As we move into 2024, I find myself resisting the idea of restricting my life in any way. Someone mentioned they were attempting a ‘no spend’ January, which I supported and agreed a lot of people are participating in after the inherent consumerism of the holidays. Another person chimed in that they were starting up their ‘yearly winter diet.’ When pressed on what I was doing, I said I was going out with my friends to drink margaritas. The first person responded, “Oh, well that’s not very new year’s resolution-y.” I laughed. I suppose it’s not. But I don’t want to eat zero-point Weight Watchers soup and stay at home while secretly wishing I didn’t have to. If I stay home it’s because I want to stay home.
And this is absolutely no judgment on anyone who is embarking on a journey of self-improvement, I am just not a 75 Hard kind of girlie anymore. I find I am a happier person in general when I am reading fiction over self-help books. I want to take up more space, I want to try new things, I want to feel present. I want 2024 to be full of things that feel joyful and authentic to who I am in this moment, and I do love a good in/out list, so…
IN:
Vodka martinis
Making art
Romantic love
Prioritizing play (video games, D&D, etc.)
Clinique Black Honey
Facials
Saying: “I’m a writer”
An overflowing Notes app
Novellas
Reading at the bar
Gentle movement & daily sunlight (with SPF)
OUT:
Deprivation & restriction
Finishing books I don’t enjoy
Feeling guilt for things I can’t control
Ignoring nuance / shades of grey
Gluten (still)
Agreeing to things I don’t want to do
Caring about trends
Feeling embarrassed about any of my interests
My Favorite Reads of 2023:
Marzahn, Mon Amor by Katja Oskamp
Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession
Forbidden Notebook by Alba de Cespedes
A Glass of Blessings by Barbara Pym
Stoner by John Williams
A Fortnight in September by R.C. Sherriff
Voyage in the Dark by Jean Rhys
The Postcard by Anne Berest
Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott
A Woman in Berlin by Anonymous
To Bed with Grand Music by Marghanita Laski
Meeting in Positano by Goliarda Sapienza
I completed my first read of 2024—Seaview House by Elizabeth Fair, my fourth book of hers. I know there are only six in print, so I try to space them out accordingly and it felt appropriate to kick the year off with something joyful.
Elizabeth Fair is another author rescued from obscurity by Furrowed Middlebrow Press, whose books I have written about previously here. Seaview House is a slice of life novel that takes place in a very small village on the British seaside, an unspoiled place that has attracted the attention of architects and developers. Two sisters, Rose and Edith, run a small hotel and, now in their fifties, are beginning to feel the encroachment of the years. Together, they remember life as it was, suspended in the rectory of their youth spent as beloved daughters of a somewhat well-known pastor. They are helped at the hotel by Rose's daughter, Lucy, who has suddenly become a lady and presently faces a bit of a romantic dilemma.
With the arrival of Edward, the architect of a new set of vacation homes and the godson of the curmudgeonly Mr. Heritage, the village’s normal cast of characters is upended. Mr. Heritage immediately begins scheming a prescribed future for his godson and meddling in his affairs. Eventually, his machinations and all the subsequent misunderstandings get tidied up in the wake of a rather disastrous centennial dinner for Rose and Edith’s father.
As with her other books, Fair’s novel is light, affectionately humorous, and a truly delightful escapist read. Her characterization is excellent and, as another author described her, “in the best tradition of English humour.”
Absolutely would recommend Elizabeth Fair to help lift you out of any sort of negative miasma.