december inputs + things i bought
three books with a side of christmas gifts for myself
We are all so extremely brave to be existing in the month of January. I usually feel so much dread at the beginning of the year, but I am surprisingly optimistic this week about getting back to my life (you always know a vacation worked when you’re itching to get back). I’m going to write one more blog here looking backward and then we say goodbye to 2024 for good.
Before I get started, an announcement: I’m going to be starting The Artist’s Way with some of my colleagues at Defector next week! We’ll be writing about it on Defector and I’ll also be posting about my progress on my Instagram, so if you’re Artist’s Way-curious, now is your time to try it with me!
Things I’m Digesting
Sempre Susan: A Memoir of Susan Sontag - Sigrid Nunez
I love Susan Sontag and I love Sigrid Nunez. When I found out that Nunez had written a memoir about her relationship with Sontag—not only that, but that she had once lived with Sontag and dated her son—I immediately put this book on hold at the library. I was not shocked that I loved this. I was shocked that Nunez seemed to kind of…despise Sontag. This was a surprisingly bitchy portrait of a relationship between two writers without much in common except for the person they loved. So fascinating.
The Anthropologists - Aysegül Savas
This was a short novel about the scaffolding that makes up a life. The characters in the novel, who are searching for a new place to live, think it’s floors and walls and neighborhoods that build a life, but it’s the people.
One of my very favorite books I read in 2024, squeezed in right at the end. It’s an essay collection about our relationship with things and the various forms of excess in our lives. It tells the story of Mester’s grandmother, who is what you might call a hoarder, and about the shopping addiction that was passed down to her father and to herself. I was struck by Mester’s empathetic rendering of hoarding as an insatiable hunger for acquisition. It’s an unblinking depiction of want and desire without feeling gawking, judgemental, or ashamed.
Things I Bought
Black mesh long sleeve top from Amazon (I KNOW)
I’ve been looking for a black mesh top to wear under dresses for months on the secondhand market, but nothing was coming up for me. I had this vision for Normal Gossip’s end-of-season party and it came together exactly as I’d hoped. I’m not proud of this!! But I had been thinking about it for a while and I do feel confident that I’ll be able to find plenty of outfits to use this mesh top in.
Lululemon long sleeve running top (Poshmark)
Cold-weather running has historically been painful and impossible for me because of my asthma, but I went for a 5 mile run in 30 degree weather and I was pleasantly surprised by how my lungs stood up to it! Dare I say I’m starting to acclimate to the Northeast, ten years in?! I’ve decided to try running through the winter, so I did some research into what gear I’d need to supplement what I already have. I found a Lululemon Rulu top on Poshmark for $27 and decided to pull the trigger. I know it was a long time ago, but I still feel kind of icky purchasing anything from Lululemon directly.
Louise Carmen Honoré journal in Plum
I was influenced by the endless videos on TikTok of extremely beautiful cool girls flipping through their gorgeous Louise Carmen journals. I am absolutely a notebook girl but since I stopped bullet journaling back in 2017, I haven’t quite found a method for keeping all my different interests in order in a single notebook. The traveler’s notebook system makes a ton of sense to me because I can keep multiple notebooks contained in a single portfolio. Now that I’m a leather freak too, the experience of holding this notebook, carrying it around, and pulling it out of my bag is such a delight.
Traveler’s Company brass fountain pen
This was absolutely an impulse purchase. We were walking around a lovely little stationery store in Santa Barbara called Folio Press and my jaw dropped when I saw the display of these pens. I had been planning to buy a new fountain pen ahead of The Artist’s Way because I find they write much more smoothly than ball points do. I had planned to get another Pilot Kakuno, which has been my standby for years, but I fell in love with these bronze pens. It fits perfectly into my Louise Carmen notebook and the whole experience feels so special. Also, because it’s brass, the pen will patina over time!
LOVE Sempre Susan. Have you read Mitz?