Finished re-reading: The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran đź“š
Currently reading: The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran đź“š
Currently reading: Pastoral Song: A Farmer’s Journey by James Rebanks đź“š
Currently reading: Beautiful World, Where Are You: A Novel by Sally Rooney đź“š
Finished reading: Convenience Store Woman: A Novel by Sayaka Murata đź“šA strange book but I liked it. I was reading this at the same time as Mitchell’s Ghostwritten and there were strange parallels: humans who don’t feel human; along with taking place in Japan.
I made the family traditional Christmas Eve dinner for today instead. Herring-beet salad and Russian Chicken Salad. It’s from the German side of the family, which has some Polish roots. And it’s all SO GOOD. I love tradition.
A fun, slightly creepy, short story by Sarah Pinsker (A Song for a New Day).
Those who like English ballads, editing Wikipedia articles, or general research into arcane, nerdy stuff might like this one.
Advice from someone who’s had Long COVID for two years
The regular refrain of the self-employed person: “Oh, is today a holiday?” 🤣
News Bulletin: Ember® mug causes long-time “tea with cream” drinker to begin taking her tea black. It’s true, after a lifetime of milky tea, there’s something about the way the Ember “cooks” the milk that makes me prefer the tea black. Which is better for me in every way.
Finished reading: The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery by Ross Douthat đź“šExcellent book. I liked how much the author let us into his head in terms of living with chronic illness and pain. It helped me with insight and even more compassion for my Long COVID brother.
I’m going all-in on Apple Fitness+. I’ve been using a different app for strength training along with occasional sessions with the trainer who customizes that app for me. But I said goodbye to her, with some sadness, because the attraction of Fitness+ is too big.
Currently reading: Convenience Store Woman: A Novel by Sayaka Murata đź“š
I’m bummed that Racket is switching away from the 9-minute web recording concept to 99-second iOS-only recording. Their email said “no traction” from the web and that they’re seeing rapid growth with the 99-second concept. Another case where I’m not the target audience.
Currently reading: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë 📚
Currently reading: Ghostwritten by David Mitchell đź“š
Finished reading: What Could Be Saved: A Novel by Liese O’Halloran Schwarz đź“šI loved it and I hated it. Child abuse, and in general, adults behaving badly. Deeply felt descriptions of siblings and how they relate. Protagonist exactly my age, DC and foreign service in common.
Currently reading: The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery by Ross Douthat đź“š
Finished reading: Black Swan Green by David Mitchell đź“šThere’s a quote on the cover from Pub Weekly saying something like “the best memories of boyhood!” No, that is not what this book is. It’s beautiful with gorgeous characters but it’s a lot about how badly we treat each other.
Our general store made tarts and they made the mincemeat from scratch!
Currently reading: What Could Be Saved: A Novel by Liese O’Halloran Schwarz đź“š
Finished reading: The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton đź“šI don’t know what genre to put this in. Mystery? Fantasy? It’s elegantly crafted and in a way is about writing: what does it mean to be in a character’s head? I liked it.
Weirdly warm, misty afternoon for a long walk
Long covid is destroying careers
Long covid is destroying careers, leaving economic distress in its wake
Good article, but this statement makes it sound way too easy to recover: “Employers and patients need to understand that many long haulers should return to work on a limited, part-time basis, perhaps working from home, while they slowly work on building strength, he said.” In my brother’s experience, there’s no way to “slowly work on building strength.”
I deleted TikTok on my phone. Yay, me! It’s unbelievable what a time suck it had become. “I’m too old for TikTok!” “I won’t spend more than two minutes looking at TikTok!” Yeah, right. The only way to protect myself is to completely remove the temptation.