I am reading
My big treat last year was to read the latest Liane Moriarty. She is one of my top favourite authors ever. Her latest book is called ‘Here One Moment’.
I normally love Liane’s novels, sharply observant, funny and unexpected.Her latest book did not disappoint, it was all those things. However, it was a little hard going, this is not a spoiler, but it was sort of a mediation on death so a bit grim in the run up to Christmas. I would still definitely recommend, but it was not the light weight, entertaining yarn I hoped for.
One of the reasons I have got a bit behind with my regular newsletter at the end of 2024 is because actually I have been struggling to find really good books to read. I have read everything by my old and current favourites. I am eagerly awaiting Lisa Jewell and Liz Nugent next novels of course, but I find anything else new often gets rave reviews and then is really disappointing. I have realised that novelists review books for each other and write really positive reviews, in the knowledge that they will get a really positive review back.
So the lesson is follow me! I will give you a very honest appraisal of anything I read because I do not want to write a novel myself, so I do not want anyone to give me a really positive review back.
I am currently reading ‘The Wives’ – it was free on my Kindle and by the supposedly ‘Number One Bestselling Author’ Valerie Keogh. I can see Valerie is highly recommended by other ‘best selling authors’ I have never heard of – be warned!
I am watching
‘Grace’ on ITV.
A really enjoyable police procedural set in Brighton. The main characters are very likeable, and you are taken on interesting tours around this picturesque seaside town with a slightly dark underbelly. Doug and I do get a bit fed up with the old trope of police officers partners feeling terribly neglected because they have to go to work though. Goodness how much attention do these people need? I don’t know if I am unusually unromantic, but I have never really minded Doug going to work, it does not make me feel unloved or neglected.
But scriptwriters really play on the idea that high ranking police are ‘married to the job’ and their partners are desperately lonely.
Do bus drivers partners get het up when they have to go and drive a bus of an evening? ‘But I thought we were going out for a lovely meal!’ ‘Sorry dear, I’ve got to go and drive a bus to Birmingham tonight.’ ‘Right I am going to have an affair with someone who does not have to work at all so I feel loved. I cannot bear your working full time and your slightly irregular shifts, I have had enough!’
I am listening
Woah I have downloaded and listened to ‘Let Them’ by Mel Robbins.
My word this book has changed my life. Wow – her clearest example, for me, of the ‘let them’ theory was about your children. By letting them do whatever it is that annoys you: smoking, not studying hard enough, one word answers – Let Them. Mel explains that by allowing them the space to behave in ways you find negative, your relationship with them can deepen. A very useful thought for me, fingers crossed.
Difficult partners – Let Them be moody, anxious or whatever they are, but don’t be a doormat. The next step and the answer to the problem is ‘Let Me’. What can I do to elevate this situation? It might be nothing actually, or it might be to leave them of course, if things are really irreparable. But, it might be something quite simple: a regular girls night can give you the fun and romance that your 20+ years marriage is lacking at the moment while you tackle whatever health/work/financial/family challenges you are currently beset by…
In case you are nosey I have emboldened the challenges I am beset by, the rest are just general examples that I imagine other people are!!
Read this book NOW.
I am writing
About a gorgeous, colourful family room in Dundee, designed by a brilliant interior designer Terian Tilston.
‘Being an interior designer’ is a dream for many people but GOOD interior designers, I would say are VERY thin on the ground. A good interior designer is like an artist - someone who is original, different and can come up with mouthwatering colour combinations, and that is Terian!
I am enjoying
Sketching, both at home and out and about.
‘A sketch a day’ was a private, new years resolution for me and it took me a couple of weeks to start. It does not need to be ‘good’, just ‘done’. I could hardly pick up a pencil for the first two weeks of January, I felt so uncreative. I do not have a studio in my new home, it was HIGH on my wish list when we were house hunting and I feel I have slightly failed on this issue. We do have a very bonny garage in our garden which, when we have finished the house, we could turn into a studio but that can feel quite far off. The fact is you do not need a studio to be creative, you just need to ‘be creative’. You can go to classes, you can work in a sketch book, you can do small paintings on your dining table. If you really want to ‘go big’ you can hire a studio, there are council spaces, other peoples garages or workshops you could rent.
So, no more excuses, you can check up on my progress on Instagram.
Keep in touch please, especially if you have enjoyed any of the above, or maybe you didn’t?
Grace is really good!
The 'Let Them' theory sounds interesting, I'll check it out! As for authors reviewing other author's books, it's a tricky one. As an author myself, it's really really HARD to get your book seen, and therefore generate sales, among the sea of books out there. A little boost from a bestselling author is hope for that all important visibility 😁