Bullet Points, October 2023
Reading:
Caught Up by Liz Tomforde (Kindle Unlimited) is just right in the sweet spot of romance. It’s fast paced, the characters have amazing banter, it’s sweet and spicy at the same time, and it is (hallelujah) not a ReyLo fanfiction. My bar for a good book is admittedly on the floor lately, but I swear this is one is *chef’s kiss*
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang. She’s prolific and this was my first by her– I figured it’s a less ambitious introduction to Kuang’s work than Babel would be. I liked it… it had a thread of anxiety woven through it so it was definitely a stressful read.
What Happened to Empathy?, Xochitl Gonzalez (The Atlantic). Wow wow wow wow wow. The rise of the internet has definitely caused a lot of fucked up things culturally, but one of the worst is that we don’t know how to interact or empathize with other people and like, that is a hallmark of being human which is why we’re all so goddamn miserable.
Buying1:
I impulse purchased these colored pencils, and oh my goddddd!!! Why did no one tell me colored pencils could be like this? They’re so smooth. They’re pigmented. They’re gorgeous. So I’m in my coloring girl era now.
I’m anti-drip and anti-Keurig so my preferred coffee method is a pour-over. I’ve smashed two already2. This one is a single-serve, not a strangely shaped carafe of glass so…I’m hopeful it will survive.
It’s supplement season! I get seasonal depression real bad so I’m mainlining vitamin D and magnesium glycinate starting now, so it’s taken effect by January when I lose the will to live.
Vibing:
Maybe it’s because Midnights came out in the fall but the vibes are soooo right for October. A little melancholy, but still having a Hot Girl Fall. I need to wear sequins and too much eyeshadow. I need to drink heavily and go dancing. I need to be Bejeweled.3
This is the first I’ve ever heard of Luna Luna and I’m a little enchanted/obsessed with the concept. It’s giving The Night Circus. It’s giving The Sims: Makin’ Magic4.
I sidelined Halloween this year, so mentally it’s already Christmas. Starting with this friendship bracelet inspired garland that I’m itching to DIY.
Everybody please clap5 because I finished a big, huge second draft of my novel. I’m doing a readthrough before I let anyone else read it and, dare I say…it almost reads like a real book! With a storyline!
The person who makes the drinks at the coffee place in the lobby at work took to drawing little ghosts on the lids of my drinks. Cute! Spooky!
Obligatory shoutout to my husband because our 4-year anniversary was this month. Love you!
This is actually for November, but I’m doing NaNoWriMo and this episode of Bad on Paper podcast6 gave me the jumpstart in motivation I needed.
Apologies for these all being Amazon links. I’m not pro-Amazon, but the capitalist goblin in my brain says “hnnngggg yum yum 2 day shipping” and I must oblige.
It doesn’t matter why…actually, I’ll tell you. The first was a regular accident of the dish-washing variety. But the second was because a HOUSE CENTIPEDE was crawling around on my KITCHEN COUNTER while I was making coffee and I had no choice but to freak out and my pour over fell to the ground and smashed into many pieces.
Obligatory shoutout to 1989 (Taylor’s Version). Midnights is still crowned top vibe of October, but in case anyone is dying to know my favorite vault track, it’s Now That We Don’t Talk, closely followed by Say Don’t Go. My hottest take on the 1989 vault tracks is they all sound a little too samey and any song under 3 minutes is a crime against humanity.
IYKYK, but if you don’t…
My favorite podcast, btw