogyny, violence. Each section is told from the perspective of a different character and together it creates such an enthralling tale of brutality, misfortune, depravity, anger and violence.
On a lighter note, I’m enjoying Gilmore Girls on Netflix. I left enough time between viewings to really be with each scene without worrying about the fate of my favourite characters. I am also feeling a lot more empathy for Emily this time around and from the very beginning too, which surprised me.
This month I’m teaching myself how to rest without feeling guilty. Like a lot of us, I am hardwired to measure time spent productively as time well spent. It’s taking a lot of effort to simply enjoy some time to myself and I’m surprised by how this effort is making me procrastinate less. I think once my brain realised that procrastinating is not the same as resting, things started falling in place for me!
Some things from around the internet I want to share with you:
interview with Maggie O’Farrell on Shakespeare’s son and writing through the pandemic
very comprehensive look at the fall of Johnny Depp
twitter thread of promises for those grieving
discovering a Danish genius of madness
Columbus (Amazon Prime), a quiet film filled with great architecture and deep emotions
I also started reading I Refuse to Condemn: Resisting Racism in Times of National Security edited by Dr Asim Qureshi last week and I’m taking it slow, limiting myself to a couple of pages a day. It’s an intense volume and there is so much to learn. It’s making me question so much that I never thought to question. It was published by Manchester University Press last month and is available for £10.19 on their website. Which is a bargain for this brilliant, hefty collection!
Leaving you with my final reminder to subscribe to Spread the Word’s Life Writing course with me. It’s an email course in four instalments. They are sending the final email on Wednesday so sign up before then to receive the last email which contains links to previous ones.
I hope you are staying safe and keeping well.
Zeba