01. My boy is on his adventure at sea.
02. I’m studying again this year (advanced grief counselling)… Part-time but it will be demanding.
03. I didn’t listen to many podcasts in the last half of 2019 (because my library finally updated their audiobook collection) but I’m sure I’ll have FOMO soon. I’m bookmarking stuff for when that happens.
04. This literary calendar has so many things to look forward to (notably: a film adaptation of Emma, with a script by Eleanor Catton; and new books from Rose Tremain, Roddy Doyle and Curtis Sittenfeld).
05. There’s also this list of book-to-film releases for 2020. I’m most excited about Sally Rooney’s Normal People. (although the casting doesn’t match what I had in mind…).
06. It sounds menial, however, my preferred weather app was ‘discontinued’ at the end of 2019 – catastrophe! It’s been very difficult to find a replacement that has all the features that Pocket Weather had (forecast throughout day; rain radar; multiple locations; UV index; uncluttered design). After testing approximately 20 apps (I know, I know), I have finally settled on Weather Perfect (and dare I say it’s better than Pocket, although comes with a $15 price tag).
07. Lizzy and I are both reading Confession With Blue Horses by Sophie Hardach – feel free to join us!
08. This article about the Holocaust and literature is extremely interesting (thanks to Paula for pointing it out) – I have read a few Holocaust ‘novels’ over the last few years, each with increasing discomfort and I think Wiesel’s words capture why – “A novel about Treblinka is either not a novel or it’s not about Treblinka.”
09. Trying to work out if I can justify a trip to Byron Bay…
10. Or indeed, a cruise from Southampton to New York – it’s like Melbourne Writers Festival meets Below Deck!
11. Saw two shows last week. Firstly, My Dad Wrote a Porno Live. If you haven’t listened to this podcast, anything I say about it will sound completely bananas. Anyway, the choose-your-own-adventure format was genius.
12. And secondly, Louis Theroux on Sunday night. It was a variety show! Interviews (including with ex-Westboro member, Megan Phelps-Roper); rap; other musical ‘entertainment’; documentaries; and audience participation. Such a brilliant night. Obviously I will have to read Phelps-Roper’s memoir, Unfollow: A Journey from Hatred to Hope, now.
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