A Slow Start
January is a funny month. Christmas is long gone and another year has now been set into motion to bring us who knows what until the next one. I always find it to be a quiet month, limbo, a time where I honestly feel I should be hibernating but unfortunately, I was born human and that want to curl up in a warm blanket and sleep through the four first weeks of the year is not exactly practical. I do however try my best to get as close as I can to hibernating by taking it slow and steady in hopes to not burn myself out entirely by February. Even my new year’s goals I only set to be small and very loosely followed because just like many, putting that pressure on myself results in not quite making it and feeling like a total failure by week two of the month. However, this year I have set myself a resolution that I plan on sticking to even if I have to force myself:
To enjoy the little things and to be kind to myself.
That might be two but I count them as one given how I believe they are very intertwined and integral to each other.
I have a habit of being too harsh on myself, putting pressure on myself and stressing myself out to the point I feel like I can’t do anything right, but not this year! Let’s get into it!
What I Have Been Reading
The cosiest thing is of course curling up by a soft lamplight and reading through the cold, grey month. So far, I have read three books, all of different genres. I wouldn’t say I have a preferred type of read given the vastness and acuteness of each genre but I tend to stick to fiction. At the start of this year though, I ventured out to read a little non-fiction.
I received ‘The Way of the Fearless Writer’ by Beth Kempton for Christmas, of course for the obvious reason of hoping to improve myself and gain more confidence and motivation as a writer. I have to say outright; it really does what it says on the tin or book cover! Combining Japanese philosophical practise and the ever-changing flow of putting pen to paper, ‘The Way of the Fearless Writer’ really taught me to take a deep breath and that there is truly no correct way to write or be a writer. I just have to be my own voice. I would say I could give it credit for motivating me to start this blog too!
My second book this month is ‘Japanese Ghost Stories’ by Lafcadio Hearn (I still can’t pronounce his name properly). I wasn’t aware of him until my boyfriend introduced me to him but since discovering him, I had been hellbent on reading at least a couple of his translations of ancient Japanese tales of horror. I have always found myself fascinated by the folklore of Japan and anyone who knows me knows my love of spooky stuff so finding this book at Waterstones was a dream come true! First my boyfriend and I watched the 1960s movie adaptation ‘Kwaidan’ which is based on some of the stories in this book and as much as I didn’t enjoy the movie as much as I had hoped, it was interesting reading the corresponding stories. I may have dropped off to sleep whilst watching ‘Hoichi the Earless’ but reading it I was far more awake.
My third read is another I had received as a Christmas present. I read ‘Writers and Lovers’ by Lily King previously last year so being able to check out more of her work in ‘Five Tuesdays in Winter’ was something I was very eager to do. I do enjoy shorter stories over longer ones and novels so I found this collection of works by her very easy to pick up. However, I did find it impossible to put it down again until I had fully finished a story since I have a flaw of being unable to stop a chapter midway through – A curse as long as I am old. I really recommend this book if you have a shorter attention span but still enjoy substantial stories, also if you are afflicted with the same inability to put a book down as I am.
Choosing a favourite is hard considering how each one I enjoyed for different reasons yet if I absolutely had to, I would say ‘The Way of the Fearless Writer’. Not only was this book easy to read but it truly inspired me and I know for a fact I will be picking it up and revisiting some of the chapters and pages I bookmarked in the future.
Japanese
Big news - I am going to Japan in March! I cannot begin to tell you guys how excited I am. Given I will be there for quite some time travelling the country and the fact I don’t want to be entirely clueless, I have decided to start learning a little Japanese. Of course, I don’t expect to be fluent (to be perfectly honest I doubt I will be any good at all) by the time I go but every little helps I suppose. So far, I have picked up a few basics and I have to say I am enjoying it more than I originally thought I would. I already know a fair bit of French and I have been in a dilemma for a while now over what other languages to learn. Having this trip to Japan pushed me in the right direction and for once it feels like I am learning a language that may serve me a real-life purpose.
Closing Notes of the Month
I hadn’t planned on a January notes and I had hoped that my first monthly notes post would be a little more eventful but I don’t think there is much wrong with keeping things cosy and having a slow start. Next month should be a lot more interesting so I hope you come back for my birthday, Valentine’s Day, a little recipe and whatever else crops up in the month! I hope you have had a good January and you haven’t been too blue.
See you next month!
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