Laying the bricks for a good year
Hello, friends —
Welcome to 2024! Naturally, I'm starting the year by being a bit late with this week's newsletter. But: The newsletter is here. So maybe this year's theme is acceptance, or going easy on myself. Things get done, even if they get done a little later than planned.
If you've been subscribed for awhile, you've probably noticed that I read a lot of books. Every year I talk about the coming year's reading theme (last year there was no theme except 'read what makes me happy'), and recap my favorites (here's 2023's list).
This year's theme is all about enjoying what I already have. I love books. Maybe that's obvious, I don't know. But I acquire a ton of them. All of my bookshelves are full, largely with books I haven't yet read; the dresser beside our bed is piled with books; there are books piled on the bedroom floor; etc. There are even piles and piles and piles of books that I have read, and decided not to keep, consuming half of a spare room. (I'm slowly sifting through these this year and swapping them in at Powell's Books, or donating them to our local library.)
So this year's theme is simple: I'm going to read the books I have. I'll work my way through the alphabet, for each letter choosing a book that I haven't yet read (and that most likely has been sitting unread for years). For A, I've chosen Transcription, by Kate Atkinson. I haven't even looked at the Bs yet; I'll save that surprise for later.
(I've also already violated this theme: Jami Attenberg's 1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round, which I preordered last year and promptly forgot about, arrived yesterday, and I started reading it this morning. If you're a writer and you haven't heard of Attenberg's 1000 Words of Summer project, I recommend investigating!)
We've begun this year in a state of loss. Though we ended 2023 planning for 2024 to be a year of growth and joy, we started the year by losing our last remaining pet. Gabby, a 16-year-old tabby who has been with Felicia since just after we met in 2007, has gone to the great beyond to join Oscar (tabby cat), Dr. Meatloaf (Boston terrier), Radar (chihuahua), and Mochi (chinchilla). We moved to Oregon in 2012 with five pets (which was a challenge, let me tell you) and now our home is emptier. We're all still expecting Gabby to wander into the kitchen and lecture us about her empty food bowl, and it's sad every time we realize that won't ever happen again.
But we're all intent on this being a good year, filled with good food, good coffee, lots of creativity, lots of growth, lots of healing, lots of positive change, and most of all, lots of love. I hope this year brings you all of the same. Goodness knows we all deserve a little peace, safety, and happiness.
✏️Until next time,
Jg
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